Crickets... and a Museum Trip!

It's been a bit quiet around here, because I haven't been able to do ANY ration cooking. We've been in basics mode because we're remodeling our kitchen. My heart is crying right now from not being able to cook and bake like I want to! All this is temporary, I know, but it doesn't make it any easier. We're getting close to the end, and my husband is working so hard to get it all done. He's such a champ!!

Since the house is a little bit chaotic as a result of the work, I've been taking the kids out and about. We've been to the National Capital Radio and Television Museum when my husband's mom was in town, the Hagerstown City Park just the other day (which has oodles of ducks and geese as well as a swan with lovely waterways), and various parks and play dates. Oh, and we've been around looking at houses, since we're hoping to sell soon. Today, we looked at a lovely 1930s brick home smack in the middle of cropland. The views were gorgeous and tranquil which is really appealing right about now in contrast to the craziness that is house renovation. haha!

So, while I don't have any ration cooking to show for this month's menus (hopefully soon!), I thought I'd post a few highlights from our trip to the awesome Radio & Television Museum! It's ridiculous how many pictures I took. It's so hard to narrow it down!

I love the Art Deco details on this radio!

Testing vacuum tubes
A seriously cool hands-on activity!

I have the exact same radio on the left! :-D

The Quaker Oats radio kit looks amazing! I really want to make one myself...

The photo on the right is the table with all the fantastic hands-on stuff they have.

My kids spent a long time at this table! 

It's a good thing we had the museum all to ourselves on a cold, rainy day. 

 We had a really great time, and I learned a lot! Their collection is fantastic and though the museum is crammed into a small house, it's jam packed with drool-worthy artifacts. I also love that they host radio repair workshops where you can learn to take apart your old radio and fix it!
The only downside is that it's not stroller friendly with only stairs going up to the 2nd floor. It's also not really a good place for little kids under the age of 6, as was evidenced by my stir-crazy 16-month old stuck in the stroller or my arms the whole time, the poor little guy. I'd still go visit this museum again. I'm not much of a sign reader, but I'd like to go back and do some more reading about all that awesome technology!

If you're ever in the Maryland/D.C. area, definitely look this museum up along with its sister museum The National Electronics Museum. It's off the beaten path compared to all the fancy Smithsonian Museums, but I think it's worth the trip.