Telephone Museum

After my husband and I visited the Eisenhower Museum, we went down across the street to the Heritage Center/ Telephone Museum. It's a cute little museum that has some pioneer artifacts, historical items from around Abilene, History of the telephone and also an old town set up out back with the famous C.W. Parker Carousel from 1901.  They had every type of telephone imaginable...except for cell phone of course. :)

                                                                        They had an antique phone simulator so you could dial a number and watch how the phone would connect the line. There were two, floor to ceiling, glass shelving units with a rainbow assortment of insulators. Very pretty display with the lights shining through them. If I had a place in my home, I would totally start a collection of insulators!



The pastel pink phone from 1962 was my favorite of course and I really enjoyed looking at the huge case full of vintage phone advertisements with their colors and graphics, some of them were pretty humorous. Next post, I will share with you the old town and carousel.

'I Like Ike'

Over the weekend, Hubby and I took a trip down the road to Abilene, KS to visit the Dwight D. Eisenhower Museum and childhood home. I had been before when I was in elementary school but Tucker had never been. Not many people know that Eisenhower grew up in Abilene, The museum is very nice and features Eisenhower, as well as, WWII memorabilia. Pretty interesting, if you ever get the chance to check it out!


It's so neat to see and take a tour through Eisenhower's childhood home. Eisenhower's family lived in the home from 1898 to 1946 and the home is furnished with all of the original furnishings. They also had a huge garden planted with all of the vegetables and plants that Eisenhower's mother used to grow for the family. They built the Museum, Eisenhower Research Library and Place of Meditation (Eisenhower, his wife Mamie and their son, Doud Eisenhower are actually laid to rest inside this building) around the family home.



The museum had a lot of pieces from Mamie Eisenhower's wardrobe and Jewelry on display. Love the fashion and the glitz and glamour from those days.

This teacup and saucer is part of the service for 16 that Mamie used in the Whitehouse and I have the same one!!! I saw it in the glass case and I snapped a picture of it because I was certain it was exactly like mine. Went home and compared and by golly they were the same! :)

They had all of the different WWII uniforms on display, Eisenhower's 42' Car that he drove while in Europe, All of the different weapons used and so many WWII artifacts, letters, etc. It was quite an impressive collection. Definitely worth the $20 to get in and a day well-spent.

Fly Away Friday

Every Spring, I have the pleasure of watching baby birds grow in a nest on my front porch. This year I was able to capture the moment that each one flew the coop. So cute watching them spread their wings for the first time, I wish them the best of luck in the big scary world!

First there were three...

Then there were two baby birdies...

Then there was one...The last one was the runt of the bunch. He kind of sat there for awhile like, "Shoot, now what do I do?" He finally stepped out on the edge, wobbled there a second then spread his little wings and flew to one of the highest branches on our tree.

Spread your wings and have a happy Friday!



Container Garden

 Last week, I planted my Container Vegetable Garden. I prefer to plant my vegetables in large containers, rather than in the ground because there are less weeds, less bugs and the deer and bunny rabbits tend to stay away.

Last year, I went small because it was my first year growing my own garden. It went so well that I decided to plant quite a bit more this year.

In my two galvanized washtubs, I planted a Cucumber plant in one and a Yellow Squash plant in the other. I planted a few Marigolds around my veggies to try and keep the bugs off of them.

 I have three plastic planters that I set side-by-side. In the first one, I planted a Cherry Tomato plant and a Zucchini Plant. The second one, I planted a 'Jetstar' Tomato Plant and a Bell Pepper Plant. The Third one, I planted a 'Mighty Mato' Plant (These are new...they are two plants grafted together, supposedly disease resistant. They cost $9.99 per plant!) I hope it does well...and also a Jalapeno Plant. I hope to have lots of fresh veggies this summer, can't wait for ripe tomatoes!

First Mother's Day

Hope all of you wonderful, hardworking Moms had a fantastic Mother's Day!

This year was technically, my first Mother's Day since we are expecting our first little one in October. It was an exciting day for me. I held a picnic at our home for 20 of our closest relatives, complete with Fried Chicken and LOTS of yummy food. It was a beautiful sunny day so there were drinks, frisbee, golf-cart shannanigans and a beautiful new bicycle!

                                                                        I always told my husband that someday I wanted a cruiser bicycle that is the color of a 57' Chevy...He got me this beauty for Mother's Day and I love it! The mint green and white is lovely and the black and white damask detail adds a special touch. Look out for the pregnant lady on the bicycle!! :)

Day filled with beautiful flowers and Delicious Food!



17 weeks and counting! Hubby is more excited
than he appears... :)



Planting Pretties

I have been patiently waiting for the weather to get to the point where I can add some color around my home. This weekend was beautiful so I decided to scrounge up all of my flower pots. After I cleaned off the Winter cobwebs and dusted them off, I headed to Eastside Market. I bought so many brightly colored flowers and vegetable plants, I cleared out my cash supply. :)

 I got four huge bags of potting soil because I do all of my plants, including vegetables, in containers so I need alot of soil. I use the Moisture Control Miracle-gro in my big metal washtubs because they do not have holes drilled in the bottom so when it rains they get a little too wet.

I turned my front porch into my planting station and got started on filling my pots.
Some of the flowers I purchased:
*Dahlberg Daisy
*Calibrachoa
*Lantana (One of my favs!)
*Snapdragons
*Caladium
*Sultana
*Succulents (Of course!)

                 Love how my chicken pot turned out! Most of the flowers I purchased are for full/part sun and I love getting flowers that the butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to.      

Stay tuned for my Vegetable containers!!

Redneck Races

Okay, so I have a guilty pleasure of attending dirt track races. Yes, this makes me a bit of a 'Redneck.' Put on your cut-off jean shorts, your t-shirts and don't forget your sunglasses because by the time the races are over, you will be covered with a film of fine dirt. Love it. It is exciting watching a bunch of beat up cars sliding around the track and crunching into eachother. Even more exciting when the drivers get a tad upset with eachother. Saturday night, Hubby and I went to the Saturday Night Showdown at the Briggs Speedway Heartland Park Topeka. 

It was Cinco De Mayo Night so there were $1 Nachos and $1 Margaritas...sadly I did not get to participate in the Margarita goodness but My hubby did win a T-Shirt thrown by some man wearing a sombrero! If you ever get the chance to attend a dirt-track race, I suggest you bring out the inner 'Redneck' and go! It's a pretty good time ;)



We had a great view of the full-moon that night!

                                                                                    

Country Living

Around sunset the other night, Everything was a hazy blue so I decided to take some photos around my husband's family farm. I love where we live, it is so quiet and peaceful.

The clouds were a shimmering pink, the type that make cute little animal shapes. I tried to take a photo of one that resembled a pink poodle but it changed too quickly. :)

 And then, there is 'Spot,' The infamous pet zebra... This little guy was being kept in my husband's aunt's garage at her home in town. One night, it decided to escape and explore the neighborhood. A bunch of guys drinking in their garage discovered the zebra standing in their driveway around 1 a.m. They tried to call animal control but they hung up on them three times, thinking it has got to be a prank. The zebra was finally taken home and it is no longer allowed in city limits, so here it is on the farm. He is quite famous, his story made the newspaper, the local news and also the radio! :) Poor guy... And of course he is living with 'Leila,' the camel. They've become close pals. I have yet to meet the Albino Camel that will soon join them but I hear its name is 'Patty Cake.' Interesting animal choice around our parts... 



Hope you all find a little peace in your lives today!