Lunch bunch

A perk of working downtown: Old Town's restaurants and nightlife just a short walk away. A few co-workers and I took a stroll during our lunch break to savor the wonderful weather and meet a few more co-workers at Uptown Bistro. (I recommend the Fattouch salad with salmon, by the way.) I really love the restaurant and have celebrated many happy occasions there, including a lunch with a dear friend before she moved out of state, dinners with friends, dates with Brian and a lunch where I was officially offered my current job. I'll add today's meal to my list.


From left: Annie, Suzanne, Bonnie, Lori, Denise, Cory, Karen and Diane.

Bug off

When I arrived home from work this evening, Brian was excited to show me a few pictures he had snapped of dozens of bees on blossoms in our garden. I love the soft light he captured and asked if I could post it here on my blog. "Yep. That's why I took them for you!" What a sweetie.

When I uploaded this pic onto my computer tonight, I also noticed a little green bug in addition to the bees. A praying mantis, perhaps?


Brian and I spent a couple of hours doing yard work, which didn't exactly thrill Lilly, who would've preferred that we play catch. Subtle, isn't she? (Note where she placed her Kong after I threw it and while I was trying to quickly slip on my gardening gloves and get back to mowing.)


Dakota, meanwhile, was content to enjoy the gorgeous evening.

To everything there is a season

I love this time of year, when I'm squeezing every last drop of summer while enjoying tastes of fall. It's an odd combination of favorites while Mother Nature eases into the next season. Flip-flops by day, fuzzy socks by night. Flowers blooming, leaves falling. Cherry limeades, sunroof open and a trip to the park. Or homemade chili, Sammy Adams Octoberfest and football on TV.

While the transition's underway, I'm determined to enjoy it as much as I can. I spent my lunch break today, for instance, at the plaza in Riverside Park, one of my favorite Wichita spots. The fountain danced just for me while I soaked up the warm sunshine and Willa Cather's "My Antonia," this month's book club read. I appropriately relished these words today:

"I sat down in the middle of the garden ... and leaned my back against a warm yellow pumpkin ... I kept as still as I could. Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy."

Must ... not ... eat ... now

Just as I feared, the sheets of rain that will inevitably poor down on Kansas have put the kibosh on our planned weekend camping trip. I'm sure, though, that we'll be able to find other ways to entertain ourselves. A few of the items on the lofty to-do list: hang out with friends, dine out, see a movie, watch football, play with the pups, kick Brian's butt in Scrabble. I'll also be listening for a phone call that tells me it's time to meet my new nephew! Maybe a rainy weekend doesn't sound so bad, after all.

My contribution to a dinner party will be this Nutter Butter Frozen Peanut Butter Pie. I've never had it before, but Denise recommended it, so I'm sure it's "firkin awesome" just like she promised. When I was putting it together, Dakota & Lilly were stalking me in the kitchen. I'm sure it was the smell of the peanut butter, one of their favorite treats. So I dropped about a teaspoon of peanut butter on top of their kibble, and they scarfed down dinner while I whipped up this pie. Now into the freezer -- and out of sight and out of reach from me and the pups -- it goes.

While I'm sharing recipes, here's another one I'd recommend: Chicken and Peaches Platter. It's a quick and scrumptious dinner (I fixed it for Brian on Wednesday after a swim), and now's a perfect time to make it while the peaches are still juicy and delicious.

My take on Ultimate Frisbee

OK, I know that Ultimate Frisbee really is that exciting non-contact team sport played by ambitious college coeds in intramural leagues near and far.

But this is my (much better) version of Ultimate Frisbee:


My high school sweetheart husband.
Our two crazy-sweet dogs.
A red Kong Frisbee that's a little more than worn in.
Our front lawn.
A warm late-summer evening.
He tosses.
The pups scramble.
We both laugh.
And do it again.

A simple, beautiful thing.
Ultimately so.

Quilt guild, revisited

Tonight was the first month since May that Mom attended quilt guild. It was great to have her back, and she looks better than ever.











She laughed, was inspired and helped me complete this charity baby quilt that she started (and did 90 percent of the work on). It's the second we've finished together, and it will soon go to a baby in need via the Rose Hill Quilt Guild.

We saw dozens of quilts from fellow guild members, including these masterpieces:




My favorite shown during the evening was this one, which dates to the 1880s. What an amazing family heirloom:

Beauty in bloom

After work this evening, I paused at a community garden in the Delano district to admire the simple, striking wonder of flowers in bloom:

"The Earth laughs in flowers."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson