Pizza making day

From making the dough to baking the bread, singeing my forearm on a baking tray and burning the tip of my finger during the packaging process...20ish three-cheese pizzas were made. We even made crackers and pretzels out of the left over dough!

It was quite an all day process and of course we bake on the hot days so it makes the barn that much more comfortable!

Our little helper, Greta, was back too!

The crust is baked and the home-made three cheeses are on...

And then it's time to package them. Note to self and all others: do not touch the hottest part of the machine no matter how curious you are! It's even coloured red which could arguably be recognized as the universal colour for HOT things!

All tolled, I survived and my finger will too...it's just like a piece of cooked meat, is all. Oh well.

Lilies of the garden

Just a little glimpse of what grows around here...

Amish 'I do's'

Saturday morning was a treat -- we were guests at an Amish wedding! Well, half-Amish, really. The guy used to be Amish and was marrying a non-Amish...but the Amish were in full attendance! My favourite moment was when we were just pulling up to the church (again, all decked out and cruising in the beat up '87 Ford Ranger...) when Kendra says, "I wonder how many horse buggies will be there...I bet 20!" I just about fell out of the truck! That is definitely one sentence I never ever thought I'd ever imagine hearing, let alone believing...and then SEEING! It BLEW my mind!

We entered the church and there they all were...it was so cool! I wish I took a picture inside but they said no flash photography and I was sitting there stunned anyways! The wedding was so simple -- nothing to it. And the colour was purple so just imagine tulle EVERYWHERE both purple and white. If you are picturing a wedding from 1994, you've got it. After the wedding, we were ushered out to the fellowship hall where there was a buffet with baked ham and beans and potato salad -- dessert was in one corner and the wedding cake in the middle. The crazy thing about weddings here is that there is no program at receptions! Everyone just sits wherever and eats whatever and whenever they want and then just leave. No speeches, no toasts, no cutting the cake...nothing!

One of the cool things however was how every Amish person was involved. Because the wedding colour was purple, all the women wore a different shade of purple dress and the shade depended on what service you offered during the reception. For instance, all the servers of the food had a certain shade, all the ladies cleaning up had a different shade and so on. So simple and so gracious. It was all really quite something and I was glad I could experience it!

Nice buns!

Even though they call them cinnamon 'rolls' here...I still like to say buns! Friday's task was to help Kendra with filling the freezer with 33 batches of whole wheat cinnamon buns! It was probably 95 degrees outside (and hotter in the barn!) but they worked out...and they rose in no time at all!

While the dough was rising the first time, we were happy to retreat to the a/c in the house where my friend Kendra never stops moving and decided to make some muffins for her guests at the Inn. From there, we went back out and dealt with the dough -- 7 rolls per pie plate times 33! She did the rolling and filling and I got the pans ready and passed the dough to her from the huge mixer.

This picture is of the buns in the oven with a cool reflection of Kendra at the sink.

I've got the runs...

What I mean to say is...Kendra and I have agreed to go for a run every morning that she doesn't have guest who needs breakfast. So, for two days in row, we're up and running by 6:45am -- and it almost has to be that early or else it gets too hot! The best part is that there are absolutely zero hills to worry about!

After our run today, we were off to the farm to pick strawberries and make fresh jam! If you haven't had your fresh strawberry of the year, you better get on it! They are soo sweet!

One of the 5000 plants with delicious goodness awaiting consumption!

Pure goodness...

We made 10 batches...can't wait for fresh biscuits tomorrow!

Flying by the seat of an '87 Ford Ranger!

Mark is gone this week helping set up a summer camp and he took the car so Kendra and I are cruising in his sweet ride! It's pretty great, actually -- a little mini version of the beloved 'Grey truck' that our family knows so well from the paving days!One of our first tasks was to take Cashew back to the farm and reacquaint him with his fellow kind. He has gotten SO big (well, bigger then before) and he had eaten almost all of Kendra's flowers and ground-cover so it was certainly time for him to go back! We drove onto the pasture to where the sheep were, took off his dog collar, and dropped him off but he wanted nothing of it and ran beside the truck! Poor guy didn't know what was going on! Daniel was right there to move the sheep in with the cows anyway so we maneuvered the truck out in time for the fences to be adjusted. Cashew just looked lost -- nothing looked familiar! He managed through the night though and the report from today was that he was hanging out with the chickens...which makes sense because he slept in the chicken coop here at the Inn with the chickens! Haha...at least he was with some friends that he could relate too! He'll be in good company with the calf I helped pull the last time I was here -- 'Knada'! Her ear tag says 'Knada' (sounds like Canada) and has 'eh' on the back! Love it!

That night we went to the 'Kid Jam' program at their church where they had been renovating a space for the last 3 months and it looks SO cool! I was really happy that I was able to help out too by painting primer on my first trip and this time we spent all of Tuesday there sewing and putting up curtains behind stage. It

is the cutest space ever! They've renovated a very very old church sanctuary into an amazing theatre space for their kids program! Sarah, Makenna, Ben and Peter would LOVE LOVE LOVE it! :)

Off to see the Wizard

I'm back on the blogging train! Sorry for the delay -- it's not like I haven't had anything to write about! Since I last logged on, it appears that I just finished working at the Olympics. A pretty good gig, I'd have to say! From there I ventured off to visit my friends Mark and Kendra in Yoder Kansas in April -- and it was amazing! Opened my world to a whole new place! Life on the farm -- oh, sweet life on the farm! Planting strawberries, picking up baby chicks, bottle feeding a baby lamb...pulling a calf! So sweet! It was so sweet, in fact, that I went home for 4 weeks and am back here in Kansas!

I arrived last night to this familiar place -- I don't know what it is but it just makes me happy! Today at the farm was their Spring party! A time where the King family opens up the farm to their customers and gives them tours and allows them to hang out at the farm for the day! Picnic blankets and lawn chairs, tractor tours, home-made pizza for lunch...rock climbing in the silo. You know, good old fashioned fun!

Why do I come back to Kansas, you might ask...and hopefully not as intensely as the customs agent yesterday (!) -- well, I have some great friends here who are hosting me in the sewing room of their adorable B&B while I help out wherever I can on the farm! Building relationships is also fun too!!

Stay tuned to new stories...I promise to write!