The Start of a New Trail

Tomorrow, I head for the Sisters Lake Region in Michigan to help my friends, Verne and Nanci, clean and paint Lake View Lodge on Dewey Lake.  They already have 10 inches of snow on the ground and are getting more today!  The lodge has two fire places, so I'm sure it will be toasty! I'm bringing cocoa, warm clothes, and I just bought new tires this afternoon, so I think all my needs are covered.  I will be neglecting my blogging responsibilities over the weekend, so this is my last post until Monday.   :(

Earlier this year, Nanci and I started a new business called Craft Haven Retreats.  We will be hosting "all-inclusive" crafting retreats for women at Lake View Lodge.  We hope to start these weekend retreats in January of 2010.  Our website and blog are both works in progress, please follow the links to receive e-mails, updates, and postings as we head east on our new adventure! We hope you will follow our blogs, website, and eventually join us for a crafting retreat! 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Movie Released Today!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie was released today! I'm looking forward to an evening of watching the movie again and viewing all the special features and extra footage they include with the 2 disc set.  Of course, I'm a Harry Potter fan too! My Mother and I went faithfully to the bookstore at midnight with all the other fans to stand in line and wait to purchase our copy of each book!  We couldn't possibly wait until daylight to purchase it! 

What a shame the series has ended, but we have a couple of movies still to be released.  We go to the midnight showing of the films as well--it's more fun--even if you have to go to work the next day!  All the fans are eagerly discussing the plot and what they think will make it into the movie from the book and if it will be faithful to the book!  Just in case you are debating between the 2 disc set and the standard version, the 2 disc set has footage from The Deathly Hollows on it--that alone was worth the $10 extra dollars!  I called my Mom from the store and she agreed that was the best option for us! :)  They also had the standard release sold in combination with a copy of the Maurauder's Map, but since I'm sure they are not selling the one with the magical features, I decided against it.  You can make your own judgement about that.

My Mom and I backpacked Europe in 2004 and 2006. Most of the photos in Stops Along the Road (in my sidebar) are from those trips.  We went to several Harry Potter film sites while we were there.  I'm including a couple of photos from those sites.  I hope you recognize the sorting steps from Hogwarts (Christ College in Oxford) and Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross in London.

The quality of the photos is poor, but I think you can tell my Mom was thrilled to be there anyway! :)

 In 2006, we were killing time in the airport bookstore in Amsterdam waiting for our plane to London to be announced,  I noticed a table filled with Harry Potter books.  At first I thought a new book had been released and we had somehow missed it, but it turned out to be the Harry Potter books in Dutch!  It reminded me of the first time I saw a Little House book published in another language.  The drawings were the same, but I couldn't read the words.  I remember thinking at the time that someone else had thought that these books were so good, they had to be published in other languages so children all over the world could read about Laura's childhood.  Before the internet and the global press, Laura Ingalls Wilder's books were published in many different languages--quite an accomplishment for a woman from rural Missouri!

Keeping in Touch with Old Friends

I spent several hours on the phone with my friend, Robin, yesterday.  We've known each other for 28 years now.   Robin and I used to work at the telephone company in the 80's.   I moved out of her area about 24 years ago.  We used to talk on the phone all the time!  In the early 90's Robin used to beg me to get an e-mail account, but I just couldn't understand the need for it, we could talk on the phone!  In 1996, when I finally did get an e-mail account, I just couldn't believe that I didn't didn't sign up sooner.  Robin has been patiently asking me to join Facebook which I am still resisting.  I suppose with the blog I'm half way there.  Robin's home is about halfway between my home and most of my relatives, so I see Robin two or three times a year. I usually call when I get on the road and see if she can meet me for lunch, dinner, or if I can just stop and visit. She never complains to me about my impromptu visits or lack of courtesy for arriving without warning--the mark of a true friend! 

We decided yesterday that we have been able to keep in touch through out the years because we write.    It's not the number of contacts or the length of them, it's the details.  It's the difference between LMAO and I laughed so much I cried!  I have many friends who forward jokes, cute stories, interesting facts, and cool videos and I appreciate that they want to share them with me, but I'd rather hear about the events and happenings in their own lives.  It's more interesting to me and helps me stay in touch with who they are and what is going on in their lives.   Thank you Robin for your friendship and the details! :) 

Laura Fact:  Laura's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, won The O'Henry Prize in 1922 for her short story, Innocence.   I read it once.  I came away with the impression that it was based loosely on the time her parents spent in Florida.  There are several familliar characters (names) in the story.  Parents, it's not for young children.

Stops Along the Road

I added a slide show with some of my travel photos.  I hope you enjoy them. :)

Laura Ingalls Wilder - I'm hooked!

What is my life-long obsession about Laura Ingalls Wilder?  She was the J.K. Rowling/Martha Stewart/Oprah Winfrey of her time.  Does that sound like an overstatement?  It's not.

When I was in grade school, I read the "Little House" books over and over again.  I could not get enough of them!   On a family vacation in 1972(spring break), we made a stop at the Wilder's Rocky Ridge Farm, in Mansfield, MO.  The home ( picture above from April 2006) and museum weren't open at the time, but we were able to walk around the grounds and see the outside of the house where they lived. 

While we were walking around a lady came up and spoke to us.  Her name was Mrs. Lichty and she had known the real Laura--I was so impressed!  Mrs. Lichty opened the museum for us and personally showed us around.  During that hour we spent with Mrs. Lichty, I made the connection from Laura, the character from the "Little House" books, to Laura, the author of the books, who as a young child had moved west with her family in a covered wagon and had lived on this very farm until 1957.  From that moment on I wanted to know everything about Laura's life.

I have an old photo of me in front of the house wearing my lilac bellbottom pants suit.  As soon as I find it, I'll scan it and upload it! :)