An Unexpected Opportunity for Some Serious R & R

When we first moved back to my husband's small town and he took over responsibility for his family's funeral home, we learned so much about the role of a funeral director. My eyes were opened to the compassion and stability my husband would provide to so many families. I also learned that someone needs to be available to answer the funeral home phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The first year my husband was that person. It was a challenge and we are thankful that we now have another employee with whom to share this responsibility.




Sometimes a situation will arise that offers an opportunity. Last week my husband oversaw a funeral in our building and the family asked if he could drive their loved one down to the Branson, Missouri area for a burial. 99.9% of the time we find a way to fulfill each families wishes and he agreed. My husband calculated the drive time and realized he would need to spend the night. The night, you say?



Over the years, we have heard about the Big Cedar Lodge in the Branson area and an idea was hatched.




I stowed away and after the burial, we headed south to the Big Cedar Lodge. Have you been there?





The road leading to the property winds all around through the woods and sports a "Don't even think about riding your motorcycle on this road" sign. The registration and nearby buildings are gorgeous, both inside and out with a post and beam design, beautiful stained glass and glorious views. We walked over to a cozy coffee house and sat out on the patio in the January 65-degree weather?!?! Can you explain that temperature to me?





Several lodges overlook the valley and this was ours, Falls Lodge...

Our room had a fireplace, jetted tub and balcony. We enjoyed the sunset from that balcony. We were also joined by many creatures, very similar to the room shown here...

no big deal when you are married to a hunter who has more mounted animals than this mini-collection.

Later we ventured to one of the restaurants. You may wonder about a Devil's Pool Restaurant or a Buzzard Bar, but we ate surprisingly well. KC Strip for him and Shrimp Pasta in Marinara Sauce for her.

Big Cedar Lodge is owned by the Bass Pro Shop, so you won't be surprised to learn that I anticipated a bait shop feel with a hunting lodge setting. Thankfully, I was wrong! The property and lodges do have a wildlife theme, but they also encompass all the modern ammenities with a few surprises thrown in. Artisan ironwork graced every building and our room was spectacular. My partner in this sneak getaway was a huge part of the package...you'll have to come up with your own on that one.

We're back to the real-world, re-charged, ready to wrangle boys and take care of business.

It's About the Hunt

It all started many years ago something like this...

Bart - John, best friends in college
John - Shermoe, hunting buddies
Shermoe - Big Wave, hunting buddies
Big Wave meets Bart and they become hunting buddies.


Big Wave, nicknames are a plus, has been driving from Michigan to stay with us during hunting season for many years. He usually comes on very short notice and stays anywhere from a couple of days to more than a week. Panic, you say? Inconvenience? Nope! He's the easiest houseguest you will ever have. He comes home after dark, goes to bed before the kids and leaves in the morning around 4:30 a.m. He also calls on his way to the house offering to stop for groceries, bears gifts of homemade delicacies from his garden bounty and tells great stories.

Why, you may ask, does this guy drive from Michigan to Kansas twice a year?

Buckasaurus

To hear him tell it, Michigan does not have a large deer population but they do have a huge hunter population. Kansas, on the other hand, has a huge deer population and not a large hunter population. Kansas also has acres and acres of prime deer habitat...so much so that these areas are overpopulated.

Kansas is where Buckasaurus lives!

In the last few years, I've suspected that Bigwave has an alterior motive.

Cocobolo's Restaurant in Manhattan.

It has become an anticipated part of each visit...we head to Cocobolo's for some margaritas and de-vine food.

This year we took another hunting buddy, Ron, with us.

Thankfully his wife, Sherry, joined us, too. There's only so much pretending I can do that they are in the woods photographing wildlife when two or three hunters get together to tell stories with only one she-girl along.

Now he's a happy man! He can "photograph" his Buckasaurus and head home.

See you next spring, Bigwave.

Back to the 80s

We continued to celebrate Rechelle's 4-0 birthday last night. She and a gang of newly 40 gals decided to host an 80s party. She explains it here.

Initially I wasn't feeling the 80s vibe and decided to wear a retro-ish shirt and old knit poncho, then the day before the party I sat in my closet and tried to conjure the perfect 80s outfit. As my eyes scanned the pants, shirts, sweaters and skirts, a little something caught my eye.

Do you see it?

It's was crammed back in there with my old business suits and high school prom dresses. Thank you, Mom, for saving these treasures all these years.

I thought, "ok, if I can get my 40-something self into that, I will just have to wear it". By some miracle I got the thing on, so I explained my plan to my husband. He ran downstairs and came back with his "plan".

Here we are in our 80s glory...the Kirkwood High School hockey cheerleader and the Wamego High School tennis star!

Our friends, Dale and Nancy came over just before the party. Nancy helped me try to get big gorgeous hair like hers. Ah...well, half a can of hairspray later. I wasn't one who ever truly achieved big hair. I must not have had enough AquaNet...

Off to the party we went, which conveniently was next door!

Here are the birthday girls ...

You could start a forest fire with that cake! Us over-40s can throw down the jokes, can't we???

We spent the first half hour cracking up at all the "costumes" from Flashdance to Preppy to Madonna to High School Jocks... and lots of mullett wigs. We then danced the night away to all those unforgettable 80s tunes by the Flock of Seagulls, The Gogos, The Bengals, The Clash, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Prince... now that was a night to remember. Thanks, Rechelle and Mike for hosting!

For more 80s retrospective, check www.countrydoctorswife.com.

That Just Right Piece of Furniture

This house of ours had a deep, painful void. A place of emptiness... cold, vast and unpleasant. Yes, that's the only way to describe it! Oh, not really, but it makes the story more interesting, don't you think?

In our eating area of the kitchen, we had a wall with a nothingness quality to it. We tried to fill it with plants and then commenced to ignore it's unfinished appearance. We looked for just the right hutch for more than two years. Who knew it could be so difficult to find the right piece of furniture! What we found was either of the wrong style or, more often, the wrong price range. You know that range...way too much!

I had a little time recently and secreted myself away to Topeka and I saw her. At first my mind could not, would not register what I was seeing! There she was and she was perfect. She was newly made in an old style using salvaged wood. So she has a comfortable, well-used patina. I fell deeply in love with her...now what would my husband think?

To my deep satisfaction he loved her, too. At least he humored me with, "yes, honey, it's perfect". I know he cares for her about as much as our cats. So we bought her and pulled our previously readied van around back. To my frustration we found that only her bottom would fit in the van. I know usually it's the bottom that has trouble squeezing in, but you see, she's very tall. We explained we would return with a truck. With one last look, we said goodbye and promised to return as soon as possible.

If she had known the state of her chariot, she may not have agreed to come home with us. Our truck is a classic, a 1975 Ford that was once used to deliver monuments to the local cemeteries. It must have had a life before stone deliveries that involved emergencies judging from the light on top?!?

It's not safe to drive this particular truck more than 55 miles an hour, but we were in no hurry. My boys refuse to ride in it anywhere beyond town for fear a door will fall off. We brushed all this aside because our hutch needs to come home.

A moment to talk about the store where we found this hutch: Gallery Classics. It's a wonderful store filled with Belgian antiques and all manner of gorgeous house decorating accessories. If you are in Topeka or even the state of Kansas, you may want to stop in at this store. I know it's not the first time I've told you to drive for hours for something, but if you've taken my advice and had some Ted Drewes custard, you'll be loading up this weekend to visit Gallery Classics. I just know it!

We gently laid her better half in the truck, carefully strapped her in and headed home. We nearly killed me carrying her into the house. I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to carrying furniture, even though my incredibly patient husband has the heavy end.

Once we got her positioned, we stood back and thought...just right. It will probably take years to fill her shelves, but that's ok, as I imagine the collection of keepsakes will eventually tell our family story.

"Honey, about those curtains."

I think I heard groaning.

The Great Wall

We had a bit of a drainage problem after the house was completed, so earlier this spring we had the handy-dandy, earth-mover man come and re-work our driveway.

As an added bonus, his work created a place where we needed a rock retaining wall. In my imagination, this wall would offer endless landscaping opportunities... or at the very least add some interest to the front yard. The only downside is most of my outside "images" involve work for the husband. Fortunately on this one he didn't seem to mind.

We headed down to the local stone yard and selected a tumbled limestone called Dover Shell. This stack was delivered Saturday morning.

After the rain stopped and the area dried up enough, Bart got busy on this weekender project. He measured, dug, selected, hauled and leveled. Repeat, repeat, repeat!

As I watched and took photos I could feel some words bubbling up and pushing to get out..."would you like some help?"

"Sure".

My job was backfilling behind the stones. I felt a compulsive need to try to separate as much dirt as possible from the gravel. ho ho hee hee...I'm afraid, I wasn't much help.

About as much as the cats....

...who had a compulsive need to walk the wall.

The hubby finished up on Sunday evening.

Isn't it cool???

Kitten Wins Over A Devoted Dog Lover

For those of you that know my husband well, this is a remarkable moment. For those that do not, please let me explain:



My husband does not like cats...that's simply to mild...



My husband hates cats! Can't stand them! He's even been overheard saying cats were put on this earth to be drop-kicked.

This abandoned kitty, named Sox by the boys, seems to be getting under his skin.

Do you suppose he may even pet the kitten?

Could we dare to think he may coo to it?

Coo to it??? Uuuh, no cooing, definitely NO cooing.

Now wait a minute, after examining this photo a little closer... I believe he was watching TV...yes, I'm sure of it. It was probably ESPN! That explains everything! He didn't even KNOW the kitten was in his lap!!!

Dang it, I thought for sure we had had a breakthrough.

Important Note: This story is greatly exaggerated. It's true and I just didn't want any confusion about it. My husband LOVES all domesticated animals, especially our three boys.

A Little Funeral Home History

My husband, Jess Barton "Bart", is the fourth generation mortician in his family. His father, Jess, of course, is the third generation. Jess and Bart's mother, Lauranell, have some intriguing old photos from the family business. The photos are included below with a history complied from an interview with Jess.

In 1897, my husband's great-grandfather, J. E. Stewart, began a furniture-hardware-undertaking business on the main floor of The Columbian Theater building.

In case it doesn't show clearly, the words Hardware and Furniture appear on either side of J. E. Stewart and Sons sign. An Undertaking sign hangs below.


It may sound like a strange business combination, but it made sense for the times. Furniture makers often also made caskets and they needed hardware to finish the job. J. E. sold solid walnut furniture made by the Abernathy Co. of Kansas City, and he employed a local finish carpenter to build caskets.

When a person died, J. E. would go to the family's home to prepare the body for viewing. As was common for undertaking, the family kitchen was the hub of his work. The family then went into the store to select a design for the casket and plan the services. Funeral services took place in the home or the family's church. Jess remembers moving many chairs and floor lamps into homes when he was a boy.

Pictured above is the black team of horses with the funeral hearse. J. E. also owned a white team and the family chose which horses would transport their loved one.

In 1918, J. E. bought this hearse, which was the first motorized hearse in Kansas.

A wealthy businessman named Louis Leach lived in our town for many years. In the 1880s, he built the Leach Opera house.

He also built this beautiful home across the street. The two buildings were connected by an underground tunnel. The actors and musicians would stay at the Leach home and all would travel to the Opera House via the tunnel. Within the basement of the Opera House were Turkish steam baths and the tunnel made using the baths and returning to the home during the winter comfortable and private.

By 1918, Mr. Leach had been living with his children in California for a number of years. He wrote a letter to the city council wishing to sell the opera house to the city for $2000. He did not want to be paid but rather have the city donate the money to various local charitable organizations. The city turned him down. J. E. wrote to Mr. Leach and accepted his offer.

So the Stewart Funeral Home opened in the old Leach Opera House building. Now, the option of having J. E. come pick up the person who had died and make preparations at the funeral home was available. Many families chose this option right away and over time all did.

Because the vehicles used by funeral homes were often large and able to hold a cot, many funeral homes also ran the ambulance service. The Stewart Funeral home did as well from the early 1930s into the 1960s. The family charged $5 a call for many years. This was not a profitable amount, but Jess's father, Harold Stewart, viewed this as a service to the community.



Bart's grandparents, Harold and Ruth, lived in this sweet house next door to the Leach Opera House. It even has an "S" for sweet on the chimney. Ok, I know it was really for Stewart.

In 1998, Bart joined the family business and the current location was completed in the same year. The current location was designed by Jess and Jess, Lauranell, Bart and I worked together to make the construction and decorating decisions. The new location offers much more parking and is on one level to make it handicapped accessible. The design is more open and added a family hospitality area. So the fourth generation of the Stewart family continues to provide funeral service needs to the families of the community.

The First Day of Summer Vacation

From my perspective, today is the first real day of summer vacation - the first day the kids aren't due at school. I'm thinkin' a nice quiet day.


Are you kidding me??? We took off this morning for guitar lessons, followed by shorts and baseball cleat shopping, and then baseball lessons. As we walked into the baseball school, we noticed that the left back tire was nearly flat... which lead to this.






Bet you can't tell we're country folk.

By late afternoon we had called The Mortician twice for assistance. First he came to get the car with the flat tire. I love this man. Next he came home from work to get this guy...







You see, the kids have been fishing quite a bit in the pond the last few days. One day they ended late and had three large fish on a stringer. Since they planned to fish again in the morning they decided to leave the fish on the stringer overnight. In the morning when they checked on the fish, one-half of a fish was missing. So this was not a case of escape, freedom, back to the cool pond waters. Something ate that half of a fish and sometime in the morning it came back for the other piece. My husband's conclusion: a huge snapping turtle. Yikes!



So when word filtered back to me today that the kids in the neighborhood had found a huge snapping turtle and my husband was on scene, I needed to go take a look... and a few pictures.

The Mortician and a neighbor had a plan. They would "humanely" put the turtle out of this life with a shotgun! Oh, boy. As I snapped photos, an idea dawned on me and I said to my husband, "How about you put the turtle in the back of your suburban, drive it down the road to the creek and let it loose?"

His reply based on the unnerving hissing noises and the 1" stick the turtle had broken like a toothpick, was, "why don't you put it in the back of YOUR van, drive it down the road and let it loose."

"Ok!!!!" Am I a good bluffer or what???

He added, "Anyway, it will just come back."

Being a little stubborn, a bit bossy and full of ideas. I replied, "well, how about farther down the road to the river?"



It must have been what felt like a half-a-million little eyes, ages 9 through 14, that made him grumble, "Oh, alright!" Did I mention I love this man? I do not have a PETA membership, I swear. It's just that even a frightening, incredibly ugly creature such as this turtle, should have a chance if there's a reasonable one. Right?

He threw the turtle in the back, we all jumped in the cars and off we went.







The Mortician chucked the turtle down the hill to the river.






As he walked back to his car, with a devilish grin on his face, he said, "If that turtle comes back, he is going to KILL us!"

The turtle's new home, that is, if it survived the fall.