Fall sunrise

I love the fall.

The weather is cooler.

The sunrises are simply gorgeous.

We have been waiting a long time for this time of year.

The Fair

We had the chance to go to the Kansas State Fair this fall.  The State Fair is one of my favorite early fall activities.

We worked for my job for eight hours on a Saturday and then made a mad rush to grab food and see some of my favorite things.

Luckily, several of my favorites are in the same building - The Pride of Kansas.

The butter sculpture is always very fun.  This year's featured monkeys riding sheep - kind of bizarre and yet likable.  It's amazing to think about the time put into this art and how the artist can incorporate so much detail!  Imagine 700 pounds of butter!

I love to see the produce.  The pumpkins and squash had great fall colors!

Who doesn't love the largest pumpkin!?!

So, onions.  Not too exciting, but check out that gorgeous purple ribbon.  My past 4-H member heart is beating faster.  Love this stuff!

And, honey!  One of our favorite Kansas products.  I aspire to be a bee keeper - it's on my lifetime goal list.

And, the food.  If you go the the Kansas State Fair, go to the food stand and enjoy a bierock and an apple dumpling.  Delicious!

Old signs

On my trip to Bartlesville, I saw this great old motel sign along side the road.

I loved it!

On my return trip, I pulled in to take a picture and then noticed that the motel had people living there.  It all looked pretty sketch.  Not my smartest move to stop on my own, but I stayed in my vehicle with the doors locked.

Anything for a picture of an old, rusty sign.

I'm hopeless.

Kansas Adventures: The Granada

My great driving adventures last week took me first from home to Bartlesville, OK and back again.  Then, from home to Olpe, KS and back to Manhattan.

On the return trip, I took part of my lunch hour to stop at The Sweet Granada in downtown Emporia.  Two cute little shops bookend the restored Historic Granada Theatre.

The Sweet Granada is a very cute and very small chocolate cafe that sells handmade gourmet chocolates.  The cases are filled with lovely items of all kinds of goodies dipped in chocolate.

As a treat for the office staff, I bought some twice dipped cherries and some chocolate covered graham crackers.  The later happens to be a favorite of my husband, so he got a few, too.

They also had homemade fudge available by the pound.  They were glad to mix and match so I could take advantage of the buy a pound and get a half pound for free.  We enjoyed sampling several of the different kinds.

It was fun to see a hometown shop with offerings so delicious and beautiful.  If you are in Emporia, stop by - 805 Commercial.  

Need incentive to buy?  They have a Chocoholic rewards punch card.  Earn one punch for every $5 spent.  Fill the card and get $5 off your next purchase.

On the road again...

This has been my life...behind the wheel, taking in beautiful Kansas scenery and having a lot of thinking time.

A few thoughts from my recent travels...

• Anyone who wants to argue that Kansas is flat and boring has not really looked at our beautiful state.  This time of year is especially striking.  The leaves are just starting to turn.  Fall harvest is beginning in some parts of the state.  The rolling hills are showing signs of fall color.
• Satellite radio makes a trip so much better!  This week's trips allowed me to take my own vehicle instead of a company car which means I had satellite radio.  I also figured out how to connect my iPad to my car radio and that meant I could listen to my new George Strait, Mumford and Sons and Ray Lamontagne.  Loving my new music and really like no to few commercials.
• For the most part, people in our state are really friendly.  My short stops at gas stations and restaurants allowed me to interact with some nice people.
• My car also has Bluetooth capability. so I can connect my phone to my car.  I am getting used to this convenience.  I am getting it and really like being able to call hands free.  When I am out on the highway and can make calls, it saves me time and helps keep me connected.  It's still strange to drive along and talk about loud on the phone..kind of yelling toward my sun visor.
• When you travel, you have time to think.  I also practice my presentations - out loud.  And, I sing.  Which I never sing in public because I am really bad at singing.  If you pass me, I am the crazy person singing, talking to myself or talking on the Bluetooth on my phone.

More travels next week!

Five reasons

There are five reasons I wanted to post this picture.

5.  It feels like fall.  We finally have a little relief from the heat and the cooler evenings and nights are most welcomed.  This little guy was sunning himself on our back door on one of the cooler mornings.

4.  I am fascinated my little things.  Anything in miniature is just so darn cute.

3.  We have these tiny frogs everywhere around our yard.  They like to climb our windows at night.  It's a curiosity and cheap entertainment.

2.  I have a new camera and this is one of the first (and few) pictures I have taken.  My camera is a used Nikon purchased from a friend in Texas.  It's arrival was sandwiched between vacation and the fall schedule launching into full swing.  I have no idea what I am doing - save a very generous lesson from my friend, Laura.  Conventional wisdom tells me that the only way to learn is to practice.  This photo is practice.

1.  This photo reminds me of my niece, McKenzy who is celebrating her birthday today.  She's frog crazy.  If she had seen this little guy, she would have adopted him.  Happy birthday, kid!