Vintage photos

 I am working in Texas this week and am loving all of the Texas culture surrounding me at every turn.

The hotel lobby has a lot of interesting decor, including this impressive collection of vintage western photography.  The photos are all framed in black or brown wood frames of about the same width.  The frames line the top of a book shelf that runs along two walls.  I love each of the photos - pictures of what seem to be working ranches, all in black and white.

I love the subject matter and the visual impact of the collection together.  Really simple and lovely.

The luckiest man in the world

Tonight I have the chance to work a booth at the State Fair for work.  My husband, a co-worker and I passed out tons and tons of free items and visited with people all evening.

The state fair brings out an interesting mix of people.  Out of all of the events I work and all of my travels, the state fair is far and away the venue with the best people watching.  Simply put, people from all walks of life, political views, socio-economic status, and higher education allegiance converge in the same place - a land where deep fried food and who has the best giveaways are common topics of conversation.

Beyond the people watching, I also enjoy reconnecting with old friends and connecting with new people.  Tonight, I visited with a real character and he had a message for me.

He shook my had and introduced himself as "the luckiest man in the world."  I was a little taken back when he continued.  He said, "I am sharing my luck with you by shaking your hand.  You are lucky; you just have to keep your eyes open."  He went on to tell me specific examples of how he was lucky.  He fell down earlier in the week (even showed me his scrapes and bruises) and told me he was lucky because he didn't break his arm.  He told me he was lucky because he just got a verbal warning for driving 78 mph in a 55 mph zone.  He went on to tell me that he was lucky because of his grandchildren.

Friends, his message was just what I needed to hear at time when professionally, all is well, but personally, I am feeling really unlucky.  The universe sent me the right message at the right time when I needed it the most.  I am filled with gratitude to have met "the luckiest man in the world" and for him to remind me of my/share with me some LUCK.

P.S. Aside from the people watching, I also really like the bierocks served in the Pride of Kansas building.  Their apple dumplings are delicious, too.  We didn't try any deep fried anything.

Keeping it real

 You know those moments when you are equal parts amazed and horrified.  We (or at least I) had one of those moments a couple of weeks ago.

We cleaned out the garage.

I am not talking about a quick pick up and sweep the floor.

I am talking about a take-EVERYTHING-out and sort-through-EVERYTHING. We, as amazing as it sounds, fit everything back into the garage, only in a more organized and logical fashion.

Things I learned:

1.  We have a lot of stuff.
2.  We have a diverse collection of stuff.
3.  We have enough projects to last us two lifetimes.
4.  My husband tends to work quickly and not put things away.  I tend to hound him about putting away the things he's not using.  My logic is about saving time (and my sanity) by not asking for and looking for the hammer or tape measure or a screwdriver every five minutes.  But, to each his own.
5.  We have a lot of cool stuff.  I mean it.  We have some great things in line for some upcoming sales.  My husband has a really good eye and a creative mind, so the next couple of shows should be a ton of fun.

If you ever think that we have got it all together, just remember this picture.

An outdoor wedding

We attended and outdoor wedding a few weeks ago.  It was a really lovely ceremony and not nearly has hot as it could have been, given that we are in August in Kansas.

Earlier in the year, a former co-worker has been married at the same property, only she had used the converted horse barn for her ceremony, reception, dinner and dance.  The more recent wedding used the outdoor space for the ceremony and everything else took place in the barn.

I am intrigued by the property - Mildale Farm.  It is really a beautiful space with a lot of options to  accommodate a variety of events.

Tucked in a space near the main house was this magical little garden.  The gate was open, so I made myself at home.  There was a black door with a glass window as a focal point.  I loved the urns flanking the chippy paint gate.  The plant with the yellow flowers was really lovely.  The garden was a perfect place for a small gathering or just somewhere to explore.

Vacation - It's good for the soul

 Our Colorado vacation was in many ways our celebration of the end of summer.  Once we returned, we began the back-to-school frenzy that we enjoy each year because of our careers in education.

We began with a very challenging climb at the Manitau Incline.  After we pushed ourselves, we spent the rest of the trip at a more relaxed pace.  Thank goodness!

We enjoyed some memorable sights, dining, and shopping.

On the drive through eastern Colorado, we saw an strange sight on the interstate ahead of us.  We thought it might be some antlers installed on the top of a vehicle, but as we drew closer, we realized that someone was hauling some gigantic wildlife statues.

 

 We had a good laugh at this unusual highway sighting.

 

I am sure that we were not the only motorists to pull alongside for a photo.

 We discovered some really great finds at each stop!  A few of our favorites were:

MainLine in Old Town Fort Collins.   We enjoyed some amazing food (Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffles), discovered a new favorite beer (Agave Wheat), and indulged in Bacon Bread Pudding (made with Captain Crunch). The restaurant atmosphere was super cool and our server was very friendly and had great recommendations.  We would go back here in a heartbeat.

The Lyric Cinema Café was showing Ghosts of the West.  We were debating how to spend our last evening in Colorado and thought it would be fun to go to The Lyric, a small two theatre venue that shows independent films.  We ordered a small snack and a couple of beers from the counter and took in the show.  We felt really smart and hip for seeing an indie film about ghost towns and hearing a short Q&A session with the filmmaker. And, my husband won a DVD in the drawing.  Seriously.  He's super lucky.

We scored with vintage shopping in Fort Collins.  We found The Flamingo almost right away.  The store was having a close out sale because the owners were combining inventory for a store in a new location.  We bought so much stuff!

We already had acquired several small furniture pieces that we found in Manitau Springs.  Our vehicle was so full by the time we were ready to head to our hotel.  I actually prayed out loud that the hotel didn't have valet parking.  I might have died of embarrassment at the state of our car.

We loved Walnut Creek and Kansas City Kitty and lots and lots of other places in Fort Collins.  We also survived a hail storm with a quick scramble to the city parking garage.

We even spent some time on the Colorado State campus.  We discovered their Flower Trial Garden, an amazing collection of all types of flowers in many, many beautiful colors.

Earlier in our trip, we took in our favorite antique store in Denver and found some great pieces to refinish at a small store in Manitau Springs.  This was one of those vacations where you really dread unloading the car.

Manitau Incline

We are sorting through photos from this summer and realized that we haven't blogged about our trip to Colorado.  We put together a quick trip west before the back to school frenzy.  We had some hotel gift certificates that we had to use and a work event, which explains our Colorado Springs to Denver to Fort Collins route.  Everything fit together nicely, even with the moving from place to place.

Our first day in Colorado was spent around Colorado Springs.  My husband found a trail that he thought would be fun to hike.  I agreed without getting any details.

On the drive, he began to share information from various websites.

Me:  What trail are we hiking again?
Him:  The Manitau Incline.  It is only a mile up.  It used to be an old rail line.
Me:  Sounds cool.
Him:  It's classified as a "difficult" trail.  I think that is because it gains 2,000 feet of vertical with 2,800 railroad ties. 
Me:  (Gulp.)  What the heck?  I am not feeling very confident.

I didn't get any reassurance from the first impression.

 

This photo is from the beginning of the trail where you tell yourself that you can do this.  The little kids coming down the mountain with their parents are proof that this is climbable.  I was also not yet sweaty, thirsty, sun-baked, hungry, and sore.  I was full of optimism and hope.

 Some sections were a little rough.  I had to take several breaks during the two hour climb.  In retrospect, I needed more than one granola bar for the trip and maybe some lunch to fuel my body.  We thought ahead to bring water at least.

 The view from the top was really cool.  I am so glad that I didn't quit, though there were moments when I thought my husband was going to have to pick me up on the way back down.

 We took the four mile Barr Trail back to the base.  It started to rain and thunder a bit, so we hustled.

 It was so nice to have some cloud cover and the beautiful views.

I am not sure who took this photo or when it was taken.  It was sent to us by people who had been on the trail recently.  As if the climb wasn't difficult enough, a bear might just wonder through.  No big deal.

If you are looking for a physical challenge, and want to earn some great views, check out the Incline Trail.

Summer

This summer has been really special.  We have enjoyed mild temperatures and rain.  During a typical Kansas summer, we have a significantly different landscape by late-August - brown grass, trees starting to drop leaves, and a finished garden.

Our weather pattern has allowed us to extend the enjoyment of some of the things we love.

One simple thing is to be outside for more than a few minutes.  When it is over 100 degrees with high humidity, you rush around outside to make it back to air conditioned interiors.  When you have a temperature in the 80s, even with high humidity, it is a different ballgame.  You might linger a little longer outside.

 Our flowers have extended their blooms. The cosmos in the garden offer a brilliant pop of color.  Small dainty blooms.

 Our sunflowers were planted on a whim during one of my last late spring plantings.

 I have really enjoyed watching each flower bloom.  This picture is a favorite - watching the bloom "wake up."

 This particular variety, Lemon Queen, attracts pollinators galore and ends up being an impressive, towering plant.

Every Kansas garden needs a few sunflowers.

We are looking forward to the fall and the next garden season.