hanging out in KC

Happy 2006! More on that later. K and I got to spend a couple of days after Christmas goofing off in Kansas City. If you've followed the exploits (?) of curiouswonder for very long (and if you haven't, why not?) you know that KC has become our favorite place to get away. The City of Fountains (that's what they tell us anyway) came through again. Some highlights.

Used Book Store Crawling: My ever indulgent wife let me spend a morning rolling through a couple of shops. (Spivey's and Prospero's for those keeping score) The damage? Really pretty minor.
The Chosen - Chaim Potok
Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China - Jung Chang
The Moviegoer - Walker Percy
Singer Trilogy - Calvin Miller
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

O, and we picked up a map of China from an atlas that was published in 1902. Cool stuff.

Seeing old friends: The Ammons are still in KC and we caused them to skip out on church Wednesday night to hang out at their new place on campus at Midwestern.

Wandering the Plaza late at night: Again, my long-suffering bride let me wander The Plaza taking pictures for a late and cold hour or so.

Decelerate @ The Kemper: The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is currently hosting an exhibition called "Decelerate" that focuses on art and artists inspired by the Slow movement. As always, there were some pieces I was really into and some that just didn't work for me. One of the cool elements was the inclusion of media like film, sound, and computer generated visuals. If you are close between now and February, it's worth stopping by.

The biggest has to be the time being with K. Wandering around, drinking coffee, laughing, talking about things vital and not so much, enjoying life and each other.
It was a good last hurrah before the insanity of renewed academic life assails me in two weeks.
j