The Day

I spent the day working on the garden tour program. It's printing now. I'll give it another good look in the morning before going to print the multiple copies needed. It's my last chance to catch any errors. It seems something always slips by but hopefully it won't be anything major.

Tonight was supposed to be our board meeting but we had so many people out of town that we weren't going to have a quorum so we cancelled. This is probably why so many boards don't meet during the summer.

I've been looking ahead on my calendar and realizing that I'm getting very booked up for the rest of the summer. I have something practically every weekend until September. I need some time to focus on my life.

That is number one on my agenda come Monday - focusing on my life. I've been so busy with garden tour stuff 24/7 the last few weeks that my life has really gotten out of control.

One thing accomplished today was the dishwasher drain repaired. The other day I dumped a pile of clothes out of my suitcase into the kitchen floor so I'd have to deal with them the next day. The next morning when I started to put them in the washer I realized they were wet. Yikes!

A little investigation discovered the drain line going from the dishwasher into the garbage disposal had torn apart from the pull of gravity. I called Lowes since they did the install and I have to say they were *very* responsive, after I called once and got the run around. I called back to the salesman who sold it to me and I actually got good service.

Anyway, the plumber came out today and fixed it. It worked out great since I was here working on the garden tour booklet. He was a really pleasant guy - I liked him - and made note of his cell phone number for future reference. Always good to have a plan that you hope you never need to use - like a plumber's cell phone number.

This evening Greg and I went to see Cars. He had already seen it but I wanted to see it and I needed a break from the booklet - my eyeballs were starting to not comprehend it anymore. It's a great flick.

I'm not really a movie person but there are some words and phrases that get me to head to a theatre. "Pixar" is one of those words. I'm still in love with Buzz Lightyear and Woody, not to mention the Alien Guys. For years I've been saying, "oooooooh" and "The Claw is my Master" just like my stuffed alien guy does. Yes, that's right, I have the toys. I play with the toys. And I'm not embarrassed for anyone to know it.

We met a number of the people credited in the movie on our trip last summer. I guess they're all getting their 15 minutes of fame. I'm thinking a Route 66 trip is probably going to be a more crowded experience with the movie out than it was before.

Last summer when we were at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, OK I loved the cartoon John Lasseter had drawn in the bathroom of Buzz and Woody. The bathroom walls are covered with graffiti - it's encouraged - but that one really stood out. It's dated 6-6-2001, when they were doing research along the road.




The movie is just great, as you always expect from Pixar. I am continually amazed when a corporation can maintain creativity. It seems impossible to have a corporate culture that is also creative, but Pixar has managed it. And as if the movie is not sufficient, don't miss the credits where you'll see their creativity even more.

Welcome to Hutchinson Kansas

I took a break this afternoon from my garden tour prep to go get some dinner with Greg. As we were driving down 61, he asked if I had noticed this. I hadn't been down this road in a while and had not.




This is right along the main highway coming into Hutchinson. We'll be hosting the US Men's Senior Open at the Prairie Dunes Golf Course July 3-9. They start arriving on Monday the 26th. Some will be coming into town this direction I'm assuming.

There are actually two trailers painted, but this is the one with the welcome message. Plus, it's situated right in front of the grain elevator. Isn't that a Kansas site?

Of course, I guess if you're really worried about your town's image, you don't situate a trailer park right along the main highway coming into town. Frankly, if you're a Kansas town, you really shouldn't have anything zoned for a trailer park. It's not a good idea in Kansas, aka Tornado Alley.

My favorite Beavis and Butthead exchange ever was when they're watching TV and it's announced a tornado is about to hit. They, of course, want to go see it. The dialogue is brilliant in its simplicity.
"Whoa... We're there Dude."
"Where," asks the always clueless Beavis.
"The Trailer Park, Dumbass."
(Yes, I did have to go look it up to get the exact wording. Fortunately, the internet provides everything from science research to this.)

Until recently, on every main road coming into town from all directions there was a billboard for a Bail Bonds place. It was sort of like saying, "hey, come to Hutchinson and commit your crimes here." But, I notice those have disappeared.

I wonder how long this will last. And I wonder if it was a response to being told to put some paint on the building or something. I don't know the story - just that it made me smile.