Kansas Dialogue Weekend

This is Kansas Dialogue Weekend and it has been my favorite so far of the six I've been to. Kansas Dialogue is an opportunity to gather with people from around the state and have an off-the-record conversation about issues affecting us. The theme this year is "Neighborhoods."

I spoke this morning about "new neighborhoods," referring to online ways of making community. I just glossed over a lot of things, and didn't get nearly as in-depth as I would have liked, but overall it went well I think. There's so much to that topic once you start thinking about it.

I haven't had a chance to really visit with some of the folks I generally see at Kansas Dialogue every  year. It's funny how those things work out - some years you just go in different directions I guess. There are some new folks this time - fascinating people. And our hosts are doing an exceptional job of having everything run smoothly.

There are some people here I don't see any other time of year and I wish I did. I find more than a couple of the people here to be folks I could visit with for many hours and never tire of talking with them.

It would be so cool to have a meetup/conversation with blog readers, but I think it would be a difficult thing to organize. Folks are pretty spread out. But it sure would be fun...

The Journey by Mary Oliver

I was reading some poetry recently and ran across this by Mary Oliver. I haven't read anything by her I haven't liked.

I don't write poetry, and don't even read a lot of poetry, but I've learned to appreciate the turn of phrase that only a master of the language can produce.

I love the last few lines of this poem. They really resonate with me on multiple levels.

The Journey
by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Photos are a Window to the Past

This photo is of my mom, Mary Lea Myatt Terrell, on the right, and my dad's sister Margorie LaVerne Terrell Duffany Gordon on the left. I'm guessing it was taken in about 1937 because during the flooding that year my mom's family moved out of the Barlow Kentucky river bottoms to higher ground and happened to move to land owned by my dad's family. My dad was working as a mechanic in Paducah, Kentucky at the time and when the water came over the flood gates there, he moved the thirty miles south, home to Ballard County, and that's when my mom and dad met. They were married in January of 1938.

Aunt LaVerne lived in California by the time I came along twenty plus years later, but moved back to Kentucky in my early teen years. Her son, Tim, was just a year or so older than me and I loved going up to Stella, Kentucky, where they lived.

You may wonder why the Kentucky Historical Society banner is on it. It's because some years ago they did a project called "An Ohio River Portrait," which is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. They traveled along the river and copied photos people brought in all along the way. I made a trip back to Kentucky just for that, and even produced some oral history interviews for them, as well as was interviewed myself. They also interviewed Mama.

I ran across this photo by accident when I was googling myself. I may share some more here in the coming months. Of course, I still have the photos, but they're locked away in a safety deposit box and not easily accessible. Conveniently, The Kentucky Historical Society has made them easy to access. And they've retouched them so they're clearer, too.

I'm so thankful to have photos that offer a little glimpse into other lives.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

Goodwill Find of a Porcelain Box Made in Japan

I've been frequenting Goodwill lately and have found some real treasures. Well, at least I think they're treasures. Occasionally I do remind myself - "Hey, you're buying things other people have discarded." But, I find things there I really enjoy.

I always head straight to the dishes and knick-knacks. Today I found this little box. Isn't it sweet? It says Japan on the bottom of it and had a little gold tag that said Thames, as best I could tell. It came off because they put tape over it to hold the lid on.

I assume it was made to hold rings or something, and I don't know that I'll ever use it for anything in particular, but I was really drawn to the shape of it, as well as the design. It definitely has that Japan look with the gold lines drawn on in a very clean style.

It's just a little something I'll enjoy having around, that will make me smile when I see it.

Shouldn't we all take every opportunity to surround ourselves with things that make us smile? I think so.

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MHA Victorian Tea in Hutchinson Kansas

I have tons of wonderful photos of people enjoying the MHA (Mental Health America of Reno County) Victorian Tea this past Saturday. This is one of our major fundraisers each year. Greg took photos for me and captured so many great moments.

When people come in the door, they stop and register for a drawing and find out where they're seated. Phyllis, who's closest to the camera behind the table, has worked almost every tea with me. She has become quite the expert.



Our mission is to encourage positive mental health and it's not difficult to see that is definitely happening during the tea. People have a good time.





My friends, Teresa and Susan, were having fun.



Susan drove down from Valley Falls, and brought our friend, Cynthia from Horton with her. I'm guessing they would get the prize for most distance traveled.



It worked out that I had an extra place at the MHA's table, and so Teresa got to sit with Susan and Cynthia, which was great. We've all been to tea together in Hiawatha.

Precisely at 3 p.m. we open the doors so people can look at the tables before tea starts. They are all decorated by different businesses, organizations and individuals. I'm going to show each one. The variety is amazing.

I'll start with the MHA table I did. My theme was Lavendar and Lace.







All That Jazz did a table again this year. They are creative gals. Their theme was daisies.







Carrie Lynn's Flowers did a really elaborate table with a Tea Party on the Beach theme.





Altrusa did a table again this year. Their colors are blue and white...



Shanna Soukup, a former board member, did a table with a butterfly theme.



Absolutely Flowers did a table with help from Andrea Ewert.





Andrea also did the Thanksgiving Table for the Hutchinson High Counseling Center.





The Hutchinson Recreation Commission Elmdale 50+ program did a beautiful table titled, "Gather Me The Rose."







Nancy Murry did a table for Friendship Force that was a 12 Days of Christmas theme.





The Kansas Underground Salt Museum did a table with - appropriately enough - a salt theme.



We are very fortunate to be able to hold our tea at Grace Episcopal Church in Hutchinson. They have been so incredibly gracious in letting us use their facility for the past three years. It is a wonderful setup and they're very generous to host us. I'd like to say a public thank you to the staff and congregation there for their kindness.

Our menu is different each year, although there are some standards I always have. This year it was:


Tea Menu

Sandwiches and Savories
Cucumber Sandwich
Tuna on multi-grain Bread
Egg Salad on Wheat
Carrot Chip
Calla Lily design with herb mix
Pimento Cheese on Rye
Tomato Boat

Bread Course
Scones with Clotted Cream
(from Metropolitan Coffee)
Pumpkin Bread

Sweets
Sugar Cookie
Ginger Cookie
Orange Cake
Lemon Curd Tart
Mini-Eclair
Chocolate Cupcake





We plate the food in the kitchen on clear plastic plates, then we sit those on top of people's china. That way we never have to touch the china people use to decorate the tables. I don't want to take a chance on breaking anything as it's often people's family heirlooms.



Precisely at 3:30 we start tea and begin bringing out the food and the tea. Board members and volunteers help make it all happen. Here Andrea and Sheila are preparing. Also helping Saturday were Hazel, Nancy and Gary - as well as bunches of volunteers.



We had wonderful entertainment this year. Sheila Lisman, a local writer, read some of her work. She had everyone laughing hysterically more than once.



She did one piece about hats, which was very appropriate because we had the Red Hot Lady Bugs joining us for tea.They were incredibly gracious ladies.



My friend, Sondra, came for tea...



and brought her neighbor, Kay.





I'm so fortunate to have great board members who help with the tea in multiple ways from finding people who want to do tables, to pouring tea and cleaning up, and everything in between. Gary Hughes even frosted the sugar cookies that morning and then came back to pour tea.








Sheila poured tea, too.





I love this photo of Joyce Nelson. She was seated at a table with Daisies as the theme, and look at the band on her hat. I had no idea what she was wearing when I made the table assignments, of course. To top it off, she won the prize at her table, which included some dishes with daisies on them.



Mary Hildebrand is the queen of her red hat group. You can tell by the little crown nestled into her hat.



Nancy Murry made the scones and also helped pour tea.





Sonja came with Juanita Bacon. I really like both these ladies.









My friend, Jan, was able to come, too...





Andrea and Linda were having fun... even before things got underway. Love that!





Marcella and Scarlett came for tea.



All in all, people had a good time. At least they seemed to.




I really enjoy that we create a memorable experience for people, but it does wear me out. I cook all the food except the scones. And, this time I bought the mini-eclair. It's a lot of work to cook that much food for 60 people - 62 this time - but I do love the look of it all on the plate. I'm still in love with those mini pumpkin bread loaves.



And, all those little touches that make the event work take time and energy. But, if you don't take care of the little details it's not a well done event. I think I mentioned these little vignettes a few days ago. It's those little things that become significant in their whole.



If I could figure out how to make it so I'm not the only one working on those little details it would be much easier. But, oh my goodness, I have so much help. The Volunteer Center gets a lot of volunteers for me. Amy came and helped on Saturday, and board members jump right in. Not to mention Greg taking photos.

We also had help this year from Zoomdweebies Tea Bar in Wichita, Kansas. They donated the tea, and it was wonderful. We had many comments from folks about it.

They're also offering a 15% discount to MHA folks through the end of the month for orders through the website. Just put in MHA as the discount code. It was delicious and I really appreciated their donation. We serve a large quantity of tea. We have served as many as 400 cups of tea. I'm adamant about keeping the cups full.

I brewed it this year using a concentrate formula so the water was freshly boiling when it was served. Here's the recipe I use:

Tea Concentrate
for 100 Servings:
1 gallon of boiling water
2 cups loose tea

Make the tea and let cool to room temperature, strain at least twice and then pour into sealed containers and store in refrigerator. Use 2 tablespoons of tea concentrate for each cup of tea, filling the remainder of the cup with hot water. So, if you're using a six cup teapot, that is 3/4 cups of concentrate into the pot, then fill it the rest of the way with hot water.

I implore you, please, learn how long to brew the particular tea you are using so you can do it properly. Don't over-brew or it will be bitter. And strain multiple times with a tea strainer, not a kitchen strainer.

If you're using multiple teapots, you'll need to figure out how many cups each one holds so you'll know how much concentrate to use. This is where that algebra will come in handy!

I was really fortunate I had a couple of volunteers who took this job to heart and did it perfectly this time.

Some of the volunteers were talking about me before we opened the doors - not in a bad way. I, who am not a detail person at all, turn into a stickler for every little detail at tea. It's everything - from how the plates are put together (all identical), to how they're placed on the table (cucumber sandwich at the guest's belly button), to how we have to be very quiet in the kitchen so we don't disturb people at the tables near there, to every teacup handle being at 4 o'clock, and every chair being an equal distance from the tables.

I'm convinced all of those little details are what create a memorable event. We gave people an opportunity for relaxation and bonding - two things that are definitely good for mental wellness.

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Check http://www.patsyterrell.com/ for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.