Oat “mull” cookies use mulling spices for flavor along with plenty of butter and oats to create chewy cookies. I have to confess to a new addiction. I’m hoping that if I say it out loud, I will have more of a will to fight it, but I’m pretty sure I’m in too deep. In true addict form, though, I […]

Four years ago, I sat at this very computer (I know, I could use an upgrade) and wondered how the presidential election would change things in America. I wrote the following: “Whatever the results of the election, we are all still Americans. The sun will come up in the morning, and life will go on. The best possible outcome would […]

Well, dear readers, somehow this year that took forever suddenly rolled around to November. To be honest, I might not have noticed had our wonderful Pastor not started preaching a series on thankfulness. Lo and behold, half of the month is already gone, and we’re rushing headlong for Christmas. Yes, I know some of you have your trees up already. […]

My kids love watching a YouTube channel called Evan and Katelyn, by…Evan and Katelyn. The couple does a mix of crafting, building, experimenting and gaming. On their channel trailer they say they aren’t “experts” in anything, but “hope to show people that making is fun, you don’t have to be perfect, and you can learn a lot if you give […]

Throughout the summer, we discovered that, for some reason, pork butts were on fantastic sales. Because Joey loves to fire up his smoker in the backyard, we bought quite a few of them and have lots of delicious, smoked pork in our freezer. We mostly use it to make tacos, combining the pork in a skillet with fresh green salsa […]

I want to thank the Hillsboro Museums and HMB Church for making the Oct 19 blood drive a success with 62 presenting donors and 58 pints collected! The Hillsboro Museums board will be given $580 from the Red Cross to use towards outdoor lighting for the museums. Many lives will be saved from this event, as well as donors being […]

When we lived in the apartment on Main Street, the grandsons were in town for the fair week. They went downstairs at about 6 p.m., looked out the door, and said, “Where are all the cars?” I recently learned that they’re all in Atlanta clogging up the streets.     I’ve been thinking about my aunts and uncles from Windom […]

“The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.” — Ecclesiastes 9:17 Gratitude, civility, recognition, appreciation, respect, loyalty, friendship, humility, knowledge. These traits are vital in any solid relationship, don’t you think? In the previous twelve months preceding this October, an increasing number of folks have been communicating with me, […]

I have often wondered what our ancestors thought, felt, and experienced on their way to homestead here in Kansas. First and foremost, I shudder to think of what our great grandmothers had to endure, chiefly spending a day walking through grass with long skirts. I really hate bugs, especially ticks. Of course, they had to deal with the bugs and […]

Our house is in a state of becoming. For 3.5 years now—from the moment we got the keys to signify our ownership—we’ve been busy renovating. It’s a slow process for several reasons, but lacking vision isn’t one of them. In my head I can see what it will be, but in reality, our punch list feels a mile long. With […]