The (almost) finished garden.

We have corn, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, cucumbers, pumpkins, eggplant, potatoes, and squash.  The only thing we are missing is carrots, which we still need to plant.  I'm not sure if the potatoes are going to grow - didn't have the How To Plant Potatoes paper with me, so I winged it.  I doubt they will grow, but they're yukons so maybe I'll be surprised 80-90 days from now.

Cantaloupe 

We have corn sprouts!!!

Tomatoes, peppers, and onion sprouts!!!

At posting time...we have pumpkin sprouts too!!

Two green thumbs up!

I got to practice my gardening skills last weekend!  My mom and I planted part of our garden up at Green Acre.  We managed to plant corn, onions, and pumpkins before the heat and wind got the best of us and we called it a day.  My personality may be too Type A for gardening.  I have the instinct to whip out a hard stick and make certain the seeds are planted exactly as the packages direct.  My mom had to tell me multiple times to just drop the seeds in and let them be.  Next weekend will bring more gardening.  We still have to plant tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and squash.

I also planted my patio garden last weekend.  I have hanging baskets of geraniums and the usual marigold, petunia, moss rose mix-ups in pots.  I'm trying strawberries again this year.  I splurged and bought a decent sized strawberry plant to start with so I hope that helps them grow bigger.  I also have cilantro and parsley on the patio.  I've never tried to grow herbs on the patio, but if all goes well at Green Acre, we'll need the cilantro for the salsa.  My basil starts are still just babies.  I'm not sure they are ready to be transplanted just yet.  I had them outside for a day and they were beaten up by the wind.  They are back inside now for a little recovery.

Once I get the patio cleaned up entirely I'll take some pictures of my flowers!

Independence, Missouri

I'm going to take a walk in honor of Truman.  I may have to find myself a panama hat and a cane to get into the true spirit of the walk too!  I already mentioned in a previous post that Truman loved to take walks.  It was his morning constitutional.  There's something admirable about finding pleasure in something so simple.  The Kennedy's needed yachts, planes, and Nantucket for relief.  Reagan needed vineyards, horses, and Hollywood for entertainment.  Truman enjoyed his walks... around Independence, Washington D.C., and all the cities that he visited.

Why the urge to take a walk?? The postman brought another package!! This one came from the fine town of Independence, Missouri!!  I received a handful of brochures, one of them for the "Truman Historic Walking Trail."  Inside it says, "No one like a good walk better than Independence's own Harry Truman."  The trail is to honor his enduring love of walking and history.  It consists of 43 memorable sites and some important places in the life of our 33rd President, including the Truman Barber Shop, the Truman Home, the Truman Library, the church where Truman and Bess married, and the Ginkgo Tree, which Harry was fond of "and often told it that it was doing on a good job on his walks."  So, for any blog followers out there, stay tuned.  Come September, I'll take a nice walk in honor of Truman, walk the very streets that he did, and take photos of the sites and share them!!

Also in the stack of brochures was "Civil War sites of Independence."  If time allows, we'll be able to check out where the Battle of the Little Blue took place.  15,000 Union and Confederate troops fought along the banks of the Little Blue River, which led to 1,000 casualties.  I've never been to a Civil War battlefield so I really hope we can make it to some sites in Missouri and Illinois.

Three months to go.  I better start searching for a Panama hat!

The Land of Lincoln...and others.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is the largest and most-visited presidential museum in the nation!  I know this because the postman delivered our Illinois State travel brochure!!!  While it's packed with many things that won't apply, it does have a lot of great photos, maps, and tidbits about some of the places we'll be seeing on our fabulous road trip. 

Illinois is proud of "producing" four presidents: Lincoln, Grant, Reagan, and Obama.  I'm not sure "producing" is really the right word - Lincoln was born in Kentucky, Grant in Ohio, and Obama in Hawaii.  Reagan was the only one born in Illinois but most people connect him with California.  It just goes to show how much states want a connection with a president so they can milk it for all its tourists dollars!

I'm sure we'll visit the Lincoln Library.  And the Lincoln Tomb.  And the Lincoln Home.  And the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices.  Depending on travel time and a million other circumstances, we may be able to make it to Eureka, Illinois to see the Reagan Museum at Eureka College.  This is the largest collection of Reagan artifacts outside of California's Reagan Presidential Library.  The Eureka collection includes a portion of the Berlin Wall and exhibits that recall Reagan's life in Eureka as a student, his movie career, and his presidency.  (Insert history girl squee here). 

I'm pretty sure we will have to turn back at Springfield, so seeing anything related to Obama and Chicago and Grant and Galena is most likely out of the question.  But I'll do some digging and see what other presidential things we might come across on our adventure!

Beyond our presidential fun, the John Deere Pavilion & Historic Site is on the list of must-see.  And don't forget some good old fun on Route 66 between St. Louis and Springfield.  My mouth is watering just thinking about some good old diner food!  Illinois or bust!

Perfect timing for a road trip!

I'm getting more and more excited about the road trip.  The timing couldn't be more perfect.  At the Truman Library, there is a special exhibit called "Memories of Korea" to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.  There is currently no national museum for the Korean War.  There is a makeshift, upstart one in Springfield, Illinois but I'm not quite sure what to think of that one just yet.   It's definitely on the Must See list but I'm more excited about this temporary exhibit.  It's open through 2010 so I'll definitely be able to see it on the road trip!

Also in the "good-timing" category is the Truman home.  I didn't know this, but the Truman home in Independence, MO has been under renovation the last four of five months.  The great news...it will be opening in the next few weeks, so it won't be closed when we get there!!  That would be as been as the Griswalds showing up at Wally World just to find it closed!  I'd hate to have to punch a talking Harry statue or something!  In Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure, the author said the caretakers of the Truman home must really love Harry now because he was such a frugal man that he saved the extra wallpaper for the house up in the attic.  It turns out that the wallpaper left up in the attic was in great shape and was helpful in the renovation of the Truman home!   I'll be sure to ask our tour guide about the wallpaper and which pieces were replaced!  And I'm sure I'll take pictures!

Testing the homestead waters...er, dirt?

One small step towards a sustainable home is growing your own food.  I may not yet have a plot of land to call my own or a place to plow my own garden, but I get to practice my green thumb skills until then with my new cold house, or mini-greenhouse!!  Brent got me this beauty of a greenhouse for my birthday!  It's a pretty good sized greenhouse and will take up a decent portion of the patio, but if it means yummy herbs and pretty flowers, it will be space well used.  Once I get situated on the patio and filled with goodies I'll post a picture!

I still have to figure out how to insulate it from the concrete patio come fall time.  Any suggestions?  I'd like to stay away from straw or any other thing that would invite mice to call it home.  I'm thinking an insulated mat of some kind, like the stuff used to wrap hot water heaters or something.  Anywho - one more project to add to the list!  It should make for an interesting summer!

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure

What better way to start preparing for our road trip inspired by presidents than reading about a president's road trip.  And not just any president, one of my favorites - the bespectacled Missourian Harry S Truman!  He's one of the most misunderstood presidents because he was overshadowed by his predecessor, FDR and remembered mostly for his unlikely (who are we kidding, FDR was sick and old...) rise to the presidency and his decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.  Beyond connecting his name with the bombs, few people know anything about Truman.  While I'm sure I have future ramblings about Truman and his decision to drop the bomb, this blog is dedicated to his excellent adventure!!

In 1953, Harry and Bess did something no other President and First Lady, before or since, had ever done. They took a road trip across America.  And they did it without Secret Service protection, which wasn't provided for ex-presidents until 1965.  Harry and Bess were gone for 19 days and traveled from Independence, Missouri to Washington D.C.and New York and back to Independence.  They packed their bags into Truman's brand new black Chrysler New Yorker and headed out of town.  Truman loved to drive - so much so that he would pay off the people he got into fender benders with so that Bess wouldn't find out.  He had a lead foot, which Bess tried to reign-in on their road trip.  She made him promise to drive no faster than 55 before she would agree to the road trip.

As much as they tried to travel incognito, it was to no avail.  At every diner, fill station, and motel they stopped at, someone would recognize the dapper gentleman in his double-breasted suit, panama hat, and trademark glasses.  He and Bess created a sensation at every stop.  The locals would ask for autographs and photographs, and with all the patience and modesty one would hope from a president, Truman would oblige.  Only a few times on their road trip did Harry and Bess drop off the radar and truly travel as two normal, unassuming Americans.

 In addition to the tale of the Trumans' trip, the book Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure provided numerous random tidbits.  My favorite is that Truman was an avid walker.  Decked out in his suit, he would take off for his "morning constitutional" every morning.  He walked 120 steps per minute and could cover city blocks in a matter of a minute or two.  Even on his road trip, Truman enjoyed his early morning constitutional, often accompanied by a gaggle of local press, law enforcement, and admirers.  I've decided that from now on, Brinkley and I's morning walk will be dubbed our "morning constitutional."

A few other fun facts...Truman was the first president to have a television in the White House.  It cost $1800, and he plopped the massive TV in the Oval Office next to his desk.   Coincidentally, he was also the first president to have his inauguration televised.  With over 10 million viewers, his inauguration had more viewers than all previous inaugurations combined!!!  His plane, only the second for a president, was called Independence.  For some time he traveled in FDR's plane, nicknamed Sacred Cow.  He enjoyed using the onboard toilet which discharged into the cold air outside.  He especially liked using the toilet over Ohio, the home state of his "nemesis in the Senate, Robert Taft."

Once Brent and I hit the road in September, I doubt will go as slow as 55, but maybe we'll get the chance to view Truman's massive television that decorated his Oval Office when he visit Truman's Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, MO.  We won't get to see his '53 Chrysler.  Truman upgraded to a '55.  His original '53 New Yorker is still out there somewhere - in a junkyard, in a garage, nobody knows.  I'll keep my eyes open for it as we travel our 2,000 miles!!

What's in a name???

How do you name a blog? It may seem like it would be an easy task, but it's not. For a few days I wandered around the house throwing out cliche' titles but nothing seemed fitting for the life that Brent and I lead. And even when something slightly appealing, odd, and unique popped into my foggy head, the blog name availability box would deny my request. It's hard to believe that someone other than me would want to name a blog "Bugs on a Windshield" but it's true, someone has a blog address for "Bugs on a Windshield." "On the Open Road" was taken. So was "Road Warriors," "Every Mile a Memory," and "Meandering Thru Life."

Hoping that this would be an "us" project, I asked Brent for blog titles. His contribution was, "Blog." So I searched the title and not so shockingly, "Blog" was already taken. There was even a "Brent and Angie" blog and a "Angie and Brent" blog. Four other people living like us. I couldn't help but wonder if they were really like us...a bubbly, verbose woman trying to convert an Oscar the Grouch man into enjoying life for the small things...like preparing for (and blogging about) a much anticipated road trip!!

Road trips aren't exactly new to Brent. He's been here and there and a little bit of everywhere, but he's always been hard-wired to go from point A to point B as fast as possible and that's all. I'll have to ask Brent what it means to unwire something that is hard-wired but that's my task at hand. So while the only interest I get at the moment is "Call it 'Blog'" and "You don't want to go to Kansas," my unwiring may pay off and at some point, he'll show some interest in the journey just as much as the destination.

So, how was "A Break From Modern Living" chosen? Well, long story short, it's from a Disney movie. The Goofy Movie has Goofy and his son, Max taking a road trip across the country to go fishing and camping. In the movie, is the song "On the Open Road," which shows one traveler's spirit for the open road and the other's grumpy, "do we have to" attitude. I'm Goof, Brent is Max. Confused? Maybe this will help....

Beyond our future road trip, the title is still relevant. We definitely like to get away from the city, and with a little luck, and a lot of perseverance, we'll someday own a homestead of our own and have a permanent semi-break with modern living.