What Would Nellie Do?

Somewhere around my 50th birthday last year I think I became invisible. It's kind of like some Invisible Shield thingy from Star Trek. I go to restaurants and wait and wait and wait to be served while every server in the joint blithely walks by and then gets a bit indignant when forced to penetrate my shield of invisibility. Then I wait and wait and wait for drink refills, my check, take away boxes etc. I also find that people run into me in crowds or push in front of me when I am trying to see something or meet someone. It's just weird. Today I've been noticing that lack of recognition in some other areas that I won't go into but I am definitely feeling very invisible. So, I ask myself...

What would Nellie do?

I think Nellie would yell, screech, cry, stomp her foot, sabotage the offenders and just generally act like a b**** until she got what she wanted. Sometimes, I wish I could act that way in public. I do it so well at home!

But no, I must also ask myself...

What would Mary do?

Mary would probably cry a little in private then daintily wipe her eyes and blow her nose and with sunbonnet tightly affixed to her head, turn the other cheek and walk away. Sorry, that's not me either.

I think I more closely relate to...

What would Laura do?

I think Laura would make a plan, carry out that plan and then shove Nellie's face into the mud puddle, place her in her wheel chair, push her down the hill and into Plum Creek where leeches will attach themselves to Nellie's lily white legs. All the while, Laura would be standing at the top of the hill laughing her head off. But then, that night, she would start to feel guilty and Pa or Ma would then come sit on her bed and deliver the moral of the story and all would be well. Nope, I probably wouldn't do that either but it would sure be fun to think about.

Ok, deep breath...in, out 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. There, it's a little better now.

Today was day two of Laurapalooza. It was an interesting day. We started the day with a presentation by master quilter Linda Halpin. I've talked to Linda several times this week. She is a very sweet lady and does beautiful work. I plan to make one of her Little House quilts some day. Linda shared slides of a variety of quilts and basically gave an enlightening talk about the history and trends in quilting from the 18th century to now. We then broke into concurrent workshops. There were 3: quilting with Linda, Bluegrass music with Amber Waves ( a family bluegrass band from Longmont, CO) and cooking with Barbara Walker. Valerie and I attended the first two sessions but did not attend the third.

Alison Arngrim arrived during the second session to sign autographs. Alison played Nellie Olson on the t.v. show LHOTP. She signed our books and was very gracious. Valerie and I were too star struck to attend the third session so we just sat and read until the lunch session began. Part of that last sentence was true. We did sit and read. We were just too tired to walk two blocks to attend Barbara's workshop.

After lunch William Anderson talked on the subject of What Laura Did. Through the years Bill has explored the newspapers in Mansfield and DeSmet, two of Laura's home towns. He compiled a timeline of events in Laura's life for this presentation. Did you know that Laura became a grand matron of the Eastern Star in 1904? Did you know that Laura liked to hold theme parties at her home on Rocky Ridge? Did you know that Laura and Almanzo built a house across Highway 65 for their farm help? Did you know that Laura never saw the Rock House that Rose built for her until it was finished? I didn't either. Bill, I always learn something new from you.

Barbara Walker followed Bill. She wrote the Little House cookbook back in 1979. Yesterday she received the LIWLRA Legacy Award for her accomplishments. She did not discover the LH books until she was 40 and read them to her child. Her perspective was interesting and she has a very sharp wit. I loved listening to her.

Tonight. What can I say about tonight. We are very fortunate to have Alison Arngrim as a special guest with us for Laurapalooza. In 2010, Alison wrote her autobiography titled "Confessions of a Prairie B****" . She adapted that into a one woman show that combines stand up comedy with stories from her days on the set of LHOTP and stories about the aftermath of playing the most hated girl on family television. Tonight Alison did her show for us. It was a hoot. She is very sharp tongued but I got the sense that underneath she is a very nice person that does not deserve half of a Big Gulp orange soda thrown at her head during the Christmas parade. I've read the first few pages of her book and I think I feel comfortable in recommending it to you. I think it is hilarious that Melissa Sue Anderson and Melissa Gilbert both published autobiographies about the same time as COAPB. Their book covers have sweet photos of them in sweet locations. Alison's book cover is hot pink with 4 very hoity toity photos of her as Nellie Olson.

I think I'd best wrap this up. Tomorrow we have two more session ( I should have been a part of one of them.....grrrr). I moderate the one on Farm and handy work. Then it's a spelling bee, silent auction and lunch. After lunch we are off to Walnut Grove. It should be a fun day.

Love to all
Laura

Laurapalooza 2012: What Would Laura Do?

Happy Trails from Minnesota State University in Mankato, MN,

What do historic tornadoes, telephone numbers, television celebrities and long naps have in common? Laurapalooza baby!

First a little background. A few years ago Dr. Amy Lauters, Sandra Hume, Connie Neuman, Barbara Hawkins and I held a mini-retreat at the Little House on the Prairie Museum near Independence, KS. We spent two days sharing our knowledge about the children's author, Laura Ingalls Wilder and learning from each other. As we chatted that weekend we all expressed our desire and dream to make sure that the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her contribution to children's literature would not be forgotten in years to come. I believe those conversations planted the seed for what has become the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association.

This group of dedicated women organized the first Laurapalooza in 2010-a 2.5 day conference on the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laurapalooza 2012 is the second conference which is held on the campus of Minnesota State University. The attendees of this conference encompass researchers, musicians, television fans, actors, authors and those who love Laura and her works. It is not a "fanfest". It is a time where legitimate research is shared in a conference format. Presenters are required to submit briefs for consideration and a committee of the LIWLRA selects appropriate topics for the conference. New this year is the addition of Camp Laura for our younger LIW crowd. I would estimate that there are about 150 people in attendance at Laurapalooza 2012.

I was not able to attend Laurapalooza 2010 and was disappointed that I couldn't. That was the year that we went to Ireland and that I was unemployed. It just didn't seem wise to spend the money or give the time to attend that year. I was determined to make it this year. My initial plan was to drive by myself to Minnesota, go to the conference and return home. In April, I was chatting with my friend, Valerie Snyder, and I told her about this conference and who would be here. I said the magic words "Dean Butler" and Valerie was in for the trip. Truthfully, she is here for more than that and I think she is not only enjoying herself but learning something at the same time.

We set off on our 11 hour drive bright and early Wednesday morning. We talked and talked and talked (and laughed and laughed and laughed) which made the hours pass very quickly. I didn't even feel tired until I got out of the car and stood up. My legs were just a little shaky. We checked into the dorm at MSU, changed into our "Laura" dressed and went to the Welcome Ice Cream Social. I was thrilled to see friends that I haven't seen in a few years and to really meet friends from Facebook. That's a real phenomena to me. Because we chat online through our Facebook walls and because we share information with each other, it feels as if you really know a person. Then you meet in real time and truly confirm those cyber friendships. At the ice cream social we also met Dean Butler, the actor turned documentarian, who played Almanzo on the t.v. show "Little House on the Prairie". Now, I'm a purist. My interests lie in reality and in the LH books. I like to share "what really happened" rather than what's seen on t.v. I've spent a lot of my time before, during and after a presentation clearing up ideas such as "Didn't Mary get her sight back and what happened to her child?" Uh, no. However, it was fun to meet Mr. Butler and I really respect the fact that he has taken the time to research and learn about the real Laura and Almanzo and has graciously shared that information with others.

Today was the real open of Laurapalooza. There were several presentors who covered topics such as the similarities between Louisa May Alcott and LIW, weather events mentioned in the later LH books (more on that in a minute) and information about Dr. Tann from LHOTP. As with any conference there were some excellent speakers, some adequate speakers and one or two clinkers. I gave a brief presentation to the little girls at Camp Laura. It was a unique group as every one of them knew about Laura already thanks to their parents. Following our Legacy luncheon we listened to Dean Butler and Dr. Dale Corkrell introduce the Pa's Fiddle Project. Dr. Corkrell is a musicologist from Nashville, TN. Several years ago he read the LH books to his son and he was touched by the emphasis on music included in the books. Through the past several years. Corkrell sought out the music and history of every song that Laura mentions in her books. This past January Dean Butler, Dr. Corkrell and his students put together a program of Pa's music. Ronnie Milsap, Randy Travis, Committed and a few other musicians were invited to perform in the concert. They were assigned songs which were performed in the artist's own style. The concert was taped for PBS and aired around the country during the June pledge week. LIWLRA member were extended a special invitation to come and be a part of the audience. Again, I really wanted to be there but the real world stepped in. I didn't think my boss would like it if I went to work 1 day after the Christmas break and then gone for the next two. Darn! I have to say that I really enjoyed the video that was shown about the making of the Pa's Fiddle Project and also the video of the concert itself but, my full tummy and sleepiness did catch hold a few times and I caught myself dozing off more than once. Valerie did too and at one point we both woke up because Valerie dropped her glasses. Oops!

I'll just briefly touch on the rest of the day. After the video was over, we came back to the dorm and both fell asleep. We woke up about 6:15 and had to rush to get dinner and attend the author's reception this evening. I was so rushed getting ready to come to MN 3 days after returning from Colorado that I forgot to pack the books that I wanted to have autographed this week. Luckily almost every author had postcards of their book covers and gave me an autograph on those. When I get home, those cards will be added to their respective books. William Anderson was also their. I've met him several times now and he is always very approachable and kind. Mr. Anderson began researching LIW as a young teenager and is a walking encyclopedia of information on Laura. I bought two new books by Bill tonight and he signed both of them. Guess what I learned from his book entitled "Laura of Mansfield? Laura's phone number. I'm not going to tell you what it is. You will have to buy the book or come to see me at Apple Festival in Topeka the first weekend of October.

Lastly, my favorite "new knowledge" of the day is that the tornado included in THGY was the first tornado ever captured by a camera. Isn't that cool. I've seen the photo many times but never made the connection. Barbara Mayes-Boustead, a meteorologist from NE stated that Laura was a storm chaser whether she knew it or not. The pictures above are of Valerie and I with Bill Anderson, Valerie and I with Dean Butler and of the 1884 tornado in South Dakota.

My eyes and brain are fading fast so I'll just sing "Old Dan Tucker" and turn in for the night.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth of July

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. I was a little tired by the time we got 'home' last night. Yesterday we drove down to Fort Collins and toured the Anheuser Busch Brewery where Bud Light is made and bottled. It was interesting. AB is certainly larger than the New Belgium brewery we toured a few years ago. You can see why it's called a micro-brewery. We partook of the complimentary adult beverages, shopped in the gift shop and then slept the rest of the day...no, not really (Cheryl).

The highlight of the day for me was a Colorado Reuben at Choice City Butcher and Deli in downtown Fort Collins. It is a wonderful concoction of Buffalo Pastrami, sour kraut and homemade Thousand Island dressing. Yum! On the way back to Estes Park, we decided to initiate Jeremiah into the Devil's Gulch driving club by having him drive up the double hair pin curves at the top of the gulch. He did very well. We went to hear Cowboy Brad (.com) sing in the park again, no rain this time and finished the evening with Bob and Tony's pizza.

Today we headed up Trail Ridge Road and over to Grand Lake. It is very dry and warm for this year. There was a teenie weenie snow drift well below the Visitor's Center and it was warm enough that we didn't need jackets. Usually the snow is still deep on top and it is cold enough to warrant a jacket if you stayed outside for very long. We stopped at Holzwart's Ranch for lunch but didn't go up to the site because it was thundering and threatening to rain.

We drove on to Grand Lake and decided to show Meghan the cabin that Debbie's family owns on the lake. Kelly and Debbie hosted us at the cabin in 2008 and Jeremy several summers earlier. It didn't look like anyone was there so we started to walk around the back to show Meghan the view. Just as we got to the door, a very surprised man opened the door. I assumed he was a relative of Debbie's so I quickly identified myself (I didn't want to get shot as an intruder!) as Kelly's sister. It turned he was Debbie's brother, Adam. We explained why we were skulking around his house. Adam graciously invited us in and gave Meghan a tour of not only the house but the boat house too. I went back to the car to wait. I explained to Andy and John that this was kellydebbie's house (that's what we affectionately call Kelly and Debbie). Andy got really excited because he thought kellydebbie were there. I told him no but Debbie's brother was there. Andy wanted to go tell him hello so he ended up on the tour also. Meanwhile, a car pulled up behind us and a woman hurried up the path to the house, gave us a confused look and went in the house calling "Adam,Adam!" I jumped out of the car and went to the door and explained to her who we were and why we were sitting in her driveway. She looked at me and said of course, you look just like Kelly. She had been to town, forgotten her wallet, tried to call Adam and couldn't get him so she rushed home. A few minutes later we thanked Adam and were on our way, slightly embarrassed at barging in on Adam's vacation afternoon nap. I am glad he was so gracious to us.

We shopped a bit in town and got ice cream at Kelly's favorite ice cream stand by the lake. I found a quilt store in Grand Lake that is very cute. I wanted to buy some fabric fat quarters but the sales lady didn't want to cut them because she was so busy. There wasn't another person in the store! When she saw that I was going to leave without the fabric she said she guessed she could. By the time she had finished cutting the fabric I had not only purchased the 3 fat quarters but 2 more yards of fabric and we were chatting like old quilting friends.

We drove back over the pass and stopped at the Ranger Station so John and Andy could be sworn in as Junior Rangers. Back at the cabin Jeremiah and Meghan cooked a delicious steak dinner. Because of the fire ban there are no fireworks so we are just staying in. I think Meghan and Jeremy are going down to the Rock Inn Tavern in a bit. Tomorrow awaits with new adventures. The elder Griffith's are going hiking and the grandboys are staying with us.

Happy 4th!

It's A Bear

Hey!

I've been sleeping well here. At home I'd fallen into the habit of staying up till 1:00 or 1:30 at night and just couldn't break that cycle. Here I've been able to go to sleep at a decent hour and sleep well until 6:00 or 6:30. I slept until 9:00 this morning and it was great. Hadn't planned to cook today but out of the kindness of my heart did so anyway. Pancakes for breakfast and sloppy joes for dinner. Tuesday is my day off....!

Today's adventure was to Bear Lake. Since I didn't start cooking pancakes until late morning, we didn't get going until after 12:00. Bear Lake road is completely closed to car traffic from 9:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m due to a complete renovation of the road. You have to take the NPS Shuttle to Bear Lake and we were warned that the trip could take up to 2 hours. Thank goodness it didn't. At one point we passed a huge hole in the road. Down in the hole was a boulder about the size of a Volkswagon. Three construction workers were standing on the edge of the hole looking at the rock. I think they were thinking "how the heck are we going to get this darn rock out of here?" At one point the road is being compleltely rerouted. They are pushing it up a hill away from the river. Apparently the road bed is eroding and filling the river with silt. The road is being rerouted to stop the erosion. It will be a different Bear Lake road when they get finished.

We had a nice leisurely walk around the lake and as I supposed yesterday, it was not nearly as crowded as it usually is. There is no snow either. Usually we find at least one spot on the south side of the lake with at least a foot of snow. You could also tell that the lake was way down by the water lines on the rocks. I've been having fun trying to teach John a few geology lessons this week as we go along. I don't know that he's too interested but the thing about John is his brain is like a computer. You put the information in and you never know when it will pop out again. Today we talked about metamorphic rocks, soil erosion and the difference between selinite and calcite (thank you Mrs. Jones and my other 2 geology teachers). After taking the requisite rock pictures we got back on the shuttle and came back down the hill.

After our lovely sloppy joe dinner we went downtown to hear Cowboy Brad (.com) sing. It started raining just as we left the cabin. It stopped for a bit when we got to the park but started raining again about 20 minutes before the concert. Brad said it would end by 7:00 so we went back to our car and waited. Sure enough, it stopped raining at 7:00 and didn't start again until his last song. CowboyBrad.com gave a great performance as usual.

We walked around town in the rain, got a soda at Bob and Tony's and came home. The adults are now going to retire to the upstairs television room to watch Mad Men Season 2. I think we will go to Ft. Collins tomorrow. Wednesday is looking like Trail Ridge and Thursday, there's a possibility that I will get to hook up with a life long friend (Stacey) for a little bit. We are taking each day as it comes.

Oh. I made the mistake of checking the weather next week. 60's and 70's all week with lows in the 40's. Just my luck.

Love to all.

Family Affair 2012- I am not a tourist.

Greetings once again from Colorful Colorado,

I was just scrolling through my entries from last summer and reminiscing about where we'd been and what we'd done. It seems like an eternity since then. I also noted that I hadn't written anything since last year. We've been on a major trip since then--a Bahaman cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary. There was internet access on the ship but at $2.00/minute I wasn't about to write in my blog.

Our journey to this day has been almost a year in the making. Meghan and I started talking about going to Estes Park together last summer. We tossed the idea of a family reunion back and forth but after throwing out a few feelers decided that would probably result in major headache. We decided to just keep it simple. Too many things have happened since last fall and I kept putting the planning off until March. By then our favorite spot, River Spruce was all booked. Meghan, Jeremy and I started looking at VRBO's. Like Goldilocks, some were to small, some were too big, some (most) were too expensive and some had TERRIBLE reviews. This one was just right. We are renting a lovely 3 bedroom, two story home facing Long's Peak. The view out the back door and up is magnificent. There is a comfortable deck complete with table and padded chairs. I'm sure we will eat a few meals out there this week. The Griffith's have their own floor and we have a bedroom and bath on the first floor. Oh, I forgot to mention that the view in front is of Elk Meadows RV park. Not so beautiful so I don't look out there.

Ken and I have had very mixed emotions about taking this vacation. As most of you know, Ken's dad Roy is very ill. We hated to leave and didn't make our decision to go until the day before we were supposed to leave. I think Ken needs this time to relax and think about other less stressful things for a few days. Fate seemed against us last week when several homes burned just across the road during a brief wild fire. Then the Colorado Springs fires began and just a few days ago a fire started near Boulder. We weren't sure what we'd find in Colorado.

We left Maize Friday morning and met the Griffith's in Salina. Ate breakfast and then, in what threatened to be a repeat performance of Ireland and last year, I started to get queasy. I made the mistake of dozing off after we ate. Then, the wind was blowing just enough that the car would move back and forth a little. Fortunately, we found a truck stop fairly quickly and I bought some Dramamine and was just fine after that. We got to Denver around 2:30. Checked in to our rooms, caught a little shut eye and then Ken and I drove to Coors Stadium where we watched the Rox beat the Padres 11-2. The Royals won that night as well so all was good in the world. I hate it that I am now a little fan of MLB and especially of the Royals. I think it blows my sports snob image.

Saturday we took a Titanic themed tour of Molly Brown's house and ate lunch at my favorite place-the Old Spaghetti Factory. Walked to 16th street and caught the bus to Hard Rock cafe to buy a t-shirt, pint glass and hat. Then road the bus the other way so Meghan and Jeremy could visit The Tattered Cover bookstore for the first time. I love that store. The children's section is just how I would have it be were I to own a bookstore. We then drove up to Estes and found our cabin. Ate dinner at Ed's Cantina where Meghan, Ken and I consumed two industrial strength Margaritas. Our designated driver Jeremy then took us to Safeway where we spent a lovely half-hour shopping for groceries one and a half sheets to the wind (another Margarita and we would have all been 3 sheets).

Today was a slow day. Ken and I slept in while the Griffith's went to Mass. I made brunch and then we headed out to the Alluvial Fan. For those of you not familiar with it's history, the Alluvial Fan was created when the dam at Lawn Lake burst on July 15, 1982. The water was so forceful that boulders the size of houses came roaring down the river canyon creating what is now a rock formation called the Alluvial Fan. It is interesting to see how much the landscape has changed in the past 30 years since the dam burst. In 2009 the NPS decided that there were too many elk in RMNP. At that time there were about 2000 elk and they were decimating the Aspen growth. If the Aspen were to become completely depleted, it would affect the entire ecosystem of the park. In an effort to thin out the elk population, fences have been erected in areas where Aspen were trying to grow thus moving the elk population to other areas around RMNP. It has been a successful endeavor. After the Lawn Lake flood a small lake formed due to the boulders and rock that were washed into Horseshoe Park. Over the years the water became stagnant. Once the NPS fenced the area off, Aspen and other plants have taken over and the area is quite beautiful. We learned all of this from a Ranger talk that we just happened to walk up on. We also learned how to know if an elk is angry, threatened or amourous. You'll just have to learn that on your own.

We ate dinner at the Estes Park Brewery. Great beer, lousy food. Then grandma was a party pooper and had the youngun's bring me back to the house while grandpa and the Griffiths went to play put-put down the road. I had a great two hours of solitude to read and rest.

We have not been bothered by the smoke or air quality at all. The air was hazy in Denver and we didn't see the mountains until we were in Denver and sometimes not even then. It may be due to smoke but I've seen it this way when there weren't fires in the area. The thing that is bothering me more is the heat and the low humidity. It is HOT for Estes. It wouldn't be hot in Kansas but here, upper 80's seems very warm and "it's a dry heat". With the dry conditions there will probably be no fireworks on the fourth either. The grass isn't green and there is very little snow on the peaks. Fall River Road (one-way, one-lane road to the top of Trail Ridge) is already open and it doesn't usually open until July 4. Additionally, the place is overrun with tourists. I am not a tourist. You aren't a tourist after you've been coming here for 36 years. I asked the ranger why so many people were at the Alluvial Fan. He thinks it's because Bear Lake road is closed for reconstruction. The only way to get there is by shuttle bus and most people won't take the shuttle. So, in my mind, this is the year to go to Bear Lake. No tourists!

On a funny note, Andy informed me that I was saying a naughty word when I was telling him about the "dam"! He said he could not say that name because it had a dirty word in it. I don't think I ever convinced him it wasn't.

More later,
Love
Laura