Peonies Are Almost Here and the Session is Over!!!

Great news, everyone! The legislative session is over for the year! It ended yesterday afternoon. It was a great birthday present! There's still work to be done, but now it involves more than watching politicians debate and waiting around for 12 hours a day. The session usually ends way before my birthday, so we had a long one this year.

On another happy note, it's about time for our peony bushes to bloom! Peonies are these great, beautiful flowers that happen to grow seemingly EVERYWHERE around the neighborhoods in Topeka this time of year. They grow in abundance and they are great flowers for decorating with indoors in a vase or what-have-you, as pictured below. I'd never seen a peony until I moved to Topeka. We have several bushes in the courtyard of my apartment building, which is where the top picture was taken. I love them and can't wait until they are here!! Just one of those little things that make my day!

Aren't they pretty little decorations?

I hope that everyone is doing great! Have a happy Wednesday!

The Speedvator and the Cage: A Tale of Two Elevators

So it's 9:00 pm on Friday night and I'm still at work. And I'll probably still be at work until 11:00 or 12:00 tonight until Stuart comes back over to the Statehouse to take over the late, late shift. We've had days and days like this since about the 28th of April. I've lost track. There hasn't been a night quite as late as tonight will be though. It's that time of year again, the veto session. This is the part of the legislative session when the House and Senate nail down their final budget and revenue bills or policy changes. It sucks. It's long, tedious, and filled with personality and party conflicts. I'd like to say that good laws are produced during this time of the session, but that wouldn't be true. This year has been especially rough due to the terrible economy. At this point, Stuart and I more or less hunker down, watch out for our clients' interests, and pray for the end.

Don't get me wrong, it's still incredibly cool to get to work at the Capitol, it just requires a little bit more thought to remember how great a job this is most of the time. I've been saving a particular blog topic that reminds me of how much I like working in the Kansas Statehouse for a night just like tonight. A few of my favorite things at the Capitol are the cool elevators. The main part of the Statehouse building is five stories tall so elevator rides are a daily occurrence. There are two different elevators that I particularly like that represent modern and old: theSpeedvator and the Cage.

First, we have the Speedvator. Speedvator is a name that Stuart and I came up with to call this elevator. The reason that we call it the Speedvator, as you've probably guessed, is because it's really fast. The Speedvator is a brand new elevator that just opened this year. It's a part of the multi-million dollar renovation at the Capitol that I blogged about earlier. The Speedvator is great because it's brand new, shiny, sleek, and kind of luxurious. It also serves part-time as the Governor's own private elevator. Whenever he needs a lift, he or his security detail just wave their magic key card over the sensor and he gets dropped off or picked up right outside of his office door on the second floor. I like the Speedvator because it feels great to have it wisk you down to the first floor at the end of a long day. The only problem with the Speedvator is that once the word got out about its amazing elevator speed everybody started using it, which makes it not so fast. It is still very, very pretty. And did I mention that there is a talking elevator lady voice that announces each floor that it stops on?

Next, we'll talk about the Cage elevator. The Cage is truly cool. The Cage elevator is as old as the building itself. I love the Cage elevator because it is charming and elegant. You can see all of the weights, belts, and pulleys working as the elevator raises and lowers. The Cage elevator is run manually by an attendant. I also love the Cage elevator because I love most old things and buildings. I've lived in an apartment building that was built in 1883 for the last 5 years and I really think that historic preservation is great.

In 1976 the Kansas Senate passed a resolution to keep the Cage elevator maintained in working condition in perpetuity. The resolution hangs on a plaque next to the elevator on each of the five floors. I took a picture of it to include here. I think that it's pretty cool and interesting. And if you'll notice, there was a Senator Bell who co-sponsored the resolution:).

And with that I think that I'll close to keep listening to more debate. I hope that everyone has a great weekend!!

Happy Weekend Wake Up Call

Hi everyone! I hope that Monday has gotten off to a good start for you all. Is anyone else having a case of the Mondays today, or is it just me?

Something happened this weekend that I wanted to blog about, but I didn't get a chance to do it before today. It was a little event that was near and dear to my heart and my New Mexico roots.

On Saturday, Stuart and I had just woken up when he told me to listen to a noise outside, because it was a hot air balloon. As soon as he said it I heard a propane tank blast. I knew the sound immediately from all of the times I'd gone to the Balloon Fiesta as a kid. I also knew that it was really close by to be as loud as it was. I ran out to our deck and sure enough, there it was, RIGHT above our house! Then I ran to get the camera to take a picture!:)

I was so excited to see the balloon floating over our house because I hardly ever get to see hot air balloons anymore now that I live in Kansas and I miss them. It was a really sweet little way to start the day on Saturday. I hope that you all had a happy little moment or two, or three or more, this weekend also!! Have a great week!