Saturday, December 15

The right mug.

To help get into the Christmas spirit, Tim and I though we should make some wassail. You can go ahead right now and set aside any notion you may have about this stuff, and let me tell you a little bit about why the Franklin way is the only way. It goes a lil' something like this:

1 part apple juice
2 part cranberry (cocktail) juice
Cinnamon sticks
Whole cloves
Red hots
Percolator (you know, that gadget you registered for and never thought you'd use)
The red hots are probably what elevate this beverage to another level; then again, the percolator pretty much keeps it all separated and delicious. Or maybe it's the Starbucks mug. Who really knows. What I do know is you should make some. Now.

Thursday, December 13

5 ACROSS.

Am I the only one confessing their love of crossword puzzles? It's possible I was left with no choice in the matter, but nevertheless, I have a...thing; now let me explain. My late Mimi was a crossword puzzle aficionado. This coming January will be 12 years since her passing; and prior to that, she spent much of my childhood battling Alzheimers. Thus, memories of her are few but precious. And one of those beloved memories is of her working crossword puzzles at the kitchen table. I always thought it was an old person's pastime (read: boring) and who even knows what those clues mean. I'm still unsure of their meaning (at least) 85% of the time, much to my Mother's dismay. You see, the crossword bug hit her, too, but she's been doing them a lot longer than me and she's just annoyingly good at those wordy kinds of things. Memories of high school paper proofreading. So you see, it's part of my heritage. Some people sew, others Polka, we do crosswords. Mom has more recently started copying puzzles from the newspaper and stockpiling them for me. It's a stack of awesomeness with lots of little squares awaiting my pen. And the best part, if I'm being honest, is that they're usually in sequential order which allows me to "check my work." My crossword puzzling skills are much improved, but I have much ground to gain as my legacies are much to live up to- in more ways than one.

Wednesday, December 12

You can't do that.

YOU CAN'T DO THAT. At least that's what the student section says when their opponent does something wrong on the basketball court. And it's kind of hilarious. For example, Team Maverick gets fouled. YOU CAN'T DO THAT. Opponent travels. YOU CAN'T DO THAT. I'm of course talking about the Northwest Tech College's inaugural basketball team. Tim and I went to our first game on Monday evening and we rather enjoyed ourselves. We cleared our burgeoning social calendar so we could go watch the 12 names that appear on the roster, who represent seven different states (including Puerto Rico) and Sweden. Interestingly, none from Kansas. Do you realize what this means? A dozen people made the choice to move far from home to Goodland, America to play ball. All I can say is they were fun to watch and I hope they have felt welcomed in to this community. And as long as Farmer Tim and I can continue to come watch them play and not be the couple of creepers in the corner, we will make it a point to go to some games and support a new program and a group of hardworking ballers. Besides, where else can I get down with my bad self (see clip below of timeout entertainment).




Friday, December 7

funny pack.

fanny•pack |ˈfæni ˌpæk|
noun    a small pouch on a belt, for money and small articles, worn around the waist or hips
Any person who has lived through the 1980s has worn a fanny pack. And if they deny it they are lying. What's not to love about a fanny pack? Just kidding. What I meant to say was, give me one good reason why I should break out my New Kids on the Block fanny pack from 1990...crickets chirping...that's what I thought.          The hard truth we face about the fanny pack is that it just doesn't ever completely go away. Like herpes (too much??). Oh sure, they show up at the usual places: amusement parks, family reunions, Branson, your Mom's closet- I digress. But there I was, minding my own business at the basketball game when it appeared.    May your weekend be fun and fanny pack-free.

Saturday, December 1

When the lights go out...in the bowling alley.

When the clock struck 9pm in Colby, KS last night, things got a little psychedelic- cosmic bowling, baby. Groovy. We hit the town with our friends, Craig and Brittany, for some yogurt before the night got serious and Tim kicked some major tail on the third and final game. We're hardcore. Other than Starbucks being closed when we headed back for home, it was a great evening. I should note that Tim has decided to leave the farm to pursue a career in the Professional Bowlers Association.





Wednesday, November 28

snail mail.

I write this post only for posterity's sake, as I realize this may make you a little jealous. So I apologize in advance if I make you feel inferior. I have just obtained Platinum Level status in the world of the Hallmark Gold Crown card. Now before you all go crazy, please know that this achievement has been years in the making and came with a lot of hard work and money spent and being really cool. I love snail mail and finding the perfect card for the perfect occasion. If you spend even a little time around me you will eventually bear witness to this fact. So I guess other than letting you know I've achieved Justin Bieber-like status, you should also know I accept most forms of snail mail which can include, but are not limited to: cards, chocolate, flowers, singing telegrams and Ryan Gosling.

Monday, November 26

Lighter later!

Daylight savings has settled in over the western plains and my denial is proving futile. Despite my crying and pleading, our 4:30 sunsets remain. Dangit. Everybody chant with me, "lighter later, lighter later...!!" Even still, God's canvas is filled most days with some amazing colors. Bugs on the windshield notwithstanding, it's not a bad view- thanks to our lack of trees and cityscapes.

Sunday, November 25

I carried the watermelon.

WHAT happened to the month of November. Only four blog posts by Thanksgiving and nothing to show for it. I do have a few pictures from our Turkey Day celebration in Wichita with my family. Our fun began at the Wichita Thunder hockey game. Flying V!!!!
And of course the feast: Mom outdid herself with the turkey and all the fixins', Tim whipped up a cherry pie and and I carried a watermelon filled up the water glasses.


There is much to be thankful for this year and I take pause on this little blog to be grateful for my life's blessings. Gobble gobble.

Thursday, November 15

K-S-U!!!!

Part of our Texas world tour was going to the KSU vs. TCU game. It's not every year you get to see your team win it's 10th straight game(in the same season, no less)! Woot woot.
HOW can my Joshua be so big??
Now that we've moved back to Kansas we'd like to think we can make it to a game every year. So far we're a perfect 2-2. The TCU fans were a gracious bunch and quite welcoming, especially considering they had to know their imminent doom. The octagon of doom...oh wait, wrong sport...



Tuesday, November 13

Uncle Whiff

This last week has been busy. We spent time in Texas with Tim's siblings and while we were there Farmer Tim earned a new nickname: Uncle Whiff. I'll let you deduce exactly how he got it; what I will say is it all started as an innocent backyard game of family baseball.
We're grateful for these kiddos we get to call our niece and nephews. We love them so much!

Saturday, November 3

Scrub a dub dub.

So fresh and so clean, clean, clean. Once the equipment is done for the season, it must be cleaned up before it can go into winter hibernation. This usually involves some water, an air compressor, paper towels, glass and dust cleaner and sometimes, spit. I don't actually know about the last item on my list, but it seemed appropriate. 
Last weekend Farmer Tim and I made the rounds in the eastern part of the state- visiting grandparents, getting lost and taking in a "football" game in Lawrence and catching up with a few friends. So I guess we have officially begun our winter travels. This week? Texas to see family and go to the KSU/TCU game. GO CATS. BEAT OSU. #EMAW


Thursday, November 1

Happy HalloWEEN.

Boo! from the farm. Here's Tim's costume.

And mine.



















We may not have done anything gone all out this year, but we still had some Halloween fun. We went to see Hotel Transylvania which turned out to be pretty cute; Count Dracula was by far my favorite character.  And on a non-related side note, we were six people away from a private showing. Boom.





















Tuesday, October 23

As big as my face.

Something got lost in translation and I ended up with this. And because a girl shouldn't have to drink alone...

Thursday, October 18

fashion sense ≠ farm sense

Our farm is red. We don't drive the ubiquitous (ahem) green. If there was a poster child for Case IH we would be a contender...except when they realized that all too recently I learned the "IH" stood for "international harvester." Much like my penchant for botching song lyrics, I mistakenly took the IH for a lego-type-man. I know. No judging. Even my love of country music and the song International Harvester by Craig Morgan wasn't enough to clue me in. Sidenote: that video was shot in my hometown of Wichita, KS. 
  Please tell me you kinda see it? That cute little lego man...



Monday, October 15

Sometimes breaking the rules is fun.

Generally speaking, Amy is the better influence if you were to set us side by side and compare histories. For time's sake I'll spare you the details, but she is definitely the voice of reason, a good tupperware-loving, non-T'Ping, always-ask-your-parents, I will keep us in check, kind of friend. And I LOVE her. In more recent events, however, she has elevated a long-loved snack into something slightly more dangerous (READ: delicious) and I feel as if her judgement has been shrouded. Even still, I eat it quite willingly and you should too (??). 
You didn't hear me say peer pressure was never a good thing. How else did I end up with this semblance of a blog? And the good news is there's a calorie-free version: 1. graham crackers 2. peanut butter 3. chocolate chips 4. visiting with a best friend (my point is validated with #6) who doesn't live in the same town (or state) as you. These staples should make their way into a pantry near you.




Sunday, October 14

Ode to the bottom of the pyramid.

The last few days have been so grand
We took the Warrens, minus Daniel, all around our land

Friday we took a field trip out to the Franklin farm
So Ben could take his first tractor ride and woo us with his charm

We had so much fun, even though it was low key
We already miss them, can't you see?



Thursday, October 11

Sweet cheeks.

I imagine the following dialogue twelve years from now, when I'm visiting the Warren household:
Friend of Benjamin (FOB): Who was the crazy old lady who kept attacking trying to pinch your cheeks? 
Benjamin (B): The one with the husband who wears overalls?
FOB: Yeah, that one. 
B: Oh, that's just Katherine, my mom's best friend. You get used to it after a while...
But who. can. resist. those. cheeks. And thighs. And smile. So, so sweet.

Tuesday, October 9

SEA to DIA.

The last time I wrote about this, it was DIA to SEA. But now, Seattle is coming to Kansas (by way of Denver)!!!! That's right, Amy's coming for a chat, and my heart overflows. Last I was there, baby Ben and his sweet cheek self was just a few weeks old. And in spite of my denial that it's now five months later, the sweet boy is now SIX months old (that's my kind of math). 
Need I remind you that he flashed some of his first smiles in my general direction. Swoon.  I do have a more recent picture of him, but I'm going to leave you in suspense and wait to post one until I see him TOMORROW! So come back, see what we're up to and check out Ben's first-ever tractor ride. It's gonna be no fail fun. 

Saturday, October 6

We skipped Fall and went straight to snow.

I got to bragging the other day about being on our last corn field and snow came to town just in time to keep me humble. There's not much accumulation and the weather should be back to more normal with warmer temps by Monday, so harvest should be able to resume fairly quickly. I tread lightly so as not to tempt mother nature into forcing us to eke out this final field. But for today, I will enjoy the cold temps, college football Pinterest (GO CATS! Eat purple nuggets), the scent of Fall and time with Farmer Tim.

Thursday, October 4

Final field. Finally.

What you see before you is the FINAL corn field to be cut in this 2012 corn harvest. Or as I like to tweet it: #cornharvest12. Phew. It's been (at least to me) a loooooong three years weeks. Hi, Farmer Tim. My name is Katherine and I'm your wife. Harvest convention says we should begin right about now, or even in another week or two. So this lack of normality means a few extra weeks of winter break at the Franklin homestead! Partaaaaaaaaay. The late fall, winter and early spring months are a farmer's time to play; unless you deal in cattle, and then you might as well forget it. "It" being a break, and thankfully, we get one. We have some pretty sweet travel plans in the coming months so watch out world, Northwest Kansas is about to be UNleashed. But until the last kernel gets dumped at the elevator and the equipment is washed and put away, I pray for continued safety and provision. 

Wednesday, October 3

Hold on for one more day.

I've talked before about the small things in life, and I thought I'd share another one as I cruised the streets of Goodland. Behold, Wilson Phillips. 
This song is not only a quality early-90s ballad, but it holds a near and dear spot in my heart as I think on my high school years and some of the world's greatest friends. I've been doing a major email purge (I'm now under 950, from over 2oo0. That's progress, folks.) and came across the aforementioned link- any BSCer, besides me, visit this link recently? It has been my honor to know many of these women, even through some of our most awkward of days (hello, middle and high school), for the better part of my life. And by better, I do measure in years and quality. So today, I get a little nostalgia for the role of the BSC in my life, thankful for the ways they still touch me today. Break free from the chains....hold on for one more day.

Tuesday, October 2

Happy hour found the corn field.

My man and his parents have been hard at work in the field. Today, Farmer Tim has been drilling the final acres of wheat. Linda has been running the combine, harvesting the corn. And Gerry has been running the semis full of corn from the field to the elevators at Coop. We currently have no storage bins of our own so we take them to the local elevators, who buy our grain and sell it primarily as feed.
And what could be better than seeing this face at the field?
Seeing this, I suppose.
And although you can't see him, here is Timothy, hard at work. Paaaaay daaaaaaay. Technically, Linda is bringing home today's bacon; but this wheat will be next summer's paycheck. Woot woot.
Somebody wanna come visit?

Sunday, September 30

Gray Toes = Fall

Before I could even start this blog post I had to google the correct spelling of the word "grey" or "gray", as it relates to the color. Or colour.  The verdict: no one really knows, but the general consensus is "gray" per the blog title above. Any challengers? I didn't think so. 

Thanks to my mom, I got this pedicure. And with a nod to Fall, I picked darker GRAY. You know what would be annoying? If you got a pedicure and then stubbed your toe and ruined the paint job. Thankfully, that didn't happen this time, but it has happened. Hypothetically. 

Warning: you are about to view a close-up of my foot, viewer discretion is advised.
Welcome October, so nice to see you! Hope you have a great, non-toe-stubbing kind of week.

Thursday, September 27

Kernel for your thoughts.

In case you can't or don't want to read sideways:
  • America's corn farms grow 20% more corn per acre than any other nation.
  • An acre of corn removes 9 tons of harmful greenhouse gas. More than that produced by your car annually.
  • 95% of all corn farms are family owned.
  • American corn farmers grow 55% of world corn exports.
  • Corn farmers have cut soil erosion 44% by using innovative conservation methods.
BAM. Farmers rule.

Monday, September 24

Price check.


A possible new perspective for you to consider while you wait in the grocery store check out line; unless you're reading headlines rightly displaying the dysfunction of the New Jersey Housewives. Then I suppose you can consider that, too. But then come back to this. Thanks, Farmer Tim!

Sunday, September 23

I know you are but what am I?

I'm pretty sure if I polled my three blog readers and asked if they'd paid money to go see Rock of Ages all of one might raise their hand. In terms of Hollywood standards it won't be winning any Oscars any time soon ever. But since I don't have a very discriminating (read: bad???) taste in movies, Tim had a hard time keeping me down. That aisle was calling my name and asking me to dance. Instead I jammed in my seat, went home and expanded my 80s music collection. Dance party anyone?


Friday, September 21

I stand corrected.

I recently posted about Bill the Drill; and upon hearing this my niece, Ella, was quick to inform me I'd given him the WRONG name. Oh the shame. So I am here to tell you that our drill has been lovingly REnamed, Dory. What else could I do when confronted with this face?
Moral of the story: consult your three year old niece before making these big declarations.


Wednesday, September 19

To arr is pirate.

I can't believe this, this OR this Alpha Chirate didn't beat me to the punch. Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day!"
f


Tuesday, September 18

Bill the drill.

I totally just made that up. I've never named an implement before, let alone even thought about it. Until now, apparently, when it seemed like the right bloggy thing to do. But this is Tim, pulling Bill the drill- which means we've started planting wheat. Did you know that we plant enough wheat on our farm to produce 6.8 million loaves of bread? If you did, I'm sorry to have repeated myself. But if you didn't, I want you to be impressed. Or at the least, know that that is a lot of pb&js produced in western Kansas. Tim has taken a bit of a corn harvest hiatus, and will resume at a time and date of which I have no inkling.

Saturday, September 15

van Gogh vs. the prairie dog

You can go here to read (and get a more accurate account) about how this painting came to be. There are usually multiple people a day who stop off the interstate for the view. And unlike the $6 admission to see the largest prairie dog in the world, you don't have to pay to see our van Gogh. So there. Take that, you herbivorous member of the squirrel family. van Gogh wins.

Tuesday, September 11

God Bless America

For all major national holidays (Labor Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, et al.) members of Kiwanis get up early in the morning to put up flags all around town. It's super pretty, especially when they line the street- which I tried to capture here. You can kind of see it, but I didn't want to get out of the car and be a creeper, so this was my best effort.

Today I am especially thankful for the country in which we live, for the military men and women who serve and who have served and for the lives lost 11 years ago. And I remember that our freedom is never truly free.

Saturday, September 8

Friday night lights.

Although I can't tell you a thing about the show I have some friends who know a thing or two. Or ten. High school football is small town USA's main source of entertainment this time of year; so Farmer Tim and I (naturally) went to the game. Reminds me of this song. Besides, where else is a girl supposed to go to show off her newly acquired belt buckle (kidding??).

Friday, September 7

Mulled ciders anonymous.

Hi. My name is Katherine and I'm addicted to Mulled Cider. Much like cheesecake, I love Fall; and what's synonymous with Fall? MULLED CIDER candles. I discovered this gem last fall at Wal-Mart (although they sell it year round). I'm only three days in and I've already burned over half of my cider goodness. What I like almost as much as its smell is its price. Even so, I'm  still gonna have to go get a part time job to support my smelly habit. Burn on and Happy Friday!

Thursday, September 6

Soon enough.


I asked Farmer Tim to send me a pic of the view from his office: here is yesterdays! We are not quite in the throws of harvest- soon enough (soon enough). That second "soon enough" in parentheses was me bracing myself and sighing under my breath. Right now they're cutting any and all dry land they can, where the moisture isn't still too high (otherwise we get docked on drying fees at the elevator). They test cut into fields until they find a live one. Then they cut, cut, cut. And then test, test, test. Tim says it's likely that after today they may only get a couple more days of harvest until they have to take a temporary break. And that break will be no break at all; he will go right into drilling wheat. Then when that takes too long, Gerry and Linda may have to continue drilling, while Tim dusts off the 'ol combine to resume corn harvest. It'll definitely be interesting to see how it all plays out. And me? I'll be eating bon bons while being fanned by our manservant, Warren. 

Wednesday, September 5

Just like Papa and Farmer Tim: revisited

Back in May I posted about my nephew, Joshua, planting some sweet corn. With the help of the garden hose the plants produced a few, gnarly completely normal ears. Nana and Papa would say it tasted pretty good and I say, "good job, Josh!"