Visiting Chats and Michael, Part I

Your scrapblog editor is just back from several days in Andover (a suburb of Wichita), Kan., where she visited the Rev. Dr. Mary Catherine Miller Northrup, Esq., otherwise known as her sis and your cousin, Chatsies, and her wonderful brother-in-law, Michael. We hung out, walked the dogs, watched movies ("Up" and "State of Play"), played a hot game of Scrabble, shopped, touristed around, cooked (your scrapblog editor set off their smoke alarm during one pizza-making session), saw beautiful photos and heard the stories from their summer trip to the Holy Land, and visited a lively community college ethics class taught by Michael. In short, a great trip. Some snapshots: I took Chatsies a gift from Anna, a print of three little girls reading that she's always loved. (Anna's had it hanging in her house, then her apartment, since we were kids.) Chats was so thrilled that she had us re-enact the reading scene. Aren't we cute? Not sure what we were reading -- maybe one of Chatsies' childhood compositions, such as the immortal poem "Colors -- Think of Them." We visited the Wichita Museum of Art, a wonderful place with some really terrific art by such greats as Chihuly, Wyeth (several), Hopper, Cassatt and many more. Here Chatsies mugged with an Andy Warhol painting of Marilyn Monroe.

I really loved the prairiescapes and the Kansas art, including this one of cornstalks. Forgot to write down the artist, sorry.

Michael is the world's best brother-in-law. He even gave me his tennis shoes because I forgot mine! (Yes, my feet are as big as his!)

When Michael isn't teaching, running, studying or doing good deeds, he keeps up their lovely grounds and house. He put together this spiffy coat tree one day. Chatsies got it for him because she said he puts all his running clothes on their fancy dining room table. Isn't that what dining room tables are for??!!

When Michael wasn't looking, I snapped this copy of his high school graduation photo. What a good-looking fella, then and now!