Fashion Backwards

I am so dang tired of losing my spectacles.  They never seem to be where I need them to be.  If I don't need them, I am wearing them.  And most irritatingly, when I need to wear them, they seem to have mysteriously spouted legs and ran away.

What doesn't help is that the frames sort of blend into the kitchen countertops.  Well, they sort of  blend in.  I have tried to remember to always put them in a central location when I take them off - the kitchen window sill for example - but that only seems to work when I remember to place them in the central location.

What's Cookin' Wednesday ~ Ummmm ... Caramel Corn

Today we are going to have a lesson in making caramel corn.  Don't be scared - there are no candy thermometers involved.  No hard ball stages to contend with.  The recipe I use is so easy, so good.

Since I have come to the conclusion that I am never going to be able to, nor do I really want to, eliminate sugary goodness from my life, I have decided that if I am going to indulge, I would be better off making them myself.  That way I know what ingredients are used and I can, if I want to, adjust the sugar and butter content.

(Yeah, right!)

Me Me Me Me Me

The Faith Barista Jam With Me Topic for this week is ...

What is a passion that you'd like to nurture and grow?

Most would think about this question and say ...

... Painting

... Photography

... Video games

... Reading

Those are my 'outside' passions.  The passions that I do.  Or want to do, when I allow myself the pleasure of doing them.  Those are not my 'inside' passions.  

Small Things

I often peruse the Chamber of Commerce website and the Baxter Bulletin to catch up on the going's on around our area.  Randy and I have had a great time this past year going to craft fairs, boat shows and other festivals.

It's also fun to look at the business applications to see what new business are opening in and around town.  That's how I found out that we were getting a Shipley's Donuts.  Mmmmm ... donuts.  The sign that went up outside an empty building on the main road in town was also a pretty big clue.  I have yet to visit their establishment, but I understand their donuts are to die for.  Opps, I mean really, really good.

Show Me

Last month Randy, Roxy and I made a Secret Squirrel trip to Des Moines.  (Iowa, not Washington.)  

Going through Missouri, Des Moines is pretty much a straight shot north from us.  There is a law in these parts that you have to get behind at least one slow moving driver.  Usually at a point where there is no way to pass.

Randy's luck in finding a way to pass a slow vehicle is directly proportional to me having to stop to use the restroom within one mile of his passing said vehicle.

This trip, we managed to get caught behind two slow drivers.  Luckily they both turned off the highway before I had an accident.

Anyway ~

The most perfect road trip for me would be one where I was able to have Randy pull over so I could take the perfect picture when I want to.   As I mentioned, we were on a Secret Squirrel mission and this was not the time to yell "Stop!  Turn around! Pull over!"  What pictures I did manage to take, I took from our vehicle as it was speeding down the backroads of Missouri and Iowa.

Helpful hint ... when taking pictures out the window of a moving vehicle, always wrap the camera strap securely around your wrist.

Anyway ~

My photos don't show it, but Missouri is very beautiful.  Rolling hills of farmland, dotted with old barns, cows and bales (rolls?) of hay.  I have picked out a few of my favorite pictures along with mini-lesson on Missouri history.

Missouri is the 'Show Me' state, an expression coined by a congressman in 1899 when he said 'I'm from Missouri and you've got to show me."

Missouri is bordered by a total of eight states: Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, R-Can-Sauce, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.  No other state except for Tennessee touches so many other states.

The state animal is a mule.

In 1865, Missouri was the first slave state to free its slaves.

From the never-ending fields of corn we passed, I am surprised to learn that as a crop, soybeans bring in the most revenue for the population of Missouri.

On August 10, 1821, Missouri was the 24th state admitted to the Union.

Credit for the Missouri Bootheel goes to landowner John Hardeman Walker.  In 1818, when the first petition came to the United States Congress for Missouri to organize into a state government, Mr Walker found that his land would be under Arkansas jurisdiction.  He wanted to be a Missourian and lobbied successfully for the 'bootheel' to be included in Missouri.

I always thought it was the 'Boot Hills' of Missouri.  Kind of like chester-drawers or prairie knife.

Iced tea was invented at the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis by Richard Blechyden, when he amazingly, poured tea over ice.

The Missouri state motto is  'Salus populi suprema lex esto'.  The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.

Have the BEST day ever!
~ Dorothy