The Perfect Flight!

Through our travels we have had bad flights, such as the one when we left Greece this year and had quite a problem with the man who sat behind me. I think I am scarred forever from that encounter, but I lived through it.

Most of our flights have been just fine . . . some bumpy, some smooth, but all safe without hassle!

But Wednesday's flight from Madrid to Atlanta has to be considered a perfect flight. It was three hours late, so the Delta employees rerouted a lot of the people on the plane. Since we had plenty of time between flights, they left us on the original one, and we stayed in the airport with Di, sorting through pictures.

We received a free lunch, and when we got on the huge 767, there were only 96 people. There were so many seats, we could stretch out, sleep across seats, get up and move around. The flight attendants were delighted, everyone was happy. It could not have been nicer. Then when we arrived in Atlanta, what took us over 1 1/2 hours in December took 20 minutes. We arrived at our gate to Wichita with an hour to spare . . . and we got home safely. Sometimes, a delay in a flight works to one's advantage, and I would like to thank Delta Airlines for the perfect flight!

Shoes Make the Trip!

Shoes make a trip. If a person has the wrong shoes, the trip can be ruined . . . that is the voice of experience talking. So for our trip to Spain, I went to my favorite shoe store (and that is saying something because I hate shoe shopping) to find some comfortable shoes. I knew Ecco shoes were golden because I had two pairs in Germany, and they were perfect.

I found a very stylish pair of Ecco Mary Jane's that fit really well. Then I bought a nice soft sandal that I thought would do the trick. After everything was packed, I decided that maybe I should throw in my tennis shoes . . . just in case.

Don had packed his hikers and his slip-ons, but for the plane trip, he wore his light moccasin-style shoes. Unfortunately, his baggage didn't quite arrive on time, so he had to wear those moccasin-style shoes for several days.

The first day in Madrid, Don and I walked with Di to her school, walked through the Prado, and then walked home. Uh Oh. Although the blisters hadn't formed yet, I could tell I was in trouble. I didn't have any socks for my cute Mary Jane's, and on a hot day, with as much walking as we were going to do, I knew they wouldn't do. So, as much as I didn't want to, I wore my tennis shoes to Cordoba.

Don could tell he was going to be in trouble, too. Just with walking in Madrid, his feet hurt, since his shoes had no support. But surely, his luggage would come before we left for Cordoba the next day . . . surely.

But no. It wasn't to be. So he had to wear his moccasins again. We walked at least ten miles in Cordoba. The bumpy cobblestones would have created a very bad situation if I had been wearing the sandals or the Mary Jane's. But my feet didn't even hurt in my tennies. Don, on the other hand, suffered greatly whenever he had to walk on the cobblestones - which was almost all of the time. So through Sevilla, Granada, Toledo, and Segovia, my white "Look at me, I am a tourist" shoes kept my feet from aching; but Don got no such relief until we returned from Granada and retrieved his suitcase.

I did wear my Mary Jane's on the one day in Madrid where we only walked four or five miles. But they were all on paved streets, smooth and easy, and it was a cool day. I never even wore my sandals. And once he got them, we couldn't pry Don's hikers from his feet.

So from now on, no matter how ugly they are, I am taking tennis shoes or hikers with me. It just isn't worth it to worry about having sore feet, especially as much as we walk on our trips!

We Are Worn Out!

Well, we successfully did it! We wore Diana out.

You thought it would be the other way? Well, you had better think again. In seven days we have conquered six cities, seen more castles and cathedrals than you can imagine, walked more cobblestone streets than we thought existed, and we are still ready for more. Unfortunately, I think Diana is ready for us to leave. She said she is exhausted! Well, maybe she is just exhausted and would put up with us some more if she had to.

The next few weeks will be full of posts from Spain, including pictures of some amazing meals that we had. Stay tuned!

One of my Favorite Flowers!

It seems that some of the most beautiful flowers have such a limited bloom time that I am always left wanting for more. The magnolia tree, for example. Its blooms only last a day or two (if that, in the Kansas wind), and then they are gone.

So it is with iris. A week or two is all we get, and with the Kansas winds being what they are, sometimes we don't even get that many. The iris was my mom's favorite flower, and in Albuquerque she grew many different colors or it. Her favorite was the very large dark purple one, but she had others that she enjoyed. So I grew up watching the iris, trying to figure out which ones would bloom and where.

One of the joys of the iris is that it takes so little care. It will bloom almost anywhere, and as long as it has space to grow, it will keep blooming. Extreme Kansas temperatures don't seem to bother it, and it will even bloom in semi-shady areas, which is what most of our yard is now.

When Mom passed away, Katie and Bart made sure to take a few rhizomes of some of Mom's faves from her garden. Mom had given me some peach, pink, big purple, and purple/white ones, so between the three of us, we probably have a fair representation of the colors of iris in Mom's yard.

What a beautiful flower. I just wish it had a longer life.

Finally! Found Them All!

When we went to Germany, we came home to find that Aubrey had hidden 54 playing cards of the red and blue bird variety all over our house. Over the next few weeks, I cleaned and searched to rid my house of them, and within a month or so I had found every card but one. One lousy card.

Aubrey tried to give me a hint or two - "I hid one in a pair of pants," "Have you looked in the books Pride and Prejudice and Hamlet?" I looked everywhere and decided that the last one must be in the bookcase somewhere, and since I didn't have time to clean the whole thing out, I decided to leave it for this summer.

This evening I pulled out some of my summer clothing. When I turned a pair of capri pants upside down, guess what fell out of one of the pockets? Voila! The last card. I didn't even know that pair of pants had a pocket, so no wonder I didn't find it earlier. Anyway, finally I can say my house has been exorcised of the evil bird.

The Goldfinch

Today I received an extraordinary birthday present. I looked out the sliding glass door and there, perched on my very old feeder with brand-new seed was a gorgeous yellow goldfinch and his little lady. Goldfinches are very timid, sweet birds, and we rarely see them in our yard. I was delighted with the unexpected treat.

You know, Kansas has some colorful birds. With the ordinary robin and yellow meadowlark, add the red cardinal, the bluejay, and the gorgeous goldfinch, and the entire color wheel appears. And to think . . . we have had them all in our backyard, even today!

KSU Spring Game

I am suffering the after effects of the KSU spring football game:

1. An insanely red sunburn on my face and neck, gotten from sitting in the bleachers on a spectacular day. It was sunny, but cool, so it was hard to remember that a person could get sunburned. It was worth it, however, as the day was gorgeous.

2. Anticipation. Football anticipation. This particular spring game was the best we have ever gone to. The team seemed to be in sync with each other, passes were made, touchdowns were scored, and the quarterback controversy seemed to be settled.

3. Blueberry pie a la mode from Nelson's Landing. Made by Grandma Nelson, it was really good. Warmed with ice cream. Did I say it was really good? And I had it after sharing a steak sandwich with grilled onions and mushrooms. It was a great meal!

4. Bubba's Nekked bar-b-que. Made by a former chef from Independent, he has his own restaurant. I decided to take it to our tailgate party. Yum. Everyone loved it.

For those of you who couldn't go, you missed a great time!