Tuesday, October 19, 2010

We're not in Kansas any more...

And neither are these ruby red slippers!   Miss A is admiring them at the National Museum of American History.  Haley and I took Ansley there last Wednesday, leaving the slugs behind.  They had had their fill of museums by then...couldn't face ONE more.  And they totally missed out on the bestest one.  This museum offers something for everyone, and can't possibly be done in one day.  We picked out the spots we wanted to visit, and made tracks, seeing first the ever-changing display of first-ladies' dresses.  Some of them were really OLD...and getting very fragile, which is why the displays are changed often.

Here is the real, dismantled and rebuilt kitchen of Julia Child, America's favorite chef.  When Julia Child moved back to her home state of California in 2001, she donated the kitchen from her Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to the Museum. The exhibition features the actual kitchen, including the cabinets, appliances, cookbooks, kitchen table, and hundreds of utensils and gadgets. The exhibition gives visitors a peek into the working kitchen of one of the world’s best-known cooks, and explores how her influence as an author and host of several television series changed the way America cooks. 


All three of us gals could have spent an hour admiring all the details in this little number:
Representing the home of a large, affluent American family of about 1910, this dollhouse was built by Faith Bradford, who spent more than a half century accumulating and constructing the miniature furnishings for its intricately detailed rooms.  She donated it to the museum in 1951.

With all the collections displayed, exhibits, hands-on spots, art, cars, boats, planes, trains, buggies, engines...whew, the list is endless...there is something there for everyone to enjoy...and to learn about our American history.

Haley and I were especially happy that we did not live in this particular wash tub and lye soap laundry era, although I did reside in the clothesline era:
And we are both glad that we have progressed technologically beyond this contraption:

Hmm, this reminds me that I still don't have a new laptop.  Mr. Dell is out of parts on the particular model I am interested in, so I hurry up and wait...and research some more.  Rats!

8 comments:

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

you mean the ruby slippers i saw at disney world were not the "real" ones? rats! ha ha

one day all dells will be in a museum. that'll be when y'all buy a MAC!

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Sarge Charlie said...

You would think miss bee did not sell her apple stock :)

Anonymous said...

:: moth agape ::

Julia Childs' kitchen? So need to go there!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

wow, what an awesome museum! I love the clothesline era. I still hand my laundry on some days. And Julia Child, a legend in her time :)

Sandee said...

I would have loved this museum. Awesome. What a fun place to snoop around. I would have loved to see Julia Childs kitchen. I really liked her. Thanks for giving us a peek at your day.

Have a terrific day. Big hugs. :)

Anonymous said...

I saw the ruby red slippers at MGM at Disney World, too. What's up with that?

I know I'd have loved that museum! Julia Child's kitchen is awesome! I see she had a KitchenAid mixer, too!

Leave the slugs at home... that's been my motto for years! hahahaha!

Big hugs (not slugs) :]

ivana said...

Very, very interesting!
I watched some J C. videos of French Chef!!!
She was a great woman!
Thanks for the pictures!!!

Hugs!!!

Haley D. said...

This museum ended up being my fave even though we "only" saw about 2/3 of it. There is definitely something for everyone there. Also, I do believe that "Dorothy" wore several pairs of ruby slippers, so the other ones you saw were probably real too. I was surprised that these looked pretty well worn.