another (smaller) snow day

It's nearly February, but I'm happy to say there's been some snow this winter- not enough to go cross country skiing today, but a snow hike was just the thing. I was the only one out besides a few women running, and a man with his puppy and loaf of bread, feeding the geese.

(Speaking of feeding the wildlife, I haven't seen my squirrel around, or many other squirrels for that matter, lately. One of their nests has deteriorated, so it seems they have perhaps moved on. I also hadn't been setting bird seed out either.)
There was plenty of snow blowing around while I was out this morning, but it felt wonderful to be outside.

 

It's strange to think this park is right in the middle of Kansas City, but it's big enough that you can't really tell. I saw several garden areas as well, so I bet it's beautiful in the spring. 

With a day off,  today was also a good day for baking, so I made an apple fig galette!

Last week I worked more than 16 hours in one day, at the end of which I was so tired that I didn't even feel tired anymore. I stayed late for the museum's biggest fundraiser of the year, for young professionals. I greeted the VIP guests and made sure the open bar didn't produce any debacles. As another officer put it, "at least everyone kept their digits", referring to an incident a few years ago where partiers rushed the coat check at the end of the night and one fellow got his finger literally smashed off in the door frame. Luckily, it was reattached and all was *mostly* well. They put narrower spouts on the taps this year and everyone commented on how generally mellow the evening was!

The exhibit I was staying on for at the art museum has finally closed, after they extended it for another week, but we are all glad we will no longer be listening to the same video being played on repeat. I have agreed to stay at the museum, until I find a full time job elsewhere. Tomorrow starts a new work week, and hopefully a new exhibit for Chinese New Year.

sisters

 Sisters, Eva Watson-Schutze, 1900

Maybe it's the hair, or the gowns, or the lack of color, but when I saw this photo in the museum, a similar photo my mom had taken when we were younger came immediately to mind. I never liked the photo because we took it after we had all bathed one evening, and I guess we decided to blow dry our hair, but mine was too "pouffy"....

 Sisters, plus one adorable little brother.

visitors

Those of you who watch more TV than I do (think SNL or House) might recognize these celebrities. I sure didn't as they strolled through the museum recently. A fellow officer had to describe their outfits to me so I would know what to look for when they came back through during my shift. I spotted them (kissing, no less) as they were about to leave. They looked like locals, and technically he is since he's originally from the area, so I would have never known otherwise if someone had not pointed them out. Celebrities or not, they're still humans like the rest of us! Still, I wish I had been around the museum last year when Martha Stewart came through.

Two days after that occurrence, I got a message on my iPod: "I came to the USA". It was from one of my Tibetan friends. I was completely surprised and thought he was joking at first since he had not mentioned anything previously, but he said it happened fast. He came through Kansas City for a few days and went on to study this semester in Arizona, with one of his former teachers. I was really glad to hear at least one of them was able to return and continue studying because I know how important it is to them, especially to be able to go back and teach others. Hopefully the two of us can meet before he returns home in a few months.

field trip: TWA Museum

Yesterday I had a day off, so I took some time to explore a new (to me) museum: the TWA Museum at the Downtown Kansas City Airport. It's a tiny museum, but for a $5 admission, I think it's worth it. It's right next to the Airline History Museum, which has a separate admission, so I decided to save that for another day. Maybe the two should consider getting together...

 They used wicker chairs in the first planes in the 1930s

 Much of the museum was a timeline of flight attendant uniforms, and the 1968 outfit was definitely my favorite!

 This fan had English-Japanese translations on it

runway sunset

finished table

It's done!

holiday things

Have you ever searched store after store for something, not seeing anything you like, and finally decide you'll just make it yourself? I seem to do that a lot. I found a great site for beginner builders with hundreds of plans for furniture. My plan was to build a coffee table, although my dad beat me to it, and now all that's left is to finish it. I stained it, and now there's only a few coats of polyurethane until I can bring it inside.

 (No photos yet; I only took this one so I would know what to buy.) 

  Thanksgiving was last week. I was happy to have the day off and head home for a nice meal with my parents. I didn't get a photo of us, but here are the kitties having their special Thanksgiving meals.

butter!!!

sunny morning milk

that cheered her up out in the cold

 I decided to grow some plants, since everything else has slowed down considerably for the winter. This is less than a week from when I put my leek and bok choy ends to soak in water and sunlight. They are rather pretty decorations!

 I have my very own Christmas tree this year. I'm so excited! I also couldn't find a tree topper I liked, and they all seemed overpriced anyway, so I again decided to make my own. It's blue. I was not in the mood to head back to Hobby Lobby for glittery gold paper, and blue was what I had, so there it is!

an uprooted tree

Last night the gallery wasn't so busy except for a few tours that came through. I listened in on them because it's always interesting to learn something new about the art you're staring at day after day. There's one piece that is a vignette of several rows of photos taken from the same vantage point, but taken in different seasons and at different times of day. The subject is an outbuilding with a tree in front of it at the family farm. That tree is in every photo except the last one because apparently the photographer's husband decided the tree was looking sickly, and took a chainsaw to it. It's gone completely, but in its place there is suddenly an evergreen. No one is for sure, but two visitors and I determined that it must be a Christmas tree!