A new distraction: Wyobraska Tandem

Hey, gentle readers. You may have noticed that I am not posting as often as I once did. I’m a bit busy.

Busy coordinating the merger of two nonprofit history museums (North Platte Valley Museum and Farm And Ranch Museum into Legacy of the Plains Museums) and working on organizational development, planning for exhibit development, staying on top of the construction project, and assisting with a major fundraising effort, in addition to keeping regular museum activities going.

Oh, yeah. And I’m busy because I’m training for a half marathon, a week-long 400-some-mile bike ride, and a full marathon. And that bike ride? It’s going to be on a tandem. Bugman and I just got a sweet new ride, and we’re learning how to manage it on the road.

So, I’ve started a new blog – Wyobraska Tandem (I wanted to call it Big Red Bike, with a nod to the Husker Nation, but there is a bike-sharing service at Cornell with the same name) – to post updates on my running and biking world and to try to rally some financial support for my physical efforts that will funnel into the museum development project.

I won’t be abandoning this blog, but the number of posts will likely decline even further for awhile.

Just wanted to let y’all know …

Copyright 2013 by Katie Bradshaw

Liquid comfort at a cafe

This post is about a café. A French-style café, to be specific. And while actual French cafés do tend to serve alcohol in the evenings, the title of this post does not refer to that type of liquid comfort.

I refer instead to the comforting warmth of French onion soup. MADE-FROM-SCRATCH French onion soup, that is.

Ever since my days of studying la langue française avec Mme Spangler at Schaumburg High School, and the concomitant visits to a French restaurant for pain au chocolat et, bien sûr, soupe à l’oignon (but not escargot – I abhor the texture of escargot!), I have become a French onion soup snob. I can’t stand it when a restaurant serves up a French onion soup that’s more notable for its sodium content than its hearty onion-browned-in-butter flavor.

Family-owned-and-operated Café de Paris in Scottsbluff (15 West 16th Street, around the corner northwest of Bluffs Bakery, 308-633-2529) serves up the real deal. Next to the café’s order window, you can read a bit about the gentleman, a WWII vet, who makes said soup.

On a bone-chilling day this winter, Bugman and I decided we needed to get out of the house, so we walked over to Café de Paris.

He ordered a cappuccino and a reuben.

I ordered a spiced chai and a bowl of French onion soup.

The combination of the walk in the cold and the warming meal hitting my belly made me feel relaxed and blissful, like after a good soak in an old-fashioned clawfoot tub.

I do miss the crunchy edges of browned cheese provided by the typical presentation of ramekin-broiled French onion soup, but the addition of a side crêpe helps make up for that.

And, if crêpes are your thing, and good coffee (the café serves Mark Ferrari Coffee roasted nearby in Oshkosh), they’ve got you covered, too. (Note to vegetarians: in addition to the fruit crêpes, vegetable quiche has been a feature on the menu.)

When I last checked, Café de Paris’ hours were 7:30-5 Tuesdays-Fridays and 8-5 Saturdays. The café has both table and couch seating, a conference room, a small boutique, and (key in my mind) wifi access (just ask for the password when you order).

Copyright 2013 by Katie Bradshaw

Putting the ‘fun’ in fundraiser

Here in Scottsing, the first part of the year is a bonanza of gala fundraiser events.

January brought the Soroptimists Bits and Beverages, at which I might have gotten a little carried away on the silent auction tables.

Bugman had mentioned not having the proper knife for cleaning the geese he shot. So, I got him this for Valentine’s Day. His comment when he posted the pic on Facebook: “Nothing says ‘be my valentine’ like a bouquet of knives?”

February brought the Legacy of the Plains Bandana Benefit Ball, which was the same night as the Golden Halo fundraiser, alas. (Thanks to all of you who contributed, attended, and purchased, the Bandana Ball raised over $17,000 for Farm And Ranch Museum / North Platte Valley Museum operations!)

Image credit to Rick Myers. I love so many things about this photo: the quilt backdrop, the black hat, and the whole cachet of kicking off the meal by ringing a handmade dinner bell, which is the final item up for bid in the live auction.

A perusal of the Scottsbluff-Gering United Chamber of Commerce community calendar shows the Rotary Gold (benefiting the Midwest Theater this year; last year it benefited the museum merger project) and the Leadership Scotts Bluff Hoops 4 Heroes in March, and the CAPWN Night at the Races in April.

Backing up to January again, we get to the focus of this post: the West Nebraska Arts Center “Uncork Your Winter Blues” FUNdraiser event. I missed this event the past two years (missing last year because it was the same night as the Bandana Benefit Ball), so I was determined to go this year, particularly since this year’s theme “Hollywood and Vines” included the invitation to “dress as your favorite movie character.”

I love to dress in costume! When we lived in Iowa, Bugman and I hosted themed costume parties every year at Halloween. That was great fun, and we miss it! (Have not had the time to plan such things in recent years.)

So, we plotted our Hollywood and Vines costumes, ordered a couple of items online, and prepped for the evening by re-watching our favorite movie characters to pick up lines and signature moves.

The night of the event, we walked over to the WNAC. It’s less than a mile from our house, and, with the wine available at the fundraiser, we did not want to drive. We got honked at on our way. We were that cool.

I’ll reveal our characters at the end of this post. First, some of the other characters present. I missed snapping pix of Katniss Everdeen and Beetlejuice, but there were plenty more stars out that night.

Maverick

Caddyshack Gopher Slayer (this photo misses the furry rodent glommed onto the back of his hat).

A flapper and Juno. (Good momma – she was serving the wines and not drinking them.)

Wild West characters serve up some beverages to Indiana Jones.

 

You had to watch out for the Penguin. If you annoyed him, he’d get all up in your face and poke you with his nose.

My favorite ironic juxtaposition – Church Lady and Hellboy.

Another star of the show: chocolate-dipped bacon, mini cheesecakes, and homemade moon pies.

And here we are, in our “Sweet Home, Chicago” alter egos, on our mission from God:

“Four fried chickens and a Coke.” “And some dry white toast, please.” “I hate Illinois Nazis.” “Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters… sell them to me. Sell me your children!” “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” Yup.” “Shit.” “What?” “Rollers.” “No.” “Yeah.” “Shit.”

So, how’d we do?

Got the details down, like Elwood wearing his watch on his left wrist.

And the hand “tattoos.”

We even performed a short Jake-and-Elwood dance. There is no videographic evidence of this, alas.

Wonder what the theme will be next year?

Copyright 2013 by Katie Bradshaw

Rural car wash

Two weeks ago, I saw my friend Dan the Man in his truck outside the Scottsbluff Winter Farmers Market. (Incidentally, the next farmers market is TODAY!) Dan the Man is co-operator of Open A Bar 2 Ranch, along with my other friend, Kathi Manville, AKA Country Chicken Girl.

Like many ranchers, Dan has a white pickup truck. But Dan’s white pickup truck looked a little funny that day.

What happened to your truck, Dan?

Suffice it to say: road salt + rangeland = rural car wash.

Click here to see Country Chicken Girl’s explanation of  the Cowlick-O-Matic (TM).

See you at the market today! Aulick’s (or its that cowlick’s?) TLC, Avenue B in Scottsbluff, from 1-4 p.m.

Copyright 2013 by Katie Bradshaw

Coffee and millions-of-years-old dead things

Back when there were raspberries still to be had, Bugman and I had roadtripped to Windharvest Farm.

On our way west, we finally had the opportunity to stop at the Pick N Hammer – that beautifully-painted building on the north side of the highway in Mitchell.

As you can imagine from the exterior, the interior is filled with rocks. All kinds of rocks. Including “Mexican coconuts” and “thundereggs” (Oregon’s state rock). Who knew such things existed??

Many of the rocks are displayed in old freezer cases. How clever!

I had wanted to post about Pick N Hammer before Christmas (bummer that I did not get around to it) because they have gifts that would made a sci-curious kid drool.

This fossil kit should have a hazard label: “warning: geeky coolness inside!”

They also have kitsch for the tourists.

Out here in the West, we prospect for gold!

But the rocks were not really the reason we stopped.

Pick N Hammer is also a cafe/coffee shop. I’m always game for checking out a coffee shop!

The day we stopped was rather warm, so Bugman and I got blended sweetened coffee drinks. Mine was the best I think I’ve ever had – nice, smooth consistency without the wateriness/ice chunk conundrum that is all-too-common in blended coffee drinks.

But the coffee is not the reason I am writing this blog post now.

The rocks are.

Or, more specifically, some millions-of-years-dead critters that got turned into rocks that got turned into jewelry.

I shall ‘splain.

Some years ago, Bugman got me an earring rack as a gift. I told him it was a great gift because it meant he got to fill it for me. He’s been working to that goal ever since.

At Pick N Hammer, he saw me eyeing some jewelry. A month later, this is what I got for my birthday:

Wearable ammonite fossils!

This past weekend, I attended a fundraiser event to which I wore this jewelry set. I got a lot of compliments. To those who wondered where I got them (say this in a 1950s radio ad voice): Pick N Hammer in Mitchell is my number-one source for ammonite fossil jewelry.

But, as usual when I sit down to write a blog post, I got lost in an Internet wormhole. (Which is why I often put off blogging – I know it will take me hours to come full circle back to my original topic.)

I started trying to find out how old my specimens are, and discovered the terminology for the fascinating pattern on the back of my pendant.

These gorgeous leaf-like patterns? These are called ammonitic sutures.

And learned that scientists don’t know for sure how this extinct critter formed those patterns in its shell. (Is it reaction-diffusion, viscous fingering, or a response to hydrostatic pressure? The world may never know.)

And learned that there are much weirder ammonite objects out there.

In summary, Pick N Hammer blended coffee = tasty, rocks = geeky cool.

Oh yes, and they have assorted gift items for sale, too.

Update: Good heavens! I almost forgot to include my gratuitous cephalopod photo!

This is a young cuttlefish I photographed when I visited the aquarium where my sister works. Cuttlefish and ammonites are both cephalopods. Bingo! Opportunity to post super-cute cuttlefish photo!

Copyright 2013 by Katie Bradshaw

Gingerbread outhouse

Gingerbread and I have a history.

People have come to expect that I will make a gingerbread structure each year.

This year, I wasn’t sure I was going to do one.

Then my mom made a comment on Facebook wondering whether I would make gingerbread. And I got homesick and wound up making a 15-hour drive to visit for a weekend in December. So, when I was there, I made gingerbread.

But the question was: what type of structure to make?

I talked it out at the breakfast table.

I’d already made a regular house, several churches, a carousel, and a couple of tipis. What to do this year? Something history-related, in honor of my museum? A log house? A sod house?

Ha ha. How about an outhouse?

“That’s what I thought about last night!” my mom exclaimed.

That did it! When great minds think alike …

There was enough dough for each of us to do our own gingerbread outhouse.

Here is my mom working on assembling her gingerbread outhouse.

Here we are with our completed outhouses. My mom’s into snowmen, so her outhouse had a cinnamon doughnut hole snowman in the yard.

Here’s my outhouse. The sign and the slightly perturbed-looking gingerbread man with the roll of mint gum TP were my favorite touches. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense to make a gingerbread pit stop for Santa. After all, that’s a looong night of delivering presents. And he’s getting up in years – maybe he has hypertension and has to take diuretic pills . . .

But the story of my gingerbread outhouse does not end with the traditional “eating of the structure.” Oh no. There is more to the story this year, after the structure was safely transported back to my house.

I am glad I covered the roof of the structure in marshmallows.

But the marshmallows caused a worry.

My previous kitty, Weasel, loved marshmallows, and I had to hide things like Rice Krispy treats so she couldn’t eat them. I had no idea how my two new hellraisers – Vito and Nyeusi – would deal with my gingerbread treat.

These sibling kitties are quite young and VERY energetic. We did not even bother putting up a Christmas tree this year, as we knew it would be knocked down in a heartbeat.

So, I hid the gingerbread outhouse in the only cat-proof place that was big enough: my oven.

“Don’t forget about it when you go to preheat the oven,” my mom warned.

“I won’t. I have the oven racks sitting out on the countertop to remind me,” I said.

A few days later . . . great excitement, as the Christmas present from my sisters arrived on the doorstep. Lou Malnati’s pizza!!! (If you are not a Chicago expat, you will not understand the incredible feeling of having a box of frozen Lou’s pies show up at your house.)

As soon as I brought the package inside, I rushed over to the oven and set the temperature to 425 degrees . . .

“Do you smell something burning?” Bugman asked. “Did you forget to take the wrapping off of the pizza?”

OHMYGOSHTHEGINGERBREAD!

I flew to the oven, yanked open the door, and rescued the outhouse.

The gingerbread was actually not much worse for the wear, though a bit on the dry side, perhaps, and a few of the candy corn decorations had melted and dripped. (The burning smell was the tape I’d used to secure tinfoil to the cardboard platform on which the outhouse sat.) As a bonus, the coconut snow in the font yard was now toasted and – this is the best part – the top of the marshmallow roof was toasted an even golden brown, jut the way I like my marshmallows toasted!

I posted this image full size so you can click to view the damage in closer detail if you wish.

A view of the back side of the toasted outhouse, with gingerbread cats.

Bugman was laughing and laughing over this incident. He took photos on his cell phone and wanted to post them to Facebook right away so my mom could see them. I made him wait, so I could write this blog post.

What do you think of the toasted marshmallow roof, mom?

Copyright 2013 by Katie Bradshaw

Gering Merchants’ Santa’s Village

I had been meaning for some time to post about the Santa’s Village the Gering Merchants set up every year in the parking lot of the Gering Civic Center, but I’m not getting around to until jut now.

Better late than never, eh? And besides, my blog posts “have staying power,” as my year-end report from WordPress told me. In fact, the post I wrote in December 2011 about my attempt at making a gingerbread tipi suddenly got very popular in the last month and ended up as the fourth most popular post on SCB Citizen this year. So maybe this post will get lots of view next Christmas.

About the village: if I were a kid, I would love it because I would know by the diminutive size of the buildings that they were meant for me to explore.

The village has a schoolhouse

And a church

And a business

Of course, Santa’s house is there, and Santa, too, on certain Saturdays.

And Santa’s elves distribute treats. (On this particular weekend, the “elves” were members of the Gering Fire Department.)

Santa runs a very orderly village. It has a police department. It’s my favorite building because of all the fun detail therein.

Frosty the Snowman was hired as the police chief.

Frosty’s done a bang-up job. He brought into custody two of the biggest Christmas baddies, presumably before they had their turnarounds: the Grinch and the Abominable Snowman.

So, if you have kids or are a kid at heart, head down to the Gering Civic Center on a December Saturday and check out the village. The volunteers are typically there from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Merry Christmas!

Copyright 2013 by Katie Bradshaw