Monday, June 13, 2011
Royals-Twins
Saturday evening was spent with the fam out at Kauffman Stadium to see the Royals play the Twins. Despite the Royals loss, we had fun letting the kiddo play in the outfield kids area and watching the general theatre of an MLB game. The best part of this game, however, was not the thrill of the crowd or the free bobbleheads we received at the door, but rather the discovery of vegetarian hot dogs at one of the concession stands on the main level. VEGGIE HOT DOGS! Thank you Royals, for thinking of all of your fans. So exciting!!
Back to the Farm
After returning from Wichita, I had the afternoon off and my family was in town, so we decided to take little man out to the children's farm for an afternoon of feeding the goats and gazing at the ducks.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wichita
I spent Thursday the 2nd of June in Wichita, working on a freelance project I'm doing for the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University, and also visiting with my pal Emily.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Memphis
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We began Memorial Day at the former site of Stax Records, now the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. This was a great museum and a pilgrimage site for Joe. The museum included lots of neat exhibits on the evolution of soul music and Stax, as well as some crazy objects; one of the best was Issac Hays' Cadillac from the post-Shaft era, all the parts that would have been chrome were 24-carat gold, it had a fridge in the back and a t.v. in the front, and the floor was covered in white shag. To top it off, the car rotated beneath a disco ball. For musicians like Joe the re-created recording space was more of a draw, but for visual people like me, the costumes and objects were amazing.
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We continued our day by heading downtown for lunch at the Flying Fish, a great place to indulge in Southern-style (read: fried) food. They even had fried chocolate pie, which I have to admit, was pretty tasty.
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Lunch time. The Flying Fish also had a wall of Billy Bass plaques. Interesting.
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After lunch we walked over to Beale Street, where we saw some live blues on the street and enjoyed some people watching.
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The last stop of the day was Graceland.
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While we found the ticket prices quite expensive, the mansion was well preserved, and the audio tour had interesting insights into life at Graceland.
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Kitsch? Yes! The media room in the basement and the exhibition of costumes was fascinating, as was the narrative presented in the audio tour.
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Elvis's grave, at Graceland.
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One last meal of Southern food, at Soul Fish in Midtown, before heading back to the hotel for some swimming.
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Oxford, Mississippi
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We spent Saturday the 29th on a day trip from Memphis down to Oxford, Mississippi, home to Ol' Miss (University of Mississippi). The small town square had a variety of restaurants and shops, very few of which were open on Sunday. We also learned that restaurants can't serve alcohol on Sunday in the state. The fantastic independent Square Books was open, and we spent a while wandering the shop, which ranks as one of the best bookshops in the nation.
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The courthouse at the center of the Square.
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The Mississippi state flag. We saw at least three Confederate memorials and a few Confederate flags during our day. We also sampled grits, which I liked but Joe didn't care for, and drank sweet tea, which was appallingly sweet.
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We continued the literary theme of the day at Rowan Oak, an 1840s house that was home to William Faulkner in the mid-twentieth century.
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In the afternoon we took a drive to Alabama, the 49th state that I have visited!
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Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Road Trip!!
Headed down south for Memorial Day weekend, we spent Saturday May 28 driving across Missouri and Arkansas, arriving in Memphis in the early evening. We stopped in Columbia, Missouri for a picnic lunch of Main Squeeze at Mizzou (University of Missouri).
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead
We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon out in the suburbs at the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead, where little man had a great time feeding the goats, watching the birds, and seeing all varieties of domesticated and wild animals.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Brookside Farmers Market
After a few days of rain, we were happy to see the sun on Saturday as we perused the selection at the Brookside Farmers Market, picking up veggies and plants.
Last Friday
The final Friday of exam week. After proctoring an exam for my students, I returned about 50 books to the library, happy to clear out some space, but I have about 40 more to return.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Grading
Wednesday was the start of what looks to be a long week of grading. This was broken up with a few fun things, like a walk with the dog, a trip to the playground in the late afternoon, and a stop at the new Waldo Wednesday Farmers Market.
Done!
And, after all that, the semester is over. One year of PhD studies down, a lot left to go. I celebrated Tuesday afternoon on the front porch of Free State Brewery with Natalie, Eunyoung, and Meredith. So nice to get some sunshine and beer with friends!
Hominy Chili
It's been unseasonably cool here this week, so we used our slow cooker to make a batch of Hominy White Bean Chili on Sunday, throwing together Blue Corn Biscuits at the last minute as an accompaniment. The biscuits look a bit strange under the florescent under-counter lights, but they were so fluffy and good right out of the oven, and perfect for a chilly evening meal.
Symphonic Quixotic
After a long day of writing and editing, Joe and I, together with our friend Emily, enjoyed a fantastic Saturday evening starting at Westside Local for a relaxing dinner. It was then on to the Lyric Theater for Symphonic Quixotic, a collaborative performance between the Kansas City Symphony and Quixotic Fusion, a KC-based performance group that blends dance and a variety of music styles. Not only was the music wonderful, but Quixotic was amazing, incorporating a variety of acrobatic tricks and visual illusions into their performance, and blending their electronic sound with that of the orchestra.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Last day at KCAI
Wednesday was my last night of teaching Gender in Japanese Art at KCAI, a class that I will truly miss. The students presented on their research projects, brought snacks, and Joe delivered Waldo Pizza for us. I'll also miss the fireplace and built-in bookshelves of the classroom, such a fun old-school environment.
Emperor's Visit to the Grand Shrine at Ise
Tuesday the 10th, last day of Pilgrimage Seminar, thinking about my project on this painting, depicting the Emperor Meiji's visit to the shrines at Ise.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Mother's Day
Joe and I share a love of the blog Cake Wrecks, and he was so inspired when seeing this bizarre neon-orange cake with a huge clashing plastic topper that he couldn't resist. Thankfully the cake was better than the decorating!
CIty of Fountains
Fun fact: Kansas City has the most fountains of any city in the U.S., and is second only to Rome globally. So when it was super hot on Saturday and we were driving along Ward Parkway to get take-out from Blanc on the Plaza, it was nice to see some of them on for the season.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
May First Friday
With perfect weather and great art, this month's First Friday was fantastic. We started our evening at KCAI for the end of semester exhibition and sale. After seeing some interesting student work, we hopped on the bus up to the crossroads to see the opening of the America: Now and Here exhibition at Leedy-Voulkos. The exhibition was really well done and very well received, with a variety of important contemporary artists represented. The show continues to other cities after a one month run in KC and is a great conversation starter about contemporary America.
Stormy Thursday
Thursday brought lots of rain in Midwestern-style spring thunderstorms, a good night to stay in and do some reading with the cat.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Chushingura
In teaching Eastern Civ., my favorite unit is that on the Chushingura. The 18th century story samurai loyalty is easily readable (as it was originally a play), and full of excitement and intrigue. Generally it is one of the easier texts to sell to the students, but the best part is our visit to the Spencer Museum of Art Print Room, where we are able to view 18th and 19th century Japanese pints related to the kabuki version of the story. Below is Act 10, where the merchant Gihei (in the middle) proves his loyalty to the samurai (in black) who are disguised as police.
Strawberry Shortcake
On Sunday we continued the Spring feast weekend with Fresh Strawberry Shortcake.
Spring Grill
Breaking being veg for a night we indulged in Cedear Plank Salmon and Asparagus on the grill, served with Wild Rice Pilaf for a lovely Saturday evening cook-out.
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