ROAD TRIP

This week the sister and I are off to "The Land of the Big Red Apple" (as the Ozarks were described in 1895).  I've long been a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan and have always wanted to visit one of the home sites.  Unfortunately her family didn't settle some place close like, say, northern Ohio, so we have to travel west in our covered wagon (also known as a Sienna minivan).  I've had my eye on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri for quite a while now.  It's not one of the locations in the Little House books, but rather the farm she owned with Almanzo from the late 1800s until their deaths.  She started her writing career there, first writing articles for the Missouri Ruralist about farm life (she was a champion chicken-raiser) and then, of course, her series of books.  This museum is of particular interest to me because a) it's the closest to home and b) it has some artifacts particularly appealing to me such as Pa's fiddle and Laura's lap desk and some of her handwritten manuscripts.

This will be a whirlwind trip, since my husband, The Vulcan, isn't thrilled with being left to take care of two kids, two dogs, and two cats.  Hard to say which couple he finds more difficult to handle.  To make sure the dogs don't chew the entire house apart in my absence he's planning to work from home.  Can't say what he'll do to protect himself from the kids.  I thought I saw him piling sandbags in front of the bunker (i.e., his office) and stockpiling canned goods.

Anyway, we're looking at just short of a 10 hour drive, with only one day in Mansfield before hurrying back home.  In the meantime I thought I'd share a little pictorial evidence of my obsession interest in L.I.W. and the Little House books.  For those unfamiliar with her work (or uninterested), feel free to skip to a more interesting blog.

Quilt made by my mother from the book
Quilting With Laura.

My modern version of Laura's engagement ring.  Hers was
in a gold(en) setting, described as a "garnet, with a pearl
on each side."  I've thought about getting an antique
version from eBay, but bristled at the prices.
Got this Etsy one as a tribute, if you will,
to Laura's ring.

Just like the plate Laura and Almanzo bought as
newlyweds from the Montgomery Ward catalog.

Laura and her sisters each got porcelain boxes,
with a little tea service decoration on top.  My sister,
not sure I'd want want a vintage one enough for the price,
made this one from air-dry clay built over a china box
topped with a mini tea set.  (Then covered with gesso,
paint, and varnish.)

A replica of what they think Ma's china shepherdess
looked like.  This modern statue I ordered from one of
the museum gift shops...probably made in China.

The Laura Ingalls Memorial Book Shelf, minus
the books I already packed in my suitcase.
Yeah, I'm one of those types -- one pound
of clothes and five pounds of books.