About Jackson County, MO

Blue Springs, Missouri, centered approx. 20 miles east of downtown Kansas City, MO, and--FWIW--the hometown of American Idol David Cook, has just been recognized as one of 'America's Best Places to Raise Your Kids: 2010' by BusinessWeek Magazine. Reasons cited include award-winning schools, great community amenities, convenient location, and affordability.

And, in a double-win for the region, Runner-up Lee's Summit, Missouri (Musical luminary Pat Metheny's hometown!), is located about 13 miles southwest of Blue Springs.

The Full Story:

Best Place to Raise Your Kids: Missouri--Blue Springs

CONGRATULATIONS to BOTH outstanding Kansas City-metro communities!!!,

-JC/CBA

These are shuttlecocks on the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art here in Kansas City. They always make me smile so I thought they might make you smile too.

The shuttlecocks are the work of Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen. They created quite a stir here when they were originally placed in 1994. You can just imagine some of the letters to the editor in the Kansas City Star, can't you? ^_^ There's another shuttlecock, not in this photo, on the front lawn and yet another around back - as if giants were playing Badminton and the main building of the Nelson were the net.

Many people, such as myself, felt joy the moment we saw the humongous shuttlecocks while others felt that such whimsical art was unsuitable right out in front of the Beaux Art, symmetrical, traditional and stately building. The Nelson-Atkins building, in the background, has housed major art collections since its' opening in 1933.

Permanent collections include paintings by Caravaggio, Poussin, O'Keefe, Van Gogh, Manet, and more. 33,000 pieces are housed within the Nelson. Sculptures, furniture, vases; Ancient, Chinese, European, African, Japanese and Native American works are represented amongst the vast collection. As a matter of fact, a new building was built not long ago to provide more space for displays in storage. Ah, but that's another story for another post.

Thanks for stopping by; hope this made you smile.

Yet another rainy day here in Kansas City did not stop workers from testing the Plaza lights.

 

 

 

There are thousands of lights which are all turned on simultaneously every Thanksgiving.The lights are strung along the roofline, windows, doors and sometimes architectural dteails of each building on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They started stringing the lights in October.

 

Picture on the right is of workers going up on cherry pickers to get one of the towers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's rained every single day since the testing process began.

 

For those of you unfamiliar with Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza consists basically of the blocks bordered by 46th Ter on the North, Ward Parkway on the South, Jefferson on the West & Baltimore on the East. For some reason, the Google map zoomed in when inserted into this post, so to get the whole picture you'll need to minimize one click.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Whether you are a seasoned professional or just considering getting your feet wet in real estate investing, in the Kansas City metro, the Kansas City Investment Group (KCIG) is for you! This non-profit association is all about education and support in all things related to investing in real estate. A member of the National Real Estate Investors Association (NaREIA), benefits of membership include monthly meetings, networking opportunities, special presentations & seminars, a monthly newsletter, a resource library, and more. Visit online at www.KCIG.org to see all KCIG has to offer.

-JC/CBA

2 Flat Tires in the Rain

It was a cold and rainy day in Kansas City.

Not the preferred time to have TWO flat tires, but better now than in the snow and ice.

At the moment, I am enjoying coffee & football at the Firestone on 75th & Wornall. Brandy & Bob helped me select the appropriate tires and now the mechanics are putting them on.

My car is also getting an alignment. I can bring it back twice annually to have it aligned at no charge.

The Kansas City Chiefs are WINNING!

13-10 Chiefs against Raiders YAY!

Now, if only KC can keep it going in the second half; that's where we tend to drop the ball. And Oakland is fierce in second halves.

Come on KC! Go, go, go!