Gaston's Tavern

Gaston's Tavern.   It is located in Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom.  

 

A good place to get a nice cool LeFou's brew on a hot day.   It was really hot this day, 94 degrees and 100% humidity.

I had read several times about LeFou's brew and wanted to try it.

 

LeFou's brew is a non-alcoholic slushy/slurpee drink that is mainly unsweetened apple juice with a mango/passion fruit whipped topping on the top.  

For being unsweetened apple juice it tasted really good.   Plus I was really hot and drank the drink a little too fast.   What happens when you drink a slushy/slurpee type drink too fast?   You guessed it, a brain freeze.   So I slowed my drinking way down to alleviate the brain freeze.  You can get your drink in a nice goblet or mug, but I opted just for the plastic glass.

This is a counter service snack eatery.  

Do you like cinnamon buns?   How about a cinnamon bun with extra icing.   No, I didn't get one, but it does look good.   Really good with a cup of coffee.

The interior of the tavern reminded me of a Bavarian hunting lodge.   They had a chandelier made of deer horns (well, actually they probably were not real deer horns.   But very impressive none the less).

 

There was also a blunderbuss (early form of shotgun) hanging on the wall.

There is so much more to see at Disney than just the thrill rides.   Each time I go I discover new things.   Having a great time at "The happiest place on earth".    Lew

Stay the Course

In the movie The Patriot starring Mel Gibson there is a line that is used twice in the movie:  "Stay the course."  

I like the phrase and I think that it means to stay on track of what you are doing and don't give up.   A nice phrase that I have adopted at times.   The movie was great and I have rewatched it a few times.

I was recently at Epcot at Disney World.   I visited The American Adventure.

People wait in a huge lobby for the next show to start.   The lobby is really nice.   There are really nice large pictures on the walls depicting various moments in American history.

I saw one picture of ships at sea.   It looks as if the ships are in a storm.

I looked at the brass plaque at the bottom of the picture and the painting is named Staying the Course.   So I assume that the phrase Stay the Course is a nautical one.

If you like watching old movies that are really good, try watching the movie The Patriot once again.   It is probably available at your local library for check-out.   Take are and have a healthy and happy life and Stay the Course.   Lew

shower curtain

This is our new shower curtain that I have ordered.   We both like underwater scenes with fish.

Yeah, Yeah I know.   Now like Luca Brasi from the Godfather movie I sleep with the fishes.  

You remember that scene where Luca Brasi's bullet proof vest with a fish in it is delivered to the house.   Don't remember the scene?   Here it is.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=godfather+movie+fish+scene&view=detail&mid=2845F211C7F90A274EE22845F211C7F90A274EE2&FORM=VIRE

Well, that isn't quite right, I shower with the fishes.   The shower curtain is very colorful.   I think that it will look really nice when we get it in about a week.   It is on order.   How ridiculous, to do a blog on a new shower curtain.   Well, I hope that you enjoyed the movie clip.   The Godfather was such a great movie.   I can't begin to tell you how many times I have seen that movie over the years.   I think that the first Godfather movie was the best one of the three.   Have a really great day.   Lew 

 

Himalayan Salt

Himalayan Salt.    

I have seen the lamps made out of pink Himalayan Salt in stores and gift shops.

They do have a nice glow when the bulb is lit.    They make a nice accent light (is "accent" the right word).

I was at the grocery store and I saw a display of potato chips with different types of seasonings on them.

There were three different types.   The Red Curry Coconut.   I see that red pepper.   A definite "NO".  

Then there is the Lime and Cracked Pepper.   I find this one sort of "iffy".

And then there was Himalayan Salt.

I guess that I am going to get a bag and try them just to see what they are like.   Perhaps I will feel like a Sherpa climbing Mt. Everest.   LOL.   I read on the internet that the salt is actually mined in Pakistan near the Himalayas.   Close enough for me.

They even sell the Himalayan Salt in stores as a salt for food.   I wonder if the impurities that give the salt that pink color alter the taste of the salt.   The crystal of the Himalayan Salt look like they might be a bit large for use as a table salt.   Perhaps a salt grinder may make the crystals smaller.

Has anyone tried this Himalayan salt?   I will try it but I will probably end up sticking with the old fashioned Sodium Chloride (NaCl, table salt).   Have you seen anything different and a little bit adventurous in the grocery store lately?  The store that I go to always seems to have interesting things that I haven't seen before.   Have a great day.   Lew

Disney magnets

I like going to Disney World so I got an annual pass.    An annual pass has a lot of perks:   free admission, free parking, discounts at some of the restaurants and gift shops, and just an all-around good thing to have.

I forgot to mention that you get to enter the park through a special line that is just for annual passholders.   I don't have to stand in the long lines with everyone else.

Oh, and I also got a free wristband that does the same thing as showing my card for admission and discounts.   Technology is amazing.

About a week or so after getting my annual pass I received a welcome card for becoming an annual passholder.

Attached to the card was a Disney PASSHOLDER magnet on it.

I had seen these magnets on the backs of vehicles and so I decided to put mine on the tailgate of my pick-up truck.   Now the whole world knows that I am an annual passholder.

The magnet is a rubberized magnet and sticks real well to the tailgate.   No problems with it until recently.   I was at Hollywood Studios at Disney World.   When I returned to my vehicle in the parking lot I noticed that my magnet was gone from the upper left corner of the tailgate.

Instead, it was now in the lower right hand corner and upside-down.   The magnet would not have fallen off while parked.   It might while I am driving but not while I am parked.   Perhaps a child saw it and took it off and the parents told the child to put it back.   That is the best speculation that I can think of.

I returned the magnet to its rightful place of upper left corner and decided to secure it a little better to my tailgate.   I know. it looks as though I riveted the magnet to the tailgate.  

But it isn't really rivets, it is little tiny powerful rare earth magnets.   This should make it a little more difficult to get off.

Each year they send me a new magnet.   Plus throughout the year they give special ones out to Annual Passholders in a theme park.

At Epcot I got two for their flower festival: one of Mickey and the following month one for Minnie.

Recently I got one of Donald Duck.

By the way, these magnets make great refrigerator magnets.   How do I know?   Yep, there is one on my refrigerator door. 

Well, that was my adventure with my special Disney magnets.   Have a great day filled with lots of fun things which is easy to do when you visit Disney World.   Lew

Sushi

Sushi.   I really don't care all that much for fish.   Never have.   And raw fish is a really big NO.  

But sushi always looks so good.   If only there were a kind that didn't have raw fish in it.   I finally made a compromise with a sushi called California Roll.   I believe that it may have a very small amount of fish eggs in the middle.

But Disney now has "sushi" which is right up my alley.   It is PBJ roll.  

Yep, it is pretty easy to guess what a PBJ Roll is.   Peanut butter rolled inside whole wheat bread with jam drizzled over the top.   What a great idea for kids.    I think that it is pretty neat.   Yep, that is going on my Bucket List.

There is so much more at Disney than just the rides.   The more I explore, the more I find.   Have some fun today and be happy.    Lew  

poppy seeds

Poppy seeds.   Part of the poppy plant.

The poppy flowers are so pretty.   We had them in our garden when I was a child.   I liked shaking the seed pod and watching zillions of very tiny seeds fall out of the pod.   I am not sure whether the poppy plants are annuals or perennials but they always grew in the same spot year after year.   Maybe it had something to do with my shaking the  seed pod and watching the seed fall out.   The scientific name for the opium poppy is Papaver somniferum.   That is a picture of one below.

Here is a description of the plant from the internet.

"Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy, or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae.It is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are derived and is a valuable ornamental plant, grown in gardens."

The white sticky milky latex sap of the seed pods is the source of opium which is the source of heroin.

So where am I going with all of this?   I use to be badged by a nuclear power plant.

 I was under their random drug testing program.   I was told that poppy seeds could cause a positive result on the drug testing and so it might be a good idea  not to eat anything with poppy seeds like rolls, bread, muffins, etc. to avoid possible problems with the drug testing.   So for many years I didn't eat anything with poppy seeds in it or on it.   Here is an excerpt from the internet.

False positive drug tests

"Although the drug opium is produced by "milking" latex from the unripe fruits ("seed pods") rather than from the seeds, all parts of the plant can contain or carry the opium alkaloids, especially morphine and codeine. This means that eating foods (e.g., muffins) that contain poppy seeds can result in a false positive for opiates in a drug test. However the results provided will not be the same for someone who uses opiates."

So now that I am retired and not under the drug testing program I can now eat rolls and breads with poppy seeds because they are no longer verboten (except for sesame seeds on muffins).   I am sure that you have seen this on the internet already.  What is the size of a tick?

 

I know, eating muffins with poppy seeds on them may never be the same.   Have a great day anyway.    Lew