Bowling ball ladybugs

I got this picture off the Birds and Blooms website. These darling ladybugs are just old painted bowling balls. The directions are shown on their webpage online.

It seems like these lawn decorations would last for many years, unlike the plastic stuff you find almost everywhere.

(Of course, if you've been tortured by the nasty, biting Asian Beetles that look like ladybugs, you probably wouldn't look on them very fondly.)

Here we are on the Titanic

This is me (spoiling the picture) with my friend, my grandson and my daughter. The exhibit was much more impressive than I imagined, with reproductions of the staterooms and steerage compartments. It also created the mood of the night the ship went down. I would recommend it to anyone.

The picture was taken at the beginning of the exhibit and at the exit you could purchase a copy of your group in front of the grand staircase on the Titanic or in front of the ship.

This is the one my daughter chose to buy. I never would have bought a picture with me looking so awful!

Museums are to enjoy

I was thinking that it's a shame I only get around to patronizing the local museums when someone else wants to go. The Twin Cities have an amazing number of good museums, but I haven't even been in some of them.

The strange thing is that when I travel, I always go to the museums in the places I visit. It's like the frosting on the cake.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art will be hosting a showing of Treasures from the Louvre. I hope somebody will want me to go with them.

(This posting every day is straining my brain! Only three more days to go.)

Today is Hump Day

Actually, when you're retired, Hump Day no longer has any meaning. The 5-day uphill grind doesn't apply because your schedule is no longer regimented by an outside source (in most circumstances). Some weeks you are busy and some weeks not--and you can eagerly anticipate both.

The rest of this week is going to be busy. It's MEA (Minnesota Education Association) when all the teachers in the state have their annual convention. This means Thursday and Friday off for the kids. My daughter is coming from out-of-town to go to the Titanic Exhibit at the Science Museum and my granddaughter wants me to go to the History Museum with her to work on a paper about women in the state 100 years ago. We will be on the go!

Next week, there's not much of anything going on, so I can relax.

Pumpkin Followup

Wow, who knew that pumpkins were such a hot topic! I recently blogged about the shortage of canned pumpkin this year and got the most comments ever. This was due in large part to a plug from the most esteemed Olde Dame Penniwig. She is the Queen of free graphics, bloggie advice and a wonderful friend to her followers.

There are so many fascinating friends to be found by blogging--and who ever has enough friends? There was an interview on the Today Show this morning with Florence Henderson about the number of older folks going online nowadays (that's such a quaint old word). Only about a third of us actually blog, however. That makes us kinda special--techie even.

Anyway, I will be out shopping today in my quest for canned pumpkin. Wish me luck!

Nostalgic Stamp Collectors

I apologize for the lousy illustration but I haven't found a better one. It's a new offering at the Post Office featuring stamps recognizing the TV shows of the 50's and 60's.

There's Milton Berle, Lucy & Ethel, Red Skelton, Howdy Doody, Jack Webb, Lassie, Hopalong Cassidy, Groucho Marx, Dinah Shore, Ed Sullivan, Kukla-Fran & Ollie, Phil Silvers, Lone Ranger, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock, Burns & Allen, Ozzie & Harriet, Steve Allen (Tonight Show), Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) and Jackie Gleason.

I remember every one of those shows. I guess that makes me a real oldtimer!

Pumpkin emergency!

Oh no...The pumpkins are in short supply! According to the news, this year's crop did quite poorly and the pumpkins canned for 2008 are almost gone. Whatever are we to do? We must have our pumpkin pie with a blob of Cool Whip!

My sister said she had looked for canned pumpkin at a large grocery store in Madison WI and the shelves were bare. She managed to find a single can at another store. This is scary stuff.

In addition to pumpkin pie, we also adore pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I am betting that we will soon be getting recipes on TV and in the papers for sweet potato pie or substituting squash in pumpkin recipes.

Believe me, I'm holding my breath on this one.