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Johnny Depp recently told UK tabloid The Guardian that he though his most recent film “Rum Diary” is going to be a huge hit everywhere – except in Wichita, Kan.  What he has against his Wichita fans I have no idea!

Here is what he said:

I believe that this film, regardless of what it makes in, you know, Wichita, Kansas, this week – which is probably about $13 – it doesn’t make any difference,” he said. “I think it’s an intelligent film…And a lot of times, outside the big cities in the States, they don’t want that.

Wow. I am speechless. I used to be a fan of Johnny’s. I love his accent, his acting talent, and thought he was a pretty intelligent fellow. Apparently he forgot to think before he gave that quote. Does the rest of the world think Kansans all have horses hitched to the general store? Or was Johnny merely saying people in the midwest wouldn’t like his movie because it went against their “Bible belt” values?

I realize he made a mistake and I hope he regrets this. What a fail.

I live in Kansas. The most exciting thing that happens here are tornadoes. And we don’t have a basement (yet. Josh is working on it. I mean, at least we have a huge pool hole). But something seriously exciting did just happen tonight and I was 100% clueless.

According to the USGS, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook Oklahoma at 10:53pm tonight. The epicenter is four miles east of Sparks, Okla. in Lincoln County, 21 miles northeast of Shawnee. That is according to Okla. NBC channel KJRH.   Reading twitter soon after revealed tweets from all over the midwest reporting aftershocks in Kansas City, Topeka, St. Louis and Arkansas.

I was sitting in my living room talking to David, trying to get him sleepy. Then, in walks Josh, with huge eyes.

“Did you feel that?”

I look at him puzzled. “Feel what?”

“The bed pulsated. Then swayed,” he explained. “As if someone was climbing on it.”

Visions of ghosts enter my mind and I say, “um, that is weird. Why would it do that?”

“Maybe an earthquake.” Oh. Yeah. That makes more sense than ghosts, Annie!

I run to twitter. His suspicions are confirmed. And I felt none of it. No, not a single, teeny, tiny, aftershock.  I wish I could have a cool story about how I felt the aftershock of the midwest earthquake. But nope! Josh got to feel it and I didn’t.

This Oklahoma earthquake and midwest aftershocks is crazy stuff! I was chatting on my Facebook fan page about it and heard reports from all over. Everyone felt it! But me.

I wonder if this earthquake has anything to do with my beloved K-State Wildcats almost tromping the OSU Cowboys? Too far fetched? Well give me a break, it’s late.

To make this official, here is a photo from a Kansas news station – CBS WIBW – showing where the shakes were felt and what magnitude. Isn’t this just NUTS?

Amazing shot of the Kansas City Library  (Source)

The name says it all. So many towns in Kansas are like this! (Source)

I took this photo! It takes my breath away!

breathtaking Sunset! (source)

Kansas is the wheat state! I love the blue sky here (source)

I am seeing these all over Kansas. This was taken off of I-70 (source)

Taken near Cedar Point. This is calendar perfect! (source)

How is your spring going? Here, we just experienced some really weird weather. Like “what the heck?” kinda weather. I’m used to that kinda thing, usually.  It’s been known to be 80 degrees one day and snowing the next in early spring.

I want it to stay warm!  Warm days are park days. They are wake up early and walk days.  Let the kids run around in the sunshine days.

Sunday evening we got this really weird storm that lasted like 20 minutes. Saturday was gorgeous and then storm clouds rolled in on Sunday.  I caught David’s reaction to the storm on video.  It was his first experience with hail and I thought it was super cute. He didn’t care too much for the thunder though, poor guy.

Then yesterday (Monday) we got tons of wind. In fact, Kansas was under a wind advisory for much of the day. I didn’t go out much at all that day and hated it. I am really looking forward to warmer days soon!

After you enjoy the cute video, tell me what the weather is like where you are. Is it just as odd?

Brand new from Hasbro – Summer 2011 Hasbro will be teaming up with Warner Brothers and releasing limited edition Wizard of Oz Mr. Potato Head figurines! I am so excited about this I can hardly wait. I am from Kansas and have always been a huge fan of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz – and just look at them, aren’t they cute as Potato Heads?

I spoke with Dean Gorby, Business Manager for PPW Toys about these exciting new products. He said PPW Toys wanted to “develop a line of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head figures that appeal to adult fans and collectors as well as kids.  So when we set out to find properties that are classic and family friendly, with appeal to adults as well as kids, The Wizard of Oz was near the top of the list.”

The first collector’s set is not even made yet – they are unveiling the molds of the set at the 2011 NY Toy Fair from February 13-16. Then, they will release the first collector’s set you see above sometime in August.

“In early 2012, we will release a second, smaller set,” Gorby said, “this set will feature the Wicked Witch and one of the Flying Monkeys!”

Seriously, what is better than flying monkey potato heads?

Now before you make plans to sprint to your local Wal-mart to get your Dorothy-loving daughter this set, they will not be sold there. You can get them in specialty stores, catalogs, and online.  You can also look at gift stores, toy stores and collectible/movie merchandise stores.

I was not compensated for this. Sorry I had to say that, just wanted you to know that I am seriously excited about these toys!

Westmoreland Grade School

If you live close within driving distance of Westmoreland, Kansas, you will not want to miss these upcoming events! They are fun for the entire family and all the proceeds go to benefit a non-profit (501) daycare called “Scritch Scratch Patch” that is in deep need of a new building. And if you know Westmoreland, you know it is a tight-nit community. Family is the center and most important part of this small town – everyone cares deeply about providing the best facility for the children that attend the daycare.

There will be quite a few mini fund raisers in Westmoreland (“Westy”) and in surrounding areas.  These smaller fundraisers will lead up to the 2011 Westy Buckout – a huge bullriding event with enough attractions and entertainment for everyone of any age.

But first, I have got to tell you about the Family Fun Night that is coming up on January 22nd!

140 Years in One Night ~ January 22nd 3 p.m. – fun is done at the Westmoreland Grade School
Cost: Free Will Donation

Introduce your little cowboy and cowgirl to the real cowboys of Kansas!  Dodge City’s Assistant Marshall will share the story of the famed “Doc Holiday” from 1870. Then, listen to the story of “Dusty Kansas” from the perspective of Hank Emerson – a dust bowl farmer from Morton County, Kansas.

Then enjoy present entertainment from cowboy-poet Glen Brunkow of Westmoreland. His poetry and stories are described as, “everyday black and white events set to color.”

Plus, you won’t want to miss the chance to win prizes during Bingo and eat some delicious chili and chili dogs.

Auction, Meal & Dance at R.C. McGraw’s in  Manhattan ~ April 16, 2011

R.C. McGraw’s is Manhattan’s favorite Country Bar & Grill.  It is a place you can get a cold drink, hang out with your friends, enjoy some great music and dance the night away to live music performed by Nikki Chilcott in the Kickin It Up Band.  At this event not only will there be tasty food and fun music, but a wonderful auction as well. And I have it on good authority that Fine Furniture by Shultz will be donating something very desirable that will go for a pretty penny – so start saving now!

Westy Buckout 2 ~ June 4, 2011

I will be posting more information about this huge event as I receive it! Basically, it will be full of food, bull riding, games for kids and MORE. Think of it as another county fair, with all proceeds going to the Westmoreland non-profit daycare facility. Mark it now and stay tuned for more information!

Need more info?

Check out their website or contact Barb Lauer-Harding by email at barb2007(at)bluevalley.net or by phone: 785-556-1343

The annual fall festival centered around all things Wizard of Oz is OZtoberFest and it was held October 2nd and 3rd in Wamego, Kansas. Wamego (pronounced Wah-me-go or Wah-may-go, depending on who you are) is a growing town full of young families. They pride themselves on their “Oz Museum” full of collectible Wizard of Oz memorabilia and the Columbian Theater – a place where art, live shows and dinner mix into a captivating event.

Lots of small towns have Fall Festivals with parades, local talent on a stage and small businesses/local organizations set up tents and tables. But how many small towns center everything around Oz?

There was a Wizard of Oz parade at 9:15am but we all slept in and missed the parade. However, we did arrive in time to snag a picture with the cast of the Columbian Theater’s stage production!  I had just shown Lizzie a few Wizard of Oz clips on YouTube about an hour before we went to the festival, so when she saw the characters she was a mixture of star struck and really freaked out! This is the best photo we took.

After strolling up and down the streets a bit Lizzie just had to get into the bounce house! It was getting her away from there that was the trick. And yes, she did skip her nap that day – how does she do it? This girl will keep on going until her energy tank is passed empty. One day she will realize how fun it is to sleep.

Bouncing sure increased her appetite! So we crossed the street to what I like to call “fair food lane.” We ordered a grilled ear of corn, 2 fresh squeezed lemonades (one of which she squeezed right in front of me, totally fresh and YUMMY!) and a ginormous funnel cake. You cannot pass up the funnel cake! After eating my corn and drinking my lemonade I couldn’t eat the funnel cake though, I was so disappointed. No worries, Josh and the kids ate it for me.

It was a really fun time – you can tell on his face! I try not to miss OzToberFest whenever it happens and I am so glad Josh went with us this year! Maybe next year I will dress Lizzie up like Dorothy, I saw a lot of little girls dressed in Dorothy dresses and it was so cute!

They are currently raising money to buy yellow bricks so they can pave a portion of downtown in a “yellow brick road.” I am not kidding! Wamego loves the Wizard of Oz and I am proud to claim this movie as my own as well.

The Saturday before Labor Day Josh and I went up to Randolph, KS (aka “smallest town ever”) to go fishing. On the way to the pond we saw an abandoned stone farmhouse that was falling apart little by little. The site of it sent my imagination racing as I tried to create a story about the family that lived here. Who built this? How did it fall apart and why?

I thought it would be fun to take you along with me on my little journey as I explore this place again in my post. I hope you will put up with my silly and creative story I made up about the former inhabitants. I am not an historian and am probably a mile off of what really happened and the actual age of the house.

Here is the old stone farmhouse. It sits in the hills of Kansas, not the valley.  Large tin pieces are strewn about the ground and I guessed they made up the roof at one time. Can you imagine the sounds of rain and hail underneath that roof? Judging by the windows it must have had a basement, first floor and second floor. I can just picture it: a hardworking pioneer works day and night until his muscles moan in protest, stacking stones and carefully shaping each concrete step. His young wife helps with whatever she can, but the food preparation and clothes mending and washing keeps her very busy. Maybe they raised a small family here.  There was a small stone barn behind the house, so they must have raised their own animals.  Kansas farmers, the heartbeat of the nation.

That chimney is amazing! It brings to my mind the warmth it gave the family on those cold Kansas nights.  Those windows are on the west end of the house, and I imagine the family did most of the living on that side of the house, especially with the close proximity to the fireplace.

As you can tell from my poor attempt at capturing the full width of the home, it was a modest size. Of course at the time he was building this I am sure Mr. Kansas farmer thought it was the largest home in the world! Josh told me he thought the basement was divided in half for two primary uses – to store firewood on the left (west) end and keep food chilled on the right (east) end. Wouldn’t you have loved to see this house in all its glory?

I assume this is the back door. This makes sense since it faces the barn.

Just look at those steps! And the fact that they cared enough to put a front and back door – was that common back then? I wish I knew.

As I walked around the house I could feel the pride of the hard working family that lived here. I wondered why it was in shambles, what made them leave it?

Then I saw the evidence – in the windows of the house and the barn behind it. Charred wood. I am surprised with the ferocious Kansas winds in the hills that any of the burnt pieces remained, but there they stood as a testament of the sad fate of this glorious home. For it to have been a fire that attacked both homes could have started from a prairie fire that just went out of control.

Imagine!

All your hard work, gone up in flames.

I didn’t want to think about that. House fires always make my heart so heavy.

So I am going to move onto some happier times, thinking before the fire.

But what is this? We saw it sitting facing away from the house, on a concrete slab that only had one remaining wall standing. I thought perhaps the concrete slab used to be the slaughterhouse and smokehouse? I am sure I am not far off.  Could this be a huge smoker of some sort? Josh had no idea. I wonder if I can google for information.

But it is so intriguing.  It looks like you could fill it with wood, light the fire and shut the door. Of course the fire would die because there is no pipe for teh smoke to escape. So that theory is debunked.

What else could it be?

I honestly have no idea. It is the great mystery of this farmstead. I’d love to go to the historical society, dig up the records of who owned this land and learn about that family. I am a dweeb like that. I love it when history comes alive with real names and people, and storeis!

Thank you for joining me on this fun journey onto an abandoned farmstead. My imagination sure had fun!