My latest bread baking adventure.

This is my latest attempt at bread baking. It's another recipe from http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/ and it was delicious. After church on Sunday I went to the kid's house for lunch and took the rolls. John had fixed a tenderloin & we made sandwiches with the tenderloin and avocados. It was great! I'm really getting into this bread baking. The only real problem is that it may cause a serious weight issue.

This was a busy weekend at Leola's. The new tearoom will be opening on April 2 & that should be a real plus. They have been practicing their menu and their food is wonderful. They will be such an asset to our little area. The name will be Lemon Drop Tearoom. This is the time that everything starts buzzing in Branson and the lines start at Lamberts (home of throwed rolls). The buses are already starting to appear again. Spring is in the air!!

Where's SPRING?

Is this weather crazy or what! I can't even get my garden tilled. Everything is budding out & the forsythia are in full bloom along with lots of other blooming trees
& we're suppose to have snow. At least the temps aren't suppose to go that low. It's so sad when you see what's going on in other parts of the country. My heart breaks for all those up north who are worried about flooding & I'm certain all those out in Kansas have blooming things up & growing and now having feet of snow. Then there are those down south enduring tornadoes & torrential rains. Just seems like our weather gets crazier and crazier.

This was spring break for the g'kiddos so Stella took her turn to come to g'ma's. I had to make 20 hemmed napkins for my friend Annie so Stella wanted to sew too. We got out an old Holly Hobby sewing machine of her Mom's & she practiced her sewing. She's very patient & deliberate when she's learning a new skill. Someday soon I promised we'd learn to do some handsewing.
This beautiful flower is from Judy's magnolia tree. It has an amazing aroma. Seems like every year since she planted it, we've had one of those freaky coldsnaps & ruins the blossoms. We're hoping this year it will make it.

This is one of my wool Easter eggs that I love to make. The flowers & inside of leaf is actually hand-dyed velvet.

This is a cloche that Annie gave me with a bird, nest & eggs inside. She got it at the Thicket where either Ron or Mel designed it. The Thicket & The Nest are two of our real treasures in Springfield. If you're ever in Springfield, do yourself a favor & check them out.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. I plan on staying in & maybe do a little sewing. I'm so wanting to get my backporch perked up so maybe I'll start some pillows -- or maybe I'll just take a nap. With any luck, I can do both.

Checking out Leola's.....

I worked at Leola's this afternoon and came home feeling really good about things. It was busy in that part of the world. This is Spring Break time for many kids but it was a variety of people shopping and a variety of license plates in the parking lot. That's alway a good sign.

It would be nice if the weather would stay "spring-like" for awhile. People just get enthused about working in the garden and then another cold front comes through. I've worked so hard in my yard but haven't been able to get the garden tilled. It will be so nice to drag all the furniture off the backporch and get it cleaned up. I can't wait to pull my indoor plants out to the porch. There were so many things at the shop that I'd like for the backporch. There's lots of wicker, plant stands, concrete garden statues & boxes that I could use for storage. I keep looking for a large natural fiber rug but so far no one has brought one in.

Several of us at the shop have been reading Curious Sofa Retailer blog. She's trying to explain the hard times in her business and share some of her experiences with other retailers. It's a difficult time for everyone right now and it's so helpful when someone who has been in the business for years offers to share her expertise with others and opens the floor (or blog) up for discussion of what maybe has helped one or maybe has not worked. It's been an eyeopener for us and has definitely been a learning experience. Keep up the good work Deb!

Trip to Baker Heirloom Seed Company....

Our trip to Mansfield was really interesting. We went to the Baker Heritage Seed Co. & bought all kinds of seeds for both our veggie & flower gardens. They are not genetically altered & have been packaged without a lot of chemicals on them. the people who own it are true believers in organic gardening & try to run their business with that in mind. They have tons of books on anything about gardening (particularly organic). We found varieties of seeds that we had no idea existed. I can't wait to plant them.

Below is a picture of a group of Amish workers having a lunch break. They were all sitting up on this building when I asked if I could take a picture. They said no but one of them would stand on his hands (but still wasn't suppose to take a picture). I decided if you couldn't see their faces it would be ok. Two of the young guys stood on their heads right at the edge of this building. They were so cute & such showoffs.

They are working on making this place, which sets right out in the middle of nowhere, about 40 miles from Springfield, into a small town. It will eventually not only have the seed store but will also have a gift shop & restaurant. They have monthly events where they have live music & people selling things. It's a really "happenin" place.

This is also very close to the Mary Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield. It's a great day trip & when they finally have a restaurant open you'll have someplace to eat. Although we heard the Tastee Freeze had a very good hamburger & onion rings.

Spring yardwork!

It is such a beautiful Spring day in the Ozarks so I decided to get some yard work done. What hard work! Of course it doesn't help that I have some kind of a "head-thing" going on & can't breathe & have heat flashes. A friend who has helped Mike & I in the past with our yard is suppose to come & take care of the yard for me but I'm not very good at waiting. If he can take care of the yard then I can devote my time to the garden. I'm having it tilled on Saturday & then I'll put some early things in.

My sisters & I are going to Mansfield to a seed place where they have all the old seed varieties. I planted some of the heritage tomatoes last year & they not only were delicious, they produced until really late. I think I could live all summer on tomatoes, onions, arugula & basil. Those are my mainstays but I'm going to try Brussels sprouts, several varieties of peppers, green beans, snow peas & of course, my herbs.

I tried to grow Brussels sprouts last year for the first time & didn't have much luck but I had a great crop of tiny green worms. I ordered Jerry Baker's natural gardening book off PBS last weekend so hopefully, Jerry can help. I had that same problem with broccoli & always felt like I was eating worms when I tried to eat it. I would love to be a totally green gardener but I can't control the bugs without help. If anyone has any advice, please let me know.

Growing peppers saves me so much money. I cut them up & freeze them & they last me all winter. I didn't grow chili peppers & needed some for a pot of soup. Judy picked a small can up for me & they were 99 cents. That's crazy when they're so easy to grow.

Hope every one's Wednesday is as beautiful as it is here in the Ozarks. Peace!

Since it was pretty chilly outside today, I decided to just stay home & get some things done.. After trying to organize my sewing room & cleaning the bathrooms, I decided to bake something & since I'm going to the kids for dinner, it should be dessert-ish. My new favorite cooking blog is http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/ and I found this recipe for Almond Puff. I didn't have almond flavoring so I used vanilla & pecans. IT IS SO YUMMY! I had to test it before I took it to the g'kids -- just in case it wasn't good.

I have a busy weekend planned. Hopefully, it will be warm enough to work outside. I also have a few pieces of furniture to work on. Pray for sun & warmth. Have a great weekend.!

We thought it was Spring!

This was last week in the Ozarks. We thought it was Spring already & maybe we could pack away those coats but noooooooo! Mother Nature had another plan. We're having another blast of arctic air. I did get a little yard work done though & started cleaning out my flower beds. The forsythia bushes are blooming & lots of early spring flowers. Just hope the cold doesn't get them. Last year it got the strawberries, peaches & most of the apples. Surely that wouldn't happen 2 yrs. in a row.

This is a friend's house that is amazing. This is a small carriage house that they made into a summer kitchen & dining room. They really use it a lot in the summer & even if they don't eat dinner outside, she does almost all of her canning in this kitchen & they like to sit out after dinner & listen to the frogs in the creek behind their house.
She uses bent willow furniture on her porch with big fluffy down cushions. So inviting!

This is only one of her out buildings. She uses it for a potting shed. She's so serious about her yard & gardens. After seeing her flower beds, I came home & cleaned the ground cover out of my flower beds & I'm going to mulch them really good. She had this wonderful, mulchy soil in her beds & not one weed or leaf. Only green sprouts coming up & a few bushes. I was so jealous.

I'm so anxious to get started. Maybe this is our last really cold snap & I can start getting my cold weather crops in anyway. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

My weekend......

I had a great weekend. I worked at Leola's on Saturday & we were swamped. Thankfully, Brenda & Dorlece came in and helped or I'm not sure Kenda & I could have handled it. What a great problem to have. The weather was beautiful and everyone felt like getting out.

Sage came home with me after church & we worked in the yard. Since I wore him out, we had to go to the video store & get Harry Potter so Sage could take a little rest.
Allison bought several of Carol's vintage millinery flowers to make lapel pins for her & hairclips for Stella & Phoebe. She had one on on Sat. night & it was so cute.

Brenda found this adorable yellow vintage sweater in Judy's area. She can just slip anything on & it looks good.

This guy was apparently waiting for one of our shoppers & I had to get his picture. He had the friendliest face.

These were Jeanne's lawn chairs. They really brightened up our front porch but people kept taking the strings off & sitting in them.

We are so grateful to all those who came out & supported us this weekend. We are so blessed to have such loyal customers.

It's definitely Spring at Leola's!

Well, today is the first day of Spring Open House at Leola's. It was lots of hard work but well worth it. Everything looks great! We all work so well together & have learned that if this is going to continue, it can't just be about me -- we have to all work together as a family.

These are some of Carol's slipcovered chairs & ottoman. She did two parsons chairs for me in brown toile & they are sooooo cool. I'll take pictures as soon as I can figure out how to get them in the house. Mike always carried my furniture for me so I'm having to devise new methods. I find my little red wagon is a big help.

This is Kelli's pink dress. Is it not adorable!!!!

Getting ready for Spring Open House at Leola's!

It was a beautiful spring day in the Ozarks and we started early re-doing the shop. It always turns into something bigger then we intended. Luckily, we're closed for two days. It was so good to get the rest of the winter stuff out & take in the fresh spring things. It is looking incredible! Thought I would show a few pictures.

Brenda has brought in the most amazing florals. Is this not the cutest spring arrangement?

Sorry, this isn't the greatest picture but this is the greatest table. It's wicker on the bottom with a solid wood dropleaf top. It would be so cute behind or beside a couch.

We just have tomorrow to finish so wish us luck. So if you're around this weekend, come and see us. I'll promise you won't be disappointed.

One lampshade done.....

I swear if I charged by the hour, this lamp shade would be at least $150 but unfortunately, I can't do that. I'm not very good at time management. Anyway, I got it done & think it turned out pretty cute. Today I'm going to work on a little upholstered chair. We'll see if I can keep the cost down on that.