The Perfect Match

Tonight we attended the 35th Wedding Anniversary Dinner Party for our friends Mike and Sally. They are the perfect match.

HRC was the matchmaker. Some day if you've got a minute, ask her how she made it happen.

Housewarming, Engagement and Welcome Parties

On Saturday, we drove the Gs to Smithville, Missouri, to attend Heidi's housewarming party. It was fun to see her so happily settled in her new home.

We were very pleasantly surprised when Andy and Donna walked in. It was no surprise when I insisted on a group photo.

Surprise again ... at least to some ... when Andy and Donna announced their engagement. Here is a sun-squinting engagement photo:

Congratulations Andy and Best Wishes Donna.

We returned home just in time to help host Kenny and Cara's "Welcome to the 400 block" party. While they are much younger than anybody on the block, they seem to be adjusting to the quirky and overly friendly personality of our block.

This time I was late in insisting on the group photo as half the neighbors had already left. Only the hearty partiers remained.

Who says we don't have any fun?

Trojans and Ramblers

Last night I attended a panel discussion of former Topeka High Trojans and Topeka High Ramblers. The Trojans were the school's white basketball team while the Ramblers were the black team. This was in 1949. Five years later, in one of the most historic and significant cases ever, the US Supreme Court decided the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education case which ruled that separate was not equal.

Held in the THS cafeteria, it was very well attended.

Dean Smith, the legendary coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, was a member of the 1949 Trojans and was in town for his 60th THS reunion. Here Coach Smith (right) receives an award from his Trojan teammate, Topeka Mayor Bill Bunton.

The panel discussion was very interesting.

All agreed that we have come a long way since 1949.

Diwali with the Pollys

Tonight we attended the India Association of Topeka's Diwali celebration. Roughly translated as the Festival of Lights, Diwali is a national holiday in India that celebrates good over evil. We saw beautiful and colorful saris and learned that women drape them differently depending upon their region in India. We also saw detailed tiny rock art (my term) adorned with candles.

The Topeka version included lots of dancing ...

and dinner that we shared with the Pollys.

It was an interesting and culturally enriching Sunday night.

Flint Hills Drive and Kansas Sunset

Today HRC and I took a drive along Skyline Road, a scenic drive through the Kansas Flint Hills. We saw amazing views and fantastic fall colors that cannot be captured ... at least by a pocket camera.

Along the way we found Jaketown Road ...

but were frightened to take it.

So we drove to Alma ( population of 797) where we ate dinner at Deb's Cafe. The special was all-you-can-eat fried chicken. Across the street is the old Alma Hotel.

Believe it or not, 33 years ago The Alma Hotel had a French Restaurant that was truly fantastic. Really. The menu was small, but exquisite. The wine list was equally impressive. HRC and I enjoyed our wedding night dinner there. I had escargot. Tonight I had fried chicken.

After dinner we enjoyed a colorful Kansas sunset.

It's a beautiful world.

Stickwork Art and Cheryl Wheeler

Yesterday we took our friends John and Melanie to Lawrence to visit Stickwork Art on Jayhawk Boulevard. It is an amazing structure made from .... sticks.

After dinner at Zen Zero we attended the Cheryl Wheeler concert. The venue was surprisingly intimate, a tiny Unity Church where we sat on the front row ... maybe 10 feet from the performers. Kenny White was the opening act. He was a pleasant and unexpected bonus as he was both extremely talented and very funny.

He opens for Judy Collins next weekend. You can listen to his music here.

Cheryl Wheeler was amazing. Maybe not a Miss America candidate, but a true talent. Her pure folk/ballad style was more captivating live than on her CDs. Maybe that's because she was only 10 feet away!

She is also a great storyteller. She told about, and sang, HRC's favorite song, the Gandhi Buddha song, which you can enjoy here.

Happy thoughts to dear friends, interesting art, quality food and good music.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday ....

Our Friday, Saturday and Sunday was a weekend full of eclectic settings, great food and fun friends. Friday night we attended a fund raiser for the Mulvane Art Museum at our friends' beautiful home on Lake Sherwood. Great house, great people, great art and great food.

Saturday night we went to Kansas City to attend a very elegant wedding ...

and an even more elegant dinner at a not-so-elegant ... yet very chic ... old warehouse in the west bottoms (former stockyards) in Kansas City.

It was fabulous. The photo booth (complete with props) was irresistible.

Sunday I had a nice brunch with Nancy, the Gs and SACII and Cheryl ... who were in town for SACII's 40th high school reunion.

Sunday night was the Annual Potwin progressive dinner. I found these 3 manly men hanging around the beer.

It was a full and fun weekend. I hope yours was too.

HRC presented with The Gold Rose Award

Tonight The Junior League of Topeka presented HRC with their highest honor ... The Gold Rose Award. Very coveted, it is only presented to a special few who have demonstrated leadership skills and otherwise made a significant contribution to the community. You can watch her acceptance speech here.

Here she is with The Gold Rose Award and some gold roses. Yea Helen!

Samantha and Jake come and go

SRC and JRQ move from Hawaii. They stop here for SRC's 10 year Topeka High School reunion but unfortunately, they both catch colds and are only able to attend the first night.

We have a peaceful and uneventful week during which JRQ is able to launch his unbelievably cool Japanese language website Kanjibrain. As they feel better, we have dinner with George (who spent the summer in Florida and Paraguay) and Cristina (who spent the summer in Spain) and the Gs.

Helen also organizes a dinner for young neighbors.

We then kiss them good bye as they fly to Fukuoka, Japan where they are each enrolled in a 2 month long Japanese immersion language class. Here they are with driver Les Paul as they head to the airport at 3:45 AM this morning.

さよならと安全の旅

Monica comes and goes

After staying with us for 3 weeks, Monica, here from Idaho to help care for her granddaughter, flies to Houston to help care for her father as he recovers from heart surgery and subsequent strokes. Keep smiling.