Eventful Weekend
We shipped Dominic off to Grandma Alice's and PapPap Jim's this weekend, giving Sharon and I a long awaited break (though, it is Saturday night now, and it doesn't seem right not having him around! I miss the little bugger!)
Last night, Sharon and I ate at Chipotles Mexican grill. Neither of us had ever eaten there, even though it is somewhat famous here in K.C. I liked it. It reminded me of Pancheros in Iowa City. I had excellent grilled steak tacos, and Sharon had a good burrito. After dinner, and a detour to Borders to get a WSJ, we headed over to the AMC 24 to watch the movie Crash. A nice night out for Sharon and I, who hadn't had such a date for a long time! We got back home to our house post midnight, where the air conditioning is on the fritz. Read some, and worked on the WSJ crossword puzzle.
Slept in this morning (nice!) until about 10:30. Woke up with sore heel and foot. I think my gout was acting up. I had a pretty good week of workouts. I'm not sure why it flares up when it does, but it hurts like hell. Caught up on the checkbook, wrote out some bills, talked to mom on the phone and then took off to find the Kansas City Museum. The KC Museum is one of the museums that I can get into for free with my Union Station membership. Sharon went to Independence to go shopping. Evidently, that is where the good local pregnant lady store is located. I enjoyed my experience at the KC Museum, and I'd like to return. It is hosted in a century-old mansion built by a Gilded Age lumber baron named Robert Long. In fact, I believe Longview College in Lee's Summit is named after this guy. The museum was hosting a traveling Smithsonian exhibit about post-war Vietnam. Very interesting, I thought. I learned some things about Vietnam, such as the fact that it has 80 million people (more than I thought) and that it has 3 million Catholics (also more than I thought). I also learned a little bit about rice farming and the Vietnamese culture. It was nice to get a look at the country without connecting it to the war. It was interesting to read a particular display that described how some Kansas City Vietnamese immigrants were offended by some of the photos in the display--especially one showing the communist flag. I can see how they could be angry, after fleeing from their home country that they see as being "occupied" by a brutal regime. It was interesting to see the different perspectives. Nothing is ever simple.
The KC Museum was located in the northeast part of Kansas City, an area of which I was unfamiliar. In fact, I'm surprised I found the place. I had glanced at Google maps before going to get a general idea of where it was located, but it was still hard to find. It is a nice area, obviously at one time a wealthy section of the old city. There are a few nice parks, and some good views from the mansion itself.
When I got back home, Sharon and I decided to have dinner at Ivy's on Barry Road. Ivy's is one of the restaurants on our Major Saver card (thank goodness, because it is expensive!) I had the $27 KC Strip and Sharon had an $18 chicken dish. Good food, and a great atmosphere. I had eaten there once before with Sharon (B.D. before Dominic), and Sharon had eaten there several times prior with her parents. Usually there is live Jazz, but we were there too early.
After dinner, Sharon went to her scrapbook party, and I went to try to get my hair cut, but the salon was closed. I'll try again tomorrow. I decided to go hit some golf balls at the driving range. I had to borrow a driver from the range. I thought I hit them pretty good for it being the first time all year that I had driven some golf balls. After hitting a small bucket, I went over to the Friendly Bean to listen to a dulcimer player. I ended up staying there for a couple of hours, because Linda introduced me to some of her friends that were, like me, interested in forming a C.S. Lewis bookclub. It looks like this is going to become a reality over the next month or so. I'm looking forward to it.
Finally, after discussing C.S. Lewis and religion for a couple of hours, I took my leave of "The Bean" and headed to the Northglen Theater to watch The Interpreter, starring Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman. Decent movie. I liked Crash better, but I'm a Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman fan, so I enjoyed The Interpreter as well.
On tap for tomorrow: I'm reading at church at 11:00; Dominic has a birthday party at 1:00; I'm going to try to mow the lawn, though even a higher priority for me is to clear out the garden and get some stuff planted before its too late. Hopefully PapPap Jim comes over and fixes our air conditioner.
It's been a good weekend, and I look forward to Domi's return tomorrow. This coming week is going to be Hell Week at work, since we just had a system "upgrade" go live over the weekend, and I'm sure crap is going to be flying from every direction all week. Back to reality.
Last night, Sharon and I ate at Chipotles Mexican grill. Neither of us had ever eaten there, even though it is somewhat famous here in K.C. I liked it. It reminded me of Pancheros in Iowa City. I had excellent grilled steak tacos, and Sharon had a good burrito. After dinner, and a detour to Borders to get a WSJ, we headed over to the AMC 24 to watch the movie Crash. A nice night out for Sharon and I, who hadn't had such a date for a long time! We got back home to our house post midnight, where the air conditioning is on the fritz. Read some, and worked on the WSJ crossword puzzle.
Slept in this morning (nice!) until about 10:30. Woke up with sore heel and foot. I think my gout was acting up. I had a pretty good week of workouts. I'm not sure why it flares up when it does, but it hurts like hell. Caught up on the checkbook, wrote out some bills, talked to mom on the phone and then took off to find the Kansas City Museum. The KC Museum is one of the museums that I can get into for free with my Union Station membership. Sharon went to Independence to go shopping. Evidently, that is where the good local pregnant lady store is located. I enjoyed my experience at the KC Museum, and I'd like to return. It is hosted in a century-old mansion built by a Gilded Age lumber baron named Robert Long. In fact, I believe Longview College in Lee's Summit is named after this guy. The museum was hosting a traveling Smithsonian exhibit about post-war Vietnam. Very interesting, I thought. I learned some things about Vietnam, such as the fact that it has 80 million people (more than I thought) and that it has 3 million Catholics (also more than I thought). I also learned a little bit about rice farming and the Vietnamese culture. It was nice to get a look at the country without connecting it to the war. It was interesting to read a particular display that described how some Kansas City Vietnamese immigrants were offended by some of the photos in the display--especially one showing the communist flag. I can see how they could be angry, after fleeing from their home country that they see as being "occupied" by a brutal regime. It was interesting to see the different perspectives. Nothing is ever simple.
The KC Museum was located in the northeast part of Kansas City, an area of which I was unfamiliar. In fact, I'm surprised I found the place. I had glanced at Google maps before going to get a general idea of where it was located, but it was still hard to find. It is a nice area, obviously at one time a wealthy section of the old city. There are a few nice parks, and some good views from the mansion itself.
When I got back home, Sharon and I decided to have dinner at Ivy's on Barry Road. Ivy's is one of the restaurants on our Major Saver card (thank goodness, because it is expensive!) I had the $27 KC Strip and Sharon had an $18 chicken dish. Good food, and a great atmosphere. I had eaten there once before with Sharon (B.D. before Dominic), and Sharon had eaten there several times prior with her parents. Usually there is live Jazz, but we were there too early.
After dinner, Sharon went to her scrapbook party, and I went to try to get my hair cut, but the salon was closed. I'll try again tomorrow. I decided to go hit some golf balls at the driving range. I had to borrow a driver from the range. I thought I hit them pretty good for it being the first time all year that I had driven some golf balls. After hitting a small bucket, I went over to the Friendly Bean to listen to a dulcimer player. I ended up staying there for a couple of hours, because Linda introduced me to some of her friends that were, like me, interested in forming a C.S. Lewis bookclub. It looks like this is going to become a reality over the next month or so. I'm looking forward to it.
Finally, after discussing C.S. Lewis and religion for a couple of hours, I took my leave of "The Bean" and headed to the Northglen Theater to watch The Interpreter, starring Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman. Decent movie. I liked Crash better, but I'm a Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman fan, so I enjoyed The Interpreter as well.
On tap for tomorrow: I'm reading at church at 11:00; Dominic has a birthday party at 1:00; I'm going to try to mow the lawn, though even a higher priority for me is to clear out the garden and get some stuff planted before its too late. Hopefully PapPap Jim comes over and fixes our air conditioner.
It's been a good weekend, and I look forward to Domi's return tomorrow. This coming week is going to be Hell Week at work, since we just had a system "upgrade" go live over the weekend, and I'm sure crap is going to be flying from every direction all week. Back to reality.
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