The Air Up There

firetowerIt was a little chilly and windy, but it was worth it.  Wednesday we climbed up 5 flights to the top of a lookout tower in the Halsey National Forest.  It was part of our week long visit to Jenny’s western Nebraska roots.  From that height we could see eye to eye with one turkey buzzard who briefly glided within spitting distance.  He was either taking in the sights or looking for his lunch.

Always Ready to Go Hunting

BENGEOANDMEUnless I was on my deathbed, the answer was obvious.  Christy invited me to go geocaching with her family and I accepted.  It was a new experience for Ben (pictured above on the left) and Katelyn to go looking through bushes, under rocks, and along fences for treasure– and we found three out of four!  It was one of the last cool mid-50′s nights before the temps started rising, and it was glorious.  So glad I still have some bloodhound in my veins to go sniffing around for hidden containers full of foreign coins, rubber balls, and other trinkets!

Sort of Ambidextrous

leftandrightI should have drawn these cartoons at the same time with each hand, but I guess hindsight is 20/20.  Recently at work I was getting tired of using my right hand to work my mouse, so I moved it over to the other side of the keyboard.  I’m a little slower with my left hand, but I can still click a mouse.  Then I wondered, “I wonder how wobbly a cartoon would look if I drew it with my left hand?” I’m right handed.  So I drew one with my right hand, and then I drew one with my left.  The one on the left looks like it was drawn by a stroke victim.

Between Adam and Eve

eve me and adamEve is on the left.  You can tell it’s her because she’s holding the apple… and she has wider hips than Adam.  This is another photo from our trip to Lucas, KS.  This pic is from the Garden of Eden where S.P. Dinsmoor sculpted figures from his imagination and the bible, collected badgers, owls, and other wildlife in his backyard, and built a mausoleum for his mummified corpse– which you can still see for $9 (the cost of admission).

Max Yawn

max_yawnHe sleeps, he snores, he stretches, he yawns… he’s Max, my cat.  I was taking a nap the other day when Max decided to get on Jenny’s side of the bed and take one too.  I couldn’t believe my luck when he yawned as I was taking this pic.

A Room With Potential

foil circuit piano babyWhen I saw the piano covered in foil, and circuit boards fanned out like a deck of cards, I knew the room had potential.  The babies’ heads on bamboo sticks were a nice touch, but it was the foil and circuit boards that turned my head inside the Deeble House a few weeks ago.  We drove 4 hours west to Lucas, KS, to explore “The Grassroots Capital of Kansas” with Steve and Diane recently.  We saw sights like the Deeble House, The Garden of Eden, and the coolest public bathroom I’ve ever used.  Lucas is also the home to The World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things.  That collection has scaled down replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Cadillac Ranch, Carhenge, and many other items.  Anyway back to the foil covered piano in the Deeble House– I told the tour guide that I have the technology to hook wires up to the foil and actually play the house the same way I play vegetables on Beep Goes the Weasel.  She showed interest and we exchanged contact information, and who knows?  Four people on four walls might be playing Smoke On The Water in western Kansas someday!

Boots To Dye For

HENRYShirt? Check! Pants? Check! Boots? CHECK THESE OUT!!!!  New work attire rules require me to wear black shoes at KU along with a blue shirt and black pants.  Yep, they want me black and blue.  However, I don’t own a black pair of shoes– my old black and white sneakers fell apart years ago.  So the only sensible affordable thing to do was to dye my brown boots black.  Henry, my shoe repair guy down the street, sold me a bottle of color preparation and leather dye for $16 and told me how to do it– three hours later I had the right footwear for work.  Wham, Bam, thank you Henry!

Please Buy Again

buyagainIt was something I would have never done as a teenager.  The box of girl scout cookies came with a note that read “thank you… please buy again.”  One of my co-workers took orders for her daughter’s girl scout troop in the clinic.  I pulled $5 out of my wallet so I could have a box of cookies myself.  When Kyafia delivered the cookies they came with this note to ‘buy again.’  I told my co-worker, “your daughter has a lot of nerve.  She’s going to be an executive in an office someday.  Can I take a selfie with the mother of a future up-and-comer?”  She said “sure.”kyafiaandme

Almost Angie

almostangie3:28 and all is… almost Angie!  I was revisiting the human clock a few days ago when I saw this guy on the analogue side.  I’m pretty sure he’s of the male persuasion, but the clothes, the hat, and the stance, and the expression on his face remind me of my old co-worker, daughter figure, and beeping vegetable buddy, Angie.  One of our last songs we collaborated on was about my fear of shower curtains.  I miss ya kiddo.

Santo In The Treasure of Dracula

mexicanwrestlerYep. That’s the name of tonight’s episode on the latest incarnation of the show that won’t die– Mystery Science Theater 3000!  It started in the late 1980′s and now 33 years and 3 networks later, there’s still someone trapped in space with his robot pals making fun of bad movies!  I’ve got my special pass to watch Santo in the Treasure of Dracula at the Gizmoplex tonight at 7pm with all the other fans who pitched in last year to raise over $6 million.  Together we’ll see what happens when Mexican wrestler El Santo invents a time machine in 1969– only to have somebody use it to find the hidden location of Dracula’s treasure.  I don’t know about you but if there’s a masked Mexican wrestler who can travel through time and fight Dracula, I want to see it!!!