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.

YARN ALONG

Wednesdays over at the Small Things blog is Yarn Along day, where knitters and crocheters share what bit of needle goodness they're working on and what they're reading.  Well, as a confirmed bibliophile I've been lurking and checking out others' links for a while now.  I decided to go ahead and jump in myself, so people who hate knitting and/or books can feel free to stop reading now and find a fun online game instead.  (May I suggest Words With Friends on Facebook, to which I am currently addicted?)

Anyone who saw my blog yesterday will know that my current project is hats, hats, and more hats.  Today I finished up a pink one with a pattern done in small bits of leftover Roving Acres yarn.  I couldn't bring myself to just toss the remains of my favorite yarn, even though I only had three small balls of it left.  (Think slightly bigger than a golf ball.)  Turns out it was just enough to use for the contrast on the pink hat.  I'm already casting on for another pink hat, which will be #8.  (I'm hoping to get an even dozen by the time I have to ship them out next week.)  The pattern comes from the Knitting Workshop companion book by Elizabeth Zimmermann, with the color blocking pattern coming from her The Opinionated Knitter.

On the reading front, I'm this close to being done with The Wilder Life:  My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie.  It's the perfect read for anyone Laura Ingalls Wilder-obsessed.  (I was thrilled to read this and find out I'm not the only one.)  I'm now driving myself insane wanting to visit the Laura home sites.  Since all of them are a minimum of a nine hour drive from my Ohio home (and most much longer), my only hope may be the Laura and Almanzo home in Springfield, Missouri.  Sounds like they've got the best stuff anyway, like Pa's fiddle and Laura's lap desk and the little china box she got for Christmas as a child...  I salivate just thinking of it...

Feel free to join the Yarn Along with Ginny here.

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