wacky wednesday - indoor gardening

Once upon a time we lived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a year. One of the many things I experienced for the first time there was bulb flowers. In the fall our neighbors planted tulips, daffodils and other bulb flowers and then waited through the long, cold winter for spring when a rainbow of color erupted in their gardens and lined their walkways.

When we returned to Arizona, I wanted to plant some bulbs in our yard but I discovered it was not quite as easy as just sticking them in the ground and forgetting them from year to year. Our soil is too clay-like so it takes a lot of soil preparation. Since they need to have a "chilling season" and our outside temperatures are not cold enough, you have to put them in the refrigerator for several weeks prior to planting. And then watering can be tricky since they like to be slightly moist but not saturated. We have two kinds of "watering" in the desert - dried out or flooded.

So I gave up on growing bulb flowers and stuck with the usual desert flora.

Imagine my surprise and delight when, twenty years later, I found hyacinth bulbs growing in water at my local grocery store! I read the tag on the vase and discovered that they will grow and bloom in the vase indoors. Of course I bought one!

According to the directions, all I need to do is keep the roots (but not the bulb) in water, keep it in a well-lit, cool (60-70 degrees F.) place and within a couple of weeks, I should have a beautiful flowering hyacinth. 

I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I am mildly optimistic! 

wacky wednesday - breakfast with the boys

Family meals with all the sweethearts are great but getting them alone is like the frosting on the cake. It's when we learn the nitty gritty stuff. They are so much more talkative and serious when they have our undivided attention.

While we were in North Carolina last month, we took advantage of the sweethearts being out of school to take each one of the boys out to breakfast all by himself. (And yes, the girls will get their turns the next time we are there.)  We chose the day; they chose the restaurant (after establishing some ground rules - all you can eat buffets were out!).

First up was Ben (age 7) and he was verrrrrrry excited to go to Waffle House. When we walked in and noticed all the tables were full, meaning we would "have to/get to" sit at the counter, he could barely contain his enthusiasm. We perused the menu although I think he knew exactly what he wanted before we got there - a waffle, some bacon, hash browns ("smothered and scattered!") and orange juice ("just like Grandpa!"). We talked about school - he likes reading and recess- and what he really wanted for Christmas - Legos and a new rock box (to keep his expanding collection of rocks in) - as he watched the short order cooks prepare food. And he giggled every time one of the waitresses called out an order with the short-hand lingo they use.

Next up was Christopher (age 11) who has a more sophisticated palate. He chose Daily Grind, a local breakfast establishment famous for their pancakes (although I think their eggs and toast are quite delish, too!). As the waitress was taking our drink order, he asked if he could have coffee. Our awesome server winked and said she would make him a special coffee he would love - decaf with steamed milk and chocolate syrup. It was definitely a hit - as was the short stack (two plate-sized, thick, fluffy pancakes) and bacon he ordered. While we were waiting for our food to arrive, he and Grandpa had a contest building the best tower out of jelly packets. I think it ended up being a tie since our food came before we could have the tie-breaker. In between bites, we talked about the fun things he gets to do with his friends (sleep-overs and going to movies with their family) and what he hoped to get for Christmas (an iTunes gift card and Legos). 

Finally it was Nick's (age 9) turn and after much discussion and changing his mind, he decided to go to Daily Grind, too. He heard Christopher had coffee and he wanted some as well - no surprise there! He ordered the short stack, a side of fried eggs and shared my bacon - and he ate almost all of it! Nick is excited about his upcoming trip to Arizona this summer. When our sweethearts turn ten, as Nick will this year, we bring them to our house during the summer for a couple of weeks of fun with us. He talked about all the places he wants to see and things he wants to do. His interests are varied - he wants to go to the Titan Missile Museum since he's interested in the Cold War and an observatory with a telescope he can look through and Meteor Crater because he loves space stuff and Sunsplash because he's never been to a water park but it surely must be fun. Oh, and school is going great.

Going out to breakfast is one of my favorite things to do. And going with my sweethearts is a double favorite thing. I can't wait to come back and take the girls out to breakfast. I wonder what we'll talk about ...

disneyland at christmas

(I know it is mid-January and everyone is ready to move on... but here is one last Christmas post ;-)) 

People who know us know we love Disneyland. One question we get asked all the time is, "When is your favorite time to visit the Happiest Place on Earth?" Without hesitation, our answer is, "Christmastime!!" which generally runs from mid-November through early January. We have been at least five or six times during the Christmas season over the last couple of decades and it just keeps getting better and better. 

So what exactly is so great about Christmastime at Disneyland? Let me count the ways!

1.  Even though Disneyland is located in sunny Southern California, it looks festive and wintery. Walking down Main Street is like stepping back in time into a small midwestern town at the height of the Christmas season. Colorful garland hangs overhead and wreaths are on nearly every door. More than one and a half miles of ribbon are used to make over 800 bows that adorn Main Street. And more than 10,000 lights "deck the halls" making Main Street sparkle. Sleeping Beauty's Castle is transformed into a winter wonderland with thousands of ornaments and, of course, snow. It even "snows" on Main Street and in the hub during parades and the fireworks!

2.  Scrumptious candy canes are made by hand at the Candy Palace on Main Street. But you need to get there as soon as the park opens to get in the "candy cane line" before they run out to receive a wristband with the batch number (they make three batches every day most days of the week) and time you can return to purchase ($12.99) and pick up your candy cane (one candy cane per wristband). Candy cane-making has been a tradition at Disneyland for over 35 years. It takes three candy-makers to make each batch - one to roll the batch, one to pull the canes (takes about an hour to pull the 15-pound block of candy over a hook on the wall) and one to shape the canes (approximately 40 per batch). They work in a heat-sealed kitchen (90-100 degrees) so all three candy-makers are present for every step of the two hours it takes to make each batch. Once the sweet confections are done, they are hand-wrapped in plastic and then bubble-wrapped to ensure a safe trip home. Is it worth the price? ABSOLUTELY! These giant (five ounces!), handmade, fresh candy canes are the best we've ever tasted!

3.  Big Huge Ginormous hand-crafted, edible gingerbread houses are on display.  The Haunted Mansion has sported one of these impressive gingerbread houses for years. It sits on the dining room table in the parlor and is exquisite in its design. We love the gingerbread aroma that greets us as we pass by. While Walt Disney World in Florida has displayed huge gingerbread houses in some of their resort hotels, 2014 was the first time for Disneyland to do so. Sitting inside the lobby of the Gand Californian Hotel is a seven and a half-foot tall, twelve-foot wide, elaborately decorated gingerbread house. Twenty-five bakers, artists, engineers and electricians (the same team does the one in the Haunted Mansion) transformed 500 pounds of gingerbread and 60 gallons of frosting and icing (there is a difference!) into the magnificent structure you see below. And they concealed seven "Hidden Mickeys" in it! 

4.  Christmas music is played throughout the park, both via speakers and real musicians, ALL THE TIME! The normal Disney music from movies is replaced with Christmas music (including Christmas carols!). You can listen to the very talented Dapper Dans (think barber shop quartet) as they stroll around Main Street singing their version of some popular Christmas tunes, enjoy the Royal Street Bachelors in New Orleans Square as they put a jazz spin on their renditions, or sing along to traditional favorites during the parade to list just a few. 

5.  Some rides get "Christmas make-overs!" Several rides are shut down for a few days prior to the holiday season as they undergo significant make-overs transforming them into Christmas-themed attractions. The Haunted Mansion actually gets its make-over in September in time for the Halloween celebration since its decor premise is based on the movie Nightmare Before Christmas where two holidays, Halloween and Christmas, collide. It's A Small World is magically transformed inside and out with more than 300,000 twinkling exterior lights and about half that many on the inside. Special set pieces are added, including a 14-foot snowman made of crystal snowflakes, the "title song" (you know the one I mean!) is changed and real bubbles float down. It is one of my favorite rides at Christmastime - but not during the rest of the year!

The Jungle Cruise, or JINGLE Cruise as it is called during the holidays, got its first makeover in 2013 with mixed reviews. Disneyland added to it in 2014, again with mixed reviews. The premise of the ride is that the skippers are homesick for the holidays and "decorated" the boathouse and queue area but some of the decorations got lost in transport. The skippers have a whole new set of jokes with some skippers being funnier than others. We loved Jingle Cruise and look forward to riding it again and again.

6.  There are special "treats" only available during the holiday time. Some of our favorites are the gingerbread beignets, gingerbread Mickey cookies and the holiday tamale plate (not sweet, but oh-so-delicious!). We still want to try a December Yule Log (a log of chocolate sponge cake rolled with coffee butter cream, covered in thick chocolate ganache, and sprinkled with chocolate crunch candies!) and the Peppermint Stick ice cream in a crushed candy cane waffle cone... maybe this year!

7.  The 60-foot Christmas tree at Main Street, U.S.A. is not to be missed! Disneyland showed off its first Christmas tree in December, 1955 (the year it opened) and has sported a live tree every year until 2008 when an artificial tree was made. The tree is assembled and decorated (using a crane) in one night between park closing one day and park opening the next. About 2000 custom-made ornaments and 70,000 LED lights adorn its branches making it a sight to behold! The star on the top is 42-inches tall but looks rather small when viewed from the ground! 

8.  The Candlelight Processional is the most beautiful Christmas presentation we've ever seen. Choirs, bands, orchestras, guitar players, handbell groups and solo vocalists from all over audition for this music extravaganza. The mixed-choir walks down Main Street carrying lit candles as they sing a cappella Christmas carols to their destination in front of the train station where the orchestra is already assembled. The biblical Christmas story is narrated by a celebrity with Christmas carols interspersed to illustrate the story. In 2014, Beau Bridges was the narrator. This event is not widely advertised and the only reserved seating is by invitation only. But somehow word has gotten out and thousands of Disneyland guests crowd into Main Street to catch a glimpse of this magnificent performance. Some people claim a nearby park bench and stay there ALL DAY to have a place to sit. We were able to find reasonably good viewing the first  night (of the two nights it's there) just walking in about a half hour before it started. The second night we waited in a sea of people for over an hour before it started with so-so viewing. No matter what it takes, this is, in my opinion, a MUST SEE! And kudos to Disney for presenting the real Christmas story without apology. 

There is always something new to see and I am already anticipating my next Christmastime Disneyland trip!

wacky wednesday - a good thing?

We have all experienced it. In the mad dash to get out the door, we leave our smartphone on the dresser, remembering it only after we are sitting in traffic on the freeway and reach for it to check on the traffic delay. And just like that, a feeling of doom and gloom hits.

And then the "What ifs" begin. What if I have a flat tire? What if Johnny gets sick at school and they try to call me? What if my boss emails that report to me? What if I need to call someone? No one remembers phone numbers anymore.

It turns out this phenomenon is a real thing called "smartphone separation anxiety." While not yet a disorder recognized by the medical community, independent research conducted in the U.S. (at the University of Missouri) and in Canada (at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario) concluded that smartphone separation caused increased perceived anxiety, blood pressure, heart rate and decreased cognitive ability in test subjects. The U.S. study focused on not having your smartphone available but knowing where it was while the Canadian study focused on separation due to loss or theft where security of personal information was at risk.

YouGov, a U.K.-based research organization, established a new category of addiction called "nomophobia" meaning the fear of being separated from your mobile phone. Its major symptoms are a compulsion to constantly check for text and email messages and to be available for any and every phone call. Other symptoms include anxiety, panic, sweating, shaking, increased heart rate and shallow rapid breathing.

So, how do we avoid these disorders? Researchers and behavioral health experts advise setting aside periods of time when you don't use your smartphone AT ALL - during meals, when visiting with friends, and when driving, for example. And they also recommend keeping your smartphone with you (and silenced) when you have detailed work to do (like taking a test or attending a meeting) so cognitive function doesn't suffer.

Marketing tells us that smartphones make our lives easier, less complicated and less stressful.

I wonder.

wacky wednesday - the recipe

Apparently traditions have been on other people's minds, too. (See my post - Traditions) The week before Christmas I received urgent messages from two of our nephews and their aunt asking me if I had a particular cookie recipe. But let me start at the beginning.

My sister-in-law, Karlene (the mother of the aforementioned nephews and sister of their aunt), was the first person in my husband's family, other than my husband, that I felt a connection with. I was a 16 year-old high school student and she was a 31 year-old wife and mother of two boys when I first met her. Most adults treated me like a kid but she engaged me as a friend. By the time my husband and I married six years later, Kar and I were good friends. We chatted on the phone, went shopping together, shared problems and triumphs. Our families did things together - went to movies, went on vacations together, got together for dinner and games.

She was diagnosed first with breast cancer and then colon cancer before she died in 1996 at the young age of 55. I think about her often. I miss her wise counsel, her sense of humor and her willingness to try new things. She was a great cook. In fact, she was the one who told me it was okay to improvise on Nona's spaghetti sauce recipe and from that permission my own recipe for a spicy Italian sausage and veggie sauce was born.

I have several of her recipes in my collection so I probably shouldn't have been surprised that her sons and sister asked me if I had her Sour Cream & Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. Unfortunately, that was one recipe I did not have. I asked my husband if he remembered these cookies because they weren't ringing any bells with me.

"I'm sure you've had them," he replied. "She made them at Christmas... they puff up..."

Nope. Still not ringing any bells. I messaged everyone back telling them that, unfortunately, I didn't have the recipe. And life went on.

A couple of weeks later my husband decided to paint a shelving unit in my office. As we were emptying the shelves, I came across a small green book with a tattered cover that belonged to Nona. More accurately, it is a 1969 calendar book from their insurance salesman at the time but rather than use it as an appointment book, Nona chose to keep her recipes in it. Some are written directly on the pages; others are on recipe cards that are taped to the page. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to the order of the recipes.

As I flipped through the book, a familiar blue-edged recipe card jumped out at me. It was one of Kar's personalized recipe cards with the Sour Cream & Chocolate Chip cookie recipe written in Kar's handwriting!

After seeing Nona's recipe collection system I didn't feel quite so bad about my own jumbled mess of recipes. 

I decided to make the cookies. Perhaps if I saw them, I would remember them since my husband was so sure I had eaten them before. 

I sampled the cookie dough and while it tasted good, it did not taste familiar.

Oh. My. Goodness.

The first taste of a still-warm cookie brought back a memory so vivid I wonder how I could have forgotten it. We were sitting at the dining room table after a family dinner and Kar brought out a plate of cookies (THESE COOKIES!) to go with our coffee. We had brisket for dinner and the boys had left the table after becoming bored with "grown-up talk." 

I don't know why I didn't ask her for the recipe. I probably thought I could get it any time. Or that they were her "signature cookie" and I'd eat them when she made them. Thankfully, Nona did ask her for the recipe and it can now be passed down to the kids and grandkids. 

And I am thinking that making (and eating!) these cookies will become a new Christmas tradition in our home - and perhaps in the homes of our nephews and their aunt.

happy new year!

The new year has arrived and soon millions of resolutions will be made around the world. I long ago quit making lists of things I wanted to change about myself and began choosing a word to think about and incorporate into every part of my life for the year. My word for 2015 is ... words!

From the time we utter that first, often mispronounced, word as a baby, language - and words in particular - are part of our everyday life. We use them to communicate with others and to express our thoughts to ourselves. As we grow up, our vocabulary grows along with us. At some point,  usually when we leave school, we neglect our vocabulary and fall into the habit of using the same words over and over until they lose meaning.

For example, do we REALLY "love" spaghetti? Or do we "enjoy" it, "look forward" to eating it? Throwing words around carelessly or over-using them dilutes their meaning. If you "love" everything, how much do you love me?

A few people use a variety of words, including new ones they learn, in their everyday conversations and when they write letters or email. I find these individuals interesting to talk to because they express their ideas accurately, concisely and without ambiguity. It's nearly impossible to finish their sentences for them because you don't know for sure how they will say what they have to say.

As a very simple illustration, look at these two sentences:
Jack went to the store.
Jack walked to the comic book store to purchase the latest Superman issue.

Both sentences could be true statements about the same event but the first is boring and without details. It is what my third grade teacher, Mrs. Thompson, called a "ho-hum sentence," one that puts you to sleep.

People with extensive vocabularies paint word pictures for their listeners. They don't do it by using ten-syllable words most people don't know; they do it by using more exact words. A quick search in my thesaurus (a real book, not the on-line version) revealed 28 synonyms for the verb "eating" - words or phrases like nibbling, devouring, gobbling and pigging out, each painting a slightly different word picture.

This coming year I am focusing on my words - choosing them wisely to encourage and build others up (including me in my self-talk!), choosing them carefully to be as specific as possible and choosing to learn new words.

I have found reading a variety of books, magazines and newspapers to be a great way to learn new words. I recently discovered the words "opprobrium" (a noun meaning something that brings disgrace) and "sobriquet" (a noun meaning a fanciful name or nickname) while I was reading The Wall Street Journal. I think it will be an amusing year!

Happy New Year!