By 
Well, you just can’t buy a day like today. Gorgeous from beginning to end. Well, except for that little mishap in Manhattan (K-State 17, KU 10), it was perfect. Sunny, light breeze, mid-to-upper 70s.
And this evening, on the drive back from Topeka, these photos show the sky we had.
And every time I felt a little sleepy on the drive home, Joni Mitchell would kick it up an octave and scare me awake. (Dave bought two Joni Mitchell CDs in Topeka.)
Among other things, we dropped in at the West Ridge Mall. I hadn’t been in the mall for probably five years. We took a spin on the massage chairs, 2 minutes for a dollar. Geesh – that hurt. Those rollers found all my sore spots.
In the window of one clothing store (I didn’t take my camera in the mall), there were jeans with rips in them and a sign, “We tear them up. You wear them out.” Man, when I was a kid we had to tear up our own jeans. Things have changed.
And then, at the mall’s food court, there’s a hurricane simulator. For $2, one or two people (we saw 3 teens) can get in this glass booth and experience hurricane force winds – 78 mph. Ha. Like Kansans need to stand in a hurricane booth to experience 78 mph winds.
LOL! Kansas wind! LOL. I can’t stop laughing at that line. I had forgotten about that until my first year back here. Any time I complained about the wind, my mother would always reply, “Well, you know, Kansas means ‘west wind.'” Like that was going to make it better. LOL. Starting my third winter back, I guess I’ve sorta, kinda gotten used to it again. At least I know not to complain about it to my mother, or I can expect to hear the same reply. G:-)
I read that last paragraph outloud to Larry. We both got a good laugh. Yup, seems an unlikely place for a wind simulator. LOL
I think it’s kind of sad that kids are buying pre-torn jeans. Most of the fun was coming up with the coolest, most creative ways to make our jeans look worn. We went to some extremes to get those vented, torn up jeans, but my mother always put a stop to tearing up new jeans. She just didn’t see the coolness of it, so I had to start with jeans that were already looking worn or had at least met some sort of “accidental” disaster before I started on my custom design.
In the 60s & 70s, I made colored triangle insets to make my jeans into bell bottoms, and sewed patches of bright prints over every tear. Eventually there were so many, my butt looked like a patchwork crazy quilt, but I was “hip.” LOL G:-)
do you know why its so windy in kansas? go west of salina and you will see all the fans they put in there!!!
Grace, I did the same thing. Bell bottom hip huggers became the deal where I lived.
Max, thank you for solving the mystery. LOL
Grace, me too! Started with a porple heart on a hole aquired going in a chicken coop then by the time I was done the whole butt was one big patch over a patch, over a patch. The purple heart was buried under stars and squares and triangles, embroidery and stick-ons. I even had to start patching from the inside. I hung onto those jeans long after it was safe to wear them. They were the best ones I ever had!
I think those last two pictures show that God is a KU fan.
April, I know, it was a sad day when I finally let those jeans go. Wish I had a picture, at least.
I had to laugh at Max’s answer to the wind. I only saw that wind farm for the first time last spring. I was so impressed I stopped to take pictures.
You can see them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/denalidragonfly/KansasWindFarm?feat=directlink
G:-)
I was quite pleased with the outcome of what you referred to as a mishap in Manhattan. Go Cats! Gorgeous skies though no matter which team you cheer for. Um, I have 2 daughters that pay for jeans that are ripped. Although they do have jeans for cold weather that don’t have any holes in them. Guess the holes provide natural ventilation for the warmer weather.