Whiteley Creek Homestead

LIFE AT THE END OF A DIRT ROAD IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA

organically grown triticale in our field
canoeing in our wetlands
raspberries growing wild on our property
our back porch fieldstone fireplace

about

  • felted wool

    Yo_yo_felted_wool_booties

    I have been immersed in a new passion for anything and everything made with felted wool. These booties, that are so easy to either hand or machine-stitch, are especially fun to make because you can vary the look dramatically depending upon how you choose to embellish them. Let your creative spirit run unbridled. For the flowers, I used a snippet of fabric I had purchased in my travels criss-crossing the country, saving it for just the perfect project. I cut two circles, strategically selecting the fabric’s fun spoke pattern, then I made a "yo-yo". I flipped the yo-yo upside-down and, using black embroidery floss, I stitched some French knots to attach it to the bootie and add a spark of interest to the center of the flower. All it needed was a loop of fabric and a button to make them "cute as a button". You can access the basic "Bitty Booties" pattern at www.heatherbailey.typepad.com located in her "free patterns" side-bar category. For inspiration, view nearly 200 bootie submissions in Heather Bailey’s "Bitty Booty Pool". I’d love to see your creation. Email me a photo, or better yet… come stay at Whiteley Creek and bring your booties along to share with me personally!

  • Why stay at Whiteley Creek Homestead?

    Scan0008_2 Welcome! Grab a cup of tea, java, mocha and make yourself at home. Allow me to introduce you to my bed and breakfast. My goal in creating this blog, and my retro bed and breakfast's atmosphere, is to inspire you to create and surround yourself with things that are just plain fun.

    A Green Routes destination, located on thirty-five acres three miles from downtown Brainerd, Whiteley Creek Homestead Bed and Breakfast was featured in Minnesota Monthly Magazine Great_midwest_escapes_2August 2005, Midwest Living Magazine July/August 2005, Great Midwest Country Escapes Book  2005 , St. Paul Pioneer Press Sunday, October 24, 2004, and Country Home Magazine July 2000.

    Our bed and breakfast builds upon Brainerd's heritage as a farming community centered around the railroad and mining industry. A signature entree, "Flossie's Eggs on the Rails", was named after one of our most prolific laying hens. Breakfast is served in the 1890 railroad passenger car "Queen of the Meadow Blooms Tearoom." 1930s-40s cars and trucks, vintage farm implements and tools laid to rest amongst flower and herb gardens, laundry flapping in the breeze, and antiques scattered throughout the rooms and property recreate an earlier era in history. Nutrient-dense food is prepared with carefully selected organic and locally-grown ingredients purchased from a local CSA farm, weekly farmer's market, a neighborhood food co-op, and direct from local farms. Vegetable, flower, and herb gardens are maintained using sustainable growing practices (i.e., natural fertilizers and pesticides, crop rotation, companion planting, composting, rainwater collection, and mulching). Thirty-five acres, with purposeful planting to attract and protect wildlife, has walking trails and a wetlands area with a creek for canoeing.  The Cuyuna Range open pit mining lakes for fishing and boating, Crosby's Croft Mine Tours, French Rapids Trails along the Mississippi River, Paul Bunyan Bike Trail, Paul Bunyan Arboretum, and the Pillsbury State Forest offer outdoor activities nearby. The Chamber of Commerce web site www.explorebrainerdlakes.com lists specific area events to assist you in planning activities when you will be visiting the Brainerd Lakes Area. In the evenings, wrap yourself in the warmth of a fire crackling in a huge outdoor fieldstone wood-burning fireplace on the screened wraparound porch. OPEN MID-MAY THROUGH OCTOBER. Regrettably, we are not able to accommodate children or pets at our lodging establishment. We have chosen to be an adult retreat… a respite for guests desiring to rejuvenate their physical and emotional energy… to recharge. So that we might provide an atmosphere conducive to that end, we have structured our B&B environment to be as slow-paced, quiet, and free of distractions as possible.

  • knitting socks

                                  Knitting_socks                        

    One of my daughters taught me enough to make a knitted dishcloth except for how to cast off, so my project has come to a standstill. At Jo-Ann Fabrics, I found these stocking knitting needle point protectors. I figure that I might as well make my knitting needles look cute until I learn how to finish my project. The texture of a crocheted or knitted dishcloth makes it a scratchpad and dishcloth rolled into one. Try it… you’ll see. If you don’t want to make your own, you can find them at craft shows for a couple dollars apiece in so many pretty colors to match your kitchen decor, color trends, the season, or just your mood.

  • knotted bags

                                                                                                                                     Dscn0962                                                                        

    With a few simple square knots you can repurpose a scarf, small tablecloth, or scrap of fabric into a hands-free waist pack then toss in your keys, sunglasses, and yard sales listing from the local newspaper as you race out the door to snag that rusty, white enamel pan to pick strawberries in later in the afternoon… 

    Knotted_bangle_bag_5

    a bangle bag to carry a veggie hummus sandwich to work or to the lake to throw in a fishing line on a sunny summer morning…

    Knotted_bag_instructions

    or a larger knotted bag to store your bounty from the local weekly farmers' market.

    So easy and fun. (Blueprint Magazine May 2006) I found these two scarves after sorting through a huge mound of every size, color, and pattern at the Mount Dora Antique Extravaganza near Orlando, Florida that I attend every year with my youngest daughter. We each pull an old metal shopping cart up and down the hills at the outside market where over 1500 dealers gather, transporting their wares mainly from the East coast. We love to dig to discover those treasures that have been overlooked by the casual passerby or that appear to be beyond refurbishing. I choose to retain the markings… the evidence of previous owners, so I apply no more than a few rubs of sandpaper to smooth away peeling paint. We've never rubbed elbows with Sue and Ki, the JunkMarket gals from Long Lake, Minnesota who are featured in Country Home each month. They regularly attend the Round Top, Texas antique event. What am I missing? I wonder… Maybe Sue and Ki should wonder what they are missing instead.

  • cutie clogs

    Cutie_gardening_clogs_1I’m really really really in the spring gardening mood even though the calendar tells me it is eleven weeks away. Growing up in Minnesota, we always planted on my Dad’s May 20th birthday. My small greenhouse allows me to get a headstart ahead of that date, but it’s even too early for that. While in my local Jo-Ann Store this morning, as I was heading toward the clearance corner to see what new gotta-haves were added since my last trip, my eyes zeroed in on these rubber gardening clogs. The clogs begged for a pair of socks to complete the look, so I found ones with tiny red trim that looks like rick rack. The color name on the socks label (referring to the red trim) is "hollyhock". I chose them for the name as much as the color and style! The clogs, socks, and the beginnings of a garden plan sketch satisfied my gardening urge enough to make it through today and return to a felted wool project that excites me as much as the upcoming spring season.   

  • Talk to me…

    Scan0013_2 Whiteley Creek Homestead Bed & Breakfast
    12349 Whiteley Creek Trail
    Brainerd, MN 56401
    218.829.0654
    email: Whiteleycrk@aol.com

    Directions to Whiteley Creek Homestead from Brainerd: At Brainerd's landmark water tower, next to the Chamber of Commerce, go east on Washington Street to the last stoplights at the eastern edge of Brainerd. You will see the East Brainerd Mall (with a Cub Foods Grocery at one end and a Caribou Coffee at the other end) off to your left. From the stoplights, go straight ahead on Highway 210 East exactly 2.4 miles. Turn right just past the "Whiteley Creek B&B" state highway sign. Follow the signs down the 1/2 mile drive to the gray, weathered Whiteley Creek Inn.
    Directions from Minneapolis-St. Paul Intl. Airport:: Take I-494 West from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to I-94 toward St. Cloud. Just before St. Cloud take the Clearwater Exit. Go to the town of Clear Lake where you will turn left onto Highway 10 and head north to Little Falls. In Little Falls, where Highway 10 veers off to the west, go straight ahead onto Highway 371 North. Go 30 miles to Brainerd. About 5 miles before Brainerd you will have the option of taking the Brainerd bypass (to Baxter) or the old Highway 371 (to Brainerd). Take the old Highway 371. Upon reaching the Brainerd city limits, go straight ahead through several stoplights. Just after crossing over the railroad tracks, you will see the Chamber of Commerce and Brainerd's landmark water tower on your right. Turn right (east) onto Washington Street. See "Directions to Whiteley Creek Homestead from Brainerd" to guide you the remaining three miles.

  • queen of the meadow blooms tearoom

    Tea room table 
    Pour a steaming cup of coffee or tea, which is set up every morning at 7:30 a.m. on an old baker's cupboard in the queen of the meadow blooms tearoom, an 1890 railroad passenger car. To prepare you for a busy day of scouting the local area, a breakfast consisting of a muffin, scone, quick bread or coffeecake, fresh fruit, hot entree, and juice is served on 1940s era Homer Laughlin china. Kitchen utensil mobiles and old hankies tied onto lampshade frames hang overhead tables covered with mismatched vintage linens. Food is prepared with organic and locally-grown ingredients. I receive a weekly basket of freshly picked produce from our local CSA farm and hand-select fruits, vegetables, and herbs from Brainerd's weekly farmers market. I pick berries at a growers farm outside of Brainerd. In-season bounty determines the week's menu. I also purchase organic items from our local food coop. Our free-roaming "Black Star" and "Red Star" brown-egg laying hens are fed organic chicken feed and garden veggie scraps. A signature entree, Flossie's Eggs on the Rails, was named after our most prolific laying hen and the railroad car where guests' breakfast is served. The recipe was one of three selected from submissions thoughout Minnesota's bed and breakfasts that was included in the jacket insert of an instrumental music CD.

  • “I Choo-Choose You” Chocolate-Buttermilk Cupcakes”

    On familyfun.com, I found printable directions and a video to make these I Choo-Choose You Cupcakes. They were a Valentine's Day project, so red candy was the primary color used and the reason for the choice of verse "I choo-choose you." To satisfy my creative spirit, I put my own spin on the color scheme and chose instead to decorate the cupcakes with more colorful candy. There are so many fun colored candies to be had! Use your own imagination and let the types and color palette of candies guide your creation! This chocolate buttermilk cupcake recipe is definitely a keeper and worthy of passing along.

     Chuga cupcakes  

     

    Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes from Martha Stewart

    Makes 8-12 muffins.

    ¾ cup flour

    ¾ cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup.)

    1 tsp baking powder

    ½ tsp baking soda

    ¼ tsp salt

    6 tbsp cocoa (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp or scant 1/3 cup)

    3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

    6 tbsp (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp or scant 1/3 cup) buttermilk or sub sour milk

    1 large egg

    1 large egg white

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. With an electric mixer, combine cocoa and 3 tbsp hot water until a thick paste forms (this process intensifies the chocolate flavor). Add butter, buttermilk, egg, and egg white; beat until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until smooth. Use an ice cream scoop to fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread icing over tops. Decorate as desired.

    Light Cream Cheese Icing Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes.

    Ingredients: 3 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, 4 c. sifted powdered sugar, ¼ tsp vanilla, little milk

    With an electric mixer, beat ingredients until light and fluffy.

     

    To pass along the fun, why not package one or a few cupcakes in a box like I did for my friend Sharon's birthday. They can be purchased in a Wilton Cake decorating section at your favorite store in choices to hold either one or four cupcakes. I found mine at Target.

     

     

    Chuga in gift box  

     

    The cupcakes were too way too adorable to eat them immediately, so I decided to make a Power Point Talking Book for my two granddaughters and grandson by creating a setting for "Chuga-Chuga" then writing a simple story to go along. Dick was the narrator and supplied the train's sound effects by blowing into a wooden whistle. 

     

    Chuga power point 
     
    Chuga whistle