Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch: Givin’ and Gettin’- Country Style

I know why gifts from the country are always homemade; there are few stores around here that sell gifts.  The local co-op has a small selection, but if you are not interested in the John Deere brand, you probably need to look elsewhere.  That’s why I have what I like to call a “craft closet.”  It is full of discarded material, old jeans, paint, glue and just about anything else one would need to create a homemade, ahem, I mean a hand-crafted gift.  All you need to get started is a pair of blue jeans, some time, and a little inspiration.

denim quilt
My blue jean scrap quilt won first place in the fair this year.

Denim Quilt:  Old jeans + material sale at Wal-mart = fabulous denim quilt.  Mine won first place at the local county fair this year.  My 7th grade class made another one for my friend Angela before her husband left to serve our country in Iraq.  The students brought in their out-grown jeans to use which made it extra special.

Wine bag
You don't have to be a wine drinker to like this little bag. I think home made jelly and jam will fit in here too.

Red, White & Brew: Well, that was the name of a party we had for Bryan when he joined the Army Reserves, but I stole it to name my wine bag made out of the leg of a pair of jeans.  It had a red and white checked lining.   This gift is useless if you can’t purchase wine to go in it because you live in a dry county.  I guess you could name it Red, White, and Glue and include some Elmer’s.  No.  Don’t do that.  Add a green ribbon and it magically turns into a Christmas-themed Dirty Santa gift.

aCROSS the room: I made cross pillows out of six squares of fabric, usually at least one square, or the back, is made from blue jeans.  I’ve created them in three sizes.  I put a pocket on the back and put a little note in some of them.  They seem to be well-received by the recipients.  I have several around my own house.

cross pillows
There's no such thing as "too many pillows!"

Recipe in my Pocket: These are pot holders made out of the pockets of, you guessed it, jeans.  The pockets hold little notecards or recipe cards.

Denim Purse: I wish this had a cool name.  It’s the top part of a pair of jeans.  My husband, Greg, helped me put grommets in the waistband to hold a strap.  I also figured out a way to install a snap so it stays closed.  I line each one with whatever fabric I can find in the closet.  I feel like every work day is “Casual Friday” when I carry it.

Tag Rag
The Tag Rag. Another example of "necessity is the mother of invention."

Tag Rag: Several factors went into the creation of the Tag Rag.  I was working outside in the garden.  Sweat dripped in my eye.  My sewing machine had been sitting idle for awhile. I was into gardening and couldn’t get enough of the great gardening quotes out there, so I embroidered one of my favorite quotes on the corner of each one. Voila!  The Tag Rag was born.  If you have not cut up all of your jeans for crafts, this looks great worn with a pair of them and an old t-shirt.

Wow.  That’s just the “givin’” list, and that’s not even all of it.  My “gettin’” list is just as great:  a gallon of fresh blueberries; my Mustang, Jet; a sackful of Daylillies and numerous other plant cuttings; and let’s not forget my dog Mae, giver unknown, who has truly been the best gift of all.

The next time you are in the giving mood, consider a hand-crafted creation.  Just keep at least one pair of your jeans intact to wear on the weekend.

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Silent Sundays: 9/26/10 – Images pulled from The Oklahoman, 9/25/1910, 100 years ago

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

"Packing Town" (Stockyards) to open October 1, 1910 - CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW, PARTIAL ARTICLE ONLY
Eat Your Grape Nuts! - CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

Demonstrations at the State Fair - "...Corsetry is a fine art"

Note: There were approximately 5-10 "tonics" for various ailments on sale through the newspaper. All "proven" and "not imitations like the others."

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Saturday Morning RDC News

Dear friends,

I’m in Atlanta at a conference this week.  Kendy’s been soccer-momming, Rob: coaching, Mark: geoteching, Joey: thinking and writing, Julie: teaching and farming, Lamar: holding his beautiful baby girl, Josh: advising, and Rachel: studying.  I share these “every day life” details about our contributors because I’m just really grateful for our team of volunteers and what they do.  None of them have to write, yet all of them do…thanks to all of them!

In about eight weeks, our website will have a new look and will be easier to navigate.  There will be “one-stop-shopping” in terms of pages and categories, and the design will be customized just for us.  I’m already looking forward to it after seeing the new masthead…eee!  We should probably have a launch party…

We were chosen for WordPress.Com’s “Freshly Pressed” feature Thursday morning.  Our site received one-third more views that day than our historical highest.  It’s kind of like the weather in Oklahoma…we have a record lows, and that was certainly a record high.

In closing, I wanted to tell you about a funny interaction I had in the Starbuck’s line at the Marriott Marquis yesterday morning.  As I head downstairs each morning I make mental bets with myself on how many people will be populating the line.  I was thinking “12” in my head.  There were 15.  About five minutes into the waiting-to-order process, I engaged the girl in front of me by saying, “So – this line is generally long all day, isn’t it?”  What followed was just downright weird.

She looked at me as though trying to focus, looked down at her phone, and in broken English replied, “This doctor has made a bra that serves as a gas mask.  My friend sent this to me, would you like to see it?”  Baffled at the bizarre response to my attempt at conversation, I took her phone and glanced at the screen.  The only thing showing on the screen was this word: “EBbra.”  I handed the phone back to her and said, “Well, yes, that is an interesting invention.”  She looked at me with the gaze of an innocent child and said, “Yes.  A very helpful invention for our society.”  Then she turned back around and didn’t say another word to anyone else in line.

I made a mental note to check “EBbra” when I got back to the room.

The “Emergency Bra” does indeed exist and was designed by Dr. Elena Bodnar.  I think Dr. Bodnar my have Red Dirt in her veins as well.  After all, last Saturday’s essay was about a bra saving my friend’s life (alternative uses for lingerie) and Thursday’s essay was about an alternative use for barf bags, right?  Industrious people, we are, here in Red Dirt Country.  And, clearly Dr. Bodnar is as well.  You can find her demonstrating how to take off, detach into two pieces, and then apply to your face in gas-mask fashion this invention on YouTube.  Click here for the demonstration.

Well, that’s about it for right now.  With this news update I’m sending you warm wishes and hoping you have a safe and happy weekend.

All the very best to you and yours…Red Dirt Kelly

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Home of the Sooners or Home of the Brave?

Tradition matters to me.  Maybe it’s because I don’t like change, or maybe I just like knowing what to expect.  Christmas Eve is a big one.  I want the same routine every year.  Get dressed for church  and sit in the living room by the tree eating cookies we decorated.  Listen to music while sipping sparkling cider.  Pile into the Suburban, drive around looking at Christmas lights then off to candlelight service at 11.  Open presents Christmas morning.  From this there must be no deviation or it simply isn’t Christmas.

I’m not sure when it started or how it happened, but yelling “SOONERS” instead of the word “brave” at the end of the national anthem, has become a tradition in Norman.  Most OU fans probably didn’t pay much attention to the lyric change until last weekend.  With the Air Force Academy coming to Owen Field, Bob Stoops asked the Sooner faithful to not only cheer for the Falcons when they entered the stadium but to break tradition and sing the word “brave” out of respect to the young men serving our country.  The previous Saturday, the ninth anniversary of 9/11, the school made the same request to fans, only to hear “SOONERS” drown out any bold enough to say “brave.”

I’ve been in that stadium and trust me, there’s something powerful about hearing “SOONERS” spring from the throats of 85,000 people.  I never thought much of it; just a small part of the OU gameday experience.  There is way too much political correctness in this country. But there is a time for reflection and sensitivity and I think that time is now Sooner fans.

Is it time to change tradition? (courtesy myxer.com)

No matter where you’re from or what football team you support, I believe you are an American first and a citizen of your state second.  College football isn’t just an Oklahoma thing, or a Texas thing, or an Arkansas thing.  It’s an American thing.  It’s part of our sports identity as Americans.

Now ask yourself, “What allows me to be here on this gorgeous fall Saturday?  What allows me to tailgate, wear what I want, scream like an idiot when it goes our way and mope when it doesn’t?  What allows me to bring my son or my daughter to this place for the very first time and share with them the magic of a football Saturday?  Simply stated, what allows me to be a fan?”

The answer is blood.  The same answer for why we enjoy so many spectacular freedoms in this country.  Blood shed around the world and here at home, by men and women who sacrificed to make America the great country it is today.  “Brave” isn’t just a word that closes out a catchy tune.  It means someone left home, left their family, voluntarily went into harms way and paid the ultimate price for you.  I’m guilty of going through the motions with the national anthem.  Let’s get the game going already.  But a little reflection on its words goes a long way toward changing my attitude.

The fans who choose to say “SOONERS” aren’t being intentionally disrespectful.  They’re not going out of their way to diminish the anthem or try to make some kind of statement.  They’re red-blooded, patriotic Americans, embracing a tradition.  However, sometimes tradition needs to be put aside.  Can’t you still get chills from tens of thousands yelling “brave” instead of “SOONERS?”  I’d hope so.  Cutting out the “SOONERS” doesn’t make you less of an OU fan.  Come on, nobody is mistaking you for a neutral party when you’re decked in crimson from head to toe and you’re wearing a schooner hat.

There are plenty of traditions already in place in Norman (courtesy replayphotos.com)

Plus, there are plenty of perfectly good traditions already in place.  The drum major strutting his way across the field.  The giant Oklahoma flag and the way the P.A. announcer says, “It’s footbaaallll tiiime in Okkk-la-homaaaaaa!”  There’s the singing of the alma mater, and the video that declares, “There’s only one Oklahoma.”  One side of the stadium chanting “Boomer” and the other side screaming “Sooner.”  You’ve got Ruf-nex firing shotguns, a pretty girl in a covered wagon, and that moment when you’re team finally takes the field.  How much more fired up do you need to get?  If you still insist on yelling “SOONERS” why not do it at the end of the Oklahoma state song?

We’re only sayin’, you’re doin’ fine Oklahoma!  Oklahoma, O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma!…SOONERS!.

Sing it in your head.  It works – believe me.

Old habits die hard, Sooner fans.  This is the right thing to do.  After all, new traditions have to start somewhere.

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