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.

John Speer Farmstead Site/ Thursday Doors

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If you carefully read the story below, you’ll see that the farm land was owned by John Speer and the current house located here once sat diagonally across the street was not owned by John Speer. It was moved here in 2000 honoring John Speer, the founding citizens of Lawrence who showed great resolve in rebuilding after the Quantrill raid of 1863 as well as preserving the architecture of that time. Being a Missouri girl, I do not like being categorized as a ‘Bushwacker’ but since Kansas has taken such great care of my daughter’s college education, I will tolerate it just this once. 😉

We were the only people present at the time. It was Father’s Day weekend and I’m sure many had made special plans. As you can see, our plans were bent on sight-seeing.

And being as we weren’t in anyone else’s way, we peeked inside a bit….

Leaving you this Thursday Doors with some extra photos below. Hope you’ll take time to stop at Norm 2.0 by clicking here to see his door display and the doors of many more entrants.

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Poor, Potatoes and Molasses

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Usually this is a Sunday post but due to the amount of stuff I needed to catch up on this weekend, that was not gonna happen. And I’m still behind. So Monday it is for another installment of Inez’s Clippings.

Play on words
Play on words

Part of my ‘to do’ list this weekend was harvesting some tomatoes. Po-tatoes are still in the ground and waiting for the hubster to take time out to dig them. I hope our new method of the adding a board-raised bed works. (fingers crossed).

Bunny watching
Bunny watching

The 4-post boxes in the background mark the beginning of the potato boxes. Notice our piles of compost ready to be tilled in for the gardening season are keeping the girls from pouncing on the little bunny. He has remained that tame throughout this year. So far he only wants my clover in the yard.

Mid-stage of potato growing.
Mid-stage of potato growing.

This was our first attempt at this sort of potato growing. The jury is still out on how much or less we will acquire. Hoping for a bumper crop. Speaking of a bumper crop, I have a tomato weigh-in for you….

1 lb. 10.5 oz.
1 lb. 10.5 oz.

A small dinner plate will do for this one. And yes, I get my gardener genes from Inez’ side of the family 😉

Henry County Museum/Thursday Doors

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I admit it. Last week’s entry for Thursday Doors was a scramble. Got a few leftovers in my stash from that day trip to share and hope you’ll enjoy.

Last week's and This week's are adjacent buildings.
Last week’s and This week’s are adjacent buildings.

Clinton has some gems. One of these is on the National Historic Register and listed as the Anheuser-Busch Building. It’s now a museum.

Henry County Museum
Henry County Museum
National Register of Historical Places plaque
National Register of Historical Places plaque

The building next to the museum has only one clue as to what it is used for…..

Children's Corner Theater

In case one of my kin from Clinton decides to enlighten me on the building’s use, I will update this post at that time. Until then, I just wanted to share its fine details and also share the next photo that I think you’ll appreciate….

Courtyard with gate (door) between the buildings
Courtyard with gate (door) between the buildings

This lovely courtyard would be a lovely spot to relax on a warm summer day in August, don’t you think?! Hope everyone is finding time to relax this summer. If you have a few extra minutes, please head over to Norm 2.0 for more wonderful Thursday Door entries. He’ll give directions in finding all the gorgeous doors worldwide.

The Water Dipper/ Inez’s Clippings

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First the clipping….

The Water Jug

In case you are unaware, a “Hane” is a piece of iron attached to the collar of draft horses pulling a wagon. Water jugs were the way to transport water back in the day before the beginning of the Convenience Store. No water bottles, Tervis’s, Thermos bottles, etc. And everyone shared from the same container. Germs? No there were no germophobes in existence. At least not in our neck of the woods.

But we didn’t have a water jug per say. We had a metal dipper. It hung by grandma’s sink and anytime you needed a good swig of water, just grab it and fill it up. That fresh well water pumped right to the sink was ice cold and always hit the spot. Ice cubes? Nah. The only time you needed ice was in your tea or when you were making ice cream.

I searched high and low for a photograph showing that enamel covered metal dipper. After all, the kitchen was always the gathering place for the women folk. We kids knew exactly where they’d all be hanging out. But I only found a couple photos of the kitchen and they’re not taken at the correct angle so you can’t see the infamous dipper. But I want you to see the photo I found anyway as it shows a Norman Rockwell-ish moment in 1969 with my mother reading and Great Grandma sitting while resting her feet. In the kitchen with no tv, no radio, no cell phones, no computers. Just togetherness.

My mother Eileen and Great Grandma Hunter
My mother Eileen and Great Grandma Hunter

WW & H Exchange/Thursday Doors

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Bringing you a short and sweet post from Clinton, Missouri this Thursday Doors. If I’m not mistaken this is part of a cultural arts center connected to the Henry County Museum. I hope to head back there soon to visit during its open hours. Museums in small towns are a sign of local pride and happy to see this town embraces its history.

Newer windows and doors for energy efficiency due to Missouri's extreme weather fluctuations is a must.
Newer windows and doors for energy efficiency due to Missouri’s extreme weather fluctuations is a must.

A good effort in trying to keep with the rest of downtown Clinton’s architecture by switching up the windows and doors.

Peeking out the door
Peeking out the door

Now this is my kind of graffiti! Humor never hurts either.

For more wonderful doors I hope you’ll visit Norm 2.0 and let him direct you to the rest of us–his door contributors.

Daily Smiling/Inez’s Clippings

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I don’t know if my grandmother ever contributed any stories of her own to newspapers while teaching back during her teaching days, but I definitely know from my own personal experience that kids can and will say things that make you smile on a daily basis. It’s probably why she was drawn to cutting out the ‘funnies’ from the newspapers.

Before I share Grandma’s clipping for this week, I wanted to share a bit about our week during storytime. As a regular activity, we talk about stuff related to the story of the day and I have kept track of several of these over time. This past couple weeks, we had an Insect Theme goin’ on and the question I posed to them went like this….

“If you found a beehive on the ground, what would you do? Why?”

  • Owen(age4) “Put it back up–Because the bees will be sooo happy”
  • Hunter(age 4) “Go in the house–Because they will sting you.”
  • Owen yes we have 2 Owens (age 4) “Don’t be around it–Because they will sting you”
  • Bella (age 2) “Be afraid! –I don’t know & my daddy afraid & my mommy afraid!”
  • Jonathan (age 2) “Run away to my house, no a different house–Because I don’t like bees!”
  • Miles (age 5) “Scare it away — Cause I don’t like bees.”
  • Hudson (age 5) ” I would pick it up and put it back and wait for more bees to come back — I don’t know why”
  • Ben (age 7) “Leave it alone & walk around it — So I don’t get stung.”
  • Sawyer (age 7) ” Leave it alone so I don’t get stung and walk off”

So to reassure everyone out there, we had further discussion of how to handle this situation and also about the benefits bees provide to our environment. In addition, I just want to say that the next generation is going to be OK. They have empathy, caring hearts and are wonderful little people! So, if this didn’t make you smile, maybe the funnies coming up will…..Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!!

Clinton, Missouri Coca Cola/ Thursday Doors

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Do you remember the 1971 Coca Cola commercial with the song that was supposedly the most popular commercial ever? Well, being nostalgic, I looked up the lyrics and I am surprised there isn’t more to it. I remember more lines than what I’ve found. Was there a later commercial that extended the song? I feel like there must have been and I’m just not feeling like looking more into it. For now, though, I’ll settle with the ones I’ve found and the song will be running through my head like a broken record the rest of the day. Nope, not gonna write them here. One of us suffering is enough.

For Thursday Doors, I am sharing a Coca Cola building from Clinton, Missouri which is, naturally, the reason I’ve got that song stuck in my mind. Clinton is a town in the western portion of Missouri with a population of over 8800. For me personally, it’s home to some family members and the location of my podiatrist. So there you have it, the reason I’d be visiting there. Hope you enjoy the photos and aren’t rubbed the wrong way with the whole song reference.

Loading Dock door
Mural Wall with doors
Front Door with more signage
Green Doors in direct sunlight
Window with character
Door with vines

Please take time to visit our Thursday Door host Norm 2.0 by clicking here and he’ll direct you to wonderful doors all across the world.

Not an Idle Thing

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This Week from Inez’s Clippings

I see and hear about so much blatant, hurtful ‘stuff’ lately especially on social media. And sometimes it hits home with either yourself or someone you love and care about.

Grandma marked the clipping above to have her students memorize out of a book of quotations from her one-room-schoolhouse days. It was back in the 1920’s when published and I think it speaks volumes to all generations across the board.

So when you’re behind that keyboard with the power of the written word or face to face with others, take a moment to think before you speak. Does it really feel so great to bash or give hateful looks? I prefer to take the road less traveled these days with some kindness. In short, you can choose whether to allow your words to lift up a soul or to break a heart.

So to those blindsided by those thoughtless nobodies, take heart in the following clipping.

Dog Trot/Thursday Doors

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Thursday Doors is going to be more pics and less writing this week. I have a wonderful gem from Clinton, Missouri to share and the history behind it as well. Thankfully it is all written out and all I had to do is snap a few photos. Hope you enjoy the shots and the wonderful story told on the front door of this possibly-earlier-than-1856 Dog Trot.

Photos first, then the story later.
Wild Roses are perfect along this window. Love them!
Wild Roses are perfect along this window. Love them!
Looking up at the ceiling between the east and west wings.

Doors and what’s considered the original portion of the Dog Trot.

"The Story" for Visitors
Considered the original portion of the Dog Trot

More buildings around the property…

Barn in the back
Old Schoolhouse

There was no mention of the Bell’s history. The ‘use what we have’ mentality is evident in the way they attached it to the logs.

Old Bell

Before you head off to visit Norm 2.0 and all the other wonderful Door Enthusiasts, here is the story behind the Dog Trot. Thanks so much for your visit!

Historical Account Part 1
Historical Account Part 1
Historical Account part 2
Historical Account part 2

Tree Toad Tongue Twister/Inez’s Clippings

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Though faded with age, I have my grandmother’s handwriting in this example of her saved pieces.

It’s pretty hard to read even with the filter possibilities I tried…so here’s a clearer version.

Tree Toad Tongue Twister

A tree toad loved a she toad
That lived up in a tree.
She was a 3-toed tree toad
But a 2-toed toad was he.
The 2-toed tree toad tried to win
The she toad's friendly nod;
For the 2-toed tree toad loved the ground 
that the 3-toed tree toad trod.
But vainly the 2-toed tree toad tried
He couldn't please her whim;
In her tree toad bower
with her V-toe power
the she toad V-toed him.

In the poem, it described a ‘She Toad’ who loved her sanctuary, as most women do. And she didn’t want to be bothered with the ‘He Toad’. Where is Your happy place?? Here’s Mine in pictures. Crazy Anne II quilt is ready for binding….

  • Crazy Anne II only needs binding
  • Back view in the hoop
  • Last section to quilt
  • Hand quilting
  • Reference

Another KC Star quilt for the books. Note: Some call this pattern Wheel of Fortune but I’m referencing the 1949 version as you can see in the photo from The Kansas City Star Quilts Sampler by Barbara Brackman. And just think, this quilt top came from Facebook marketplace in a tub of scraps for $15. About as good as it gets!! Yep, time spend quilting is synonymous with me in my sanctuary.