hiatus broken by question

Do insects breathe?

Paris

The Eiffel Tower was lit up in honor of the 50th anniversary of the European Union.

We chose the hottest day possible to climb the long hill up to the Sacre Coeur. One sign said 38 degrees Celsius. Of course, it was worth every step.

There are pony statues all over town giving Paris the nickname of "Pony Town" (I've never heard it called that until I said it out loud walking in the city, but it's an apt nickname) . The first night that we arrived we walked along the Seine River and kept walking. Every bridge is a little different. No matter how tired we were it seemed like we should keep walking because there was so much to see.
There are a couple of Courtyards outside of the Louvre. This is one in the evening with a classic view.

More in Paris

The Winged Victory. I actually cried when I saw her. She was everything I had dreamed she would be.

The Mona Lisa.
Spitting fountain.
The Musee d'Orsay. I lost my friends in this museum and took a picture while I was looking for them. I found them eventually, but not using the bird's eye method.

There were real ponies in Paris too.

Using my passport

I just returned from my European vacation. I wish to share, but where to begin? I have been back a full week (pert near).

This was my first ever trip across the Atlantic. I'm not sure that any trip can meet all of your expectations, but seeing as I had almost none, they were all met.

Truly, I did not know what to expect. My dear hosts were people that I had met through a mutual friend. I did not know them well before my visit and now I have lifelong friends. You can never expect such things. They are gifts.

So what I saw:
1. Strasbourg, France.
2. The Vosges
3. Munich, Germany
4. Paris, France

Things more beautiful than a poem.

Some poems are mundane moments with something to teach. Tonight I was embroidering a pattern stitch. I stitch unevenly. The pattern at the end is obvious, but far from perfect. Some lines are longer than others. Where I tied off the end too tightly the fabric puckers with no sign of a kiss. I like to think that it's the only way to know that it was done by my hand.

Then there are mundane moments that will never be a poem because they are just lovely. Sometimes life is lovely without teaching you a thing. Lying on my back in the grass on a summer evening at the park, my niece jumped on top of me. Her blue eyes shone and behind her the sky was dusky blue. I thought, "this is why my favorite color is blue".

For scale

This picture was taken last August. My niece was 2 years old and a little bit scared about walking up to the statue on her own
And here is the two year old with the Texan. I didn't think Margaret's pictures showed you how enormous this statue outside of Oakley is.

2 churches

Damar's St. Joseph
Pfeifer's Holy Cross Church.

I feel like I should apologize because my pictures don't feel up to par in the exploration of these churches which were also nominated for architectural wonders. I wasn't feeling too well when we went into these places and alas, I didn't even notice that I hadn't turned on my flash in the Damar Church. Regardless, they are both beautiful. Between the two, I do prefer Pfeifer. Ultimately it's probably the same reason that the pictures in Pfeifer look so much better. There seemed to be more light in Holy Cross Church. I am a fan of light. The voters in the contest seem to agree... Pfeifer's church was named among the 8 as was the barn I visited.

Holy Cross in Pfeifer

The view from the balcony.

The bar in front of the church leading to the alter is made up of some beautiful wood carvings. Jesus appears to be blessing the fishes and loaves. I've always liked that story. (It's the bar where people took communion pre-Vatican 2... does that have a name?)

There's a mosaic of Jesus as you enter the church. We should go back during the early morning and get a picture. There was no way to get a good shot at the time of day I visited.

St. Joseph's in Damar

This is one of the stations of the cross. My mom saw the artist drawing them when Uncle Monsignor was at this parish.

These pictures are random. I'm very sorry. I didn't get a lot of pictures that turned out at St. Joseph's. Like I said, I wasn't feeling well that day, but I think these pictures give you an idea about what a pretty church it is.

Other moments of interest

My very own fireworks stand.

We discovered a fun bridge over the Saline River

Damar was decorated to make the French feel at home.

Jen resisted the tempation to ring the bell at Pfeifer, but maybe they want us to ring it. Look at it. We should have rung the bell. (we did accidentally in Damar)
Jen with the lion in front of Holy Cross.

Mary Queen of Peace

Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church was also nominated as an archetectural wonder. Perhaps a bird's eye view would capture the parabala shape of the structure. It's defineitely hip 1960's design. If you're a traditionalist, this may not suit your tastes, but it is an amazing structure.

Triangles and Squares

Once inside the structure I ceased to be overwhelmed by sixtiesness of the building. I thought it was beautiful.
The light that comes in from the stain glass must spill into the room at all hours of the day because there doesn't seem to be a time of daylight when some sunbeam wouldn't be reaching through those windows. It was lovely.
The stained glass is done in squares and rectangles-- symbolically the four gospels?
Triangles-- a symbol for the trinity?

For the Father of Lights

John Mack Bridge

Another post-voting 8 architectural wonders of Kansas nominee, Wichita's John Mack Bridge.

It is a lovely bridge. As a bridge it was way too easy to find. We had an address, we drove there. Actually, I think that my navigator knew exactly where it was located without the address.

Carthalite

The voting for the 8 architectural wonders of Kansas is over, but I still have some places that I haven't posted. One of the nominees was the Carthalite concrete work in Wichita. It's interesting and pretty though from the pictures it looks like the bridge is the coolest of the offerings. It is being repaired at this time and is inaccessible. Above (and below) is the Dockum drugstore building.

Allen's Market Building

Griffin Architectural Office Building.

I didn't go and see all of the buildings and there are several more. It is amazing work. Truth be told however, I prefer exploring in the middle of nowhere. I had a good time especially using a local navigator.

Family Resemblance

Usually when I'm mistaken for one of my siblings, it's Jeanette. This weekend however, someone asked me if I was Mary. I think you can see how similar we look in this photo.

Father's Day

This is one of my all time favorite poems and a very nice one for Father's Day.

Fromme-Birney Round Barn

There is a round barn south of Mullinville that has been nominated as one of the 8 Architectural Wonders of Kansas. Let's go check it out.


The description tries to capture it's wonder, but I'm pretty sure you need to see this place to really understand.

It's not round. It's 16-sided.

The best thing about not knowing what to expect is the delight of discovering something truly wonderful.

A stall this nice makes you kind of wish you were a horse.

A quiet spot for watching the wind blow.

The barn is a little self-guided tour. You let yourself in, sign the guest book, look around, buy a memento and leave your money in the metal pot.

Some artist views

"Girl Near Barn"

"Barn Ceiling"

"Dusty Barn Floor"