Winter Zoo

Here a few things we shot and bagged at the Sedgwick County Zoo today.

Gourmet Club at Chez Roach

We somehow managed to pull of the second meeting of the Gourmet Club, working around everyone' busy schedule. Danielle and Cody moved to a new house, Brent's work load has picked up because of the holidays, Chuck is super busy, and me, well, I'm always ready to eat. Our menu this month:
Endive with Brandied Gorgonzola, (Danielle and Cody made this only using Boston lettuce)
Curry Pumpkin Soup (by Chuck)
Roasted Red Potatoes with Artichokes (Danielle and Cody)
Acorn Squash Apple Rings (Kelsey)
Mediterranean Pot Roast (Sally)

The Fallish menu was delicious. Even the little girls dug in. For dessert, we munched on turtles and peppermint bark from the Nifty Nut House.

No meeting in December. I don't think any of us will go hungry though.

1st Annual Harvest Art Party

Kelsey's beautiful Starry Night cupcake creation
 
The sweet treat display
 
The spread with a Mediterranean flair
 
Charis in her party dress
 

Kelsey inspired our first every Harvest Art Party. Originally we were going to have two couples over but she wanted to bake this treat so we decided to host a party. Chuck invited his art class and a few members of the Kansas Art Guild. We had almost 20 people! It took two days to prepare all the food. Besides the cakes by Kelsey, we had pumpkin bread, Lebanese meatballs, Chuck's flat bread with dips, hummus, whipped feta, carrot and garlic yogurt, veggies and chips. Several people volunteered us to do this again next year. Perhaps we will!

Chuck's art teacher, Mary Binford, brought her nine year old granddaughter, Emma, to the party. Charis had the best time playing with Emma. Charis also took time to charm our other guests. She was looking so ladylike and pretty in her dress, carrying a little pink purse. A lady asked what was in her purse and she pulled out a green water pistol! Our baby is packing heat! It was so unexpected....and funny.

I think a good time was had by all.

Ari's birthday weekend. 3 years old!

A fun time was had by all at Ari's amazing birthday #3. He was quite the gentleman with his two lady friends, graciously sharing his toys and birthday cake. Papa and I relished our time with Ari and Keira and they seemed to enjoy our company as well. Sara served up some great food to go with our lively discussions. A very happy birthday to you, Ari. We are blessed to have you as our grandson.

Custer part II- please read part 1 below

Saturday morning we went to find my cousin, Sharon and her daughter, Autumn, from Minnesota. They arrived late on Friday. We all took off to see Mt. Rushmore, but Charis hurled on the way and the Gray van had to return to clean up and nap. The rest of us took the scenic route to the heads, in the rain. By the time we watched a movie about the sculpture and looked at the exhibit, the rain had stopped and we went outside to have another look. Then we took a drive to see the wildlife, dear, buffaloes, donkeys, etc. We met up with the Grays in Hill City where we enjoyed a steak dinner with Brent's aunt and uncle.

Kelsey, Brent, and Charis went back to the cabin with Sharon and Autumn and Chuck and I returned to our camp. The sky was clear, the wind had died, the stars were beautiful and so was our fire. We sat up for a long time enjoying conversation and so happy that the rain had stopped. We looked forward to a good night's sleep. At about two a.m., the rain started and didn't stop until sometime near noon. Both of us wanted to get up and relieve ourselves and waited for the rain to let up. It just didn't. When we did get up later, I peeked into Brent's tent to see the lake. I'd say it was more rain catcher than shelter. We grabbed breakfast stuff and headed to the cabin to eat and dry out.

The plan for Sunday was a visit to Wind Cave. What can I say. It was dark, cavy, not all that impressive. After lunch, Chuck and I took a drive on Needles Highway, through beautiful scenery and narrow tunnels. That night we had the big roasted weenie cookout at the cabin, with s'mores. We all slept in the cabin that night.

Sally, Autumn, Sharon, Kelsey
 
Campfire at the cabin.
 
Tunnel on Needles Highway, 8'4" wide.
 
How would you like to find a buffalo in your front yard?
 

Trip to Custer State Park, SD

It was a long drive to Custer State Park in South Dakota. We left at five am and arrived at the park at five pm. The registration for a campspot was complicated and after driving around even more, we finally ended up in a nice spot on Stockade Lake. My cell phone wasn't working here so we had to drive (again) to a lodge to call Kelsey to tell her where to find us when they came in the next day. After pitching the tent and starting a rip roaring fire, we celebrated with champagne and hot dogs. It was a beautiful evening and we slept well.

The next morning we drove up to Sylvan Lake, a lovely little lake surrounded by huge boulders and pine trees. After walking around the lake, we spotted a trail head and decided to load up our fanny packs and check it out. It was rather demanding in places and we were aching by the time we returned to the car. By the time the Grays joined us back at the campground, the wind was picking up and the clouds gathering. Charis played at the playground, we took showers, and cooked up spaghetti. It was really too cold to enjoy sitting by the fire so after some roasted marshmallows, we all turned in at 7:30. It rained during the night and we learned the next morning that the Gray's tent leaked. I will let her tell that story.

To be continued....

 
Sunrise in northern Kansas

 
Hike at Sylvan Lake. We were feeling this one later.

 
Our campgroud at Stockade Lake

 
Charis enjoying roasted marshmallows.

Car show and other happenings

 
 
 
My blog has been neglected since I opened my facebook page a month ago. It is quick and easy and seductive, but I am having problems loading pics.

So, here we are, August 30th, already. Yesterday, Chuck and I rode the Speedster to Cheney, KS for a car show, part of a celebration of the town being 125 years old. Hank was the organizer of the show. Hank owns a microbrewry called Hank Wiser Brewry. It is a fine establishment and we sampled a couple of his brews. One was a special anniversary beer and the other was a Canadian type brew he named, Eh. Both were smooth and tasty. This was the first car show for this event and 150 cars showed up, much more than they expected. Shown above are three of our favorite entries. A Lotus, a Chevy pickup that I fell in love with, and a Hudson. We sat next to a crusty old dude with a 55 Chevy named Roxanne. He said Roxanne was a whore because she got everything she wanted. Is that the way it is with whores? I didn't know.

Our weather has been most unusual for August in Kansas. We actually sought out the sun yesterday because we were chilly. Today is even cooler. So nice! The plan today is the Wichita Flight Festival at Jabara Airport where we will watch a parade and an air show. Kelsey and Charis are going with us, or rather, we will ride with them in the big van.

In a few days we are going camping and hiking and sight seeing in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Grays will be joining us as well as my cousin Sharon and her daughter, Autumn, both of Minnesota. I need to get serious about getting my gear in order!

Twilight Zone

This has been a rather off kilter week and an especially tilted morning, for various reasons. Kelsey came over with Charis so we could go swimming before I could tell her Chuck would not be able to watch Charis. So, we took her with us but we forgot the mandatory sock rule for the nursery so Kelsey left me to swim while she and Charis went to the store. All this done is a funk due to the fact that the Twilight books I ordered from an ebay seller on July 21st still have not arrived and we fear they may be lost. Chuck sent inquiries and I finally heard from the seller saying she had been sick so got a late start on shipping them out. She insist she put the correct address on them so perhaps they will show up after all. I told her we were going into withdrawal and that got a very sympathetic response. Readers of the books understand! Then, an item I was going to buy for Ari's brithday inexplicably went up $30 in price while I slept on it. Maybe that is for the best. I'll get something even better now.

There are other things afoot that I really don't want to talk about yet. It's not that big of deal, expect perhaps to me, so don't worry.

The direction the country is going is a downer too.

Ok, maybe I should stop. Have a nice day.

Keira's 1st birthday!

CONDOR OVER ZION

 
Sally asked me, Chuck, to write this blog.

The inspiration for this painting was the result of taking a hike last fall up to Angels Landing in Zion National Park. The summit is 800 feet above the valley floor, and the views are breathtaking. At about the 600 foot elevation, I took some pics of the Pipe Organ formation, which is named because of the vertical columns of stone at the end. At this time, we also saw California condors soaring along the vertical cliff walls below us. It was magnificant. Looking at the pics upon our return, I realized that I had the makings of a decent painting. Condor Over Zion is the result, which is 24x30 inches and painted in oil. I finished it just after Christmas 2008, but noodled with it and made a few modification for a couple of months thereafter. Finally, I showed the painting to a professional artist friend of mine who was impressed enough to suggest that I enter the painting in the national Art for the Parks competition. I entered in April and at the end of June got a phone call that I had placed in the Top 100 nationally and had received very high scores in that group. Several thousand paintings had been entered from around the country. What a surprise and honor.

I have to take the painting to Topeka, Kansas next week, where it will be shipped out to the Kolb Studio, South Rim Village, Grand Canyon National Park, along with the other 99 paintings from around the U.S. From there, it will go to St. Louis, and West Palm Beach, FL, and a few other cities over the next 14 months. Pretty neat! All of the Top 100 paintings will be published in a book titled Paint the Parks 2009.

I had to place a price on the painting that reflected the market value of my paintings. Since I have not sold a painting in over 35 years, my paintings are theoritically worth zero. Needless to say, I placed a goodly sum upon the painting. The First Place award is a $10,000.00 purchase. The Art for the Parks official who called me stated that Condor Over Zion would likely sell at the Grand Canyon, but would continue on with the show to the other cities.

Life is so full of surprises. Who would have guessed. Now, what did I do to create such a nice painting and can I do it again?

The Blackwatch Fleet in the heat

We survived an un airconditioned drive to OKC and back, plus spending most of our time in blistering temps reaching 104 degrees on Saturday. Dave, the organizer of the first ever BW gathering, agreed beforehand to help Chuck raise the mast on Boatnik, something I think he came to regret. It took the two of them three hours on Friday afternoon. I sat in the shade and sipped ice water and read a book, but it was still plenty hot!(waaa!) Friday evening was very enjoyable as we ate grilled chicken provided by the Oklahoma City Boat Club and chatted with our new friends, David and Harry (not the food people) Ours was a smaller gathering included in the bigger event, a charity regatta. I never did learn what the charity was.

Chuck had the big idea of sleeping on the boat. This idea sounded a lot better back home, but after sweating it out all day, I was ready for a shower and a cool bed. Fortunately for us, Chuck's brother Jeff, and his wife Jolene, took us in. Thank you!! As a bonus, Their daughter, Jenn, and her husband, David, were also there so we got to visit with them and meet their very cute doggie. We also met Jeff's son Jason and his bride to be, Kim.

Saturday, we sailed out into Lake Hefner, a lovely lake with plenty of wind. We did not take part in the official races but we had an unofficial one with David and Kent on Kent's BW. Harry took the helm of Boatnik and we smoked the competition handily. Harry is a very good sailor. Sadly, his boat never made it into the water due to technical difficulties. He loves to race! That afternoon, David and Chuck took the mast down on Boatnik in the unforgiving heat and then we headed back to Jeff's for a quick shower and change of clothes and then back for the evening banquet and rock concert.

David sent an article about the weekend to www.smallcraftadviser and then sent the link to us. It has some wonderful pictures with captions so just Click here to see that.

Boatnik lives!

 
 
We both wished we had taken a before picture with the primer gray hull. Boatnik looked pretty sad just two weeks ago, but Captain Chuck has been rendering tender ministrations through rain and blistering sun. The hard work is almost complete. Launch date is in two days. Captain and crew are ready to sail!

There were 81 Blackwatch sailboats made in Amarillo, Texas of all places. Boatnik is #40. Only six are scheduled to show up at the gathering on Lake Hefner in OKC. You can see why we have to made a good showing.

Re art exhibit

Chuck will not be displaying any paintings at the Center for the Arts this month. He learned he could only put up pictures painted during classes taken at the center. He is currently in his first ever class there so it would only be one painting, not worth staying here on Friday. That means we can spend more time at Lake Hefner, which is what Chuck wanted anyway. I will post some pictures of that event.

Cousins and June happenings

 
 

Chuck took these pics of our eldest grandchildren when they were here in May. They are so much fun, when they are having fun together. They occupied much time "cleaning" my patio door with flyswatters and soapy water. Hey, it kept them quiet and busy.

My big project this weekend is repainting the living room. That was rather easy after all the prep work and taking down the paper border because I used the same color. I also painted crown molding. Putting it up is Chuck's job and I hope he does it soon since it is taking up room on the floor. Chuck is working on houses on his development and trying to get his sailboat painted and spiffed up. He recently joined a group of Blackwatch owners and at the end of this month, we are going to Oklahoma City to a gathering. Only a limited number of Blackwatch boats were built so it is an exclusive club. Lah-ti-dah! Chuck is also displaying some of his paintings this month at the Center for the Arts, where he is taking classes. There will be a reception on June 26th. Please stop by!

Memorial weekend

 
 

One more iris. This one bloomed later than the others and was one of three that Iris gave to us last fall. This is the only one that bloomed but it is a beauty. She opened up last week before we left for Texas to visit our son and his family. On Saturday, we had a picnic in the park and then watched the kids play. Ari owned this slide and Chuck caught him in a great frame.

The year of Iris

 
 
 
 
The Irises we planted a couple of years ago are stunning this year. It is a fitting tribute to my Aunt Iris who passed away on May 5th. Iris never married or had children of her own, but she was very involved in the lives of her nieces and nephews. As a school teacher, she had lots of experience with little ones and I remember her home as a fun, child friendly place. She took me to the State Fair, the best state fair in our state. She taught me good manners but also made a lot of fun for me when I visited her at the farm or her apartment in Hutchinson. When I grew up, moved away, and had a family of my own, I didn't see that much of Iris but she always asked me to come visit. We did that when we could and especially when we moved back to Wichita in 1996. But it wasn't until my own parents died in 2003 that we started to grow close. Chuck and I drove to Hutch often to take care of household chores that she couldn't handle any longer. When she moved into a retirement home, we visited and had lunch with her. The chores became simpler but we knew she mostly needed our company. I began to truly appreciate what a treasure both she and her sister, Thekla were, and I thank God for that. I see that the date of my last blog is April 28. That is the day Iris began her journey into eternity. The home where she lived called to say Iris was going to the hospital. A few hours later they called to say they were bringing her here. My cousin and her daughter came two days later and, along with my daughter, we visited Iris. Every day she slipped a little further from us. A few days later in hospice, she passed away from us. I miss her and wish I could tell her about the service we had and about the family who gathered for her. She would have loved that. But I smile when I think that she is finally out of her pained filled body and flying high with Jesus. I will see her again.

Cowskin this!

Ah, tis the rainy season in south central Kansas. The Cowskin Creek (don't ask me why they call it that) runs through our neighborhood and is prone to flooding. This isn't as bad as the big one of 1998 and the water has receded about three feet from yesterday, but it still provided some good photo ops. Chuck took these pics from the bridge that crosses the creek on 13th. Our house is high enough to not be in danger of the overflowing creek but we do keep a sharp ear out for our sump pump. Chuck installed a second pump yesterday for out peace of mind. If the power goes off, then I guess we are hosed, so to speak. Fortunately that doesn't happen often here, I suppose because the power lines are buried.

 
 
 
 

Blast from the past

Does this bring back memories? A wedding from 1971, May actually. The happy couple will celebrate 38 years next month. It just keep getting better and I thought we were in love then.

 

Wichita Tea Pary

Chuck went to the tea party in Wichita last evening and snapped a few pictures of this historic occasion. There were about a thousand people there.

 
This woman was handing out copies of our constitution and crying, "The taxes are coming, the taxes are coming."
 
Senator Brownback taking advantage of a group of possible voters. He wants to run for governor, but someone in the crowd criticized him for his part in pork spending. Brownback countered that we need to get involved to change the system and the man adroitly pointed out that he is the system. Doh!
 
 

Baila!

Our dance studio hosts a mini production on the third Saturday of each month to give students a chance to show off what they have learned and to gain experience dancing in front of people in ridiculous costumes. Bailas are a lot of fun and the audience is generally forgiving. I did two dances in March, a veil dance with a green veil that kept slipping down. Fortunately the camera caught me in a good moment. I was actually smiling and it looks like I know what I'm doing. The other dance also has a veil but it is black and heavy and has it's own name, malaya lef. I like this dance and in this picture, Angie and I are synchronized. That doesn't always happen.