Thursday, May 14, 2009
St. Louis is always fun.
My sister, Lise, has lived in St. Louis forever. She has unlimited energy, works hard and plays hard. Visiting her is not really relaxing but stimulating. Arrived Friday evening which meant drinks then a new Mexican place then home for the only activity in which I will compete with her at - SCRABBLE. I got killed 351-335. Humbling. Saturday brought yard sales, massages, picking up Maryann (her BF), the Missouri Botanical Garden, drinks & a cheese plate at Sasha's, home for grilled salmon, gazpacho, asparagus, cheesecake, drinks etc. THEN Lise rigged up a drive-in movie screen in her backyard, pulled out a movie projector thingy and we watched Shrek and Shrek 3, all the time munching on appetizers and guzzling more drinks. Heavenly, but all the sudden it was 12:48 a.m. and I had a 6 hour drive home the next morning. Relaxing but stimulating...
Friday, May 8, 2009
Farewell to KC
I'm over in Kansas City helping mom pack up. (OK, it was a few days ago, I'm slow...) Hard to believe I won't be doing the regular treks to my place of birth. I'm trying to see all my old favs - MY fountain in Mission Hills, Stuff (the coolest store in Brookside), The New Dime Store (the other coolest store in Brookside), Ward Parkway with it's stately homes, sculpture and more fountains, the Plaza, etc. Did you know that the KC area has more fountains per capita than any other city but Rome??
Explored some new places too - Nerman Museum on the Johnson County Community College campus and the adjoining Cafe Tempo - enjoyed a killer Mediterranean panini while mom ingested flatbread with shrimp (hard to describe but tasted divine). Highly recommend I Love A Mystery. Saw their sign and pulled a u-turn across 4 lanes of traffic - I wish I had $$$$ as I would have bought a copy of every book just to keep independent booksellers like this in business. Incredible collection of mystery board games, doors leading to Sam Spade, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes' abodes and other wonderful mysterious things.
Lunch at Chacko's with Leslie was a highlight - delectable cookies!
One of the best things about KC is the abundance of estate, garage and rummage sales. I picked up some Lee jeans in my size, a beautiful Hallmark book (wait - aren't all Hallmark books beautiful?? Did I mention I modeled for them in my youth?) and some magazines.
My last day in KC was spent at Crown Center, home of Hallmark. Mom is a long time volunteer at Kaleidoscope, their totally cool, creative area for kids 5-12. Since she has logged in so many hours she's eligible to shop at the Double D store (75% off on old Hallmark stuff). We grabbed leftover Easter candy, heart shaped napkins, picnic supplies and another Hallmark book! Enjoyed lunch at the Hallmark employee cafeteria - their chandeliers are shaped like the Hallmark crown - I love them AND the food's good too.
Decided to forsake I-70 for US 50 over to St. Louis. The road surface ranged from 4 lane divided highway to 2 lane twisty, turny, a bit scary. Only took a half hour longer (4 1/2 hours) and the best vista was the state capitol in Jefferson City coming into view. How come it looks so big the first time you glimpse it then starts to look smaller as you approach it? Weird.
Explored some new places too - Nerman Museum on the Johnson County Community College campus and the adjoining Cafe Tempo - enjoyed a killer Mediterranean panini while mom ingested flatbread with shrimp (hard to describe but tasted divine). Highly recommend I Love A Mystery. Saw their sign and pulled a u-turn across 4 lanes of traffic - I wish I had $$$$ as I would have bought a copy of every book just to keep independent booksellers like this in business. Incredible collection of mystery board games, doors leading to Sam Spade, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes' abodes and other wonderful mysterious things.
Lunch at Chacko's with Leslie was a highlight - delectable cookies!
One of the best things about KC is the abundance of estate, garage and rummage sales. I picked up some Lee jeans in my size, a beautiful Hallmark book (wait - aren't all Hallmark books beautiful?? Did I mention I modeled for them in my youth?) and some magazines.
My last day in KC was spent at Crown Center, home of Hallmark. Mom is a long time volunteer at Kaleidoscope, their totally cool, creative area for kids 5-12. Since she has logged in so many hours she's eligible to shop at the Double D store (75% off on old Hallmark stuff). We grabbed leftover Easter candy, heart shaped napkins, picnic supplies and another Hallmark book! Enjoyed lunch at the Hallmark employee cafeteria - their chandeliers are shaped like the Hallmark crown - I love them AND the food's good too.
Decided to forsake I-70 for US 50 over to St. Louis. The road surface ranged from 4 lane divided highway to 2 lane twisty, turny, a bit scary. Only took a half hour longer (4 1/2 hours) and the best vista was the state capitol in Jefferson City coming into view. How come it looks so big the first time you glimpse it then starts to look smaller as you approach it? Weird.
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