Throwback Thursday - Johnson's Bookstore

One of my favorite memories of downtown Springfield is Johnson's Bookstore.

My first memory of this store was going to visit Santa Claus downstairs in the toy department.  I remember the doll selection that they had.  I was in awe!

I remember one day while I was riding my bike on my street, I found a $10 bill.  My grandmother let me keep it as there was really no way to find out who it belonged to.  I went to Johnson's Bookstore and bought a Tiny Tears doll!

My next memory was when I was a young teenager.  My friend Cheryl Walker and I would get dropped off downtown and one of the things we would do was to go to the record department in Johnson's Bookstore.  They had a little listening booth where you could listen to a record to see if you wanted to buy it.  Sounds so strange now, don't you think?  Anyhow, we would bring records in there to listen to, not necessarily buy!  We would stay there until we got told to move along by one of the sales people.  Then we would ride on the elevator.  Johnson's had one of the only elevators in the city (that I remember anyway) that didn't have an attendant to drive it.  You could operate it yourself.  So much fun.

As we got older, we would buy stationery and check out the Secondhand Bookshop (also a part of Johnson's) which was in a separate building behind the main store in the back alley.  Paul and I used to go to that used bookstore too.

I was so sad when it closed.

At the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History at the Quadrangle in Springfield they have exhibits of old downtown Springfield businesses.  One of the exhibits is about Johnson's Bookstore.

Good memories!

Miriam's first trip to the museum

Paul and I wanted to take the kids to the museum over Christmas break but the problem is that we can't fit all three of them in our car at this point with two car seats!  Kristen came up with a good idea.  She said that if Janelle could drop off Mason and Miriam on her way to work, then Kris and Toby would pick Marley up on their way home from work.  It was perfect.  We were there from about 11:45 until 5:00.  Miriam was so good there; she even took a nap. We all love the museum, and for now, our transportation problem is worked out!

Day at the Museum

Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Marley was off from school, no work for Mark, Janelle, Paul and, of course, me so it was the perfect day to visit the Springfield Museums. 

I can't believe how much taller Marley is than Janelle.

We had lunch at the new Blake Cafe and then just roamed around the museum. 

Ready for some freaky pictures?  This was downstairs in the Science museum.  It is a science experiment type thing.   

She always wants me to play it with her. It is a type of mirror that you change the results with by changing the lighting. I took some pictures of us with my phone. These pictures have my head but her face and my arms. Freaky.

Marley took the picture of me here. Weird?

Mason is getting better at not being afraid of mostly everything.  He still won't go in the room with the big dinosaur though.  I remember leading Marley through that room with her eyes closed!  Fun day.

A day at the Springfield Museums

Last week I mentioned to Kristen that we were going to take Marley to the Springfield Museums with Mark, Janelle, and Mason today. The Science Museum has been having a Castle Adventure Lego exhibit this summer and I thought Mason would enjoy this.

When they brought Marley over last Wednesday, Kristen gave me an early birthday present...a year's museum family membership. I was thrilled.

So, we went today. It took Mason awhile to not be afraid in the museum. He remembered the dinosaur room; he didn't want to go there. He remembered the big elephant in the African Room; he didn't want to go there. We finally made it up to the Lego exhibit and he really liked that.



It really was an incredible exhibit with Lego castles, knights, etc.



My favorite museum lately is the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. They have quite a Dr. Seuss exhibit.



We spent a lot of time in the Hasbro Game Room.











What a fun time we had. Thanks Kris, you couldn't have given me a better present, and I get to go for a whole year any time I want!

Berkshire Museum and Beauty and the Beast

Marley was with us today and we decided that we needed to do something fun. It was too hot and humid to go kayaking, especially with a chance of thunderstorms. We decided to go to the Berkshire Museum. Kristen had given us free tickets at the beginning of the summer and none of us had ever been there before. While Paul was looking up the hours online, he saw that Beauty and the Beast was playing at the museum done by The Barrington Stage Company Youth Theater. He bought tickets for the 7 pm showing.

We got a late start but found out that the museum was staying open until 7 pm because of the play; it usually closes at 5 pm. We had plenty of time. We even had time to go out for supper. We walked to a Mexican place not far from the museum.

The museum was really nice. One of the things there that I had never seen before was a living sea horse.

We also went to a Tea Party with the characters of the play.





Here are some of the characters' pictures.







The play was wonderful. We all LOVED it. Such a fun day.

Throwback Thursday - Gillette Castle

This week, when we were at the Connecticut Science Center, Paul was looking at one of his favorite exhibits about the Connecticut River. It is really cool; you can "navigate" up and down the whole length of the river, from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire where it starts, to where it empties out into Long Island Sound. It gives you pictures, history, and facts along the way.







When he came to Gillette Castle in East Haddam, Ct, it reminded me of the time in 1965 that I went there with my grandmother, my Aunt Dot, and my friend Doris. I was almost 15.




In this picture, my aunt told me to smile so that she could get a picture of my new braces.



We didn't do things like this too often. I'm so glad I have Dot's pictures, even though I remember getting tired of her taking so many.

Connecticut Science Center

This week is Marley's Spring vacation and Paul and I took her to the Connecticut Science Center. Kris and Toby bought a year's membership last August and since that time we have been meaning to go back.

We have been there twice and it has always been SO crowded. Today it wasn't, and it seemed nice not to have to wait in lines to see the exhibits.

Paul and Marley went into a wind machine that simulated hurricane winds.



The traveling exhibit was Dinosaurs Unearthed.







This cube was really hard to put together; we watched several people try. Guess who did it?



The view from the top floor is unbelievable.



We saw a 3D movie about tornadoes. Quite apropos for this year's weather!



But....I still think her favorite thing to do is this water room. She could stay here for hours.







Later, I learned that Hartford broke a weather record at 92 degrees today. I'm sure glad the science center was air conditioned!

Springfield Science Museum

Today Paul and I went to the Springfield Museums with Mark, Mason and Marley. It was Veteran's Day and Mark and Marley had no school.

The first time we took Marley to the museum, I took a picture of her inside this Indian tepee. She was 18 months.



Each time we go, I take the same picture. Today, as seen in the top picture above, she is standing in the middle and her hand is coming out the top of the tepee. Yikes, she is getting tall.

The first time Mason went to the museum was last February. He was 20 months. He wouldn't go in the tepee to get his picture taken (he wouldn't go in this year either). But, last time he wasn't afraid of anything. This time, everything was scary. He didn't want to go into the dinosaur room. Marley finally told him to close his eyes and we would go through fast (to get to another part of the museum). Marley used to be afraid of this room and for years I had to lead her through with her eyes closed. The African room was "scary." Even the dioramas at the front of the museum with the stuffed animals was scary at first. By the end of our visit, he was okay with most of them.

It was an interesting day. For something like this, the age difference (10 and 2) is pretty pronounced. We ended up splitting up for a little while, but, all in all Marley enjoyed just showing Mason around because as she says, "I know this place like the back of my hand."

Here are a few pictures....

Mason's first visit to the Springfield Science Museum

It has become a tradition over the last few years to go to the museum with Marley on President's Day. This year Janelle and Mason came with us. It was Mason's first time to the museum and we were all excited to show him around. Marley was so good with him, introducing him to all of her favorite things. Unfortunately, I had my new camera set to a setting that made the pictures very compressed and, therefore, not great.

The museum had lots of things going on for kids because of school vacation. Paul, Marley and I went to a laser safari before Janelle and Mason got there that was pretty cool. The exhibit that the museum had this year was Reptiles, which was also very cool. They had lots of snakes, turtles, a couple of alligators, and other assorted reptiles. Marley really liked this and we spent quite a lot of time there.

I love the museums. I love to take Marley and now Mason. It is such a fun time!


Here are a few pictures of our day.










Every year I take a picture of Marley in this little Indian teepee. This was Marley's first time in 2002.



I tried to get a picture of Mason in the little Indian teepee. He was a little leery of going into the teepee, so this picture is not quite the same, but close.



This is a funny mirror that makes you look short and fat (I won't go anywhere near it!).