Iowa Girl on the Go

I’ve been really anxious for spring to arrive, because I’d like to hit the road and explore the state instead of staying (mostly) in central Iowa like I have all winter. Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated. But luckily I was able to find a fun activity to do this weekend without leaving Ames.

The third-annual Brunnier in Bloom event in Brunnier Art Museum on the Iowa State campus gave me a good excuse to go to an art museum that’s only a block away from my office. That’s probably why I take it for granted — but I definitely shouldn’t, because it’s a fantastic little art museum.

The Bloom event pairs locally designed flower arrangements with the works of art that inspired them. It’s a cool idea, and I enjoyed looking at the more-than-a-dozen flower arrangements. But, really, the art is the real star here.

Exhibits change every few months in the galleries. The current exhibitions include “The Observant Eye” — really lovely pencil drawings Beth Van Hoesen — and “Translation of Light” by Mark Adams. Also featured is an exhibition called “Relationships: Drawn, Analog to Digital” by faculty members Dean Biechler, Anson Call, and Chuck Richards. I was entranced by Richards’ colorful oversized watercolor and colored pencil illustrations for children’s books Lulu’s Magic Wand, Author Day for Room 3T, Critter Sitter, and Jungle Gym Jitters. They’re absolutely fantastic.

Also on display are works from the permanent collection: N.C. Wyeth paintings, Grant Wood lithographs, John Bloom’s post office mural studies, Christian Petersen sculptures, and more. It’s always inspiring to see these works right in your own backyard.

The Brunnier Art Museum is located in the Scheman Building, part of the Iowa State Center complex. Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 1-4 p.m. Admission is free, but a donation of $3 is suggested.

Brunnier in Bloom continues through Sunday, March 27. In addition to viewing the art and floral arrangements, you can participate in a raffle for prizes, vote for your favorite flower arrangement, and bid on some of the arrangements in a silent auction.

In Des Moines for the second time in as many days to see a play, we knew we were in for a different sort of show when we entered the Des Moines Social Club and the guy who sold us the tickets warned us that there would be “real gunfire — not the fake kind — dead cats, and a lot of blood.”

Well, then! Let the show begin! This was the Lieutenant of Inishmore, one of Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s violent comedies. But I (sort of) knew what I was getting myself into, because I saw one of McDonagh’s other plays, The Lonesome West, on Broadway several years ago.

Lieutenant was first produced in London and had a brief run on Broadway in 2006. My guess is that this show has a limited audience. Before you go to see it, ask yourself: Do I laugh hysterically during the Black Knight scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Do I think dead cats are funny? Do I giggle a bit when I see pretend torture? If you said yes to all of these things, you will clearly love this show.

I must have a very sick sense of humor, because, just like in The Lonesome West, I laughed myself silly. This is wicked good stuff.

Executive producer and lead actor Brendan Dunphy has made it his goal to produce all seven of McDonagh’s plays in Des Moines. This one is the fifth. Dunphy is a research associate in entomology at Iowa State. He’s also in one of Iowa State’s series of “Choose Your Adventure” commercials.

I won’t bother to tell you the plot, but it involves the Irish National Liberation Army, a girl who shoots the eyes out of cows to protest the meat industry, a couple of guys who like to eat shoe polish, bloody corpses, and a black kitty named Wee Thomas.

Unfortunately, there were about as many people in the cast as there were in the audience — and that is a real shame. Because this show is very, very funny.

3/23/11 update: I just spoke with producer Brendan Dunphy and he assured me that Sunday’s production was the only one that was not well attended. He said the others were sold out, or very close. That makes me feel better.

Just when you think you might have THE most dysfunctional family in the whole world, you go see Next to Normal and you realize that you’re just that — really, really normal.

I became aware of this Broadway musical during the 2009 Tony Awards. The show was nominated for 11 awards and won three: best original score, best orchestration, and best actress for a leading actress in a musical (Alice Ripley). It also received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama — just the eighth musical ever to win that coveted prize. (The previous one was RENT, not coincidentally directed by the same man, Michael Greif.)

We bought tickets to see the show in New York last May. But first, I bought the cast recording and immediately fell in love with it. It’s one of those shows that just sucks you in from beginning to end, and even without seeing the characters, I loved them all. So when I saw the show on Broadway (from the third row center, thank you very much) I was absolutely mesmerized.

Then last year the Civic Center in Des Moines announced that Next to Normal would be part of its broadway series, and we quickly snapped up tickets for our whole (only semi-dysfunctional) family.

We went to the show today. I am still on a bit of a Broadway high as I write this. A high, and also a low, because this musical is raw and emotional. It tells the story of a family in which the mother is bipolar, delusional, and suppressing a tragic event from her past. The mother, Diana, is played in the current Broadway touring production by Alice Ripley, the Tony Award-winning lead actress. We saw her in New York, too, and from my third-row seat I was blown away by her powerful performance.

The rest of the family is in nearly as much pain as Diana: her long-suffering husband, Dan, and her overachieving teenage daughter, Natalie. The actor and actress cast in these roles are superb. Three other actors round out the small but mighty cast.

Despite the devastating grief and intense sadness of this show, it still somehow manages to find humor in some of the very real-life situations. The music has a powerful rock score, and the lyrics help to draw the audience along in the storyline — as opposed to being merely entertaining.

If I could afford it, I would have gone to see every performance of this show during its Des Moines run (which ends tomorrow) — that’s how good it is. Would that be obsessive? Not to worry — I’m pretty sure there’s a pill for that.

I just returned from spending a long weekend as a tourist in my own hometown.

I grew up in Independence, Mo., a suburb just east of Kansas City. I lived there until I moved away to go to college, and I have visited hundreds of times since. My parents lived there until they died in the mid-1990s, and my sisters and their families still live there; most of my husband’s family lives in Kansas City, too.

When we were younger (before we had kids) we used to love to go to KC to attend Royals’ baseball games, go to the Country Club Plaza holiday lighting ceremony, and eat at our favorite restaurants. When the girls were little, we always went to Crown Center to see Santa on the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Now that we live three-and-a-half hours away, most of our visits to Kansas City are to our families’ homes for holiday meals, birthdays, and other special occasions. We rarely eat out and only occasionally see the sights (beyond the shopping malls).

The idea to go down for a long, museum-filled weekend grew out of a couple of ideas. First, we thought we could catch some women’s basketball at the Big 12 Tournament. And second, we wanted to see the Princess Diana exhibit currently on display at Union Station. It would be our version of spring break (sort of).

We didn’t end up seeing any basketball games, because Iowa State’s teams both lost on Wednesday. But the whole weekend, people kept asking us, “So, are you here for the tournament?” Because there were a LOT of Iowa Staters and other Big 12 fans everywhere we went.

NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ART

We arrived in Kansas City on Thursday at noon. The first place we stopped was the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The Nelson is one of my favorite places in Kansas City. I’ve been there so many times, I’m not sure I even go there for the permanent collection anymore. I do enjoy visiting some of my favorite works, but mainly I like to go there for the traveling exhibits, the sculpture park, and for lunch at Rozzelle Court.

Rozzelle Court is one of the hidden gems of Kansas City. The indoor courtyard restaurant always makes me feel as if I’m in Europe. Unlike many museum restaurants, the food is fantastic – especially the desserts. Lunch is served cafeteria-style. I had a salad with feta cheese, mandarin oranges, black olives, and craisins with mixed greens and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing; a currant scone; and a piece of key lime pie.

The museum’s new Bloch wing featured some interesting photography, and one of the special exhibits in Kirkwood Hall was James Naismith’s “original rules of basket ball” document – on display, I suppose, because of the Big 12 Tournament.

The Nelson is free (donations encouraged), but there is a charge to park in the new underground parking lot.

KEMPER MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

Not far from the Nelson is the Kemper, a small, contemporary art museum. Parking and admission are free, so there’s little commitment. Fans of the spider sculpture in the downtown Des Moines sculpture park will enjoy a similar arachnid on the lawn of the Kemper. The museum itself is light and breezy, with a collection of some good contemporary art mixed with the usual why-is-this-art kind of stuff.

THOMAS HART BENTON HOME AND STUDIO

While we were admiring the Thomas Hart Benton collection at the Nelson, a woman asked us, well, if we were in town for the Big 12 Tournament, but more importantly, if we’d been to the Thomas Hart Benton home. Not only had we not been to the home, we didn’t even know it existed as a public space.

We found it easily, not far from Southwest Trafficway near Valentine in an area with gorgeous, historic homes. Benton had moved to Kansas City in 1935, and the home and studio remain virtually unchanged since his death in 1975. The two-story house is constructed of native limestone; the furnishings are simple. I enjoyed seeing his studio, which was converted from a carriage house. His brushes are as he left them, and you can see some of his works in progress. Benton is one of my favorite artists – along with other regional artists Christian Petersen and Grant Wood – and I loved seeing this historic site.

KELLY’S WESTPORT INN

After the bonus visit to the Benton home, it was time for a beer. We headed for Kelly’s Westport Inn, a longtime Cyclone hangout during the Big 12 Tournament. I don’t know whether it was the fact that the Iowa State teams had lost the day before, or the early hour, or that Kansas City has greatly expanded its bar and restaurant offerings in the Power and Light District to the north – or possibly the combination of all three – but the crowd at Kelly’s was sad and pathetic. I think this was the first time I could actually SEE the bar. Always before, it was so crowded you could barely walk. I am not complaining; I’m not a big fan of crowds, and I drank my beer in peace.

DIANA: A CELEBRATION

Next morning, we headed to “Diana: A Celebration” at Union Station. This exhibition is a pretty big deal for Kansas City, as it’s just the second confirmed city for the tour (Grand Rapids, Mich., was the other, and the exhibit was there from November through early February). The show opened in KC on March 4 and ends June 12 (entrance fee: $23.50). It features nine galleries filled with 150 objects, photos, and videos.

The first gallery shows Diana as she was as a young girl. Born in 1961, she was just three years younger than me, so we grew up in the same era, but in very different worlds. There was something so touching to see Diana’s childhood toys, photo albums (that looked so much like my own), home movies, and school uniform. I learned that she loved tennis, swimming, skiing, tap dancing, piano, listening to music, and going to the ballet.

She became engaged to Prince Charles at age 19 and married at 20 – younger than I remembered. The second gallery is devoted to the Royal Wedding. The exhibit includes her wedding dress (with its 25-foot train) and many wonderful still photographs of her wedding day. My favorite was one I had not seen before: Diana, in her wedding gown, bending down to talk to one of her young attendants. It made me cry.

Also in the wedding gallery is film footage of the Royal Wedding and the surrounding festivities. I remember watching it in the middle of the night in 1981, because back then we didn’t have VCRs, much less TiVO.

The next room took us abruptly to Diana’s funeral. I can’t imagine anyone standing in that room, listening to Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind,” and watching scenes from the funeral without choking up.

After that, I was grateful to walk into the next gallery, which showed 28 of her dresses and large-scale photographs of her wearing them. She was an incredible fashion icon, without being overly showy. The photos show her transition from a shy 20-year-old princess to a beautiful, confident woman.

The remaining galleries show Diana’s humanitarian work – with the homeless, AIDS, lepers, and many other less fortunate people – and how her work continues even after her death. In 1987, Diana was the first high-profile person shown shaking hands with a person with AIDS, and she likewise interacted with people with leprosy, walked near land minds, and so much more.

“My sister was that unique phenomenon: A glamorous humanitarian. She intrigues the work with her blend of intoxicating sophistication and her sincere touch,” said her brother, Charles Spencer. “She was extraordinary and irreplaceable.”

The exhibit ends with Diana’s passport, her correspondence, and more photos.

On one of the walls it’s written, “Rarely is an exhibit as remarkable as the life which lies behind it.” This tribute to Diana is remarkable.

NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM

After the emotionally draining Diana exhibit, it was on to…a war museum! Yay! Probably not the best timing, but the National WWI Museum is right across the street at Liberty Memorial.

This museum opened in 2004 in the area beneath the Memorial. I’m not sure why Kansas City was chosen, but this is THE World War I museum in the United States, as designated by Congress. (Entrance fee: $12.)

This is one of those really great museums that does everything right. It starts you off with a film that explains what was happening in the world to build up to the war in Europe. Following the film, you can walk through a timeline of events, view thousands of historic objects, photographs, info graphics, posters, and prints. Another film asks the question, “Should America enter the war?” The 15-minute film shows the U.S. on the threshold of war and describes why this country ultimately became involved. In addition, the museum features a life-sized trench replica, a French-made Renault FT17 tank, 1917 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, journals, letters, and more.

Beyond the main museum, there are memory and exhibition halls and the Liberty Memorial tower itself. The 217-foot tower was built in 1926, and you can ride to the top in an elevator and experience a fantastic view of downtown Kansas City below.

COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA

The Country Club Plaza is one of the coolest areas in Kansas City. If I could recommend going just one place in KC, this would be it. I’ve probably been there a hundred times or more. I’ve spent the night in hotels there, eaten in most of its restaurants, shopped in most of its shops, and marveled at its world-class holiday lights. So on this particular visit, we didn’t spend much time there. But we did stop there for a relaxing lunch at Figlio’s Italian restaurant, located a block north of the Cheesecake Factory on JC Nichols Parkway.

AMERICAN JAZZ MUSEUM/ NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM

After a late lunch, we headed to the Steamboat Arabia museum only to be told we had missed the last (3 p.m.) tour of the day. So we shifted our plans and went instead to two connecting museums that we’d planned to visit the next day.

The “Museums at 18^th and Vine” are under one roof and are available for a combined entrance fee of $10 (separate entrance fees are also offered).

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum more than the Jazz Museum. The Jazz Museum offered lots of opportunities to listen to recorded music (on headphones) by jazz greats Charlie “Bird” Parker, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and others. Mostly I was bored and getting tired of museums. But the Negro League Museum offered (another) short film, so I sat and watched that and learned about the inspirational Negro Leagues. The museum itself is hit and miss, with some overly crowded exhibits and another (somewhat repetitive) film, but overall I enjoyed it – and the Field of Legends (a life-size representation of a baseball infield, complete with bronze players) is not to be missed.

THE BLUE ROOM

Just as we were leaving the museums at 18^th and Vine (a formerly rundown area of Kansas City that has been given new life), jazz musicians in the Blue Room began warming up for live music and happy hour, so we stayed and listened for awhile. I do not consider myself a great lover of jazz (I much prefer blues), but live music is live music, and these guys were really great.

ROASTERIE CAFE IN BROOKSIDE

We started our last morning in KC at the Roasterie Café. This is someplace I’ve never been, because it’s well off the beaten path when we visit Kansas City. It’s about 12 blocks south of the Plaza in an area called Brookside, which I remember from my teenage and college years as a fun place to shop, eat, and drink.

The Roasterie Café has intrigued me since it opened in 2005, because it’s owned by Iowa native and Iowa State grad Danny O’Neill. I’ve done a couple of stories on Danny for VISIONS magazine, and I’ve twice toured the Roasterie plant, but I’d never visited the café.

Danny had told me how popular this place was (there’s a second Roasterie Café now open in Leawood, Kan.), and after spending an hour there on Saturday morning, I believe it. There was a constant, fast-moving line of customers (runners, parents with little kids, older folks, you name it), and the interior was urban, hip, and comfortable. I had a big cup of coffee and an orange-cranberry scone. Before we left, I put the Roasterie’s legendary customer service to a test when I ordered a 1-lb. bag of coffee (nothing difficult about that, right?) but had them grind together regular and decaf beans because that’s how I like to drink it. No problem! The rest of the day, my car smelled GREAT.

TREASURE OF THE STEAMBOAT ARABIA MUSEUM

Back to the Steamboat Arabia – again. This time, we were in time for the first tour of the day. Unfortunately, our tour guide was so overly dramatic (and also a total hick) that I half expected her to belt out a rousing rendition of a song from “Annie Get Your Gun” before the tour was over.

Never mind. The Steamboat Arabia is a fascinating place. Here is the story, in a nutshell: In September 1856, a 171-foot-long steamboat, loaded with 200 tons of frontier-bound goods and a fair number of passengers (and one mule), hit a submerged tree in the Missouri River just north of Kansas City. It sank and was immediately sucked under 15 feet of mud. There it sat, perfectly preserved, for 132 years. In 1988, some modern-day treasure hunters unearthed the steamboat, by then located half a mile from the river and 45 feet underground.

The buried treasure – fine dishware, jewelry, preserved foods, boots, fabric, tools, buttons, household goods, guns, medical supplies, and more – is awesome to see. But to me, the most interesting thing about this museum is the story of the excavation itself and the process of preserving all of these items. It made me think of the Titanic – only on a slightly smaller, fresh-water scale. One of the men who unearthed the treasure trove was in the museum on Saturday, which was a real treat.

Interestingly, the excavation occurred close enough to my in-laws’ house that they could see the lights that they used for night digging. The museum is located in the City Market area, itself a KC destination.

NATIONAL FRONTIER TRAILS MUSEUM

The last museum on our list was the home of President Harry S Truman in Independence. We arrived at the visitors’ center to buy our tickets at about noon, only to learn that the next available tour was at 2:30 p.m. Drat! But we really wanted to see the home, a national historic site, and we’d come this far…so we watched yet another film (this time about the Trumans) and then killed some time at the nearby National Frontier Trails Museum. After seeing so many high-quality museums this weekend, this one just about put me to sleep. I seriously felt like I was on a fourth-grade field trip. Yawn! The Trails Museum tells the story of the jumping-off place (Independence) for the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails, “recreating the story of those daring pioneers” (according to the brochure). I was reminded of a better Lewis and Clark museum I’d visited in the Pacific Northwest and wished I was there instead.

HARRY S TRUMAN HOME

Still time to kill before 2:30, so we took a tour of my childhood, driving by my prison-like junior high school (no longer a school), the funeral home where my dad worked (no longer a funeral home), the church to which my parents took me (amazingly, still a church), and downtown Independence, where there isn’t one building (besides the Jackson County Courthouse) that houses the same business as when I was growing up.

Ah, well. The Truman home was worth the wait. Maintained by the National Park Service, the home is essentially as it was in 1982 when former first lady Bess Truman died at age 87. Harry died 10 years earlier on Dec. 26, 1972, at the age of 88. I remember standing in the long, cold line at the Truman Library, waiting to walk past his flag-draped casket.

I really should know my Truman history since I grew up in Independence, but there was so much information I didn’t know about Harry’s childhood, his courtship with Bess, his presidency, and the awkwardly private life he led after his presidency.

The tour was excellent, as is generally the case with National Park Service tours. Tour groups are limited to just eight people, so you get a very personal tour of the home and can enter into a meaningful dialogue with the guide.

It was a great way to end our Kansas City Weekend O’Museums.

From what I can tell, Peace Tree Brewing Company is the only reason to visit Knoxville, Iowa. I suppose if you care about car racing, there’s the Knoxville Raceway (yuck). But for me, Peace Tree is the only draw.

But I thought it was worth the drive (especially since I swung by Pella first and bought some Dutch letters) because it’s not every day that a great beer is born in the state of Iowa.

Peace Tree opened just about a year ago — the grand opening of the taproom and distribution of beer was March 19, 2010 — and already the beer has made a name for itself. My favorite, the Red Rambler Ale, will likely become Peace Tree’s signature brew, much like Fat Tire for New Belgium. Could Peace Tree grow as large and popular as New Belgium? We will see. But I do detect some similarities between the two craft breweries.

For one thing, Peace Tree is very much about a sense of place. The community of Knoxville has been involved in the business since the beginning. And the very name, Peace Tree, comes from a historic grand sycamore tree that was located near the town of Red Rock under what is now Lake Red Rock. According to the brewery’s website, the old sycamore was a place where Indians met for generations, then became a meeting place for fur traders and Indian treaties.

Well, enough about that. Here is the scoop on the beer: Located in a brick building on Main Street in downtown Knoxville, the taproom is large enough to hold a special event — or, in the case of yesterday afternoon, half a dozen groups of tasters. There’s a bar and about 15 small tables. You’re welcome to taste each of the beers. The aforementioned Red Rambler ale, Hop Wrangler IPA, and Rye Porter are always available. Seasonal and alternate beers include Imperial Stout, Black River Gumbo Stout, Cornucopia, and others. All are the creation of head brewmaster, Joe Kesteloot. There’s also root beer and cream soda.

You can “sample” a small glass of beer for $1 or do a “tasting” of any (or all) of the beers for free. We started out with samples of Red Rambler, because we had tasted it before and already knew of its quality. After that, we tasted the IPA, porter, and two stouts. All were good quality for the type, but I am not a fan of any of those kinds of beer. So after the tasting, I went with a pint of ale, which tasted great with the little bowl of dry snacks the bartender set on our table.

Before we left, we tasted the root beer and cream soda — delicious all around. And we bought a six-pack of Red Rambler. If you are so inclined, you can also buy growlers of any of the beer on tap, plus pleasant reminders of your visit to the taproom in the form of T-shirts, baseball caps, canvas bags, and barware, all with the very cute Peace Tree logo.

You don’t have to drive to Knoxville to get this beer. It’s widely distributed throughout Iowa. There’s a distribution list on the Peace Tree website if you’re interested. Notably, it’s easy to find in bars, restaurants, and grocery stores in Ames and Des Moines.

At last count, there are 22 breweries in Iowa (not counting multiples of Granite City). Some of them are just brewpubs and don’t distribute their beer. I think Peace Tree has a chance to become a major microbrewery, mainly because they don’t confuse their mission by serving food. In fact, if you do want to eat a meal while sipping beer in the taproom, you’re encouraged to order from one of Knoxville’s restaurants who are only too happy to deliver.

The taproom is open Thursday and Friday nights from 4-10 p.m. and Saturdays from 1-10 p.m.

Sometimes, after a long week of work, nothing sounds better on a Saturday night than a nice dinner (that you don’t have to cook) and a good movie.

And since this is Oscar weekend, it seemed appropriate to see an Oscar-nominated film.

But first, the dinner.

We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Ames: Café Shi. The restaurant, located at 823 Wheeler (on the north side of Ames, just off of Grand), describes its food as “international cuisine” – it’s a wonderful mix of Asian, American, and much more.

The challenge for me is to order something new, because I have my favorites and I always want to order them. To start with, Café Shi’s appetizers are about the best I’ve ever tasted, so it’s tempting to just get a couple of apps, a glass of wine or pint of beer, one of their amazing desserts, and call it dinner. That’s what I usually do. If you are like-minded, go for the truffle parmesan fries with aioli dipping sauces and the guacamole with freshly-fried tortilla chips. Finish it off with a piece of coconut pie. You will not be disappointed.

For those who prefer actual entrees for their meal, you can choose from Asian-inspired spicy rice, Vietnamese curry, banh mi, or shrimp pad Thai. Or go for the Southwestern chicken pasta, jambalaya, lemon chicken primavera, or many other steak, chicken, seafood, and pasta dishes. Café Shi also features excellent soups and salads, and the menu changes frequently.

In addition to the best coconut pie on the planet, Café Shi serves a wide array of other desserts, from the simple but wonderful crème brulee to a rustic olive oil cake with strawberries and vanilla custard to a red velvet cupcake with vanilla ice cream. I can’t say I’ve eaten them all, but what I’ve tasted has been splendid.

The restaurant, which is elegant but very comfortable, has an outstanding bar area, a lengthy wine menu, good beer selections, and a variety of martinis and cocktails. It is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday and for Sunday brunch but does not serve lunch. It is closed on Mondays.

After dinner, we rented one of the films nominated for best picture, as well as for a couple of the acting awards: “Winter’s Bone.” It’s one of those movies I intended to see in the theater…but it didn’t hang around long enough. Set in the Ozark Mountains, it’s a gritty, realistic film about a teenager forced to assume the parental role in her family. Her father, a meth dealer, is in and out of prison, and her mother is mentally ill. Ree takes care of her two younger siblings, her mother, and the family’s home. As the film begins, Ree learns that her father has put the family’s property up for bail, and unless he turns up for his trial, they will lose it all. Ree risks her own life trying to discover where her father is – and to save her family.

The film is depressing and a few of the scenes were hard for me to watch, but I give the creators credit for showing a part of American life that few of us have ever experience.

And so…that brings us to tonight: Oscar night! At our house, this has always been a big deal. Even on the years when I haven’t managed to see even a fraction of the nominated films, I always like to guess the winners, watch the film clips, and see what everyone is wearing. If that makes me shallow, so be it.

I am generally not very good at guessing the winners, even though I always think I’m going to be right. The only year I really swept the categories was in 1991 when I correctly predicted that “Silence of the Lambs” would win for best picture, best director (Jonathan Demme), best actor (Anthony Hopkins), and best actress (Jodie Foster). I still remember watching the awards show that night all by myself and just yelling my head off.

This year, it seems all but locked up for “The King’s Speech,” a fine film but not the best film of the year in my opinion. Before I comment on the other nominees, can I just say that I think it was a huge mistake for the Academy of Motion Pictures to increase the best picture pool from 5 to 10 last year? To me, it dilutes the quality of the films chosen to compete for best picture. The fact that “Inception” is one of this year’s best picture nominees clearly states my case. This film was nothing but a huge special effect with, oh yeah, Leonardo DiCaprio thrown in for good measure.

You can disagree if you want. The other nominees range from the lovely and touching “The Kids are All Right” to the rollicking “Toy Story 3” to the harrowing “127 hours” and “The Fighter” (neither of which I saw, because I’m not into harrowing). But speaking of harrowing, “The Black Swan” started out to be a really intense portrait of a young ballerina but somehow turned into a creepy horror movie. About halfway through the film, I turned to my daughter in the theater and said, “What kind of a f—ed up movie is this???” It was way too weird for me to recommend it.

Personally, I enjoyed “The Social Network” and “True Grit” more than “The King’s Speech.” Most people who know me would be surprised that I would even go see a western, let alone love it, but “True Grit” is an exceptional film, and Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld (both nominated in their respective acting categories) were wonderful in it. I can remember watching the original, John Wayne-version “True Grit” with my father when I was young. I liked that version, too, but it pales in comparison to the Coen brothers’ remake.

That said, I would choose “The Social Network” as this year’s best film because it exemplifies the times in which we live so much more than any other film, and because it was just so much fun to watch.

Do the other categories matter much? Probably not, but here goes: Colin Firth for best actor, Natalie Portman for best actress, and David Fincher for directing “The Social Network.”

Here’s the great thing about the Des Moines Art Center: It’s not a huge commitment. For one thing, admission is free. And you can easily view all of the museum’s holdings in an hour. In a way, it reminds me of Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo: It’s small, but what they have on display is very good.

Take for example the Center’s current exhibition titled “Henry Ossawa Tanner and his Contemporaries.” The small exhibit features four works by the African-American painter Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) — including a fine portrait of Booker T. Washington — plus works by Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Paul Gauguin, and others. Tanner’s Big Web is shown at the right. That show continues through Feb. 27.

Elsewhere in the Center are works of art by Edward Hopper (his wonderful Automat is shown below), Marc Chagall, Picasso, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, and John Singer Sargent. I like them all. Of course, to round out the collection there always seems to be the weird “is this art or did they just forget to clean up the mess?” kinds of installations that you always see in modern art museums whether you’re in Paris, New York, or, apparently, Des Moines. I mean, really…who pays money for a square of canvas painted white? Or how about the one that looks like something I’d do on my living room wall when I was trying to decide between three shades of gray?

Ah, art. You either appreciate it or you don’t. For me, the modern stuff (some of it is actually good) doesn’t diminish the overall experience at this very nice little art museum.

The original building opened in 1948. Its first addition on the south side was designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1968. A later, three-level addition on the north opened in 1985.

An added bonus to your museum experience is a really good-quality restaurant, open for lunch Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s an airy, charming place to dine.

The Des Moines Art Center is located at 4700 Grand Ave., Des Moines.

The way I see it, I had three choices this weekend. I could go to the Home and Garden Show, I could go to the Antiques Spectacular, or I could go to the Hawkeye State Cat Club Cat Show.

I went for the cats.

This is the third cat show I’ve attended — the first for the magazine (covering one of the judges, who’s an Iowa State alum) and the second last year at the Iowa State fairgrounds. I’m not in the market for a new cat, and I don’t show the cats I have, so I’m not exactly sure what keeps drawing me to these damn things, but I paid $4 (after my $1 off coupon from the newspaper) and went to my third cat show.

It was pretty much the same drill as the other ones. There is a lot of cat stuff for sale (cat food, cat litter, cat toys, purses and shirts with pictures of cats on them); there are cats dolled up for the competition (some inexplicably with coffee filters around their necks); cats inside ridiculous decorated traveling cat houses; and the main attraction: cats being judged.

My house cats are better looking than a lot of these overly primped and/or way too skinny and hairless felines. I enjoy looking at the purebred Maine Coons and the Norwegian Forest Cats and the Somali cats. These cats all look like real cats to me and I’d be happy to own one if they didn’t cost $600.

I bought one cat toy (a bug on a stick) and a set of dog boots for my daughter’s puppy. Who knew you could buy dog clothes at a cat show?

This post could be subtitled “The ultimate anti-Super Bowl Sunday activity.” I don’t like football, and I detest all the hype surrounding the Super Bowl. And the weather this weekend was decent enough for me to finally get out and snowshoe – so that’s what I did on Sunday.

Snowshoeing is the easiest winter sport there is. All you have to do is put on snowshoes…and walk. No training required! Every time I go out and snowshoe I ask myself why I don’t do it more often, because it is so much fun. (But the reality is, of course, I come up with every excuse in the book: It’s too cold. I’m too tired. I don’t have time. Blah, blah, blah.)

I’ve had these snowshoes for eight or nine years. They are extremely lightweight and not a huge investment. You can buy them at sporting goods stores or discount stores. I bought poles with mine because I’m super uncoordinated, and the poles help keep me upright (most of the time). I also bought gaters, which attach easily to a pair of hiking boots and help keep your feet and lower legs dry (and therefore warmer).

The first time I snowshoed was about 10 years ago in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with a friend who lived in Denver at the time. He let me borrow a pair of snowshoes and showed me how to attach them to my hiking boots. And then off we went. The path we hiked had at least a couple of feet of snow on it, but it was packed down tight so the walking was easy. What a great idea! I was hooked.

Since then I’ve snowshoed in northern Minnesota and in central Iowa, but I definitely need to do it more. Yesterday’s hike was in Ledges State Park, one of my favorite places. I trekked through the woods and worked up a good sweat. A word of advice: Don’t bundle up too much when you snowshoe, because you generate a lot of body heat. Dress in thin layers instead, and be prepared to sweat!

There’s been an awful lot of handwringing this week about the possible snowstorm / the impending snowstorm / the snowstorm that ate the Midwest / the I-have-more-snow-than-you-do snowstorm.

Much of this time, I was in Florida.

Florida is a hot, muggy hell-hole in the summer, but it feels mighty fine in January. I was fortunate enough to spend a long weekend in Orlando, and I tried my darndest to suck as much sunshine and warmth out of those four days as I possibly could.

For example, for an Iowan, there is special pleasure associated with dining outdoors. Because here it’s nearly always too hot or too cold or too windy or too rainy or too buggy or too something. The perfect days of late spring and early fall are few and far between. So to be in a land where I could comfortably dine outdoors IN JANUARY, that was something to savor. So I ate outside a lot.

My husband Dave and I have never been to Florida together without children, so this was a treat. We stayed in a nice resort, in which I could sit on the balcony each morning, sipping coffee, checking my e-mail, and gazing out across the tops of palm trees.

We spent the weekend doing what some couples sans kids wouldn’t dream of doing – we went to the theme parks.

Dave is a big fan of Harry Potter, so the lure of the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park was too great to resist. So that’s where we spent the first full day. I will say right off that I am NOT a Harry fan, and now I can also say that I am not a fan of Islands of Adventure.

To start with, we had to stand in a very long, slow-moving queue line just to buy our tickets. I was already tired by the time we got into the dang park. We dashed through Suess Landing (though I would have gladly stopped to ride the Cat in the Hat ride if I had been with a three-year-old, because it was really adorable), through the Lost Continent, and directly to the Wizarding World of You-Know-Who.

Everything I have read about this World is correct. The design of the castle (Hogswart) and the village (Hogsmeade) are phenomenal – as good (dare I say better?) than anything at Disney World. The main ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, would have been completely spectacular had I A) cared anything about Harry Potter and B) not become intensely nauseated. It’s a fantastic mixture of ride and 3-D film and animatronic (I think) technology – or something altogether new that I didn’t recognize from any ride I’ve ever experienced. It was cool. (But next time — if there ever is a next time — I will take Dramamine 30 minutes before I ride it.)

Critics say that the Wizarding World is too crowded, and they are correct. We visited during what is likely the slowest time of the year and literally had to stand in a queue line to enter one of the shops. People kept asking us, “What are you in line for?” and we would point and say, “To get into that shop” and they would furrow their brows and walk away. The buildings and other attractions are extremely close together. The walkway through the village is too narrow. The wait for a mug of butterbeer is forever (though I will tell you that it’s worth the wait).

My solution to all of this is that Universal should tear down all the rest of the Islands of Adventure attractions and make the entire park into Harry’s Wizarding World. Because the Marvel Super Hero Island is obnoxious, the Toon Lagoon is a complete waste, and even Jurassic Park had nothing to interest me (and I am a huge fan of the movie). The worst area, though, is the Lost Continent, with its poorly run Poseidon’s Fury (we waited in line nearly 45 minutes before cutting our losses and going back for more butterbeer) and its Eighth Voyage of Sinbad “stunt show” that made me laugh out loud only because it was the single worst live-action show I’ve ever seen. (Note to Universal: A lame script, unimpressive special effects, and bad acting equal a rotten tomato of a show, even if your target audience is an 8-year-old boy.)

I thought as I was planning this trip that one of the downsides to going to the theme parks during the winter is that the operating hours are a lot shorter than the rest of the year. As it turned out, I was more than ready to leave the Islands well before the posted closing time of 7 p.m.

When you leave the park, you walk through an area called CityWalk, which is sort of a Downtown Disney wannabe. It calls out for exhausted parents to STOP! Spend more money! Drink a lot! Which is not a bad idea if you’ve spent a full day at a theme park with a few kids in tow. We didn’t think it was a bad idea for us, either, because we were clearly ready for a beer.

There were many, many chain bars and restaurants, and I think we went into most of them in search of a decent beer. But alas, it was a land of Bud and Bud Light. Even a bar called Pat O’Brien’s didn’t have a single New Orleans-worthy beer. (Would it be too much to ask to have bottles of Abita? I can buy a six-pack at HyVee in Ames.) We ended up at Hard Rock Café, which is not known for its food, but it blasts good rock’n’roll and has a decent beer list. I went in with low expectations, and I was not disappointed.

The next day (after the aforementioned coffee on the balcony) we headed for a theme park that knows how to do things right: Epcot. One of four Walt Disney World theme parks, Epcot might be the least favorite of most kids, but our family loves all the parks equally, and Epcot’s World Showcase seemed like the perfect place to spend the day.

The line to buy tickets was brief; in fact, we walked right up to the window. Within minutes, we were in a fast-moving line for a slow-moving ride: Spaceship Earth. It’s corny and I’ve been on it half a dozen times, but I still love it. Next we headed for a newer attraction inside “The Land” section: Soarin’. This ride (really just an IMAX film on steroids) started out at Disney’s California Adventure theme park as Soarin’ Over California. It’s the exact same ride, and it’s a fabulous experience. I could ride it over and over. A bit of advice: If the line appears long, grab a fast pass for this one.

Before leaving Future World and heading for World Showcase, we caught an encore performance of “Captain EO.” This 1986 film features Michael Jackson when he was at the top of his game: Young, adorable, not yet creepy, and still black. The film, which features early 3-D technology, hasn’t been seen in the park since it was replaced by a better, more family-friendly 3-D film inspired by the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” movies in the 1990s. I’m guessing Jackson’s death in 2008 prompted the Disney folks to bring the film back. Captain EO’s special effects are awful and its intergalactic premise is weak, but it was created by the team of George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola – and Michael Jackson’s dance moves are thrilling. I left the theater with a big, goofy smile on my face.

Other fun things in Future World (which I’ve experienced before but passed on this time around) are the very clever “Turtle Talk with Crush” show (from “Finding Nemo”) and the high-speed Test Track ride. There’s also a Mission: SPACE ride on which I nearly had a panic attack last time I was at Epcot (note to anyone suffering from claustrophobia in any form: please do not ride this ride) and a new Ellen DeGeneres “energy adventure” that we simply didn’t take the time to see.

So… on to the main attraction: World Showcase. This place is a glorious soup of geography lessons, fine dining, exotic shopping, international tourism, Disney character encounters, live music, and adult beverages. One minute you’re swilling a beer in Germany and the next you’re running into Donald Duck from The Three Caballeros in Mexico.

We did our best to see and do everything World Showcase had to offer. We ate and drank our way around the World: lunch (with wine) at a sidewalk café in Italy, chocolate éclairs from a French patisserie, pints of Bass at the Rose and Crown Pub in the UK, and dinner under the stars at the San Angel Inn in Mexico. We sat and listened to live music (Off Kilter, a Canadian and Celtic rock band in Canada; The British Invasion Beatles tribute in the UK), stood and watched street performers (Sergio the mime/clown/juggler in Italy; the comical waiter and wine steward in France), and watched wide-screen tourism films in Canada, France, China, Norway, and the U.S. I think I walked through every shop in Morocco, China, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, and all the rest.

The day flew by, and pretty soon it was evening. I hate to use the word, but evenings in Disney theme parks are, well, magical. The lights come on, the fireworks go off, and there’s just a total sense of contentment. It never fails.

The other theme parks are just as wonderful, and maybe better if you have kids in tow. Disney’s Hollywood Studios might be best for older kids, with its kickass Aerosmith Rock’n’Rollercoaster and screamalicious Tower of Terror. The Magic Kingdom, of course, is the most magical for little kids, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom (the newest park) features a world-class safari and an impressive coaster (Expedition Everest). I like all of the parks; please don’t ever make me choose a favorite. If you haven’t been there since you were a kid yourself, you really need to go back sometime.

May I suggest January???