When I was growing up on our farm, the weather wasn’t really something I spent a lot of time thinking about. As long as it wasn’t raining when I wanted to do something outside, I was happy.

I’m sure Mom and Dad were more weather-conscious. They were farmers and farmers have to be. Too much rain, not enough rain, too much heat, not enough heat, too much wind (there’s rarely “not enough” wind), too much hail (any hail is too much) effect the crops and even the livestock.

As a kid, though, I was blissfully unaware that our livelihood depended on the whims of Mother Nature.

Now that I’m all grown up, sort of, I’ve become much more aware of how the weather can affect me, personally. It seems that I’m always watching the sky, and my day isn’t complete if I miss the 10 o’clock weather forecast before I go to bed. Since we went “on-line” (that means our computer is hooked up to the Internet), rarely a day goes by that Jim or I don’t check the Des Moines weather radar loop.

Where am I going with this? I haven’t the faintest idea. It just occurred to me the other day when Jim and I went for a drive and stopped to talk to a friend who was out mowing his yard (Hi, Jerry), that when I was a kid, I couldn’t figure out why all the gown-ups spent so much time talking about the weather and now that I’m a grown-up (sort of), I do it too.

Da Dum

Speaking of the Internet, I got an e-mail last week that I thought I’d share with you. It came from Amy TeBockhorst. You remember Amy…she used to be the ad composer at The Kalona News before she got a “real” job with the U of I. I don’t know where she got this, but it’s pretty fitting.

You know you’re an IOWAN when:

During a storm you check the cattle before you check the kids.

You’re related to more than half the town.

You can tell the difference between a horse and a cow from a distance.

Your car breaks down outside of town and news of it reaches back to town before you do.

You don’t put too much effort into hairstyles due to wind and weather.

Your quarterback is hurt and you’re hoping it’s the first thing on the 6 o’clock news.

There’s a tornado warning and the whole town is outside watching for it.

The local gas station sells live bait.

You don’t buy all your vegetables at the grocery store.

You go to the State fair for your family vacation.

You get up at 5:30 a.m. and go down to the coffee shop.

You’re on a first name basis with the county sheriff.

You go to the river (or reservoir) because it’s almost like going to the ocean.

Using the elevator involves a grain truck.

Your mayor is also your garbage hauler, barber, or insurance salesman (or maybe the Catholic Priest)

You know you should listen to the weather forecast before picking out an outfit.

You call a wrong number and talk to the person for an hour anyway.

Your excuse for getting out of school is that the cows got out.

You talk with a friend about some big event you’re going to attend, and by the end of the conversation you’ve decided you’re both too broke to go.

You know cow pies aren’t made of beef.

Your early morning prayer covers rain, cattle, and hogs.

You consider a romantic evening driving through Hardees and renting a hunting instructional video.

You listen to “Paul Harvey” every day at noon.

You can tell it’s a farmer working late in his field and not a UFO.

You leave your snow tires on year-round.

You know the difference between field corn and sweet corn when they are still on the stalk.

You know the code names for everyone on the CB.

You’ll skip your cousin’s funeral for the first day of deer season. (Or maybe even your best friends wedding)

You can eat an ear of corn with no utensils in less than 20 seconds.

You don’t clean up the dog’s mess because it’s just fertilizer.

You know enough to get your driving done early on Sundays before the Sunday drivers come out.

It takes 30 seconds to reach your destination and it’s clear across town.

You can tell the smell of a skunk and the smell of a feedlot apart.

The meaning of true love is that you’ll ride in the tractor with him.

Da Dum

Since Kalona Days is this coming weekend and since I’m in charge of the pie & cookie baking contests, I figured I’d better feature pie & cookie recipes this week. I got them off the Internet and haven’t tried them, but they look good.

Da Dum

Snowball Cookies

Makes 6 dozen

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups pecans, finely ground

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat spread, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Blend in pecans, flour and salt. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove from sheets; cool on wire racks.

Dust with powdered sugar. Store in airtight container.

Nutrition Information per serving: 175 calories, 2 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 13 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 90 mg sodium

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Chill Time: 60 minutes

Cooling Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Da Dum

Almond Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 cup egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and finely chopped

24 chocolate candy kisses

Beat sugar and margarine or butter in large bowl with mixer at medium speed until creamy. Blend in egg and almond extract.

Mix flour and baking soda in small bowl; stir into egg mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in toasted almonds. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly golden; remove from oven. Before cookies cool, top each with a candy kiss, pressing lightly into center of each cookie.

Cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight container.

Nutrition Information per serving: 333 calories, 6 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 21 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 106 mg cholesterol, 107 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Cooling Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 2 minutes

Da Dum

Cranberry-Apple Crumb Pie

Makes 8 servings

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup margarine or butter, divided

4-6 tablespoons cold water

1 (21-ounce) can apple pie filling

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Mix 1 1/4 cups flour and salt in small bowl; cut in 1/2 cup margarine or butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in water until mixture holds together; shape into ball. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 10-inch circle. Place in 9-inch pie plate and flute edge.

Blend apple pie filling and cranberries; spoon into prepared crust. Mix remaining flour, sugar, cinnamon and walnuts in bowl; cut in remaining margarine or butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle crumb mixture over filling. Bake at 400°F for 25 to 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Information per serving: 284 calories, 4 g protein, 40 g carbohydrate, 13 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 222 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Da Dum

Pear Chocolate Silk Pie

Makes 10 servings.

1/3 cup butter

1-1/4 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 can (16 oz.) pear halves

1 package (16 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons strongly brewed coffee

1 teaspoon orange extract

1 cup heavy cream

To prepare crust, melt butter in a small saucepan. Combine chocolate wafer crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture gently into an 8” or 9” pie plate, distributing evenly over bottom of plate and up the sides. Bake at 375 F for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Drain pears, reserving 6 Tbsp. liquid. Slice 1 pear half and reserve for garnish. Dice remaining pear halves and set aside. In the top pot of a double-boiler combine chocolate chips with reserved pear liquid, coffee and orange extract. Stir over medium heat until chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Cool to room temperature. In separate bowl, whip cream to soft peaks. Gently fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in diced pears. Spoon mixture into pie plate. Garnish with reserved pear and refrigerate until set, approximately 4 hours.

*Note: A ready-made chocolate wafer or graham cracker crust may be used instead.