Goin' Pickin'

Last weekend we took the kids on a pick-your-own adventure! We are so lucky that there are a plethora of unique pick-your-own farms within driving distance from here. We've been strawberry picking earlier this spring; this time we went for lavender and blueberries!

So we started the day with a visit to Lavender Ridge Farms in Gainesville, TX. They were having "Family Day" with a bounce house and "petting zoo"...unfortunately the advertised petting zoo wasn't much of one, they had a few cute goats (have I mentioned lately how much I love goats?! They are so cute!!!), some rabbits, and some chickens running loose. The kids had a grand old time chasing the chickens. I kind of felt sorry for the poor little things (the chickens, that is) bok-bok-bokking and running into the underbrush!

Then we got down to business and started picking lavender. The kids loved it, and they were really good at it too! I'm not sure yet exactly what I'll do with the lavender, but I'll think of something. It smells sooooo good! We gave a bundle to each of their grandmothers on our side. 

After we finished picking we refreshed ourselves with the lavender lemonade they were serving...the kids surprised me by actually liking it! I thought they would hate it or refuse to even try it. I think it tastes great, personally...very different, but very good. Lavender Ridge Farms also has a little cafe where they serve all sorts of goodies!

Then it was time for a break, re-sunscreen and cool off in the car for a short 20 minute trip down the road to Bailey's Berry Patch. Bill and I have been to Bailey's before to pick blueberries, and it's among our favorites. They have deliciously yummy blueberries, blackberries, a small lake next to which you can have a picnic, live music, and lots of good times.

Here the kids each got their own picking bucket (which they got to keep). Many of the blueberries were not yet ripe (did you know blueberries are a lovely shade of pink just before they turn ripe?) so it was kind of a "treasure hunt" to find the big fat juicy ripe blue ones. M and L both were really good at finding excellent blueberres!

By this time it was stinkin' hot outside so none of us lasted too terribly long, which we had anticipated. Bailey's also had a bounce house which the kids enjoyed while we had our berries cleaned and paid for them. Then it was time to cool off in the car again, and long naps for all of us once we got home!

It was hot outside but we all had so much fun! If you live around here and are interested in picking I highly recommend both these places. Bill and I are going blueberry picking again on our own next weekend, we haven't decided yet if we're going back to Bailey's or another of our favorites, Blueberry Hill Farm near Canton. Have I mentioned lately how much I love blueberries???? Soon I will have to start posting pictures of all the yummy ways we eat them!

Garden Volunteers

As an amateur gardener I've always heard about "volunteers", plants that volunteer themselves without you having had the intention to plant them where they bloom. Last year I was pleasantly surprised to find a very large dill plant "volunteering" beside our house. I had no idea where it came from but it was gorgeous! It produced so many dill pods that I even planned to get some pickling cucumbers and try my hand at making pickles, but I got busy and lost track of time.

Also last year, we planted watermelon and cantaloupe seedlings in a section of our back yard that doesn't have really good soil and doesn't grow much...we didn't figure they would grow but thought it was worth a shot. We had torrential rain about two days after putting the baby plants in and they drowned, they never got bigger than having simple cotyledons before dying off. Since that time we've successfully planted rosemary and a rose bush in that area.

Imagine my surprise the other day to see volunteers in the area in between the rose and rosemary! I am not sure which it is (maybe both, or possibly neither) but these appear to be watermelon and/or cantaloupe plants! And they are beautiful and healthy! I could hardly believe my eyes.

I can't wait until we can figure out which it is...I only hope these don't die off!

Nancy Drew Quilt

Recently I posted about how much I loved Nancy Drew mystery stories growing up, and still collect vintage books in the series (although I much preferred Trixie Belden). Several years ago my mom, who is a master quilter with her own shop, was telling me about a quilting method that interested me: making quilt blocks by tracing pictures on fabric and "coloring" them in with crayon, melting the crayon with an iron, and then embroidering around the edges of the picture. With this method the sky is the limit on your creativity in what pictures you draw or theme you use!

I was excited because I had long been thinking on how to put together a Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden quilt. I ended up deciding to go with Nancy because many of the books in her series have a particular "object" that is the main focus of the story, making it easy to choose pictures for the blocks. I chose my 14 favorite Nancy Drew books and found clip art that I could trace onto fabric and color for the drawings. Then came the hard part: embroidering each of the drawings. I was a novice embroiderer (I would say I still am!), so many of my stitches aren't perfect, and I often became impatient with the tediousness of it all and gave up for months at a time. I think it took me over a year to finish this thing.

But the end product was exactly what I had envisioned! I chose blue for the main color because everyone knows blue is Nancy's favorite. For the center, I used the famous very old-style orange and blue silhouette of Nancy with a magnifying glass. This was her emblem long before the yellow hardbacks that I collect began to be printed: beginning in the 1930's Nancy books were printed in blue hardbacks with orange lettering and the famous Nancy silhouette always on the front. 

This is by far the one craft item I have ever done of which I am the most proud! Allow me to show off ever-so-briefly:

The Moonstone Castle Mystery:

The Secret of the Wooden Lady:

The Secret of Shadow Ranch:

The Clue of the Broken Locket:

The Secret of the Old Clock:

The Scarlet Slipper Mystery:

The Ghost of Blackwood Hall:

The Mystery of the Tolling Bell:

The Clue in the Diary:

The Clue of the Velvet Mask:

The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk:

The Sign of the Twisted Candles:

The Clue of the Dancing Puppet:

The Password to Larkspur Lane:

And last but not least, the old-style Nancy silhouette:

The only sad thing about this quilt is that in the house I live in now I no longer have a wall big enough to hang it on for display! That and with two small kids and four furry animals around I just don't quite trust that it won't get something spilled on it or scratched by a cat. So it sits neatly folded up in my closet. Hopefully one day it will have a prominent place for display again!

Embroidery Lessons

Recently I taught my stepdaughter how to embroider. I'm no expert myself but thanks to the tutelage of my mom, who is a master quilter and owns a quilt shop, I can do a few things. I was amazed at how quickly M picked it up, and her tiny fingers aren't nearly as clumsy as my thick adult ones! I got her one of those needle-threaders and she can even pretty much thread her own needle now.

A while back she did a sampler of her name...I won't post it since it's her full name but it's REALLY cute. She did each letter in a different color, then I zigzagged each edge of the rectangle in a bright color. While she was sewing I was telling her that back in the 1700s and 1800s little girls made samplers with their names and usually a motto or a Bible verse, and now those antique samplers are very rare and very expensive. She was so cute, she said "you mean in a hundred years this will be worth a million dollars?!?!" Teehee.

She did this recently which turned out so cute too. Her stitches are very good! After she finished I helped her cut it into a heart shape then zigzagged the edges on the sewing machine. I know my mom is proud to have another young protege!!

My next post will be about my biggest embroidery project ever...my Nancy Drew quilt. Stay tuned!

Build-A-Bear

I've been so fortunate the last two years in a row that my stepdaughter's last day of school had early release, and also happened to be on the days we had the kids. We've kind of made it a "tradition" that I pick her up and we spend the afternoon together just-girls celebrating the end of the schoolyear and beginning of summer. Last year we got our toenails painted and went to see a movie together that she'd been wanting to see. This year we did Build-a-Bear. Later in the weekend we all went back to Build-a-Bear as a family so that my stepson could have one too, I didn't want him to feel left out!

I'd seen those places and knew what they were about, but had never actually stepped inside one before...what a fun experience! The way they have it set up is absolutely adorable.

First, the child (or child-at-heart) picks out an animal from a wide variety of choices. My stepdaughter chose a bunny and my stepson chose a parrot.

Then you take it to the stuffing machine, where you pick out a heart to put inside and the worker has the child do all sorts of cute things with the heart like make a wish on it. Then you stuff your animal.

The child gets to help stuff it by pressing the foot pedal:

My stepkids have a lot of practice with this because I let them press the foot pedal on my sewing machine when I am sewing!

Once the animal is stuffed and sewn up (by the worker) you take it to the bear laundromat and give it a "shower" (air blown by pressing another foot pedal) and brush it:

Next comes the fun (and potentially very expensive) part: picking clothing and accessories! They have a HUGE variety of cute tiny clothes and accessory items, and "dressing areas" where you can try outfits on your animal. Sooooo cute! We giggled so hard at the tiny pink bear-panties!

(One word of caution: those adorable sequined clothes and sparkly shoes and surfboards and backpacks do add up! If you're not careful you could spend way more money here than you meant).

Once you have your outfits picked out you head to the computers to create your animal's birth certificate. This is where you get to pick its name. Once you input all the information (in a very easy-for-kids-to-use way), it will print an official birth certificate on thick paper. Then you take your animal to the register, pay for your stuff, and they box it all up in this cute little cardboard box that is exactly like you get when you adopt an animal at the pound. Sooo cute!

We all had a fabulous time with this, and the kids sure love their animals! M's bunny is named Violet and L's parrot is named Flowers. My favorite part of this is that the kids got to exercise total creativity/individual personality in their choices. No pressure or suggestions or anything about what kind of animal they chose or things to for it to wear....seeing what their own little individual tastes and personalities produced is priceless:

June Crafts

And now for your viewing pleasure, the crafts that appeared in the June edition of StepMom Magazine.

I can't wait to showcase July's! They were some of my most fun yet!

Cookout Cookies

Bouncy July 4th Hat

Foam Fans

May Crafts

I've been negligent in posting pictures of my crafts projects for StepMom Magazine! If you're a subscriber you saw these in the May edition. If you're a stepmom and not a subscriber you're really missing out---each edition is FULL of good stuff!

Memorial Day Bead Pin

Memorial Day Star Wreath

 Pretend Stained Glass

Whimsical Spring Windsock

8-Ball Squash

Last week I saw these very interesting squash at the Farmer's Market:

They are called 8-Ball Squash, and they taste just like regular squash/zucchini. The vendor was also offering simple recipes for stuffing the squash, so I picked up some squash and a recipe and decided to experiment. I took one of their recipe suggestions and added a few things to make it my own and came up with this delicious dinner. We LOVED it! And very healthy too!

I used ground turkey for Bill's, but since I am a vegetarian I used fake-meat crumbles from Morning Star for my own. Also the tomatoes I used were fresh from our garden, even still warm from the sun. Yummy! 

We did have a TON of the stuffing left over, so others may want to halve the ingredients. We were glad to have extra stuffing to use in tomatoes and peppers for other meals, though!

Wendy's Stuffed 8-Ball Squash
6 squash
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cut off the top of the stem of each squash. Put them cut-side down in a pan of about 1/2 inch of water. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes or until tender. When they are cool enough to handle scoop out the middle of each squash and reserve it for the recipe.

Brown the turkey or hamburger meat, then drain the grease. I also sauteed the chopped onion in butter until soft and translucent. Mix the meat, onions, chopped pepper, chopped tomatoes, and most of the cheese together in a bowl. Chop the reserves from the middle of the squash and blend into your mix. Stuff the squash with the mixture, then top with a little bit more cheese. Place the squash on a baking sheet and stick in a pre-heated oven (I used about 350) for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts and the squash are warm. Enjoy!!!

The Dyslexic Comedian

Some of you reading this might not know it, but my sweet husband is as dyslexic as they come. I knew it the first time he ever emailed me, bless his kind heart. His favorite joke is "Dyslexics of the world: UNTIE!"

So today I was emailing Bill about yet another article on Doc that came in the mail today. This is by far my best find EVER: it's a 21 page article, written in 1953 by a young circus horse groom who became such good friends with Doc that they called him "Higgins Jr.". I was emailing him direct quotes from the article, some real gems, such as:

"Suzann Higgins insisted that I take her for a piggy back ride around the back yard while we were relaxing after supper of roast chicken, cornbread, and apple pie. When I finished being her horse we joined Heinz and Roberts and watched a prop hand demonstrate his tap dancing skills on the big top..."

"Otto Griebling and Emmett Kelly hit and chased golf balls around the backyard before the matinee, they were fully made up in the tramp costumes and one would think that two tramps had just jumped off a freight train with their golf clubs. They were funny guys indeed. Ma Higgins and Doc were handing out laundry after she came back from the Bendix. Suzann and Joyce played tag with Chuck and I after supper and then we all went into the big top to watch an old clown Walter Guice work with some of the riding act girls helping them improve their riding act."

"Before lunch Frank told us to go up and report to the immigration tent. I fell in line with Priscilla, the Bearded Lady and her husband Emmett, the Alligator Boy, and Ted Evans the giant. When the officials gave us the okay they rubber-stamped our arms. Doc Higgins kidded me about my circus tattoo."

and a few others mentioning Doc and Suzann. I'm nearly hyperventilating with excitement over this article, I can hardly stand it!

What is Bill's first response to my pure excitement over these wonderful quotes???

"So was there a picture of Alligator Boy?"

Just. Like. Him. But it gets better....when I responded no, he immediately replied with:

"What about the breaded lady?"

hahahaha....yes, you're reading that right, he wrote BREADED lady!! Reminds me of the time he was trying to tell me how bad his allergies were and he wrote "My allegories are really bad today". Bless his sweet little dyslexic heart! I'm used to translating (every now and then he leaves out a very crucial "NOT" which completely changes the meaning of his sentences) so I usually know what he means...but I LOVE it when he comes up with gems like this! I don't know which is better, the awesomeness of the article I received today, or the awesomeness of his response!!!

I love you B!

"Nancy Drew's" Clues to Doc Higgins

I don't think anyone is as interested in this project as I am, with the possible exception of Bill and my mom, but I'm so deep in this I don't really care! For your reading pleasure, the fruits of my detective labor: here is a list of all the things I have found on Doc in my research. Along with three pictures that a kind man from the Circus History Message Board sent to me.

I hope to be able to add to this list after my trip to Atlanta with my mom later this month!

Doc operating the gristmill at the Atlanta Zoo Children's Barn:

Doc on the left, assisted by a City Prisoner and the contract Vet, while they all did a necropsy to determine the cause of death (other than age) of an Asian Elephant at the Altanta Zoo in 1968 (image edited by me to remove the sad dead elephant):

Doc guarding the three elephants at the Altanta Zoo in 1968, while others are removing the body of the fourth elephant who died:

This one is my absolute favorite, I just love the way he's standing looking at the elephants!

Thank you, Mr. Roth, for those wonderful pictures!!

Other gems I have been able to unearth, in chronological order (except where noted, I actually have physical copies and/or originals of all these items):

June 1934
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Volume 38
A list of graduates with a DVM from Cornell University

1937
Modern Veterinary Practice
Volume 18, p. 53
Mention that Dr. Higgins of Flemington NJ spoke to the FFA…
I know this article exists, but have been unable to locate a copy of it

June 9, 1945
Narragansett Park Official Racing Charts
Doc is listed as Owner of two racing horses: “Bill’s Sister” and “After Time”

June 28, 1952
Billboard Magazine
An article titled “Under the Marquee” discusses Doc succeeding Dr. Henderson

January 31, 1953
Billboard Magazine
Mention of Doc along with Dr. Henderson as Ringling veterinarians

September 19, 1953
Billboard Magazine
An article titled “Dressing Room Gossip” mentions Doc, Mrs. Higgins, and Suzann 

February 1954
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Volume 124 p. 165
Doc discussed “A Veterinarian’s Life in the Circus” with fellow JAVMA members at meetings of the Oklahoma chapter

February 20, 1954
Billboard Magazine
An article about the brain surgery of Toto a gorilla titled “Toto II Recuperating After Much Publicized Operation”

March 15, 1954
LIFE Magazine
“Gorilla Brain Surgery” features an article and two pictures in which Doc appears, including a close-up of Doc with Toto 

October 23, 1954
Billboard Magazine
Mention of Doc in article “20 New Additions Bring Ringling Elephant Herd to 50”

1955
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Program
p. 21
“Menagerie Medics” has a mention of Doc and a photo of him treating a bear with the help of Dr. Henderson 

February 12, 1955
Billboard Magazine
Mention of Doc in brief article “Ringling Giraffe Dies in Quarters”

February 26, 1956
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“News of Interest from Aloha Trailer City” mentions Doc, Mrs. Higgins, and Suzann 

July 17, 1956
Sarasota Journal
Among other articles about the circus, a photo of Doc in front of a tiger cage

1957
Bandwagon May-June 1957
p. 6
An article titled “The Circus Doctor Talks About His Odd Patients” by L. M. White

1958
Wild Tigers and Tame Fleas by Bill Ballantine
p. 266
Quote from the book: “Hell, even Doc Higgins”—Smokey referred to the circus’s number 2 veterinarian—“and there ain’t a kinder man livin’—he changed his mind about havin’ to wap elephants once in a while.” 

Spring 1961
Bandwagon March-April 1964
p. 24-25
“Ringling Bros Circus Spring 1961” by Douglas Lyon
Features a photo of the circus arena, and listed among the performers is Doc, Selma (Geneva), and Suzann Higgins

1966
Circus Historians
Robert Brisendine…according to his bio on the Circus History website, “In 1966 (Brisendine) found William Y. Higgins working at the Atlanta Zoo. That led to the recording of Doc’s circus menagerie memoirs.” (cross your fingers we find something good at Emory University, where Mr. Brisendine's collection is stored!)

1967
Bandwagon July-August 1967
Mentions of Doc in “Further Notes About Ringling Hippos 1938-1965” by Richard J. Reynolds III

1968
Bandwagon March-April 1968
p. 10
Doc mentioned in “Circus Zebras” by Richard J. Reynolds III 

July 15, 1972
Tuscaloosa News
A picture of Doc with Frasier the lion and accompanying article “Frazier (sic), National Sex Symbol, Dies”

July 1972
Modern Veterinary Practice
Volume 53, Issue 7, p. 40
Co-authored “Pyothorax in a Lion Cub”
I have been unable to locate a copy of this article 

1974-75
Zoos and Aquariums In the Americas
Listed as a Fellow 

June 1979
Westways Magazine (by Automobile Club of Southern California)
Volume 71, #6
p. 43-45, 80
Wonderful, hilarious mentions of Doc in “Zoolu” about the Wildlife Safari in Oregon

1982
Veterinary Pathology
Volume 19, p. 215
Co-authored “Osteolipomatous Metaplasia in the Liver of Cameloids”

1987
Bandwagon March-April 1987
p. 21
Mentioned in “The Only Circus Okapis” by Richard J. Reynolds III

2003
Bandwagon September-October 2003
Unknown article and photo (waiting on this to come in the mail)

2004
Bandwagon September-October 2004
p. 32
Doc mentioned in “Lotus: Grand Dame of Circus Hippos” by Richard J. Reynolds III 

2008
Bandwagon July –August 2008
p. 4-5
Mention of Doc, Mrs. Higgins, and Suzann in “On the Road With The Big Show in 1953-1954” by Bill Taggert
Accompanying photo of Doc with the bear and Dr. Henderson

2009
Bandwagon September-October 2009
p. 17, 19
Mention in “The 1954 Fall Tour of The Greatest Show on Earth” by Bill Taggert

First Garden Harvest!

I posted recently about our garden, and today I'm proud to present the first fruits of our labor:

A handful of yummy blueberries (have I mentioned lately how much I LOOOOOVE blueberries?!?! Best invention God ever had!!! I could eat blueberries at every meal, any way you serve them. Can't wait for pick-your-own farms to open this month!!! But I digress)

And, four bell peppers and two delicious tomatoes! Except for blueberries there's pretty much nothing better on the face of the earth than a ripe summer tomato. Mmmm!!!

Paging Nancy Drew!

Growing up, I loved Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Hardy Boys mystery stories. Nancy and Trixie were my favorites, although I vastly preferred Trixie over perfect Nancy, who never did anything wrong and was always the best at everything she tried. Trixie was so much more realistic: she fought with her brothers, had problems with math, and was occasionally impulsive, things to which I could certainly relate!

Even now as an adult I still re-read these stories, and I have a somewhat impressive collection of vintage copies of both Nancy and Trixies:

These are my go-to for comfort; whenever I am sick, I want my mommy, a Trixie or a Nancy, and a bowl of tomato-rice soup, in that order.

I've never had a chance to play detective myself until now: what fun it has been recently in my continuing project to find information about Doc Higgins! I get a huge adrenaline rush thrill with every new clue, and I have come across some real gems! I have spent a significant chunk of my life the last few weeks totally immersed in my research: on the internet, at several libraries, and trolling used bookstores. I've been to every Half Price Books in about a 50-mile radius over the last few days! I've found a TON of good things, some of which I'll post later. My mom and I are going to Atlanta in a few weeks to go through the Brisendine Collection at Emory, and we just might hit a real jackpot there. I can hardly wait!

But there are still at least three parts to this mystery that I have not been able to wrap up, and it's practically driving me nuts. Finding those pieces to my puzzle is all I can think about: I'm even dreaming about Doc and missing pieces! When my mom was immersed in her genealogy research a few years ago she used to tell me that she would lay awake at night thinking of her mysteries, and then dream about the people she was researching. Yep, that must run in the family!