Author Archives: slfinnell

About slfinnell

Child care provider for 25+ years in my home. I feel so blessed to have cared for so many children. Spend my spare time creating items for Etsy and searching for vintage items that need a new lease on life. Blogging?, well I just enjoy it.

Hinerville School/ThursdayDoors

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Mother, her brother and sisters attended a one-room schoolhouse back in their childhood days. My grandmother was a one-room schoolhouse teacher for a good portion of her twenties. And my own experiences in a one room schoolhouse that housed our local 4-Her’s, offered a place to have ice cream socials, drew in folks for community dinners as well as accomodated the location of my first bridal shower gives these places a big chunk of my heart. So I was happy to find this well-kept school on K-99 right before we were ready to head back to Lawrence on I-70. It was a perfect ending to our long drive on the Kansas Quilt Trail. I hope you enjoy my picture version of personal nostalgia this Thursday Doors.

View across from the schoolhouse—the gated community, rural American style.

I somehow seem to find these ‘Paw Paw’ roads

It’s been my experience that there were little kitchenettes in either the front or rear of these schools. I’d say this one was inside that back door. Notice the chimney often used for heating with a potbelly stove.

Side View

Where asphalt and gravel meet.

Another cattle gate
I would’ve rather rode a pony to school personally.

Brownie points if you’ve ever had to scrape your boots off on those metal devices before.

Hand hewn front step
  • outbuilding(outhouse?)
  • Signage intact
  • First School of Wabaunsee County Kansas

Thanks for your kind attention this week as I shared this old piece of 1800’s history. Please take time and visit our Doors host, Norm 2.0 and he’ll direct you to more doors from all over the world.

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Big Washout/ Inez’s Clippings

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Seems my choice for this post was fairly timely seeing as we had a little snowfall. I love yesterday’s latest tweet I read from Lawrence, Ks PD. Here’s a screenshot/pic……

We had more than a little light snow here in Mid-Missouri. The schools closed due to icy roads …or most of them closed. Some may be in denial on the road conditions. I need to install a live video feed of my neighborhood of the drive-by’s for the schools out there. hehe

For now though I’m going to share some of the Wonder of Winter through the eyes of a child. Hope your Tuesday isn’t a washout.

  • Feeling the cold glass
  • Silently gazing

Kansas State Highway 99/ThursdayDoors

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Traveling down K-99 towards I-70 (also known as the Road to Oz) we veered off the Kansas Quilt Trail. But we still enjoyed the charm of billowing clouds, rural farm scenes and just the way wide open spaces rest my eyes.

I'd love to see the view from that hayloft!
I’d love to see the view from that hayloft!

Windy is a normal thing for Kansas and maybe you can tell by the clouds how turbulent the air was that day. But not in the tornadic sense of the word, thankfully. It was actually very good weather to be outdoors for a Midwest day in July.

How many bales of hay have passed through these barn doors over the years?!
How many bales of hay have passed through these barn doors over the years?!

Hope you enjoyed this Thursday Doors post. Please take time to visit Norm 2.0 for more doors from all over. He’ll let you know where to find them. Have a wonderful weekend!!

Scatter Sunshine/Inez’s Clippings

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I love the clipping above. The author, Major Edward Bowes, was a radio personality from the 30ā€™s and 40ā€™s. Most famous for his amateur talent show that ran on the radio for 18 years. In fact, one famous singer was featured on his show that everyone will know unless youā€™re from Mars–that being Frank Sinatra. I found a clip of him singing but I think it might take a bit away from grandma’s clipping. This isnā€™t about Olā€™ Blue Eyes. No disrespect intended. Another time Iā€™ll revisit Frank circa 1935.

I like the clipping above for many of its facets. But Scatter Sunshine really strikes a chord with me. I feel like by acting on this two-word phrase, everything else will followā€¦.a heart free from hate, worry-free mind, love-filled life, thinking of othersā€¦..you get the idea Iā€™m sure. Nowadays, we hear of those paying it forward. Very similar thought process. And why not?! What do you have to lose with being kind.

Scattered Sunshine
Scattered Sunshine

Being creative this week in the sewing room and I hope these creations will scatter some sunshine somewhere when they are complete.

  • Version 1
  • Version 2
  • Side by Side View

Not really taking any votes on these 2 versions of the Pine Tree quilt block. But my preference is the one on the left. They’ll be ready shortly.

What the heck, I’m sharing Frank Sinatra here anyway. Enjoy!! Scattering Sunshine on Inez’s Clippings!

Wamego, Kansas Pt 2/Thursday Doors

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Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home. Dorothy clicked her heels 3 times to reiterate that thought and it took her back to Auntie Em’s. So I felt like a homestyle quilt block was in order for the 2nd half of the Wamego post. But since the hubster is up for surgery #4 tomorrow, it’s going on the backburner til later. But I will add it to my mini quilt project plan.

Late in the day here so I present the later half of my photo collection from Wamego, Kansas and hope to have the quilting ready for next post.

Some Halloween feels for you who wish to celebrate today.

My favorite character was the Tin Man and I was glad to see him peekin’ out of that window there. In case you missed the prior post on the Wizard of Oz museum, click here.

  • Portrait Place
  • We missed taco hour
  • The Hours
  • Door view
  • The Columbian Theatre –A reputed haunted location

Once a music hall, this is now theatre, museum and art center. I’m sorry I didn’t get a good clear view of the flyers on the window. The best I could tell is the center one said “Circus” and possibly ‘Freak Show’ underneath.

Former church?

The plus is that this building is still in use.

First United Methodist Church
First United Methodist Church

In it’s 134th year. Current building (sanctuary) erected in 1908. And that’ll do it for me this week. Stop in at Norm 2.0 for more doors from all over. Thanks Norm for hosting!

Next Stop, Wamego/ThursdayDoors

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I’m happy to report I still have more of the Kansas Quilt Trail to share with you. This road trip back in July was plentiful in doors too thankfully. I’ll have unorthodox quilt blocks included. But to keep it simple, I decided to break up the Wamego, Kansas discoveries into a couple of posts.

I wonder if you'll get a hint of what Wamego is famous for from this photo?
I wonder if you’ll get a hint of what Wamego is famous for from this photo?(A tad bit blurry)

I won’t keep you in suspense for long. Ya’ll got places to go, people to see, blogs to read. So one main attraction for a lot of new visitors is the Wizard of Oz Museum.

Thankful for Pinterest for this car-free view
Thankful for Pinterest for this car-free view

My pics will follow of our little jaunt past the museum. No indoor pics, sorry. The reason there’s an Oz museum in Wamego? Why Not?! At least that’s what they say to this question. It’s the largest Oz collection on public display in the world. And what better place than a small Kansas town to host it?!

  • The Munchkins Block
  • A Twister Block naturally

The blocks of concrete were cool, but the little Toto’s were even better.

  • Wamegoscape1Toto
  • PoppyDog
  • Toto in Tulips

Aren’t they sweet ?? We figured good enough for an Instagram-ish photo prop….

  • Dr. Finnell ‘nearly’
  • For once, Toto is the shortest.

If you ever find yourself in Wamego, there is a lot to do there. We found these posters along our walk.

  • History
  • Eating is important
  • Events & stuff

Although our Kansas Quilt Trail drive was a pretty quick one day tour, we learned there is plenty to drive back for another time. Very helpful, Wamego!

  • Dorothy and Friends
  • Door sighting
  • Halloween feels
  • Across the street
  • Busy place
  • Sidewalk View

Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ll take a few to drop in at Norm 2.0 for directions to many more Thursday Doors posts!

Stretching a Dollar/Inez’s Clippings

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Gardening, like farming, is a gamble most times. There are years where you have the right temperature, rainfall and fewer pests, and then there are the years of failure. The goal is to spend the least amount of dollars for the highest yield (meaning fullest amount of produce). So when you have a good year, you scramble to make the most of what you have obtained and put it back for the coming months.

Frugal and Not-so Frugal spending
Frugal and Not-so Frugal spending

So to keep with the thrifty ways of my upbringing, I kept my dollar from traveling too far this weekend. I had a bumper crop of bell peppers this year to reserve for future use. The cold temps we had last week required I pick some before they were mature.That’s the beauty of a bell pepper–they taste good whether they’ve finished ripening or not.

Various varieties of sweet peppers.
Various varieties of sweet peppers.

I mean look at these bohemoth peppers! They’re supposed to be 9 to 12 inches and red or yellow. But trust me, they are good as is.

  • Filling up a plate
  • Some sliced, some diced

These will be kept in the freezer until I need to add them to our favorite dishes. Between frozen tomatoes and frozen peppers, I’m pretty happy about the prospect of garden fresh meals in winter.

  • Prepping last night
  • Air frying the kabobs
  • We forgot the mushrooms but don’t worry, tonight we’ll make up for it.

I wonder what deliciousness my grandma would have created with an air fryer? Maybe a topic for future Inez’s Clippings??

Dwight in Stone/ThursdayDoors

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Still have a little collection left from Dwight, Kansas. Before I get started, just thought I’d share that this little town is on the old Rock Island railroad line. This rail ran just south of Sedalia, Missouri, my town back in the day as well. And so, for a little fun, I’m sharing Johnny Cash’s tribute song for the rail line before we get into the photos.

Did you know Johnny Cash could play a banjo too??? Of course I would know šŸ™‚

  • East Side
  • West Side

Some boarded up doors for what used to be the entrance to a native stone building. The signage reads that it is or once was a heating and cooling business.

Hot Iron Bar at one time according to the sign

Not a stone building but the style is symbolic of those days gone by.

Full view includes 2 doors

Being an old bank left us wondering if there was a cool old vault inside. Now that would have taken this one to the next level.

  • Corner door
  • Windows in pairs
  • Books closed and the pens wiped

Hope you’ve enjoyed the trek through Dwight the last few Thursday Doors. I appreciate your visit. Stop by Norm 2.0 for a wide array of door enthusiasts by clicking here.

Many Thanks, Andrea!

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Quilting Alert!!

Last weekend I was given the opportunity to be interviewed by Andrea R Huelsenbeck over at ARtisticLicense. I just want to extend my humble thanks for the shout out and if you have the opportunity, check out her blog! I’ve followed her for quite some time and I believe we first met during an A to Z Challenge — testament to the great friendships formed during blog challenges. I highly recommend participation in these blog events. You never know how much of a connection you will have with another. Here’s the link to check it out: https://arhtisticlicense.com/2019/10/12/an-interview-with-quilter-stephanie-finnell/

Trading Post /ThursdayDoors

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For a town smaller than my hometown, population 272, I sure came out with a heap of photos. Dwight, Kansas did not disappoint. Besides the quilt blocks we found, there was this wonderful find. (By the way, there won’t be a quilt block in this round of Thursday Doors)

Free or Exchanged food pantry
Free or Exchanged food pantry

I zoomed in on the details next.

Good citizenship
Good citizenship

No matter where you live, there are people suffering hard times. It’s a good feeling to know that help is available to those who may feel embarrassed in asking. For those with more than they need, giving is a good example to show your children.

Another door for good measure
Another door for good measure