A Weekend in May

The kids' garden club project for May was an adorable wind chime made out of  metal bottle caps and an upside down decorative metal watering can.  We spent a lot of time getting this one done, but it was a lot of fun and worth it when you see the end product!  

J was really proud of it and couldn't wait until Mother's Day to give it to his Mom, so she got it later that day.  

Here you see Mr. GV getting attacked by J right after he came home from work.....Well, they were actually having a fun "Uncle-back ride."  

We pulled out the Stomp Rocket.  Yes, it's cheap crap from China (or CCFC as we refer to it in this household) but oh so much fun!  The rockets glow in the dark but we have yet to be out there after dark to give it a try.  

The next day, with his mom at work, J and I hung out at the town fountain, 

and had a picnic lunch.  

The days were really starting to warm up, so Milo was glad for the large concrete water bowl I put in the backyard, just for him.  (Ha!)  

Vacation Day 4: Bicycle Museum of America

Our ultimate goal of our museum tour was in New Bremen, Ohio at the Bicycle Museum of America.  Thankfully this was also Mr. GV's best day as far as his cold went.  We were there for quite a while and saw lots of bikes and biking paraphernalia.  The staff was great, and if you are ever in the area and have any interest in bicycles, I highly recommend a visit!

What 1816 had to offer

This is just a few of the many, many bicycles the museum has to offer.  There is also a basement full and offsite storage.   

This sign cracked me up.  Mountain biking was just a fad?  I guess you can never tell what is going to become popular.  

Remember Pee-Wee and his Big Adventure?  Here's one of the bikes used in the filming of the movie.  

There are three or so of the "try-it-out" bikes.  And yes, Mr. GV tried them ALL out.  

There are just so.....many.....bikes!  Which is a good thing, of course!  

Since we weren't feeling great, in the evenings we rested in our hotel, and I was able to start and finish a book.  I love Maeve Binchy's writing.  I want to live inside the neighborhoods she creates, and hang out with the people in her stories.  Sadly, Ms. Binchy passed away last year, and I have read almost all of her works.  

We stopped back at the same restaurant in Cleveland, and our meal was very similar to before, with one exception.  I tried pho for the first time.  I really enjoyed it, although I probably added a wee bit too much of the hot sauce.  

The noodles, they are long!

And that was pretty much it for our museum vacation.  The next day we drove home.  

Overall I very much enjoyed this vacation.  If we had both been feeling better, and if we hadn't needed to skip the Underground Railroad Museum, it would have been an almost perfect time.  

As far as souvenirs:  Thankfully in the past several years I have stopped trying to buy so many memories on vacation and instead try to just live in the moment.  Mr. GV and I do collect lapel pins if we run across ones we like.  It's inexpensive and doesn't take up much room.  My collection so far is on a hat, and my thought is someday when I am gone if my family doesn't want them they will be easy to get rid of.  

I also buy postcards and mail them to my nephew.  I remember the thrill of getting something in the mailbox with my name on it.  I still get that thrill when we get a postcard from some exotic international location from our Atlanta friend who likes to travel.  

Vacation Day 3: International Peace Museum

Day 3 of vacation saw us leaving Cincinnati and heading to Dayton.  I had so hoped to visit the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati, but when we got near there, it was pouring rain and there was obviously something going on at one of the sports arenas.  So we decided just to head on out and eat at Butter Cafe in Dayton.  

I would like to tell you that this was a great vegan meal.  I really wish I could.  But it wasn't.  This was the best part.  

We decided on two entrees and split them, as we often do.  This was a vegan Reuben with potatoes on the side.  It was just....OK.  Not horrible and not great.  

Here is the tofu scramble with sausage, potatoes, and toast.  The sausage tasted like it was right out of the tube of Gimme Lean.  The tofu scramble is listed on the menu as "chef's daily inspiration."  Well, I can tell you on this day that the chef most definitely was NOT inspired, because the scramble appeared to consist of tofu, turmeric, and lots of salt.  I expected something better---vegetables mixed in would have been nice.  The seasoned breakfast potatoes were mostly seasoned with oil.  When we left this meal, we felt weighed down.  Yes, we chose the items, but I just expected some veggies, some greens.....something redeeming with this meal I guess.  

I do want to make it clear that the service was GREAT.  Our waiter was accurate and friendly, and we do not have one single complaint about him.  He wasn't responsible for the quality of the food, so don't worry....we gave him a nice tip.  

After that we moved on to the International Peace Museum in Dayton.  This is a free museum, and there is a place to donate if you so choose.  (We chose--it was very well done and brought my attention to issues that frankly I didn't even know existed.)  

That night we settled in a small town in Ohio.  Sick-with-a-nasty-cold Mr. GV needed a nap, so after I rested a bit, I headed out to buy a few things at Kroger and check out the local Goodwill.  

I had a fun time at Goodwill, and came home with just a few treasures:  a few books for the newly-minted reader in my life and some Megablocks/Legos for J and I to sort through.  We'll keep the pieces he likes (there are several figures inside) and hopefully donate the rest to the Lego club at the library, if he can let them go.  

I have been on a quest to find some comfortable sleep pants used.  I bought a pair a few weeks back and they are OK but not very stretchy.  This day I lucked out though, and found two pairs.  One Old Navy brand pair for myself, and another pair for my middle sister.  My pair is soooo soft and comfy.  I will be on the lookout for the same brand in the future at thrift stores.  

Vacation Day 2: Steamboat Museum

We started out Day 2 of our vacation with a late breakfast/early lunch at Earth Friends Cafe.  

Look at this gigantic rosemary bush growing outside their door!

Poor Mr. GV was in the midst of a nasty cold and was feeling pretty rotten by this point.  

Mr. GV decided on the General Tso tempeh wrap, seasonal fruit, and soup.  

I had the apple tempeh melt which was DELICIOUS!!  I never would have thought of putting apple on a hot sandwich, but it went so well together with the tempeh and melty vegan cheese.  For my side I had their bean salad which was also great.  

We have trouble passing up vegan desserts.  Maybe because I rarely make them here at home?  This oatmeal cream pie was good but just like one of those boxed oatmeal cream pies from your childhood, so overly sweet that I didn't finish the whole thing.  

Mr. GV's choice was a banana muffin.

And a soy latte, which made him a very happy boy.  

After eating, we headed to the Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville, IN.  There were no tour guides available at the time due to the fact that two school groups were touring.  We were given the choice to tag along with a school group, so that's what we did.  As Mr. GV said later, it really is a good thing to do anyway, because the children think of all sorts of good questions to ask!  

The house where the museum is located.

Mr. GV enjoys eating at Loving Hut, so we headed to the location in Cincinnati that evening.  

We shared a summer roll while we waited for our food to be prepared.

Mr. GV had the buffalo wrap and one of their soups of the day, 

while I had the vegan A1 sandwich with corn chips.

There was dessert too---yummy chocolate cake for me and cheesecake for Mr. GV.

Just a little sign in the restroom.....

That night we stayed in Cincinnati, and went to a local bookstore.  We of course did not leave empty-handed! 

Vacation Day 1: The Lincoln Museum

Mr. GV and I took a small driving vacation a few weeks ago.  We are always in a hurry to get somewhere when we are on vacation, and pass signs on the highways for local museums but don't have the time to stop!  So this time we put in our ultimate destination, then did a Googlemaps search for museums within a certain distance.  And that's how we planned our vacation!

Our first stop was the Lincoln Museum in Hodgenville, KY.  This is a fairly small, two story museum.  There are several scenes from President Lincoln's life, plus lots of other interesting items to see.  

On the second floor there were also many items such as clothes and tools from the era in which Lincoln lived.  I thought this yarn winder was kind of interesting.  

Mr. GV taking in the exhibits.

Outside the museum are a couple of statues.  One is of Lincoln as a young boy, and the other is the one you see below.  

We ended our day in Louisville, KY and headed to an Indian restaurant we've been to before.  They serve animal products, but they have several items that are clearly marked 'vegan' on their menu.  We started off with the samosas.  

And a big pitcher of water.  

Mr. GV had mulligatawny soup (and said theirs was good, but mine was better, which was a nice compliment!)  

I am crazy about dosa, so we ordered the masala dosai.  It was HUGE as you can see in the picture.  Much bigger than we expected.  

Mr. GV had his usual aloo gobi, 

while I had my typical chana masala.  It was a bit too spicy for me, but that was my own fault, as I forgot to order it mild.  

Building a Bird Feeder

J and I made some bird feeders.  I found the idea on Pinterest and thought it looked simple and was a good way to use up orange or grapefruit rinds.  

I mistakenly thought I had some wild bird seed, but only had thistle, so that's what we used to fill these up the first time.  

While I hung the feeders, J enjoyed adding a few things to his "treasure chest."  He's allowed to put anything in there he wants....as long as it's not a living creature.