Larry Vrba - Jewelry Designer / Nebraska Born

While helping unload the master's drums from his vehicle this morning, it dawned on me to try and pick one item from the 'treasures' in our garage to put on eBay to sell.  Digging is never fun, so I diverted my attentions to my "Karen Box" - the place where all things "Karen" should be stored.  Found high school junk, grade school report cards, the stuffed bear in remembrance of our first grandchild who went to heaven before his/her birth.  But the most surprising find was my grandmother's jewelry which I had thought was long lost.

Is this a grungy looking box or what?  But when I laid my eyes on this, my heart just started singing and remembering my Grandma Smith always brings a smile.  When the box was opened, everything was a jumbled mess and there was more in there than just grandma's jewelry - but this is the straightened up view of what she allowed me to have back in the late 1970's -

Some basic and classic jewelry pieces!  Not sure where she got the black beads, white beads or the green jeweled necklaces, but the bottom two necklaces were designed by her grandson (my cousin), Larry Vrba, and given to her by him in the 1970's.  During the 70's, Larry was a designer for Miriam Haskell Jewelry in New York and I would assume to guess these two pieces were his design work.

We probably haven't seen Larry personally for over 30 years and have lost track of him and what he is doing these days.  But there are some interesting links to some of the items he has designed on eBay and other places that carry his designs:

Opulent Style
Morning Glory Antiques
Art of Style
Milky Way Jewels
Jennifer Lynn's Timeless Jewelry
Casa Frela Gallery (with photo of Larry in 2009)
.... and many items on eBay...

What a treat it was to find a photo of Larry that's only a couple years old!  His designs are over-the-top and just a total JOY to look at!  Talk about creative - this man's full of creativity.

And to think, Larry came from small town Nebraska - Schuyler to be exact.  And our home is blessed to have two of his designs residing here.

973.8 Miles

We're home.  Settling back in.  Washer running.  Photos uploaded to Walgreen's to pick up later.  Everything put back in its place.

Vacation is technically over, and now it's time to reflect on all that we've experienced and enjoyed.

Our Hastings, Nebraska, experience was phenomenal.  Until 3:30 this morning.  But more on that later.  Yesterday was the beginning of a 3-day event celebrating Kool-Aid, which originated in Nebraska back in the 20's (under a different name).  While checking into the Comfort Inn on the south side of town, we enjoyed a wonderful visit with the desk clerk.  He proceeded to give us coupons for a free drink to Rivals Bar and Grill and gave us a menu for another place he'd give us coupons for the following evening.  Rivals was a great place and we were able to sit back and take care of emails and messages while enjoying a cold one.

Kool-Aid Days is a huge event than has attracted about 50,000 people each year.  We wanted to get a jump on it, and went to the Hastings Museum after lunch to get our fill of history, art, and Kool-Aid information.  As we were walking up towards the entrance, a local reported asked if she could interview us for a Kool-Aid spot on the news.  Heck, why not.  Most of you have seen this video we shot of the news over on Facebook, but here it is again.  I just don't want to lose this as we laughed so hard at what dorks we are.

Thought the iPad did pretty good actually - except it caught everything Bill and I said behind the 'camera'.

Didn't know we were going to be on TV, so shot a pic of ourselves off the hood of the car before we left.

I think we have both gained about 79.8 pounds on this trip.  Not eating in restaurants and eating in the hotel rooms means MORE food gets consumed.  (Yeah, the diet starts back up today.)  Bill thought it appropriate to wear his Pink Floyd t-shirt to the museum as their main display this summer is "Summer of Love - 1968 in America".  We absolutely adored the Kool-Aid portion of the exhibit!  It was bright, cheerful, colorful along with being interactive.  The 1968 exhibit was good, too, but realized that we probably had most of this stuff in our garage!  While looking at the guitar replicas that Paul McCartney and John Lennon had at that time and doing my own oo-ing and ah-ing, Bill chimes in and says, "Why don't they ever show the DRUMS???"  He was joking, of course, but it's a good question.

There were more animal displays in this museum that we'd ever encountered before.  Of course, there was a buffalo.......

.....enough said.

We totally enjoyed this whole experience, but decided it will be a LONG time before we do a museum or look at pioneer tools or Indian artifacts.  We are on history overload today, which isn't a bad thing at all.  We took the desk clerk's advice and went to Taylor's Steakhouse.  Yes, we took it back to the hotel to eat, and it was fantastic food!  The decor was right out of the 60's and 70's, but the food!!!  OOOOO, good stuff.  Highly recommend it.

Now back to why we are home a half day early.  At 3:30 this morning, our smoke alarm in our room started screeching and when we got up there was water coming down from the alarm, down the hotel door and a couple other places.  There was no fire, just someone above us forgot to turn the water off in his sink.  This same person woke us up at 3:30 the night before roaming around his room.  Anyway, by the time we notified the front desk, got more towels to wipe up the bathroom, put buckets and trashcans in place to catch the fast drips from the ceiling, we were stinking WIDE AWAKE!  We weren't about to move our junk from one room to another for only a few hours, and we had nothing super important planned for the day we wouldn't miss.  We just packed up and drove home.  Straight home, no stops, no coffee.

When the car was unloaded I was able to see all the beautiful yarns picked up in Scottsbluff at Brown Sheep Company.......

Yes, 7 bags full.  Two skeins had been pulled out mid-week to start a TygerLily bag and I've taken over my own OGI bag as the new knitting tote.

Life will now get back to normal.  Probably not many stories from us for awhile.  The coffee is on, and brunch  is being served (by Bill).  Bill really missed cooking - honestly.  He is happy to be back in his kitchen - I am, too.

A trip full of stories, memories and 973.8 adventurous miles.

Playing Nebraska Catch-Up

After leaving Scottsbluff after staying for three nights (we loved it there) our goal was Ogallala and Front Street.  Remember in an earlier post we had finally found it on our way out west, but it was closed.  On a weekday, around lunchtime, this is what we encountered at Front Street...........

......everything but the restaurant was closed.  Had wanted our pictures taken 'western style' but their sign said they were at the county fair.  Even the antique shop was no longer there and had moved across the street.  So needless to say, we left, never to return.  And it really put me in one fowl mood, shame on me.  Drove on to North Platte for the night and try to get my attitude straightened out.  :)
   But we made plans for the rest of the trip, and by the time we were on the road Thursday morning, we were both in a much better attitude and spirit.  On to Kearney, Minden and Hastings.

 We have been to the "Great Platte River Road" archway near Kearney before, but never took the time to actually walk around and enjoy the historical walk through that spans the interstate below.

 Here we go with a picture by a buffalo again.....  I think maybe it's just a big enough object that Bill can actually get a good focus on it with the camera.  His good eye has been giving him issues this week, so any picture that he offers to take is a huge blessing, buffalo and all.

 A beautiful mosaic out front of the archway - tons of pennies have been thrown on it like a wishing well.

 It's just a magnificent place, in looks and structure.  And the weather behaved beautifully.

 There was a little walk over bridge beyond the mosaic and the water was so blue.  We just had to walk over the bridge and see what was on the other side.

 On our way back over the bridge, we finally read this sign.  No fishing?  Bill was quite disturbed.  HA!  If anyone has been to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and know how the koi is under the big bridge there, that's how the fish were under this bridge.  Only these were good FISHING fish.  Bill couldn't make them out very well due to his eyes, but I could not believe how many fish were close to the surface and taunting us.  The little kids on the bridge were calling out the names of the fish.  That didn't help poor Bill's un-fishing attitude any.  But it was beautiful.

 Close to the end of the historical tour through the archway, there was a spot where you could stop and watch the interstate traffic and see if anyone is speeding.  Of course, when we were there, no one was.  Actually, there have been very few instances of speeders so far this trip!

On to Minden only a few miles southeast of Kearney....

 On our way into town, we knew to be watching for Bill's grandpa's arch that was reportedly along the highway before the entrance to the Harold Warp's Pioneer Village.  So being tourists, I stopped in the middle of the highway and snapped a pic quick.  Wasn't sure if we would see if good from the inside of the museum.

 But we did!!  This used to be the archway on the east side of Columbus, Nebraska back in the day to welcome you to their town.  Floyd Nichols (Bill's grandpa) is the artist and maker.

 The sun was playing perfectly off the relief work on the arch.

 They've preserved the newspaper article from 1980 explaining how Bill's mom, Ruth Nichols, had been searching for the arch to try and preserve it.  It had been torn down in 1962 to make way for a wider highway into Columbus.  This explains her work in getting it located and placed at this particular museum.

 Here is one VERY proud grandson - an he should be.  I was even emotional about it.  Bill's family is so full of art and creativity.

Side note:   If you check back to a previous post about David City, you will see more of Floyd Nichols sculptures at the entrance of the city park.  The David City artwork has a military theme and well worth taking a peek at.

With all the history we're encountered, and museums visited, we found plenty of historical items for my own craft and employment, and only drums that would reflect Bill's interests.  But there were no printing presses to be found anywhere and it's been my mission all week to find at least one!  And at Pioneer Village we finally located a room full of them.  And out of that whole room, NONE of them (not even a maker) matched anything we had ever had in our business, nor where he works now.  There were plenty of letter presses, and that particular hobby is quite popular on handmade sites these days.  But my mission was now complete.

We stopped for a root beer float before leaving the village which topped off a nostalgic day perfectly.  Back in the car and headed east to Hastings for Kool Aid Days, a 3 day event celebrating the fact that Kool Aid is part of Nebraska history.

Movie and Knitting Day

Had to make one last trip to the Brown Sheep Company this morning - a girl has to when it's sold by the pound and not by the skein.  Can't tell you how much money that got saved, and ooo la la the luscious stuff that got bagged up for round #2.  When I got back, we were going to go fishing at Lake Minatare, but Bill had started watching old movies on TV and didn't want to move.  No problem!  So the only pics to show today is the project that had gotten started this week, and where it came to it's end  -  it got ripped out.  Yeah, I know, it's another blurry pic, rats.

Since no fishing was on the plate, that meant I could dig in my new stash!  Went to Joann's quick to get a different size set of needles and started a new handbag.  This yarn is heavenly and even though it's color is called Oatmeal, think the name of the bag should be "Sandhills Something-or-other".

Yeah, it looks like a big banana shaped thing, but just you wait and see.  Pretty stoked about this one.   Just look at the bulky softness that yarn is sporting!  OOOOOOOOOO, wow.

So we watched a couple more old movies, which was just plain fun to do together.  Decided to pick up and go see one more movie in a theater while we had the chance.  So we had a private showing (yep, we were the only ones there) of "Cowboys vs. Aliens".  Not bad, but not that great either.  Going to have to be pretty good to beat "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes" yesterday.

Plans have been made for the next 4 days.  We're moving out and onward bright and early.  Think we'll have to play iPad darts again tonight though.

Real Brown Sheep, Family and Apes

 Monday was anniversary day, and one of the most exciting days we've encountered yet.  The major excursion in Scottsbluff was getting to visit the Brown Sheep Company.  This is a textile plant that produces the Brown Sheep line of yarns and is set out in the country with beautiful bluffs as its backdrop.  We were a little worried though, because we could not see any actual sheep in the area.  But we wandered into the plant around 9:30 and immediately met one of the owners, Peggy Jo Wells.  After some quick introductions and telling Peggy what I do for a serious past-time, she dropped everything and took us on a personal tour of the manufacturing plant.  Exactly what we were looking forward to doing!

 We learned many things, along with the fact that they do not have sheep on their property any longer.  They get their wool from ranches in northern Colorado, have it cleaned (quite a process) in one of the Carolina's and then it all ships back to them for the rest of the process.  And what a process it is!  We got to watch all the steps taken from raw (clean) wool to the finishing touches for retail stores.  They produce over 1000 colors and every weight of yarn you can imagine.  Peggy gave us one of the most informative tours we've ever experienced.

After the tour was over, she re-read our sign in name and my business card and pronounced our last name correctly!  ZING!  We found out that her aunt was a Payzant from Schuyler and obviously that made us all relatives of sorts.  Now that NEVER happens, does it?  She excused herself for awhile to let us shop.  OK, to let me shop and Bill took care of some business things on the phone.  Felt like a kid in a candy shop.

 The bluffs behind the plant look rather hazy in this photo, but they were sharp to us.  This pic was taken from their front driveway - just to prove they were out in the country - and on gravel road.  Peggy said that there are people around here that still have no idea what they do for a living.  Really?  This company is huge and growing - internationally, too.

After Brown Sheep, we stopped downtown to see if someone could fix Bill's broken watchband.  Dropped that off and went to an antique shop.  Yes, just one.  That was enough for us.  We decided that we've been out of it long enough and the prices were obnoxiously high, that we'd had enough.  So antique shops got marked off our agenda for the rest of the trip.

When his watch was fixed, we ran downtown again to pick it up and decided to actually go to a theater to see a movie.  Something we never EVER do at home.  Walked the mall the theaters were in looking for something fun to take back to the grandkids.  There was nothing that shouted 'panhandle' to us, or cowboy/Western type stuff.  But the movie?  It was one of the best ever - the new Planet of the Apes.  We both laughed, jumped in our seats, and of course I cried at some of it.  We don't get out much.  :)

Here are four bags of FUN sitting in the back of the car from Brown Sheep.  After sitting last evening, discussing our day and  playing darts on the iPad, we decided to stay one more day here in the panhandle.  There could possibly be some trout fishing available for Bill to enjoy, and I'm going back to Brown Sheep and  pick up some things I left on her shelf yesterday.  I may never get this chance again and have to snag the opportunity when I can.

Thank you for reading - enjoy this very day!

Brown Sheep and Apes

The title is only a teaser to what hopefully will get written tomorrow.  The wi-fi here at the hotel is very unstable this evening and uploading photos has proved impossible.  

But it WILL consist of stories about Brown Sheep, and definitely apes.  

Where will we be tomorrow?  Who knows!!!

Mountain Time Zone

After lazily waking up to thunder storms this morning, we started off a fun and relaxing day of travel to the panhandle of Nebraska.

Only one 35 today.... just like yesterday.  But who advertises good looking cashiers?  Thought that was pretty funny.

 And when we went to get some gourmet canned coffee, the front door had this sign overhead.....  Really?  We are nowhere?  After having a good laugh about it, this gas station was obviously playing to the crowd driving through Nebraska that don't LIKE Nebraska.  Back to I-80 and westward to Ogallala, where we thought about maybe staying a night.

 And when we got to Ogallala, THEN we realize what idiots we were thinking that the Front Street of our past was in North Platte.  Our car found its way to the REAL Front Street with the Pizza Hut across the street.  Seeing it was closed, and a lot of the attraction wasn't going to be open on a Sunday, we decided to continue on to our final destination.  Scottsbluff and the Brown Sheep Company.

 Because we didn't study a map all that well when it came to Chimney Rock, we were happily surprised that it was right on our way.  First thing out of the car, Bill says, "Read that sign!"  WHAT???  Rattle snakes?  Not liking this a whole lot....

 So we (me) high tailed it into the information center to read about Chimney Rock.  Yes, Bill made me take this picture.  Kind of does something to the perspective of the area, huh.

 It was only mildly windy and I forgot my sunglasses, but Bill was able to get the shot he wanted.  It's very difficult for him to take pictures with one eye, but he did good.

 The Indians had named this formation "Elk Penis".  Yes, I said that.  Believe me, it was hard to type.  And after leaving the center, Bill had a nice conversation with himself about how the Indians may have named it while sitting around a fire looking at the monument.  If you know Bill, you'll know we were both laughing pretty hard.

This last picture was actually much prettier than it came out.  There were not many clouds in the sky and this little bit of fluff was in a perfect spot.  The scenery out there was breathtaking and really incredible.  The state has the monument completely fenced off because of the erosion that's taking its toll.  Looking at the drawings from the 1800's, it definitely has lost some height and changed shape just a little.

So now we are settled in Scottsbluff for at least two evenings.  Tonight we're taking it easy as we realized that driving and riding in a car even for a little bit is hard on us.  Tomorrow is the big day Bill is giving me - The Brown Sheep Company west of Scottsbluff on the way to Mitchell.  Our waitress at lunch tells us it is going to be a GREAT time for us.  And of course, I had to hand her my business card, as she ended up to be a crafter in her own right.

People - they always have a story to tell.  And we've sure met some wonderful folks.

Enough for today - will have tons to report tomorrow!  Check back when you can.

North Platte, Nebraska

We are just switching the whole trip up from the original plan.  Thought about staying in Kearney one more day, but once we got in the car this morning, we headed for I-80 westbound.

As we listened to our favorite program on NPR, we decided on North Platte.  Only about 100 miles.  No big deal.  Lots to see in North Platte on a sunny day.  Checked into a hotel and took off to see the city.   We were so excited to visit Front Street again and see its museum and history center.  We drove ALL over town to find it, and decided that it just didn't exist anymore.  Where it should have been, there was a new strip mall.  Stopped at a gas station for help and directions, and the kid working the joint honestly didn't know what we were talking about.  Before we left, we sat on the curb to discuss our next adventure when I saw THIS.........

 Our first '35' of the day.....  And our only one for today.  We got on Hwy 30 and drove west a bit and found Lincoln County Historical Museum and WWII Canteen.  Lincoln County has had major flooding this summer and we weren't even sure they would be open.  They were open, and are keeping all the sandbags in place because the threat is still there.  Minimal fee to tour the place, they accidentally gave us the senior citizen discount.  But I wasn't going to correct this little old couple and pay a dollar more!  It was a great way to spend some time............

 Many historical displays all the way from vacuum cleaners to this antiquated optometric practice!  We cracked up at how scary all this equipment looked compared to today's technology.  I'm thinking that where I work is much friendlier looking that THIS display!  The doctor office display was just plain creepy and I had to move on real fast.

 The museum had a lot of WWII history displays.  This was hanging on one of the walls and do you see anything politically incorrect with the sub-headline?  Somewhere in between 'dastardly' and 'attack'?  Isn't it amazing what was acceptable in the public eye back in that era?

 We both had a blast with this WWII helmet display.  It was laid out so that you could try and guess which helmet belonged to which country, with the answers posted under the helmet when you picked it up.  I had NO idea about any of them, but Wild Bill got every one of them CORRECT!  He is sporting the German helmet in the above pic, and the French helmet in the blurry pic below.

 Don't think either of us had ever encountered an authentic Remington bronze sculpture, but we got to see two of them today!  This sculpture was huge, and incredible.

 Bill said, "You're never in any pictures, so let me take one with you and that buffalo."  A buffalo?  I didn't ask why, it's probably better left alone.  HA!  But there, now you know that I'm really along on this trip.

 The museum had many buildings out back that included this house, which was actually a home purchased and built for $2,600 (I think) and ordered from the Sears Roebuck Company!  WHAT????  Of course, Uno Orb knew that.  This man watches too much TV.  It was one incredible house, even being over 100 years old.

 After seeing the old schoolhouse and the Lutheran church, we strolled back up front via the farm machinery.  A few stories got told about Uncle Shorty and working on the farm.  And out pops this jail!  Bill throws himself in there and says, "Take my picture!!!"  I took it, but it creeped me out a little. There are just some things in museums that creep me out, can't help it.

 As we were leaving, this handmade coffee table popped up near the exit.  My thoughts went to my dear friend Madeline.  She would have adored looking at this.  It was made by a man around 1963 or so, using all of his mother's jewelry.  Do you think she had enough jewelry or what?  :)  Interesting piece.

 One more stop was decided on, and we only did it because it's the WORLD'S BIGGEST train yard.  This is taken from the Golden Spike Tower west of North Platte.  When we got to the 8th floor to enjoy the lookout, the first thing you see is this corn field with an old locomotive designed within it.  We got a picture of it quick because something about it made me queezy and even a bit dizzy.  Weird.  But way worth the price of admission.

One last photo of the train yard.  There would be no way of getting the entire thing in one picture.  It was pretty awesome during the day, but our thoughts went what an incredible sight this could be at night.

Going to enjoy an evening in, watch a little TV, knit a little, and get ready for a  new adventure tomorrow.  Who knows exactly where we'll end up in the next 24 hours.  But I'll sure let you know!

Mission 35

We are most definitely showing our age.  After leaving Lincoln at 2:00 pm yesterday we started talking about how far and how long to drive since we got to leave a whole day earlier than planned.

We have to admit though, that after the first 15 minutes, we were totally set and at ease with many things.  Mostly the court date and any necessary appearances needed by Bill concerning the assault and robbery he had to endure last November.  The prosecuting attorney called him while we were still within city limits and updated us on the case - which was ALL good.  No appearances needed, the assailant plead out to 5 years on two counts.  So SMOOTH sailing the rest of the week.

But back to the 'old' thing, when we hit GI town Bill looked at the time and he stated we were 20 minutes ahead of schedule.  WHAT SCHEDULE, you goof!!!!  I laughed so hard.  This vacation is not about schedules, time, or anything like that.  We live every day dealing with time, schedules, deadlines..... but not this week.  It was a good checkpoint for us both - to relax, not worry, and enjoy.

So back to the beginning of the story....  I suggested as we pulled out of the driveway that we make it a Mission 35 trip.  Anything we see with a 35 on it we would photograph, notate or talk about.  At our initial gas up before leaving town, yep, you guessed it.....

Our first "35"!!!!  Just knew we were destined for "35" success!

As we neared Kearney and the magnificent archway, we were greeted by a group of hawks - 9 of them to be exact.  Yet another showing of God's blessings.

Pull off the Kearney exit, and immediately we were like two little kids.  "We have to see this, and this, and this, and go here and here and here!"  Kearney was our first home as a married couple.  So many memories in Kearney town.   One goal was to find the tiki bar "The Elephant's Eye" which was in the Holiday Inn back in our day.  We found the building, but it wasn't a Holiday Inn any longer, but it still had the tiki bar and huge pool.  So yeah, sign us in and take our AARP card!! HA On a side note, if you are ever in Kearney, Nebraska, give the Ramada Inn a try - it is fantabulous and the staff is great.  We are all about the people and these people are great.

After taking care of the necessities, off we go again to drive around the big city.  First mission:  find our original apartment.  Without much effort, the car managed to find it with no problem, even though Bill was totally lost.  No more drive-in theater in our back yard that would always tell us we were almost home.  What we found, though, was sad.  The measure of time took it's toll on the apartment house.

The overgrown bushes, trees and grass, along with the sad sloping of the porch roof only solidified the years we've been gone from here.  We couldn't even tell if people lived here any longer and if I had had my wits about me, we should have rang the doorbell to see.  I think we were just dumbstruck at its sadness.  But that was one AWESOME upstairs apartment and still remember Bill's dad helping us move in and only slightly complaining about taking my piano up a flight of stairs.  At $160 rent a month, we were blessed.

As time went on though, we wanted to start a family.  So we needed more than a one bedroom walk up.  And in 1977, living in a trailer park was a-okay and totally wonderful!  So our next stop was off to the other side of town to R-Villa Trailer Court, #28.

We honestly could NOT believe that this trailer home was STILL there and lived in after 35 years!!!  This is where we took in our first dog, Woofer #1.  She was a great dog and I can still see her sticking her nose out that front screen door.  This is also the home where we welcomed our first baby, Season.  Oh, the stories we had to tell for the next hour about this home.  Here is where we were now called "a family".

More driving around was called for.  Bob's was now SUPER Bob's, the music store had moved and grown, Central Avenue was simply divine to drive 5 mph down and have people wonder what was wrong with us.  Hey, we're on VACA - get over it.  :)

On the way back to the hotel, we wanted to make one actual stop - and that was at the Big Apple.  The only place other than Shakey's pizza (which isn't there anymore) we would go entertain ourselves during our first pregnancy.  Video games were just at the Pac Man stage, and bowling was huge.  It was a great weekend haunt for us.  But it also grew!  Amazing sports bar that not only had pool tables, but ping pong, Keno, state of the art video games and great service!  We kicked back for a beer and one game of Keno.  Talked to the assistant manager a little and of course, handed him my business card JUST in case he would ever have vinyl banners to unload.

Back to the hotel, and the Elephant's Eye Tiki Bar.  An evening of unbelievable fun, service, people and these photos to share........

The evening started out meeting Dennis and Sue from Colorado, Jamie and Jenny from Iowa, 3 architects from our own town Lincoln, and ALL THESE PEOPLE who stepped up to make our 35th anniversary even more memorable!!!  Take a look at this.......

Dennis is a mining engineer and between him and the 3 from Lincoln (playing with straws to design the number 35 before they went to task) they had this rolling down below the tiki bar.  And then a wedding group came in and these kids did the same....  but they didn't have to think about it as long as us old codgers.  They had their formation done in about 2 minutes.  Oh, to be young again.......... nah.

We definitely had many blessings on our first unplanned and unexpected day of vacation.

Now it's time to get moving and get further west.....................  we'll keep you posted.  :)