At Jay's Request

As requested by the chief himself, here are some more photos that I've taken so far for your viewing pleasure!

The Rice's beautiful house in Ellsworth.

Silhouette of their silo at dusk.

Lincoln Main Street.
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Aub and the US and Kansan flags outside the Lincoln Courthouse.

Emporia bound.

Today has been a long, painful, exciting and exhausting day. I was up at 6 and had to start lifting lugging and shifting furniture not long after. After getting all of the stuff in the horse trailer, I drove for 3 hours (in pretty much an arrow-straight line) from Ellsworth to Emporia. Then came the fun part of getting everything, including a huge shelving unit, a sofa, three tables and chairs, up the two flight of stairs to my new apartment. This was a trial.
After refuelling with what can only be described as a man-tastic sandwich full of goodness from a little place called Amanda's, I hit the road again, back to the apartment to start unpacking. Did I mention that the electricity doesn't get turned on until Monday? I don't think I did ... ... ... no A/C for me then.
Mexican food followed with a marathon trek around the awe-inspiring and slightly terrifying WalMart was the evening's entertainment. My Wallet is $100 lighter and I still don't have any food! Oh well, looks like a return trip is in order tomorrow.
So, after a day of heavy lifting, followed by more heavy lifting, followed by a lighter wallet, followed by yet more heavy lifting, I'm about ready to call it a night and find something mindless to watch with my remaining battery.

Classic Kansas

Part of the huge wind farm near Lincoln, KS.

Work, rest and play

It turns out that Saturday in the Rice household is not a day for relaxation ... luckily I'm not adverse to a little manual labour. Mortar was mixed, bricks were laid, concrete was carried, mixed and poured, slabs were hauled, huge trucks were driven, bonfires were burned and, to top it all off, some damn good steaks were eaten. It was a hard day's work, but it's really good to feel like I'm earning my keep in a part of the country where hard work is a way of life.
On sunday, the heat finally bit back and I spent the afternoon feeling pretty ill. But by the evening I had rallied and was well enough (thankfully) for some food and a poker tournament with the family and a family friend who had just arrived back from Alaska of all places!
I'm not sure what's on the agenda for today, but if the kids have anything to do with it I'll be playing halo in the basement whilst watching a doll do backflips on to a beanbag in no time!