Tall Tales from Kansas

oh give me a home where the buffalo roam...

Today, in honor of Kansas Day, a few photos of our flowers, skies, sunsets, trees, paths, trails, and anything else I saw fit to stick here tonight. I will spare you Chris and I singing a rousing rendition of our state song. 

renewing, regenerating, reinforcing

At 4pm on Thursday 8/27 our official COVID census at the University of Kansas hospital was 221. An all time high since the pandemic began. I know there are areas of the country where hospitalizations are declining, we're just not there yet. I don't intend to dwell on this topic in this post. It's for informational purposes only. A snapshot of what is happening in our area.

Instead, I choose to tell you that I gathered with dear friends on a day off today. We celebrated the fact that we are all alive and relatively unscathed. To commemorate this, Nancy and Marti perused the dessert menu carefully. Can you see that they found something to their liking?

Jennifer displays the carrot cake they selected. Marti says "I told you it was going to be a winner". In my mind that is what this photo says anyway.

Because I know you are interested, we discussed Hugo teas and tea pots, the one project at a time approach to crafting versus the many projects and scattered ideas approach (no conclusions were reached except to each her own), air fryers, America's test Kitchen and my personal preference for Bridget and Julia as co-hosts hands down over that other dude Christopher Kimball. There was discussion as well over Turmeric and it's anti-inflammatory properties, we talked books, the beautiful iron fencing that can be found in old cemeteries, and what Nancy should do with the needlepoint that her mother in law (who died a few years ago) had finished but not turned into a seat cover or pillow yet. 

It was a wonderfully enjoyable 2 hours with some of the nicest people on the planet. I can think of no better way to spend a day off. As we sat and spoke and laughed I could feel my immune system renewing, regenerating, reinforcing itself.

that almost metallic silvery glow.

Sunday morning, while having breakfast at the table, I noted the pre-snowstorm tulips were shedding their petals.

Later that evening, in the last of the setting sun, I was compelled to take more pictures.  I love how you can see the lines in the petals and that almost metallic silvery glow. 

When Mother Nature made the tulip she knew what she was doing. I have gotten way more than $12.75 worth of enjoyment from this bunch. 

Another glorious site on Sunday morning, as the sun was coming up, was a flock of 11 - 12 gulls flying very high overhead. The pink morning light was reflecting off the underside of their wings and white breast feathers, and as they flew they twinkled like golden pink lights in the sky. It was astonishing. I stopped to be amazed and attempted not one photo, knowing I could never capture the essence, and not wanting to miss a second of just looking. 

seen in 15 minutes or savored over 45 minutes

On a recent trip to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, we hit the JACKPOT! In the form of this piece by Bisa Butler, A Man's Worth.  Pam, one of the prairie makers, had turned us on to her work several months ago and I have been following her instagram account.  When I turned a corner inside the gallery and spotted this I might have made a fool of myself. It is quilted and appliquéd cotton, wool, and chiffon... and it is stunning. 

Chris and Dan, the non-sewing members in our group, agreed it was the piece on display that most appealed to them.  There is a link below to the artists website, her work is beyond description so I won’t try except to say it grabs you... and it does not let you go. 



Several other pieces that caught my attention are below, including this "Wrapped Walk Ways" in Loose Park (Kansas City) by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. I love the writing on the photograph and the overview/plan. This was done in 1978 and was up for about 2 weeks. Seamstresses were involved! 

This museum is small and so easy to wander through. The exhibits take can be seen in 15 minutes or savored over 45 minutes to an hour. Highly recommended if you are in the area. Admission is free but they require reservations to limit the number of people in the galleries. Masks also required. 

Helpful links:

Bisa Butler Information including lots more of her amazing work. 

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art website

a billiards room is part of the story but no candlesticks or Colonel Mustard

I recently dipped my toe into the pool of Agatha Christie novels. How has it taken me this long to "discover" them? Here's the whole and complete answer to that question. Yes, the one I asked myself and will also answer myself.  It is with great delight that I find the older I get, the more I discover "stuff" that I just have not gotten around to appreciating earlier in life. Maybe I was too busy or formed opinions based on here-say without fully experiencing them for myself? Now, as I look forward to all the things I may have missed earlier in life, I am filled with gratitude for all that awaits me in this decade and the ones to follow. 

OK, with that out of the way, let me tell you about this book. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by the one and only Agatha Christie. 

First of all, I listened to this book, and I highly recommend you do so, but only if that's a way you can get into. The dialogue is snappy and smart and wonderful, with a first-rate reader. The whole experience was filled with atmosphere which took me back to when we lived in Spain in the mid 1960's. We were on a base and did not have TV. We did however have a console stereo/radio gizmo - you know the kind that was like a piece of furniture with one side on the top that opened up so you could play records or tune the radio. Speakers were in front.  We listened to Gunsmoke on this contraption. I was just a kid, but recall our family sitting around listening and remember (in my mind at least) how much we loved it. Each of us, individually imagining what the places and characters looked like, based on the sounds and voices. But back to the book!

In this mystery there is a murder, a whole host of suspects, a quaint English village, a butler, a housemaid, a country doctor, and a Belgian detective of great renown. This was quite good listening and the ending was not what I expected. Now I need to have a conversation with an Agatha Christie expert ... I want to know how she came up with the Hercule Poirot character and her method/approach when piecing together the complex puzzle that was this story. I will look forward to integrating more of her writing into my rotation of listening. Not a steady diet of one after another, more of a sprinkling in a few times a year.

Recommended!

P.S. A billiards room is part of the story but no candlesticks or Colonel Mustard. 

then I started, then I stopped, then I exercised my right to reverse course

While on my "stay at home" art retreat in Kansas last week, attention was given to this quilt. For some reason, unsatisfied with simply a solid background, I elected to sew together a strip of most of the colors used on the front to add to the back.

I think you will agree, it looks like a strip of lights on an airport at night. Landing lights? I like how it pops off the black starry night fabric. 

Then the sandwich was assembled with the able bodied assistance of Chris to keep wrinkles to a minimum in all three layers simultaneously. 

Then I pinned, rolled, and contemplated my options for quilting. 

Experts were consulted - Mary Joan who is a hand quilter with the callouses to prove it, and Ann who is a fearless long arm quilter.



I wanted to use a method I was most comfortable with, and having previously enjoyed hand quilting small projects, I settled on that. Then I started - as in got out the hoop, watched a hand quilting video, dug out the thimble.  Then I stopped - do I really want to do ALL this by hand?  Then I exercised my right to change my mind and reverse course. Not all the way to the long arm, which I have never done, but rather to my trusty Bernina. I decided a priority was to finish this and get it on our bed. SOON. Also, I need to experiment with quilting. So I am playing. Doing what feels right, knowing that once it's quilted and washed and has that wonderful "crinkled" look, I will be happy with it. No matter the method used to arrive at that effect. 

P.S. It's also helpful to banish the thought that "I might mess it up".  That kind of thinking has NO place in making. 

lots of gadgets, tricks, car chase scenes, a villain, someone who needs rescuing, and so forth and so on

Snowy, windy, cold conditions left us no choice but to stay holed up inside for a day recently. If you find yourself in a similar situation and are wondering what to do, other than watch the birds, which I find endlessly fascinating, you might want to watch a movie.



My friend Annette recently told me that the latest 007 movie, No Time to Die, in which Daniel Craig gives his final performance as James Bond, is in fact available now on demand.  



It happens to be 2 hours and 43 minutes long, which is actually perfect when you are watching from the comforts of home with blankets and your favorite beverages/snacks at hand.



It contains everything you would expect from a James Bond movie and then some. Lots of gadgets, tricks, car chase scenes, a villain, someone who needs rescuing, and so forth and so on.



If you are a Bond fan, you will like it. If you are not a Bond fan, but are a Daniel Craig fan, you will like it. I can't say what the rest of you will think. You can let me know. 

a mesmerizing blend of cloves, allspice, nutmeg, bold espresso, and creamy milk, served in a big thick white porcelain cup

Knowing it was going to snow on Saturday, activities on Friday were planned accordingly. They included a trip to "Second Best Coffee" in Kansas City where I indulged in a winter latte. A mesmerizing blend of cloves, allspice, nutmeg, bold espresso, and creamy milk, served in a big thick white porcelain cup you can wrap your hands around while you hold it up to your face and inhale (with eyes closed) the whole experience. 

Joan and Nancy and I discussed important things like working versus not working versus working part time, the benefits of liquid turmeric, expanding leftovers into the most delicious dinner possible, watching our landscaping/gardens from indoors through all the seasons, haircuts, and life in general. 



A short walk was taken.



Pink tulips were purchased! Who doesn't want to look at pink tulips when it's snowing outside? Please notice that I polished that old silver tray of Angie's for the first time in several years, because it's January and something should be cleaned or organized or something. It does not take much for me to feel productive and thus worthy of a reward. 






Decorations are getting put away. Except not the tree yet. The lights are still so pretty.

Included in the putting Christmas away was eating the last piece of fruitcake with my breakfast this morning. Did you know it's really, really, really, good toasted? Life changing. You heard it here. 

my normal dose of winter escapism

One of the many wonderful things about living in the midwest, is that sometimes, in the middle of winter, there will be a sunshiny morning like this one, with temps in the 40's, and you can take a walk that makes you feel like you have broken free after a long confinement. Yes, I know there is no room for complaining here. We have NOT had a bad winter at all. But still the early morning hours, when I like to walk the best, are not conducive to venturing out on most days. Not so on this day though.

I had planned to be in California over this long weekend. Alas, for the second year in a row we have cancelled our in-person art retreat. Last year we had some virtual sessions, and this year sister and I have done a few art zooms, but I will say I do so miss the opening ceremony at the Huntington, followed by days surrounded by piles of sketchbooks and messy paint palettes scattered about.

Maybe next year? We shall see.  There are no chickens being counted before they hatch around these parts. Which by no means should be taken to mean that I am not hopeful. In the meantime, special mornings like this are being substituted for my normal dose of winter escapism... as depicted below from January 2020. 

like chicken and noodles served over mashed potatoes

When discussing books and reading with others, a frequently asked question is "what kinds of books do you like?". That's like trying to tell someone what kind of music I like, or what my favorite foods are, or which is the best trip I have ever been on... and on and on and on. I will read and enjoy anything that contains some element that appeals to me - whether it's the characters, the plot, the setting, the way the author puts words and sentences together and sometimes if I am very lucky, all of those bits together in one tale. 

I just finished listening to book #4 in the Maisie Dobbs series. The primary reason this series appeals to me is the main character, and how her life is evolving in each episode. While each book has a specific case she is working on, the thread that runs through them all is her story. Sometimes after reading a book that makes me scratch my head a little or leaves me feeling vaguely unsettled, the Maisie Dobbs series is a comfort. Like chicken and noodles served over mashed potatoes. Sort of. If you are from the midwest, you know what I mean by that. 

P.S. Every time I finish one, I thank you, the person who told me about them, whose name I can't remember. Actually, I think it was several of you. 

not a hard deadline that feels like pressure

The Prairie Makers masked up for a get together recently, just a short visit, over coffee, to discuss important things. Like who is making what now, and what we are dreaming about making in the coming year. Discussions about the conveyer built of ideas sliding by in our imaginations is important. 

Never one to be satisfied with simply making a jacket, Ann went and pieced together all these rectangles of batiks, then quilted them, laid out a pattern, cut out the pattern, inserted a pocket and is going to make it reversible. Boggles the mind really. 



Pam, is making re-usable "paper towels" which is a project I can get behind.  It seems the perfect use for the 20 year old sweatshirts I was going to throw away. Cut, put a binding around them... in my mind they are going to be perfect. A basket of them sitting by the sink. Chris seems skeptical...



At the end of our time together the calendars came out, a future date planned, I need to know I have little things like this to look forward to.  Plus it motivates me to have something to show at our next meeting. But it's not a hard deadline, that feels like pressure. That's the best... 

something about a buttoned up romper

Tonight it's a shout out to Sister on the occasion of her 59th birthday a few days ago.  Which gives me the opportunity to share this photo of her in Athens Greece, circa 1964.

Looking seriously good here sister. There is something about a buttoned up "romper" that is so stylish. 

 

we are stretched thin

Today I am going to share a bit about what is happening right now at my hospital in Kansas City. It's a grim picture, but there also remain moments of incredible sweetness. Because that's how life is, and for that I am grateful.  

As of 7am on Friday January 7th we had 139 COVID patients in the hospital. Of those 139, 131 were unvaccinated. Twenty two of them are in the intensive care unit - 20 have not been vaccinated. Twelve of those in the ICU are on ventilators - 11 unvaccinated. That's the numbers. We have once again begun to limit visitors in the hospital for all patients. Obviously the COVID patients can not have visitors, but we must decrease the numbers of people in the facility to decrease exposure overall as well. 

At the beginning of this week, 508 employees and physicians who had tested positive for COVID 19 were off work. In addition 232 employees and physicians were off work waiting for test results. 

Of the more than 100 requests the hospital gets daily to transfer patients to us for care, we can only accept 10-15% of them because of capacity constraints. We are also once again (based on medical necessity) deferring approximately 50% of scheduled surgeries for patients who will need to be hospitalized after their procedures. 

Licensed clinical staff who work in non-clinical roles have been transitioned to bedside care duties as able. 

The bottom line? We are stretched thin. With all of this going on, you can imagine my reaction when I read on my neighborhood "NextDoor" group the comment by the man who said that COVID-19 is fake and all the signs on the stores downtown on Massachusetts street about masks being required is a lot of hype or something to that nature. I deleted it immediately with no response. That level of complete ignorance will not be impacted by a comment from me. 

These are my experiences in my hospital. The hospitals in your communities are likely in similar situations. We are hunkering down and putting one foot in front of the other. Some days are harder than others. Where, you may ask, in all of that are the moments of sweetness? Well it was that apple cranberry pie with a lard based crust (baked to perfection) that Emily Hansen brought in, it was when Emily Barnett-Doyle addressed Shauna Gibbons with a "hey girl, hey" in her highest pitched hip-girl voice that made me laugh so hard I thought I would cry, it was the woman who brought to the bedside the dog of her neighbor who has been hospitalized - just in time before he died, it's listening to a wife tell me about her husband who is critically ill... and all of the times he has rescued someone who needed help. These are the things that get me through the days, and of course knowing that Chris is keeping the home fires burning, with the garage door open as I come up the driveway, fixing dinner, taking care of the leak in the basement, not asking me too many questions. 

Stay safe out there friends, keep that mask up, avoid crowds, if you feel sick stay at home and get tested, wash your hands a lot, and of course get those vaccines and boosters.

A book is a wonderful thing

Last night I concluded the last chapter of The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett. This is her first novel, published in 1992. It's the story of a restless young woman who doesn't know what she needs, but knows what she has is not the thing... so she takes off in search of what she does not know. We ride along on her journey from California to a home for unwed mothers in Kentucky.

Among the cast of characters are a daughter, a catholic nun who "knows" things, a handyman who has escaped from his own past, and a hotel founded on the site of a mysterious sulfurous spring said to have healing powers.  I was completely engaged by the story and enjoyed it immensely. Thank you to the folks at the Derby Kansas public library for sending it to me in Lawrence. This very old paperback copy is falling apart and while reading I imagined all the others who have been engrossed by the tale. A book IS a wonderful thing. 

If you have read it please share your thoughts. Sister and I had differing views which is not unusual when it comes to books. 

and if it's slightly warm when eaten

I have decided the colors of the grasses in the winter are the same as the colors of the warm winter spices. Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves. 





I want to to call the grasses red, until I see the red berries and that just seems confusing. "Rusty red" sounds like an old car and doesn't convey the softness of the grasses.  





Warm winter spices though... that is perfect in my mind. Often while walking on a chilly morning, I am considering what to have for breakfast with my coffee when I get home. In the winter, anything with ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, or clove is perfect, especially if it's in the form of a quick bread, and if it's slightly warm when eaten. 

moments of joy wrapped up somewhere inside it all

Over the holiday weekend, after it turned too cold outside for humankind, I made another mitten for the holiday garland, filled the bird feeder (twice), and examined the frost on the northeast facing bedroom window upstairs. 

Upon completion of those chores, sister and I did some Art Zooms where I engaged in tree painting and drawing, from ideas found on holiday cards and instagram. So many good ideas for having fun. 





After that I got the bright idea to hem up the new flannel shirt Dottie sent me for Christmas. You may think that's too many pins to use, but on an edge with curves, the more the better. For me. 



I drank many cups of hot tea to stay warm and tried to catch up on back editions of the the book review from the NYT. Sometime during all of that the idea of adding a tree to the pygmy forest worked it's way into my mind. 





The last very last page of Everyday Journal #7 was finished, a new one begun, and I took a photo of the Christmas tree for posterity. Do you recall where you have placed your Christmas tree in every home you have ever lived in? Nowadays, when we take photos of everything, most people could scroll back and look. But I can't remember where it was in our first home in Lawrence... back in the late 1980's. 







The tree was completed just in time for supper and now it's back to work tomorrow. Happy 2022 everyone, whatever it brings, there will surely be moments of joy wrapped up somewhere inside it all.