Featured this week......

This week we have a crafter from Fox, Ar. --a town that many of you probably have never been to, but if you have been there, chances are you will remember it!

                                                             Cynthia's Weavings

 I'm a self taught weaver with a focus on clothing and household items.

 I love playing with painted warps and bamboo or
 any other slinky fiber for fun to wear pieces.

Cynthia is another of our local crafter's that traveled many places before finding
 'our neck of the woods' and deciding to call it home.
 Read more about her experiences on her
Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/CynthiasWeavings/info

 You can see more of her one of a kind items
and contact her through her Facebook page             
https://www.facebook.com/CynthiasWeavings

Featured this week..............

Today we have a local craftsperson, with a craft that dates back to  Civil war time.
                                                   
                                          Hand Cranked socks by
                                                 Kat's Creations.

Socks are cranked on an Erlbacher Gearhart antique style sock machine using wool/nylon sock yarn. This type of machine was used in the civil war and WWI to make socks for soldiers.
  During the depression machines like this were sold door to door as a way for women to make money. The Gearhart company would supply the yarn and buy back the socks their customers produced.

                                                                 

                        Available locally at Exotic cuts and gifts,
                                   420 Main street, Leslie, Ar
             https://www.facebook.com/pages/Exotic-Cuts-and-Gifts/124931750870693

Or by contacting Kathy directly:

Kathy Bergeron

870 447-6131

kathryn_b@windstream.net

 and  Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/kathryn.bergeron.10/photos?ref=br_tf

Socks are $25 a pair. Each pair of socks I make is prewashed.
Custom socks are available.
Thank you for your interest, Kathy 

Snow cats.......................

Let's meet some of the kitties that live at Jonquil Junction................. Today it's Mopsy.
" Hi I'm  the  multicolored cat with multiple personalities and a name to go with each, Mopsy, Marmalade, Shrinking Violet, Hydro, and Spider Girl so far, in fact I have  so many names I could write a book about it" (and maybe I will....... one of these days!)

UM, it's starting to snow out here...........

Can I come in?

Please???

The Ozarks...........................

The Ozarks are home to another distinctive tree, the Black Walnut.
Over half the nations black walnuts used in cooking come from the Missouri Ozarks.
Stronger tasting than the English walnut, if you've ever tasted a black walnut chances are you remember it.
 We here in the Ozarks are mostly snowed in this week. A good time to stay in and bake. This not quite cake, not quite brownie, not quite cookie recipe, is probably best described as a 'snack cake' and is good as a light dessert or for a mid-morning coffee break.
                                                                    
                                                             Ozark Treats
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coffee
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 rounded Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup black walnuts

Cream together butter and sugar, add coffee and stir till mixed. beat in egg. add dry ingredients and beat till smooth, fold in raisins and nuts (if you don't have black walnuts, English walnuts or pecans can be used)
Pour into a greased 9x9 inch pan and bake at 350* for 30 minutes.
enjoy with coffee or tea on a cold day.

This is my adaptation of a recipe that  originally came from this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Hills-A-Chronicle-Ozarks/dp/1432610759
A pretty good read if your interested in the life and stories from the Ozarks. Check out your local library to see if they have it.

Some interesting facts, stories and pictures about Black walnuts:

http://www.nemahaweb.com/blackwalnuts/trees.htm

http://thelibrary.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/fa79h.htm

Featured this week.......

Our Hometown.....LESLIE, ARKANSAS. Population 481, a wide-spot in the road some might say, but a town with a lot of character for sure.~~~ From booming stave mill, barrel factory, and timber industry town at the turn of the century (1900's) with their own train depot and 'DINKY LINE'  ,an off-shoot of the M&NA railroad that ran through Missouri and North Arkansas for hundreds of miles.~~~ To the sleepy little tourist town of today.   A step back in time for most people of the 21st century a place where time moves more slowly~~and we like it that way. Leslie still offers  the tourist or local citizen with everything they need for shopping and entertainment though ~ provided they are willing to be satisfied with the small town offerings, instead of  a mass merchandised, big box store, variety of shopping.

A sampling of what 'modern day' Leslie has to offer:
3 cafe's
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leslie-cafe/291817474198099?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/SkylarkCafeLeslie?fref=ts

3 music venues
https://www.facebook.com/DropZoneLeslie?fref=ts

Arts center & museum
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3228

Old world bread bakery https://www.facebook.com/pages/Serenity-Farm-Bread/159326207458105?fref=ts

Grocery store
 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lewis-Grocery/534131806629523
Seasonal farmers market/craft sale
https://www.facebook.com/ozarkmountainmarket

And gift, craft, and antique shopping galore
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Exotic-Cuts-and-Gifts/124931750870693?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/OldMercantileAntiques?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/elkandeagletradingpost?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/SentimentalJourneyLeslieAr?fref=ts

Some more about our town:
http://www.lesliearkansas.org/Shopping---Community-Guide.html

https://www.facebook.com/lesliearkansas
 Some wonderful pictures here of our hometown both old and new under the photos tab

https://www.facebook.com/OzarkMemoriesSCA
Old time pictures of areas around Searcy County Arkansas including a lot of Leslie.

Leslie is also called home by many 'starving' artist that sell on line or travel many miles every year to show their handcrafts at craft fairs.
More on them in the coming weeks.