Christmas Decorations

Just sharing a few photos of my Christmas decorations this year. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

Larry the Laundry Room and Loo Lizard

Meet Larry, the Laundry Room and Loo Lizard

Larry scooted in my front door one day and made himself at home in my laundry room for a couple of months. Then, just last week he decided to expand his territory to my bathroom. For three days in a row I'd find him in my bathroom sink when I got up to get ready for work. He'd stay in the sink and enjoy the nice bath whenever I had to run the water. Go figure.  I can't imagine what he was eating in my apartment to stay alive, but he managed!

Larry has defied capture this whole time, but, finally, last week, I was able to grab him (gently) and put him outside, which was a relief, since he'd started using my sink as his toilet. Lovely (NOT!). And smelly (truly!). :-(

I imagine Larry is reunited now with his friends and family and is telling them of his exploits as my "houseguest" for the past couple of months. Hopefully this will not encourage other lizards to move in.

Another Lizard Exploit

Today me and a friend went out to lunch, and as I was driving, I noticed a lizard near the window on the front driver's side of my car. He hung there for a few minutes and then disappeared around the driver's side of my car as I had to pick up speed.

I thought he was gone, but, lo and behold, I saw him peripherally on my side window, eyes wide and wild and clinging desperately to the car. I could just see the "WTF!" in his eyes.

As it turns out, we ended up taking a route through a residential neighborhood where we had to go fairly slowly as there were speedbumps along the route for about .09 of a mile. The lizard found his footing and eventually disappeared into the driver's side mirror. I suspect he's still there. Wonder if it's Larry?

The Whispering Canyon Cafe

Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy dinner with some friends at the Whispering Canyon Café , located at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

First, a word of warning for those who may be looking for a nice, peaceful, quiet and romantic place for dinner with your loved one: This is NOT the place! Contrary to the name of the restaurant, there was anything but whispering going on. To be fair, the restaurant’s website does warn you that it’s a “rowdy, family-style restaurant right out of the Old West…” Below is a brief synopsis of my experience at this restaurant.

Several gimmicks kept it fun for the patrons, and kids, in particular. The restaurant does not leave ketchup on the tables, so you have to ask for it. Be prepared. If you ask for ketchup, the waiter or waitress will bellow for the attention of all of the patrons, and then you have to join them in asking for the ketchup, pretty much at the top of your lungs, “WE NEED SOME KETCHUP!” Kids LOVED this. An excuse to shout at the dinner table and not get slapped? Sa-weet!

Upon hearing the shout for ketchup, whomever has the ketchup at their table brings it to your table. Now, be aware: you don’t get just one bottle. You get about 25-30 of them, and you have to leave it ALL on your table until someone else bellows for the ketchup, at which time YOU get to carry it all to their table.

One super fun thing they did for the kids was to have a pony stick race around the restaurant. A waiter rolled out a huge barrel full of pony sticks and asked who wanted to race. The kids swarmed him and selected their “steeds.” Then, the music started and they raced around the inside perimeter of the restaurant a couple of times. There was much whooping and hollering from parents and kids alike, and it was pretty fun to watch, too!

The atmosphere is very friendly and “familiar”, meaning that the wait staff may engage you in friendly bantering, such as you may find in a small town local diner where there are regular patrons and the wait staff knows them all.

Food-wise, I can highly recommend the Chicken & Pasta, served with sun-dried tomatoes, and garden fresh vegetables tossed in olive oil, toasted garlic and Parmigiano-Reggiano. :-)

My friends ordered one large Canyon Skillet for their teenaged kids and a smaller version for themselves. Please be warned that the larger version is A LOT of food. It could probably feed at least 3 people, depending on the size of their appetite. The Canyon Skillet comes with smoked pork ribs, pulled pork, oven-roasted chicken, and beef brisket, in addition to herb-crushed potatoes, cowboy beans, corn on the cob, mixed greens salad with apple vinaigrette, and fresh-baked cornbread.

My friends said they did enjoy the skillet very much, but the beef brisket wasn’t quite up to par on that particular evening. Only one of us (not me) had any room left for dessert. I don’t recall what he ate (I think it was the apple-caramel pie), but I am told that it was good.

They do like you to clean your plate at this restaurant, and heaven help you if you don’t eat your vegetables! There were two or three separate instances where someone at a table did not eat their vegetables. The waitperson hollered for everyone’s attention, and then announced that that person did not eat their veggies. Someone else held up a “BOO!” sign, and then the entire restaurant booed those people, so if you go there, please, EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!

Overall we had a very good dining experience at the Whispering Canyon Café. The experience is probably not one I will repeat any time soon, but only because it’s not my preferred kind of dining experience. If you have kids, or even if you don’t and you happen to like a rowdy and boisterous atmosphere, then by all means, check them out the next time you are in Orlando. I think you will have a great time!

I was in no way compensated for this review.

It grew!

See that lighthouse? That one right there?

Yep, that's the one! The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. It has grown 100 feet since I last climbed it 8 months ago. Either that, or I'm out of shape, and that can't be it. ;-)

Fortunately there wre not too many people climbing up or down while I was climbing. As you can see below, the stairs are pretty much built for one-way traffic only.

I've written about this lighthouse before, so rather than get into all of that again, I'll just share some pics from around the grounds that day. Enjoy!

In memoriam of a son lost at sea.

A theatre in the woods.

September

Reminiscing about a cat I once had called September. She was a playful kitten and a very moody adult cat. Never could figure out why her personality changed like that. Here are a few pics from her kittenhood.



Cute pics

Just sharing a couple of cute pics I came across last week...

(Okay, it's a slow news day, but still, they're cute...really!

Can you stand it?

Stress

This lovely bird was part of a wildlife educational event I attended a couple of years ago. A parrot rescue group brought some of the birds that had been surrendered to them because the owners could no longer care for them for whatever reason to help educate the public on their care.

Birds are extremely sensitive to their environments, and some will pull their own feathers out as a coping mechanism if something is wrong in their environment. In this fella's case, I believe he came from a broken home where there was a lot of arguing and it stressed him out very badly and he pulled out his feathers. The parrot rescue folks said he was much better than when he was first surrendered to them. When I saw him, he was hard at work trying to open a walnut.



Birthday Cakes

Just sharing some birthday cake... ;-)

Enjoy!





For a New Beginning

The poetry fest continues! This is a poem by another of my favorite poets, John O'Donohue. Enjoy!

For a New Beginning

by John O’Donohue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

From the book, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

The Journey

Next up, a fabulous poem by Mary Oliver about finding yourself, your own voice, your own song, in spite of all of the well-meaning advice from those around you, who might wish to keep you small "for your own good" and for their comfort, (even if they don't even realize it.) It's a journey you choose to embark upon because you simply have to. Because you'll never know who you really are and what you can do until you make this journey.

The Journey

by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.

But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

The Cookie Thief

Today I thought I'd share one of my favorite poems. I first heard it on a Wayne Dyer recording and thought it was brilliant. It speaks to certainty, and how maybe we don't really have all the facts or see things as they really are and act anyway. I've certainly done it in the past, and this poem is a good reminder for me to stop and try to consider other possibilities before acting. Hope you enjoy it!

The Cookie Thief

By Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night
With several long hours before her flight
She hunted for a book in the airport shop
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see
That the man beside her as bold as could be
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene

She munched cookies and watched the clock
As this gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by
Thinking, "If I wasn't so nice I'd blacken his eye!"

With each cookie she took he took one, too
And when only one was left she wondered what he'd do
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh
He took the last cookie and broke it in half

He offered her half as he ate the other
She snatched it from him and thought, "Oh brother!
This guy has some nerve and he's also rude
Why, he didn't even show any gratitude!"

She had never known when she had been so galled
And sighed with relief when her flight was called
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat
Then sought her book which was almost complete
As she reached in her baggage she gasped with surprise
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes

"If mine are here" she moaned with despair,
"Then the others were his and he tried to share"
Too late to apologize she realized with grief
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

 



The Zoo - Part 4

Can you spot the Mountain Lion?

Two Red Ruffed lemurs at play on the rope.

A family of monkeys groom each other after their naps.

A Black Howler Monkey conserves his energy for a cooler part of the day. I didn't hear a sound out of him while I was there.

Amur Leopard

A cougar sunning himself on some rocks.

Green Parrot

The elusive Hoffman's Two-toed Sloth

I hope you enjoyed this series. I'm not really a fan of wild animals in captivity, but I do think it's important for people to know whom they share the planet with. Hopefully zoos benefit the animal kingdom in the long run by educating people on the existence of the animals and their needs. Peace for your day.

The Zoo - Part 3

Siamang

Kangaroos

Tortoises

Cheetah

Camel