Matcha Frappuccino

It was a year ago this week (June 18 to be precise) that we moved back to the States from Japan, and this is the first summer since 2005 that I'm not in Japan, so I've been feeling a little nostalgic for times past. As a result, on Tuesday I decided to pop into Starbucks on my way home to get a Matcha Frappuccino like I used to study with in Yokohama.

The Office

I usually share my office with a few other instructors, but have it to myself for the summer. This is sad because there are no baked goods or people to joke around with, but happy because I can get lots done and listen to music on the computer speakers instead of headphones.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Continuing to use up the glut of bananas, I made banana cupcakes on Sunday and frosted them with a peanut butter frosting, dusted with grated coconut for texture. Yummmmmm.

Fresh juice

Carrot-apple-beet-ginger juice, made fresh at home and enjoyed for breakfast in the garden on a cool Saturday morning.

Lily

Friday brought lots of rain, but the lilies in the garden didn't seem to mind.

Banana bread

We had an excess of bananas in the house, a few of which were starting to turn brown, so I made a quick banana bread on Thursday evening. The recipe was from my favorite baking reference, the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, and included crushed walnuts and shredded coconut, which was a great addition.

Hydrangea

The giant hydrangea bush in our yard, which provides for lots of cut flowers around the house.

A quiet campus

First day of teaching summer school on a very quiet KU campus.

Garden

Despite the heat advisory, I spent Monday the 6th working in the garden. I'm using a no till method on the vegetable garden this year, so we'll see how that works. I'm hoping to have a nice crop of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants soon!

On the wall

We spent some time on Sunday the 5th working on hanging art on the walls. This particular print makes me smile when I think of purchasing it in Kyoto on Joe's first trip there, right after we visited Ryoanji. It's hard to believe that this is the first summer since 2005 that I'm not in Japan....

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.

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.

KC

Walking to catch the bus.

Returning home

Driving through the Ozarks on our way home from a great long weekend trip.

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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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).

Goodbye, peacocks

A tribute to the old dining room wallpaper, which is no longer.

26 May

Seen in the yard...