What’s Inside?
• Become Inspired - Page 4
• Triggers - Page 5
• New Beginnings - Page 6
• Bring On the New Year - Page 7
• Winter Bucketlist - Page 10
Editor’s Notes
• Doing Our Part To Save Brick & Mortar StoresPage 11
• Resolutions Unfulfilled - Page 12
• Ad Directory by Name & Community - Page 14
• Kansas Map- Page 15
www.MoxieMarketingMW.com
• 605-568-0181 • Kelsey Ruzicka • Publisher of this Country Register!
New Year. New Chapters to Write.
The beginning of a new year seems to always find me by surprise. How did we get through 12 months since the last? It seems to go so quickly, especially the older I get. You can see it especially in your children. You blink and the time is gone.
Every year I set intentions, goals and create themes based on words to inspire my thoughts, actions and overall vibes for the year ahead. I write them down in a beautiful journal. At the end of the year, I like to reflect on those and see how far I’ve come on those intentions set.
I love this, because I love to grow in self, business and spirit. It is important to continue to move in a forward motion, otherwise we are standing still. “Make the most of yourself.... for that is all there is of you.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Some years take us by storm it seems. One season leads to another of loss, trial, and tribulation. 2024 was full of that for me in several buckets of my life. But, even in those years, it is what we learn from them. They can shape you more swiftly and soundly than joyful years. They make all the years so full of wonder that much sweeter. So, I don’t look on 2024 with disgust or sadness, I actually think of it as a really big year of growth. A problem always makes for a good story, right?
That is the beauty... isn’t it. Our life story. We get to be here and we are the author. We get to experience the highs and the lows. I choose to find the lessons in the lows and relish the highs. Feeling obsessively grateful for my time here and the life I get to live. “It is not the length of life, but the depth.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
So this year...set your intentions and come what may - be grateful, grow and find joy in the moments. They are fast and what each page of our lives are made of. May your 2025 be full of good stories, laughs and lessons.
Cheers to 2025, Kelsey
countryregisterkansas@gmail.com
kelsey@moxiemarketingmw.com Office: 605-568-0181
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Index on page 19 by Name & Community Help you find & explore a new shop!
Kelsey Ruzicka Publisher of The Country Register of Kansas
The Country Register of Kansas
Kelsey (Snyder) Ruzicka, Publisher Produced by Moxie Marketing of the Midwest, LLC PO BOX 2015 • Belle Fourche, SD 57717 605-568-0181 Office www.countryregister.com/kansas www.moxiemarketingmw.com
Publisher’s contact numbers across the USA & Canada for The Country Register Send $3 to any publisher below to obtain a paper from another area:
* Indicates these editions are available on–line at www.countryregister.com.
Owners: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950
* Arizona: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950
* Arkansas: Lenda Brown, P.O. Box 32581, Oklahoma City, OK, 73123, 405-470-2597, lenda@countryregister.com
* California: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, P 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950
* Colorado: Jan & John Keller, 16755 Oak Brush Loop, Peyton, CO, 80831, 719-749-9797
* Connecticut: Dave & Amy Carter, P.O. Box 365, New Market, MD 21771, 866-825-2917, Fax 866-261-9641
* Delaware: Merle and Gail Taylor, P.O. Box 594, New Market, MD, 21774, info@countryregisteronline.com
* Florida: Dave & Amy Carter, P.O. Box 365, New Market, MD, 21774, florida@countryregisteronline.com
* Georgia: Linda Parish, P.O. Box 389, Lexington, GA, 30648, tcrga@windstream.net
* Idaho (N): Kelsey Ruzicka, P.O. Box 2015, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, 605-568-0181, kelsey@moxiemarketingmw.com
* Idaho (S): Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, P 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950
* Illinois: Lenda Brown, P.O. Box 32581, Oklahoma City, OK, 73123, lenda@countryregister.com
* Indiana: Gail & Merle Taylor, P.O. Box 594, New Market, MD, 21774, info@countryregisteronline.com
* Iowa: Linda Glendy, P.O. Box 6, Tama, IA, 52339, IowaCountryRegister@mchsi.com
* Kansas: Kelsey Ruzicka, P.O. Box 2015, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, 605-568-0181, kelsey@moxiemarketingmw.com
* Kentucky: Chris & Kelly Kennedy, 5804 Whiterose Way, New Market, MD 21774 443-243, cowprintdesigns@gmail.com
* Maine: Deborah Daney, 660 Country Club Road, Sanford, ME 04073, 207-324-7482
* Maryland: Dave & Amy Carter, P.O. Box 365, New Market, MD, 21774, ads@countryregisteronline.com
* Massachusetts: Dave & Amy Carter, P.O. Box 365, New Market, MD, 21774, ads@countryregisteronline.com
* Michigan: Bill and Marlene Howell, 3790 Manistee, Saginaw, MI, 48603-3143, 989-793-4211
* Minnesota: Kim & Mickey Keller, 12835 Kiska St. NE, Blaine, MN, 55449, minnesota@countryregister.com
* Missouri: Lenda Brown, P.O. Box 32581, Oklahoma City, OK, 73123, lenda@countryregister.com
* Montana: Kelsey Ruzicka, P.O. Box 2015, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, 605-568-0181, kelsey@moxiemarketingmw.com
* Nebraska: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950
* Nevada (N): Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, P 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950*
* Nevada (S): Glena Dunn, 4568 Carol Circle, Las Vegas, NV, 89120, 702-523-1803
* New Hampshire: Michelle Hatch, 20 Chester Street, Chester, NH 03036, 603-571-1822
* New Jersey: Merle and Gail Taylor, P.O. Box 594, New Market, MD, 21774, info@countryregisteronline.com
* New Mexico: Jan & John Keller, 16755 Oak Brush Loop, Peyton, CO, 80831, 719-749-9797
* New York: Dave & Amy Carter, P.O. Box 365, New Market, MD, 21774, ads@countryregisteronline.com
* North Carolina: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 888-942-8950
* North Dakota: Kelsey Ruzicka, P.O. Box 2015, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, 605-568-0181, kelsey@moxiemarketingmw.com
* Ohio: Barb Moore, P. O. Box 37, Cable, OH, 43009, ohiocountryregister@yahoo.com
* Oklahoma: Lenda Brown, P.O. Box 32581, Oklahoma City, OK, 73123, lenda@countryregister.com
* Oregon: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950
* Pennsylvania: Gail & Merle Taylor, P.O. Box 128, Owens Cross Roads, AL 35763, 888-616-8319, Fax 800-609-0278
* Rhode Island: Dave & Amy Carter, P.O. Box 365, New Market, MD, 21774, ads@countryregisteronline.com
* South Carolina: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 888-942-8950
* South Dakota: Kelsey Ruzicka, P.O. Box 2015, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, 605-568-0181, kelsey@moxiemarketingmw.com
* Tennessee: Chris & Kelly Kennedy, 5804 Whiterose Way, New Market, MD 21774 443-243, cowprintdesigns@gmail.com
* Texas: Lenda Brown, P.O. Box 32581, Oklahoma City, OK, 73123, lenda@countryregister.com
* Utah: Available
* Vermont: Michelle Hatch, 20 Chester Street, Chester, NH 03036, 603-571-1822
* Virginia: Dave & Amy Carter, P.O. Box 365, New Market, MD, 21774, ads@countryregisteronline.com
* Washington: Barbara Stillman and Lolly Konecky, 515 E Carefree Hwy, #1128, Phoenix, AZ 85085, 602-942-8950
* West Virginia: Dave & Amy Carter, PO Box 365, New Market, MD, 21774, ads@countryregisteronline.com
* Wisconsin: Scott & Jennifer Hughes, P. O. Box 276, Altoona, WI, 54720, jennifer@countryregisterofwisconsin.com
* Wyoming: Kelsey Ruzicka, P.O. Box 2015, Belle Fourche, SD 57717, 605-568-0181, kelsey@moxiemarketingmw.com
CANADA
* Alberta: Ruth Burke, P.O. Box 97, Heisler, AB, T0B2A0,780-889-3776, countryregab@yahoo.com
* British Columbia: Bryan Stonehill, Box 1338, Summerland, BC, V0H 1Z0, 800-784-6711
* Manitoba & Saskatchewan: Scott & Marj Kearns, Box 850, Kipling, SK, S0G 2S0, countryregister@sasket.net
* Ontario: Harriet Ramos, Box 60, 4338 Innes Rd., Orleans, ON K4A 3W3, 343-882-5812
New Year. New Chapters.
The Country Register of Kansas January/February 2025 • Volume 27 • Issue 1
The Country Register began in Arizona, in the fall of 1988, to provide effective, affordable advertising for shops, shows, and other experiences enjoyed by a kindred readership. Since then the paper has spread to many other areas, all of which are listed below. Look for the paper in your travels.
The Country Register of Kansas is published every two months. Copyright 2025.
Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited by law. The Country Register is a registered business trade name. Moxie Marketing of the Midwest, LLC produces The Country Register of Kansas. Please make checks payable to Moxie Marketing.
Subscription price: 1 year, 6 issues, $20.00. Single copies: $3.00. This paper is furnished free at each advertiser, highway welcome centers, tourism centers, shows, events, and other selected locations throughout Kansas.
Articles published in this newspaper, which are contributed from outside sources, express the opinions of their authors only and may not express the viewpoints of the management and staff of The Country Register. Such articles that are accepted for publication herein may be edited at the sole discretion of the publisher.
Responsibility for products advertised in this newspaper lies with the advertisers themselves. Though The Country Register will not knowingly publish fraudulent materials or fraudulently obtained materials, we are not liable for any damages arising from the purchase or use of products advertised herein.
SEE OUR AD INDEX ON PAGE 16
Next Deadline: Ads and articles for the March/April issue is February 7, 2025.
E. Main • Harper KS 316-259-3914 • 620-916-2395 Halloween kits, over 500 fat quarters, new arrivals bi-weekly
FABRICS: Grunge, Batiks, Kansas Troubles & More!
Entire Inventory Online!
8:30-4
Become Inspired
By Annice Bradley Rockwell
Quality Quietude
With the bustling holiday season behind us, there is no doubt we may feel a genuine need for a reprieve. And in many cases, that is just what winter provides. As we go outside into our yards during one of the first real snowstorms of the season, we may recognize the unrivaled depth of silence. The trees, the ground, all of nature is blanketed under the secret of snow and our world has been beautifully transformed. This stillness brings with it an opportunity for us to match nature’s quality quietude.
Landscapes of Change
Creating our own interior landscapes of change is one of the joys of country decorating. It is at this time of year after the tree has been taken down and all our decorations have been packed away, we have a clean slate to reinvent our spaces and make them a secret sanctuary to ward off the chill of winter. New arrangements of furniture by the hearth invite intimate conversation and storytelling over a piping hot bowl of beef stew on a cold Sunday evening. A recent purchase of a schoolmaster’s desk in early blue can turn a vacant corner of a room into a colonial vignette complete with a stately Windsor chair, early leatherbound books and a stoneware inkwell with a turkey feather quill. A small country cupboard that was found at a local antique shop can transform a room into a quaint winter retreat when it is filled with antiques like blue-decorated stoneware, early woven rye baskets, redware and antique pewter. Woven textiles in colonial colors like soldier blue or tavern mustard are a wonderful way to change the look of a room. They can be layered beautifully among our favorite pieces to lend the perfect country accent. Antique quilts can also be hung or folded to fit in cupboards to add dimension and style.
Perhaps one of the best investments for winter to create a serene environment would be lighting. Beautiful lighting in the form of stoneware lamps with handcrafted hexagon shades, antique whale oil lamps which come in enticing forms or electrified tin candle lamps which create an inviting, primitive tone are all choices that create a signature country look. The ambiance that lighting can create is something that is a true blessing all winter and beyond.
Blessings of Time
The quiet of our winter months often provides time to dream and to plan. Sometimes our very best ideas come to us in the months of winter. We have time to spend thinking more deeply about things and often with less distraction, so our ideas have time to incubate and grow.
Another blessing of winter is the chance it gives us to view things in a different perspective. Just as the landscape around us affords us a completely new view of our world, it also gives us a chance to explore the different surroundings which in and of itself is restorative.
This winter, embrace the special moments of stillness. Experience the fresh-fallen snow in a wooded glen to feel the depth of its silence. Take days that are slower-paced and use them to create your own sanctuary to enjoy. And as you gaze out upon the beauty of winter, remember that Her secret is always the promise of the coming spring.
--Annice Bradley Rockwell is an educator and owner of Pomfret Antiques. She is currently working on her book, New England Girl. NewEnglandGirl2012@hotmail.com
View the paper online at www.CountryRegister.com/Kansas
Triggers
By Wayne M. Bosman
My wife, Kerri and I have been slowly working on the final step to complete our bittersweet move to the coast, deciding what to do with the house that we lived in in Chapel Hill. Leaving it is not as easy as I thought that it might be. This is the house that we started our life together in. It is almost empty now, but still packed with memories. It’s a small house by modern standards, under 1,000 square feet, but all we needed really. Just enough space to enjoy the things that we really loved and wanted, but not so much space to encourage more “projects” without finishing the last one.
I am sprawling on the last remaining couch now. The one we aren’t sure what to do with. What slows us down in making that sort of decision is memories and the things that trigger them. On the couch with me is a crocheted blanket. A crocheted blanket on this couch was the first thing that Kerri brought here from her old life- that and her sewing basket. I came home from work one day and they were just there. It was the first tentative step toward merging our lives, and I can’t see the blanket on the couch without remembering that day.
This couch was one of the places where we sat and looked out the window at the steady stream of wildlife the overgrown yard attracted. As if on cue, a quartet of does and fawns just wandered into the yard grazing as they come and go. Another trigger to the memories of all of the deer we have watched here.
The kitchen table is still here. We spent countless hours drinking our morning coffee and looking out at the bird feeder and the variety of birds and squirrels that it drew. We enjoyed the regulars, scrambling to figure out what it was when a less common bird stopped in. We hoped and wondered if it would stay. Kerri’s favorite is a mourning dove. Mine is an Eastern towhee. For no obvious reason, seeing them made us feel that it was a special day and all was right with the world.
In the foreground outside the kitchen window are the lantana and the hummingbird feeders. Absolute delight from the first sighting in the spring until their migration in fall. Triggers of more memories that anchor me to this place.
During the pandemic, three of my grandchildren spent one day a week doing their schoolwork in this little house. It was a way to let them out of their own house when so many people were going nowhere at all. Kerri always made their favorite treats appear, and they developed little rituals with tea parties, baking and crafting. The best artwork was suitably framed and displayed. We can keep that to trigger those memories. Those grandchildren are teenagers now with not much time in their expanding lives for grandparents. That is the way of the world, yet one hopes that they don’t forget those special times completely.
The old house was not without its flaws. The woods that nurtured wildlife also prevented us from growing any food that needed sunlight. When something did grow, the squirrels would usually get to it first. It is an old house with all the little issues that brings with it. Old pipes. Old wiring.
Still there are all of the memories and things that trigger them. My mom lives in the house that she and my dad acquired in 1946. How many memories and triggers does that house contain? We have been fortunate enough to get to choose where we live. Not everyone gets to. Some of the triggers will have to stay with the house while the memories move with us.
Wayne M. Bosman is a retired auto mechanic in Cape Carteret, NC. His email is wbosman1@gmail.com.
January/February 2025 | Page 5
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proof Dec. '20/Jan '21 Country Register Machine Quilting Edge to Edge Pantographs & Custom Quilting (Batting included in price)
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• Fabrics • Notions • Books • Patterns • Gift Certi cates
Online shopping available 24 hours a day Free domestic shipping on orders over $100 Follow us on Instagram - Like us on Facebook Celebrating 13 years in January 2025!!
Hours: Mon by Appointment Only; Tues - Fri 10-5; Sat 9-3 7 S. Agate, Paola, KS • 913-294-5230 www.lilredhenquiltshop.com • Jenny@lilredhenquiltshop.com lilredhenquiltshop.com
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Books, Fat Quarters10% - 20% off • Stop by & be surprised or call ahead.
New Beginnings!
By Sharon Vesecky
January—the time for resolutions and new beginnings! Personally I skip the resolutions. They never last very long anyway. But as a quilter, I’m all about new beginnings. I love to start new quilting projects, imagine what the finished quilt will look like, and try different fabrics together to see how they interact. I’ve tried several things to reduce my stack of unfinished projects—can’t start a new one until I finish two, etc. Just can’t seem to stick to it. New fabric comes into the shop and I just have to make a sample for the shop.
This week I found a piece of fabric that I had never seen before in a box of fabric that had been given to me. I had seen a pattern in a recent quilt magazine that required only two companion fabrics and I set out on a mission! I found two other fabrics that worked well with the first one and started cutting pieces. It goes together quickly and I will have the top finished this weekend. But then there is the quilting and binding.
Binding is my least favorite part of making a quilt. I have several quilts that would be finished if the binding were done. Between Christmas and New Year’s I rounded them up and machine-sewed the binding to the quilt. I’ll finish the handwork as I watch TV or am riding in the car. (Oh, I feel so organized!)
Next I tackled the scraps from the Christmas quilts I have made through the years. I started cutting pieces from the fabrics that were smaller than about a quarter of a yard. The first project I had in mind was an eight-pointed star quilt for which I was double checking the instructions. As I cut pieces for that quilt, I found fabric pieces that wouldn’t work in it, but they would work in one of five other scrap projects I had started or in potholders. Then there were pieces left over from that. I sorted the leftovers by size and trimmed away scrappy sections that were too small to use for anything, labeled several Ziploc bags with widths of the pieces and stored them all nice and tidy. Next I folded the larger pieces, sorted them by color and placed them in a storage container. (Boy, did I feel like I had accomplished something!) After a final check to see if there are more scraps that can be repurposed, I’ll be ready to move on to another group of fabrics. Batiks, watch out! You are next!!
Bring on the New Year!
By Ann’s Lovin’ Ewe
Ah, what to do in that wonderful time between holidays of Christmas to February?
Some celebrate Christmas prior to Halloween but yank it all down as soon as the last present is unwrapped. Instead, play the carols, be creative with the leftovers, listen to the music --- drag it on a little at least until Epiphany! Then segue into Valentine’s Day with the joy of the holidays. Christmas may be over, but ideas abound for time with family and friends.
Holiday Decor:
Continue red and white for clean and festive décor with garlands and valentines. The love of Christmas flows to Valentine’s Day! The following links give ideas for taking your decorations into the next season.
AnExtraordinaryDay.net
SimplyBeautifulbyAngela
Get out and Play!
• Ice skating
• Sledding
• Winter Walk
• Try an Escape Room
• Take a dance class
• Have Fun Indoors!
• Play Board Games*
• Serve up an ethnic meal!
GAMES
Rummikub The Crew (non competitive) Skyjo Sequence Azul Quirkle Apples to Apples SkipBo Uno Phase 10
• Pretend you’re a tourist in your town. What have you missed?
• Enjoy the lights of Christmas once more by driving through your local towns.
• Set up a Cooking contest with family members ala Great Bakeoff
• Go through family photos with your family. Take a few minutes to organize them
• Create a contest with holiday leftovers. Who can make the best meal?
• Freeze some eggnog to put in pancakes in your future.
• Invite friends or neighbors over for a movie marathon (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars)
• Go through your Christmas cards and re-read the notes before recycling cards for gift tags.
Consider your Personal Journey Reset
• Drink Water. Splurge on a new water bottle.
• Eat color. Fill your plate with green, orange, red, & yellow.
• Get regular hours of sleep.
• Enjoy walking
• Begin a new daily habit.
• Clear out social media.
• Try a new hobby (Voice lessons, drawing, painting, dancing, fencing?)
• Clean out your closet, donate.
Look forward to something:
• Plan a Trip
• Dream and Strategize about a new house project
• Set a long-desired goal
• Plan a Neighborhood Valentine Party
• Read a Winter Book (see below) With all these ideas, you’re set for a winter of fun!
© 2025
Read a Winter Book. Winter Garden, Kristin Hannah Winter Sisters, Robin Oliveira Winter Solstice, Rosamunde Pilcher
A Week in Winter, Maeve Binchy
The Winter Guest, Pam Jenoff
The Winter People, Jennifer McMahon Stranded in Iceland, Victoria Walker One Perfect Day, Lauraine Snelling Ethan Frome (classic but sad) The Secret of Snow, Viola Shipman Comfort and Joy, Kristin Hannah
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10 Classical Books to Fall in Love with Again
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Strip Club meets every 3rd Wed at 1:30 or 5:30. Sign up is on our website. $10 for session. Everyone gets free pattern & specials. Shop Helpers Club
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Hobbit by J. R. R Tolkien
Nebraska Shop Hop: April 1-May 31
Cornbread
from Little House on the Prairie by Laura
Ingals Wilder
Ingredients
1 cup plain yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk and eggs; stir into cornmeal mixture just until combined. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add butter, and stir until butter is melted. Stir melted butter into cornbread batter. Pour batter into hot skillet.
Bake at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and cornbread pulls away from sides of skillet. Invert cornbread onto a wire rack; serve warm.
New Years Resolutions
Go somewhere you have never been
Clean and organize your house
Give one compliment a day
Cook a new recipe
Try a new restaurant
Buy a plant for your house
Don’t buy things you don’t need
Pay off your credit card bill every month
Try a new pattern for a quilt design
Volunteer at a new organization
Turn off your phone one night a week
Call a friend instead of texting them
Donate clothes you don’t need
Send out handwritten letters
Recycle more often
Learn a new skill
Plan a dream vacation
Make time for family
Try a new craft
Stop procrastinating tasks
Go on a short walk every day
Try a guided workout or class
Call your family members more often
Listen to an audiobook while you are working
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” - Oscar Wilde
• Come see us! You won’t be disappointed!
• In-store SERVICES include MACHINE QUILTING & BINDING
• Fridays at 1 p.m. BARGAINS on FACEBOOK LIVE
• Open 6 days a week SCRAP BASKET
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Winter Bucket List
Make
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DoingOurParttoSaveBrickandMortarStores
All Kansas Nebraska Shop Hop
Online shopping has become the norm for consumers, offering countless choices available at the touch of a button, enabling visits to multiple stores without leaving our couch, and allowing purchases in seconds. While there is a time and place for online shopping, it is crucial to recognize the consequences that come along with it. Perhaps the most alarming is not the environmental impact from packaging waste, but rather the local and widespread economic toll of the slow decline of brick-and-mortar stores.
When considering the value of brick-and-mortar shops, we must consider the full impact of more and more closures. Brick-and-mortar stores provide benefits that online shopping simply cannot match. We can touch products, feel the quality, evaluate true colors, test sizes, and assess comfort. At quilting stores, shoppers can engage with experts face-to-face, curate fabrics under real world lighting conditions, and receive advice and inspiration from fellow enthusiasts.
As consumers, we can commit to shop local, shop small businesses, and revive foot traffic so we protect these vital establishments. When shopping in person, take the time to chat with store owners and be ethical. If you walk into a store to try the size, match colors, test a tool or piece of equipment, compare brands in person, you do so at the grace of the business owner who pays employees, rent, and utilities to make that luxury available to you. Most even provide public restrooms! Yes, it’s tempting to go to your computer to find that item at a less expensive price, but ask yourself… Is the discount you receive online worth risking the chance to help a local store through tough economic times? When circumstances require online shopping, consider visiting the website of a brick-and-mortar store.
A shop hop is a PERFECT way to show your support! Not only do you find what you need (and some things you don’t), but you also get to explore new stores, meet new friends, and experience new inspiration. Together we can make memories and help ensure we’ll be able to touch and feel the fabric for years to come! From Shop Hop Inc, and all our stores, thanks for your support and for Hopping!
Shop Hop Inc manages large scale shop hops across the United States and is excited to be bringing the All Kansas Nebraska Shop Hop to Kansas and Nebraska and for their fifth annual event during the months of April and May. For complete details visit AllKansasNebraskaShopHop.com
Is in the Air -- and Our
Stocked With Fresh Looks for the Season!
724 Bridge St, Humboldt KS • 620-473-2408 huntjennifer4549@gmail.com
Featuring 3 Buildings of Furniture & Antiques + One Thrift Store “Second Chances” Search for that Fabulous Find . . . We’re Reinventing Horton We hope to see you soon!
When you come and visit our shops you will find an array of antique items, beautiful items for gifts and friendly smiles. 132 West 8th • Horton KS 785-487-4438 Connie Werner 785-548-5500
Welcome to Barnes
Sunflower Mercantile & Sunflower II Antiques, Primitives & Rusty Stuff Vintage Quilts M-Sat 10-5 & Sunday 1-5
Always Christmas Shoppe
Year Round Shoppe Featuring Nativities - Wall Art - Ornaments 785-747-8757
Chip doesn’t have anything on Nik & Todd and the Gang, Skip the Silos, come to Barnes!
Proof April/May ‘22 Country Register
4 Golden Stitches
Resolutions Unfulfilled
By Julie Pirtel
A new year is upon us and it’s overflowing with ambitions and goals. However, if you are like most, your well-intended resolutions from last year (and perhaps the year before) are now in the “I’ll make it happen later” pile.
For those with clutter challenged areas, the situation is even more frustrating. The spaces that were enthusiastically chosen for a makeover are still not functioning and have grown by leaps and bounds.
Happy New Year! Mark your calendars now for the All Kansas Nebraska Shop Hop in April & May!
Located just north of Ottawa city limits • Fabrics • Patterns • Notions • Great Customer Service • Scissors Sharpening Service Available
Thanks for Shopping Local Businesses! Important -- not just during the holidays, but all year!
OLD Hwy 59,
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Unresolved resolutions are evil. They want to make us feel guilty. They lurk around in dark corners of our minds, reminding us as often as possible how we failed to not bring them to fruition. I think it’s time to stop creating them in the first place! Let’s stop the madness this year!!!
First of all, let go of the guilt. It is not your fault that your organizing resolutions went by the wayside. It’s more likely that your goals were too broad and a bit hefty for how busy your life is. With a little bit of foresight and planning, you can make it happen THIS year. Here are some easy steps to get you started.
Assess your spaces. With a notebook and pen, go from room to room and write down the specific areas you want to tackle. Note what is not working in your day-to-day routines and be detailed. For instance, in the bedroom it might be the clothes on the closet shelves are difficult to access or the dresser drawers are too full. Make a separate page for each room.
Once you have determined the problem areas, it’s time to start by choosing just ONE area. I’ve seen many popular organizing shows where the client is encouraged to completely empty out the space (in this case the closet) and only put back what they want to keep. Don’t do it.
While it may feel good to see the closet empty, you will be left with a huge pile to sort through and no energy to complete it. Instead, work on one shelf at a time. One drawer at a time. When you complete it, there will be a sense of accomplishment instead of a bed full of clothing and no place to sleep that night!
“Where knowledge, service and experience is the norm - not the exception.”
PURGE. Now it’s time for some ruthless honesty. The bathroom cupboard that is overflowing with beauty products needs to be cleaned out! The eye shadows and half used mascara need to go (they have a shelf life just like food). Hair products with unfulfilled promises of glorious hair need to be ditched.
When you are in the process of letting go of items, there are a few rules to follow. It doesn’t matter how much it cost. It doesn’t matter who gave it to you. It doesn’t matter if you think you might use it someday. Someday is here and you still haven’t used it! Anything that does not have a purpose in your day-to-day living is no longer welcome to take up space in your valuable cupboard’s real estate.
As you purge, resist the need to find a home for the items you are letting go of. This is your subconscious mind trying to deal with that horrible guilt monster! Giving it to someone else does not justify the “value” you have put on it that has made you unnecessarily keep it.
Don’t give it any more of your time. Choose a charity and “let it go.” (At this point, I sing the song from the movie Frozen to my clients when I am working with them. “Let it go…let it go…it doesn’t serve you any mo – o – ore.” A little comic relief never hurts anybody!) Believe me, releasing your items to the universe to disperse as she sees fit is the best way to go.
Once you have cleared your space of items you no longer need, it’s time to figure out a better way to store them. THIS is the time to look at purchasing organizing solutions. Ignore the desire to accumulate bins, baskets and racks before purging. Many times, the items purchased don’t work out and end up being part of the purge pile!
By using your list and taking one step at a time, you will be amazed at how quickly and efficiently you will accomplish your goals. Even a spare 15 minutes cleaning the kitchen junk drawer is helpful and absolutely satisfying.
Be kind to yourself this year. Get rid of the guilt. Pull up those big girl panties and get it done! You’ve got this. I know you do!
Julie Pirtle lives in Eagle Point, Oregon. She is a Professional Organizer and owner/operator of Clutter Happens. She also works with clients nationally through video consultations. The Clutter Challenged can reach her on Facebook:/clutterhappens or email her directly: clutterhappens@yahoo.com
Almond Tea Cakes
from the Hobbit by John Tolkien
Ingredients
2 cups butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 teaspoons almond extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Directions
Filling:
1 large egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Milk
Sliced almonds
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and extract; mix well. Add flour and baking powder (dough will be soft). Chill.
2. For filling, in a small bowl, stir egg white, sugar, almonds and lemon juice. Remove a portion of the dough at a time from the refrigerator. Place 1-in. balls of dough into miniature muffin cups, pressing slightly into sides and bottom. Place 1/2 teaspoon filling into each. Cover with quarter-sized circles of dough.
3. Brush with a little milk and top with an almond. Bake at 350° until golden, 14-16 minutes.
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