November 30, 2005 Wednesday

Just when you thought Dave had already done it all, he's created a new gallery: Colors - studies of the ephemeral.

November 29, 2005 Tuesday

And now, a few words about the incomparable Kansas artist, Louis Copt ...   Click here.

November 28, 2005 Monday

A cold front moved across Kansas on Sunday, spawning thunderstorms, quick-strike tornadoes and hail.

Dave caught this storm cell yesterday afternoon

east of K-77 in Morris County.

November 27, 2005 Sunday

After the storm

Wild weather in Kansas today.

Snow in western Kansas. Tornadoes in the north central part of the state. Hail, wind, rain.

It was in the upper 50's today. Nice. When I bought milk at Reeble's, several customers were wearing shorts and tank tops.

About 2:30 the wind kicked up. Tree branches swirled. Thunder. A little rain.

Meanwhile, tornado warnings crossed through the counties north of us: Dickinson, Geary, Riley. Apparently, authorities closed down a portion of I-70 around Junction City while the tornadoes were storming through the area.

Tomorrow. Thirties and snow.

Evening update: Due to blizzard conditions, I-70 has been closed from Russell to the Colorado border (and probably further west as well.)

OK, this is one of those days where we have blizzards, tornadoes, hail, wind, rain, thunderstorms and 60 degree temperatures.

Ahhhh, Kansas!

November 26, 2005 Saturday

I don't know how we've managed to slide through October and November without any sleet or snow or ... really cold weather. I've only put on a coat twice so far this fall. I guess we're on God's good side this year.

November 25, 2005 Friday

Christmas songs played on KMAJ today -- to get people in the shopping mood, I guess. I had to switch the station.

Give me some rock music--I'm not ready for those perky Santa Claus melodies yet.

Another pretty Kansas sky, courtesy of Dave.

November 24, 2005 Thursday

Thanksgiving in Emporia. Forty-eight degrees at noon and becoming overcast.

Wal-Mart is open. Golden Corral, The Village Inn. S&S Cafe. McDonalds on Sixth Street. Blockbuster.

If I remember right, Linus once said that when children are born into the world, they are confused and frightened. They need something to cheer them up. He said something like, "The way I see it, as soon as a baby is born, he should be issued a banjo."

Holidays can go either way. They are at both ends of the spectrum. Happy, sad. Family, no family. Good family, brawling family. Too much togetherness, not enough. If your holidays are not as great as you'd like them to be--then get out your banjo and play a happy little jig. 'Cause it's just a day on the calendar.

November 22, 2005 Tuesday

Today's Flyover People column: Marci Knows Kansas.

November 21, 2005 Monday

I'm glad I don't have a job in which I have to pronounce names

like "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

But I guess I could learn these things. I am trainable.

When I worked in the Lyon County Attorney's Office (in the days before spell-checkers), I learned how to spell tetrahydrocannabinol.

Possession of which, is of course, a violation of K.S.A. 65-4127b(a)(3), a class A misdemeanor.

November 20, 2005 Sunday

In Kansas, the skies are always changing.

Likewise at Flyover People.

See Dave's "Sky of the Week."

November 19, 2005 Saturday

The Harvest Home Festival - an annual fall event hosted by the Messiah Lutheran Church

People come early to the Anderson Building at the Lyon County Fairgrounds for this event each year.

Let's see... I brought home some sand hill plum jelly, bread and butter pickles, cabbage slaw, gooseberry jam and some tasty mincemeat mix--which is all ready to spread into a pie shell. My grandma used to make a very good mincemeat pie. I don't think I've had any for 30 years.

Those Lutherans are busy people. My gosh. Not only were the tables sagging with every kind of jam and jelly known to mankind, but there were taco sauces and slaw and pickled cauliflower and okra. And there were boxes and boxes of additional jellies and pickles to restock the tables.

Dave and I arrived when they opened at 8 a.m. I was ready for breakfast and their biscuits and gravy were real and fresh and delicious. To save a trip back there later, I bought a piece of chocolate meringue pie - to go.

"Would you like for me to put a piece of foil on that?" the woman at the pie table asked.

"No, I'll probably eat it in the car on the way home," I said.

I did.

Dessert should always accompany breakfast.

Not only are those Lutherans busy people, but they're good cooks. I'll bet they have yummy church dinners and potlucks.

Desserts

November 18, 2005 Friday

The news from Emporia:

Gas is down to $2.01 in town--the lowest it's been for months.

Riverside Gardens at 6th and Rural has a new awning - pink and white to replace their worn green and white awning. On their parking area, they've also painted the stripes pink to match.

Meanwhile, downtown, the city has put up Christmas decorations on light poles: wreaths and candles (not real candles.)

It's chilly, but not bad yet. It's light-jacket weather. Today was in the 50s, I think -- warm enough to wash the car.

November 17, 2005 Thursday

Furnaces are running all over town. It was c-c-cold this morning. I don't know... 27 degrees? I don't think it got over 44 today.

Winter is laundry season. I just did a load of clothes on Tuesday and today there was another huge mound in the hallway. There are only two of us but when it gets cold, we pile on the layers.

The other day a friend said a wonderful line about laundry. She has two teenagers and a husband and she can't keep up with all the washing and drying and folding and putting away. She said, "It's like stringing beads without having a knot in the string."

November 15, 2005 Tuesday

OK, our first wintry weather has arrived. During the night, I heard thunder. Then either tiny hail or sleet. This morning, big, wet snowflakes fell, but melted. Then the 45-mph winds came. It was cloudy all day and the temperature started out around 44 and dropped into the 30s.

One woman said to me this afternoon, "Winter is breaking us in fast."

November 14, 2005 Monday

LOUIE KNOWS PAINT

Louis Copt at the easel in his studio near Lawrence.

Writing doesn't pay worth a hoot, but it sure lets me hang out with some of the most interesting people in the state.

Today I interviewed Louis Copt in his studio near Lawrence and watched him teach a class at the Lawrence Arts Center.

No one paints a Kansas sky as well as Louie. No one.

When you look at his paintings, you feel like you're in them--that his ground is beneath you, his sky above.

Louis Copt is my favorite landscape artist. And he's also just an incredibly nice guy.

I first met Louie in May of 2003 when he and Stan Herd painted the "Springtime in the Flint Hills" mural at Sixth and Merchant in Emporia. Louis and Stan let me climb up the scaffolding with them and I even dabbed a little purple paint on the mural.

At the Lawrence Arts Center today, a student named Hans painted on watercolor of an ocean scene. Another student, Marilyn, working in oils, was painting a series of Lawrence bar scenes, and Jim painted on a lavender field landscape from a photo he took in France.

"Put something back there and the mind will finish it," Louie told Marilyn, pointing to one side of her painting. "Instinct tells you there's something back there. All you need is color and shape."

"Whatever advice he gives, he's always right," Marilyn told me.

Louis' paintings hang on walls over the country. He's sold thousands of paintings. Thousands of them. To see his work, check out www.louiscopt.com.

November 12, 2005 Saturday

Marci Knows Kansas

I've been looking forward to Marci Penner's book for two years now and it is even better than I had expected!

Four hundred and thirty-two pages of things to see and do in Kansas (and let's not forget places to eat.)

The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers was released in October by the Kansas Sampler Foundation, a grassroots organization whose goal is to preserve and sustain rural culture.

I thought I'd wait until her book-signing in Emporia (Dec. 10) to purchase the book, but I couldn't help myself-- I bought it on Thursday.

Visit Marshall County with Marci and learn why Marysville has two "Main Streets" (a tidbit of Kansas' pre-Civil War history).  In Argonia (Sumner County), in front of the Dixon Township Library, a tree stump has been carved to look like a stack of books. In Stafford, (Stafford County), Marci says that the chicken and noodles served on Tuesdays at the Curtis Cafe are a local favorite. The Guidebook has 3,597 entries. If you love Kansas...this is the book to have.

The Kansas Guidebook is all about details: an original wooden windmill at U.S. 50/400 and K-25 at Lakin, the Creamery Bridge in Osawatomie (a triple-arch Marsh bridge built in 1930), and at Madame Hatter's Tea Room in Eudora, "Colorful umbrellas hang upside down from the ceiling... ."

Marci Penner is one of my Kansas heroes. She has unmatched enthusiasm for rural Kansas and tireless energy in exploring the state. Marci's mission is to encourage Kansans to visit small towns and to support locally-owned businesses -- and those efforts are giving rural Kansas its second wind.

Oh, and by the way, Marci didn't just sit in her house and call up Chambers of Commerce and ask, "What'cha got in your town?"

Nope, in about two years' time, Marci drove 40,124 miles and wandered around every little dusty town we have -- all 627 of them. She also toured many unincorporated communities.

Marci visited with independent grocery store owners, listened to their stories of financial woes. She has perused the menus in countless small-town cafes and has eaten home-baked pie at their formica countertops.

And, because Marci loves driving the back roads, I'm guessing that the interior of her car must have been perpetually coated with dust.

Marci knows Kansas from the inside out.

Marci Penner

The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers

is available in a limited number of retail outlets.

For a list of bookstores and shops,

or to order online, visit www.kansasguidebook.com.

Marci Penner will sign books at Emporia's Town Crier Bookstore on December 10,

10 a.m.-noon. Click here, to see her list of scheduled book-signings.

November 11, 2005 Friday

I didn't get to the Veterans Day parade this year (Dave took the photo), but the weather was lovely. Last year, it was so, so cold. So cold.

By afternoon, people around town were wearing tank tops, shorts. It was in the upper 70s.

Mounted cavalry in the Veterans Day parade, downtown Emporia

November 10, 2005 Thursday

So far, no answers on the Ozark Frontier Trail question below. I know several people have been working on it.

I slept on an ice pack last night. I really shouldn't go around trying to lift 190-pound, 90-year-old men. But when they've fallen on the street, ya gotta try to help them. He wasn't injured, so he and I tried different ways of getting him to his feet. I finally drove my car over to him and he grabbed onto the door frame and he pulled and I lifted and he stood up.

Today is my grandma's birthday. Or was. She would've been 107, I think. And while that sounds like a big number, her little sister is still alive - at 101.

November 9, 2005 Wednesday

From yesterday...

What would you think if you landed on the moon and found a pile of bones?  The cow didn't make it.

Apparently Burmese cats come in brown. Here are two pretty Burmese cats, one brown, the other gray.

November 8, 2005 Tuesday

What's it all about, Alfie? OK, y'all were smarter than me on the brown cat topic, now help me out again. Personally, I don't think there should be snowflakes in October, but that's not the issue here. What is the Ozark Frontier Trail and why is there an Ozark Frontier Trail road sign in Great Bend, Kansas? The Great Bend Convention and Visitor's Bureau kindly checked with KDOT on my behalf, but no one seems to know the reason for the sign. KDOT said the sign has been up for about 15 years. Can you solve this mystery? If so, send me an e-mail.

November usually is the darkest, dreariest month as low, dark clouds cut short our vision.

But, I'm happy to report that November has been pretty sweet so far. The high is to be in the 70s today before a cold front moves in tonight. No coats needed yet. I can deal with that.

I'm not participating, but November is National Novel Writing month. Visit the nanowrimo.org web site for details.

From a friend: What would you think if you landed on the moon and found a pile of bones? (Think about that one...the "answer" tomorrow.)

* * *

Oh, and just a little promo for an upcoming event. Elk Falls is having their annual OUTHOUSE TOUR next week. Friday and Saturday, November 18th and 19th. Yes, that's Friday and Saturday.

On November 18-19, from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., there will be food, pottery demonstrations, a quilt show and the outhouse tour. For a small charge (last year it was $1,) you get a map and take a self-guided walking tour around town (4-5 blocks) and then vote for your favorite outhouse. Contact numbers in Elk Falls: 620-329-4425 and 620-329-4388.

Elk Falls is in southeast Kansas in Elk County. Here was what Dave and I encountered last year on the outhouse tour.

November 7, 2005 Monday

Happy Birthday to Dave! And to Elebrown! And to Joni Mitchell. (Heard that on NPR this morning. They reported that she's 62.)

Brown cats abound apparently. Just not in my world. My cats have always come from litter-bound friends. My cats are "mutts," one step away from the gas chamber at the pound.

However, a Flyover People viewer, Gene James, who apparently has better "taste" in cats (or else, unlike me, he actually did some research on the matter), sent me a link to a breed of brown cats - the Havana Brown.

According to the Cat Fanciers Association website, the Havana Brown is "a highly intelligent breed of cat that easily learns its name, the word 'No,' and may be halter and leash trained just to name a few accomplishments. ... It is not unusual for a Havana Brown to touch you with a paw to get your attention or to run, then flop on the floor right in your path for a tummy rub."

The Havana Brown sounds like an endearing breed, but I've never paid money for a cat. (I've paid in blood, however.)

Well. Thank you very much, Gene. And Tracy. We have proof: Brown cats do exist.

OK, on to my next cat issue: Pink-nosed cats vs. gray-nosed cats.

November 6, 2005 Sunday

HOW NOW, BROWN CAT

Tracy sent a photo of a brown-bellied cat, Maurice "Mo," she once owned. Additional photos of Mo are on Tracy's " Inside My Head" blog.

OK, now I realize that it's nearly impossible to find the cat in this picture -- that cute little girl grabs all the attention. But--in the lower right-hand corner, see that furry brown belly? I guess some cats do have brownish parts.

Does anyone else have a brown or brownish cat? If so, send me your photos.

There are brown dogs, brown horses, brown cows, but a brown cat is mighty rare.

* * *

I feel like I accomplished something today. Washed the windows- at least the ones in the living room/dining room and kitchen. Inside and out. Gotta be prepared for the dark winter. Need to let in every ounce of light that the good old sun can give me.

* * *

And for you wallpaper freaks, Dave added a new one Fall Canopy which he took at the Neosho River.

November 5, 2005 Saturday

OK, these photos are of the same tree. It's all a matter of angle, perspective and lighting. These are Dave's photographs (of course.) The tree is along U.S. 56 in Burlingame.

And -- yesterday's entry has been challenged. I received the following e-mail from Tracy Million Simmons, a viewer/reader:

"Never wondered... until now. But are you sure? I once had a mackerel tabby that I always thought of as brown. But now you have me wondering exactly what color he was..."

Nope, I'm not certain there are no brown cats on the planet, but until I see a brown cat, I'm sticking with my claim.

Now Dave suggests that Siamese can be kind of brownish.

Feel free to e-mail me with your thoughts or your brown-cat photographs.

The aforementioned Tracy, by the way, is an excellent Kansas writer. I follow her blog. Be sure to read Tracy's Halloween entry.

And as long as you're in the neighborhood, check out her web site.

November 4, 2005 Friday

Do you ever wonder why cats don't have brown fur?

I do.

November 2, 2005 Wednesday

Another delightful November day. 80-ish. T-shirt weather.

Last week this tree was full and gorgeous. This week, it's a little thinner with a lot more leaves on the ground. (By the way, for those of you Kansans who don't recognize hills, this tree is on one. What I'm really trying to say is, the photo isn't crooked -- although my snapshots tend to be that way sometimes.)

November 1, 2005 Tuesday

November came in like a lamb.

Sun-shiny and warm. Any day that I don't have to wear a coat is a good day in my book.

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