A Day at the Movies

Two and a half years ago when I stopped homeschooling Ashley and sent her to a bricks and mortar school I made a mental list of all the ways I could spend my new found free time. I would clean out every closet, volunteer, make amazing meals every day, bake lots of homemade treats, and check out all the new releases at the matinees.

I'm not Donna Reed or June Cleaver, but most nights I do make a home cooked meal, and sometimes I even bake treats (last week I made Scotch Bars for Don's birthday). As many of you know, I do volunteer, sometimes too much. My closets still need to be cleaned, though. Until yesterday, I did not see a single matinee.

Yesterday my running buddy, Sharon, emailed me to see if I wanted to see "The Impossible" with her. She is on a quest to see all the major Oscar nominations before the awards ceremony next month. My first inclination was to say no. I had a to do list a mile long. The kitty was at the vet being spayed. The usual Monday chores (groceries, laundry). A 45-minute run was on my training schedule and the forecast called for temps in the 50s, even though it is January. 

As I was mentally listing my reasons no, I remembered this simple desire I made to myself. The wish to see more movies. Plus another goal to say yes to new adventures.

There are a lot of movies styles I don't care for -- psychological thrillers top that list. I quickly Googled the movie, decided it was one I would enjoy seeing, plus I would go with a friend. Why not?!

The run happened. The groceries were purchased after the movie. The kitty was picked up after the groceries. Lunch was eaten two hours late (probably should have picked up a sandwich from Wegmans while I was there to eat on the drive to the kitty clinic, but was feeling indecisive). The to list was pushed off to today. Alls good.

As for the movie, I enjoyed it. I was enthralled by their adventure, even though I was quite certain they all lived until the end. Some parts of it would have been deemed as contrived had they not been part of their true story. 

My take away was "buy trip insurance in case the horrendous happens." 

I wondered what happened to the lives of the family post-movie. A Google search (yes, as a trained librarian I should be able to use a source better than Google) brought up two good articles:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/4727569/boxing-day-tsunami-maria-alvarez-the-impossible.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/real-story-behind-the-impossible-miracle-1519067

As a warning, the first article will spoil the movie if you plan to see it.

Today's lesson: when a friend invites you to do something fun, say yes and worry about the details later.

One last thought -- the first showing of movies is only $6 at the local megaplex in Hamilton.

Photo Walk 2012

Now celebrating its 5th year, PhotoWalk is a day where people all over the world meet in groups to take pictures. Each person is invited to share their favorite picture of the day with their group. The group leader, in our case Alina Blianch of Alina B Studios in West Windsor, NJ, then selects the top photo from the group to participate in a larger contest.

I didn't know any of that when my friend, Sharon, invited me to participate with her. Our 1/5 to 2 mile walk through Mercer County Park included a dozen photographers, plus the coordinator. Ashley was one of the photographers as it was either join me or go with Don to a class at Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS). She wisely chose us, and had a great time. I still need to upload her pictures and have her tell me which one is her favorite from the day.

Before we headed out, one gentleman mentioned he sets his camera on aperture priority. Someone else was discussion ISO settings. Yet another person talked about improving their picture in PhotoShop later. 

Yup, even with my "big camera" (Panasonic FZ100) I was in over my head. I tend to shoot in the auto setting. My biggest debate is often flash vs. no flash. On this walk I learned how to change my ISO setting, and also learned that it was set to default at ISO 200. I'll have to play around with the higher settings for taking pictures in a dark theater at Ashley's next play.

I did try changing the ISO setting that day. Even though my photo software will tell me what settings I used, I really should take notes and compare each photo at home and learn what I like. 

Instead that afternoon I focused on taking several pictures of the same location, but with slightly different angles -- portrait vs. landscape, frame it with a tree branch or not, changing where the horizon appears, zoom in, zoom out, etc. 

Here are three pictures of basically the same spot. I like the middle one best.

I also took a lot of pictures with my macro setting -- something I do not tend to do very often. Of those pictures, my favorite one is of these berries. Sharon often posts pictures taken with her macro lens. After seeing how this picture turned out, I think I will start taking more pictures like this one.

 
I almost always only edit photographs through scrapbooking -- I mean using real scissors and not computer generated cropping tools. After hearing my fellow photographers rave about using photo editing tools, I decided to give it a try. It is a small step, but I felt with the old rusted tank adding a sepia tone would give it a timeless look and feel.

Some statistics from Alina:

There were 32,138 walkers registered worldwide who participated in this event today. There were 1339 walks taking place worldwide today. This was a social event for people who have a common interest to meet, make friends and have fun. 

I actually find it kind of incredible to think that we just took part in such a great event going on worldwide in places like India, Argentina, Italy, France, etc. It really amazes me to think how this was all planned and coordinated via social media. Really an incredible effort. 

Thank you, Alina, for coordinating a great event.

Cherry Grove Farm

I recently wrote about the community composting program at Cherry Grove Farm. This was our third Sunday dropping off compost. Best as we can tell, we are the only people depositing our food scraps. As someone at Cherry Grove Farm pointed out to me, many of their customers already compost. I'd like to encourage my local friends to drop off your food scraps and keep them out of the trash heaps.

Before school started, Ashley and I toured Cherry Grove Farm. They offer community tours each Friday afternoon at 2 PM. You can also schedule a tour for a school group for a fee. 

The farm consists of 230 acres of certified organic farmland. I should have written down the numbers when I was at the farm. Please forgive my faulty memory on the exact numbers. They have approximately 60 milking cows (two of the "girls" were about to have calves when we were at the farm), and another 40 Hereford cows. All are grass-fed. Only the Hereford are being raised for dinner.

Our tour coincided with the time the cows come home to be milked. Farmer Kelly made it look easy. He shows up at the same time each day on his tractor and the girls line up to be milked. After running a bunch of tests, the girls are milked around 3 PM each day, which is open to the public to watch. There is also a 3 AM milking, but I suspect no one turns out for that milking.

The cows both mow and "fertilize" the pastures. As one pasture gets low (after a few weeks) the girls are rotated to a different pasture.

In addition to the cows, the farm also has 1000 egg-laying (i.e., not for dinner) pasture raised chickens. Come on Wednesdays for the best supply of eggs, since the farm is closed on Tuesdays.

The farm tries to be sustainable. They encourage local tree cutters to drop their wood at the farm, this way the tree surgeons avoid paying a fee to deposit the trees in a landfill, and the farm uses it to heat the store, the cheese facility and Kelly's farmhouse. A win-win for all as everyone walks away thinking they got the best end of the deal. 

For someone who grew up in Paramus, and has lived in the area for *gasp* nearly 25 years now, I am still amazed a farm of this size (400 acres of land) is able to survive and thrive only a couple of miles away from I-95 and Route 1. The cheese is available in many local stores. Inside their store, they support local businesses, such as our neighbor, Dan the Mustard Man, winner of the worldwide mustard competition.

Located on Route 206, just north of Lawrenceville Main Street (and a few miles south of Princeton), come out and support a local business until "the cows come home" (you knew I couldn't resist that!).

A composting we will go

For a while now, Don and I have been thinking the next step in our becoming eco-friendly should be composting. Trouble is, the more we read up on composting, the more confused we become. Composting sites range from it is super easy (just toss it all in a pile in your back yard) to it is a science and you must have the right proportions of food to yard clippings to leaves in order for it work properly. 

My hunch is successful composting falls somewhere in-between the extremes. After all, doesn't most of life fall in-between the extremes?

Members of Sustainable Lawrence have been working with the township to set up a pilot program where a truck would circulate around the neighborhoods and pick up composting from each family, similar to how they already pick up our trash and recycling. Princeton is currently running a similar pilot program. 

If the town supported composting program goes through, that would be the ideal. It would accept everything that was once alive -- from the normal compost items (such as egg shells, tea bags, and leaves) to pizza boxes and weeds that currently end up in our trash.

While that fight continues, Cherry Grove Farm on Route 206 (2.25 miles from our home) recently implemented a community composting program. We collect our food scraps all week in a container of our choice (we choose an empty cat litter container) and dump it in their grey trash container. The farm adds in grass clippings, natural "fertilizer," and their own food scraps. The mess and stench is contained to their property (for which I believe our neighbors should be grateful). Best of all, we are not cluttering the landfill with something that can serve a better purpose and is expensive for the township to haul away from our curb.

It has only been two weeks thus far. The farm only accepts drop-offs from 10-2 on Sundays from now through November. Yes, there is a downside to everything. On the other hand, maybe this will help us to develop a good, life-long habit.   

For more information about the Cherry Grove Farm composting project go to: http://www.cherrygrovefarm.com/2012/08/community-composting-at-cherry-grove-farm/

Music in the Park

Most Thursday summer nights, Lawrenceville, NJ has their own bit of "Small Town Americana." Lawrenceville Main Street has a weekly program called Music in the Park.

There is something for everyone. The older crowd sits up close in their lawn chairs and listens to the music. The in-betweeners (that's us) hang out with our friends and catch up on summer news. The people with small kids either sit up close, or sit in the back. Kids ages 5-15 hang out in the back playing with balloons provided by Roma Bank.

In addition to music, a local restaurant sells food at rates that are much lower than they charge in their restaurants. The meals are also smaller, but for under $20 the three of us can have a nice meal. I like being able to support a local restaurant. 

Pictured above is Off the Map, a new band made up of members of Miss Amy's Big Kids' Band. I was impressed this new group played 90 minutes of original music. Way to go!

Updike Farmstead

In 2004 Princeton purchased Updike Farmstead, an historic farm located on Quaker Road. Thanks to a bunch of grants, the Princeton Historic Society renovated the late 18th century farm house in 2009/2010.



The renovations are stunning. In one hallway is a series of pictures documenting the transformation. 

http://www.princetonhistory.org/locations/updike-farmstead.cfm

What drew me to the farmstead was the exhibit on Ellen Axson Wilson's American Impressionist paintings. Mrs. Wilson was First Lady when Woodrow Wilson was President. Many of the paintings in the collection were created while Woodrow Wilson was Governor of New Jersey and they lived in Princeton.

http://www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org/index.asp?section=news&file=news&ID=144

Ashley's favorite part of the tour was the scavenger hunt. Many museums (at least the ones trying to encourage families) have scavenger hunts. Often they are "I Spy" games where the kids are asked to find something inside. This was the first time we played the game outside. On the list were easy items, such as an oak or maple leaf -- stationary items. Then there were things we should be able to find (an acorn, a pine cone). As a storm was about to hit, we struck out on the live creatures (ladybugs, worms, and birds). Ashley did manage to find a deer track, which was not easy in the rock solid ground, but we could not find a feather on the property. It was an interesting scavenger hunt since we had no control over finding it all. We gave up before the storm since Ashley is familiar with all of the objects.

The farmstead is only open on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from 12-4. It costs $4 to visit. If you are not interested in American Impressionist art painted by a First Lady, I would recommend waiting until they have an exhibit that you would like better. It is "new." Hopefully it will grow and continue to get even better.

Gargoyles in Princeton -- oh my!

During a recent conversation with about moving out of expensive New Jersey to someplace cheaper, friends told us high on their priority list is living near a university. They want to continue to be able to enjoy the "town" part of the "Town and Gown" relationship. 

Their comment made me appreciate Lawrenceville in a new light. We live  within 10 miles of three universities (Princeton, Rider, Trenton State College), plus Mercer County Community College, and are walking distance to the Lawrenceville [Prep] School. Over the past couple of decades we have enjoyed activities at each of these institutions. I dare say if we were to move away from the area, we, too, would gravitate near a university town because we have come to appreciate the cultural activities and opportunities available at places of higher education.

While we have enjoyed activities at the other places, Princeton University is in a league of their own. When Ashley was a toddler we loved visiting Cotsen Children's Library inside Firestone Library. As she grew, we took her to Art for Families programs at the Princeton University Art Museum, here she would learn about the great masters.

I have taken Ashley to plays at the Princeton Summer Theater. The late Larry Beaber gave our church a private tour of the  sculptures. I've admired the flowers. We've been to women's hockey games and men's basketball games. With so much happening on campus, it is easy to forget that students actually go there to learn! 

A couple of weeks ago on a hot afternoon, Ashley and I went on a Gargoyle Tour, led by librarians from Princeton Public Library and Firestone Library. I have walked past these buildings over the years, but never stopped to admire the details in the architecture.

If he just keeps on running...he will score the winning goal! 













My favorite -- a monkey holding a camera, or as I like to think of it, Princeton University's first surveillance camera.










Ben Franklin is not a Princeton University alumnus. However, he did merit a gargoyle in one of the newer buildings on campus.

It was a hot day. Ashley convinced me to leave at the 45 minute mark, when we were halfway through the tour. Hopefully I will hear about it again and be able to catch the second half of the tour. It was quite a treat -- and free!

For more information about the gargoyles of Princeton University check out: http://www.princeton.edu/Mapfiles/gargoyles/

The Lady, The Chauffeur and the Locomobile

We are very blessed to be living in an area that is so full of history -- and a very wide array of history that spans over 300 years. This post features a modern woman from 1910 who is a role model even a century later. I learned about her cross country travels from Becky, the grand-niece of "the chauffeur," Harold Brooks.

Harriet White married Clark Fischer, owner of the Eagle Anvil Company in Trenton, NJ. Three years later, he died in a train crash, she survived the crash. She took over his business -- quite a daring thing for a woman to do at the onset of the 20th century at a time when women were not even allowed to vote. The men scoffed at her, but she soon turned the business into a huge success.

Fast forward a few years to 1909. She decides to embark on a journey that would take her around the world. Picture life in 1909. The Orville brothers had successfully flown an airplane only 7 years earlier. Many places did not have roads. The "war to end all wars" had not happened. The Titanic was just beginning to be built. Cars could drive at 10-15 MPH. To say life was a bit different, would be an understatement.

A quick question to see who is paying attention: Why didn't she just take a train? Answer: her husband had died in a train crash and she was afraid of traveling by train.

Harriet White Fischer did know how to drive, but she brought along her chauffeur (Harold Brooks), a chef (she still wanted to dine in style) and a lady servant. Brooks was in charge of the logistics for the trip and for maintaining the car. Fortunately while he did have to change the tires about 20 times, nothing else went wrong with the car.

He also took over 200 glass slides during the trip. Over the past century, these slides were transferred to more modern slides. In the 1970s (?) his family recorded him describing the slides as he told his side of the story. That is what I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing at the Benjamin Temple House in Ewing, NJ. 

Brooks took a picture or two at every crucial point during the trip -- the loading of the car into a boat, an airplane they saw in France, pictures at different stops, and at different sticky situations. I could learn a lot from him -- sometimes less is better. In today's digital age, I would take 200 pictures just of the car in a crate to get the right image. His relatively few slides told the highlights of an adventure that lasted over a year.

Another lesson ... record people's stories in order that the next generation may enjoy them. Mrs. Fischer was well-known locally, but not a household name today. Her adventures live on.

A lesson from Mrs. Fischer -- follow your dreams and go on adventures. You never regret the things you did do, only the missed opportunities.

Go out there and have some adventures, then write about them so they are never forgotten.

For more information: http://www.capitalcentury.com/1910.html

Meeting Albert Einstein

Two years ago, Princeton Tour Company decided to create an event called Pi Day in honor of Albert Einstein's birthday (March 14 -- get it 3.14). Einstein worked for the Institute for Advanced Study and lived at 112 Mercer Street in Princeton. Locally we was known for being kind to children, loving ice cream, and riding his bicycle. Last fall we met a man who, when he was a small child, remembers meeting Einstein. He confirmed he loved children.

Last weekend Princeton celebrated Pi Day. Activities took place all over town, including the Princeton Public Library, the Princeton University Art Museum and the Historical Society of Princeton. 

We only attended one event, but it was a lot of fun! We rode the Dinky with Albert Einstein, his mother, his first girlfriend, his first wife, his secretary and other good friends. The "Dinky" is a two car train that shoots off of New Jersey's Northeast Corridor train route directly to Princeton University's campus. It is a 5-minute train ride to the Princeton Junction train station. It currently costs $2.75 each way. There are talks about relocating the Dinky, which will probably mean the end of this historic train.

Sunday's train ride was historic for another reason. Albert Einstein was alive again and riding the train on his way to New York City. It was just like a character meal at Disney, or eating with a Colonist at the Cock and Bull Restaurant in Peddler's Village, PA. It was also a bit odd because the characters were never with each other in real life. His mother, his first girlfriend and his first wife never left Germany. His secretary and local friends never went to Germany. His mother berated her brilliant son as if he was the village idiot ("Albert do you remember where you are going?" "If you are good, we'll get ice cream afterwards."). For all we know, that is how she really treated her son. She told us his door at 112 Mercer Street was painted red so he could find it. It is now black.

You could tell the interpreters were having a fun time with the experience. They rode the train back and forth 3 times before heading into Princeton for more activities. I hope this is one event they can and do repeat next year.

To learn more about Einstein visit the world's only Einstein Museum at 102 Nassau Street in Princeton. It is located in the back of a store and is free or read these stories about Einstein's life in Princeton during the 1930's. The website includes gems of stories such as: 

Einstein's first act in Princeton was to buy an ice-cream cone. He stopped at the Baltimore ice cream parlor on Nassau Street and ordered vanilla with chocolate sprinkles. An amazed divinity student, John Lampe, watched a transaction that stayed with him the  rest of his life. "The great man looked at the cone, smiled at me ... and pointed his thumb first at the cone and then at himself," Lampe later recalled.

When we rode the train with Einstein, he kept talking about getting a vanilla ice cream cone with chocolate "shprinkles." His love of ice cream was so famous that when the movie IQ was filmed in Princeton in 1994, Walter Matthau was photographed eating ice cream at Thomas Sweet while still in his Albert Einstein costume. It was a classic picture!

And so continues our tradition of spending time with people in history.

Christmas Church Services

Looking back over the years, my favorite church services have taken place at Christmastime. Growing up we always participated in the Christmas Pageant at the Reformed Church of Oradell, NJ. My two sisters and I were most often angels. Every time I hear the song "Oh Holy Night!" I still have an urge to "fall on my knees" and raise my arms on cue.

The year Ashley was born, we were cast as Mary, Joseph and (9-month-old) baby Jesus. Two years later when Hayden was born, Ashley and I were again in the cast as a sheep with her shepherd.  Then my parents moved to Robbinsville, NJ and found a church closer to home.

Living down here we have created our own traditions of attending Christmastime services. My favorite service is always "The Carol of Many Nations" at Princeton Theological Seminary.

The familiar Advent and Christmas scriptures are read by PTS students, staff and faculty in their native tongues. Each of the three services has a different group of people reading the scriptures. This year there was a Deaf performing artist (Noah Buchholz) who encouraged the crowd to help him present his scripture verse. Hymns are sung from all over the globe and in many different languages.The service concludes with the reading of Matthew 5:14 ("You are the light of the World.") said in each of the languages, and the passing of the light as the student choir sings "Peace, Peace." It humbles me to be reminded that God and Jesus are in every corner of the globe.

On Christmas Eve we normally attend two, if not three, services. As in the past few years, we attend the 7 PM service at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church. This year Ashley sang with the Children's Choir. My favorite part of the service is when the children go up and decorate the Nativity Scene with any tiny plastic animal they have -- even rhinos. As our church has two services, and we go to the earlier of the two, we often catch up with friends from the other service at this one.

Ideally after a nap, we attend the 11 PM service at The First Presbyterian Church of Hamilton Square. Due to the late time, the candlelight service is not a kid-friendly. That's fine by us, though, as Ashley tends to sleep while Pastor Doug preaches.

We drive home past Woodlane Avenue, which always sets up a runway for Santa.

Like magic, Ashley always wakes up when we come home. Thanks to NORAD, she knows Santa arrives in Lawrenceville about the time we are at church. Sure enough, when she opens the front door -- the gifts are waiting to be opened and the stocking is full. Yes, we do stay awake and open presents. This also means, we have the chance to sleep in late on Christmas morning.

A final picture of a church service from a few years ago. The Pennington Presbyterian Church was undergoing renovations, so they held their early evening service in a local barn. The message of the babe being born in a stable seemed to come to life as we were in a barn.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Grounds for Sculpture

I was recently listening to BEN FM when I heard an ad for the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. The ad featured "Winter Wonderland" on Friday and Saturday evenings in December. The ad also said the Grounds for Sculpture is located "just outside Princeton." Locals know this just another stretch of the definition of Princeton's boundaries. Google Maps puts this at a 23-minute drive, barring traffic, of course.

Driving from the Hamilton Train Station to the Grounds for Sculpture you see dozens of enormous sculptures -- from a giant tooth to a giant Impressionist painting come to life. Someday I will park my car and take pictures of these sculptures. These are a mere sampling of the artwork that is behind the gates.

We still remember the days when the Grounds for Sculpture were free, hence it is hard for us to shell out the admission fees. We have since visited on rare days when the place has an open house, and hence is crowded. The Winter Wonderland event encouraged us to return and pay to visit.

The place was founded by sculpture, and heir to the J&J fortune, J. Seward Johnson as a place to display his art, and to make art accessible to more people. Groundbreaking began in 1989 on the former site of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds. It opened to the public in 1992.

Don can be seen in the background taking a picture.

I think we are united in our feeling that our favorite sculptures are those by J. Seward Johnson that bring impressionist paintings to life.

I like this, one, too. Reminds me of a giant erector set.

I love that visitors are encouraged to engage with the art and pose with it.

The Grounds for Sculpture are beautiful in every season. Personally. I'm hoping to return after a snow storm to take pictures. Don took most of our pictures when we went last week.

Kate Gorrie Butterfly House

The Kate Gorrie Butterfly House in the Stony Brook Watershed in Hopewell, NJ is one of those fun hidden treasures in our area. The entire Watershed is a great place to bring children to learn about nature. The Butterfly House feels like an oasis.

The day we went it was raining, which means the smart butterflies were hiding to keep their wings dry. A few others popped out. We knew this going into it, but we had just learned about their Monday morning talks and decided to give it a try.

I'm so glad we did. Our guide (whose name escapes me -- Katie?) gave us an enthusiastic talk about butterflies. She answered all sorts of questions from us and the other family in our group including one that has bothered me. If butterflies only live for about 3 weeks, how do they make the journey South to Mexico and back North to lay their eggs for the next generation?

Our naturalist said every few generations of butterflies produces a super strength of butterfly that lives for 7-8 months -- long enough to make the journey and return part of the way to lay eggs. Nature is amazing.

Listening to her talk I was thinking about a children's book I read recently called the "Prince of Butterflies" (http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/The-Giverny-Award-for-Childrens-Science-Picture-Books/378) by Bruce Coville. An inspirational tale of how a child's life can be changed by nature. 

A few more comments about the place:

• The entire garden is filled with native plants
• It is open from dawn to dusk every day and is open to the public
• It is open from June until October when the netting is opened and the butterflies are free to leave
• All butterflies are tagged (as part of a national tagging system) before they are released
• The caterpillars are brought inside to have a chance to change in a safer environment, and to make it easier for people to watch the life cycle happening live

The nature center is also free to visit and a great place to go with kids, even on rainy days. Trails are open to the public and are also free to use.

http://www.thewatershed.org/conservation/kate-gorie-butterfly-house/

Roebling Museum

Ashley and I have officially begun our tour of historic sites. I will try to blog about the places as we journey in our adventures. I will include websites or an address or phone number so you can follow in our footsteps.

Our first stop was to the brand-new Roebling Museum.



The museum is easy to find from the RiverLine train station. It is not hard to find by car, either.

After decades of sitting empty, the building and grounds were turned over to

the Township of Florence and the Roebling Museum in June 2009. This building served as the gateway for the factory shift workers every day from its beginnings as just a gate in 1905, until the factory closed in 1974 (after many additions had been built around the original gate).

The building looks sparkling new. The visit began with a brief movie filled with much oral history as told to the producer, Clifford Zink (whom I met a couple of days later at Art All Night). He interviewed factory workers and children of factory workers. Some of whom have since passed away.

Inside there is a room dedicated to the Roebling family. The Roeblings are most famous for creating the steel ropes that built the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. They went on to create other famous suspension bridges, such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

A second room focused on working in the factory.

A third room taught us about living in the town of Roebling. This was my first visit to the town, though I have passed it when I drive down Route 130. It was built as a factory town for the workers of the factory. People lived in the town according to the jobs they held. They started off in a tiny row home. After a promotion they moved up to a semi-detached home and then a few lived in free-standing homes. Everyone knew each other no matter their ethnicity. It sounded idyllic.

The museum is small, but it is amazing what they have created in such a short time.

Ashley's favorite part was the building where the workers received their shoes. You cannot go in the building, and there is not much to see through the window, but the thought that it housed lots of shoes appealed to her.

The highlight for me was the scavenger hunt at the end. Something to keep in mind is to always ask the staff if there are activities for kids. I find it helps keep us focused, too.



I will admit that Ashley and I moved this to the top of the list because we received free passes (for volunteering at Rockingham) that were set to expire at the end of the month. Even with the movie, we still only spent about an hour at the site. Everyone was very friendly. They have done a terrific job in a short time. I wish them much luck in the future.

http://www.roeblingmuseum.org/index.html

One room schoolhouse

I've always romanticized one-room school houses. Perhaps it stems back to my days of reading "Little House in the Prairie" where everyone learned together and, yet also, from each other.

Until last week, though, I don't remember ever stepping inside a one-room schoolhouse. (This is where mom corrects me by reminding me of the one we saw in Lancaster, PA or Columbus, OH or on some other family vacation.)

I have heard Larry Kidder speak eloquently about the one-room schoolhouse at Howell Living History Farm. http://www.howellfarm.org/ I have even driven past it on many visits to the farm. Earlier this month, though, I went inside it.

Larry Kidder is a newly retired history teacher -- the kind that if everyone had growing up we would all love history. Back in the 1970s, he and his wife, Joyce, began volunteering at Howell Living History Farm. They handle all requests from mucking stables, to manning the register, to giving history lessons with grace. They are both very passionate about teaching.

Sadly the schoolhouse has undergone many transformations over the years. For about 50 years is was a family home. Hence, the interior has been modified and modernized over the years.

Still, I found it fascinating listening to Larry Kidder talk about the school, its teachers, students, parents and townspeople who enjoyed the place. Even though I have heard him give a similar presentation in the barn, hearing it again in the schoolhouse seemed to make the ghosts of the past come alive and smile.

The schoolhouse is open very rarely for tours. If you happen to be available next time, I would highly recommend a visit.