Prairie School

my Love brought me this Coke 

Things are heating up for the Midwest in August.  The corn crops look pretty sad due to the over-abundance of rain in June and July and the heat waves that have been coming through.  But I've read that the experts say the crops will be fine.  The milo and soybeans are looking great!

stopped to watch this blue heron on my walk this morning

he was skeptical of me and finally took off

8-1-15:  Enjoyed an early morning walk at Derby High Park this morning with David. We like different routes, so tho we go out there together we usually split up for a couple of hours.

Prairie Sunflowers

Old Mill Tasty Shop

We've been told by friends in the rv park that the Old Mill in Oldtown is a must.  So we checked it out this afternoon after the lunch rush.

enjoyed it, but I wouldn't call it a must

Mommy Jenn reading a bday card to 1 year old Hunter

Grandma Karen enjoying watching him open his gifts

Enjoyed an afternoon near Winfield at Hunter Fromm's 1st birthday party!  Great to see our sister-in-law and 3 of her daughters and several of her grandkids!  Love this branch of the family tree!

8-3-15:  Finally got to get together with Greg and Linda Sue after their trip! None of us had tried this bbq place in Oldtown, to today we hit Bite Me BBQ.  Yep, it's a thumbs up!  Ptobably not as good as When Pigs Fly in West Wichita.  But definitely yummy!

Don't know who these folks are or why there was a pic of them on my camera

As we were leaving, Bill and Edna were arriving -- our Branson workamping friends!

got a pic of the Hardy Orange at MOLO from Ranger Jacob 

Enjoyed our lunch getting caught up with Greg and Linda Sue!

Saw this huge hawk at 37th and Rock up north today

8-4-15: David and I hit Fizz Burger today and then headed over to the GPNC for my interview. (gonna start volunteering there once a week) On the way, we caught some pretty cool nature!

he flew over an office complex where we turned around for pix

then we saw a 2nd one perched atop this cedar tree

as we pulled up closer, we saw there were 2 of them in that tree

It seemed to be a family of 3  Red Tails.  With our windows down we could hear their unique screeches.  Kinda cool that they were smack dab in town.  Nice treat before heading to the nature center.

Throw Down

8-6-15:  Enjoyed a visit with Doug, Sheila, Heather, Mac, Greg, and Linda out at Doug's cabin. The weather cooperated and we had a cool, breezy afternoon there. Doug and Sheila introduced us to "Throw Down".  Taters, corn on the cob, cabbage, carrots, and brat.  He brought it to a boil and then let it cook for about 3 hours. Yum!

this old can he cooked it in said "Sold to Bell" on the side

ready to take it off

After nearly 2 weeks with my Jamberries on, it's time to remove them.  I was expecting it to be tough to do and was prepared to soak my fingers in olive oil.  But they peeled off ever so gently and all in one piece!  That was much easier than the gel nails I've had!

This is one of FLW's Prairie School style homes

8-8-15:  Linda Sue is our cruise director today.  She made an appointment for us to visit the Allan-Lambe house in Wichita. This is a Frank Lloyd Wright home that is now a museum. He designed it in 1915 and it was built in 1917 for Kansas Governor, Henry Justin Allan and his wife Elsie.

Dee Starkey was our docent

the horizontal lines qualify it as Prairie School

and there is Japanese influence throughout the style and the deco

entrance -- if the greeting servant deemed guests "worthy" they could go beyond this point 

dining room -- the woodwork on the interior is Red Gum

many vip's were entertained at this table

the lighting along with the light blue and green ceiling paint gave a look of Nature over the table

radiator units were often hidden within decorative built-in furniture

one of many panels of art glass

Wright loved the look of exposed lightbulbs

the back side of the house overlooking the water garden

the water garden would sometimes hold 150 or so guests

Greg and David reflected in one of several living room doors which led to the water garden

Linda Sue and me

Hollyhock

hard to see the bumble bee inside it, but evidently they like the Hollyhocks

Frank Lloyd Wright was obsessed with Nature -- and he always spelled it with a capital N.  I can concur with that.  To me, Nature is God and deserves to be capitalized! He designed the entire house to be centered around Nature.  The dining room and the living room were each an extension of the water garden (Nature), or visa versa.

living room

reading nook in the living room

Frank designed some unique furniture for his homes

this sculpture reminds me of a smaller version of "Pippa" in El Dorado, KS

lots of natural light in the living room

Linda Sue, Pippa, and me

if you can zoom, you'll see paper in the light fixtures that is Nature art

One whole side of the living room had doors that opened up into the water garden. Many times a band would be set up outside or a piano player inside for the parties.

upstairs library

The library contains some of Gov Allan's valuable books including many first editions.

master bedroom was simple -- because it was simply for sleeping

built in wardrobe in the master

Ms. Elsie's boudoir overlooked Nature on the other side of the house

guilded mortar

umbrella swift for winding yard

daughter Henrietta was knitting as she sat for this portrait

the water garden from the long upstairs hallway

some of Henrietta's gowns are on display in her dressing room

One of the docent's goals is to dig up more info on Henrietta's lifestyle during the Roaring Twenties.

Plenty of opportunities to see the Nature from this upstairs hallway

I never knew about central vacuums until we got our camper -- FLW knew about them in the early 1900's!

pristine art glass that has never been subjected to the elements

Greg and Linda Sue heading back down from upstairs rooms

one of the sinks in the restored kitchen

period stove

they say the Allan's servants were treated well, but this is a mighty small space they were allowed to have their meals

another exposed lightbulb

topping off the day with Mexican food at Margarita's

Great planning, Linda Sue!  We learned a lot of new stuff and loved the company!

Hoping for a cool down very soon!  July and August in Kansas this year has been HOT!  Until then, ya'll stay cool!!

Henry, Elsie, and Prairie Dog