While the Parade Passes By

re·un·ion

rēˈyo͞onyən/

noun

noun: reunion; plural noun: reunions; noun: re-union; plural noun: re-unions

1. an instance of two or more people coming together again after a period of separation.

   "she had a tearful reunion with her parents"

   • a social gathering attended by members of a certain group of people who have not seen each other for some time.

     "a school reunion"
   • the act or process of being brought together again as a unified whole.

     "the reunion of East and West Germany"

Stafford's Oktoberfest is not quite so dramatic as the reunion of East and West Germany, but, for 25 years, it has gathered people back to our little town. It began as a fall festival, but it didn't take long for Stafford High School classes to move from their traditional Memorial Day alumni banquet to Oktoberfest weekend. Now the first weekend in October has become a time of reunions, with school classes and families coming home.

Under the Friday night lights of the Lou Brock Field at SHS, the Trojan class of 1974 gathered around their spirit flag. Classmate Marcia Vasey Bauerle made the flag as a high school senior. Gemma Austin, who still lives in Stafford, has become the official keeper of the flag, and, for the past 40 years, it's flown as Trojans have left in motorcades to state track meets and other events when some extra school spirit was warranted.

On Friday night, there was no mistake: The Class of '74 was back and cheering every touchdown with a wave of the red and white and a shake of pom pons (also furnished by Gemma, ever the cheerleader).

I didn't graduate from Stafford High. But after 33 years of reunions and with two children who are also SHS alumni, I feel like an honorary member of the group. 

Our small town loves a parade, so the next morning, the Class of  1974 waved to their friends and families as they bounced down the brick streets.

"Lordy, lordy! We've hit 40" pretty much says it all, doesn't it? (Of course, I wouldn't know ... until next year, anyway.

We had two little parade goers watching for Grandpa. Well, one was watching. The other one seemed unimpressed with the small-town festivities.

Kinley was also watching for her Mommy, who was celebrating her 10-year reunion.

And we waved at Great Aunt Kathy, too, who didn't see us from her perch on the Class of '84 wagon.

I thought Kinley would be excited about gathering candy thrown from the floats and vehicles.We had her sack ready.

But her parents have obviously trained her well. She wasn't too excited about leaving the sidewalk to venture into the street.

She got a few pieces of loot and then enjoyed the parade as it passed by.

From patriotism ...

... to a small, but mighty marching band ...

... and some pretty snazzy vehicles.

Main and Broadway was the place to be.

It's good to be with family - whether it's blood that connects you ...

... or people who share your graduation date ...

... or just ties that bind in a small Kansas town.

It Was a "Grand" Time!

I have always appreciated professional photographers. When I started my first reporting job at The Hutchinson News, I often had to shoot my own photos. (I was a Focus reporter, a chronicler of "soft news." The photographers were going to important things like fires, you know.)

The editors would send a News-owned camera along with me, and I'd try to juggle the camera while furiously writing notes. It was a treat when they sent a "real" photographer to do the job.

This Grandma tried her own little mini photo session Sunday after church. I take photos all the time. I rarely leave the house without my camera. But trying to photograph a 2 1/2 year old and her 1-month-old sister is best left to the professionals.

There's the cheesy grin from Kinley while Brooke screams.

 

(I won't show you the whole series, but suffice it to say there are many, many variations: Brooke looks angelic, while Kinley looks pained. Kinley has the sweetest smile, and Brooke is crying. You get the idea.)

We also tried a few photos with their whole family. They weren't bad. But for a really good photo, I probably need to invest in Photoshop so I can superimpose an image from one frame into another so that everyone is looking his/her best. (I don't really know whether you can do that with Photoshop, but a gal can dream, right?! Of course, I'd have to figure out how to actually use all the features of Photoshop, and that's another dilemma.)

The wind and fly-away hair interfered with the photos of Kinley giving Brooke kisses (though it's kind of sweet anyway).

Kinley was much happier running and playing than posing for photos.

(Randy & I loved watching her run. It reminds us of her Mommy.)

We took a time out from photos for swinging while Brooke ate. It's the same swing where her Mommy and Uncle Brent spent hours and hours swinging from a big old elm tree. There were lots of real smiles there.

Then, I tried the photographer thing again.

"Try" is the operative word.

I also took a bunch of photos in the early morning, when it was just Brooke and me before everyone else was up.

 

Well, her eyes are open.

Between taking loads of fertilizer and lunches to the field yesterday, I sorted through the 124 photos from the weekend. And then, I got Jill's link to Brooke's newborn professional photos last evening.

Photo by Terra Herring Photography, Ozawkie, KS

Oh, well! I am thankful for photographers like Terra. I am the first to admit I'm not a professional photographer. But I'm a professional Grandma ... and proud of it.

***

Here's Brooke's first "month" photo that Jill took and posted on her Facebook page October 4. I loved watching Kinley change through her first year and her series of photos each month. I look forward to the same with Brooke. It's one of those things that makes me a professional Grandma. So does asking, "Where are that poor girl's socks?!" 

An Oktoberfest Treat: Banana Coconut Muffins

Tomorrow is Oktoberfest in Stafford, America. It's the 25th annual version of Stafford's Fall Festival. What small-town festival is complete without a parade?

It's also a reunion time for alumni of Stafford High School. Randy will celebrate his 40th class reunion. His sister, Kathy, will gather with her classmates to commemorate 30 years since leaving the hallowed halls of SHS. Jill's class will gather for their 10-year reunion.

Kinley - Oktoberfest 2013

This little parade-goer has done some growing since last year, and her little sister will be here for her first Oktoberfest parade. I'm guessing one of them will be more excited than the other.
 
I imagine many former Stafford students will make informal visits to the old high school, which burned down this past March. (It was no longer being used for classes.)

Our first Oktoberfest stop will be the Stafford Educational Foundation fun walk and run. Randy is on the Foundation board, so he's helping with the event. Kinley may be my walking companion. We'll see how things unfold tomorrow morning.

I will pull some of these Banana Coconut Muffins out of the freezer to eat as we head out the door. (They are appropriately dressed in red, black and white muffin wrappers in honor of the SHS Trojan colors.)

I had a bunch of bananas ripening on the kitchen counter and saw the recipe for Banana Coconut Muffins on one of the cooking blogs I read regularly. I also love using cream cheese in baked goods for both the taste and texture. How can you go wrong, adding mini chocolate chips, coconut and butter brickle bits?

Speaking of texture, I didn't put coconut in some of the muffins. While Randy is a big fan of coconut, Jill doesn't like it because of its texture. Since part of this recipe was destined for their freezer to welcome baby Brooke, I deleted coconut in some of them.

If you'd like a little hometown "texture" and are in the neighborhood, you are cordially invited to Stafford's Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 4. Start the day with a walk or run at 8:30 AM to benefit the Stafford Education Foundation. There are downtown arts and crafts and food vendors from 9 to 4, an 11 AM parade, a book sale at the Stafford United Methodist Church from 9 to 2 and free entertainment on a stage at Main and Broadway, beginning at noon. Wiener Dog Races begin at 2 PM. Yep, more than 100 wiener dogs are already registered. We'd love to have you!And welcome home, Staffordites! (Is that what Stafford people are called?)

Banana Coconut Muffins

Adapted from Inside Bru Crew Life blog

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, divided
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in muffin tins.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well. Stir in bananas and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and slowly incorporate into the banana mixture. Stir in 1 cup coconut, toffee bits and chocolate chips by hand.

Fill cupcake liners or tins 3/4 full. Sprinkle with extra shredded coconut. Bake 20-25 minutes. Coll on a wire rack for a few minutes before removing from the cupcake tins. Cool completely before storing in a sealed container. You may also freeze the muffins.

Note:  I didn't put coconut in all the muffins, since Jill isn't a fan. The coconut-less version turned out tasty, too. (I scooped out some of the batter into the muffin cups prior to adding the coconut. To keep them identified, I topped each of the coconut version with a sprinkling of coconut on top. It made the muffin tops pretty, too, with the browned coconut.)

Kim's Taxi Service

Kim's Taxi Service:  

Moving food, fuel, fertilizer and fellas. 

On call, 24 hours a day. 

Short distances are our specialty.

I've added fertilizer retrieval to the to-do list this week. With Jake disking corn ground and Randy drilling wheat, Kim's Taxi Service has again been called into action.

The working conditions aren't spic and span. But the scenery is a great fringe benefit.

This is our version of a country traffic jam. I had to wait to weigh onto the scales at the Zenith branch of the Kanza Co-op. Then, I pulled the pickup and the fertilizer tank onto the scales for an "empty" weight. I went into the office and asked for 950 gallons of 19-17. For the uninitiated, it may seem I'm speaking a foreign language. Maybe even a math language. (But if you know me, you'd know that would be an anomaly!)

The 19-17 stands for 19 percent nitrogen and 17 percent phosphorus. This starter fertilizer will give the 2015 wheat crop a boost. It's applied by the planter, right next to the seed kernels.

I pulled the trailer into the fertilizer building.

The co-op guys hooked up a hose from the storage tanks at the co-op to the "nurse" tank that I would pull back to the field. I handed them a ticket that tells them what fertilizer I'm there to pick up and how much to put in.

Then, there's time to visit, check my phone or wander around and take photos.

I don't usually use an HDR setting on my photos, but I liked it on this one.

After the tank was full, I pulled around to the scales and weighed the pickup and tank again, giving the full weight. That way, the co-op knows how much to bill us. I wish I could skip that step, but, alas, it's not possible. How else would I get a manilla-envelope-sized "letter" from the co-op each month?

Then, it was back to the field, slow and steady. There are no speed records set on these trips (which, I admit, is a little different from normal for me.)

We weren't the only ones planting in our neighborhood. (See the other seed wheat truck at the corner.) Thankfully, they did not hire Kim's Taxi Service for their fertilizer, mealtime or moving needs. I had enough to keep me busy. 

The guys transferred the fertilizer I've brought from the co-op to the tank on the drill, as they needed it.

Once all the fertilizer had been transferred from the nurse tank to the drill, it was time for a repeat trip to the co-op.

Kim's Taxi Service again ready for action. Cheap AND dependable!

Praise, Seek, Trust, Thank: Wordless Wednesday

This is about as Wordless as I get on a Wednesday (or any other day for that matter). Sit back and enjoy the scenery from South Central Kansas on an early fall day.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

A Time to Think

The simple act of stopping and looking at the beauty around us can be prayer.
 –Patricia Barrett, author

A Time to Act

Today notice the little things that make your day special.

A Time to Pray

Thank you Lord, that however small or seemingly insignificant our gifts, You can weave them into Your glorious symphony.

A Time to Think

In happy moments, praise God.
In the difficult moments, seek God.
 In the quiet moments, trust God.
 In every moment, thank God.
–Bryan Clay, Olympic decathlon champion

A Time to Act

Use today as an opportunity to listen to God's voice.

A Time to Pray

Heavenly Father, help me to hear Your voice deep in my heart, guiding me.

These are devotionals that arrive daily in my email inbox from Guideposts. I always read them, and sometimes I save them so that I can illustrate them later.