Saturday, February 26, 2011

Loaf-Off Contest



This was SUCH fun! To enter the Loaf-Off contest, you made a huge pan of your favorite meat loaf recipe and brought it to The Anchor, a great pub in Old Town, Wichita. We bought our ticket, which was in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, picked up a plate with the sides of mashed potatoes and green beans, and walked past all the entries, picking up a little tiny cup (like a paper medicine cup or pill cup) with the name of the provider on it..and sat down and enjoyed. You were given 3 ballots to cast. When we finished eating, we went back through the line and dropped our ballots in a jar in front of the ones for which you were voting. In the photos you will see some of the big pans of meatloaf that were offered, and one of the cleverest (IMHO) in her dispay (she even had sequins/beads glued on the scoop). My dining companions were Ann Graham, a delightful new friend from Grace Church, who was kind enough to tell us about this occasion; and Bob McCune, our 94-year-old friendliest greeter at Grace..he's been assuming that responsibity for over 40 years and does not intend to give it up any time soon! Jerry joined us as soon as he could, so that he could sample the meatloafs.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Best Friends Forever

Cedar Crest Lodge is located just outside of Pleasanton KS, about 50 miles south of Kansas City, just north of Ft. Scott, KS, and across the state line from Nevada MO - a great location. I urge you to check out their website and find a time when you can go spend a night. The rooms are a delight, the meals are amazing (I recommend you also make plans for dinner there), the views are spectacular, and this past week some very special old friends met there for a wonderful time of visiting, knitting, quilting, with lots of laughter. Sitting beside Carla (in the valentine vest) is Nancy Rabe from Marshall MO, and across the table sits Gretchen Bearce from Pella IA and me. The Bearces and the Rabes became friends in the mid-60's when their husbands were both associated with Missouri Valley College. The Hiltons moved to Marshall in 1972, and from then on we were all part of one big family - from the college crowd to our church family at Covenant Presbyterian to neighbors. Our 3 families were all originals in the Apple Butter project as well. Carla has visited both of these family friends at their summer homes in northern Wisconsin and Michigan...and now enjoys my friends as much as I do (now that they are no longer being surrogate mothers to her!) A couple of years ago, after Carla visited both of them up north, she commented to me how much fun it was to be friends as adults with Nancy and Gretchen, and not as "Mary & Jerry's daughter". There is a big change in perspective and world view in that observation! Nancy and I showed up at the B&B with the same marvelous flannel nightgowns, which is a favorite for each of us-I had given Nancy hers for a birthday a couple of years ago! The next morning, as we gathered for our superb breakfast served by the owners, Matt & Laura, we were surprised with a visit from Phyllis Garrett, who lives in Monett MO--we've all been friends from those days in Marshall, and in 1977, the Garretts joined the Bearces and Hiltons on a British trip. So we all have many many memories that we share, and this was another memory-maker visit.

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