June 2005 News

June 30, 2005  Thursday

At lunch, Dave said he'd have a surprise for me for supper. OK, that's a little scary. It turned out just fine, however. He brought home take-out from KFC. After a year without a Kentucky Fried Chicken, a new one opened this morning. We didn't eat at the old KFC that often, but on those occasions when we do want fried chicken, nothing in town measures up to the calorie-laden KFC.

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I hate shopping, particularly clothes shopping. But J.C. Penney advertised a sale on shorts and I need some new jeans shorts. Well, they had like one pair in my size and they were stretch jeans shorts. Ugh. They were in my size but they didn't fit right.

And nearly all their jeans were stretch jeans.

What happened to real clothes?

I want real denim, not stretchy denim. I want real cotton t-shirts, not some slick poly-blend. My problem with stretch denim is that it accentuates things it shouldn't: panty lines, fat bulges, etc. Everything shows.

I looked in the Juniors section, but my Junior days are over, thank God. The jeans they have are torn and patched and/or they are that new color of grease-denim. What's up with that? Isn't that about the most ugly color?

And, I have other issues with shopping, such as I have no fashion sense. None.

I need a personal shopper. I need someone to dress me.

June 28, 2005  Tuesday

Fireworks are for sale again. When I was a kid, I loved fireworks. My cousin's dad always gave her $20 to buy fireworks to shoot out at our grandma's farm.

That was a lot of money back then. Mary bought bunches of firecrackers, a couple boxes of sparklers and black worms and then the nightworks, the Roman candles and fountain things.

From my grandma's house, we drove into Pawnee Rock and the fireworks stand was along the highway--sometimes it was next to the gas station (yeah, that's a good idea.)

We shot firecrackers till we were tired of shooting firecrackers. At the end of the day, Mary usually still had a 16-oz. cottage cheese container filled with loose Black Cats and after the nightworks were shot, she'd throw a match into the cottage cheese container and it would pop-pop-pop-pop all over the place.

June 27, 2005  Monday

I happened to catch the Dennis Rader's guilty plea on TV this morning. The Wichita stations carried it live, as did a Kansas City station.

The judge asked Dennis Rader (aka BTK) to give details about the 10 murders he was pleading guilty to--so as to show to the court (and the public) that Rader was actually pleading guilty for good reason-- that he was in fact the real killer.

I suppose Rader's comments answered a lot of questions for the community and the families (although it must have been incredibly painful for the families to hear his explanations.)

Rader spoke about trolling for, then stalking his victims--serial killer lingo, he explained to the judge. He had a "hit kit," "hit clothes" and "projects" (his next victim).

He told about each murder without a hint of remorse or regret. Not a bit of emotion. In court, he was polite, intelligent and well-spoken.

A cold-blooded killer.

Rader is "going up" for the rest of his life. He will never get out of prison--especially if his sentences run consecutively, which they likely will.

June 26, 2005  Sunday

Yesterday afternoon about 5 p.m., while driving past the civic auditorium, I noticed that their electronic sign said 100 degrees. We'd been out at Toad Hollow Daylily Farm, sitting in the shady breeze with green grass under our feet. Didn't feel like 100 out there.

We stopped at Toad Hollow on Saturday after a drive to Hartford where we ate at the Hometown Cafe. For dessert we picked up a couple of pieces of Bailey's Irish Creme Torte from Evelyne O'Connor at the European Bake Shop.

"This is elegant, something you'd find in a fancy restaurant," Dave said as we ate our moussey dessert in the shade at the Hartford city park while watching a wheat truck unload its grain a block away.

If you want a fine, upscale dessert, go to Hartford. As in Kansas.

Evelyne said they had been busy the past couple of weekends, that the Bake Shop had been mentioned in, I think, the Kansas Living magazine, and a number of readers had made the trip. Smart readers.

See their web site for summer hours: www.europeanbakeshop.com

The Kansas Explorers are having a gathering on July 9 in Marquette. Since Peg Britton has already explained it so well, I'll just let you read her blog entry.

June 24, 2005  Friday

I've found yet another blogger to keep up with. Julie Neidlinger of North Dakota writes incredibly well. And North Dakota, well, it's one of our sibling states, another rectangle, three doors to the north.

Julie has a thing though, about wanting the North Dakota Governor to know who she is. Governor John Hoeven. So, in the interest of helping introduce the two of them, I'm participating in a blog blitz and am linking to her site.

So, Google, do your thing. And the rest of you, take a look at Julie's site. You'll find great writing, love of another plains state, and some pretty cool art. Check it out:  loneprairie.net. (That'll link you to her June 21 entry--you can wander around from there.)

And, by the way, Julie, I'm with you, I think the shelterbelt should stay.

June 23, 2005  Thursday

Blue jays torment Tiger. They sit in the redbud tree and squawk when she lies on the porch pillar. I sit on the chair on the porch and mosquitoes torment me.

Mosquitoes used to be just whiney pests. First it was killer bees, now it's killer mosquitoes. Enter the West Nile Virus. Coming soon to a county near you. I hate bug spray, it smells bad, attracts dust making your skin feel grimy and dirty, and the repellent feels like it shuts down every pore and your skin can't breathe. So, I've always chosen mosquitoes over bug spray. Now what?

June 22, 2005  Wednesday

A famous Kansan died on Monday: Nobel Prize Winner Jack St. Clair Kilby.

He grew up in Great Bend. His father was president of the Kansas Power Company and was in charge of power plants around the state. When an ice storm took out the phone lines, Kilby's father used a neighbor's ham radio to check on the status of the power plants. Kilby, then in high school, became fascinated with electronics and built his own ham radio.

An electrical engineer, Kilby went to work for Texas Instruments and one of his major accomplishments was his part in the creation of the integrated circuit -- the microchip.

Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000 for his work on the integrated circuit.

June 21, 2005  Tuesday

Happy Summer Solstice! And happy anniversary to Dave and me! Light-lover that I am, I suggested getting married on the longest day of the year. And I thought the symbolism of a dawn wedding at Peter Pan Park Amphitheater would be pretty neat--but some of the guests scoffed: "You want us to show up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning?" Because we needed witnesses, we changed the time to 8:00 a.m. to accommodate those late-sleepers.

To celebrate our anniversary, Dave and I took a short weekend trip to Omaha, Nebraska. Well, why not Nebraska?

Nebraska's claim to fame, apparently, is that it is the home of Arbor Day.

It's a nice state. But, like Kansas, it has its peculiarities, this being one of them....

If you walk out of the main door of the state capitol building in Lincoln, this is what you see directly across the street. The sculpture is on the Assurity Life Insurance building. I don't have a problem with nude art, but this whole thing is just a little weird. The man and woman are wearing skin-tight "garments" which are apparent only at their ankles and at the neckline on the woman. I couldn't determine where the man's clothing began. And this thing is huge. Note the doorway underneath.

June 20, 2005  Monday

We're flipping the seasonal switch. Goodbye, Spring. Hello, Summer.

Dave made a really cool slide show for the Davis Memorial in Hiawatha that we visited over the weekend. Take a look.

June 19, 2005  Sunday

Art in the Garden at the Toad Hollow Daylily Farm

Dave and I spent a couple hours at Toad Hollow today. Nina and Gaylord West provide such a pleasant atmosphere; it's welcoming and laid-back. We each wandered around and talked with artists, learning a bit about the artists and their work.

Millard Harrell creates 'woodspirits,' faces carved out of cottonwood tree bark. Beth Thomas, in addition to her work in restoring the Granada Theater, makes whimsical sculptures. Alan Tollakson brought along a beautiful and incredibly heavy solid-base birdbath complete with mourning doves (see below) that he had carved from stone.

Stone work by Alan Tollakson

Marie Miller played an electronic piano while we were there. Her music added another layer of art to the garden party.

The weather was beautiful with clear skies and a light breeze.

Tours of the garden were free, as always, although donations were accepted for art scholarships and for capital improvements at Camp Wood, a YMCA camp near Elmdale.

Toad Hollow in bloom.

June 18, 2005  Saturday

Peculiar. But not creepy like I thought it would be. This stone woman is one of many statues at the Davis Memorial in a Hiawatha cemetery. View the Davis Memorial Slideshow

June 17, 2005  Friday

Today is Dave's parents' 65th wedding anniversary. Sixty-five years! They had a party last weekend and we had cake and punch and went out for dinner. Sixty-five years!

And today would have been my grandmother's 105th birthday. Of course, no one expects to live that long. Since she was born in 1900, it's always been easy to know how old she was/would have been.

One story she told was about visiting her grandmother in Quincy, Kansas. Her grandmother always said she wanted to live to be 100. And she did.

Grandma died in 1977 when I was 18, so I never had the chance to relate to her adult-to-adult and that's always been sad for me since she was my favorite grandma. Are we allowed to say that? I didn't get to spend much time with her since she lived in Arkansas, so that was part of what made her special. Plus, she liked me. About the only specific words I remember her saying to me were, "Whatever you do, Cheryl, keep writing."

A blessing (and a curse?) This week, writing feels like a curse, but I'll get over it.

June 15, 2005  Wednesday

Another lovely day. Sunshine. 89 degrees. No wind. And most importantly, no rain.

Yesterday's paper had impressive aerial photographs taken by Gazette photographer David Doemland that showed the widespread flooding in the area. The Cottonwood River is out, out, out of its banks.

June 14, 2005  Tuesday

There's only a slight chance of rain this week, Wednesday or Thursday, one of those days (I forget which one). Other than that, we can expect a dry and sunny week, according to Steve Beylon, KSNT meterologist.

Fields are flooded all over the county. The dry weather is appreciated.

Lake Saffordville was full when we drove past Sunday evening. Of course, there is no Lake Saffordville, but for about five miles along U.S. 50, deep water covered the fields from Saffordville to east of Plymouth. Every road leading north from the highway was closed and under water.

June 12, 2005  Sunday

About those Backroads Touring guys...

Because they ride dual sport motorcycles, they can take those bikes on both highways and back roads. On those dirt and gravel roads, some of which are not maintained, they tour the wilderness areas of Kansas and see places the rest of us never get to. For photos and tales of the rides see the gallery page on the Backroads Touring web site.

I had corresponded with him, but was pleased to finally meet Roger Baugh of Wichita who formed the group and created its snazzy web site. About 35 riders showed up for the Flint Hills Stampede, coming from not only Kansas, but Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The motorcycles were a little muddy after Saturday's ride into the Flint Hills. As I looked at the mud caked on Greg Mitchell's bike, he told me, "We dropped 50 pounds of mud off before we got back here."

June 11, 2005  Saturday

We were lucky enough to get an invitation from Emporian Greg Mitchell to attend a BBQ at Council Grove Lake. So Dave and I joined the Backroads Touring - Kansas group for dinner on a beautiful evening.

This band of fearless motorcycle brothers (and a sister or two) camped through the Friday night thunderstorms and on Saturday they took muddy rides through the Flint Hills. After dinner we were entertained with bluegrass music provided by Luke Mitchell and Rocky Furman of Kansas City who are part of a group--Destined for Dogfood.

June 10, 2005  Friday

Dave Freeman's voice sounds a little raspy tonight--like he's been talking too much. With all the stormy weather this week, no wonder. Dave Freeman is the chief meteorologist for KSNW in Wichita.

At about 6 p.m. tonight a thunderstorm clobbered Wichita with 50-70 mph winds and torrential rains and hail. Now that storm is moving through Butler County and maybe this way. The rain is described as blinding rain and he suggested that turnpike travelers stop at Towanda while the storm moves through.

One of Channel 3's sky cams showed an incredible, hoop-shaped cloud that brought the storm in. They had about 1-1/4 inch of rain in about 30 minutes. And streets in Wichita are flooded.

Wheat fields, uncut, are flooding. The timing isn't good.

June 9, 2005 Thursday

Knowing nothing about the mechanics of an automobile, it bothers me when I hear unusual noises coming from my car. The car had been making a squealing kind of noise each morning. Well, I thought it was a cold-weather thing, but since it was still doing it on these warm mornings, I took the car to Gary Thompson at Thompson Auto Repair at 4th & Mechanic.

Gary took a look and a listen. The noise was nothing serious. It's a relief to have a diagnosis and to know that I'm not ignorning something that will eventually cost me dearly.

It's great to have someone reliable to turn to.

Gary is such a nice guy and he's taken good care of me and the vehicles that I've had since 1986. He's someone I trust.

This spring, in an Emporia Gazette poll, Gary Thompson was selected as the Best Auto Mechanic in the Flint Hills.

No surprise there.

June 7, 2005 Tuesday

I called Cable One at about 8:30 this morning. Some of our channels had been fuzzy for a few days. Instead of reaching the local office, I got their "call center" and was forced to listen to about 8 minutes worth of commercials. When I did get a real person on the line, I found out that I could talk to someone local if I called after 9 a.m. Thank goodness. When you talk to someone in Phoenix, it's hard to imagine that they really care about the quality of your TV reception--you're just another anonymous caller, but when you talk to someone local, you're a customer.

Anyway, later I noticed the cable guy on a ladder in the alley and went to tell him thanks. Actually, he hadn't received the call to fix our line yet, he was repairing a line for someone two houses down and noticed that about a foot of our wire had been chewed up by squirrels, so he went ahead and fixed ours. Now that's good and friendly service.

June 6, 2005 Monday

Summer is here. Dave has been raiding the refrigerator this evening for sugar-free Popsicles.

Popsicles are fine. Fudgsicles are better. That was one of my favorite treats when I was a kid--back when they put two sticks in each Fudgsicle. Now Fudgsicles and Popsicles are about 1/3 the size that they used to be.

June 5, 2005 Sunday

My writing today has put my mind back in my childhood hometown. That's not always a comfortable place to be--even in memory.

While I have lots of great memories of being a kid there, I also have some not-so-great memories of being a kid there.

For years and years, a majority of my nighttime dreams had the setting of Pawnee Rock. Then suddenly that stopped and my dreams moved to other locations, like Emporia. I'm sure that was a psychological breakthrough of some kind--getting my dreams back in present time.

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Be sure and check out the new wallpapers that Dave just put up today. I have the "prairie fenceline" on my computer right now. You can find the wallpaper on the galleries page.

And, speaking of Dave's photographs, if you're in Emporia, stop by and see his display in the Skyline Dining Room in the ESU Memorial Union. The hours are minimal during the summer-- Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m - 1 p.m.

June 4, 2005 Saturday

The muggles are back. No, not the Harry Potter kind of muggles--just Kansas summer mugginess. Moist air hangs low over Emporia this evening.

Around town: Arby's is now open in the former Hardee's west building--providing two or three times the seating space. The Taco Bell on Sixth Street looks finished on the inside--I can see tables and chairs, but they're working on the parking lot. They demolished the previous Taco Bell in mid-February to bring us this snazzy new building. Lots of fishermen were hanging around the old Soden's bridge this afternoon. Dillons West is a memory--they packed up and moved out last weekend. With the recent rains, grass is growing at a fast rate.

June 3, 2005 Friday

The sky may have been full of light yesterday--today it's full of water. It's been raining all morning. Big fat raindrops.

Yesterday evening I watched Tiger climb the stairs on the front porch. She had something in her mouth and it didn't look like a bird. Our previous bird/bunny-eating cat (Sonny) used to drop his kill at the front door and I expected Tiger to do the same. Instead she ran into the house with a furry thing in her mouth.

Once inside, she dropped the baby bunny and it started hopping around the living room and Tiger, of course, bounded after it. I picked up the poor little bunny and took it outside, wondering where Tiger had nabbed it from, hoping to reunite it with its family.

Well, I didn't know, so I put it down under a neighbor's shrub and, freaked out, the little critter ran up the neighbor's metal downspout. I checked later and it had been able to get out and had disappeared.

It's a cat's nature to kill birds and bunnies and I don't mind the birds so much, but bunnies!? That one got a reprieve. It was too big for Tiger to eat anyway. Perhaps Tiger wanted a playmate, she was carrying it by the scruff of the neck. Who knows what goes on in the beady little minds of cats?

June 2, 2005 Thursday

I like that the sun is up so early in the summer. 5:30 and it's shaking me out of bed. That's why summer is so great. Lots of light. It doesn't get dark until 9:30 or so.

Light is my friend. One day when I was at a desk job that I hated, I'm sure it was wintertime, but I took a piece of paper and wrote down all the words I could think of with "light" in them. Flashlight, sunlight, lightning, twilight, starlight, moonlight. After an 8-hour shift, I had bunches of words. And I felt so much lighter.

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