Iowa Girl

Where I come from...

There are many important factors that make me who I am today.  One of the most significant is my upbringing in Iowa. It's one of those places that people in big cities have a hard time understanding. Especially since I didn't live on a farm.  I was a townie.  My hometown was Clinton until I went to high school.  In grade school, I would get on my bike and my bestie Barb and I would ride for hours.  And I mean like 6 hours.  All over town, no helmets, no bike trails, just us and our banana seat bikes.  We were just blocks from the Mississippi, and many times went to the water's edge, I have ice skated in the slough and we would wander the railroad tracks looking for these flat metal things that we would bend into a whistle.  We picked onions from the neighbors garden, ate mulberries until our hands were stained and climbed trees deep in the woods.  We would walk over the bridge crossing the Mississippi and go from Iowa to Illinois and back.  We chased fire trucks, bought penny candy at one of 2 little stores within walking distance and spent endless summer days swimming in the large public pool. There were about 16 of us in our grade.  We went to the same church, lived in the same neighborhood  our parents were friends, and we knew everyone's siblings.  Those friends are still a part of my life.  I still love driving those streets, and retracing those bike rides.

At this point in my life, I have lived in the South for over 20 years, and it would be tough to move back to the land of snow blowers and wind chills.  My children are complete Southerners.  They twang, drink sweet tea, hate shoes and socks, shoot guns, and love biscuits. And that's good.  You gotta love where you come from.

So where is all this going?  Why are there barn cookies?  Well a farm birthday party of course!  It was a fun cookie to make.  Made me a little nostalgic for Iowa, and I took you right along with me.  SO, what are you waiting for?  Get in there and bake!