The Serendipitous Rendezvous

Our dinner didn't start with dessert, but I like the memory of this berry creation so much that I'm starting with it here.  Our waitress told us that the berries hadn't been grown on school grounds as some of their produce is, but the students did pick them at a farm about 15 miles away.  The milk for the whipped cream came from the school's dairy, and the flour for the cookie would have been ground at their mill.  She told us that Dobyns Dining tries to grow much of their food and get as much as possible at nearby farms.

( Let the drooling commence: )

Okay, name that tune!  It's from the '60s, is pure Motown sound, and was sung by a girl band. 


The answer:  "Stop! In the Name of Love."  You knew that, didn't you?
( You Keep Me Hanging On... )

This is a posed photo!  We met this gentleman sitting alone with a chess board in Bryant Park, and he eagerly asked if any of us were up for a game.  It's been years since I've played; I think Bojojr used to play, but I'm sure it's been a long time for him, too.  We politely declined, but we struck up a conversation, and he told us stories about famous players and fabulous moves.  He told us about a player so legendarily good that he could win games by playing with only pawns.  As I started to snap a photo, he wanted to set the board up to make it look as though Bojojr was making a clever move.  I was happy to take the posed shot, but I enjoyed shooting some candids, too. 

( I love New Yorkers; they get a bad rap. )

The title of the post is the official name of Saint John the Divine, although it is teasingly referred to as Saint John the Unfinished.  Designed in 1888 and begun in 1892, the structure was to be built in the customary cathedral shape--a cross--in the Byzantine-Romanesque style.  Immediately, construction ran into difficulty trying to reach bedrock for a firm foundation.  It was finally hit 72 feet below surface.  Rather than change location, J.P.Morgan, a trustee of SJtD, donated a half million dollars to continue construction.  In 1899, the first services were held in the crypt--the only part of the cathedral completed at that point--after an expenditure of $2 million dollars, a staggering amount of money in those days (I plugged in the numbers in an inflation converter, and the same would cost $51 BILLION today, if that can be right.)

( Read more... )

Generally speaking, rest stops on the side of the highway are generally not places one looks forward to visiting until the Big Gulp or Starbucks begins pressuring the bladder into desperation.  However, there is a rest area/travel information center just outside of Wellington, Kansas, that is a pleasure to visit.  A simple concrete colonnade begins outside the building and completes its circle inside.  Inscribed at the top of the colonnade, inside and out, is Kansas' state motto in Latin and English:  Ad Astra per Aspera; To the Stars through Difficulties.  I'm not familiar with all of the other state mottoes, but I'm very fond of ours.

( Can you believe I made a post out of a potty stop? )

Bumberjean shared a favorite bookstore, Half Price Books.  I miss the used books stores I used to frequent at home.  They've all closed over the years.  A new one opened after my favorite closed, but the people running it were unbelievably rude the first time the brood and I visited,  and we haven't returned.

I was delighted to pick up Phantastes by George MacDonald and The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.  Both were old paperbacks but the price was right:  $2.62 including tax!  Score!

( Pleasure for some, torture for others. )