Birdies in the Grass

On a recent weekend in Kansas City I had a whole day to just enjoy the city with no set plans.  I started the day at the free tour at Hallmark Cards.  The museum walked through all the cards, movies, bows and wrapping paper, ornaments, etc. that the company has ever made.  There was also a bow making machine making free souvenirs at the push of a button!

 

Hallmark, a family owned business deeply rooted in the KC community, has been very generous to the community and especially generous to the Nelson-Atkins Museum which as a result has an impressive collection and is always free.  So after meeting up with a dear friend for lunch we went to the museum to wander through the contemporary art wing and then around the grounds.  The museum has an outdoor sculpture park and is known for the birdies on the lawn.

The day had me feeling so good that I left a few gifts around and even snapped a couple pictures after they were dropped off which is a rarity.

 

Joining Social Media

After existing only in the blog world for 5 years, the time has come to join Facebook in order to better connect with followers and gift finders.  Going forward all posts will be on both the blog and Facebook.

If you follow my blog and are on Facebook please like my page.

Riding the Rails

Last week I had to travel from Boston to Philadelphia, and after consideration of driving, flying or riding the rails, I decided the train was the route to go. 

There is something peaceful about riding a train and watching the world go by outside the window.  Although I rode to Philadelphia on a weekday fully booked train, I took a much less crowded train back on a Saturday and found time to read, write emails to friends, work on some art projects, etc. 

While I brought a few magazines to read, I also read the usual seat back staple Amtrak magazine which got me thinking about leaving some messages within the pages for other travelers.  Since I rode until the very last stop, toward the end of my trip I was able to move to many empty seats and leave the below message in several copies of the magazine.

Little Libraries

As a child I remember so enjoying the nightly reading of a book or two with my parents and eventually on my own.  Summer reading contests at my local library where there was a healthy competition to read the most books among my siblings and neighbors were an annual event.

I have continued to love reading into adulthood.  Mysteries tend to fill my shelves now as they help me escape the everyday.  When I have a book with me on a bus or the subway sometimes it can be a conversation starter with another rider or even a co-worker when on my desk at work.

While I probably should use the library more than I do as it would be a savings over the course of the year, I just don't find myself getting there.  I have noticed in my community little free libraries, though and they are so appealing!

The Free Little Library is a non-profit that began in 2009 and now has so many involved.  Participants either buy or build the most adorable little boxes that they then fill with books.  Community members can walk by and both take and leave books.  All of this is free!

I was driving home from the grocery store this week and noticed yet another new such library in my community.  I am going to leave bookmarks in a few boxes near by as I think the types of individuals who are likely to participate are also those likely to enjoy a random kindness from the Undercover Ladybug.

Colorful Moon

Tonight there will be a rare Blood Moon in the night sky.  It is a supermoon lunar eclipse and the sky in my area is predicted to be clear allowing for an amazing view.  Yet another colorful natural occurrence in the fall to match the changing leaves.  All the fields are also turning brown as corn stalks give way to corn mazes. 


Like every season of the year, the fall is a great time to be creative and artistic making Halloween costumes, carving pumpkins, planting mums, etc.  How about some sidewalk or driveway drawing?  :)

The Key to Happiness

For the last couple years now I have seen antique keys used as decorations on walls in many furniture catalogs and on home design television shows.  Sometimes arranged above a desk or a bed in different sizes and colors, I find them so intriguing. 


Even though I know the keys of today are just made to look old while not actually being old, my mind always wanders as if they are in fact old, and I wonder about the people that owned them and the places they opened.  Was it the key to a backyard workshop, cabin in the woods, or home worked tirelessly to afford?  Do they represent happiness worked for and achieved?


Just yesterday, I was at Antique Anthropology in Nashville, TN and found a basket full of old photos and similarly stood in the store flipping through them all.  Looking at the faces, I saw well dressed men and women from a time when having your photo taken was an event and not an hourly occurrence done simply by sticking your arm out.  I wondered about their lives and how a once treasured family keepsake ended up in a store for $3 each.  Hopefully each of them found happiness in life.

Desert Heat

This week I am in 108 degree Phoenix, Arizona.  I know they say it is a "dry" heat versus the more muggy weather in other areas of the country but the fact is it is still very hot!!  My time outside has been limited in the heat of the day but I do enjoy seeing some of the desert landscape as the cactus plants are beautiful, and it is so different from what I am used to at home.

Pools are abundant and offer relief to warm and weary folks.  I have not been swimming yet but I have been using my sunblock and staying in every bit of shade I can find.



The challenge of putting on the sunblock for me though is always having streaks of it that I have missed and not rubbed in enough on my face.  I tend to realize it when a stranger gives me a second glance.  Thus it is helpful to have a small mirror in my bag to address the issue.  I have a few extras for others.