The Grand Loft, Osawatomie Kansas

I am telling you to check out the Grand Loft if you want to get married. Kathy & Claude Light are so in tune to your needs. We were participants at a Bridal Expo there today, what a magnificent venue!!!

Claude, Kathy and I talked about weddings and people today, I listened to his knowledge of people, and was inspired because they know what the bride needs and wants . There is a genuine feeling of magic that happens when you walk in the door!

I recommend going to Osawatomie and visiting the Loft!!

http://www.grandloft.net/

Jeffery Thomas, our new chef, led the way today. He made so many great dishes to steal the show. Spinach and artichoke chicken in puff pastry. English cucumbers with a smoked salmon mousse. WOW!!!

You should have been there. For catering, Jeffery is the rising star in KC. He stole the show.

Jeffery is a 1997 graduate of Johnson & Wales in Asheville, North Carolina. He has cooked at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, among many other successes.

The menu that we offered today at the Grand Loft was:

Cold Appetizers:

Smoked salmon and dill mousse In English cucumber cups

Baby red potatoes filled with herbed Boursin cheese

Hot Entrees:

Warm crostini and pork tenderloin medallions with sweet grain mustard and caramelized onions

Beef tips with tri-color rotini in a wild mushroom and herb demi glaze

Spinach and artichoke stuffed chicken in puff pastry with a light tarragon cream sauce

Various Chocolates

We, at Casa Somerset, thoroughly enjoyed our day and extend out thanks to the Grand Loft for having us. We look forward to working together again soon.

Mike, Christine, and Jeff

My Grandpa's Out House.

Talk about memories........It had to be a summer day in the 50's. Lots of reminiscing about visiting my grandfather's house in Oblong, Illinois. No inside plumbing, except a hand pump for water.

He was a very poor man in a small southern Illinois town of about 1,100, most of who were relatives. Allen Sanders went by "Slim", so as you can imagine he was tall and thin. My grandmother gave birth to 17 children in their house, never going to the hospital in her life til the end of her time. It was a one bedroom home, with 3 screened-in porches. That was great in the summer, but in the winter it was too cold to sleep there. There were three beds in the one bedroom house. ( I never figured out how they got the privacy to have 17 kids.)

He had a big old barn on this town lot. They had a garden and all of the kids had to pitch in just to have food.

My grandparents also had this outhouse, it was part of so many memories for my brothers and my cousins. I don't begin to know how many cousins there were, but with 17 kids of their own and most of their kids having large families, I am sure there were well over 50 grandkids.

The ones of my age group had to use the old out house. In the summer, when we usually visited the most often, it was hot and you had to hold your breath when you went in. The bees and flies would be every where. The catalogs for when there wasn't proper paper.

Outhouses everywhere at Halloween were a target for pranksters. They pushed my grandfather's over. Some would get a bag and shovel and put a scoop in a paper sack, set it on a front step of a house light it on fire and knock. The owner would come out and procede to stomp out the fire. They would pick them up and set them on someones front porch. Halloween was more fun then too.

I don't remember for sure, but I think he had a two hole outhouse. Some families had a four hole, I guess they took the family on a vacation there:):) In the winter there was a pot under the bed with a lid to go in if you couldn't make it til morning, then it would be dumped. His house was so old and drafty, he would stock the coal burning stove before we all went to sleep each night, but by morning it was freezing again. The kids would sleep in a bed every which way so as to fit as many as possible. We all enjoyed each other's company so much, and each of us still share memories of when things were so much fun and simpler.

My cousins Bob, Tony, Barbara, Roger, Charles, Donna, Janice, Charles, and Mickey just to name a few would share this room when needed, along with my brothers Pat and Kelly. Those summers sleeping on the porch with my cousins... getting to stay at one of their homes... fighting and running and playing all day. Great times and Memories.

Well, back to outhouses... after searching for several months, I found an outhouse still in use in Kansas. We visited it yesterday. This was a real treat, especially for Christine and Jeffery, they had never seen or used such a thing in their life. Jeff thought it was so interesting, he had to check it out!

In looking for it, we got to visit two farms, one had a smokehouse. We pulled up in the yard and the dogs came out and visited. Then the owners, just as in the 50's, showed us around, talked about their farms and gardens on the 160 acres. Saw old pumps and barns, this will be another story.

Our Own Chef Jeff

Christine's son, Jeffery Thomas, moved here over the holidays. It was her Christmas present.

He moved from Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from Johnson and Wales University in Charleson with an A.O.S in Culinary Arts in 1997. Watch for his cooking across Kansas City.

He got here in time to cook our New Year's Eve Dinner. He prepared a wonderful meal, including a clam dip from an old family recipe, and a fantastic classic French onion soup. We also had roasted pork tenderlion, thinly sliced with a cheese assortment for mini-sandwiches. We had friends and neighbors over for a festive and friendly time.

We took Jeff out to the building site. He just happened to have on his chef coat...

He shows up in pictures all of the time.