Mid Winter Dialogue

Marci Penner played host to the Mid Winter Dialogue group tonight at "The Barn." It was a fun evening with about 40 people attending.

Kansas Dialogue is modelled after Clinton's Renaissance weekends. It happens each August. This was the third year for a mid winter get together. I've been unable to attend either of the others, so this was my first time at one of these.

We were instructed to sit down and then the "waiters" came around and tied bibs on each of us. It was quite the production. Eric was having a bit of fun with Sheila about how tight it should be tied.




We were told to keep our drinks and such at the edge of the table. We were soon to find out why.




This is Lon, who's hosting us in Colby this August. I'm really looking forward to seeing his farm. It sounds amazing. Tonight he was wearing a chef hat instead of a farm hat.




Marci had music to accompany each part of the process. She was the director of tonight's extravaganza.







It was a fun night with much laughter and fun, as well as some interesting conversation.

The topic we discussed tonight was the rural/urban parts of Kansas - can we find some common ground.

The aftermath of our feast was not the most attractive thing I've ever seen, but clean up was a breeze.



Is this a prime example of "Many hands make light work?"

Busy Friday

I had an 8 a.m. meeting of the downtown committee. I'm not sure I really belong on that committee - I'm looking for my place. The whole day was a rush, trying to get mail out the door and keep other things going. Phyllis came in to help me this afternoon and that was a God send. I've been printing more letters tonight and discovered a problem with them. Apparently, my printer freaked out at some time when I didn't know it and I've wasted a lot of paper and ink. I HATE that. This paper is pricey. Oh well... nothing I can do about it.

I hope I get a lot accomplished tomorrow. I have a long list of things I want to get done around the house. Hopefully I won't feel the need to sleep half the day.

Greg and I went to Skaets tonight and met this guy who does haunted houses for a living. I didn't even know that was a job. But, hey, that's what happens when you talk to people - you find out interesting things!

I located some music today that I'd like to use in my podcasts. It's from Tino Izzo's Foreign Skies CD. I loved that music when I worked at Radio Kansas and this piece is just perfect. I wrote the record company to see if they'll give me permission to use it. We'll see.

I need to find time to work on my personal website as well as the podcast one. There never seems to be enough time to focus so I can actually accomplish those things. It does require some focused energy for me.

Anchor Inn Falling Down

This afternoon, Mark emailed telling me part of the fascade of Anchor Inn, a local institution restaurant, had collapsed. Odd that Mark is four hours away, and I'm about 10 blocks away, and he knew before I did. I was getting ready to go to a meeting so left a few minutes early to go take photos.



I arrived to find Tony, the owner, (on the right) and two other guys standing out looking at the damage. It wasn't too long before someone else arrived. It just struck me as so small town America that people were standing in the street looking at the damage.



I guess it happened about 10 this morning. It was after 4 when I went and took the photos, but it was still big news locally.




Greg and I went to dinner down the street tonight and he took some more pix.

Creative Class Conundrum

I have been thinking a great deal about work lately - in all circumstances - from my job to volunteering to any other situation where I'm engaged in "producing" something. I have one consistent difficulty no matter what I work on - a job, a volunteer project, whatever. People are never happy about HOW I do my job. Everyone's always satisfied with what I do and the fact that it's done and done on time, but they're never happy with how that happens.

Years ago, a supervisor said during an evaluation, "it's like you do nothing and then all at once I come in and you've pulled an all-nighter and there are more projects completed than would seem humanly possible." I couldn't then, and still can not, see what the problem with that is. You gave me X amount of work to do and a deadline by which to do it. I delivered the work, plus some, in advance of the deadline. So what is the problem? You wanted to WATCH me work? I'm not a goldfish. The fact that you couldn't SEE me working makes the work invalid?

I worked in broadcasting at various places for nearly 25 years. I was never once late for an on-air shift. I never missed a deadline. I never divulged a source. I never used the media inappropriately. And, yet, there was never much trust in me anywhere I ever worked. There was always much checking up to see how things were going, because things were not happening by the text book. After a few years of delivering decent work on time it would seem everyone could relax, but there is always a need to maintain that tension - I guess to prove the need for supervision.

I don't want to be judged on my methods. Things get done. Can you just never be happy with the end result? I'm sitting here at 12:18 a.m. doing work. I was also doing it at 6:30 this morning. What difference does it make when/where/how it happens as long as it gets done and on time. It would be better to wait until 9 a.m. tomorrow to do it?

It always feels to me like people are just looking for something to be annoyed about. And with me it's my methods.

I'm so looking forward to the day when I am working for myself only and I don't have to please anyone with my methods. No wonder I like writing - editors don't give a flip about when or where you write or by what method you choose to do it. They just care if it shows up on their desks when it's supposed to. It's really a good system.

People continually talk about the Creative Class people and how they want them. Hello? I am it. (The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida) And you want to take the very thing that makes me who I am - the positives creative class people bring to a community - and kill them off. You want to shove me into your preconceived box of notions about what is "right" or "professional" or whatever else. Those things are all changing all the time. You're still stuck in 1953. Read the book. We HATE that. And then you wonder why we don't stay in the community/job/volunteer position/whatever. You won't let us be who we are. You won't look beyond the details and see the big picture. Creative Class people are going to be who they are - they'll just move on. Then you'll sit around and bemoan how your community doesn't have them.

You say you want us. But, you aren't willing to accept us as we are. It's a package. People who are geared toward creative thinking and fresh ideas are not people who fit archaic notions of what a perfect employee/volunteer is. Loosen up. Take us as we are. We bring you some really cool things. Accept them and accept us.

All of my life people have talked about what I'm "capable of," implying it's much more than I'm devoting to whatever project is on tap. I cannot give my all to any one thing. I've got thousands of things going on in my brain at any moment. Literally - thousands. Hundreds when I'm at rest. When it gets down to a couple of hundred I can go to sleep.

I always have dozens of projects that are in various stages of production at any one time. I can't drop everything else and focus only on one of them. And the fact that I have a lot going on is the very reason I bring creativity to whatever project I'm working on with you. Can't you just be happy and appreciative and not belabor the fact that I don't do it the way you would do it? If you wanted it done that way, why didn't you just do it? Why did you ask for my ideas? Because you were stuck. You wanted to use my brain. You wanted "fresh" ideas. Then you want to shove them into a box so they get stale as quickly as possible.

I've decided to call it the Creative Class Conundrum. You say you want us, but you're not willing to make any arrangements to get what you say you want from us. You want to use our brains and our creativity, but you don't want to give us anything in return. When you put us in a box, you get pablum out of us. You can make us sit in the chair from 9-5, but you're not going to get the best out of us that way. Creativity doesn't happen in a box.

If you really want what you say you want - you can't box us in - in any way. So, you've got to decide, do you want creativity and enthusiasm, or do you just want us to show up and do what was done yesterday and last year and the year before? You've got a whole crew of people to do that already. If that's what you want, why do you say you want the Creative Class people?

Why you really want us is because areas that have a large number of Creative Class people are booming - financially and every other way. You want that, too. If you want it, you've got to let go of all the ideas you have about how things are "supposed" to work. Face it, if those things were working all that great, you wouldn't be trying to figure out how to get the Creative Class. You'd be tickled with exactly what you have.

It's so easy, really... all you have to do is leave us alone and let us go at it... we'll do amazing things... if you'll just stop preventing it.

Hard Day

I had a hard day today. I won't bore you with the details but parts of my day really, really, really, really, really sucked. But, people have far worse problems, so I'll just get over it.

As soon as the work day was over I went out to get some sunshine. Blissfully, we had a beautiful day with lots of sun. Even at 5 p.m. it was still nice to be outside.




I went to Sand Hills to walk the trail. I've never done it in January because normally it would be far too cold. I walked it today without even a jacket - only a sweatshirt. It was probably 5:15 or so when I arrived, so that's pretty amazing for that time of day.

Needless to say, the trails look much different with no leaves on the trees. But there are also some vistas you wouldn't get any other time of the year so I'm glad I got to see them.




There was very little green to be found in the landscape. This lichen was about all I could locate. There were a couple of evergreen trees that still resembled some shade of green, but they were approaching a dark beige.

Kansas can be a depressing place in winter. But, I'm so thankful today was sunny, even at the end of the day. I needed some sun. I just drove for awhile, to stay out in the sunshine as long as there was some. Even the sunset was nice - not stunning - but nice.




I got to have lunch with Leah today so that was nice. I always love seeing her.

Art of Gracious Living Podcast

A new podcast is available at the following link. It is about indulging ourselves with small luxuries in daily life. Mine include perfume and stationery.

http://www.podcasternews.com/details.php?N=522

(PCN #7)

Spiritual Fair

I went to Wichita to the Spiritual Fair today. Diana was taking a group over but had a van full of people, so I decided to drive over on my own. I had a couple of errands to do anyway. Turned out I didn't get any of those done as I spent all day at the fair - 10-5.

I had seven different readings today. Each was interesting and some were "right on." What was most incredible was the overlap between them.

Dan Higgins does two kinds of readings, and I did both today. Both were right on target.

The first one I did was finding your animal spirits. It was so very "me" that it was a little hard to believe. For those who know me well, lets just say that the words, "the world is black and white - there is NO gray" came up. Other pertinent things were a sense of humor, fun, and a sense of right and wrong and exposing secrets. Can you say "journalist?"


I also had a reading from Jo Flowers, who is well known, and always recommended. Her whole reading to me was about business and making money with my blog, podcasts and other things that allow me to be me.

That was backed up by other readings I had as well.

The other thing that came up over and over was that I need to stop giving so much to other people and receive. As Dan put it in one of the readings, "you recharge yourself near rivers, but you should not give so much that you need to recharge."

I was careful today to share very little with readers, letting them just tell me what they wanted to tell me. It was amazing how on target a lot of it was - like the river comment.

I was also told by more than one reader that I was very high energy and very intuitive. I knew both of those things already, but today they talked with me about how to channel those things.

After the fair, Teresa and I went to have some dinner at Yia Yia's. We hadn't been there in awhile and it was good. We had the gnocchi and the chocolate souffle. I had pasta as an entree but brought most of it home. It will be great to have it tomorrow for lunch.

All in all it was an interesting day. I'm going to journal about it a bit tonight and see what else comes up. I'm all the more certain that my instincts to pull back from things not related to writing and recording are correct.

Withdrawing

I have not accomplished nearly as much today as I had hoped. But I have rested some. I don't think I've had a day all the past week when I've worked less than 16 hours. And it has been work that wears me out.

I worked quite a bit today. I printed membership letters until my printer ran out of ink. I have to go get a new cartridge. I just didn't want to go out into the world on a Saturday to do that with the other Saturday shoppers.

I also feel myself withdrawing from the world more than is probably healthy. I will have to address that. I'm bogged down with work and that is always difficult for me to slog through. But it's more than that. I'm really examining what I want to do with my life in the long run. I'm questioning everything from the town I live in to the people in my life, or - more accurately - the people who are not in my life.

The guy came today to paint where they worked on the flashing over the porch yesterday. They had to replace some of the wood shingles so he painted today. I haven't seen it in the daylight yet but hopefully it looks good.

We actually got a little bit of rain overnight but things are still very dry.

Greg and I had some Roys for lunch. I hadn't been there all week. Greg loves to tease his gf about going there since she only gets to go there when she visits town. It is amazingly good stuff!

Tomorrow I'm going to Wichita to the spiritual fair. Diana is taking a car load full over. I decided to just drive over on my own. They're going to a movie afterwards and I don't know if I'll do that or not. Will depend on how things are going. I'm also just not very good company for a big group of people at the moment. I'm not in the mood.

Well, tomorrow I must try to get myself interested in the world at large. I am in one of those I-could-just-hole-up-in-my-house-for-a-really-long-time moods.

Challenger - 20 years Ago Today

Twenty years ago today I was sick. I was in bed, exhausted, blowing my nose. Sick. I got up late that morning and padded into the living room. Idly I flipped on the TV.

I was doing news at a radio station at the time, and wanted to see the shuttle launch. My clock was a little off and I had missed the launch by a few minutes. What came on the screen was Dan Rather's very somber visage. I could feel the blood drain from my face. I knew something was very wrong. This was not the face of a man reporting that we now had the first teacher in space.

The first thing I heard him say was that the Challenger had exploded shortly after takeoff. It was reinforced by the video showing liftoff and then the explosion anyone my age has burned into their brains.

As soon as I got my wits about me, I grabbed the phone and called the station. Ordinarily, I co-hosted a 90 minute news show that came on at noon. I called my co-host and said, "I'm coming in. We're doing all Challenger. I'll call you back."

I started working the phone, calling contacts, trying to pull together a show while trying to grab a quick shower and make myself half way presentable. Nothing about me was presentable. I was sick and looked the part.

Challenger had special meaning for this area because Hutchinson hosts The Cosmosphere, a space museum with a collection second only to the Smithsonian.

These were the days before we had cordless phones so I drug the phone into the bathroom in case I got a call back while I was in the shower. I did. Thank goodness. It was a man who worked at the Cosmosphere as an educator, who was literally a walking encyclopedia of space information. I asked him if he would be live with us for the whole show and he agreed. I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to get him.

It was a typical example of treating people well. This gentleman was a quiet, unassuming man who had asked me a couple of favors over the years as I had him, and that day I was thrilled we had that kind of a relationship. Because I was asking him for a large favor - an hour and a half of his time on a day when he was being bombarded for requests. He gave me the time because we had had a pleasant, mutually beneficial working relationship over the years.

The news was still breaking as we were on the air. We were ripping AP copy and watching CNN and using every other source we could find. And we were getting insight that no other news media had.

That's one of the things I loved about public radio. I had the freedom to let this gentleman talk for 7 minutes or 15 minutes or 20 minutes. I read the copy, updated the details, recited the facts, and he explained what it all meant. He knew the equipment, the history, the plans. It was great radio. Although I've always hated the reason we were doing great radio, I've always been proud of that day's coverage.

We had grown complacent about the shuttle program then. We didn't even bother to watch them go up. The only reason for the attention was that there was going to be a teacher in space that day.

The country and the rest of the world mourned. And we still do.

Quote of the Day

In the same way that someone in the midst of a rough crowd guards a wound with great care, so in the midst of bad company should one always guard the wound that is the mind.

-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

Poof! There were Roofers!

The guy was here doing some touch up painting today and there was a knock at the door. I assumed it was him. But, it wasn't. It was the long lost roofers.

So, now I had two ladders and four guys on the roof.

Did I mention that I had planned to take a nap this afternoon because I was up until 3 and got up at 6? Well, one can't nap when one's home is being pounded on from above. Obviously. So, at 10:51 p.m. I have still have not had any rest.

By mid afternoon I sent the paint guy home. There were too many people here.

The new dishwasher was being delivered between 4 and 5. At 4:45 I called about it. The guy was at Lowes, waiting on them to load it.

Susan and I had planned to have dinner. I called to cancel when I realized the dishwasher project was running long, but she didn't get the message. But, she was very kind and just hung out while they did the dishwasher.

That turned into quite the job. Getting the old one out was not a piece of cake, but proved easier than getting the new one in. I am happy to have a new, WHITE, one in the kitchen. I'm a believer in white appliances.

This morning I did a speech on workplace stress for the Head Start program. I think it went well.

I also printed a lot this afternoon, so that's good. I have stacks of things I want to complete this weekend, but I think for the moment, sleep is high on my agenda.

Busy Thursday

I have been hunched over the computer most of the day - working on a speech I'm giving in about 7 hours and also on grants. The day was topped off by a conference call and a three and a half hour board meeting for Horizons.

I started work at about 6 this morning and it's now 2 a.m. I'm finally ready for bed. I've worked pretty much straight through. I'm not sure how many hours 6 a.m. to 2 a.m is, but it's too many. I need to go over my speech one more time but I need some sleep first. I'll get up early and do it in the morning before the speech.

They're installing my new dishwasher late tomorrow. I will be happy to have that done. I have a lot of writing to do tomorrow, but I'm going to have to have some time for sleep somewhere between speech and dishwasher.

Men and Math

Life is a continual learning experience. It has taken me some years, but I've learned that men and math don't mix. There are some numbers you should never share with a man. These include but are not limited to:

- your IQ (Trust me, regardless of what they say, they are NOT happy if your number is bigger than their number. All men have size issues, and this is one area where that's apparent.)

- your weight (an exception can be made for your physician)

- your age (I'll admit I'm still iffy on this one, but it seems best to not share it too quickly early on. They'll guess at least 10 years younger anyway, so just go with it.)

- your salary (Just don't go there - you'll engender pity or envy - neither is good for a relationship.)

- how many men you've slept with (Yeah, I know, they all say it doesn't matter. They lie. It matters. They want to believe they're only number two or three at the most, and if you can manage it, they'd just as soon believe they're your first. Just let them live in their little fantasy worlds. You'll both be happier.)

Of course, all of this comes from a woman with a string of failed relationships. I don't recall the exact number, and that's probably just as well.

Extraordinary in the Ordinary

This morning I was privileged to hear National Geographic Photographer, Jim Richardson, speak at the Dillon Lecture Series at Hutchinson Community College. He was wonderfully witty and funny, as well as insightful.

Richardson grew up in Kansas and still makes his home here, about 40 miles away in Lindsborg, where he has the "Small World Gallery" on Main Street.

During this morning's lecture, which was beautifully illustrated with his photographs, Richardson focused on the theme that Kansans have a "sense of inferiority" and that they should not. He used photos to illustrate how people everywhere do the same things.

He told a story of being asked by the President of Shell Oil, "Why Kansas?" Richardson said, "I had no good answer. I balked. And I'm sorry." He said the answer he gave was that he grew up in Kansas. And he felt that was a good enough answer, but there is more. He said it was in Kansas that he learned the secret was seeing the "extraordinary in the ordinary." And that when he travels on assignment he's just looking for the "commonplace in uncommon places."

His passion has always been documentary photography. He has always wanted to capture the moments of life that tie us all together.

He showed some photos taken in the plains and pointed out that "agonies suffered in other places that are made into great novels, here are taken for granted."

He mentioned Marci's book, "The Kansas Guidebook," that I wrote about in October, and said the young lady that worked for them in the gallery had found something about her hometown in there that she didn't know. Her response was, "I didn't know it was special."

Richardson knows about how ordinary things are special. He spent many years documenting high school in Rossville, Kansas. Rossville is a town I've only been through, but it's a small town not too far from Topeka. I used to drive through there to see my last boyfriend when he lived in nearby Silver Lake.

Richardson is also known for his years of photographing Cuba,Kansas. Some of those photographs were used in National Geographic and there's also a book. Richardson has done work not only for National Geographic, but numerous other magazines such as Life and Sports Illustrated.

He told some wonderful stories about his experiences photographing all over the world. He recounted one story about telling a homeless man in Edinburgh, Scotland, about Kansas and the pioneer spirit and how Kansas was celebrating its 125th anniversary. He said the man looked at him like he was poor and the homeless man was rich. The man then said, "What's it like to be from a place that's got no history." Richardson's response was, "They're building it right now."

He talked a bit about living in the "photoshop era" and how that has changed photography. He showed a photo from Brittany of the house built between the rocks and used it to illustrate his point that while that could have been faked with photoshop, it would leave out one important point. "What would be missing is the knowledge that someone built the house in the rocks."

He said his photography is all about trying to find the right viewpoint.

At the luncheon after the lecture, he said he does only digital photography now, that he sold all his film equipment last year. Someone asked if he took fewer or more photos on digital, and he said a few more. He mentioned that during one assignment he took about 43,000 photos on digital, and would have probably done about 1000 rolls of film, which would have been about 36,000 photos. The editing is done in stages, but at the end of the photo editing process, he goes to DC and has input into the final choices.

He also said that the captions for National Geographic photos are written by someone who has not been involved in the story up to that point. It's another safeguard to the integrity of the story, and the reason their captions are so interesting.

My friend, Alan Montgomery, got to introduce him. Alan is now a journalism professor at HCC and they are lucky to have him. He is one of the best journalists this town has ever seen - an exceptional writer. We were both doing news at the same time years ago for different organizations so had reason to run into each other on stories occasionally. He was always very kind and generous. I was always impressed with his writing and his professionalism.


Also at the lecture was Larry Black, a local photographer, I've known for years. I caught this snap of them chatting afterwards. That's Alan on the left and Larry on the right.

Let me tell you, it's humbling to be running around with a digital point and shoot, and no where near a top end one, when you're in the same room as a National Geographic photographer.

It was a neat morning. I ran into tons of people I know. I got to eat with Jan, and that was fun. Jeanette was emceeing the luncheon. I got the say hello to Gayla and Eileen and some others. It was an interesting morning.

After the luncheon, I popped in to say hi to Diana and Lily was there with her mom, Taylor. I hadn't seen Lily in ages. She has grown so much.

She's very busy these days - walking everywhere. Taylor is very busy running after her and occasionally catching her. You can see Taylor's legs, following behind her, in pretty much all the photos.

Lily is examining the world at a fast pace. I was reminded of information about the brain and how at birth it weighs one pound. At one year, it weighs two pounds because we're learning so much. An adult's brain weighs only three pounds. Lily will be one year old next month.

This purse is one of her favorite things, apparently. Taylor mentioned today that she's like her Auntie Sarah, who's a very girly girl. Lily is also fond of jewelry. She must get that from her grandma because Diana is too.

Her hands are very busy in this next photo because if you look closely, you'll see that her grandma has some cookies in her hand. Lily is communicating quite well that she wants some.

It was good to see her. She's lively, and learning every moment of the day.

And... talk about the extraordinary in the ordinary - what more example could you want than a child learning. It's common - it happens all over the world in all cultures - and yet it's amazing.

Podcasts

The Art of Gracious Living Podcasts are now heard on The Podcaster News Network. They will eventually be posted here as well, but you can hear the most recent ones by going to:
http://www.podcasternews.com/details.php?P=45

Grant Gone

I put one of the grants in the mail this afternoon and I have another one almost ready to go.

Tonight was Chicks and it was good to reconnect with everyone. Afterwards I went with Greg for him to get something to eat at the new pizza place - Cici's. I don't like being yelled at when I walk in the door. I don't find the fake-fun atmosphere to be fun - only fake. I'm sure I'll go back because I didn't eat tonight and I'll want to try it, but the nonstop yelling and pretend fun is a little too much for me.

It's like Applebees and the stupid birthday songs, which, thankfully, they've stopped doing here. When I want music, I go to a concert. When I want dinner, I go to a restaurant. N'er the twain should meet. Houlihans has started having live music most nights of the week so I can't go there anymore for a nice evening because it's so loud you can't talk. Restaurants that excel at serving good food without annoying the customers seem few and far between. El Potrillo's is about the best in town at the moment in this regard I guess.

Tomorrow is the Dillon Lecture Series with the National Geographic Photographer. I'm going to get up extra early and write some more before then. I have a lot on the agenda this week, culminating with a speech on Friday so I need to keep on task.

Peggy's Retirement Party

Saturday I was privileged to help with Peggy's "Rewiring" Party. She retired at the beginning of this month and her hubby, Gary, threw a big party to celebrate.

Peggy and Gary are absolutely wonderful folks. Peggy is my board president and Gary is an unofficial board member too.

Peggy and Gary are one of those rare couples you see every once in a great while - happy. They seem completely thrilled to be in each other's presence and they're a joy to be with - one on one or together. I never get enough of them.

Peggy's family (that's her mom in the green) and friends gathered around to wish her well on this new chapter. There were about a hundred people attending.



Gary planned a full afternoon, with entertainment and games. There was tons of food. He has asked me about doing the food and I assumed he meant the food. Ended up that he was so organized and planned so well that I did very little. I made spinach cheese squares and helped with some minor things but that was about it.

They also made arrangements for their favorite charities to have tables and asked people to make donations to those instead of bringing gifts. In addition to the MHA and Altrusa, there was the Symphony, the Arts and Humanities Council and the Volunteer Center.





Altrusans were there in full force, some of us helping and some just joining in on the fun. We even had time for some impromptu committee meetings.

It was a very nice afternoon. We should all live our lives in a way such that this many people want to gather to wish us well as we enter a new phase of life.

It's Friday

I love Friday nights. They're the only night of the week when I'm really relaxed. There's something about having a whole weekend ahead and a work week behind that's appealing. Unfortunately, I have to work some this weekend, too.

I spent large parts of the day running around doing errands - the bank, the post office, the accountant, etc. etc. etc. You do very much of that and the whole day is gone. Actually, it was only the whole afternoon. I wrote on grants all morning. I think with just a little work this weekend I can get one of them out the door and I want to do that so I can stop thinking about it.

Tonight I'm cooking for Peggy's party tomorrow. I'm glad to help with things. Peggy and Gary have done so much for me. I will be taking photos so hopefully I'll have some to share here tomorrow evening - at least I hope so.

I'm making Spinach Cheese Squares. This is a great recipe. I got it at allrecipes.com

2 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pound shredded Cheddar cheese
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
1 tablespoon minced onion

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 Place butter or margarine in a 9x13 inch baking dish
and melt butter in oven. Remove when melted, approximately
3 minutes.
3 In large mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Mix in flour,
milk and baking powder. When the dough is well combined,
mix in cheese, spinach, and onion. Spoon mixture into the
baking dish with melted butter.
4 Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool 45 minutes then cut into
bite-size squares.

Creative Sisterhood, Grants and House Stuff

Tonight was Creative Sisterhood. It was good. Each month we write thoughts/notes and place them in a jar. Tonight we opened all of those. We fold them and put our names on the outside so they're private. Sometimes we share them and sometimes not.

Julie wanted to do the food tonight, and it was nice. She had cold cuts and a pie from the Dutch Kitchen. I hadn't had dinner, so it was good.

I have barely been out of the house today, and no further than the mailbox. I got up a little after 5 and started writing and did that all day. Unfortunately, it's not fun writing - I've been writing grants. It's not my favorite part of my job, but it's a necessity. I have two due by the end of this month and two more by mid February. I'm also working on a membership letter. I want to get those out by the end of the month. I can't print at my office at the moment, and have a computer that doesn't have word on it yet, so writing there isn't an option until I have time to deal with those things.

I have to have a chunk of time to do something like that. I know others can just flow with it, but I really need a chunk of time to focus on it when I'm not thinking about what I should be doing instead.

I called this morning to arrange for the dishwasher but was told not only could it not be installed tomorrow, but they didn't have one in stock so it would be next week before I could get one. There's one in Wichita, so I thought maybe I could get my own plumber to install it. I called him but he's booked too. So, now I'm not sure if I want to just get a different dishwasher or if I want to wait. Nothing is going to happen until Monday anyway so I figure I can sleep on it and see how I feel tomorrow.

This weekend I'm going to work on the library more. At least I hope I get these grants to a place where I can have free time this weekend. If not I'll have to work on those some more. But, hopefully, I'll be able to do my own work this weekend.

This is part of the big pile of boxes of books - mostly cookbooks. I've been trying to get shelving put together to hold them but these "quick assembly" shelves are not.



I still have more painting to do in there too. This is very time consuming but I like the finished product. It's a peachy base, then an olive green sponged over that, then five different kinds of metallics sponged over that. Needless to say, that takes some effort. Not sure why I'm doing it in a room where I'm going to cover most of the wall surface with shelves.

I have parts of the wall in all kinds of states - from needing the peachy base color to being finished. But, I have to get some shelves up and books on them to get rid of the boxes so I can get to the walls to paint. Everything in the house is a puzzle piece.

There are times I get weary of working on the house, and this is one of them. Unfortunately, I'm not at a good stopping point, so I must forge ahead.

A Retail Day

Well, I've been out tonight shopping for a dishwasher. The repair person came today and said not to even try to fix this one. It's the motor. So, I've been to Home Depot, Lowes and Sears tonight shopping. I think Lowes is the winner and part of the reason is that they can probably install it on Friday.And they'll haul away the old one. That's another bonus. You'd think people would catch on to what you want when you're dealing with something like this. Of course they're going to remove it. But if they don't haul it away I still have a problem.

In addition, I need to buy a new cable modem it seems. I believe that is the problem with my computer setup. I don't understand that at all - seems like it would work or not work - not be doing something inbetween. But, that seems to be the answer anyway.

So many places for money to go.

Teresa and I went to dinner tonight at the new place downtown. It's not going to last unless they make some major changes. Namely, the food is bad. We both had a chicken dish and there was nothing about it that was appealing. The salad was not fresh. They were serving the same crappy vegetable medley that everyone does - steamed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. We all know that it comes frozen in those combinations. Please, go buy a vegetable every once in awhile.

I hope they improve, but to say I was not impressed is a gross understatement. They're in a building where the last person did all this amazing work on these cool tin ceiling tiles - hand painted them - they're gorgeous tiles. You're greeted with stained glass in the front. It's beautiful. And then you go in and find tables with vinyl table coverings on them. Please. Make up your mind. Do you want to be an elegant place of a vinyl tablecloth place?

That place couldn't decide between being elegant or a sports bar. These people are really trying for elegant - you gotta get rid of the vinyl and spotted glasses if you're doing that. Food was bad at the last place. It's bad at this place. I've never been in the restaurant business - nor do I want to be - but I know what makes a place good and what makes it bad. I would give them the advice freely, but I've learned it's not advice anyone wants.

I hit both Westlakes today looking for candy canes. Peggy called this morning that she'd seen some at the north store. I needed to pick up a prescription at Coberly's next door anyway so got those. I checked the south store but their's weren't deeply discounted. I also popped in to Smith's Market, which I love. I've had quite the retail day.

Well, I'd best go wash the dishes I put in the dishwasher last night. That, of course, was just prior to discovering it didn't work. So, I get to handle all those dirty dishes again. Lucky me! But I don't want to leave them, even if I can get a new one installed on Friday, because I'll be cooking on Friday evening for Peggy's party on Saturday.

I think I'm also going to fix myself some tea. My voice is scratchy sounding and my throat is a little hoarse. I don't feel bad at all but it could use a little soothing. When I first wake up until mid afternoon - or until I've talked a lot - I sound pretty awful. Peggy thought she woke me up this morning at 10 or so when she called. Of course, it's impossible to wake me up with the phone because I don't take it upstairs at night. But, I do sound like I just woke up for hours every day. Maybe I need to sing to myself every morning for awhile.

Long Day

It has been a long day.

I've got some funky computer problem and it is hurting my brain. It also caused me to run back and forth between home and the office today to get things prepared for the board meeting. I thought I had all I needed and went to the office. Then I couldn't print from my laptop because the printer didn't have a USB port the the laptop didn't have a serial port. I thought - no problem - I have the external harddrive from home - I'll hook it into the office machine. Ooops... it doesn't have the software. I was worn out by the time of the board meeting.

No one can seem to figure out the computer problem. I can do everything except upload/ftp large files. Large being anything that's not tiny. If anyone has any ideas what the deal is, I'd certainly appreciate your input. The ISP is clueless. I'm clueless. I've tried everything I can think of. I've rebooted from unscrewing the cable for the wall on up to the machine. I've even changed out ethernet cables. Nothing solves the problem. An online search has not netted any answers either. So, please, share your techie wisdom with me.

In addition, I discovered tonight that my dishwasher doesn't seem to want to work. So, I've got to deal with that.

On the upside, Matthew called tonight and we chatted for about three hours. We were talking about our past travels and thinking about future ones. It's good to reconnect with him. I've also reconnected recently with Jim, who Matthew and I met in Guatemala. He lives on the west coast and we all met when we were sharing a van to the airport one morning to go hiking at Tikal. Jim and I later went on a trip through the South together. You know you're good potential travel partners when you meet while you're all boarding planes that aren't licensed to fly internationally to go hike in the Guatemalan jungle.

Well, I need to get some sleep if I can. Sleep is rather elusive for me these days but I need some.

Holed Up in My House

I have spent the day holed up in my house, not even venturing outside until about 6 tonight. I wouldn't have gone out then but it was Red Hat night.

Debbie and Susan N and I were the only ones there, but it was a nice gathering.

I wish I could say I've accomplished a lot today but I've been really laid back. I did organize a few things in the office. I still have a lot to do in here. I think it's going to become obvious that this room is too small for the amount of things I have that are "office" related.

I'm thinking about teaching another journaling class soon. We'll see if I can get that organized. It's hard to add anything else to the schedule in the first quarter.

I also have some grants that I need to write that I haven't even started on. I must, as well as the membership materials. There's so much more to do than there is time and energy to do it at the beginning of the year.

Tomorrow I must begin the work week in earnest and I know it's going to be hard to get back into the swing of things. But, I have no choice. I have a board meeting tomorrow night.

A Five Hour Lunch

I went to bed about 4 and got up about 8. I have not had the nap I thought I'd get around to taking all day. It's now almost 1. I'm on the phone with D-Link. Again. I've been on the phone with Cox. Again.

I have worked around the house today. But the highlight of the day was a very long lunch with Trish. We knew we'd been there a long time when her mom came in for dinner. It was about a five hour lunch. And every moment was delightful.

Trish is one of my favorite people on the planet. She's a steady friend and one I treasure. It's a joy to be with her.

A Little Lonely

I'm feeling a little lonely tonight, which is very unusual for me. Greg was back briefly, but he went to check on his mom - she's got a respitory infection.

He's meeting up with Mark and some of Mark's friends from KC who have been on a food trip through the area, visiting cool places down there. Mark invited us to go and it did sound fun, but I didn't want to impose on Greg's mom when she wasn't feeling well. So, Greg and Mia are there with Mark and his friends and I know lots of fun is being had and I'm missing out on it. I just hate to miss out on fun.

But, I'm looking forward to a long lunch with Trish tomorrow so that will be fun. Also, the guy is coming to paint on my house tomorrow. It's going to be in the 60s so I want to take advantage of it.

Well, I think I'm going to head upstairs. I'm working on some shelves for the library and need to wrestle another one into place.

I finally called Sauder to get further instruction on how to put them together because "push" was not sufficient. They asked for the model number and when I gave it to them the woman said, "OH! Those..." I knew that wasn't good news. She suggested standing up and putting my entire weight on them to get the pegs to sink into the shelves. That sort of works. That, combined with hammering and gorilla glue seems to be doing a passable job.

I so want to have the library functional. I still have painting to do but I have to get some of the boxes of books out of the way before I can even finish painting. I think this is the next piece of the puzzle to get done in my house.

Juxtaposition

Tonight Greg and I popped into Wal-mart. As we were going in there was a couple coming out. The woman was wearing this skin tight, very low cut, complete with sequins, top that was barely containing her floppy but rather small boobs that had the distinctive look of leather from overtanning. The overtanning continued up to her face, which was set off by the extra long cigarette hanging out of her mouth. I guess she could barely wait to light up so she already had it in her mouth so she could light it as soon as she walked out the door. Charming.

We walked through the door as this couple exited. I glanced to the right and there on one of the benches were five Amish people - older folks - two men and three women - complete with traditional garb including the prayer bonnets.

It was a priceless moment of juxtaposition. Greg commented that the look on the Amish group's face was not judgemental, but much like you'd expect when one is looking at animals in the zoo.

Painting the Plane

I have returned home. I left for the Tampa airport at 12:30 this afternoon for a 3 p.m. flight. At 3 p.m. we were still sitting on the runway because, according to the pilot, "the mechanics had to paint a small area of the plane."

It was a full flight. When I say "full" I mean they came through and counted the three empty seats there were when everyone who was ticketed was on the plane - one of which was in the middle of my row - and then let three more people on. I guess so we could all experience the sardine effect for an extended period of time while they painted the plane.

Who decides once there's a completely full flight is a good time to paint? The mechanics in Tampa, apparently. They couldn't have done this at some point when there weren't people on the plane?

Then, to top it off, we waited another 40 minutes for them to do the paperwork related to the painting, and return the log book. This was after the flight attendants had rushed us all to get our luggage stored so we would have an on time departure.

I arrived at my connecting flight in Houston as they were boarding, but I did get on.

When I gave my bags to the skycap for check in outside, he weighed them and told me they were five pounds overweight. I brought back lots of paper from the conference. I smiled and said, "well, I'm only checking one bag. I have an empty one inside. I can unpack it and redistribute the weight and check two instead." At that point he said, "ah, I'm a skycap. I don't work for the airline. I'll just take care of it for you." Taking care of it meant putting a "heavy - lift with your knees" tag on it and plopping it on the carousel. I'll remember this trick in the future.

Apparently they're on a weight of bags tear because two other people on the plane were talking about it. Of course, I had plenty of time to eavesdrop while they were painting and writing about painting.

Brains and Beaches

Today was a full day of the conference. We had a couple of really great speakers, including one who spoke at length about the brain. I love those presentations. Research on the brain progresses at such a fast pace that it's always fascinating. I really missed the GAMIAN meeting this year because it was always focused on the latest research. But, today had some great information.


We finished about 4:30 and then I walked along the beach, collecting shells and sea sponges until the sun set. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so the sunset was not as spectacular as last night.

I'm not really a beach person, but I have to say the Puerto Rico beach was nicer. There's a lot of trash on this beach - they don't maintain it nearly as well as the resort in Puerto Rico did. And the water is very smelly, whereas I didn't notice that in PR. But, there are more shells on this beach, so that's a bonus.

I waded out to the water's edge but didn't go in over my ankles. It is still cool. James from national swam both days. I ran into him this afternoon and he had found a little friend - a crab.

Clearwater Beach Florida

I'm in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The heat is on in my room. I've been uncomfortably cool since I arrived. It's warmer in Kansas. That said, there are some perks to being here.




My flight from Houston to Florida was perfectly pleasant. Yes, that's right. I said it. Pleasant. Was this due to a complete turn around of the airline industry while I was en route to Houston? No. Of course not. It was due to their failure to fill the seats, which resulted in me getting to sit in the window seat of an exit row - pretty much my favorite spot. Elbow room and leg room. When I changed my seat last night, the whole row was empty. But, today there was a nice gentleman in the aisle seat and we had a lovely conversation.

He and his partner just moved to Wichita a few months ago from Mississippi where they lost all their belongings in the hurricane. It was interesting to hear his story. I invited him to come to Hutch so we can have some Roy's BBQ together. I'd like to meet his partner. Anyway, chatting with him made the long flight just zip by, and we were both comfortable with an empty seat between us and plenty of leg room.

To top it off, when I arrived, my luggage was here and intact.

The conference tonight got off to a good start with a reception on the beach, which is when I took the sunset photo. We're at the Hilton in Clearwater Beach. When I was here before, it was at a different hotel, but I can't remember which one.

MHA conferences are really great. There's so much good and interesting information. Plus, it's good to see people. I've been doing this for three years now and see people I have gotten to know whenever I get to come to one of these.

The Susan on the left in this photo is from North Dakota and was my first ever roomie at an MHA event. We really hit it off and have looked forward to seeing each other since. The other Susan in this photo is from Florida and is someone I met through her. They're both tons of fun.

We went to dinner after the reception tonight. We went to Capri, an Italian place right across the street. It was really good. We all topped off the night with some spumoni, which was quite tasty. It's good to reconnect.

"I'll take, 'Things You Don't Want to Hear Your Pilot Say,' Alex."

"OK, and the answer is, 'Whoops.'"

That's what I heard this morning in Wichita on the runway. I was in Seat 1A so I had a birdseye view of the copilot, who looked to be about 12. I could hear both to them and as soon as the plane started to move I heard the pilot say, "Whoops." The tunnel thing had not been moved back yet. I realize they didn't hire the guy for his mechanical prowess, but it is a pretty big thing.

Shortly thereafter, they closed the flight deck door and locked them inside. They say that's for security reasons. I contend there are other no less valid reasons.

On the upside - and please note how I'm finding the positive side - it was beautiful flying above the clouds with the sun rising. The only problem being that I was already inflight by the time the sun was rising.

And, yet another positive, the annoying teenagers were somewhere else in the plane and were drowned out by the noise of the airplane. It was one of those baby planes. They're noisier.

Now I'm in Houston. I cringe everytime I hear Bush International Airport, although I do like Houston. There are lots of people at the gate waiting, which isn't good. I was hoping we'd have a less full flight so I could sleep a bit. There's also a four year old screaming to amuse herself. She's probably as tired as I am. I'd scream too if I thought it would do any good.

Maybe I'll send this to Letterman... Top Ten Things You Don't Want to Hear Your Pilot Say.

It's 6:57 a.m. and I'm already in a bad mood. It's unusual for me to be in a bad mood. So, you may ask, how can it possibly have already occured before 7 a.m.?

I'm in the airport. I've had dealings with airline employees. I have interacted with TSA officials. What more needs be said?

To top it off, I got up at 4:30 this morning. I don't like getting up long before the crack of dawn. Well, unless I just happen to be.

I'm in Wichita - little airport - never any big lines. I spent 20 minutes in the screening line, with less than 10 people in front of me. I thought surely someone must be on the terrorist list. No. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was the TSA official who looked at my boarding pass for a good two minutes. There's not that much information on one. She acted like she'd never seen one before, that it was the first one she'd ever held in her hands. I would think in her line of work they'd come along pretty regularly.

By the time she was done, my various belongings had been through the xray machine and were sitting there for anyone to take. Of course, everyone else was busy redressing themselves - like we all want to take our shoes off and walk on your nasty carpet while we hop along trying to get our laptops out and lay our bags flat and hand you pieces of paper that will mystify you.

On the positive side - because I always like to find a positive side - there's free wireless.

Well, I should go use the ladies room before being herded on board. Besides, it will give me a chance to move away from the idiot teenagers sitting behind me. He's talking continually about living in NY and she's doing that stupid giggly thing like he's the most fascinating thing she's ever seen or heard. He thinks he's entertaining all of us. She thinks we're impressed that she knows him.I hope to goodness they're in the back of the plane, away from me. They should give you an "annoyance factor" when you're choosing your seats.

I'm reminded of the nine hour flight from Paris next to the French skateboarder. But, that's another story...