Adventures with Isabel: Lee's Marble Museum

Mom and I hit some of the stops in the Nebraska Passport passport program, and this was one of them.

Lee's Marble Museum is a small, free museum attached to a antique shop.  Lee has more than a million marbles.  He's an affable older gentlemen, who graciously showed us around and answered our questions.

In the photo above, Mom is holding part of a glass cane, which is how marbles are made.  The glass is mostly clear, with layer of colored glass included.  When making a marble, the cane is heated, and a glob of glass is cut off the end of the cane and put into a hollow metal rod.  The glass glob spirals down the tube and comes out perfectly round and cool enough to retain its shape.

Prior to 1935, marbles had traces of uranium in them and would glow under black light.

I'd say if you are headed down I-80 and in need of a quick break, Lee's Marble Museum is worth a stop.  We enjoyed our visit and even did some shopping.  It was a fun little interlude.

Home now

Time for bed....

The Garment District

We did a walking tour of the area that ended at Mood, beloved of Project Runway fans.  Then we enjoyed the museum at FIT, the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Lots of fun!

Tomorrow morning we leave for NJ and my brother's wedding.

A Thought -Provoking Day in NYC

Today we visited the Statue of Liberty, the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration, and the 911 Memorial.

It was a day of imagining how other people felt and feel. I especially was moved by the thought of the millions of people who were overjoyed to see the Statue of Liberty, and all of the hope that she has represented for so many. It would've taken--and it still takes--such courage to come to a foreign land to build a new life.

A tea party at the Ritz Carlton Hotel

This is one of the fun things about traveling with other people. Because of my background, Aunt Monica gets to experience places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art a little differently. I recognize quotations, and I have historical context from literature, that kind of thing. ( I don't know whether she likes that or tolerates it, but I do see things differently because of my literary background.) Now Aunt  Monica is a foodie. I am not. But because I am in New York with her, I am experiencing it quite differently then I would if I were on my own.

For example, today we had a tea party at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park. On my own, I probably would not have sprung for that kind of experience, but it was really fun.

They served tea, with exotic little sandwiches, like one made with yellow beets and blueberries or another one that had prosciutto ham and lime. Then came scones with jam and some kind of cream instead of plain old butter. Then it was time for the desserts. I do not know how to describe the desserts, other than they were combinations that were really enticing, as well as some classics like red velvet cake. It was all really tasty, but it also felt a little like a culinary adventure and because flavors were put together in thoughtful and unexpected ways. It was one of the first times that I ever thought about food that way. I'm not expressing this very well! But I really liked that experience.

A few more pictures of Central Park

Today I went to Central Park with Aunt Monica. We stopped to see the Alice in Wonderland statue and the one of the angel of Bethesda. We also saw some of the horse-drawn carriages.

The Alice in Wonderland group was supposed to have quotations from the Jabberwocky engraved around the base. Actually, those were not where the quotations were from. But rest assured, I was able to recite the Jabberwocky for Aunt Monica and a few random tourists who didn't seem to think it was strange that someone would suddenly burst into poetry in Central Park.

A night on Broadway

We saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway yesterday. It was magical! For once in my life I had all of the drama my little heart could possibly desire!

Everything was really amazing--- The Story, costumes, acting, the sets, the singers' voices--- it was all just breathtaking. I enjoyed myself very much.

China Town, NYC

I really liked Chinatown. I had never been to one before. We stopped by a Buddhist temple, I had some bubble tea, and we did some shopping. There were some men in the park playing a game that looks like Checkers with a stripe in the middle of the board. I wondered what it was. My husband would probably know. We also got lunch there, which was very good.

The Chinese New Year was two days ago, so the streets were sparkly with confetti.

Seeing the stars

Tonight we are going to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway! So if I don't post anything this evening, it is because I am at the theater, darlings!

20,000 steps in NYC

We did lots of walking today....

I really enjoyed the library.  :)

Central Park and the Met Museum of Art

A good day with lots of walking.  Set a new personal best for number of steps in a day.

Started with the chocolate museum.

Arrived in NYC

Recognize that building behind us?

Packing...

This doesn't match either Ash Wednesday  OR Valentines Day... I am leaving for the East Coast -- on Friday,  my husband's birthday.   I am not taking him along either!

I plan to be blogging soon about my week in New York City with Auntie M!

Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer

Last year on this date Belovedest and I went to the Stuhr Museum.  I'll be honest--April is not a good time to go.  It was pretty much in minimal mode, and the living history part of the museum was completely nonexistent.  It was a kind of eerie ghost town.

But we enjoyed our visit nonetheless, and we snapped some photos.  Enjoy!

First, visiting Grandma Shirley:

Happily Home Again

It's good to be back.  Especially after a return trip that included a mad dash through the Denver airport in order to catch a connection, and all the stress that that entails..

Today, we put the very first seeds in the garden: carrots.  Oh, and we worked on the border for our garden until we ran out of free and found bricks.  I am thinking that we may just buy some more from the EcoStore to finish them off, unless anyone has any brick lying around that they want to get rid of....

I'm in Portland!

...and I don't have my camera.

Does it help if I describe it as like Prague, only more industrial and in more of a hurry?

I'm at a conference for work and enjoying it, but boy am I exhausted!  Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight.  Last night I accidentally set the alarm to go off at 3 am.  Which it did.

Budgeting: Some Lessons

Lesson #1: Check the cost of benefits when applying for a job.

My husband's salary didn't change much.  But because his employer pays much less of his insurance, our income took a nasty hit.  (Previous two employers paid 100%.)  I went from part-time to full time so my income jumped significantly, but because his went down so much, our net gain is $200 a month.  Yup.  Not happy about that.  An expensive lesson.

Lesson #2: Transportation matters

BEFORE:
His commute was 59 miles one way.
Mine was 22 miles one way, but my expenses were lower due to carpooling.
Total transportation expenses for a month:  $197.97

AFTER:
Our commute is about 3 miles.
We both biked to work for a month.
Total transportation expenses for a month: $35.20

We aren't going to be biking during the winter, but we plan to start up again in the spring.

Bees and Bee-Keeping in Pioneer Days

We saw this old-fashioned bee-keeping stuff at the Stuhr Museum and thought of a dear friend who keeps bees.

The honey harvest should be happening soon.....

Pioneer Village

When I told my grandmother that we have been to Pioneer Village, she immediately remarked, "Doesn't it make you glad not to be a pioneer woman?"

Pioneer Village is the legacy of an interesting, probably somewhat eccentric, philanthropic man named Harold warp, who came from Minden, Nebraska, but went on to make his fortune in plastic in Chicago, Illinois.

The basic premise of the museum/attraction is to chart the progress of America.  The name "Pioneer Village" is somewhat of a misnomer because Harold wasn't really interested in evoking the Pioneer era.  He was interested in tracing how we got from there to here.  I think this is a pity because Pioneer Village is slowly getting run down and fading away, perhaps because people think it is the same thing as other nearby museums which focus on one period in history.  For example, in the Transportation Department, you start with covered wagons and gypsy carts, and move to automobiles and airplanes.  One of my favorites exhibits, the one I remembered from my childhood, traces the development of the modern kitchen.

Here are some photos from when we went there two years ago.

This is where we ended up when we got lost.

One of the obligatory parts of Pioneer Village is finding an item that you happen to own on display.
My mom has one of these.

I hope if you are ever tootling down I-80 you'll check out Pioneer Village.  Call first, to make sure it is still there...