Moominmama's Adventures

In which Moominmama  explores the pleasures and indigenous history of Iowa and  makes new friends...  Moominmama has long admired Amish quilts, many of which rival the best of modern art in her view.  I'm fascinated by t he simple patterns and colors contrasted against the often ornate hand-stitching that hold the layers together. But I've only ever seen these quilts in photos. So I jumped at the chance to visit the Kalona Historical Society museum and its Amish quilt display just south of Iowa City. I landed in Iowa City largely by chance, because it was the halfway point on my route to Minnesota -- and a campsite was available. But I'm awfully glad I stopped here. This community is  full of bike trails and cozy restaurants and opportunities to hike or get out on the water. Iowa City even has a jazz station! At the quilt museum, I discovered I could tour the Kalona Historical Village where they had an installation detailing some of the indigenous history of the...

  Wherein Moominmama celebrates Juneteenth in St. Louis and tries to figure out "Where it All Began" for the Lewis & Clark expedition... St. Louis is home to the National Blues Museum, and the street corner outside the museum was awash in sound yesterday -- a concert in honor of Juneteenth. What better way to spend this new national holiday than to revel in the blues? St. Louis is one of several major cities associated with the growth and development of the blues. The song, "St. Louis Blues" by W.C. Handy from 1914 is the most recorded blues tune in history, according to the museum. The blues grew out of African traditions, and the banjo in particular is believed to be an adaptation of a lute found among the Mande people of West Africa. The blues surfaced in the work songs of enslaved people and in their early churches, where singing made use of call and response. But the blues grew to be a major -- if not THE major -- influence on all the music that followed in...

Wherein Moominmama explores some pre-history as well as some personal history near the Ohio River.... The prospect of a "fossil discovery hike" tempted Moominmama to drive south from Bloomington to the Falls of the Ohio across from Louisville, KY. It turns out that the limestone riverbed is a treasure trove of fossils from the early and mid-Devonian period about 390 million years ago. Back then, the area was a tropical sea, before the earth's tectonic plates shifted the land much farther from the equator.   Volunteer guide Stan Dunn led a group of us down the steps onto the flat rocks that run up to the river. We were in luck because the water level there was low enough to reveal some of the older fossils. These include corals, crinoids (or sea lilies) and the predecessors of sponges. They are early animals, even if they look like plants. But they are remarkably abundant and easy to see. No one is allowed to take the fossils, but Stan did have handful of individual specim...

In which Moominmama visits her alma mater to see what's become of the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism.... Indiana University at first glance has enrolled an entire class of cicadas. They clutter the pathways the way students do during the school year, with one bold cicada attempting to use Moominmama for a ride. They're loud but glitter like gold in the sun. There is very little I recognize in Bloomington, Indiana after more than 30 years, but I did make it to the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. And while the exterior is still that familiar grey limestone, everything inside has changed. It's now the admissions center, and the interior -- where I spent hours of my life in class -- is polished and modern. Journalism is no longer a separate school within the university, but subsumed under the College of Arts and Sciences, reconstituted as the Media School in a different building. Now you can major in game design or specialize in social media. No one trains for print journalis...