Secret Santa Whiskey and the Case of the Coughing Dog

Whiskey Exchange Bottles
Sampled on Friday Night

I am in a Secret Santa whiskey exchange with some friends and have been part of it for about four years now. It’s a fun tradition that lets me sample new whiskeys. The first two years, the friends who originally invited me to the group happened to draw my name. The past two years, though, the people who drew me were folks I didn’t know—and both times I didn’t receive my gift until well after the holiday season.

On Friday night, a few of us got together to meet, share, and talk about whiskey. It was a great time!

I took a Lyft to and from the event. When we did the gathering two years ago, Carrie was my designated driver. I told her I could easily take Lyft this year so she didn’t need to go. It worked out great—I had a fun time and got to connect with friends through a social activity I really enjoy.

Haverty Cousins in
Kansas City for Dinner

Last Thursday, Carrie and I traveled to Kansas City to meet up with some Haverty cousins. My brother was there too. We met at a new spot for us called J. Alexander’s Restaurant. It was really good! I’d definitely like to go back and try some other dishes. It’s a chain with locations in different cities, and I’d recommend it if you have the chance to visit one.

It’s a long weekend with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday. I’m spending the weekend watching sports, reading, and knocking out a few things around the house. I watched Washburn basketball on Saturday afternoon, where they won and moved to 17–0 on the season. I also caught some of the NFL games, even though my Chiefs are no longer playing.

Oliver Coughing

Oliver hasn’t been feeling well since Saturday afternoon. Out of the blue, he started coughing, hacking—just something nasty sounding. He’d been perfectly fine before that. He kept Carrie and me up all night with the coughing. We’re not sure what to do since it’s very similar to what he had about two years ago. When I took him to the vet back then, they said there wasn’t much they could do. It seems like he’s trying to get something out of his throat.

He’s still drinking water, eating, and asking for snacks, but the cough is rough. We were supposed to head to Lawrence to meet Erin and Greg for lunch, but we canceled so we could stay with Oliver.

After being up most of the night with him, I fully plan to take a nap or two today—possibly during the afternoon football game, which will make for good background noise while I snooze.

Another short and choppy update this week, but that’s how things go sometimes. I hope you have a great week!

A Busy Week in Review from Dinner with Cousins, Meetings, Chiefs Football, Dinner, Tailgating, and Volleyball… What’s Next?

What a week! It was a busy week at work and at home. We went to Kansas City for dinner, I attended meetings downtown on Wednesday and Thursday, Kansas City Chiefs played Thursday night, Friday we met with family at Shirrons’, and then Saturday was Washburn football with Washburn volleyball in the evening. Busy and fun weekend…

Tuesday night Carrie and I traveled into Kansas City to meet up with some of my siblings and cousins. I know my sister, Betsy, has many more pictures, but I was able to take a few pictures of others at the dinner. We met at YaYa’s Euro Bistro in Kansas City. This was the first time for non-Kansas City cousins to attend. We had a fun time and it was great to see everyone. Catch up and hear stories. Our cousin, Mike, had reserved a private dining space for us which worked out great! I hope we are able to do this again in the future and maybe on a weekend.

On Wednesday, I attended meetings in downtown Topeka for the Kansas Board of Regents. Other CIO’s at the regent institutions were attending the meeting to be available for discussion and comment on funding from the state. Happy to report that the funding was approved. I attended to show support and show that Washburn University is involved and needs support. On Thursday, I went back to the Kansas Board of Regents full board meeting where the proposal was approved. Happy to report that Washburn was approved to get funding, so we will be working over the next few weeks to develop a plan for allocation of funds.

This was my first time attending a Kansas Board of Regents meeting and I found it very interesting. It was good to catch up with fellow CIO’s from other institutions. We went out to lunch on Wednesday following the meeting and made plans for Thursday on who would return and how we would proceed. I have been meeting with other CIO’s the past year and this was only our second time to meet in-person as our regular monthly meetings are on-line. It was good to see everyone and share stories over lunch.

Thursday night was Kansas City Chiefs football. We were invited to watch the game at our friend Chris’s house. It was our “lucky” place to watch last year, so he invited us back to watch the game. The Kansas City Chiefs did not look great to start the game, but came to live and we were able to win the game 27 - 24. The Chiefs are 2 - 0 to start the season, so sitting good so far. 

Friday night, Carrie and I went to her parents to have dinner and visit with friends from Arkansas. Nancy and Jack were up for a golf tournament Jack was playing in with Eddie. Such a fun couple! We at dinner and then sat around listening to stories, some of which we have heard a few times, but some new stories too. I love sitting around and hearing stories be told. I will see Nancy and Jack in early October when I am down in Helena, AR for King Biscuit Blues Festival. 

Saturday took us out to Washburn University for tailgating and football. It was a hot Saturday with the sun beating down for most of the first half. I saw a number of friends and it was good to catch up with them. I saw some friends we had not seen in a few years, so it was good to talk to them. One has their daughter attending Washburn, so it sounds like our friends will be out for more games in the future. 

Washburn football did not start off well and could never recover against University of Nebraska at Kearney. We lost the game 21 - 13, so that was disappointing to lose a game and to lose at home. We play at Missouri Western State University on September 24.

Saturday evening, Carrie, Greg, Erin, and I attended Washburn volleyball. We lost against Northwest Missouri State 3 - 1. We got behind to start 2 - 0, won the third set, and then could not get it going in the fourth set. A rare loss for Washburn volleyball.

A busy week also means that I did not eat too great. Football, tailgating, and seeing family and friends had me eating well over my points for the week. So, at my weigh-in Sunday morning, I gained two pounds over last week. Disappointed, but I am not surprised based on how I ate this past week. 

This week will likely not be much better with our first Royals game of the season on Friday and then Saturday a fancy dinner to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I will continue to stay focused and hope to get back to working out too. That was the other part I did not get in this past week with everything happening was that I only worked out twice. So, a lot of room for improvement for this week. 

Posting this update mid-day on Sunday as I did not have a chance to write or think about a post during the week. Hoping to get back on target this next week. Have a great week and I hope the weather stays cool.