The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

I've been Sicky McSickkins this past week.  Sore throat, aches, alternating chills/sweatiness a couple of nights, tender lymph nodes under my arm.  All very glamorous and romantic.

My week was filled with some things I was very much looking forward to, so I was disappointed to miss them.

Much-needed haircut appt?   - Didn't happen.
Exercise rendezvous with a pal?    - Couldn't go.
Church small group?    - Nope.
Coffee date?    - Slept right through it.

I did rally for work because if you're a teacher, you understand that showing up feeling under the weather is more appealing than writing sub plans.  I have to be on death's door before I write sub plans.

Don't worry, as an avid hand washer, cough coverer, and disinfect-er in my class, I don't think I put my students in any real danger.  Anyway, their noses are runnier than mine, and their coughs are worse - and they're at school.  So I decided to soldier on with them, entering new words into our spelling notebook, exploring the world of Ancient Egypt, and reading The Secret Garden. Who wouldn't want to spend their day getting to do those lovely things?

But once home, I let myself feel and be fully sick.  Bring on the hot tea, blankets, and meds.

On Thursday, my Valentine brought me home some Vietnamese soup (mmm) to help what ailed me.  What is it about hot soup that feels so comforting?

The Doctor of Love preparing my soup on our stove from the 1970's

Vietnamese Pho

Yesterday, I felt well enough to venture out to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
It's another *free* Kansas City attraction, taken from our "33 for Free" List that I first wrote about here.


Here's a taste of what we saw

Women of blues

This one reminded me of a little boy I once taught.  He hated cutting.  Didn't have the dextarity nor the patience for it.  One day, he brought me a gift - an intricately cut paper snowflake he had made.  I consider it one of the best gifts I've ever received because of the sacrifice it took on the part of the giver.

Mr. and Mrs. Kemper themselves, museum founders.

Jazz performers

Took this one for my friend Christin, the Elvis lover.

They have one current exhibit entitled "The Map as Art" with all sorts of maps done in different mediums.

Don't stare too long at this grainy next one.  I provided it to give an idea of what a small part of the above piece looks like up close.  Painstaking!

A few feet away, there was a wooden globe you can step inside to see more map art.  Matt and I had fun hearing our voices echo.  Even a tiny little whisper made a huge echo.

looking out from the wooden globe

I took this one for my mom because she's from Hawaii.

Aloha, Mom!

This one, in a different part of the museum, reminded me of my mom too, because, well, she loves all things Japanese.  It was cut from pieces of foam, which looked really neat up close.

Konnichiwa, Mom!

After Mom returned from a trip to Japan, I heard all about how:

• "The Japanese are much healthier eaters..."
• "Everything in Japan is so clean.  People were even out cleaning the rails of the walking bridges..."
• "Nobody in Japan talks loudly and obnoxiously on their cell phones in public (like they do here in America)..."

I started teasing her how there's probably no sin in Japan either. :)

I tease her, but I love her dearly.  Being sick always makes me want my mom.  Even at age 30.

So there's our week in a nutshell.  Or a wooden globe.