🎻Leaving Ordinary🌾

~Bonus extras~

The following resources helped create Leaving Ordinary.

Plus, if there was a Leaving Ordinary soundtrack, the Spotify playlist below may be it! Enjoy!

Inspiring Pictures📸

This is a picture of my maternal great-grandparents David and Elma Miller, plus a picture of great-grandpa Miller and a friend. I was gifted these photos by my grandmother Ruby. According to Ruby, Elma never played the violin, so I’m not sure why she was photographed holding the instrument. *It is unknown who took these pictures.

🧑🏻‍🍳 Strudle or Strudel Making

German Strudles

by Betty Baesler from the German Dishes recipe book

Combine:

1/2 package yeast 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/2 cup warm water

Add:

1 beaten egg 1 3/4 cups of flour

Let dough rise 1 hour in covered bowl. Divide into 4 divides portions. Roll out into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a dish towel or floured surface and spread with soft shortening. Let this rest about 1/2 hour and it will be easier to stretch. Stretch paper thin without tearing. Roll up and cut into 3 or 4 inch lengths. Place meat (chicken or beef stew) and potatoes and onions (optional) in a roaster. Add enough hot water to show up between meat and potatoes. Let come to a boiling point. Place strudels on top and cover with a tight lid. Gently cook for 30 minutes. *My family uses ground beef.

✨Magical Things✨

Several magical things happened while I wrote & edited leaving ordinary.

Click on the images below to learn more.

#1 Louise’s Meet & Greet — #2 Louise Watches Over — #3 A Stone House in Oceanside

Research💻

Did Model T’s have backseats in the late 1920’s?

In addition to interviewing my maternal grandma Ruby, I discovered other sources. The Dust Bowl Diary by Ann Marie Low was immensely helpful and an interesting read. This cemetery in Itasca State Park was the inspiration for the Bonetrail cemetery.

The seed names in Leaving Ordinary were sourced from the Oscar Will catalogs. These catalogs would have been in many North Dakota homes and their products ordered for the upcoming growing season. 🎨 The covers of the catalogs are works of art. *Oscar Will Catalogs photo credit Jacey Hanson.

‘Digital Horizons: Life on the Northern Plains’ added Oscar Will Catalogs to their online collection and are available for viewing.

🎶 Enjoy the Leaving Ordinary soundtrack! 🎻