Laura Ingalls Wilder Home ~ Part 1

On the first day of summer, last Friday, we headed down the highway to Mansfield MO on a little trip that would take us nearly 4 hours to get to our destination, but that time frame includes stopping for an early lunch.  Mansfield is a small town with a population of 2,400 and was the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder for over 60 years.  I've been a fan of Laura's and her books for many, many years and had never seen this before.  I'm glad we went!  My hubby enjoyed it very much, too.

After parking in the graveled parking lot across the highway, this is the scene that we first saw as we walked up the gravel lane toward the house.  The museum is very close to the back of Laura's house.  There is a book store and gift shop to the left of the museum.  That is where we saw a short film about the Wilder's before we began our tour.

First, we went into the museum to purchase our tickets for the house tour.  Eight dollars for senior citizens...what a bargain!  This included a tour of the museum and later a tour of the house that Rose Wilder Lane, Laura and Almanzo's daughter, built for her parents.

The museum wasn't very big, but was so interesting and I wish I had a photographic memory to describe all I saw.  One of the things I loved seeing was the fiddle that Charles (Pa) had while Laura was growing up and later handed down to her.  This fiddle is still played on special occasions such as when they hold a festival.  

There was a buggy that they used in traveling that was much smaller than I would have thought it would be to carry their belongings.  We saw Laura's treadle sewing machine that stitched many of their clothes.  There was a beautiful white dress of Laura's that she made that had such detail like little vertical pleats on the bodice and lace.  She must have made it for a special occasion.  

There were quilts that Laura had made, including an appliqued quilt she made when she was 89, a year before her death.   Also displayed were many handwritten letters and notes, manuscripts, Bibles, books, dishes and furniture that belonged to Laura and her family.  Displayed were many photographs and tintypes of all the family, too.  And, I can't forget the lap desk that hid a 100 dollar bill that helped Laura and Almanzo buy the acreage where they lived.  We saw Laura's jewelry box, some of her jewelry, and even her small revolver that she used to shoot small game.

This house started life as a small cabin and Almanzo added on rooms as they were able to do so.  The front part of the house where the fireplace is was built by Almanzo, but we were told he had some help with the building of that part.  

I feel like I'm writing a book, and there is much more to tell, so I'll end my visit to Laura's home for now and finish up later with Part 2.  I'll also show photos of the second Wilder home that their daughter, Rose, had built and gifted to her parents.  

Until next time...

Barn Charm

We just got back from a few days away.  The first town we stopped at on our trip was Mansfield, MO where we saw the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Or, I should say homes.  We saw the home Laura and Almanzo built and also the home that Rose, their daughter, had built for them which was just down the road a bit.  The Ingalls only lived in this more modern house 8 years before moving back to their first home.  

At the second house, I snapped a picture of the barn and this was as close to it as I could get.  It was a very interesting tour and I'll be sharing more about it and also some outside photos of both houses later in the week.  We weren't allowed to snap photos inside.

Linking with Tricia's Barn Charm  

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time...

June Note Card Party

 It's time once again for the Note Card Party!  I've chosen 

Pretty in Pink as my theme for this month.

There may be at least a touch of pink in one of these photos!  

We are to choose 4 photos that have been previously published in 

our blog that we might make into note cards. 

Our hostess is Vee, from A Haven for Vee.  Please drop by 

A Haven for Vee to see many beautiful note cards.

 Thanks, Vee, for hosting this fun party!

Until next time...

Barn Charm

This old barn looks like it's about to collapse, but I think it still has a little bit of charm.  My daughter snapped these photos with my camera while I was driving through the countryside recently.  She's not a back-seat driver, but I was definitely a back-seat photographer!
    

I may have said to her, "Be sure you get the horses in the picture, too!"

Then I suggested a zoom-in on the horses, who were beginning to move away from the intruders in the car with a camera pointed at them.  While she was snapping away, I was watching the rear-view mirror for cars.  

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day 

to all the father's out there!  

The church in the photo, which was taken by my son, is the small country church where my father was a lifelong member.  Dad has been gone 9 years now, but he is still missed. 

We had quite a storm blow through yesterday, so the father of my children had to work helping restore power outages in the county from around 6 pm until about 5:30 this morning.  Our plans today are low-key with a mid-afternoon meal planned with our children.

Have a wonderful day!

Until next time... 

Still on break, but wanted to say...Happy Anniversary!!

On this day, many, many years ago, I found myself standing in a little chapel next to this tall, dark-haired young man with blue eyes and incredibly long eyelashes and wondered to myself....

What am I doing here?  Is it too late to back out now?  Why are his eyelashes longer than mine? 

Not really on the last one.  Maybe.  :)

Well, I didn't back out and some questions still remain after all these years.  Only those questions are along the lines of....

What would our lives have been like if we had lived somewhere else?  Or, what if we had done this or that.  We both like to ponder occasionally.  After all, when you've been married as long as we have, you have to find something to talk about!
 
I pretty much grabbed this tall young man right off the bus coming home from Fort Riley KS where he ended up after his service to his country in the Army.  Which included a free, all expenses paid trip to the jungles of Vietnam.

Not really.  But it was close.
 
The truth is we met one evening in a grocery store parking lot not long after he had gotten home from Fort Riley.  And the rest, as they say, is history.
.
Our life together hasn't been all moonlight and roses.  Whose is?
 
We both had a lot of growing up to do and there was a lot of heartache from losing loved ones and friends along the way, as well as many other of life's curve balls thrown at us.   But, with a lot of patience and perseverance....and most of all, God's help....

We've made it to....

the big number 42!

And today, we consider each other to be not only husband and wife, but best friends.
 
We've had some wonderful years, we have 2 great children (btw, both inherited those very long eyelashes) and God willing...we have several more good years ahead of us! 

Happy Anniversary, Blue Eyes!

Until next time...

Cute and Colorful

         

I've taken a lot of shots of the Goldfinches lately and I can't ignore one of my other favorite birds, the Cardinal.  I always know when they are nearby by their distinctive chipping sound.

  

 

Do you make lists?  I've got lists of things to do, things I need to buy, books I'd like to read, ideas I see online, and the lists go on and on.  There are so many great ideas out there in blogdom.  And products that I haven't heard of before.  Right now, I have a to-get list that I need to take care of.

  

A couple of items on my "to get" list is Deer Fence.  I've seen one of my not-Knockout roses stripped of it's leaves and I know it has to be the pesky deer.  Also on my list is corn and bean seeds to replace those that didn't come up in my garden due to the heavy rains washing them out.  I don't know if I'll buy flower seeds to replant or not.  I'll also look for something to replace the Butterfly bush that didn't make it.

These little cuties plus their mom and my 3 indoor cats are about to eat us out of house and home.  Cat food, both canned and the dry variety, is also on my list.  We think we have found a home for most of these kittens.  I'm already attached to them and wonder how I will ever be able to say goodbye to any of them.  I'm getting depressed thinking about it.  But, we already have 3 house cats and we can't keep them all.

How can I part with this little one?

Or this pretty little boy?

Or this sweet little face?

 Or this little sweetie that my hubby named Patches?

This one I'm keeping.  That is unless the momma cat doesn't hide them from us and one day doesn't bring them back.  She's been taking them away from the house during the day and brings them back in the evenings.  I hope something doesn't happen to them in their travels.  By the way, how do you like my fancy water bowl?
  

Here is another of my flower gardens.  The Knockout Roses are just full of blooms.  The rose bush in the upper left corner is huge and I've only had it a couple of years.  The Stella's are all blooming since I took this photo the other day. 

Here is another shot of the same Knockout rose that is so large.  I think it must be at least 5 feet across.   The brick building you see is our building that we rent out for office space.  It's not quite as close as it looks here.  One of the renter's moved out and we need to do a few repairs and repaint before finding another renter.  We have several projects lined up to do.  That means I need to pull myself away from the computer for awhile and get busy.  So, I will be taking a blog break.  I don't know if it will be a few days or a week or so.  You can be sure that I will check in on everyone when I can.  Don't have too much fun without me, okay?  Take care and have a wonderful Friday and weekend, too!  See you soon.

Until next time...

Wordless Wednesday

Barn Charm

This barn shot was taken over the weekend not too far from home.  I didn't notice what was sitting on top until I was looking at the shots on my computer.

I still couldn't tell what they were until I enlarged this photo and saw the bald heads...turkey vultures.  These are SOOC shots as I haven't had time to do much online lately.  This old charmer doesn't look like it will stand much longer.  

Recently I've driven by 2 barns that I've shown in the past year that have already been torn down and they were in much better shape than this one.  One of them was replaced with the new metal variety and, of course, it's not nearly as charming as the old barn was.  

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm 

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time...

Across The Wide MIssouri

We took a drive Saturday afternoon and ended up at this lookout to get a good view of the Missouri River.

You can see how full it is.  The rains of the past week totalled over 10 inches in my town.
   

Here's a closer look.  They are predicting minor to moderate flooding along the river in our area.  But, more rains are expected Tuesday and Wednesday, too.

Here's a shot upstream of the river as it rounds the corner.  It's hard to see in this photo, but as you can imagine, the river is full of logs and limbs.
  

The new furbabies are growing and into exploring new territory.  Aren't they just the cutest?  I don't know how I'm going to be able to give away any of the five, they are all adorable.  We spend a lot of time watching them play and it's every bit as entertaining as any movie could be.

Until next time...