Prairie Grlz Find Grace at Culvers

“I do not understand the mystery of grace -- only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.”
― Anne Lamott

Grace Through Grits

Today Prairie Sherry and I left the north woods of Wisconsin.  We were both a little sulky about returning to our lives of laundry, whining children, and tomato sorting. 

I tuned into Oprah radio (XM channel 107), hoping to increase Sharon's Oprah knowledge.  (Seriously.  Sharon doesn't even know Peter Walsh is Oprah's organizing guru.  But, if Oprah knew Sharon, she would ditch Peter and snatch up our very own Prairie Sherry.)  Reverend Ed Bacon was on the radio talking about grace with someone.  I was driving and asked Sharon to take notes.  I can't read her writing and have no idea who Rev. Ed's guest was.

I love to talk about grace.  Think about grace.  Experience grace.  You don't have to earn grace.  It is just there.  Grace is when a lady at Target lets you cut in line because your three year old is melting down.  Grace is learning about Spanx for the first time.  Grace is someone smiling at you, just in time.    Reverend Ed says grace is like grits in states South of the Mason Dixon line.  You don't order grits.  You just get them. 

Sharon and I talked about grace for awhile.  Then Sharon fell asleep and I turned the radio to E Street Radio.  (Sharon is angry there isn't a Bon Jovi XM station.  I can't even begin to count how many times we listened to "Bed of Roses" while collaging.) 

"Prairie Sherry, this song is for you."

When Sharon woke up, (parched and in search of her lip gloss), there was still plenty of time to discuss Willy Street Fair.  We had just completed a passel (not sure how many that is, but it sounds "prairie.") of collages and had to figure out how to display them in a limited space at the fair.  I started freaking out because every idea I had was either ridiculous (a wire clothes line that would better serve as a French Revolution decapitation device) or would involve HGTV sending me a carpenter (a complicated pegboard pyramid).  I imagined the collages never finding a home.  I saw visions of me Velcro-ing collages to my body and walking the length of Willy Street.  Really, I am too old to be hawking my wares.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, we pulled into Hixton.  Home of three antique shops, all of them dusty and musty enough to send your sinuses into a panic.  We started prowling through the first store.  Lots of rusty berry buckets, vintage valentines, and ceramic heads. We methodically worked our way to the back of the store.  Then the clouds parted and the angels sang!  For right in front of us was a sturdy, wooden, room divider.  It was perfect for displaying our collages and only required Prussian blue paint and a bit of distressing.  Sharon pulled out her bartering skills and we got the divider for 22 dollars instead of 30.  That.  My.  Prairie Friends.  Is.  Grace.   


The grace did not end  there.  Oh no.  It was now 4:30, and we hadn't had lunch.  I was afraid Sharon was going to collapse in the third antique store.  She was reeling around and asking me if I thought it was hot in the store.  (It wasn't.)  Luckily we found a couple of chairs for her to collage, so that perked her up a bit.  We had eaten amazing, organic food all weekend.  But we needed to just eat food.  We settled on Culver's.  While we were waiting for our lunch, a worker came by and gave us a whole order of chicken tenders with dipping sauces!!!  For no reason.  For free.  That, Prairie Friends, was even more grace.  Sharon and I felt the love as we scarfed chicken strips and returned to the topic of grace.

Pay attention to the grace that surrounds you each and every day.  Once you notice grace, tell us all about it. 


Prairie Eydie 

"Grace is available for each of us every day - our spiritual daily bread - but we've got to remember to ask for it with a grateful heart and not worry about whether there will be enough for tomorrow."


- Sarah Ban Breathnach

 

The Art of Taking a Better Photograph

Eydie and I just returned from our working week-end in the wilds of northern Wisconsin.  We ate well, slept much longer than mothers are allowed, and collaged through two laundry baskets full of supplies.  Part of our week-end was spent attempting to create a photo journal of our progress.  We learned some lessons about personal photojournalism that we would like to share with you, our gentle readers.  

Case in point is this photo of Prairie Eydie.  Eydie has long known how to properly pose for a photograph.  Notice how she angles her body for a 3/4's presentation to the camera.  Note, too, how she places the beverage glass in the foreground, therefore minimizing her hands and arms.  The saucy tilt of the head lends to a demure yet vibrant  presentation.  Contrast with the following:

Because of it's placement, my meaty forearm looks like it belongs to a construction worker or a pro wrestler, and I do appear to be suffering from a case of "man hand."  If I had only angled my body a bit and pulled that glass in front of me.  I also need to work on the saucy tilt.  My gaze is much too bold and assertive.

While I may have failed at this first bit of portraiture, I do know a few tips that I regularly practice.

If you want to avoid the appearance of ropy veined hands, merely keep your paws at or above heart level.  Voila!  Instant youthful smoothness.  This position does cause some limitations when driving or doing household chores, and sorting tomatoes is virtually impossible, but your chances for hand modeling gigs will greatly increase.

 Eydie has adopted this technique for an "instant facelift."  Merely secure your headband under the chin rather behind the neck and jowls vanish.  Since I am not a headband wearing girl, I like to use this alternative method.

Not only are my hands positioned for optimum smoothness (remember, above heart level), but the fine lines around the eyes and the deep brow furrowing are instantly gone.  Both provide us with a more youthful and refreshed appearance.

 Eydie would like to suggest that for full-length portraits, distance from the camera should increase with age.  Right now Eydie is insisting on being a full 50 yards from the photographer.  I like to be in the next county.  When this isn't possible, I employ the use of fun props.  Below is an impromptu example.

Suddenly, my age is no longer an issue.

For a final tip, Eydie reminds all of us that if you wish to appear petite, be sure to place yourself next to someone larger in height and/or girth. 

This photo also uses the sun to provide a halo effect as if Prairie Eydie were touched by a celestial power.  This always gives the sense of ageless, immortal beauty.

It is our hope that these few tips will make your next photograph session less angst producing. Keep your hands up, jowls secured, and an ample distance from the camera.  Remember, too, the halo effect, as demonstrated in this photo of our dear Michael Landon. It is Monday.

Prairie Sherry   

PS

Eydie doesn't like to toot her own horn, but she has been doing some personal portrait counseling for a certain someone who may be moving to a big, white house in a couple of years.  H needs to work on the saucy tilt, and hand that woman a beer!

Get Inside Eydie's Head

Top Nine Random Things Running Through Eydie's Head This Week

Make every day a day at the circus!  Love the stache!

   

1.  Is it ok to like the circus?  I feel like I shouldn't.  Today I went to Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.  My kids, the fabulous Elissa, and her adorable baby, Ethan, also went.  Elissa and I were disappointed that the "Big Top" show no longer featured the monkey dressed like a cowboy.  The monkey rode around on a stage coach being pulled by a frisky miniature pony.  Oh.  The monkey also shot rifles into the air.  Today's show featured a Persian cat riding an Afghan dog, a monkey who pretended (?) to slap his trainer, and the usual singing ringmaster.  What I do know is I had a great time and that I really like animals dressed in clothes.  Hmmmm. 

2.  I LOVE CANNING!  I have never canned anything in my life  until five days ago.  Now all I can think about is lining shelves in the basement with clearly labeled jars of preserves, tomatoes, salsa, sauces.   People will be in awe of my homemaking prowess.  I will give tours of my canning jar mecca.  It took me a full 24 hours to completely clean my kitchen after the canning sessions.  It looked like raccoons had moved in.

3.  It is time for the kids to go back to school?

4.  Everytime I drive through Lodi, Wisconsin I think about Tom Wopat.   You know, Luke Duke from the "Dukes of Hazzard."  He grew up in Lodi.  I have been driving through Lodi a lot lately - to get to Devil's Lake & Circus World.  I do not want to think about Tom Wopat so much.  

5.  What should I wear for school pictures this year?  I have learned that wearing A LOT of make up helps.  This year I am going to be adding sweeps of bronzer.  Of course, with all that makeup on, you look a little clownish the entire day.  But it is worth it for a photo that isn't horrifying on my school ID.  Last year, I decided to wear my hair up for school pictures.  Big mistake.  I looked like I was returning from a long day at a highly chlorinated swimming pool.

6.  Is it TOO desperate to figure out how many hours it is until the kids go back to school?  I am tired of yelling at them for yelling.   

7.  What book should I read next?  After I read that "Woods" mystery, in July, I just stopped reading books.  I am so afraid that I will never read a book again.  I will lead a life of flipping through Rachel Ray magazines and self-help books.  I suppose I could reread the Little House series, through the eyes of a 45 year old woman.  Sharon and I once dramatically read a portion of The Long Winter, and were deeply saddened by how boring it was.  I think we read the part about twisting hay sticks.  Okay.  My choices are now between Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, by David Sedaris and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. 

 


8.  Back to the circus.  As a rule I am not a huge fan of clowns.  However, when I was at Circus World Museum today, I decided to be in the moment and embrace the clown act.  It started off great with a clown trying to get on a trampoline.  It ended with "I'm Sexy and I Know It" being blasted through speakers while the clown strip teased vest, after vest, after vest, until he finally revealed a huge white bra.  So, I am full circle.  Is it okay to like the circus? 

9.  I am coughing dust for ideas about Michael Landon Monday.  I am relieved that this Monday is Sharon's turn to post.  Most of the Michael quotes that pop up when you "google him" are about death.  Prairie Grlz is supposed to be an uplifting, affirming, encouraging blog.  We don't want our readers to be leave mulling over their mortality.  Maybe "Michael Landon Mondays" can be switched over to "Tom Wopat Wednesdays!" 


Prairie Eydie

(And notice we completely ditched the "Beauty Tip Friday" segment, unless Eydie's comment regarding the sweeps of clownish bronzer is the tip for the week.)

(P.S.  You should try sweeping bronzer over your cheeks, Sharon! It is an awesome tip.  I have noticed that you looked a little sallow in last year's school photo.)

The Grlz Are Heading North!

Pigeon Lake--Heaven

Chimichurri Sauce

First of all, I want to give full credit for this sauce to my sister and brother-in-law, Lynne and Lou Santangelo.  They introduced it to me when I was a teen-ager, and they had just returned from a Peace Corps stint in Peru.  (I was introduced to chimichurri Sauce when I was 45 years old and enjoying a chimichurri pizza in the packing shed at the farm.  Thanks Lynne and Lou!)  The first time I had it, it was served with grilled beef heart (that now makes me gag)  (Grilled beef heart has always made me gag.).  Now I like it on any grilled meat/poultry/fish. Dip some good bread into it.  Heaven!

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup onions
1/4 cup parsley (ramp it up to a 1/2 cup) (I ramp it up to just under a cup.)
1 t dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic (this is significantly more than the original) (I put in 8 cloves of garlic.)

Buzz in a processor or blender or a Magic Bullet.  Throw in the frig and use on everything. 

******

So Eydie and I are taking a batch of chimichirri "Up North."  Early tomorrow morning we are headed for our annual (this is the second) "Prairie Grlz Week-End at the Cabin."  The cabin is provided to us by sister-friends, Mary and Mari.  Thank you!  It is a seven hour (with potty breaks) or ten (with shopping breaks) trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin--and you do need to capitalize.  This is God's Country.

There are no photos to share of last year's trip.  We both agreed that what went on in Barnes, Wisconsin in 2012  stayed in Barnes.  Just as well. We looked like hell.  We did create 14 collages, and then we were just making them for friends and family.  Now we are aiming for a wider audience.  Last year, too, we were still licking wounds from marriages gone south.  We were a whimpering couple of messes.  We are a much improved duo in 2013.     

And what will we do for 60 hours?  Well, I can tell you a few things we won't do.  We won't set alarms, wear make-up/deodorant, cook meals, try to reason with three-year-olds, dictate curfews, monitor snacks, ferry beings to swimming lessons, try to reason with sixteen-year-olds, and make our beds.  We will not sort any tomatoes.

We will go to some antique shops in Hixton, Wisconsin looking for those perfect chairs for collage.  We will stop in Prairie Sherry's home for 24 years, Rice Lake, and head to Bargain Bill's--the best place ever for craft supplies.  (Bargain Bill's!!!  Bargain Bill's!!!  I am already panting in excitement!)   I would give you the website, but evidently it is "compromised", and my anti-virus software won't let me link it.  Just drive into Rice Lake and ask anyone on the street.  They will direct you.  You can also get really cheap (inexpensive) toothpaste and duct tape there as well.  Worth the drive.

In addition, we will try to get this dang Etsy shop up and running. We will collage a bit.  We will drink a few mojitos (Yummers).

 We will do a lot of laughing.  (I will not be laughing at any of Sharon's inappropriate tomato photos.)  This is our last swan song before school starts, and when we return, we will not only have to get our children established in their respective classrooms/colleges, but we will also have to get our own classrooms ready for the incoming hordes.

By the way, if you bump into a teacher during the next few weeks, please don't say to them, "It must be nice having the whole summer off."  You may get a very stiff smile.  Teachers are paid for nine months of work.  I haven't seen a paycheck since I left school in mid June.  My next will be in mid September.  Like many other teachers, I have worked that second job all through the summer just so I can pay the mortgage.  It is hard to find those second jobs, and for many of us, it is for minimum wage.  I have enough years in college for a doctorate.  I am not too proud to work hard and long hours to keep the family boat afloat.  The question I hate most is, "When does school start again?" This questions especially reeks if it is asked in July.    

Hmmmmmmmm...I feel a sermon coming on.. . (Uh.  Sharon?  Uh.  Excuse me.  I think you already gave the sermon.) time to go and pack...

Prairie Sherry & Prairie Eydie    

Prairie Grlz Meet Matilda

Lena and Mercy meet for the first time in Nairobi

 All summer, Prairie Grlz have been following Lena's inspirational blog, www.journeywithlena.blogspot.com.  You may remember Lena as our only guest blogger ever.  (Lena Finds Inspiration With Prairie Grlz, July 3)  Lena received the coveted Prairie Grlz t-shirt for her literary efforts  (That is a veiled request for more guest bloggers!).  Sharon and I were particularly moved by Lena's musings on Mercy, a little girl Lena has sponsored, providing money for basic needs and education.  Lena's trip to Africa this summer included meeting this little girl for the first time.  What follows are excerpts from Lena's blog, "Meeting Mercy."

The guide said, "That's Mercy." I couldn't believe it was Mercy standing there waiting for us. We pulled into the driveway and when we got out she gave me a big hug right away.

The first thing we did was meet the director of the program and meet some of the leaders.They showed me Mercy's complete records. The records showed how they spend the money that is sent to her, her school report cards, medical records, and other comments. It showed the purchase of her uniform, shoes, school supplies and the food that is bought for her every week. It even showed when she received Christmas and birthday gifts. They wanted me to know that the money I send to Compassion is really spent on Mercy. I was impressed with her progress in school. This year she had very high marks and very good comments.
 
 Later we went to Mercy's house where we were greeted by her aunt.  We found out that Mercy's mom left her three children. When the aunt found out she went to get the children but couldn't afford to keep them. The government took her brother and sister and put them in an orphanage somewhere. Since Mercy had gotten sponsored they left Mercy with her aunt.

Prairie Sherry will share this marvelous recipe tomorrow!!

Sharon and I were catching up on Lena's blog while canning tomato jam.  We thrive on multi-tasking.  Somewhere between trying to scour burned sugar off the stove top and making an impromptu batch of chimmichurri, we decided to sponsor a child through Compassion 
(http://www.compassion.com/).  We chose Compassion because the money goes directly to the child and isn't tied up in a lot of bureaucratic nonsense.  Being teachers, we are pretty tuned into bureaucratic nonsense and have no time for it. 

In under five minutes we found Matilda.  We chose Matilda because she had been waiting the longest (almost a year) for a sponsor.  She is a beautiful, 10 year-old girl who lives in Ecuador.  Every month we will use some of our Prairie Grlz profits to sponsor Matilda.  (More impetus to open that darn Etsy store.).  To date, this is our favorite decision we have made as a team.  While sorting tomatoes yesterday, we also decided to start an Ecuador fund.  It is our intention to travel to Ecuador in the next five years.  We will travel the country and meet Matilda.

I would like to point out that this is what Eydie
looks like before a comb or shower.  I still
like her.  Prairie Sherry

I hope Matilda can feel the love Prairie Sherry and I are sending her way.  We look forward to sharing updates about her in the blog.

(((Hugs)))

Prairie Eydie      
 

...And Prairie Eydie Gets Her Turn Interviewing Prairie Sherry

Eydie:  And turning the tables, here is your dry, lackluster question back at you.   What is your greatest achievement?

Sharon:  Eydie, I am so glad for that insightful query.  I guess my greatest achievement would have to be raising three girls without the aid of illegal drugs, although a few doctor-prescribed "happy pills" have helped to take the edge off at times.

Eydie:  And that most embarrassing moment?  Care to fill us in on that one?

Sharon:  At the time, I thought sitting in my sophomore high school English class with a wad of used toilet paper lodged between my pantyhose and my right calf was reason enough to leave this world at the tender age of 15.  Now I can laugh.  I do remember having a picture of me at a middle school assembly plastered on the front page of the Sun Prairie newspaper a couple of years ago.  I was standing next to another much younger teacher who was looking particularly adorable that day. My expression looked like my ankles were being attacked by wild dogs.   I guess that isn't all that embarrassing,  but I sure wish that photo hadn't been taken.

Eydie:  Your friends wish that photo hadn't been taken as well. Imagine having to admit that you know that face, let alone say that she is a close friend.  Back to the questions. You have shared a few interesting travel memories with me.  What was your most horrific?

Sharon:  That is easy.  About 10 years ago I had been dating this guy, and we decided to take a Christmas trip to Florida...by car...for two weeks.  About ten days into the trip; after I had provided the car, paid for most of the hotel rooms, the gas, and the food; we pulled into a gas station in Tampa. He went in to use the facilities, and I had this incredible urge to take off and leave him there.  Not just a little urge, but a hands-on-the-steering-wheel-and-put-the-car-in-reverse urge.  I didn't, but in retrospect, I should have.  I would have left his suitcase by the gas pump, though  I think I would have taken his bag of Florida oranges.

Eydie:  Hmmm, you haven't had the best of luck with the opposite sex during the past decade, have you.  So fill us in on your guilty pleasure.

Sharon:  Sleeping with my dogs, Rory and Charley.

Sweet-ums Charley.  Who wouldn't want to wake
up to this face?!

Eydie:  And as I just said, you haven't had the best of luck with the opposite sex during the past decade, have you.  So give us the scoop on your most difficult thing you have ever done.

Sharon:  Well, you will just accuse me of mimicking yours if I mention water ballet in my high school gym class, so I guess I can't use that one.  The only move I could do was lift up a leg, point a toe, and then drop it like a submarine periscope.  You don't get an 'A' on a routine with that one move.  Let me think on that one for a bit.

Eydie:  While we're waiting, give us your greatest thrill.

Sharon:  This summer it was discovering that the grout in my kitchen isn't black, but tan.  I was trying to remove a blueberry stain with a little bleach, and the truth revealed itself.  Unfortunately, then I had to spend 6 hours with a toothbrush revealing the rest of the truth.  I sort of made the discovery in a pretty obvious spot right in front of the stove.  Upkeep is murder.

Eydie:  And back to a more original answer to my question on the most difficult thing you have ever done.

Sharon: Discovering that the grout in my kitchen isn't black, but tan.

Eydie:  Most of us would have just thrown a rug in front of that stove.

Sharon:  May I use my latest tomato photo to end this mess?

Eydie:  That phone camera is not coming to work with us tomorrow.

Prairie Sherry Interviews Prairie Eydie

Sharon and I have found yet another way to avoid working on our etsy site.  (Sharon continually receives emails from etsy reminding her to finish opening the Prairie Grlz shop.  Better her than me.)  We have decided to interview each other.  Sharon developed today's questions.  Let it go on the record,  I am not cuckoo about the questions, but at least it keeps us from writing "whimsical" collage descriptions on etsy.

Sharon:  What is your greatest achievement?  Other than finally mastering the adorable "messy bun."

Eydie:  I do love the "messy bun."  It was a great achievement to grow out my hair.  Another achievement was mastering tousled beach curls.  Seriously.  Of course I would have to say my kids.  But are they really an achievement?  I don't like this question.  Moving on.

Sharon:  What is your most embarrassing moment?  And it can't be how you couldn't serve the volleyball over the net in 5th grade. 

Eydie:  These questions are really, really creative.  Once I told an extremely good looking bartender that I was bloated and gassy.  I had forgotten about the comment, until a friend reminded me of it a year ago.  At the time, I thought I was being witty.

Sharon:  What was your most horrific trip?  Other than field trips with your students in Milwaukee.

Eydie:  There have been so many.  Which to choose? 

It was pretty horrific when Tim and I first took the boys camping.  Leonard was 4 and Gus was 1 1/2.  It took hours to set up camp.  It was over 100 degrees with high humidity.  The lake was full of goose poop and the campground was like the Mojave desert during a drought.  We were the only people there.

Gus wouldn't go to sleep and was screaming in his pack and play.  He probably didn't like the streams of sweat running down his back or maybe his gazillion mosquito bites were bothering him.  At 11:00 PM - we all got in the van and drove thirty minutes to my parent's air-conditioned house.  I have not been camping since.  I don't even want to set up the tent in the backyard.  It just brings back horrific flashbacks.

Sharon:  What is your guilty pleasure?  Please don't say something boring like, Ranch Doritos. 




Just "some" rings...



Eydie:  Watching Home Shopping Network (HSN).  I rarely buy anything.  Just some rings and skin care products here and there.  When Suzanne Somers was on HSN, I would watch for hours.  Mesmerized by the huge (ugly) cocktail rings and Somersize food products.  Now, I have never been a Somersizer, but I did buy two ugly, matching cocktail rings.  One for me and one for my mom.

My son, Leonard, just pointed out that they bought me a leopard slanket and "The Nicer Dicer" because I saw them on QVC.  That doesn't really count against me, because I didn't do the ordering.



Sharon:  What is the most difficult thing you ever did?  Other than answering these quality questions.

Eydie:  Doesn't that change with your age?  In Junior High it was just getting through the square dance unit in gym.  In college it was figuring out what to do with the rest of your life while justifying skipping class.  Now the most difficult thing is finding a balance between work, creativity, having a life, and being a mom.

Sharon:  What is your greatest thrill?  You can't mention a roller coaster at Great America.

Eydie:  Geez Sharon.  I really can't take anymore of these stale questions.  My greatest thrill happens every Monday.  Just waking up and knowing that it is Michael Landon Monday.

Prairie Eydie


"Nobody's perfect. Not Charles Ingalls. Not Michael Landon."

 - - - Michael Landon

.

P.S.  Tune in tomorrow when Prairie Sherry has to answer her own inane questions.