wacky wednesday - pin mania

(This will be my last regular "Wacky Wednesday" post. I have been posting them for a year and a half and am ready for something different. Starting tomorrow you will find a "Thankful Thursday" post every Thursday. I will still write the occasional Wacky Wednesday post because... well, there are just so many wacky things to contemplate!)

Mickey Mouse ears, the popular black hat with the iconic ears attached, are the most popular Disneyland souvenir of all time. More than 84 MILLION have been sold at the park since it opened 60 years ago. I admit I have bought a pair.. or two... or more... myself. After all, embroidering your name on the back is included for "free" and they are just so... festive.

We used to see hundreds of people at Disneyland wearing their Mickey Mouse ears but in the past decade or so we have noticed a new trend gaining momentum - pin lanyards. You know, a fabric lanyard with Disney character pins attached. At first it was primarily the kids - pins were available soon after Disneyland opened in 1955 and they were a very affordable souvenir.  But pretty soon the adults got caught up in it and the real fun began as Disney realized they had a gold mine.

We thought it was kind of funny when we first started noticing adults with lanyards full of pins clanging as they walked. And sometimes it was hard not to stare at all the pins. I found myself chatting with people about their pins while we were waiting in line together. And I discovered that "pin people" were really friendly and enjoyed sharing stories about their pins. I learned it was about collecting pins but also trading them.

After the Millennial Celebration at Disneyland, cast members began trading pins with guests. Each day certain cast members were issued lanyards loaded with pins to trade. And, of course, guests can trade with each other. However, within the park, there are some rules: 1) Cast members MUST trade if a guest asks to trade a pin 2) Guests are not required to trade 3) Money or gifts cannot be used in trade for a pin.

My sweet hubby got his first lanyard last year and began collecting Toy Story pins. And Pluto pins. And then ride attraction pins. And a Monorail series. It's a fun hobby - talking to people, trying to complete a set, and looking at them when you get home and remembering the good times all over again.

A few of his favorite pins - mostly "keepers!"

Soon after he began collecting pins, we went to a D23 (the official Disney Fan Club) Mickey's of Glendale Shopping Event. It's where the employee store for the imagineers is located and they have official Disney merchandise (including pins!) you can't get at the parks. We arrived two and a half hours before the store opened to get in line. People were friendly and the time went by fast. 

After we got in line we learned that they were releasing a very limited edition (300) Frozen pin set (one giant pin and nine regular pins) priced at $200. For comparison, the most expensive regular pin at Disneyland is $15.99. The first 450 people in line got a ticket that enabled them to draw a piece of paper out of a bowl. If your paper had Elsa on it, you were allowed to buy one pin set, if it was blank, you got nothing. So you could have been the first person in line and not been able to buy one, or the 450th person in line and able to get one of the 300 pin sets. If you drew an Elsa paper, your name was written down and only you could buy it - you couldn't give the paper to someone else. 

To the amazement of the people in line around us, we had absolutely no intention of buying a Frozen pin set for $200. We quickly realized these were not the average pin traders at the park but were professional pin traders and sellers. They buy/trade for pins they like but they also buy/trade for pins they think will increase in value. It is almost a full-time job to constantly monitor pin-trading websites and groups to know when pin values peak. Several people told us they have made as much as $750 on a pin sale. Crazy, huh? 

The women behind us in line was friendly and answered my many questions.  She and I quickly became friends. She told us that these Frozen pins were predicted to skyrocket in value because of the popularity of anything Frozen, the exquisite workmanship of the pins and the very limited edition number. She was hoping to buy two sets (her daughter was with her so she got two chances for the Elsa paper). Since we weren't buying any, I told her she could have ours - or rather, we would buy it since we had to and then sell it to her for $200. 

We finally got to the head of the line to draw our papers. We drew one Elsa and one blank. My new friend drew two Elsa's. And she bought my pin set (yes, she came with cash!) - so she had a total of three. When I asked what she would do with them, she said she'd keep one for her daughter who loves Frozen and sell the other two.

Once we were inside the walled-off patio area, there were places to sit and relax. This was when the real fun began. We had another two and a half hours to kill before our time to go in the store (they limited the number of people allowed in since the store is relatively small). Suddenly pin binders opened up everywhere, white gloves came out and people were ready to trade. 

The professional pin traders keep their pins in their original packaging and only handle them with gloves. They all seemed to know (and like!) each other. It's not a competition and they don't try to undercut each other. Rather, they help one another find the pins they want, jointly find accurate values and build relationships. 

We learned about "scrappers" (pins that are flawed or don't make the cut in production and are scrapped) and "fakes" (knock-off pins usually made in China, where, incidentally, the official Disney pins are also made) and how to spot them since unscrupulous people will buy them to sell or trade. We learned the history behind some of the older pins. We learned some of the short-hand they all seem to speak. It was a fascinating experience!

We finally got inside the store, found some cute gifts and several pins that will be keepers, not traders but will not be worth any more than what we paid for them. As one of the professional pin traders told us, it's not about how many pins you have or how valuable monetarily they are. It's about enjoying the experience, the people and the pins you like.

Remember the Frozen pin set that originally sold for $200? Less than a year later it's listed on eBay for $900! Really crazy, huh?

wacky wednesday - a not so prickly subject

Having lived in the Sonoran Desert practically my whole life, I am no stranger to saguaro cactus. They are everywhere. Along the side of the freeways. In front yards. In the "natural desert" as you travel around Arizona. Arizona is the only U.S. state in which saguaros grow, although they also grow in Mexico.

I have always loved looking at them, so tall and majestic. They have white, waxy-looking flowers in the spring and red fruit in the summer which can be used to make wine, jelly and syrup. Two-armed saguaros remind me of people while the multi-armed (they can have as many as 25 arms!) ones look like space aliens, especially from a distance.

These cactus giants can grow to a height of 60 feet or more and weigh over one ton! I love how they draw my eyes upward.

The average lifespan of a saguaro is 150 to 175 years although some live more than 200 years. At the end of its life, the saguaro begins decomposing while still upright. The tough outer skin often takes a long time to peel off. Its five-foot long taproot that goes down deep to find water holds it erect while the massive, shallow (about three inches) root system that spreads out as wide as the cactus is tall decomposes. 

Soon, all that is left is the woody skeleton. The long ribs were once used by Native Americans and early western settlers in the construction of their homes and to make fruit-pickers. Now they are just pretty to look at. And fun to touch!

Of all the cactus in the desert, the saguaros are my favorite. Even in death they are pointing to heaven and declaring the majesty of God. 

wacky wednesday - a diamond celebration

Walt Disney's career began in the 1920's in animation. Mickey Mouse debuted in 1928 in a short film, Steamboat Willie, one of the first sound cartoons. He has appeared in over 130 films, both short films and feature-length films. Children all over the world wrote to Walt asking if they could come see where Mickey Mouse lived.

At about the same time, Walt took his daughters to the park to play. As he watched them playing, he thought it would be wonderful if there was a place where parents and children could play together. And maybe meet Mickey Mouse. He pondered that for awhile and the "idea" of Disneyland was born.

First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.  ~ Walt Disney

Walt worked tirelessly on implementing his plan. There were setbacks, naysayers, and obstacles seemingly at every turn but Walt persevered.

Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it's done right.  ~ Walt Disney

And finally, after only a year in the making, on July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened with five "lands" (Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Main St. USA) and 18 attractions!

If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse.  ~ Walt Disney

Opening day was a disaster! Anaheim, California was in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave and the temperature on opening day reached 110 degrees. Asphalt that had been poured just the night before didn't set properly because of the heat and women's high heels (Yes, people dressed up back then! See Full Circle #2 post!) sunk in it. A plumber's strike left many drinking fountains without water. Six thousand invitations/tickets were mailed out and the park expected 11,000 people to show up but instead (due to many counterfeit tickets) 28,000 people crammed into the park. There were traffic jams trying to get into the park and restaurants ran out of food.

And the next few weeks weren't much better. But Walt didn't give up and ten years later, 50 million people had walked through the gates of Disneyland! Today, over 600 million people have visited "the happiest place on Earth!"

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.  ~ Walt Disney

Last Friday, July 17, 2015, Disneyland celebrated its 60th anniversary. The Diamond Celebration began earlier this year and is predicted to continue through the end of the year. New parades, fireworks, food and attraction make-overs are just a few of the "party favors" for this celebration. We went last month and think it's definitely worth seeing!

Some of my friends label me a Disneyland fanatic and as such,  I have enjoyed the well wishes and congratulatory messages from a variety of sources - in ads, on the news, in magazines and newspapers, on Facebook and even a nod from the comics!

Happy 60th Anniversary, Disneyland!

In case you didn't know, Sleeping Beauty's Castle is at Disneyland, Cinderella's Castle is at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

wacky wednesday - the astronaut wives club

I recently read the book The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel for a book club I facilitate. I chose the book for three reasons: 1) the "space race" is a topic I find interesting, 2) a majority of the book takes place in the late 1950's and 1960's - it would be a glimpse of "the good ol' days," and 3) a television series based on the book was about to air and I wanted to read the book before watching the show. One of the benefits of being a book club facilitator is choosing books you want to read ;-).

For the record, the book club LOVED the book and we had a great discussion about it. Some of the women were interested in the "space race" while others were not but Koppel did a great job of giving enough background to the various missions to give context to the story without overburdening the reader with scientific details. Everyone got pulled into the "race!" Most of the book club grew up during the 50's and 60's and loved the "walk down Memory Lane." And everyone was anxious to watch the television series which finally premiered on June 18, 2015 on ABC.

** Quit reading NOW if you haven't read the book and don't want anything spoiled for you!**

Before reading the book I assumed I would grow nostalgic for "the good ol' days" when much of the story takes place. I was really rather shocked to discover that was not the case.

Perhaps I was too young... or too naive... or just not paying attention during my growing up years, the "good ol' days" of the 1960's (I really don't remember the late 50's at all). Typical of most kids, I thought all people were like my parents, family and neighbors.

My parents always told me I could be anything I wanted when I grew up. I liked science and math and they encouraged me to pursue a career that would utilize those subjects. It never occurred to me that I might not be able to have a career in a predominantly male field.

Astrowife Trudy Cooper, wife of Mercury Seven astronaut Gordo Cooper, was an accomplished pilot who had aspirations of being an astronaut herself. When she vocalized those dreams to her husband and the folks at NASA, they laughed at her, saying a woman could never be an astronaut.

From the beginning, NASA told the wives what was expected of them - perfect marriages, perfect homes, perfect children - and it was the wife's fault if all was not perfect. They were "strongly encouraged" to make a deal with Life magazine - exclusive interviews in exchange for cars, life insurance on their husbands (who, because of their high-risk careers, were normally uninsurable) and "stuff" - so that the space program would be promoted. They were "coached" (read "told") on what to wear and how to portray themselves.

I realized from watching television shows like Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best as a child that society viewed women as homemakers, not career gals. Women's lib was still on the back burner if it was on the stove at all.

But what really took me by surprise as I read this book was how the astronauts' philandering was put up with. All but a very small handful of the early astronauts had affairs with "space floozies" or "Cape Cookies." The astronauts and their families had very nice homes in a special community near Houston where the family lived but the astronauts trained at Cape Canaveral (known later as Cape Kennedy) in Florida. They often spent weeks at a time at Cape Canaveral away from their families and, as they say, when the cat's away, the mice will play.

NASA knew about the philandering and in some ways, promoted it by not "disciplining" the wayward astronauts. The journalists at Cape Canaveral knew. The hotel staff knew. But NASA insisted that the squeaky clean image of the astronauts that they were portraying to the American public be maintained and wouldn't allow any of that to become public knowledge. I was dumbfounded that the journalists went along with the cover-up. When, exactly, had their professional integrity first been compromised? Was it then? Or earlier?

During a sermon not long ago at our church, my pastor said that the "good ol' days" really weren't. Perhaps they were better than today to some degree but they weren't "good" - there was still sin and evil in the world, as there is today. I agree. I built up an idyllic time in my memory fashioned from personal experiences as a child and applied it to the culture of the time. Reading about the real societal values and culture shattered my perception of "the good ol' days" resulting in my surprise.

While I didn't get nostalgic about the "good ol' days," I very much enjoyed the bond of friendship these women formed that lasted decades - through husbands' fiery deaths in the Apollo 1 tragedy, through affairs and divorce, through illness, through physical distance apart. Their husbands were so intensely competitive and the wives had to be as well, to some extent, but they were always there for each other when it counted. It was worth reading the book for that part of the story if for no other reason.

So the lesson I learned is that what I think I will enjoy about a book and what I actually enjoy may often be two entirely different things. I think that makes reading interesting!

wacky wednesday - the couch

You never know what you are going to find when you're geocaching. Sometimes it's the cache that's interesting or surprising. And sometimes it's something totally unrelated to geocaching that you stumble across while you're looking for the cache.

We were geocaching this past week in the high country of Arizona, east of Flagstaff. The cache itself was pretty uninteresting - typical container, typical location, nothing historical about the locale. But what we passed looking for the cache caught my eye... and my camera lens!

I think there is a story behind this futon couch being dumped in the middle of nowhere. I refuse to believe that someone loaded it on a truck and dumped it miles from anywhere rather than take it to the dump or donate it to a charity. 

So... 

Once upon a time, a lovely married couple decided to move into a smaller condo in order to donate more of their money to those less fortunate than themselves. They painstakingly went through all their belongings, keeping only the things they absolutely needed. 

Their hearts were full of joy until they came to their futon couch. They often sat together on the couch, holding hands and talking about their day, watching a movie or reading a book together. They couldn't bear to part with this couch that was so much a part of their lives but it wouldn't fit in their new condo.

Their hearts were broken until the wife had an idea.

In the dark of night, they moved the couch to a deserted field in a remote area miles from buildings or even well-traveled roads. They positioned it facing north so they could watch the sunrise or the sunset as they sat together, holding hands and talking about their day.

Once again, their hearts were full of joy and they lived happily ever after.

Yeah, I know. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'd rather think the best of someone than the worst.

wacky wednesday - full circle #2?

I was four years old the first time I went to Disneyland. I was there with my parents, my older sister and my younger sister. While I have vivid memories of that trip to "the happiest place on earth," I did not pay much attention to the subject of this post - shoes. Except that I lost one of my shoes on the Jungle Cruise when the captain fired his gun at the alligators and I hid under my seat.

(October, 1960)

I am the girl with the lei - and no, I don't know why I had one. What strikes me about this photo is my mom's shoes. She had on high heels! We were dressed up. Everyone there was dressed up. And women had on heels.

I have been to Disneyland many, many times since that first visit and have noticed that what people wear, both clothing and shoes, has changed over time. In general, I think it has changed for the better.

Clothing has become more casual. For the past several decades, shorts or jeans and shirts are the order of the day. Styles change with the times but I seldom see anyone "dressed up" except for the occasional older Asian gentleman in a suit and tie.

Shoes also became more casual with the vast majority of people wearing tennis shoes (sneakers?) or more commonly now, flip flops.

Happy feet like comfortable, sensible shoes!

However, in the last five years or so I have noticed a trend among the younger women back to dressier shoes. This trend is only for the women though, guys still wear comfortable, sensible shoes. I have watched women tottering about in five-inch stiletto heels fall on the uneven surface of the paths. Some women actually limp along in very uncomfortable-looking shoes. By late afternoon it is common to watch these women shift their weight back and forth from one foot to the other as they wait in line. Pain is etched in their face.

It is not uncommon for the average Disneyland guest to walk a minimum of five miles a day. We have walked as much as 12 miles a day. None of these shoes (with the exception of the red tennis shoes the guy has on!) would be comfortable for that amount of walking.

It seems that we have come full circle in just 50 years or so. Women again choose fashion over comfort.

wacky wednesday - is more better?

Digital cameras and smartphones completely changed the way we view personal photography - everything from how many photos we snap to what we photograph and even how we store our photos.

The advent of the "selfie" dramatically increased the number of photos being taken every day. Researchers estimate more than 93 million selfies are taken every day. (And in case you're interested, the Philippines is the selfie capital of the world.) FaceBook claims more than 350 million photos are uploaded to their site every day. Estimates for the total number of photos taken in 2014 range from 880 BILLION to one TRILLION! That's about a quarter of the total number of photos taken EVER.

Personally, I went from shooting two 24-exposure rolls of film on a one week vacation to shooting over 1000 images on a similar one week vacation. It cost no more to shoot 1000 images than it did to shoot 48 and the likelihood of getting a great shot dramatically increased. Of course, it also means I have OVER ONE THOUSAND vacation photos to sort through on my computer before I print any.

Film and developing were costly so I used to really think about whether or not I wanted to take a particular photo. I would get irritated with my kids if they were being goofy and I wanted a serious shot. I seldom took photos just to capture our everyday life; they were more event related like a birthday or holiday or the first day of school. Now I shoot more "frivolous" photos - things like the Dole Whip we had at Disneyland or people I don't even know doing stupid things at national parks. I experiment more, trying new things just to see if I can figure them out or if they will work. And I always get the goofy shots!

Boxes. That's where I used to store my prints after I got my film developed until I had time to put them in scrapbooks. And I kept my negatives at someone else's house so a fire wouldn't destroy everything. Now, my digital images are stored on my hard drive and an external drive. And I have several backups. I'm not sure which is better. The digital images take up waaaaaay less room but out of sight is also out of mind. I find I print fewer photos and it's easier to put off scrapbooking them. Having a limited amount of physical space to store photos made me stay more current with putting them in scrapbooks, swapping out photos in frames and discarding the ones I didn't want to keep.

So, is more really better? Ummmm. Yes. And no. Or maybe it's just different now.

wacky wednesday - my pineapple plant progress

Almost two years ago I planted the top of a pineapple to see if I could grow a pineapple plant in the desert. Okay, it's in my house, not outside in the sweltering dry heat of an Arizona summer. But the point is, I wanted to see if growing a pineapple was possible. You can read that post here.

Last summer I wrote a post about the progress of my pineapple plant. It had finally, after much coaxing, started to grow.

I was excited thinking it wouldn't be long before a tiny little pineapple started to grow on a stalk shooting up from the center of the plant. At least that's what I was told would happen.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

What did happen was my pineapple plant took off and is growing like a weed!



Although it still has some of the original crown leaves, my pineapple plant has sprouted quite a few new leaves. It's "leaf-span" is about 48-inches by 36-inches by 24-inches high.

In the fields in Hawaii, pineapple plants grow to six feet by six feet before producing fruit but as a "houseplant" they generally produce fruit (often smaller) when they reach a height of 24 to 28 inches. Winter is their fruit-bearing season and according to the internet, there are several methods to "force" them to produce fruit.

Maybe next summer we'll have a home-grown pineapple.

Really.

wacky wednesday - the right tool for the job

June has arrived. School is out. Outdoor temperatures are rising. People start heading to the beach, to amusement parks, to national parks, to cruise destinations or to the middle of nowhere for a family reunion. Yep, it's vacation time!

And I want to let you in on a little secret I have known for quite some time... your phone is NOT the only camera you need to take on vacation. Oh, the smartphone industry would like you to believe otherwise and spends lots of advertising dollars to promote the camera-aspect of their smartphones, often over their phone functionality, but how many times have you seen photos on Facebook or Instagram of a grainy dinner-in-a-low-light-restaurant pic or an other-worldly-looking flash portrait? Or blurry toddlers (especially their hands) making the great escape? And the list goes on and on.

Geoffrey Fowler, a personal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, conducted a test on a recent family vacation in Paris. He took every photograph TWICE, once with his smartphone (iPhone 6 Plus) and once with a mirrorless digital camera (Samsung NX1). I think his family deserves an award for going along with this test. When he and his family looked through their vacation photos, the overwhelming majority of the ones they wanted to print or post were from the "real" camera, not the smartphone.

I commend Fowler for analyzing his photos not just for which ones he liked best but also asking himself why he liked them better. This is a step most hobby photographers skip because it takes time - sometimes a lot of time - and can also be painful when you realize what you captured was not what you wanted to. But in doing so, he determined he (and I would venture to guess, most people) liked the photos that told a story - ones zoomed in to the action or that capture the drama in low-light situations. He preferred the subjects to be sharp and crisp but the backgrounds soft so his eye knew right where to go for the story.

For his test, Fowler used higher end equipment, both smartphone and digital camera.  I have a small point-and shoot camera (about $200) that consistently outperforms the camera on my iPhone 5S. It fits in a pocket or slips in my purse. The only downside is that I cannot instantly upload photos to FaceBook or Instagram but that's a small price to pay for not just good photos but great ones.

My camera of choice when weight and size are not an issue is my dSLR. My iPhone is fine for those impromptu photo ops but when I know I will want photos of something or someone and don't want to lug a big camera around, I take my point-and-shoot. I think it's a great compromise and have never regretted having it with me.

My point-and-shoot camera is smaller in length and width and only ¾" "fatter" than my iPhone. 

Certainly the smartphone is fast, convenient and very portable but often what's easy isn't what's best.

wacky wednesday - a new language

.  .

Can you read these two sentences? I looked at the funny little icons for a good ten minutes trying to decipher them. And I must admit, I wasn't even close to the meaning.

Emoji... the new language of social media. 

It started innocently enough with just a few "smiley faces" or emoticons which were actually helpful in showing tone in written text messages. Were you being snarky  or "over the moon"  when you texted "Love you!" to your best friend? 

Emoji, which in Japanese means "picture character," are little pictures that represent words or emotions. Soon, emojis for everyday objects, people, animals, you name it began showing up. There are now nearly 900 emojis with new ones being added almost daily.

Some of my friends string lots of emoji together to create a thought or mood. Unfortunately, most of the meaning is lost on me. But I do enjoy looking at the cute pictures. Many of my friends, and me, use them sparingly in short messages to add flavor, color or emotion. But whether you use them or not, love them or hate them, all indications are that emoji is here to stay. 

So, did you figure out the sentence at the top? It says, "I pride myself on being good at expressing myself in words and even photography. But I'm ashamed of how bad I am at writing in emoji."

wacky wednesday - monday holidays

This past Monday, May 25th, we celebrated Memorial Day. For many people, it is the unofficial start of summer.  It's a time of pool parties and bbq's and enjoying family and friends. It's a long weekend - a time for people to get out of town for a few days. For my mother's generation, it marked the day when it was okay to wear white, particularly shoes and purses, again - "Only wear white between Memorial Day and Labor Day!"

But, really, Memorial Day isn't about any of those things. It's a day for remembering the veterans who died fighting for our freedoms. Not ALL veterans - that would be Veteran's Day on November 11th - but those who died fighting on our behalf.

Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was originally called, was first celebrated on May 30, 1868 when General John A. Morgan (a leader in an organization for Northern Civil War veterans) called for a nationwide day of remembrance on May 30th. He chose that day because it was not the anniversary of any battle in the Civil War. Most southern states did not acknowledge the holiday, choosing instead to honor their dead on different days.

During WWI the United States became entangled in another major conflict, this time global, and the holiday evolved into a commemoration remembering all military personnel who died in all wars. It was celebrated on May 30th, the date selected by Gen. Morgan, for decades.

Then, in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which went into effect in 1971, making Memorial Day the fourth Monday in May. Three other holidays were also affected by this Act - Washington's Birthday (moved from February 22nd to the third Monday of February), Labor Day (originally celebrated on September 5th but unofficially changed to the first Monday of September in 1884) and Veteran's Day (moved from November 11th to the fourth Monday in October). Columbus Day was created as a holiday, the second Monday in October. All were designated as federal holidays.

Why were the dates of the holidays changed? For the sole reason of giving federal employees a three-day weekend. Congress felt that by observing these holidays on Mondays, there would be "substantial benefits to both the spiritual and economic life of the Nation." They argued it would "afford increased opportunities for families to be together" and it would "enable Americans to enjoy a wider range of recreational opportunities, since they would be afforded more time for travel."  Seriously. Using that reasoning, why not make Thanksgiving the fourth Friday in November? 

Interestingly, Veteran's Day (originally called Armistice Day in 1918 to recognize WWI veterans but changed to Veteran's Day in 1954 to recognize all American veterans) was changed back to November 11th by Congress in 1975 after it became apparent that veterans' organizations opposed the change and 46 states either didn't change the original observation date or returned it to November 11th. 

Personally, I think the meanings of the holidays was diluted when they were changed to "three-day weekends." Pretty soon we will begin calling Memorial Day "May Long Weekend" like Canadians do - only in Canada "May Long Weekend" is Victoria Day, a holiday to honor Queen Victoria's birthday. Many Canadians don't know their Monday or Friday holidays and simply call them " Long Weekend." The holiday has devolved into just another day off. 

But it doesn't have to be. Be a rebel! Fly your flag on May 30th. Visit a national cemetery - it probably won't be crowded. Pray for the military families who have lost loved ones in war. After all, we can't honor our fallen soldiers too much.

wacky wednesday - the pesky matter of réspondez s'il vous plait

It is that time of year again. No, this is not another post about the weather seasons... although it is warming up. This is about graduation and wedding season. And with those acts of celebration comes ceremonies and parties... and the dreaded "RSVP."

RSVP is an abbreviation for the French phrase, "réspondez s'il vous plait" which means "respond, please." The word "respond" is a verb, an action word, meaning the receiver of the invitation needs to DO something. Responding or replying to the invitation is not just a suggestion, it is a command.

For many generations, it was understood that an invitation - ANY invitation - required a response in a timely fashion. Not replying would be an affront to the host or hostess. It would certainly be the last time you would be invited to a social function.

Eventually, people got a little lax about replying and the abbreviation "RSVP" was added to the bottom of invitations, often with a date that one should reply before, as a gentle reminder that a response was expected.

I remember my mom taking RSVP's very seriously, usually responding within a  day or two of receiving an invitation. With her example and insistence - okay, nagging - I learned to do the same. And I passed that etiquette on to my daughters who, to my knowledge, continue to respond promptly to invitations.

But lately I have heard many party-givers lament not knowing how many people were showing up to their shindig. This makes planning an event a nightmare of giant proportions. It impacts seating, food and drinks for the casual party at home to all of that plus parking, wait staff and favors for a larger celebration like a wedding reception.

Apparently I am not the only one to notice this upswing in bad manners. An article in The Wall Street Journal several months back also addressed it. According to Lizzie Post, the great-great-granddaughter of etiquette expert, Emily Post, and a spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute, Inc., instant communication is to blame.

I think Ms. Post may be on to something. Back in the day, a written invitation would be hand delivered by a courier who often would wait for the reply and take it back with him. In more modern times, invitations were mailed with or without response cards to be returned via mail. The invitation was "in front of you" (on the refrigerator, kitchen counter, etc.) reminding you to reply.

But now, with many invitations being texted or emailed, we read them and forget about them when the next text or email pops up. Or we intentionally wait to see if something more interesting comes along. We have forgotten how to simply commit. We no longer have to allow three to five days for the US Postal Service to deliver our response. It can now be delivered almost instantly anywhere in the world to someone's "inbox" and read by them on their phone.

While all these "reasons" are true, I don't believe they should be excuses. It was, is and always will be bad manners to ignore invitations by not responding with a yes or no answer. And good manners are always in style.

wacky wednesday - perspective

For a little over a year, I have been participating in a photo 365 project called Capture Your 365. The idea is to take a photograph every single day. One reason to do that is to learn to take better photos. Another is to learn to use your camera. But I think the best reason is to notice and document your everyday life. (But all of this is a blog post for another day!)

The daily prompt on Monday was "Bottoms Up - Base, Foot, Underside." I contemplated what I would shoot as I washed dishes. I like photographing flowers and the agapanthus in my backyard was starting to bloom. Hmmm.

Agapanthus flowers are simply gorgeous once they've opened. And I have many photos of them over the course of the years. But I don't have any shot from the bottom side.

It takes several days for them to completely open and "fluff out." Mine are in the beginning stage where they have just broken free from the "pod" but the papery thin "pod" is still attached. This "Underside" would be my photo of the day (POTD).

Laying on the kool-deck looking up at the underside of the agapanthus bloom gave me an interesting perspective. I could see the purplish striations in the papery thin "pod" that aren't visible when you view it from the top. I also noticed how each individual "petal" (or is it a "flower?" I am NOT a botanist or a gardner!) bends upward. Again, this is not something that is apparent from a top view.

Standing up, I shot a top view looking straight down. Hmmm. It looks similar, but different. The "petals" are more clustered showing more purple and less green. And the "pod" looks like a piece of onion skin.

Finally, I sat on the kool-deck and shot from the side. What a different perspective! I could see both the purplish striated underside of the "pod" as well as the white on the top-side. And the "petals" look much longer. And there is a baby grasshopper on one of them!

As I was shooting my agapanthus from different positions, I thought about how perspective applies to more than just photography. If my agapanthus flower were an idea or opinion, carefully looking at it from different angles and sides would give me a new perspective. It would allow me to think more critically and objectively, to really understand someone else's point of view.

Something to ponder.

wacky wednesday - cluck, cluck

My aunt and uncle had a farm in Montana when I was growing up and I loved spending time there during the summer. One of my jobs (actually, I think it was my ONLY job) was to gather the chicken eggs every morning. They often found their way into my breakfast and let me tell you, there is absolutely nothing like farm fresh eggs with lemony-yellow yolks!

But, as an adult, I live in the big city and almost always get my eggs at the grocery store (not nearly as tasty!). Recently, several of my friends decided to be urban chicken farmers so they would have fresh eggs and they occasionally share with me. Yep, even city-dwellers can have chickens in their yards. The town ordinance where I live allows up to five chickens on ⅛-acre lots with larger lots allowing more chickens (up to about 50 on a one-acre property).

My friends all claim that their chickens (or "girls" as they call them) make a variety of sounds (clucks, trills, coos,...) and that they can tell when the "girls" are upset or making happy sounds. Mostly I smile and nod as I listen.

But this week I read an article (The Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2015) that affirms their claims and takes it a step further. Researchers and engineers at Georgia Institute of Technology are working to digitally detect the sounds unhappy chickens make. Why, you ask? 

Georgia is the nation's largest producer of chickens. Knowing when chickens are getting sick, are too hot or cold, or just get their feathers ruffled about something affects poultry farmers' bottom line as unhealthy or discontent chickens don't fatten up as quickly or lay as many eggs. 

Georgia Tech students developed a recording app for smartphones called SCAR (Sick Chicken Audio Recorder - yeah, I have no words...) that they used to collect over 1,000 hours of chickens clucking while content, sick, crowded and cold. Then researchers and engineers did their geeky thing ending up with digitized clucks using a method similar to the way a smartphone analyzes human voices asking what Siri is wearing.

The poultry industry is excited to put this technology into practice. They claim it will be a faster, cheaper and more accurate way to monitor flocks than the current method of having humans walk through hen houses (which can hold 50,000 chickens) listening for disgruntled chickens. 

Hmmmm. I guess I'm the one with egg on my face.

wacky wednesday - piano blues

I begged, pleaded and made deals with my parents for over a year before they finally realized my "request" for a piano was not a passing whim. A friend of the family had an old piano they weren't using and my parents borrowed it thinking I would give it up in a few months like my older sister had with the guitar. I didn't care that the piano was old and scratched up. It was a real piano and I could play it to my heart's content!

I started taking piano lessons that summer from an "older lady" (she was probably in her 40's... I was ten...) who lived a few miles from our house. My mother didn't drive then so I had to ride my bike to and from her house once a week. It was hot but I didn't care. I loved learning to play using both hands and even my feet sometimes! And, seriously, I didn't mind practicing... ever.

I played for a couple of years until our friends wanted their piano back. I was sad to see it go but by that time I was also playing the flute in band. There are only so many practice hours in a day! However, learning to play piano is something that engages your mind like nothing else does as you read two lines of music simultaneously with your eyes while playing them with your hands. I feel fortunate to have been able to learn to play and although I cannot play very well now, I don't regret the hours spent practicing as a child. 

As a parent, I wanted to have a piano in our house. In fact, when we bought our house, I had a spot in mind for the piano. Unfortunately, a piano wasn't in our budget and our daughters were busy with other activities, including music through high school - one played the clarinet and the other played the violin. 

Years after the kids grew up and left our home, we unexpectedly got a piano. Friends of ours needed a place to store an extra piano and asked if we knew anyone who had room and would be willing to do that. I jumped at the chance to finally have a piano again and have enjoyed "fiddling around" on it.

I recently read several articles in major newspapers reporting that piano stores across the nation are closing due to lack of sales. The best year for new piano sales in the United States was 1909 when more than 364,500 new pianos found homes. In recent years, that number has dropped to less than 40,000 annually. 

There are several factors playing into the decrease in piano sales but the primary reason is fewer kids are learning to play, an indicator of a changing society. People are more interested in things that don't take much effort so playing an hour a day to learn piano is not what kids want to do. Computer technology has changed what kids are interested in. Fiddling around with a digital keyboard is fun, learning to play piano correctly is not. 

Things like smaller homes, emphasis on youth sports (rather than music studies), larger number of latch-key children and children who split their time between two parent's homes also contribute to fewer kids taking up the piano.

Despite the many reason for not playing the piano, two of our sweethearts LOVED playing "our" piano when they visited last fall! It is a joyful noise! It makes me sad, though, that pianos won't be readily available for other children to learn to play.

wacky wednesday - progress???

Paper grocery bags (the kind without handles) used to be the norm. After carrying their groceries home, people used the paper bags for all kinds of things - to line their trash cans, carry books to the library, make Halloween costumes for their kids and book covers for text books, to name a few. 

Then plastic grocery bags came on the scene and were lighter, supposedly stronger and didn't kill trees. Although grocery stores still carried both - remember being asked, "Paper or plastic?" by the bagger? - the clear implication was to save the trees and use plastic. Apparently saving trees was a higher priority to the environmentalists than the pollution from using petroleum and chemicals to make the plastic bags.

Eventually grocery stores had the brilliant idea of selling reusable cloth or coated plastic grocery bags with their logo and brand information imprinted on them. That's right, consumers paid for bags to carry the groceries they just purchased home and, at the same time, advertise for the grocery stores. 

The reusable cloth bags remained popular with some folks but most didn't want to bother with washing the bags when they became soiled and went back to plastic. But plastic was okay because the bags were now recycled and made into new bags. And we're still saving trees.

Or at least we were until the ten-foot long receipts came along. 

I think Brian Crane who draws the comic Pickles is spot on in his October 20, 2014 comic. And it made me chuckle! The receipts could be upcycled!

        PICKLES by Brian Crane

wacky wednesday - tomato, tomahto

Our North Carolina sweethearts and their parents are coming to visit us this summer. When I asked if there was anything special they would like me to make while they are here, our daughter immediately requested an old family favorite... manicotti... and her husband quickly agreed.

The recipe has been handed down from generation to generation. I got it from Nona (you remember my mother-in-law, right?) who got it from her mother-in-law (my husband's grandmother whom I never had the pleasure of meeting) who got it from her mother. It may have gone back farther but Nona only knew for certain it went back to her grandma-in-law. So my grandchildren will be eating manicotti made from a recipe from their great-great-great-grandma. Wow!

Nona and I made manicotti together at least a half dozen times. It took that many times for me to get a written recipe with accurate measurements rather than "some of this" and "a little of that."

Nona wrote the recipe on a piece of paper one time we made them. Although I keep a typed copy on my computer, I always use the hand-written one when I make manicotti - it's like she's with me.

Many people buy dried manicotti tubes in the pasta section of their grocery store, cook them and then fill them. Our family recipe starts with making the pasta which is really more like a crepe when it's cooked.

After years of practice I can get my "crepes" to be almost circular. But that was not always the case. At first some were long and skinny and others had a thin, finger-like projection coming out of them. Seriously, it's not as easy as it looks! But Nona never laughed, she just said, "Try again, you'll get it soon!"

I have many happy memories of us working and laughing together so it is only natural that I would think of her every time I make them. As I was making the "crepes" I remembered Nona, who was Jewish, telling me she learned to make blintzes - which are essentially crepes - from her mother. Hmmm. Before long I had made 38 "crepes" - about a third of what I will eventually need this summer.

Once the "crepes" had cooled, it was time to fill them. This process takes over my entire counter as I portion out the filling and then readjust if I run short or have extra left over. As I filled them, I was reminded of making enchiladas - a very similar concept and process. And, really, isn't a corn tortilla similar to a crepe or a blintz?

I could almost taste the gooey, stringy deliciousness these will become once they are cooked and covered with sauce!

The final step is rolling the "crepes" creating a tube-like pasta that is already filled. This step reminded me of Chinese Spring Rolls because the trick is to "make them snug but not so snug they tear!" Have you ever gotten a Spring Roll that split?

After they are rolled, they get stacked between sheets of waxed paper on a tray, wrapped with plastic wrap and then put in the freezer for a day or two. After they are completely frozen, I put them in a ziploc bag and pop them back in the freezer. I can then pull out as many or as few as I need at a time.

As I was cleaning up (you can imagine the mess on my counter!) I began thinking about ethnicities and food. It seems ethnicities and cultures, although very different in many ways,  have commonality in some of their foods. A Jewish blintz, French crepe, Italian manicotti, Mexican enchilada and Chinese spring roll are all basically a flat starchy substance rolled with a filling in the center and served with a sauce of some sort. The flavors are very different, but the concept is the same. 

You say potato, I say patahto.

wacky wednesday - breakfast with sweetheart number 4

When we were in North Carolina in December, we took each of the boys to breakfast one by one. (breakfast with the boys) I visited the sweethearts a couple of weeks ago and it was Lexie's turn to go to breakfast.

Part of the fun is the anticipation and deciding where to go. Every time I talked to Lexie on the phone in the weeks leading up to my visit, we talked about going to breakfast. And every time we talked about it, her restaurant choice changed. I couldn't wait to find out the final answer!

Lexie (age 7) chose Dunkin' Donuts for her breakfast outing. She was so excited that the first words out of her mouth when she woke up were, "Can we go to breakfast NOW?????" After getting dressed and getting directions, we were off. On the drive there, I asked her how many donuts she wanted. Her quick, no hesitation response was "THREE!" And she also wanted coffee.

I convinced her to start with two donuts with the promise that she could get another one if she wanted it after she ate the first two. The woman at the counter took our order and made Lexie "special coffee" (a little coffee with warm milk and sugar).

She chose a bar-height table and we sat down to eat breakfast and chat. She read all the signs on the walls and windows to me. Then we got down to business. She likes playing with her friends and reading the best at school. Frozen is her favorite movie and it's Elsa over Anna all the way because "she sings the good songs and she's so pretty!"

By this time Lexie had finished her two donuts and wanted a third. I encouraged her to go up and order her donut herself but she wanted me to do it. As I watched her sitting at the table while I went up to the counter, she reminded me very much of her mother as a child - kicking her legs against the chair and smiling at the other customers. Sigh. They grow up so fast.

Lexie celebrated her seventh birthday the week before our breakfast. She insisted she felt "older" when she woke up on her birthday and she might even be a little taller. But other than that, being seven was about the same as being six. I asked her old she thought I was and she said, with absolute certainty, "39!" YES!!!

The donuts and coffee were gone and it was time to go. As we drove home I was already looking forward to the next time she and I will go to breakfast, wondering what things we'll talk about then. One thing I know for certain - kids like to talk, especially when someone is listening.

wacky wednesday - should we or shouldn't we?

For the past six or seven years I have wanted a gas-burning fire pit for our patio. It would be relaxing to sit with my sweet husband around the fire pit gazing at the stars as we talk about our day. It would be fun to invite friends over for Happy Hour around the fire pit. We could make s'mores. The sweethearts could roast hotdogs on a stick.

But no matter what idyllic scene I conjured up, my sweet husband put the kibosh on it. It would just take up room. We wouldn't use it (remember the stationary bike?). Propane ones are expensive. It's too hot for one most of the year.

But I am not one to give up so easily.

I found directions for making one on Pinterest (that plethora of ideas and directions or huge time-waster, depending on your point of view!) and purchased the supplies. Total cost - $15 and change.
It took me less than half an hour to put it together.

And voila, we had a fire pit!

Okay, it's small (only about eight inches by six inches) and sits on a table. But it roasts marshmallows for s'mores. And provides great ambiance. It doesn't take up much space and is easily portable. The cost was certainly not "expensive." We can use it year-round, even in the hot summer after a night-time swim.

Problem solved.

wacky wednesday - how the times change

In the course of living life, everyone experiences stress. The car breaks down, the babysitter gets sick, the boss is unreasonable, kids are ... well, kids.

In days of yore (that would be the 1960's), advertisers convinced us a warm, relaxing bath would get rid of all our stress. Remember "Calgon, take me away?" (You can view the commercial here.) For less than two bucks you could purchase enough Calgon bubble bath for a dozen or so de-stressing soaks. I remember people thinking that was a splurge - you don't need bubbles to take a bath.

Fast forward a "few" decades to the present time. During a recent flight, as I was perusing the Skymall Magazine, I read about a device designed as an "escape to a world of serenity and slumber" ... the serenity pod.

The description continues with "(its) elliptical exterior blocks 90% of outside noise while the interior amplifies the sound inside. The wireless sound system gently rocks you to sleep with vibration while the LEDs change colors wirelessly from an app on your smartphone or tablet."

And for only $10,000 it can be yours. Yes, that was TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. And while you are at it, order a smaller one for your dog or cat for a mere $1000. Seriously, just how stressed do you think your pet is? 

I don't know about you but if I spent $10,000 on my bed or $1000 on Fido's bed, I would be anything but serene.