It's coming

Ssshhhhhhh....It's coming. Just listen. Hear that? Yup. Robins. They're back. And they're singing their hearts out - 'Cause it's SPRING!!! And ya wanna know how I know? Look! These guys are crawling all over the house right outside the door. They're thick too! I think they brought the whole family. Aunts, cousins, Uncle Louie - the whole bunch of 'em.

And this little guy was a whole inch shorter just yesterday when we found him.

And this. Yes this. This is the best part. This is all that's left of the snow pile that was taller than me only a few weeks ago. Sweet, sweet victory!

[contented sigh] Warm, fresh air. Birds singing. Spring. Yeah, I could really get used to this.

The man who wanted to know everything

Yesterday afternoon we went on a date to the Iowa Science Center to see the DaVinci exhibit before it's gone.

The exhibit included everything from DaVinci's art to his many innovations and inventions. He was billed as "the man who wanted to know everything." Photos weren't allowed inside the exhibit, so this is the only glimpse you'll get unless you sneak on down there yourself. Be sure to check out the new revelations in the Mona Lisa room.

We scoured the whole place, from the fun and hands-on kids' room...

...to the astonomy wing where Jamie had fun with static electricity and we enjoyed a few shows in the planetarium.

Then we checked out the Channel 13 First Alert Storm Team wall and weather room.

The last stop was the Foucault Pendulum.

We watched the ball swing back...

...and forth...

...and back...and...well, you get the idea.

The sign said the ball knocks a pin down every five minutes. We waited for what felt an eternity. As the ball crept closer to the pins, you could hear the tiniest "ting" as it would brush past without knocking the pins over. Then finally...success! If you look really closely, you'll see the center pin is falling and hasn't quiet touched the bottom yet.

Hairballs and hearing loss

All in one night I felt really young and rather old all at the same time. We went to the Hairball concert in Des Moines at the ate fairgrounds and met up with friends. Some of us left the balcony and went down onto the floor and threaded our way carefully through the masses and ended up 12 feet back from the stage just off center. The view was great and the good songs were rolling one after another.

Hairball's "KISS"

Looking around, we were definitely on the very young end of the age brackets represented in the crowds. On the other hand, after only a couple songs that close to the speaker bank, my hearing was shot and for the rest of the night my ears were ringing. Even back up in the balcony away from the main blare of it all, whenever someone would say something, I'd often have to ask, "What did you just say?" And then I would feel really, really old.

Hairball's "Quiet Riot"

I'm still glad we went out. It was fun and the concert was really good - well, from what I could hear anyway. If you enjoy good rock & roll, you might want to check out Hairball when they're back at the Iowa State Fair on the Anderson Erickson Stage. You'll be in for a rockin good time.

How much more of this?

This is what's happening outside right now:

See those white spots? Know what they are? I'll give you a hint. They're really big, really wet snowflakes. And they're falling heavily and all over. Okay, so I might have given that one away just a bit.

The groundhog came and went, and still we're "enjoying" winter. How much more snow? How much longer until warm sunny weather? I'm rather ready now.

A museum dedicated to SPAM

Wow! There's a museum for everything. Want to know how I know? I visited the SPAM Museum! This summer I was driving along I-90 and needed a break. Spying a sign for the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota, I was intrigued and followed the signs.

Pulling up to the gate, the guard asked all sorts of questions before letting me pass and park. I didn't realize you have to pass an interrogation just to see the SPAM Museum. You should be thankful I forged ahead so now you know too. Inside, a much friendlier guard asked if I'd had my photo taken with Spammy yet and because, no, I hadn't, we took care of that right away.

The museum was actually really cool. I was a bit hesitant at first, thinking I'd be bombarded by a sample tray of SPAM - but there was actually none of that. Instead, Hormel (parent company behind SPAM) created a really cool museum with interesting displays including an old Hormel wagon and antique Red Wing crocks.

My favorite part of the whole museum? The winding conveyor belt overhead carrying tins of SPAM from room to room. So. Cool.

Well...The gift shop at the exit was pretty cool too. Who knew you could get all kinds of apparel, gadgets, gags and even nice gifts emblazened with the SPAM logo? Outside of seeing the SPAM tent at the Minnesota State Fair, this opened up a whole new world. Here's to more quirky and wacky museums yet to explore!

He thinks he's helping

Such a loudmouth! Casper is notorious for "helping" - especially when we're sorting, folding & putting away laundry. This week was no exception. He quickly claimed a box reserved for clothes donations on the bed as his perch and announced to the world this was his domain, and his alone.I suppose the clothes might have been folded and put away faster if I'd actually lent a hand, but taking photos of the cat's antics was much too fun to allow me to focus on much else. At least that's what I told Jamie. And while he didn't argue, I'm not exactly sure he bought it hook, line and sinker. Secretly, however, I think he was just as amused by Casper as me and so really didn't mind all the photo-taking.

Seeing Jamie busy folding clothes a few inches away, intent on the perfect fold and paying him no attention at all, Casper jumped out of the box and sauntered over to "help," which basically means he decided he needed more attention.

The problem was, Casper didn't go back to the box and stay out of the way. Nope. He parked in the center of all the activity. And right in the way too. As if he was in jeopardy of missing out on all the fun!

Jamie scooted him out of the way and Casper eventually reclaimed his box. Not content to merely sit inside, he sprawled across the bottom and began rolling around to find just the right position.

Clearly not receiving enough attention from all this, he sat up to survey the folding activity again.

An impressive backflop with an equally plaintive meow into the bottom of the box announced he was tired from all the effort required in maintaining a vertical position.

Eventually Casper got comfortable again and stayed on his back in the box until the last of the clothes were put away.

A Tangled good time

Today was a wonderful day off - filled with sleeping in, homemade blueberry pancakes made from scratch, and a Disney movie with Jamie and Deborah.

We went to the dollar theater to see Tangled, Disney's latest princess flick (see movie trailers here). And get this - it was good! And in 3D so that was even extra fun.

So the verdict afterwards was two thumbs up and a definite "let's see it again" from me and a "that wasn't too bad - it was actually kinda good" from my guy so overall I'd say this was a successful movie outing. 

It's all fixed now

It was a pity and such a shame. Only three weeks ago, we had a lamp with a broken cord. The base of the lamp was really pretty - however a base, even a pretty one, isn't very useful if the cord is broken. Thanks to a trip back to my parents, some shopping instructions and dis-assembly from a quick-thinking brother-in-law, and lots of expertise and elbow grease from my Dad, it's not broken any longer. And I didn't realize it would be this simple to fix, either. As much as I'd like to take credit for fixing up the lamp, all the true kudos go to the guys. Thanks you! The best part was we only had to go shopping for a few parts and didn't have to buy a whole new lamp.

First we disassembled the original socket. Then we clipped the old cord off near the break and stripped the insulation off the ends of the old and new cords.

This was so we could splice them together and use the old cord to pull the new one through.

Here are the instructions, which came with the new socket, laying forlorn and unused by the side. Typical, huh! Thankfully we never did need these.

Before installing the new socket, Dad tested to be sure which was the negative. It wouldn't work as well to wire it backwards!

I even got to put the finishing touches on attaching the new wires to the new socket.

Ta-da! Good as new. All that's left to do is screw on the switch knob and attach the bracket for the shade.

All done!

So if you find yourself holding a pretty cool lamp with a broken cord - don't lose heart. A trip to the hardware store and lots of help from your Dad and family will get things back to working again in no time!

Catch of the day

While the Basque restaurant (see yesterday's post) felt like stepping back into the old world, the next night's restaurant felt like fast-forwarding into a beach vacation. We were treated to dinner at Pismo's Coastal Grill, and a treat it was.

Inside the door, a huge wood boat is draped upside down from the rafters. The catch of the day lay sprawled on slabs of granite and marble and nestled in mounds of ice just waiting for the next diner to order.

We were more than impressed by this guy's skill as he deftly filleted fish after fish. You could tell this wasn't his first day on the job.

Oh yum! I ordered giant pan-seared sea scallops and crab cakes with creamy polenta and arugula. The scallops were the largest I've ever seen and were so tender they practically melted in my mouth like butter.

 David across the table from me ordered the Iron Pot Cioppino, a specialty at Pismo's. He said it was good to the last drop as he sopped up every trace of moisture from the sides and bottom of the kettle.

The perfect finale to the night was dessert. I can't remember what this was called, however it was a little bit of heaven. Fried banana bread, candied walnuts dipped in dark chocolate, creamy vanilla ice cream, sauteed bananas, and peanut-butter candy topping with a rich custard drizzle...I can't recommend it enough! If you ever get to go, ask for the banana bread dessert. It's so very good and you'll be so glad you did.

Bon Appétit!