Rich's Birthday Day Trip

Tuesday of last week, we asked our friends, Ellen and LeeRoy, to join us on a day trip to celebrate Rich's birthday. Ellen and LeeRoy are neighbors, we are in our church small group, Ellen and I are in Bible study and Mom2Mom, and we also go to Weight Watchers. I must say Ellen does more weighing, I do more watching! :(

Even though Rich's birthday was on Wednesday, we chose Tuesday because it was SUPPOSED to be the coolest day of the week at 97. Huh! It ended up hitting 104 degrees! So much for COOL!



Our first stop was Fort Larned, about an hour's drive west, and then north, of Newton.

This fort, called "Guardian of the Santa Fe Trail", was established in 1859 for protection and escort duty along the Santa Fe Trail, principally guarding trail mail and commerce. It was a key post in the Indian wars from 1859-1869. It closed after the Civil War and after the surge of the railroad across the plains. In 1964 it became a national historic site and is a unit of the National Park System.


It was established on the bank of the Pawnee River about five miles from its junction with the Arkansas River, which in these parts is pronounced Ar-kansas. Go figure!




It has nine restored original buildings and one reconstruction made of wood and sandstone.


Officers' Quarters.


Blockhouse - reconstructed. Built to strengthen the fort's defenses, it originally contained a powder magazine, two levels of rifle slits, an underground passageway, and a well. When not needed for defense, it was converted in 1867 into a guardhouse. There are no walls around this fort because there were no trees here when it was built. It was thought the river would provide adequate protection.


Rich and LeeRoy are in the barracks listening as a guide describes the finer points of loading a rifle.


These are double bed bunk beds which slept TWO MEN on each bunk. The barracks could hold up to 100 men at one time! That's a lot of testosterone in one little place!


Barracks Kitchen


Fort fire department. Grab a bucket and run!


Next stop was Fort Hays.


Originally known as Fort Fletcher, it was an important U.S. Army post that was active from 1865-1889. Troops stationed here were to protect the stage and freight wagons of the Butterfield Overland Despatch traveling along the Smoky Hill Trail to Denver. Like Fort Larned, it also confronted Indian attacks. It closed in 1866 as Fort Fletcher and re-opened as Ft. Hays, hopefully near the Union Pacific Railway which was under construction. It was hoped the fort could be used as a supply depot for other forts in the area and so it needed to be near the railroad line,but alas it became apparent that the railroad would pass about five miles north of the post. In 1867 a spring flood wiped out the fort and in a couple of weeks the new Fort Hays near the railroad right-of-way was occupied. So the goal of a large supply depot to service forts to the south and west was realized. At its peak, nearly 600 troops were located at Fort Hays, with such famous figures as Wild Bill Hickok, General Philip Sheridan and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer among them. The fort was abandonded in 1889.

Today four original building survive: the blockhouse and two offiers' quarters.


Dining room of the Junior Officers' Quarters, set up for entertaining.


Ellen and LeeRoy on the veranda of the Junior Officers' Quarters.


Next stop...St. Fidelis Catholic Church, "The Cathedral of the Plains", one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas!

Eggs Sunny Side Up

You know the saying, "it's so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk"??? Well today at 2:10 pm it was 100 degrees in the shady spot under our deck and the girls and I did this....




40 minutes later the egg looked like this....


And at 4:30 the temp dropped to 94 and the yolk was hard and bumpy on top and the girls could touch it...


A fun experiment which we should have done yesterday when the temp was 110, but it was too hot to go outside!

Last evening we had such HIGH hopes for rain when these beautiful clouds built up, but alas, they went north and east.





Weather man says rain tomorrow. One can only H.O.P.E.

A Birthday Cake Disaster!

A chocolate landslide! What a M.E.S.S.!!! It looks DISGUSTING!



Last night I began to put together Rich's birthday cake so it would be ready for tonight when Brett and family come for his birthday dinner. Actually I had baked it earlier in the week and carefully packaged it for the freezer. I thought I would make it especially yummy by adding a chocolate filling between some of the layers - like when I took cake decorating some 30 years ago. So I first put down a dab of frosting in the middle of the plate to keep the first layer in place, then placed strips of waxed paper onto the plate - that's to keep the plate clean while I frost. HA! What a laugh!

Well, I knew I was in trouble when I began to split the layers - cracks appeared! (I always split two layers into four - for a taller more impressive cake. Everyone loves it!) So I added some frosting "glue" and all seemed to be OK. Then came another cake layer and filling. Oh my, slip 'n slide. Added another cake layer - split. More frosting "glue". This was ridiculous!! That waxed paper - it actually finally helped to hold the whole mess together!

What you see on the white plate is actually the top. It just fell off into my hands into those chunks! My hands were covered in chocolate frosting.

What to do???? All I could think of was to rush it to the freezer and deal with it this morning. Well the freezer is in the garage and last night - thanks to our B.R.U.T.A.L. heat - our garage was 100 degrees! How does one hold a cake together with one chocolate hand, carry it on a glass platter, open/close doors and get it in the freezer with another chocolate hand? Very quickly and gingerly.

The laughable thing about all of this???? I was watching/listening to my favorite TV channel, The Food Channel. And would you believe the program airing then was "Ace of CAKES"!!! They were designing and preparing a Humpty Dumpty cake. What a L.A.U.G.H. I had the R.E.A.L. thing in my own kitchen!

Rich just laughed!!

So this morning I took the cake from the freezer and the plate of the top from fridge and tried to put it back together. This is what it looks like. HARDLY a work of art!


A nice rich, MOIST cake - cut - or SCOOP it into bowls, top with vanilla ice cream and everyone should get a good laugh - and be happy!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Today is Rich's 68th birthday! OK Honey, so you've caught up with me! (At least that's what he likes to tell everyone.) :)

I LOVE it when he gets really tickled. His eyes squint up and he has a great, hearty laugh. It's unmistakable and makes him - HIM!



One of the things this man-of-mine especially likes is WEATHER! He always said he wanted to live in a place where there are four seasons. Well, he's THERE - or is it HERE! The weather phenomena that really gets him excited is a STORM. We saw this cloud formation a couple of weeks ago here in Newton, which REALLY excited him. Thought it might be a brewing tornado as the clouds were moving in a circular pattern, but it passed on to the east. I will say that it was pretty amazing to see!

Oh, didn't you love his blog post about "Down on the Farm"??? Apart from a very brief time he lived on a farm as a toddler and visits to his grandparents' farm as a small child, he's never had any farming experience. I told him that week of farm chores was to satisfy his "Inner Farmer"! While it was a physical "push", he really loved it.

You all know the physical challenges he's met head-on this past year. He's done it with grace and dignity, no complaining, and always with a positive disposition, even on days when he felt discouraged over his continuing lack of energy. What an example of "grace under fire", even when he didn't feel like it. I'm so proud of him, for his strength and courage and "slogging through"! A quitter he's NOT! And a little update ... his body chemistry numbers are improving, if ever sooo slowly. He feels better than he did a couple of weeks ago, so that's improvement, but still not at a place where he can expend much sustained energy, i.e. exercising, walking the neighborhood, etc. So it's little by little.....

"Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life."

Proverbs 16:31

He is my love, my friend and my companion. I am blessed to have him in my life!

I love you, Rich Dewey, from the bottom of my heart!

Down on the Farm

Rich reporting!

Down a country road is a tree-lined lane . . .

that leads to an historic house over 100 years old.

Next to this lovely home is the original two-room, one-and-a-half story prairie home built circa 1869.

Surrounding these lovely homesteads are country acres upon which are mature trees, red barns, livestock pens and corrals, and the remnants of this year's seasonal garden.
Casey, the canine farmhand, is a steady companion. She has the instincts to shepherd a herd of goats with skill. She loves to nuzzle up close, make a game out of watering the plants, and beg for attention. It is uncanny how Casey can run to the road and all around the property and still show up in time to enter a livestock pen or to tug the hose to the next watering spot!


There are four show goats ready for showing at the county fair the beginning of August. Their noisy reception and eager interest intrudes the prepping of their grain feed mixture. Without Casey to nip their heels, I am nudged from all sides in my attempt to get the grain-mixture to the feeding trough.

In yonder pen the breeding goats have gathered in anticipation of their "goodies." They crowd onto the feeding platform and competitively vie for a favored position. They will just have to wait their turn, despite their bleating pleas.






Now that the show goats are preoccupied at the feeding trough, I get the chance to place a combination of alfalfa and brome in the crib.






There are seven goats in the breeding herd. The pecking order becomes readily apparent. Size and temperament seem to be factors.








A special feed is prepared for the breeding goats. It is a challenge to distribute the feed when the feeding platform is crowded with animals. It seems that no attempts at "faking out" the goats are successful. So I just have to start pouring. The "king" of this harem gets his fair share, for sure!





Alfalfa wedges are separated and distributed. The goats snort and I sneeze! :)







During the summer's hot weather, watering the annuals and potted plants daily becomes essential. Casey likes to make a game of it by snapping at the water streams and lapping up a cool drink. The wetter Casey gets, the dirtier I get. When I sit for a momentary respite, Casey nuzzles me and puts her front paws on my legs and chest with the expectation of a good rubdown.


Carolyn accompanied me two mornings. She watered the remnants of the family garden and then picked tomatoes. She even pulled a few weeds from around the corn stalks. The soil is so rich. We wished we were as blessed at our house!



Freshly picked tomatoes are so yummy. After working among the tomato bushes, the scent remains on one's hands and clothes. We enjoyed BLT's at three meals that week. Yum!

We shared the bounty of the tomato harvest with family and friends.


My week on the farm was a great experience! One particular day, there was a roll of thunder in the SW. A breeze whipped up, and I just felt a wonderful contentment to be in this special setting. Life couldn't be better. I thank the Lord for His blessing!

Crazy Ladies!

Instead of having our usual Women's Ministry Council meeting our President and VP decided we should have a party! So instead of talking about budgets, programs and plans, we met at Leslie's home for goodies, games, and fun. Below is our illustrious leader!

Don't think this game has a name, but it was very fun. Leslie and Joyce, our illustrious V.P., gave each of us an object that we were to describe in a little story. The catch was we had to "repurpose" the object and describe it as something totally different than its original purpose. So here's Lisa with her "tire jack". Clever and crazy. Lisa has been through SO much this year with chemo, radiation, and stem cell transplant. We think she looks great and we love her new curly "do"!

After a round of games at Leslie's, we were each given a large, lemony-yellow bath towel and instructions to walk to the spray park in our neighborhood. I've taken this walk many times and it never went as fast as it did that night. I guess it requires a bunch of laughing, gabby women!

It had been so blistering hot but a cold front moved through and cooled everything off. Grace is in charge of our Prayer Pearls.

The sky was so beautiful, too bad it became too dark before we could get any good sunset photos!

These crazy, fully-clothed women loved the water and COOLER temperature! I was feeling more than a little grumpy because of the heat, but this fun activity did a lot to change that disposition! :) We laughed a lot! It was really fun!

The "towel choir". Before leaving the park these gals sang "Praise God From Every Blessing Flows" - all in LOVELY harmony!

The laughter tells it all!