Adventure 635: Franz Dome/Post I

We hope to walk this way again.

All things come to an end, and tonight is our last night in Manhattan. It's been a wonderful series of days, and today was no exception. I joined Rod and Mike for their walk at noon. We finished another puzzle; Judy's high school buddy, Shirley Blice, came by for an afternoon chat; the sourdough loaves turned out perfectly; Judy and Karen face timed with sister-in-law, Jan-smiles all around; Karen and I spent the late afternoon making art; and we used a friendly family conflict as an excuse to talk with Miss Kim and Miss Kate, sister Jane's daughters. All Friesen girls, following the lead of their mother/grandmother, Dorothy, who hailed from Beatrice, Nebraska, learned to make a small breakfast roll called Semel (or Zemmel). Outside the Friesen family, this particular roll is only found in Beatrice. Besides the question of spelling, (Judy spells it with Semel because she has a recipe card her mother wrote that does so). Everyone else spells it Zemel. (Kelvin says only Germans with a cold spell it with a Z). Judy adds flour to the wet ingredients. Everyone else adds the wet ingredients to the flour. I can attest that either method results in delicious rolls, best served toasted (or right out of the oven) with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese and a generous dollop of strawberry jam. Really, the method matters very little. What matters is that a fine family tradition is kept alive with love, which makes life good, especially today.

Buhler babes flashing back to halcyon days.

My Bunny, aspirational as always, starting the fourth puzzle of the week.

Art shot of the day: Karen's scoring of the sourdough loaf.

Karen's wire sculpture, which she's named "Smokey" in honor of our visit hanging in its new home in the gardern

Karen has caught the Alexander Calder bug. 

Note: Alexander Calder, best known for inventing the mobile, has been my hero for a long time. Early in his artistic career, he held a one man show in Paris, France. He took only a spool of wire and a pair of pliers. He sat at a table and began sculpting marvelous abstract wire pieces. Later, he graduated to giant multi-ton sculptures. His pieces are placed all over the world. Someone asked him in an interview, "How do you know when a piece is finished." He replied, "When they call me in for dinner." I've always desired to create art all day, get paid for it, and as a bonus be fed well. There's still time, and there's always hope that I will be discovered.

Regardless, the pleasure of making art is boundless.

The sisters are on the FaceTime verifying the Semmel (Zemel) recipe.

Judy's loaf scored in a square.

The bread is delicious.

Hanging wire art.

Disappearing bread.

 Standing wire art.

Falcon photo of the day: "Hey, folks, can I borrow the car?"