congraduations

This weekend we were in Keokuk, Iowa to celebrate our niece's graduation from Keokuk High School. The festivities began on Saturday afternoon with an open house followed by a family dinner on Saturday night. The graduation (or congraduation, as our niece Olivia tells it!) ceremony was held Sunday afternoon. We are very proud of Chelsea's accomplishments and look forward to her college days at the University of Northern Iowa.

blondes have more fun

While perusing the seafood counter for what would be our dinner, I noticed that in addition to the typical salmon choices (wild, farmed, sockeye, king...), that they had a 'blonde' offering. I asked the butcher the difference between the typical red/pink salmon and the blonde. I was told that the blonde is rare and was accidentally shipped to the store as they typically don't carry it. I was intrigued and it did not disappoint! The flavor was a bit more mellow (maybe 'buttery' would be a good description?) If you see the blonde salmon offered at a store or restaurant near you, I suggest you try it!

mission accomplished

It has been awhile since we have participated in First Friday so we were excited when some friends invited us to dinner at their loft after the evening's festivities. We started at Mission Underpants, a Project Change event sponsored by Women in Design, which collected socks and underwear for those in need. Not only did we win a gift certificate in the raffle, we also made it on the news segment promoting the event (click the link to watch the clip)!

America: Here and Now, a traveling show of works by national painters, playwrights, poets, composers and musicians opened in Kansas City and we saw a demonstration of BikeShare, a program that will hopefully be introduced in Kansas City very soon.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of pesto pasta and zucchini cake while overlooking the sights and sounds of First Friday and the soon to open Performing Arts Center.