Football and Family

As K-State football fans we belong to a giant purple clad family.  Saturday was Family Day and we enjoyed a lot of football and family throughout the day.  We attended the game with our church family.  Every year the church gets a block of tickets and about 100 people join in a tailgate and then go to the game together.  It was fun to pack into the stadium with the church family.  Since Arthur was seated right next to the pastor's wife I reminded him to be on his best behavior and keep the yelling at the refs to a minimum.  Before the game we met up with a few couples from our Bible Study in Aggieville to ride the shuttle bus to the game.  Before we grabbed donuts and chocolate milk which is a tradition from Arthur's childhood when their family would travel. 

We got to our seats a few minutes before pre-game started which is probably my favorite part of the game-- the band, wabashing, Willie leading the KSU cheer, and the K-State football montage videos.  The game itself was an enjoyable game-- maybe not on-the-edge-of-our-seat excitement but that allowed you to chat with people around and take in the full game atmosphere.  It was also Band Day which meant another favorite football tradition-- the 1812 Overture.  My one complaint is that a few years ago they stopped shooting off the cannons during this song.  As the classical music purist that I am I would like the song to be played as Tchaikovsky intended- with cannon fire and the peel of church bells. 

Since it was Family Day they also introduced the K-State Family of the Year.  This award is put on by the Chimes junior honorary (Arthur and I met while we were both members of this honorary).  My extended family on my dad's side had the privilege of receiving this award 2 years ago and it was honor to be recognized for generations of K-Staters and a fun to share the day with the family.

During the 3rd quarter I was getting a little bored with the game so I decided to track down one of my past roommates and (current) friend to watch with her family.  We chatted for awhile and caught up on any important news.  After the game we met up with some of Arthur's extended family and his grandma.  There is a brick outside the stadium in memory of his grandfather so his aunt showed us where it was.  We randomly ran into some of Arthur's former roommates and fraternity brothers as well.  One of my favorite things about K-State games is that you will always see someone you haven't seen in ages and it gives a chance to reconnect even if only for a few minutes. 

Following the game we wandered back through campus and continued with our tree identification lessons.  Campus provided a greater variety of trees so Arthur learned some new types and hone his skills practicularly on evergreens.  We browsed through a bookshop in Aggieville for awhile.  This was one of our favorite activities while we were dating-- looking through bookstores or libraries.  Yes, it is quite possible that we are nerds (although the arborcultural discussions are nerdier than bookstores which are almost hip).

Finally, we found the infamous ginko tree-- Arthur is quite proud.

 

That evening we finished off our K-State Day by attending the K-State volleyball game.  My cousin was selected to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the game.  I can't even fathom having the courage to sing the national anthem acapela in front of such a large crowd (or anyone for that matter).   Even though I don't understand the strategies and plays of volleyball I love watching the sport and how what appears to be mass chaos with bodies flying in every direction is coordinated team work.  After a few sets we went out to eat with my cousin and her parents.  Nothing like a plethera of chips and salsa, good Mexican food, and quality conversation to end the night.  For not being "social" people Arthur and I both thoroughly enjoyed the day with K-State sports and time with friends and family sprinkled in for good measure. 

Tour de Plains

On Saturday I woke Arthur up at 5:15am to go on a bike ride.  His first words were, "Someday I 'll be in pretty good shape if you don't kill me first."  We were headed to an organized bike ride in Newton call the Flatlander.  It is a benefit ride to raise donations for clean water in Kenya that is hosted my the Mennonite Central Committee.  We arrived to find about 150 other riders running around in bike shorts getting their bikes ready for the ride.  The numbers we wore to identify us as part of the group had "Cycling in the name of Christ" printed at the bottom.  Arthur made the comment that he had never seen so many people come together for Jesus wearing so much spandex in one place before.  It was a beautiful morning for the ride especially since it had been predicted earlier in the week that it would rain all day. It was Arthur's first organized ride.  I realized I might need to clue him in on some of the lingo with biking since he looked at the map and the asked me was SAG stops meant.  Basically SAG stops are like manna from heaven.  About every 10 miles there is a stop where the ride organizers provide water, fruit, and snacks.  During the ride you aren't thinking about making it to the end but just surviving until the next SAG stop.

Here's Arthur eagerly awaiting the start of the ride.  I intended to take more pictures throughout the ride but surviving seemed like a more important issue that pictorial documentation.  

We had selected to do the 65 mile ride-- remember we are gluttons for punishment.  The first 30 miles were south and west which happened to be against the wind that morning.  Aurthur, being the kind husband that he is, allowed me to draft behind him which helped make it easier in the wind and saved my legs some.  The Flatlander did live up to its billing-- the largest hills were overpasses.  After riding on moderately hilly terrain at home the smooth sailing was appreciated.
As we were approaching the 4th SAG stop Arthur was focused and in the zone that he kept riding since he didn't notice the tent or the group of people trying to wave him down from the side of the road.  I shouted at him a few times which he didn't hear (that's nothing new).  I was ready to get off my bike for a few minutes so I decided to stop.  After filling up on water, cookies, and fruit I decided I should try to track down my husband.  About 2 miles down the road Arthur realized that I wasn't following him anymore.  He turned around and essentially sprinted back into the wind to locate his lost wife who was peacefully eating cookies.  This exhausted him out and we were about 45 miles into the ride so everything was starting to hurt-- our neck, shoulders, and back from leaning forward, our backsides from sitting on a seat the size of a fence railing, our legs from pedaling and fighting the wind, and we each had some tingling setting in in our hands and feet.  The next 7-8 miles were a little bit brutal.
 At the next stop it hurt to move but we found out we were only 15 miles away.  Of course we could make a measly 15 miles so our protesting bodies jumped back on.  We continued to pedal through fields upon fields.  The scenery hadn't changed much but we could see the water tower for Newton in the distance.  Arthur said that as he was riding the last few he was thinking about how it was like the suffering and pain that leads up to death but there is glory waiting at the end. I told him death might be better because at the end the pain goes away but at that point we we felt like death.
They had lunch for us at the end of the ride.  We were watching and listening to some of the other riders sitting around.  We noticed that all looked happy and enjoying themselves.  They were discussing their plans for the rest of the day such as shopping or mowing the lawn.  We were amazed.  Then we found out that one of the gentlemen there was 89 years old and had just ridden the 65 miles we had.  Earlier a man who was celebrating his 88th birthday had finished.  This was inspiring but also a little demoralizing that our 20-something bodies couldn't keep up with the octogenarians.
Today also marked some progress towards a few of our New Year's Resolutions.  One of my goals is to ride my bike 1200, equivalent to the perimeter of the state of Kansas.  As of today I am closing in on 900 miles for the year.  Arthur's goal was to lose weight and get in shape.  He rode 65 miles for the first time in his life.  He has also lost about 10 pounds in the past few weeks.  He has been tracking his exercise and calories and was pretty excited that today's ride consumed 4700 calories.  In his words, "That ride literally cost me a pound of flesh."  (A pound of fat gives 3500 calories of energy).  We'll head our for ice cream tonight to celebrate.  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

High Octane Coffee

Today at work I had a crazy day-- it was a good thing I wore my running shoes.  I started my day seeing 3 patients at the clinic.  I was also asked to fill in at the surgery center to see the patients who have had joint replacements.  I do this occasionally when the therapists at the hospital are swamped.  So I hustled down to the other end of the block to "help the lame walk".  I rushed back to see my 11:00 patient, eat lunch, and finish 3 or 4 notes from the morning.  Next it was back to the surgical center for a few hours for afternoon treatments before rushing back down the street to see my next patient in the clinic who ended up not showing up.  I quickly finished my paperwork for the surgery center patients but had to run back to the hospital to the rehab department on the 4th floor to drop off the paperwork.  Then it was back to the clinic (up another 4 flights) to see my next patient.  At this point two beautiful things happened-- my final patient call to cancel her appointment and I drank my first cup of "coffee" in my life.
For a few days at Starbucks this week fall drinks are buy one get one free.  This as been all the talk at work.  Orders were taken, plans were made, and hopes were raised about Starbucks drinks.  I don't drink coffee but they begged me to participate-- something about team camaraderie (and needing an even number of people for the drink deal).  After much deliberation a few of my co-workers decided that a good started drink for a beginner would be the salted caramel mocha frappuccino.  They assured me it really wasn't coffee and more like a milk shake.  It was delicious. I also felt rather sophisticated and grown up which helped since I was confused for a high school earlier in the day.  I happily sipped away on my drink while finishing up my paperwork when someone wandered back into the office and questioned, "You drank the entire thing?"  At that point I wondered if it was safe fore me to drive home.  I never drink anything with caffeine and certainly not coffee.  Would I have a sugar high, a caffeine buzz, or impaired decision making?  This is one reason I stay away from "legally addictive stimulants".
Looking back on the evening I couldn't have made a better investment of $2 for the drink for the amount of productivity that ensued.  I did grocery shopping for the week, repotted a house plant, completed 3 loads of laundry, made pizza crust and used my current crop of tomatoes to simmer down into another batched of pizza sauce, washed the dishes, packed lunches, cleaned the bathroom, swept and mopped the kitchen and bathroom, and vacuumed the floors-- I even moved stuff out of the way to vacuum underneath.  When spring cleaning time comes around next year I'll have to try coffee again.  As far as I can tell the side effects were only positive-- increased productivity.  I didn't get jittery or feel like my heart was going to jump out of my chest and was able to sleep at night.  Arthur was gone for the evening and at one point he called to check in and I realized that I was talking twice as fast as I usually do.  Overall it was great to get so much done at once because I lack the motivation to do much house cleaning on the weekends.  Maybe some day I will become a true coffee convert although if this were the results of "weak coffee" I probably can't handle full strength. Omnia Vincit Amor.

Stiff necks and side stitches

A few nights ago Arthur walked in the door and I ran to the door to welcome him home and ask him to take me on a walk since it was a beautiful fall evening.  Arthur jokes that being married to me is like carrying for a dog-- I am happiest if I get exercised daily.  During this walk we deviated from the normal path again to explore a different area of town-- I love living in a small town that is completely accessible on foot.  On our walks we share about our days, discuss business, thoughts, what we learned, goals and dreams for the future, and random other things.  This particular evening Arthur related a story to me about his day and the way he solved a problem, completely different than I would, that just screamed "engineer". I couldn't stop laughing for several blocks.  I got such a kick out of the scenario that I developed a side stitch from laughing.  I guess sometimes humor does hurt.  A few block later we started discussing the variety of trees we were walking past.  This lead to a crash course in arboriculture identification.  Growing up I became familiar with tree and plant identification and even competed at the state level through 4-H.  I have forgotten quite a bit but was able to identify, teach, and quiz Arthur on a variety of trees from honey locust to golden rain tree.  I must say he is now solid on his maples, oaks, and sycamores.  After walking around looking up at the trees overhead my neck was pretty sore too.  Almost two years ago Arthur and I took another walk viewing all my "favorite" trees around campus.  At the end of the walk we stopped in a grove of trees, he knelt down, and asked me to be his wife.  I said yes, it would be a pleasure. (Especially if he would continue to take long walks to gaze at the beauty of trees with me).  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

Our State Fair is the Best State Fair...

In keeping with tradition, Arthur and I made our third annual trip to the Kansas State Fair this weekend.  We saw the sights, ate the food, and came home exhausted.

This year's butter sculpture on a pogo stick.

Friday evening brought a cool snap to the area and my younger brother Arnold for dinner and the evening.  His wife was having a girls evening so he decided to make himself scarce.  Since it was Friday night we held forth with family tradition-- pizza night.  Over the past few months we have upgraded from frozen pizzas to homemade pizzas.  I am working on perfecting making pizza dough which is relatively easy since my mixer does all the work.  This week was extra special since I even made homemade pizza sauce from our own tomatoes and basil.  The problem of a small garden is having limited amounts of produce all at once.  I made one batch of sauce with 5 tomatoes which will be enough for 2-3 pizzas.  However the process took about the same amount of time and created the same mess as if I had a batch with 20 tomatoes.  I think my husband's career of creating efficient processes is infiltrating my kitchen.  Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner and Arthur and Arnold settled in to an evening of deep theological discussion.  Later that evening Arthur and I joined our Bible study group for a gathering for s'mores and chatting around the fire pit-- an absolutely perfect fall evening with s'mores, the smell of smoke, being mesmerized by watching the flames jump back and forth, the cool night, and a group of friends.  A wonderful way to kick off the fall season.  (I also had my first cup of hot chocolate for the year at work that afternoon.)

Doesn't anything scream state fair louder than a giant pumpkin?

Saturday morning we headed off through thick fog to the State Fair.  We caught up on world events by listening to the weekly NPR news quiz show-- this is about the only way I will listen to news.  It was also a beautiful day to spend wandering around the fair- a little cool in the morning but was quite comfortable to be out in the fresh air (fresh air may not be the correct term to use here since it was probably full of allergens from all the animals or the smell of fried foods wafting about.)  Our first stop was the Pride of Kansas building to hit the classic fair exhibits-- the butter sculpture and the giant vegetables.  Next we watched a group of divers and acrobats do a routine full of twists and flips off diving boards and trampolines.  Then we meandered through the life stock barns checking out the cattle, dairy goats, pigs, chickens, etc.  All the livestock looked pretty good since it all had been gussied up for competition.  We watched exhibitors trim with razors, wash and blow dry, and even saw some cattle get a pedicure with a grinder.  I had never really thought about comparing livestock judging to a beauty pageant before but basically in both the participants get all beautified and parade around before judges and are scored on physical characteristics.

Watusi cattle

After we had spent an appropriate amount to time wondering around the barns we headed onto the fine arts building to admire art and photography exhibits.  I almost enjoy the fine arts at the fair more than most art museums because most of it is not "too out there" like some modern or abstract art.  I can look at a piece and know instantly what it is and appreciate the beauty and the skill instead of staring at it and trying to figure out what I am looking at and if it is really art. 

Our next stop was lunch.  Arthur was in charge of food selection and being slightly exotic in his food tastes we bypassed all the food fried on the sticks.  He picked roasted chicken gyros.  We munched on refined food while watching part of the 4-H dog show-- one of the key stops at the fair.  Being a former 4-Her we also had to view the 4-H exhibits.  I listened to a demonstration on photography (please don't judge the pictures on this blog according to rule of thirds and leading lines--most are taken on my iPod and not even a real camera). Arthur looked at woodworking, electrical projects, and geology collections.  We continued on to the domestic arts building to ohh and ahh over the jams, jellies, needle point, and quilting.  We were slightly shocked by the downfall of our Midwestern morality as displayed next to the jams and jellies were the decorated brassiere entries-- what is our world coming to?

We finished off the day returning to the dog show.  We enjoyed this greatly but now Arthur wants a puppy again (I guess he always wants a puppy so that's not new.)  There were several border collies that performed well.  Growing up, Arthur's dog Jasper was a border collie so they have a special place in his heart.  My family's dog Clementine competed in the 4-H dog show for a few years at the county level and was a champion in agility.

Arthur and Jasper- a boy's best friend

Arnold and Clementine competing in agility

It was fun to see how much fun dogs have running the agility course.  They may miss a few points but the dogs don't care since they get to run, jump, and play.

My husband likes to run, jump, and play too but it looks like he needs a nap after so much fun at the fair

The dog show was just more fun than he could handle.  At least his snores were too distracting with all the barking going on.

As you can tell it was a long day so we headed home byway of one of our favorite places to eat near the fairgrounds-- Bogey's.  We had burgers, curly fries, and shakes-- isn't life wonderful.  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

Favorite Things

Some favorite things:

1. A long afternoon bike ride.  Last Saturday Arthur and I did a tour of local country roads by putting in about 30 miles on our bikes.  It was a beautiful day and a great ride.  We are preparing for a 65 miles group ride in a few weeks.  Frankly it hurts my backside to even thinking about it.

2. K-State football season- It has begun and we really enjoyed a watch party with our Bible study.  The social aspect was good but we also appreciated someone sharing their tv so we could watch the game instead of just listening.

3. Our Bible Study group- we spent Saturday afternoon watching football together and then played sand volleyball on Sunday night.  It is nice to have a group of couples our age to hang out with- and someone else plans the fun and we just show up since we struggle with being spontaneous sometimes.

4. Running in the cemetery- Since it is cooler I have been able to run to run earlier in the evenings which means the gates to the cemetery are still open.  For some reason it's one of my favorite places to run-- quiet and not many crowds.

5. Cookies and milk- Arthur and I have been sharing cookies and milk before going to bed the past few nights.  Does life get any better?

6. Opening the windows- I love sleeping with the windows open or sitting on the couch reading with a cool breeze.  Finally the weather has been a little cooler to allow for this.  It could also be the reason our allergies have gone haywire.

7. Evening walks- When we don't run or bike we usually go on a walk in the evening.  Recently Arthur picked the route which literally took us to the wrong side of the railroad tracks.  We tried to cross back over the tracks but a train was parked crossing almost all the intersection in town for 20 minutes.  We walked as far as we could in one direction searching for a route but the road ran out and there is a creek on that side of town with the only bridges being on the opposite side of the tracks.  So we walked back the other direction and finally the train started rolling. The walking back and forth added quite a bit of distance to our walk and we were getting tired.  However we recalled some of the long walks we took while we were dating (these walks were probably more in the realm of forced marches in terms of length).  We still enjoy walking together but since we get to go every night we don't have to walk so many miles to catch up on all the things we want to talk about.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

Summer Wrapup

Somehow summer has snuck by us.  All of a sudden it is September is here.  While our lives aren't greatly affected by school starting again, except the fact that we have to slow down to drive through the school parking lots to get home, it seems like all kinds of activities are gearing up to start again. 

 First of all there is football.  It will take a few hours each week to enjoy watching or listening to the Wildcats play ball.  It also means that we will have to watch Peyton Manning highlight videos each week and Sunday afternoons aren't a good time to discuss things with Arthur if his full attention is needed. 

Church activities are also rolling again.  We had the kick off to our Wednesday night activities this week.  There was a cookout and a few of the church members shared about different grilling methods and samples were included.  For dessert each family made bar cookies.  Arthur compared it to the stations of the Cross or taking communion.  We picked up the cake mix in one corner, joined another line to receive some cooking oil from the worship leader, picked up two eggs from the pastor and his wife, and stirred it all together to take home and bake as a family. 

We recently changed our Internet provider and are now able to stream video with greater ease.  This has resulted in two of our favorite activities of this week.  We are watching What's in the Bible which is a kids show that goes through the Bible book by book.  My first experience with this program was while I was teaching  first and second grade Sunday School about 1 and 2 Chronicles and Kings.  My knowledge on the different kings of Israel following David is pretty shaky but these videos did a great job explaining it.  We have watched the first few episodes and are only getting into Exodus.  After a singing pirate in charge of presenting church history talked about how the different books of the Bible were selected to be canonized and why others were left out, Arthur turned towards me and commented how it took him several hours of research to understand a concept that a pirate explained in a 2 minute segment.  We are comparing this program to Systematic Theology for kids and are thoroughly enjoying it ourselves.

This leads into our other new favorite pastime.  Phil Vischer, the voice of Bob the Tomato from Veggie Tales, writes and performs most of the characters for What's in the Bible.  Arthur looked up his website and found that he has a weekly podcast about current events, both secular and in the Christian community.  We enjoy listening to new perspective on events and idea as well as here a group dialogue about some of the issues of the day.  Arthur even stayed up a little too late one night listening and was pretty tired the next day.  It's hard to get him to bed if there is thought provoking discussion. 

Another new project for Arthur has been tracking what he eats and his exercise to work towards his goal of becoming lean and mean over the next few months.  He has done a great job logging his food and evaluating his nutritional intake.  We then spend about an hour each night walking or biking.  I think we have both enjoyed spending that time together as well as working towards a common goal.  Arthur is also beginning to take some nutritional advice from his wife who has a major in nutrition instead of from the other engineers he works with.  This has also lead to some new recipes as well as an occasional trip to Sonic for shakes if there is wiggle room for that day. 

One of the common themes in all we have done in the recent weeks has been either doing something new or learning new things.  It is hard to explain how excited we get about the opportunity to learn something new together.  There just doesn't seem to be enough time to do and learn everything we want such as photography, cooking, martial arts, Greek and Hebrew, camping, traveling to Europe, etc.  I guess it is a good thing that we both sign up "till death do us part" so we will hopefully have plenty of time to do all these things as a couple.  I'm sure it won't be boring.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

The Wonders of Kansas

We spent Labor Day weekend in northwest Kansas with Arthur's family.  Since we were in the area (at least the NW part of the state) we decided to make a side trip to Gove County, Kansas to visit Castle Rock and the Castle Rock Badlands.  I had read about these rock formations in Backpacker Magazine.  There tends to be only a select few hiking trips highlighted for the state of Kansas. Of course we also have a hard time passing up any adventure.


Our first adventure was finding the rock formations.  Thanks to my navigational skills and Arthur's driving we were able to guide our sedan through the back country roads and ruts to the final destination.  First we stopped at the base of Castle Rock.  This formation is 3 pillars that are about 60 feet tall.

A few years ago there was a 4th pillar that was about 80 feet in height.  It was knocked over in a wind storm.  As we parked the car near the bottom we checked the wind currents and decided the car was safe.  It seems strange for rocks to just fall over.  However once we started climbing on the rocks that just crumbled under our feet we could see how a strong storm could cause damage.  The rocks are essentially made of chalk.  The area was once an ocean floor so it was fun to look for the fossilized shells in the layers of the rock.
There wasn't a clear trail so we got to just climb up and down the rocks.  Due to the tendency for the rock to crumble we were pretty careful climbing on the formations.  The area also appeared like a great habitat for snakes, particularly of the rattling kind.  We both have a healthy respect of snakes and were probably a little on edge since I had change in my pocket that rattled as I was climbing.  We didn't see any snakes, however later in the week while walking on the streets on our hometown we let our guard down and that's when we saw a snake.

Fossilized shells in the layer of rock

(Switching to Arthur) My mother-in-law a few months ago handed me a book about a girl growing up with her eccentric father.  While she meant for me to be amused by the man's antics, I instead was drawn to his passion and explanations of geology.  Ever since, I have longed to be able to look at the world with a geologist's eye, to observe my surroundings and have the world tell me a story just like the book I read.  At Castle Rock, the formations make for fascinating speculation for a wannabe geologists.

 In the picture above, you can see the individual layers piling up.  I'm a little unclear about exactly how to interpret this; layers tend to mean sediment deposits, chalk, or calcium carbonate which these layers are comprised mostly of, usually indicate marine life like shelled animals (molluscs mostly?) or coral.  I would guess the truth is somewhere between there. 

 One thing that does surprise me is how unevenly these deposits are distributed.  You would expect water currents to cause a much more even distribution that what we saw.  Coral, I know builds up with time, perhaps avoiding particular water currents because of temperature differentials?

I have to think that loose sediment at one time probably filled in the spaces between these columns and then water washed away the loose stuff.  The strange thing is, almost all of these formations are on one side of a hill.  Its like half of the hill is cut away and this pillars moved in; the other half of the hill obscures the other side.  I'd speculate that Castle Rock represents a point where the crust broke and part of it raised up the 30 or so feet the hill is from the ground where the coral had formed their colonies.  That drop off might have provide a place for sediment to settle and build up with time, only to be washed away when the sea receded.

Anyway, that is the narrative I dreamed up walking around.  I'm looking forward to talking to my uncle, who has a degree in geology, to find out how wrong I am.

 These rock formations are one of the 8 wonders of Kansas.  The rest of the list includes the Big Well, Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Refuges, the Eisenhower Presidential Museum, the Cosmosphere, the underground salt mines, Cathedral of the Plains, and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in the Flinthills.  We have been to several of these "wonders" but still have a few left for future adventures.  Omnia Vincit Amor.