Monday: Spin & Glace

   Again Mom worked outside, while I worked inside (cleaning out & rearranging the closets in my master bedroom, making the donation pile even bigger). She finished the flower beds and mulched them while I ran out to drop clothes off for tailoring, went grocery-shopping, and went to the hardware store for another go at replacing that blasted hose.
   I got home just as Mom was finishing up outside, and it wasn't a moment too soon: the ominous clouds started to gather, and soon after dark, the sky opened up—and it rained for the rest of the week! It's ironic that this was Mom's vacation week, timed with the poor weather, because the weather all year has been surprisingly good. What a bummer.

   While the rain damped everything else, it didn't dampen our mood. We headed out for a huge dinner at Spin: a pizza feast, since it was 3-for-the-price-of-2 night! We tried the goat cheese & roasted chicken with caramelized onions; BBQ chicken sausage; and my usual: salsicca con mela. The best pizza on Earth, seriously. Followed by: the best ice cream on Earth!

 

Salted pretzel and fleur de sel caramel. (Insert coma here.)

Random Hallmark Moments: Ice Cream Day!

    Laurie ordered up a freezerful of ice cream as a reward for our team's hard work over the summer. Lemon sorbet, frozen Greek yogurt (strawberry), Drumsticks, Haagen-Dazs bars aaand...

   Coconut sorbet served in a coconut shell = maximum awesomeness!!! It smells like suntan lotion! Mmmm... And the empty coconut can be worn as a lil' coconut hat. A yarmulke, if you will.

   And just in case my mom is reading this, YES, for the last time, I DO have a real job, and I DO work very hard, despite your doubts. No need to call Don.

Also this...

SUPER SATURDAY!

My day in pictures:

   Completed lesson #7 of 8, swimming 1.5 hours. Spent the next 1.5 hours sunning for a few minutes, jumping in the pool to cool off, sunning, etc. Ended up with a sunburn.

   Grilled up some BBQ chicken and sweet corn that would have made any KC BBQ joint jealous. Really.

On the way to pick up Madeline for our evening plans...

A quick detour through the Plaza...

Passed some construction work areas with great signs!

   Took in some art at the Nelson: a small (under 3' high) model "Dendroid" from artist Roxy Payne. The main event, a film called "The Wolf and the Medallion" is detailed in another post... 
   Not pictured: the fried tofu with awesome sauce, and chicken with black bean sauce at Blue Koi. And it was, in fact, AWESOME. Had a great talk with Madel... it was fun to catch up and talk about our travels.
   And that led to the inevitable stop at Glace´ for some refreshment from the heat (it was still over 90 degrees at 10 pm). Many others had the same idea: there was a line out the door! So we grabbed 3 pints from the case to go...

   And we took them back to Wayne & Diane's place to share. Goat cheese & wildflower honey; fresh mint chocolate chip, and honey sesame. (All were good; the sesame was too subtle. The goat cheese still holds the title as my favorite.)

Only in Kansas City...

   ...Can you get the greatest-ever gourmet ice cream from Christopher Elbow's Glacé, and sit outside on the patio enjoying the perfect weather (and letting your Shiba Inu lick the bowls... they dig the goat cheese and honey, as well as the salted pretzel varieties):

   Then head over to the Nelson-Atkins for a cool-slash-creepy walk around the sculpture garden at night, with the reflection of the classical architecture in the pools, the Bloch building glowing from within, the Oldenburg Shuttlecocks, and the grove of gingkos:

   Then catch the end of Macbeth being performed live at Southmoreland Park. The funny story behind this shot is that we were walking along the south side of the museum and were approached by two friendly but very drunk young guys on bikes. We chatted a bit and then moved on. As we approached the museum, we heard what sounded like a bunch of loud teenagers chanting and holding a seance. It sounded especially creepy in the dark. Dad & Lindsey ventured a little closer to investigate, and discovered that it was simply a theater in the park production! So we stopped for a bit to watch the end. The stage, lights, and smoke effects were great—definitely worth returning to see the whole show!

   Between all this and the annual Dog-n-Jog event, and the always-awesome brunch at Eggtc., today has been absolutely packed...

Hakuna Frittata!

I felt like cooking tonight. Also, I had accidentally bought an extra carton of eggs, so I NEEDED to cook SOMETHING tonight. And that something turned out to be an italian sausage, spinach, garlic & onion frittata. Topped with feta cheese and crabmeat. With a side of broccoli of the gods. (Yes, that IS twice in one week. 6 broccoli crowns in all. Going to find a 12-step program. Once I admit I have a problem.)

And they look even better when they come out of the oven!

And in honor of Alexandra's first day back at Hallmark tomorrow (as a full-time employee rather than a summer intern!), I made two big batches of chocolate flake fromage ice cream, based on my favorite flavor at Murray's in Westport. Because cheesecake & ice cream are two great things that go better together!

It was so good to see Alexandra again... she looked very happy! And so did everyone else after they had some ice cream. Yay!

日本語の練習と晩ご飯

   The shibas & I were privileged to have been invited back to the Sheldons for one of Sharon's famous sushi dinners tonight, and after 5 years of hearing Ken say, "JEN, you HAVE to meet Azusa!" I finally did! When I arrived, Azusa & Sharon were already hard at work:

   And they rolled.

And rolled.

And rolled!

Taylor & Lily waited patiently:

Ready to eat!

Ken did an amazing job blessing the meal. In 日本語, no less!!!

   I had so much fun practicing some Japanese with Azusa & Ken. Azusa is from Japan by way of San Francisco & is a very talented illustrator. After we devoured four large platters of sushi, we enjoyed sparkling lemonade, and then "chocolate flake fromage" (chocolate chip cheesecake ice cream). Mallory played with hoops & yoyo from Lily's birthday party. We talked about the movie "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and hilarity accidentally ensued.

   Nellie shared her own brand of evangelism. I vote this kid "most likely to become the next Hannah Montana." Tiny girl with a huge personality!

   Lily showed me her awesome kitty & devil iPod covers. Umm... how old is Lily? Because she's seriously as big as I am.

And Nellie said good-bye...

With a big hug! Aww...

Good night & thanks, Sheldons!  : )