My husband and I recently went to the Salt and Pepper Shaker Gallery in Traer, Iowa. Apparently there is a bigger salt and pepper shaker museum in Tennessee, but this one was impressive with 16,000 sets of salt and pepper shakers collected by Ruth Rasmussen. Now, salt and pepper shakers are more functional than decorative, … Read more »
News
SPIRAL STAIRCASES–CLOCKWISE OR COUNTERCLOCKWISE?
I’ve spent way too much time researching whether spiral staircases go clockwise or counterclockwise (from the bottom up). Google AI tells me that most winding staircases travel clockwise from the bottom up. Other sources say as much as 75% go counterclockwise. Apparently stairways in towers always go clockwise and there are many theories as to… Read more »
Fungus Schmungus #10
I was mowing my yard when I ran across this unusual mushroom. It appears to be a Scleroderma mushroom also know as “earthballs” or “pigskin poison puffballs.” I found similar pictures on the internet and in a book on mushrooms, but not an exact match. I have eaten puffball mushrooms that my father-in-law cooked. I… Read more »
LITTLE AMERICA, WYOMING, THE FIRST BUC-EE’S
My husband and I were travelling across Wyoming on our way back from Oregon. Wyoming is very sparsely populated without a lot of stopping places. It was getting late in the day and we finally landed in Cheyenne, WY at a hotel called Little America. As I was going through the front doors to check-in,… Read more »
Santa Rocks 2024
Last December I had a post with links to five different dancing Santas on my YouTube. I have a new Santa to add this Christmas, Hula-Hoop Santa. https://studio.youtube.com/video/2r4VjuxljzI/edit
Popcorn Balls
Happy Halloween! Popcorn balls became popular in the 1950s when people handed out homemade goodies to kids for trick-or-treat. Below are pictures of the cooking steps. Here is the recipe my family uses(it is tripled in the pictures below): POPCORN BALLS 8 cups popped corn 2/3 cup white sugar 2/3 cup white Karo syrup 1/2… Read more »
Highway Rider
I was going down I-40 in Arkansas when a mechanical bull passed me.
Fungus Schmungus #6
I found three very colorful mushrooms. The violet ones are Reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucicum) and are also known as Lingzhi, Divine Mushroom, and “Mushroom of Immortality.” Reishi mushrooms are used in medicinal teas. I could not correctly indentify the green mushrooms or the odd bright yellow mushroom. The yellow mushroom was growing out of a… Read more »
Chameleon Changing Colors
Last summer, my family visited the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Aventure. This chameleon was green and blue when we arrived. He s-l-o-w-l-y followed my son from one side of his aquarium to the other. My son, Cole, wore a magenta shirt with a wild pattern. As the chameleon followed around the enclosure, he changed colors… Read more »
Cassette Tape Art by Erika Simmons
I love art made from recycled materials. Erika Simmons makes portraits of famous people from old audio cassette tapes and video cassette tapes. She calls her project “Ghosts in the Machine.” I saw this picture of singer Lauryn Hill at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum in Branson, MO. Erika has a website which… Read more »
Shelley Jones Clark
