Another Disney Princess?

No. But I think she could pass for a Disney Princess!
(I might be just a tat biased)
We bought the dress last summer on sale hoping someday Rachel could wear it. I think we all wish she could wear it everyday. The color is great on her and the top of the skirt is covered in little beads and sequins.

Here is Rachel and her date Josh before last nights prom.

Doing "The World"

Blurry but Beautiful (taken after the Light Parade)

Well we went to Walt Disney World last week. I know, I know, it is all fake but, I love it there. I love how clean everything is and how helpful the staff is and how easy it is to walk from France to Japan to buy some chopsticks. I love how there are workers from all over the world. I love the light parades and the fireworks shows and Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios where movies are played off sprays of water. I try hard NOT to think of the energy usage, the few and difficult to find recycling bins (don't forget to write your letter Emily) and the expense of it all. I was amazed that they now allow people to bring in small coolers with their own food and beverages.

The temperatures were just perfect; in the mid 80's during the day and mid 60's at night. We saw Herman's Hermits play (Peter Noone looks and dances pretty good for his age) and the Beatles played (or people who looked and sounded like them 40 years ago). I also saw the Ventures while the rest of the family was riding Mission Space (I avoid any ride that comes with a complimentary vomit bag).

The International Garden Show was going on. Huge beds of blooming flowers, at least a hundred amazing topiary statues and hedges of booming honeysuckle were everywhere. For some reason we never took one picture of all the flowers. They were both beautiful to the sight and delightful to the nose.


We even ( Emily endured) went on a wonderful garden tour of the plants used to make tea and herbal teas while in "Great Britain". We learned how to make all tea decaf, if you don't know shoot me an email and I will tell you the secret!







Mrs. Potts

Twinings had a great shop.



The reason we went to Disney was to see Rachel's band perform. Here they are marching through the Liberty Square area of The Magic Kingdom. Rachel said she had never been so hot in her entire life-it was a little warmer that day, closer to 90˚.

We were so excited we forgot to take any other pictures as they marched by.Our band was one of three bands that marched that day before the Disney afternoon parade. We sat next to a family from Ohio who's son was in the first band, so it was fun to compare school and band stories with them. Sad to think that a whole year of planning went into this and they passed by in a matter of seconds.

Matching t-shirts were made for both parents and students. Many people from NFDL attended and the parade route was littered with little islands of orange. (we walked the route before the parade to find the BEST viewing spot) I wanted a photo with all 4 of us in our matching shirts but we were always too busy to both have the shirts on and be together for a photo.

The t-shirts are based on that credit card commercial and say:

52-Hour, Round Trip bus Ride to Florida $236
3 Nights Lodging $200
16 Meals Enroute & In Florida $210
Medieval Times Dinner Show $46
3 Days Admission to Disney Parks $135
Souvenirs $175
MARCHING DOWN MAIN STREET USA PRICELESS

We didn't carry our camera with us very often. To be honest we were exhausted most of the time. The parks opened at 7AM and several nights were open to 3AM. These odd hours were the BEST times to be there as it seemed every one of the four parks was VERY crowded.




This is one of our favorite photos; Jeff after riding the Hollywood Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. (So hair really does stand straight up when one is frightened)
We enjoyed many rides several times. Even I loved Soarin' and the Big Thunder Railroad. Jeff said he would never ride Rock n' Roller Coaster again.



Since our last visit, the sit down 3-D shows seem to have more movement, smells and sprays of water in the face. "It's a Bugs Life" has pressure on the seat backs so it feels like bugs running by your body. During the ride Soarin' you can actually smell the orange groves and sea spray. I was very pleased I was able to "soar" without throwing up. I did have to shut my eyes once or twice.


This photo was taken after the Safari Ride at Animal Kingdom. We did see lots of animals, but the bus went so fast that it was hardly worth it. I guess they want to make it exciting and bumpy but I would rather see the animals for more than a second or two.

Another problem, at least for me, was the distances between things. It must have been 3/4 mile between our room at Pop Century and the bus stop to take us to the parks. Then the drop off to the parks was another 1/2 mile before the entrance gate. The first few days I thought I was going to die. Even Emily and Rachel complained about painful feet. Pop Century staff host a Hustle Dance and Lesson every day at 6:00. Not too many guests join in... we are all too tired!


Food is so expensive at Disney World that I felt we could save money if we bought the food plan. I think we saved but we also seemed to be eating all the time. I had to make reservations 3 months ago and tried to pick out the "best" places.

Jeff, Emily and I really loved Boma at the Animal Kingdom Resort. Just entering the lobby of the resort is an experience. It is Disney, so they tried to make the restaurant look like an African savanna, with thatched roofs, huge rocks and stick fences. It is a large buffet with lots of things with mango, yams, things we had no idea what they were. We found "fufu" tasty and I loved a radish cucumber salad. The meats were roasted over wood fires. Yup, the wood fires were visible. Almost all the desserts contained alcohol. I forget the name of the dessert Emily loved but she went back several times for more! Many little kids, without supervision, at the buffet loading up plates full of desserts . I wondered if their parents were aware of the alcoholic content. One little tart I had really tasted strongly of brandy. Perhaps the parents felt it was a way to help their children get to bed? Wish there was a Boma in Fond du Lac as we would eat there often.


Another of our favorite places to eat was Tusker House at Animal Kingdom. Again it it is Disney and designed to look old like a rundown African tourist lodge. I think we all saw something like the building in the movie "African Queen". We enjoyed our lunch so much ( chutney, couscous, curry, samosas) we went back another day with Rachel for breakfast. The buffet is set up in what looks like a marketplace.


Unfortunately, Micky, Daisy, Donald and Goofy, straight from their safari, showed up at Breakfast. Many of our meals also came with "Characters" and by the end of our stay we would just smile and say we didn't need any photos! Please notice how short all the characters are, poor Emily complained as she had to slouch in every photo. We think this is so the characters photograph well with children? But, lots of adults are having photos taken too. Maybe working for Disney causes one to shrink??????










Our last morning was spent at the fancy Grand Floridian. Mary Poppins signed her book for us. Nice lady but has funny feet, they point out rather than straight forward.







On our last full day at the park we had lunch with Cinderella in her castle. THIS is a VERY BIG DEAL with dozens of little girls going to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to have their hair done for the event. Most girls arrive in costume. We did not. Well, actually Cinderella didn't eat with us either, she sat downstairs and had her picture taken with every guest. We all received a FREE 5x7 photo of the castle, another FREE 5x7 of the girls with Cinderella and several 4x6 copies --- All Free! ;-)

The food was amazingly good. I had a pasta with grilled vegetables and fresh vine ripened tomatoes. (Oh how I can't wait for more vine ripened tomatoes) Rachel had some kind of puff pastry thing that she liked. I think Emily had Salmon and Jeff ordered a sandwich. But our meal kept being interrupted with all these princesses. We wonder where all the princes are. I would have liked a few pictures with Prince Charming and I really like that guy from Mulan, what is his name again? Emily and Rachel received wands and wishing stars. It was fun.



Oh I almost forgot, we spent one day at SeaWorld. The highlight for Rachel and Emily was feeding the dolphins. Well, maybe it was looking at all the manatees up close. It was amazing to see all the manatees eating romaine lettuce. Wonder how they find romaine in the wild?

We we amazed at all the baby seals, some just days old but didn't think to take a picture of them.









We also had a great time petting the sting rays.

Yes, the flowers were pretty at SeaWorld too.

I'm sure I forgot some important fact that some member of the family will remind me of. I think we all had a great time.

This and That

My mom became very ill and was hospitalized with thrush and pneumonia while we were in Florida. She was unable to swallow and according to her advance directives wants no feeding tube. On Sunday, when I last saw her, she was very weak and only able to swallow several drops of liquid from a spoon.

She was referred to hospice and on Monday was taken back to Vintage on the Ponds for palliative care. Today, my brother Harold and nephew John we very surprised to find her dressed, sitting in a recliner and watching tv. She told Harold she was thirsty and quickly drank a small glass of the thicken juice ( all liquids have been thicken since her stroke). She said she was still thirsty and finished off a glass of thicken water. When they left she was in the dining room having diner. I am not longer sure what to expect. At least she now has a hospital bed with rails and a special mattress that will help her sore back.


In the meantime I thought this joke was cute. Reminds me of so many studies where correlations are made that are incorrect.

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Furnace & Abelskiver

I said last night to Bryan that I wished we could have an extra day of weekend, and we both agreed that would be nice. Then, this morning when the alarm went off, and I got up to turn up the heat (because there's not enough hot water if we don't do this), nothing happened. The heat didn't turn on.

I went back to the bed and woke Bryan, and he went down to the basement and tried the reset button on the furnace, but it still didn't start. So, we called the oil company, and they agreed to send someone out this morning, and we went back to bed.

Now, a repair person is in the basement, and, I hope, making the furnace work again. When he's done, we'll finally be able to get ready and go to work. Not exactly an extra day of weekend, but not too bad!

And, in other news, Bryan and I made Abelskiver on Saturday night. Is a tablespoon of cardamom the right amount? The flavor was really strong - good, but strong - so we wondered whether it should be a teaspoon. We mixed up the batter, then left it to rise and went out to dinner. I'm glad that Bryan thought to put the bowl on a cookie sheet, because it definitely out-grew the bowl while we were out.

The recipe makes a lot more when there aren't a dozen people waiting around to eat everything that's produced! Bryan is going to take a large container to work today, in hopes that many will be eaten, but we'll still have another large container to eat ourselves. Can I freeze these?

Three Exciting Things about Today

1. The sun came out! It has been foggy and rainy here for almost a whole week. It actually feels like spring is on the way now.

2. My kite flew! I test flew a kite I am going to make with a group of kids at the library over April Break. It is really easy to make, just a regular sheet paper, a bamboo skewer, tape, and a plastic bag. And it is easy to fly, well it goes up easily, once up it tends to flip around a lot. Once it actually hit the ground and soared back up. The kids will love it.


3. I saw a woodchuck, 3 blue jays and lots of robins from my bedroom window when I work up this morning. I've never seen a woodchuck before. I think they can be a bit of a nuisance, right?

First Flower of Spring

I have flowers!
Blue Scillas are blooming by the back porch.

Summer Veggies and Fish

This summer I have signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture(CSA) and a Community Supported Fishery(CSF) share. I'm really excited about it. I will hardly going to need to go to the store! But I will have to spend a lot of time cooking.

The CSA is at Hatchet Cove Farm which is about a 20 minute drive from me. The woman I spoke with is extremely nice. I can't wait to get vegetables that I never eat, like Kale and Celeriac. I might be calling on you for recipes. The farm has also be talking about partnering with an area creamery to start a cheese share. I love cheese, although I'm not sure I could or should eat enough every week to buy a share.

The CSF is called Port Clyde Fresh Catch. The group of groundfisherman started this about a year ago and it has gotten a lot of publicity. I believe there was even an article in the New York Times about it. Port Clyde is one of the last ground fishing ports in Maine and they really want to make it sustainable. My roommates father is one of the fisherman and has struggled the past few years. The price of fish as gone down and regulations on fishing have increased.

My friend, Sara, and I are splitting a half share, so we each will get 3/4 to a 1 lb of fish fillets each week. Depending on what they bring in we could get haddock, cod, flounder, hake, dabs, grey sole, monkfish, pollock and redfish. This will be more fish than I have eaten before. I hope I don't get sick of it. The kicker is you get half of the fish and have to fillet it yourself. Sara says she has experience with this and will fillet for us. I hope so, although it will be fun to learn.

The CSF starts in early June and I get the first box of veggies in mid-June. I'll let you know how it goes!

Anyone up for a Little Illicit Cultivation?

Well I guess the term "Guerrilla Gardening" was coined to fight the "war" against neglect and scarcity of public green spaces. I think of it more as Random Acts of Gardening. The thought of going out late, protected by the darkness of night, to secretly plant things seems pretty darn fun. HERE is the site.

My first project would be to plant a few more trees around the neighborhood!

Glory be

I'm learning to blog. Its sure lot to learn for a old codger.

I made a shirt!

I'm still not sure what posessed me. It may have been recent exposure to really nice shirts, or my habit of exploring different processes of creation, or even a latent feeling that the pillow we were required to make in Home Ec. was a horrible representation of what a skill had to offer. In any case, I recently got the urge to make a shirt.

Luckily, I married someone with the patience to answer my never-ending stream of "why", while also knowing when to just let me veer off course and follow a hunch. Amanda escorted me to the nearest Jo-Ann Fabrics, guided me through the pattern books, dug through fabric, and helped me round up all of the other bits & bobbinss necessary. Once home, I got an introduction to the sewing machine, and was then turned loose.

In all, I think the project ran for about sixteen hours. I think a second round could run as short as twelve hours, since I could cut out the copious amounts of time staring at directions wondering what they could possibly mean. I'd be surprised if I ever got the process below eight hours, though. There was a lot of pinning, ironing, cutting, sewing, repinning, re-ironing, recutting, resewing, ...

But, the project ended successfully. I write this post while wearing the shirt, after it survived a full day of wear and coworker compliments. I don't know how soon I'll pick up the needle and thread again, but I'm more comfortable with the price tag attached to fine clothing now.

I've put up pictures of the process here. Enjoy!