just helen

One More Disney Day

Boy…this one popped up way sooner than we expected!  I remember in the old days, it was a joke for all the “unmarried” ladies that we would wonder who we would ask to marry us on Leap Day!  I don’t even know if the youngsters have even heard about that one!  But that’s okay…it’s still just a once every 4 years occurrence, and this year, Disneyland decided to do it up big, like Disney’s marketing team always finds a way to do – Disneyland was open from 6am on February 29th until 6am on March 1st…and NO!  We did not do that!  We did, however, want to be a part of the celebration, so Megan took a half day off of work and we headed to Anaheim early afternoon, anticipating a big crowd and not planning on staying too late.

When we arrived, we were directed to the top level of the parking structure.  I had never done that before and Megan only once before.  The crowd was steady, but not too bad.  We even got right onto the tram.  It wasn’t until we approached the entrance that we discovered a minor problem:  they were filming an episode of  “Modern Family” on what was sure to be one of the busiest days of the year!  Blah!  There was a single-file line to ONE entrance gate that we had to stand in for about 45 minutes before we could even get into the park!  Mind you, I have never watched the show, so I don’t even know if I got anyone’s picture, but here is what it looked like from outside the gate…

Do you see anyone from the show?  I can’t tell!  Megan took this black and white before she realized she needed to change the settings on her camera.

Of course we had to follow the designated path into the park…no pictures for us by the floral Mickey head!

Once in, this is what we found:

Honestly?  There was no way that security was letting us anywhere near the filming.  We lingered for a minute, then we decided that we were wasting our time looking for “famous people” that we didn’t even know what they looked like.

I’m glad I got my button early…they were out by late afternoon!

It was a seriously chilly day.  The Mary Poppins weather vane looked more than appropriate with the gray, cloudy skies.

As you can see, the Matterhorn is still under renovation.

We didn’t go on very many rides on the “one more Disney day”, but we did hit a few, like Pirates, Haunted Mansion and Buzz.  The lines were not extremely long, but we did keep running into unexpected delays…

A stroller is nothing compared to trying to maneuver with big dollies with camera equipment!

After fighting the crowds, we decided to have an appetizer to give us an energy boost.

These will keep the vampires away for sure!  It did not, however, keep some strange women from bringing their “children” to the park…their images have been cut out so as not to make fun of the people, just their choice of companions for the day. 

There was more than one adult individuals that brought dolls and carried them around with them all day.  I’m sorry…that’s just a “wee” bit strange.

There were lots of really cute…and pricey…merchandise designed specifically for the “one more Disney day” event.  These ears were darling…

But we decided that for the price, we would just take a picture and not worry about acquiring another souvenir that would just add to our dusty collection.  Do you notice how they warn you in advance that it is only available on February 29th?  I personally liked the Dumbo one, but I’m being a good girl and not choosing one dust collector for another!

There were also shirts and sweatshirts, which I considered because I had not dressed warmly enough for the weather, but once I looked at the price tag, I warmed up sufficiently to pass – $60 was too rich for my budget right now!  They sure were nice looking, though!

Special merchandise was not limited to things you wear.  There were cupcakes and dipped apples as well.

The later it got, the longer the line in the stores for people trying to warm up with coffee…no room for other shoppers in this store!

The windows on Main Street have switched up a little…

I think I’ll borrow this idea for cupcakes a little closer to Easter!

I wish I canned vegetables…these are beautiful – and probably not real!

This window is different from Valentine’s day…

but I notice that there is something that I really would not have left if I were dressing the Main Street windows!

I’m just saying…

The longest line we waited in all day was the one to get a picture in front of this sign…I won’t even tell you how long we waited…it’s embarrassing, you know, but once you’ve waited that long, it is just our stubbornness not to walk away until we have accomplished what we were waiting for!

As we were approaching the entrance to leave, we started getting wind of what the late-comers had been through to get into the park, which was, by this time, at capacity.  We were hearing things like “3 hours to get off the freeway” and “turning people away” and “everyone’s honking”.  Those conversations were overheard MANY times on our way out of the park.  When we arrived at the parking structure and took a look over the edge, this is what we saw at 11:00pm:

And yes, the traffic was backed up on the freeway exits – there were still people trying to get into Disneyland as we were leaving!

My advice if you want to do this – if Disneyland does this again, and I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t – in four more years, is to come early and don’t stay all night…unless maybe you get a hotel room to take a nap in somewhere along the way!

*This post originally appeared on my new website about a week ago.  Suddenly, I realized that in transitioning, it might be wise for me to keep posting BOTH places just in case!  I've got a while before I make the complete change-over, but the new site is a different format/style and I really like it.  You can visit it at www.justhelen.net - let me know what you think!  If you've already been there, I will be posting at both places through the summer.

Just Testing

It takes me just a little longer to figure things out! It goes back to that "old dog, new tricks" theme. But what is so wonderful is when you figure it out without having to rely on your more tech savvy children, and you learn to do it from the Internet, or occasionly...on your own!

Posted from my iPad!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

I seem to be in a bit of a funk this passed week.  I don't know exactly what the problem is, but I have started several  posts about my flavorite 2011 Christmas experiences and can't seem to get it write.  Butt I can't proceed into the new year without sharring.

It all started with mie not so enthusiastick Black Fryday shoping.  All I could seem to fined was moveys and sweet pants...knot somethin to loose sleep over.  But the seasoning picked up wiht a grate Relief Society partie, soon followd by a wunderfull UC 1st Ward Christmas dinnir.  Shortlly aftor, the 12 daze of Christmas startid showing up on at mie porchfront...twice a daze!  Won was done by one family (I know whose you are:) and the udder as a joint "communidy" effurt.  Each daze we waited with anticipation to see what surprize wood shew up, fightin the urge to unviel the culprits.  The energies warmd our harts and delited our daze.  I...no, WE...thank u frum the bottum of are harts.  We relly njoyed yur efferts.

Jake came into towne for a few daze to goe too the dentizt and help an "old" frend git decurated; he evun went out and bot knew lites for our houze!  We were afrade to putt up the 25-year old onez: only Dad wuz brave enuf too doo that.  Wee were afrade they mite set the ruff on fired, knot to menshun how expinsive the olde onez were to have on.  The house lookd quiet festiv!

It wuz a wunderfull thin to half all the kidz hear this Christmas.  Wee had many tendur momants and hartfelled memories sheared.  Wee all misse haveing "the Dad" in the home.  But thanks to the miricul of tecknologie, he still red us "the Night Before Christmas" and we felt his presents once more.

There wuz loots of after-Christmas shopping...knot by me;I'm in the "gett stuf out of the houze" mode.  But re-turns four difernt sizes and colrs allwayz kneads too bee donne.  I thinc that nexxt year we shuld awl give giftt certificuts four are favoright storez so wee can gett moore bang for are buckz and skipp the hole pre-Christmas shoppin experience...not relly, but it sounded goode whenn i said it. 

Last knight culminated with a vigorous descusson of the appropriate use of the colonand semi-colon; along with ware u shuld and shuld knot use the comma.  Witch brings mee to this pointe in my post...

Sometimes I make life harder than it needs to be. 

I was so worried that Christmas was not going to be the same as it has been for the past thirty four years that I failed to remember that Christmas hasn't been the same from one year to the next anyway.  Our family traditions have changed; they have evolved over time.  The important part of the memories are not the "things" that were involved; it's the people and the relationships that are entwined in our hearts.  It's the kindnesses we give and those that come back our way.  Laughter and tears are both a way of cleansing our souls and lifting our spirits.

We have a small, battery-operated, mummy-wrapped wiener dog that barks and has red-glowing eyes when you press a small button on his foot.  There is a long and somewhat involved history that is tied to Scott and his "funny" sense of humor.  For some reason, it didn't fit into the Halloween decoration boxes this year, so it was left out.  As we started decorating for Christmas, I had an empty box that he could go into, but an idea came into my mind:  the ghost of Christmas past...Scott's past.  I love the Dickens story, " A Christmas Carol".  I don't need this little dog to remind me of Scott, but it will be a fun, tangible memory of him that I can have an excuse to keep out from Halloween to Christmas.

As for the misspelling that occured (intentionally, I might add) during the first portion of this post?  That is what spell check is for.  It won't catch all the boo-boos, but it's a help along the way.  My children and my friends are, in a way, my "spell check" in life.  They keep me grounded, offer moral support and help me to remember what's important in life.  My message, though you might have to look a little harder for it, can be understood by anyone that is willing to take the time to read carefully.  It was my way of focusing on the message more than the presentation.

I am looking forward to a bright and wonderful new year!  I wish you all the same! 

There's One Thing You Can Count On...

Things change...they just do.  People change with the passage of time - there's no way around it.  We can't help but get older.  A lot of people fight the looking older part.  Each day that passes puts us on a collision course with change.  It is inevitable.    Someone, somewhere is thinking up the next great idea that will change the way we think, how we process information, what we eat, what we wear, what we buy.

No matter how hard we try, there are very few things that stay the same.  I have had this epiphany many times before, but it hit me again today as I was going through an old secretary that has been tucked into one side of my son Tom's closet for at least 8 or 9 years.  I went there with a very specific item in mind (which I actually found), but I emerged with a smorgasbord of treasures...and a bunch of junk.  Most of the pieces were stationary related, some classic and graphically still viable, but many made me wonder, "What the heck I was thinking?" when I bought them. 

There are some historically-related items, like this birthday card.  Recognize the couple on front?

 

Inside it reads:  "See...there are scarier things than growing older.  Happy Birthday" .  I have no idea what year I was given the card, but is goes to show how quickly people in the political forefront change.  Then there are other things that are just dated.    Which bring me to these small gift cards.

 
How I loved the quaint, country-style!  These were the cutest things ever...many, many moons ago.  I would not buy these today.  There's nothing wrong with them, but they no longer appeal to me.  I bought these long before I ever started making cards.  I am now quite adept at designing my own - it is less expensive, it's a good way to use up my paper scraps and I like the hand-made look.  Of course when I bought these, they represented my style.  Fortunately, my tastes have evolved, as have my paper crafting skills. 

This brings me to my next weakness - sale items!  When I find cool things on sale, I can't seem to just buy one - my tendency is to stock up.  Who knows when I'll get a good deal again...duh!

 
Way back when (don't know for sure how long ago) these ribbons were definitely in the wonderful department.   I bought several rolls which have remained unused for countless years.

 
Of course, the patterned ribbon was way better than the  "improved" Hall Sheen ribbon (that sticks to itself...when lightly moistened) that I already had.  Did you know that they had patents for ribbon?  Must have to do with the improved part!

Then there are things that become valuable simply because they are old and can be used for something different than their original designation.  Like this old receipt book that is older than uniform state abbreviations and puts the sale of live chickens on the same receipt as eggs and cream...although the choices for chickens are somewhat limited. 

 
 Makes me wonder if the chickens were bought for laying or eating?  Don't remember where I got this, but it is from the 1940's and I think this would work wonderfully for a journaling spot.

I am a retailer's dream customer, at least in the stationery/paper crafting department.  I am somewhat of an impulse buyer, and obviously, I need to change my habits...and I have...a lot!  I buy more than I need and fail to use up what I have before I buy more.  Some of that is understandable.  I could probably send out Christmas cards to my entire list for a couple years before I use up the mishmash of my leftovers from years long ago.  But who wants to send out the same card two years in a row?  I suppose that I could find a school somewhere that I could donate these things to.  However, if I hang onto them long enough, maybe they will come back in style.  What's a girl to do?

The Button Bath of Death

 
A year or so ago, Megan found a glass jar of buttons at an garage/estate sale...not sure which.  They were tucked away in a small cabinet and all but forgotten until the cabinet needed cleaning. Not wanting to re-clutter the cabinet, they were left out and became "in the way".  I love a nice jar of buttons, and normally it would not be a big deal EXCEPT that they were dirty, unorganized and kind of stinky.

That should have been my first clue. The jar sat around for a few days (or weeks) until I was trying to do a small "pick-up" cleaning project. Reasoning in my sometimes logical mind that un-stringing the buttons and letting them soak in a bowl of warm water with a little mild soap would certainly help loosen the accumulated dirt and hopefully get rid of that smell. They were buttons, right? Buttons are for clothes and clothes need to be washed, correct? I pulled out any buttons that were metal, so I didn't risk anything rusting.  So while I was waiting for a batch of cookies to come out of the oven, I got the buttons into their bath. Unfortunately, cooling cookies on racks takes up a good amount of counter space and there was none to spare.  Then I went off to the fair, got home late and after cleaning up the cookie mess from the morning, I was too tired to embark on another project. A little water surely wouldn't hurt the buttons.

Fast forward a few days. I had a cleaned up the dishes and counter from the night before and had a few minutes before leaving the house for the day, so I decided to move onto the next step of the button project - rinsing and then drying the buttons. The odd thing is that as I started to scoop the buttons into my mesh strainer and rinse them, they didn't smell all fresh and clean like my laundry would...noooooo, they smelled oddly the same as before. I was not happy, but what's a girl to do? It was time for this project to be finished. So I spread out some clean dish towels on the counter and placed the freshly laundered buttons out to dry. What a beautiful, albeit stinky sight! I really do love buttons and I began to admire all their beauteousness. Old buttons have a lot of charm. There are a few paper crafting companies that have used old molds to re-create vintage buttons that are beautiful, but they are costly. For just a moment I asked myself "I wonder if Megan would miss just a few of these buttons if I wisked them away and added them to my own stash", but not wanting to risk my eternal salvation over the theft of buttons, even great vintage ones, I quickly set to the task of spreading them out to dry. But that persistant odor was really bothering me. As I began to look more closely at the buttons, I picked one up and it felt funny. It was pliable and appeared to be peeling at the edge.

 
When I turned it over and examined the back, the shank broke off - no great pressure, it just broke off.

 
The button was literally disintegrating in my hand!  What the heck?  These "Wicked Buttons of the West" were melting!  Melting!  Oh, what a world!  What a world!  Who would have thought a good little thing like water could destroy my (I mean Megan's) beautiful buttons?

Almost immediately two words came to mind: celluloid and Bakelite.  It's amazing how small tidbits of information can be pulled out of the gray abyss.  I didn't know much of anything about the two categories, but I knew where to start looking:  the Internet!  So armed with my iPad, I proceeded to start my search.  I found that celluloid is a plant- based material that eventually rots, even more rapidly when left standing in water.  The poor buttons!  Here they are in all their wonderfully vintage, if somewhat worn, glory.

Meant to resemble carved ivory, these were much cheaper to the consumer, and no creature was harmed manufacturing it.  This little beauty no longer has a shank, but will surely find a home on a paper-crafted project.

 
I'm not positive, but I think these might be glass.

 
 
This one looks like it might be from the Bakelite batch - it looks similar to others I found online.

 
There were several of these purple buttons, but none of them fared well.  You can see where the disintegration process has taken it's toll.

 
I think that this one resembles the recycle symbol, minus the arrow points.  It's hard to see, but it is a dark hunter green.

 
I really love color, so these are fun...

 
 
 
 
...and white buttons...

 
 
 
but I think that these are my most favorite of all -

 
Isn't it a beauty?  Luckily, there were more than one, so maybe Megan will share!

I have learned a lesson from all this...old and vintage button collectors, beware!  Most of the sites I visited suggested gently wiping your buttons with a soft cloth to polish them, not soaking them in water for days!  There is more to a button than one would have thought.  For something so small, so easily lost by loose thread, they should be treasured!  And next time you come across buttons, Megan, they should be safe...or at least safer, with me. Oh yes...and if anyone has any just laying around gathering dust, let me know.  I'd be happy to take them off your hands!