Circumstances
I am a person bounded to my life by circumstances. I was born and raised in a small Kansas town. Altamont, KS was a town of 1,000 people and it really was a great place to grow up. It is the kind of place where, as a kid, we could walk the streets past dark, ride our bikes out of the view of our parents eyesight and they would not worry, sit outside the post office and chat with the strangers who walked by, and more. I did not appreciate it growing up nearly as much as I do now.
Now, I am married to a wonderful man whom I met in Kansas City, have a great family, and live in... Kansas... still. I have moved from the small town to the big city (Kansas City) but I am still in Kansas. I really do have a great life... we live in a neighborhood surrounded by some of the best neighbors you can find. I have some great friends. Our school district is one of the best in the state. The crime rate here is very, very low. My husband has a very good and stable job, that he just happens to come home griping about every single day, but all in all he is committed and is treated well.
So, why is it that I am feeling so restless? Why do I want to leave Kansas so bad? I have always longed to live in the south. Charlotte, North Carolina to be exact. I long for the adventure of picking up everything and starting new...an adventure with my family that we can do together and grow from.
I look at the weather reports for my favorite locations every single day. I read the newspapers from my favorite locations every single day. I go to www.findyourspot.com and dream of moving to the places that it recommends. Interestingly enough, the town that I live in now shows up as an option each and every time.
I have friends picking up and moving... not looking forward to it and I long to trade places with them. To carry on on the journey they are about to embark on. I often wonder if once I got there, if it would be all that I dreamed of, or if I would finally realize that Kansas is not the wrong place for me after all. I think it is a situation where you don't know what you have until it is gone, but I have a feeling I won't realize that until I can experience it for myself. Someday.... someday.
In the meantime, I fill my time making those recipes that I consider to be truly Southern. Southern Buttermilk Biscuits is one of those recipes that, when it is snowing outside and the sky is gray, takes me to a place down south where the weather is more mild and the beach is near. Where sitting out on the screened in porch and drinking sweet tea is a normal, every afternoon occurrence.... and Sunday's after church, Grandmother's everywhere are baking up a batch of buttermilk biscuits to feed to their family for brunch.
I am a person bounded to my life by circumstances... and when I really sit down and think about it, those circumstances aren't so bad. Nothing like a delicious breakfast, in a warm home, surrounded by your own family, to change your perspective some.
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits (from Recipezaar.com)
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
- Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal.
- If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
- Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.
- If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
- Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about 1/2" thick.
- Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
- You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
- Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
- If you like"crusty" sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.
- Do not overbake.
Kristen
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Reader Comments (30)
I also just wanted to throw in my thoughts about moving East -> West versus MH's West-> East move. In one respect, I am different from MH in that, since many of my friends are in tech-oriented fields, many of them found jobs out here in Silicon Valley with me. I have lots of friends here! On my more positive days, I liken it to almost being at home, except a few friends are missing and I don't know where anything is. I mean, we do the same sort of things here that we did in NC - it should be the same feeling, right?
Well, I still miss NC very, very much. I thought everyone was somewhat on the unfriendly side and less open compared to NC. I think it's just the atmosphere you know, because then you realize how you should interpret everyone's mannerisms.
I hate the housing market here - many of my friends who stayed in NC and are the same age as me are already buying houses, putting in roots. Meanwhile, while I am living comfortably with my fiancee, there is no way I will be able to do anything more than rent if we live out here long-term.
Also, I think a large population (here, at least, in Silicon Valley) is also not "native" to California. Many people were brought in from other companies, other states, even other countries. I think anywhere where you have a good economy with a steady need for jobs, the population of those who were actually born and raised there will start to slow in comparison to those who moved from "out of town."
So. This ended up being really really long. I didn't mean to. I just meant to say - your biscuits look GREAT! I am a big fan of fluffy biscuits, but my friends prefer ones that are easily split apart so they often do a roll, fold in half, repeat twice method to get neat layering effect. I will have to try yours!
You are my twin at this:
"I look at the weather reports for my favorite locations every single day."
Me too! And, we both love Findyourspot.com! I wish they had a global version.... :)
Great post!!!
Even after living 15 years here in Arkansas, I still consider myself a Californian and periodically feel the same restlessness and longing that you do. This month in particular has been one of those times. Most of the time I feel alone. Today I feel as though I have shared my feelings with a friend.
Thank you for your post.
What an interesting post.
Have a great day...
Trish
The biscuits look good, too!
I don't want to complain too much. . . but the NC of my childhood is NO MORE. The traffic in Charlotte is horrendous as it is in other parts of the state. People are ruder and have lost all patience with each other. We used to be the kind of people who held the door for one another and said, "No, you go first!" But now, it's "ME FIRST!" everywhere you go.
People who move here from places where the cost of living was higher are sometimes and oftentimes snobby: they can afford larger, nicer homes here and because of this, they assume they are better educated and higher society than people of the same education level who have lived here all their lives and only can afford a smaller home due to the lower cost of living and such. They get a false confidence from these material things, bigger houses and brand new vehicles, and act like major snobs.
They move here because they "love it", but then they do all they can to change it into what they left before. . . They don't think our schools are good enough. They are very pushy.
And honestly, many native North Carolinians don't want them here.
I'm warning you so that if you ever come, you will be welcome as long as you don't behave like other transplants. . . and do have some compassion and respect for the people who have called NC home all their lives and deep into their family's history in this country. And do understand why the natives have put their "fences" up and aren't as polite as Southerners used to be.
Emily