07 March 2013

evening out with friends

A few weeks ago, we met friends in the small Flint Hills town of Florence, KS --- fantastic steak! As it should be, having been cooked by actual cattlemen, at the Merchantile.

The restaurant is open on a limited basis, owned and run by a large ranching family. Only one item on menu: really good steak! (They also offer chicken for finicky people) -- plus old-fashioned goodies as hors d' oeuvres, home-cooked sides and dessert.

The small town's water tower boasts that their water is 99.96% pure spring water.

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like a really fun time... wow, I haven't heard the word Merchantile since Little House on the Prairie! Love the woman... :)

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  2. Here in the Midwest, the word 'mercantile' is still used quite a lot, probably because of the western history here.

    I loved the Little House stories! The Ingalls' original little house on the prairie was located near Independence, Kansas -- it was Indian territory then. They were able to identify the spot because the well Pa dug was still there.

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  3. True! And, if I'm not mistaken, Laura and Almanzo ended up moving to Florida in their later years! Who knew :)

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  4. I remember reading that Laura and Almanzo visited Florida, looking at possible places to settle (for his health), but they ended up settling in Mansfield, Missouri. I've been there a couple of times -- the farm house Almonzo built Laura on Rocky Ridge Farm is still standing and holds a lot of their personal items.

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  5. Wow! Is it open to the public?

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  6. Yes it is:
    http://www.lauraingallswilderhome.com/

    There is also a stone cottage in town that their daughter, Rose, built them to "retire" to. After living in it a short time, Laura insisted on returning to the home Almanzo had built her. Knowing how very tall he was, it's amusing to see that the house was built to fit Laura, being very short.

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  7. I just read all that you wrote to my Mom... we have many years of loving Little House :) Thanks, Vicky! How's the art with your grandchildren coming?

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  8. I'm home again . . . just in time to catch a bit of the flu. And very tired. I didn't get too much art time with the grandkids --- daily stuff like homework, meals, church, school programs, etc. seemed to take up all our time. But I have a few pages to post, as soon as I feel up to it.

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  9. Aw hon, you're in my prayers.

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  10. Thanks. Much better today! Just a virus maybe.

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