tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363455033853138602011-04-21T19:26:57.735-07:00Step through the door of our Big Red Barn and please, feel right at home, kick off your shoes, and stay a while. As you glimpse our life on the farm, it arrives complete with the timely thoughts, creative ideas, scrumptious recipes, joy, and laughter that comes part and parcel with living in a big red barn . We know you'll enjoy your visit and want to return often.Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.comBlogger111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-24697837835322446992009-04-23T20:40:00.000-07:002009-04-23T20:56:07.435-07:00

Fran Johnson is a dear sister in our Branch and is really another mom to us. She is one of our dearest friends! In February she fell and dislocated her left shoulder and went to stay with her son in Kent, WA while she recuperated. we missed her so much!April 10th was her 90th birthday. being 175 miles from all her friends just wasn't acceptable - so Jan & Shep drove over the mountains early that

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-83557366223580688732009-04-23T19:42:00.000-07:002009-04-23T20:38:47.787-07:00

I'm weeks behind on posting - sorry! Our company conference in Las Vegas March 26 ~ 28 was a lot of fun. It was great seeing friends and meeting new ones. The fellow to the left of me in the first picture is Michael Clouse, the featured speaker all day Friday. I shouldn't admit this but I had seen articles by and about him since 1999 but just didn't do much about it. I heard quotes from him and

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-75545182219234901802009-03-14T15:33:00.000-07:002009-03-14T16:15:16.211-07:00

For those that love country life but aren't that enthused about splitting wood for the wood stove with an 8-lb maul, you'll LOVE THIS! We have a Quadra-Fire 2100 wood stove. It's the smallest one they make at 1.5 cu.ft. We love it because it's extremely efficient and it heats all of our house. When we brought in wood last Fall the stove was still in the boxed crate and all the instructions would

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-11573723808662231872009-03-10T22:33:00.000-07:002009-03-10T22:48:08.684-07:00

This past Saturday was a happy hallmark in the Big Red Barn. Our new sunroom was the location for a meeting of the Shear Creative spinning guild. Several of my "guild sisters" arrived, fiber, wheels, yarn ,needles, and food in hand or basket in order to enjoy what Shep calls "spinning fibers and tall tales".If I could have put in an order, I could not have selected a more lovely, sunny day or a

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-34096418943891718772009-02-28T11:34:00.000-08:002009-02-28T12:02:56.034-08:00

Just got off the phone with some new friends who are looking at moving to our be-u-ti-ful valley.Thought I would post some photos for them to enjoy. (Don't send them to Time magazine or they might make us one of their "best" places to live in the US! We like our little secret. :-)Next Friday night is the "nightglow" downtown Winthrop, with the hot air balloons lighting up for all to enjoy, along

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-24169382416741074892009-02-19T21:18:00.000-08:002009-02-19T22:12:05.456-08:00

Two years ago we began a project to build a sunroom on the southern face of our home. For one, we would now have a real front door! The steel roof slants to the south which means in winter all the snow that gathers on that 32' x 60' roof comes sliding down and dropps 18' to the ground, piling up in front of the door. We could only use our front door in part of the year!Last fall we completed a

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-49345409877092288512009-02-16T16:22:00.000-08:002009-02-16T18:55:14.411-08:00

Make a Smilebox photobook **to escape from the album when finished viewing, click the ESC button on your keyboard**

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-91309317380549258832009-02-15T22:32:00.000-08:002009-02-15T23:50:58.764-08:00

About 14 years ago I began a quest to create a bread similar to our favorite bread from Naples, Italy. Jan & I met there in 1987 and food was a passion for us, especially the crunchy bread found in the Campania region of Italy. While Jan was stationed at the Naval Hospital on Adak, Alaska 1994-95 our neighbor, and Jan's long-time friend Melinda Cornwell, gave me a very old sourdough starter.

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-42445171788902749712009-02-13T23:21:00.001-08:002009-02-13T23:34:13.807-08:00

"Big Bertha" made a mighty fine omlette.....----------------------------------------------------------------You know there is an old country saying that goes like this: "A good fisherman knows what to put on the hook." When my husband and best friend Shep asked me what I thought about starting a blog (realizing full well that I LOVE to write and express myself artistically) he knew that I'd jump

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-21310299194855123202009-02-05T00:19:00.000-08:002009-02-05T12:36:26.724-08:00

( 0030 hours) If you are still up when this is posted, you should already be in bed! Trust me....I can't believe I am up this late. Does not jive with my mental capacities or physiology. Both are headed downhill and I am headed upstairs.I have been working on perfecting this blog for about 12 hours give or take. I am NOT a html linguist. Wish I were. Things are slowly progressing. Reminds me of

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636345503385313860.post-75822775403902394262009-02-02T22:09:00.000-08:002009-02-02T22:25:54.322-08:00

Welcome!! We're glad you're here! As you enter our door you might be wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to live in a barn or perhaps what kind of people would willingly and happily choose such accomodations. Maybe you're interested in what the lifestyle of barn dwellers is like.Come by frequently and you'll discover just that! From horses helping themselves through the front door

Shep and Jan Kuesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01186227289386131946noreply@blogger.com2