If you do not know the Pioneer Woman you must leave my sight IMMEDIATELY!  Do not finish reading this until you visit http://thepioneerwoman.com and spend at least an hour drooling over her amazing website.  Then you can come back and read all about my adventure meeting Ree (aka., Pioneer Woman) and Ladd (aka., Marlboro Man/Captain Forearms).

Monday night, P-dub came to the Chenal Wal-mart in Little Rock to do a book signing.  I REALLY wanted to go.  Richie really didn’t. But, being the sweet sweet husband that he is he agreed to go.   After work got out we gathered up the book I was gonna get signed for myself and the one I was having signed for my sister for christmas and got in the car to make the hour and a half trip to Little Rock.

We were faced with a slight dilemma.  Having not had dinner yet we werent sure whether to eat first and risk being further back in line or wait to eat and maybe get a little closer to the front.  Well I had a sneaking suspicion that we would be waiting in line for some time regardless so we opted to eat first. (mmm… Blue Coast Burrito!)  With full bellies we finally made it to the Wal-marts at 6:10.  The parking lot was FULL!  We had to park all the way over in Siberia and walk to the front of the store.  When we got in, the lady at the door said the book signing was in the middle of the front near the books. 

I could actually see the Pioneer Woman sitting there!  I could also see a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGG line of people. I walked and walked and walked and walked and I think just about when we made it all the way around the world and back to Siberia we found the end of the line way in the back near electronics.  There were literally HUNDREDS of mostly women in line in front of me.  I even saw one lady with an entire CASE of books for Ree to sign!!! (should that be allowed??? )

Well I settled in to my place in line.  Shortly thereafter some “fans” decided they’d had too much and dropped out.  Just like that I moved up four places in line!  After what seemed like an hour the line FINALLY started to move.  I chatted with the ladies around me.  We discussed the book, the website and which recipes we had tried.  I even found out that the girl two back from me had gone to summer camp with me in the 90’s, in MAINE!!! How cool is that!?

Where was Richie during all this?  He had made friends with another husband that was further back in the line and the two of them watched the entire Transformers 2 movie while we waited.  Richie asked the guy working in electronics if they could set out some chairs while they watched but he was told that would be considered loitering.  Richie was like, “Umm…did you see the 500 ladies standing around over there?”  He still didnt get his chair.

When I had about an hour and a half left in line Richie finally came up and joined me.  We were starting to get close to where Marlboro Man was greeting everyone and signing books himself.  All the women in line of course were getting excited.  You could tell when he met someone new because there would be this girlish giggle that would rise above the crowd.

The marketing director was walking around making sure everyone had a post-it note on which to write their name so it would be easier for Ree to sign our books.  Richie asked the lady if he could have 10 post-its.  She looked at him funny so Richie said “my wife is wordy!”  She still looked at him funny but gave him the 10 post-its.  In effort to help pass the last hour we were in line Richie decided to write messages on the post-its and post them on the clothing racks for the people behind us.  He wrote confucious-style things like “Life is short; this line is long” as well as simple things like “Photographic moment ahead”, “Rotisserie Chicken on sale for $2.00 in the Deli” and “Is it Tuesday yet?”.  We would laugh as we would hear people behind them spotting them and laughing about them.  Some people even took pictures of them.  I laughed and told Richie he would probably make it onto someones blog!

Finally, I made it to the front of the line! I had my sister in Illinois on speakerphone on my cell because she was wanting to at least hear Ree’s voice.  As we walked up I said hi and told her she was signing my sister’s book and that my sister was on the phone.  She laughed and grabbed the phone and TALKED to my sister!  How cool is that!  My sister was so excited!  Richie and I talked with her a few moments and then she took a picture with me.  Richie told her all about his plan to start a website called THE FRONTIER MAN and he was planning to call me “the Copenhagen Woman.”  Gee thanks Richie.  Ree said, “Uhoh, I can already feel the heat.”

You wait in line so long and then so quickly the moment is over.  But it was still SOOOOO cool! 

Here are some pictures to chronicle the event.  Please keep in mind that NO MATTER what type of camera my husband uses EVERY picture he ever takes of me is blurry! But I love him anyway!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!!!

I am now known as the Wife of the Post-it Guy!!!! Richie is “famous” and is just beside himself.  He now thinks he is ALL that and more not that he didnt think that already!

Richie’s Post-it notes actually made the Pioneer Woman’s Blog today!  Here is a direct link. http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/

He has also been mentioned on these blogs!!! (Oh goodness!)

The Park Wife

Nonsensical Gibberish

Watch out Marlboro Man cause it looks like there is a new man in town…

 The Frontier Man!

This post kindly brought to you from Julie, aka. Willowtreecreek, aka. The Wife of the Post-it Guy, aka. The Copenhagen Woman

Full Post with pictures coming tonight!

In the meantime check out Richie’s post-it notes!  P-dub posted about them on her blog today! Richie is beside himself excited about it! http://thepioneerwoman.com

I got to meet Adam Gertler today! You may remember him from Season 4 of the Food Network Star. He was the runner-up. Well now he is the host of a show called “Will Work for Food”.  In this show he goes around the country learning different food jobs.  Today he came to Mountain View, Arkansas to the annual Bean Fest to learn how to make beans.  We got to watch him put together a pot of beans while they were filming.  During a break I asked for a picture and he was happy to do it. It was pretty cool and I look forward to watching the show.  We were in the crowd and might even show up on the Food Network when it airs!  Cool!

Even though I am teaching art all day it is really hard to find time to work on my own art.  My k-8 students require so much assistance and our time together is so short that it is impossible to work on any art when they are in the room.  With my highschool classes I get a little more freedom to work on my own projects.  I think teaching by example is an excellent tool.  I think my students can learn from watching me make art just as seeing an english teacher reading a book or listening to a spanish teacher communicate with someone can be a valuable lesson.  So much of our instruction is focused on “the Masters” and their exposure to “real” artists is so limited.  I love getting to work on projects at school and when time allows it, I get great joy.

About 6 months ago I came across a site called ArtTraderMag.com.  It is a wonderful site with great art tools, an online magazine and a host of online workshops complete with workbooks and videos.  I have taken 5 classes through the site and am enjoying every minute of it.  Recently I took a color exploration class.  One of the projects was a dichromatic color scheme.  We were allowed to use two colors plus  black, white and brown.  I chose blue and orange for my color scheme.  I am really proud of my finished work.  I usually work VERY realistically so the surreal, dreaminess of this piece was hard for me.  I truly enjoyed working on it and hope the students who saw me working through it were able to grasp a better understanding of the creative process.

Papillon(Butterfly)

MixedMedia Canvas
Copyright 2009 Julie Kohl/Willowtreecreek Studio

Please do not use my work or link to it with out my permission.

I won a blue ribbon at the county fair for my Butternut Squash.  The coolest thing is that it grew by accident. I had given my chickens some butternut squash seeds last winter.  They must have left a few behind cause I had a few plants growing. I got about 12 squash.  This one won a blue ribbon!

Silas is 2 1/2 and Salem will be 1 next month! They are so cute!  I wish they lived closer and I got to see them more. We are all going to my parents house for Christmas and I cant wait to see them.

For now I have to be satisfied with pictures on snapfish and listening to them in the background when I talk to my sister on the phone.  Sometimes Silas will talk to me on the phone.  That is always nice.

The other day he was “reading” me one of his books. It must have had pictures of different animals because he kept saying things like “Sea turtle” and “sea lion” and “Penguin”.  After he said Penguin I could hear my sister as him, “What kind of penguin?”  Silas promptly answered “MAC and CHEESE Penguin” to which my sister began to laugh hysterically!  Apparently the Penguin in the book was a Macaroni Penguin and Silas associated macaroni with mac and cheese! What a smart kid!

Have you ever heard of a Macaroni Penguin?  I hadn’t! Here is a picture!

My baby chicks arrived today! 26 tiny chicks packed in a little box at my post office.  Chicks in the mail!  I got 20 buff orpington females, 5 males and 1 mystery “rare breed” chick which you get free when you order 25.  All the babies are doing great.  They are eating and drinking like crazy.  They sure seemed glad to get food after their long trip across the country.  The are boxed and mailed the same day they hatch.  According to the box mine hatch around 10am on Tuesday, September 15th.  It is so hard to believe that 26 chickens take up such little space!  It wont be long until they take over my yard!

Copyright 2009 Julie Kohl

Over the Summer I read the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child.  Of course when the movie came out I convinced Richie to take me to see it.  The previews were funny enough but after being put through hours upon hours of the Food Network I’m certain Richie must have dreaded it just a little bit.  It turned out to be one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.  The story flowed well between Julie and Julia and Amy Adams’ and Meryl Streeps performances were spot on and hilarious.  And the food!  Oh the food looked delicious. 

After seeing the movie Richie bought me a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 and suggested that I try some of the recipes.

Two weeks ago I cooked the famed Boeuf Bourguignon with brown-braised onions and sauteed fresh mushrooms.  For sides we had cracked new potatoes (an Amy Finley recipe) and Asperges a la Beurre au Citron (Aperagus with Lemon Butter, a Julia Child recipe).  For desert I had made Le Marquis which is a chocolate spongecake with Creme au Beurre, Menagere which is a butter cream frosting with powdered sugar.  The meal was absolutely divine but literally took hours to prepare and I began to think that this French Cooking thing was not for me.  The results were fantastic and the process was enjoyable but the amount of dishes at the end was daunting to say the least.

It seems as if each recipe in this book is several pages in length and references at least two other recipes or techniques in the book. The opening sentences of the cookbook read,

This is a book for the servantless American cook who can be unconcerned on occasion with budgets, waistline, time schedules, children’s meals, the parent-chauffeur-den-mother syndrome, or anything else which might interfere with the enjoyment of producing something wonderful to eat.  Written for those who love to cook, the recipes are as detailed as we have felt they should be so the reader will know exactly what is involved and how to go about it.  This makes them a bit longer than usual, and some of the recipes are quite long indeed.

WOW! She wasn’t kidding.  I think I have grasped and understanding of why French Cooks/Chefs are so talented and the french methods are coveted by so many chefs.  While labor intensive and long, the culinary knowledge you gain from cooking a single recipe can a turning point in your cooking skill.  The recipes aren’t about putting together food items as much as they are about getting to know the ingredients, building an understanding of how they work together and learning to combine technique and flavor in an effective and tasty recipe. 

After two weeks of rest and cooking food that was good but not great I decided it was high time to break out MTAOFC again and see what treats I could whip up.  I had a beautiful whole chicken on hand and some juicy looking pears from the farmers market that I knew I wanted to use.

For the meal I decided on Polet Roti (Roast Chicken), Puree de Pommes de Terres a l’ail Roti (Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes) and Choux de Bruxelles Etuves a la Creme, or Creamed Brussels Sprouts.

For dessert I made Tarte Aux Poires a la Bourdaloue. 

Copyright 2009 Julie Kohl

The tart crust is a Pate Sablee or sugar crust.  Basically it is similar to a sugar cookie only a little less dense.  The Pears are poached in Red Wine.  The recipe calls for Bordeaux Wine but I had Chianti so that is what I used.  After poaching the pears are removed and the wine sauce is reduced until it is thick and syrupy.  It is then mixed with jelly(the recipe calls for red currant but I used strawberry) and brushed over the crust.  The wine reduction takes on a deep earthy grapey taste that is amazing.  The crust is then filled with a chilled Frangipane, or almond custard, and then topped with the sliced poached pears.  I also toasted some slivered almonds to decorate the edges.

French cooking isn’t easy but the tastes are pure and amazing.  It takes time and patience and is even better if you can convince someone else to wash the dishes.  And the best part is sitting down to a meal with the ones you love, knowing you are eating good food that was made with love.

Please Note all photos are Copyright 2009 Julie Kohl.  Please do not copy or use these photos without my written permission.

Unless you have been accused of a crime I think most people enjoy seeing themselves in the paper. I have been in the paper quite a few times in my life.  My birth announcement was probably the first time, then as a small child I appeared in the paper trying to choose between two Easter dresses.  In high school I was in the paper several times for band, soccer and musicals.  I even was in the paper after I received a Rotary Club award.  Two summers ago I was filmed for the HGTV show That’s Clever.  The show still hasn’t aired but I was still interviewed by the local paper and had a nice article written.  My highlight of celebrity in the news was the year my picture appeared in TIME magazine! YUP!  That was REALLY cool.  But this summer my picture made the paper twice! I thought I would share these.

Here I am at the Farmers Market in Searcy.  During the summer I helped out at the CAFM booth every Wednesday.  Now that school is back in session I cant anymore and I miss it terribly! (I’m the one in the pink Certified Farmgirl t-shirt!)

This picture appeared in the Statewide paper on Thursday.

I am the one in the Blue Dress.  The Chesapeake Energy Company along with the Thea Foundation donated $1500 worth of art supplies to 19 high schools in our area.  This is the second year my school has received a donation from Chesapeake.  Working in a small rural school district makes adequate art supplies hard to come buy.  The annual art budget is very small and I often end up spending much of my own money to purchase things for my students because many of them cant afford to buy it themselves.  This donation will help minimize that need this year so I am extremely thankful.

March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path. ~Kahlil Gibran

*******************************************************************

First – let me apologize for TOTALLY flaking on the whole 30 Days of Creativity/Something new.  I WILL get back to it.

Truthfully I knew that because this is August and I teach, and I had to be back to work last week and the first day of school is one week from today, that my chances of sticking with it religiously were very slim.

This is always a really rough time of year with me.  I do not deal with stress well and unfortunatly there are a few things at school that cause me high stress.

I LOVE what I do but last year was a rough year for me.  There were some things that were above and beyond my control yet directly effected me every day.  Part of the problem was plain and simple disillusionment. So I am trying really hard to stay positive and keep a good  attitude.

So I apologize for those of you that have been checking her looking for updates on my 30 days and havent found any.  I’m gonna do my best to get a few of those typed up and posted over the next couple of days.

***********************************************************

On a sad note, the community where I live is dealing with a tragedy this week.  One of our students was killed in a 4-wheeler wreck on Thursday.  She was 12 and would have started the seventh grade this week.  Being a small community where everybody knows everybody and is related to half the town it has had a profound effect on everyone.  Mostly I worry for her class mates that have to deal with this.  12/13 is a rough age to begin with.  If you are the praying type please pray for the friends and family of “Smiley Riley”.  She was a beautiful and amazing girl.  I am proud that I knew her and will cherish the memories I have of her from the last 6 years.