anniversary trip to Kansas City & Excelsior Springs

O'Dowd's Irish Pub, K.C., a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

We drove to Missouri on Friday, celebrating our 41st anniversary a bit early (Bill is on-call the actual date). First a stop at the Kansas City Plaza for some cheese and a quick lunch-snack at this Irish Pub. LOVED the ceiling lights made from old ale bottles and a bit of iron!

 

Next stop, Excelsior Springs, at The Elms hotel. We have sketched at this historic hotel many times . . . but had never actually stayed there. So Bill decided we should do so. The 1920 structure was recently remodeled . . . . I do not agree with many of the new owners' choices, being a bit more modern than the old Arts &; Crafts style building should have. But it was comfortable. I LOVE that there are still so many original tile floors throughout the building, like these marble tiles in the bathroom.

This is the 3rd building built on the site; the original (1888) and 2nd hotels were lost to fire. There is a lovely wooded area behind the hotel, with a large gazebo and a path leading down to a river. So many views to sketch! but we opted to relax on the back porch and draw what we could see from there. (Our regular sketch crawl was Saturday. Not many could make it, being graduation weekend, but those of us who did had lots of fun and laughs.)

 I love the rich color of the local limestone the building is made of. A bit less yellow than the limestone found at home in Kansas, west of the Flint Hills. I have been looking for Taylor's of Harrogate Earl Grey loose-leaf tea for a long time, after Liz Steel mentioned that it is her favorite brand of Earl Gray. Hard to find around here, but the cheese shop had some!

waiting for Bill to be shot . . .

waiting for Bill to be shot . . ., a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

. . . a steroid shot in the spine, that is --- similar to what I had in December and January, though his condition is a bit more complicated than mine was.

Once again, we found that the local hospital's MRI department had misread an MRI. In my case, they missed a small tear-shaped facet cyst pressing against a nerve. In Bill's case, an MRI taken nearly 2 years ago supposedly showed nothing, and he was given pain pills --- which he can't take at work or on-call, so he's had to live with the pain. But when a Wichita spinal surgeon looked at the same MRI, he could easily see a very large facet mass practically cutting off Bill's nerves entirely. There is also some arthritis and more involved medical stuff I don't quite understand, but with several there are several treatment options, none involving surgery.

While praying and expecting Bill to have full relief from back & leg pain, I am also thanking the Lord that I went through my own trouble and pain. If I hadn't had this experience, along with a friend's recommendation to seek a second opinion, I would not have questioned Bill's experience. But I did begin to wonder, and asked our primary care doctor to get him an appointment with my spinal doctor. We had confirmation that the Lord was in this when we got an appointment in less than 2 weeks; normally it takes 2 months to get in.

This woman was patiently waiting to see the doctor also and held still for a long time, making it easy for me to sketch her. Plenty of time, too. This anesthesiologist's practice is not run as efficiently as the spine center where I had my shots. Our spinal surgeon gave me the shots, but Bill's required an anesthesiologist instead, due to the more extensive involvement. In fact, the doctor was amazed that he was still walking at all.

Grandma W's rocking chair

Grandma W's rocking chair, a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

This child's rocker belonged to Bill's grandmother, for his uncle and dad when they were small. It was passed down to the uncle, being the elder brother . . . . but there were no grandchildren on that side of the family. So Bill's cousin brought the rocker to us, to pass on down to our grandchildren.

Generations of small children have rocked in this chair. We especially remember our daughter, Kristen, sitting in it dressed as a scarecrow for Halloween.

~ Noodler's red-black ink and watercolor ~

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!, a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

This box of chocolate-covered strawberries greeted me at the door yesterday. I'll miss out on phone calls from our four kids, as our phone is not working and a repairman won't come until Monday. (Oddly, we still have internet) __ But my thoughts will be with each of them.

a robin's egg

a robin's egg, a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

Many of my journal pages are kept private, where I write down things I wish to remember. But I decided to post this because I liked how this little watercolor turned out ___ a tiny robin's egg found on the sidewalk while walking my Scottie.

back to the dr. -- this time, for Bill

back to the dr. -- this time, for Bill, a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

After a couple of years of unrelieved back pain, I encouraged Bill to see my spinal doctor for a second opinion. Taking his MRI from 1 1/2 yrs. ago with us, we found out that ___ just as in my own case ___ the local hospital simply cannot read an MRI correctly! In my case, they totally missed a facet cyst on my spine, clearly shown to be pushing against a nerve. In Bill's case, there is a large protrusion to the right of the base of his spine, probably from a past injury. And the local MRI dept. said that they saw nothing unusual!

While Bill was off getting x-rays, I thought I had time to do a bit of sketching . . . . but Dr. L. came to get me, wanting to show me Bill's old MRI and what he found. He'll get a more current MRI, then proceed to one of several possible treatments, none of which involve surgery. Thank God for more intelligent doctors!

drive through the Flint Hills

drive through the Flint Hills, a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

Last Sunday, we drove to Matfield Green, where friends are rehabbing an old house. Arriving early, I took time to draw this tiny house that provides their temporary living space. A springtime drive through this western edge of the Kansas Flint Hills is normally beautiful, but this seemingly endless winter has made it less so. None of the trees show any new buds yet, and cattle are out in pastures of dead grass. Who know what they find to eat out there.

This building used to be located at the couple's old house, used as an interior designer workshop by the wife. I once helped her with some sewing here, with it's huge work table, 2 sewing machines, and lots of bolts of fabric stored overhead. Now it has been transformed into a charming little home.

The tiny palette sketch is of my newest toy:

Recently, I found this cute little palette and just had to get one --- Yes, I am a palette junkie! With the addition of a waterbrush, it makes a great minimal kit to carry in a purse or pocket. It's sold by artist Maria Coryell-Martin, who travels to frigid polar areas, painting amazing works of art. The bottom of the case is lined with a thin magnet, which holds the metal pans in place.

Maria's web site is here, and this palette is found here. She has also put together a convenient Art Tool Kit, containing this palette, waterbrush, pen, and other tools in a ring-binder of watercolor paper and art tips.