Scapular medal

I had a gold Scapular medal on a gold chain.  

Gold is nice in that it doesn't corrode.   Stays nice and shiny forever.  Unfortunately gold is soft and breaks easily.   And that is what must have happened.   One day I discovered that the scapular medal and chain were gone from around my neck.   I had worn the medal and chain for so long that I had gotten so use to it that I was not aware of it.   I looked but I couldn't find it.   I decided to replace the gold Scapular medal with a silver Scapular medal with a silver chain.   Silver will be much stronger than the gold.   Plus the gold was really expensive.   I decided to go to the Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine locally.   It is incredible huge.   Maximum capacity inside the shrine is:

That is a lot of parishioners.   The gift shop is equally large.  By far, the largest religious gift shop that I have ever seen.   They have an incredible selection of everything that you could ever think of, including some scapular medals.  They had three of the same design.  

But hey, guess who was there?

 Not really.   It was just a life size cardboard cut-out.

Their scapular medals were just too modernistic for me.   I am more of a traditionalist.  I still have an old scapular medal that I had which I have always liked the design best.  I think that it was gold on silver and after a period of time the gold started to flake off.

On the back side of the medal you can see how the gold has flaked off.

This particular shape is very difficult to find.   I did an unsuccessful internet search.   So I decided to see if I could order something of a similar shape and design from Amazon.   If it was close I would be happy.   I couldn't believe it when I found the same exact medal shape and design in silver for sale on Amazon.   I was elated.

It has been shipped and is on its way.   The silver should not break.   But it will tarnish.   But that is alright because it is easy to clean.  I am happy.   Have a blessed day.   Lew

Little Green Army Men

Little green army men.   Remember them?   They were one of my favorite childhood toys.

For a dollar I could get a large bag of these toy soldiers.   They had a base to them to help keep the toy soldiers from falling over.

I visited Walt Disney World, Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land this week.  It was a nostalgia trip down memory lane with huge representations of toys from my childhood.

And along came these "Little Green Army Men" drumming a nice marching beat on their drums.   Actually, they weren't so little.

They were completely covered in green material.   It is August and incredibly

hot, especially at 100% humidity.   I don't know how they managed to tolerate  the heat.

What was interesting was that they had flat pieces on the bottom of their boots similar to the toy army men.   And they could walk without any problem.

I only saw about half of the Toy Story Land but evidently they have the Little Green Army Men for sale in a gift shop.

By the way I was a big fan of R. Lee Ermy.   He was great both in Full Metal Jacket and Mail Call.

Have a really nice day wherever you may be.    Lew

 

The Impossible

10" x 12".   Not very big.   About the size of a standard picture frame.   It is also the size of an x-ray film.   Actually the standard size of x-ray films were 8" x 10", 10" x 12", 11" x 14", and 14" x 17".   But there is something special about the 10" x 12" size as you will see.   In the past, x-ray films were developed by hand.   The films was clipped to a "hanger" and then dipped into various tanks of solutions.

The hangers made it easier to get a film into and out of a particular tank of solution.   It was a messy process.

One day a co-worker said that he could pas through a 10" x 12" hanger.   He was slender but this would still be impossible.   His shoulders were too wide.   Imagine taking a standard picture frame, remove the back, remove the glass, and then try squeezing through the frame.   No way.   Impossible.   He had a 10" x 12" hanger and proceeded with great effort trying to squeeze the hangar.   I was right, he had difficulty with the shoulders.   But he persisted and persisted in his effort and eventually made it.   There were several people in the room also to see this and we were all amazed by this.   I mean, have you ever seen something which you know is impossible but someone does it?   Sort of like watching a magician in a magic show do their illusions.   But this was no illusion or trickery, he actually passed through that 10" x 12" hanger.   And the hanger didn't get bent at all.   Although I saw it, I am still amazed by it.   Take a ruler and measure out and draw a rectangle of 10" x 12".   Do you think that you could fit through?   I know I can't but Jim did.   Have a pleasant day wherever you may be.    Lew

 

pretzel-covered turkey leg

Turkey legs.   We have all had them at Thanksgiving time.   But you can have them anytime you want at Disney.   They serve hand-held turkey legs that you can walk around the Disney Parks with.  

 They are absolutely huge.    They are a meal in themselves.

Do you know who this guy is enjoying a turkey leg at Disney?   Yep, Andrew Zimmerman.

But now Sea World has a new turkey leg.   It's a pretzel covered turkey leg and weighs more than a pound.    Absolutely huge.  

Just for scale just to get an idea of the size of this behemoth.

Can't really grasp the size yet.   Here is a picture of someone biting into one of these pretzel-covered turkey legs.   No, that is not me eating the turkey leg.

After one monstrous bite.   A long, long ways to go.   This should be on the T.V. series Man vs Food.

The price of these pretzel-covered turkey?   $14.99 with potato chips.   So the next time that you are at Disney have a turkey leg or two.   You never know, maybe Andrew Zimmerman may be there enjoying one also.

Have a great day and have some fun at Disney, the happiest place on earth.   Lew

cupcakes

I saw these cupcakes at Walmart.

Just look at the beautiful swirl.

They reminded me of the cupcakes at Disney.   I must admit that the Disney cupcake looks much nicer.  More artistic.   So many petals.   It is suppose to be a rose.

But it also reminds me of a pink Ranunculus flower.   What do you think?   Rose or Ranunculus flower?

It's a toss-up for me.   But since they called it a Rose cupcake I guess that it is a rose.   Disney is excellent on decoration of cupcakes.   The Disney Food Blog has an excellent coverage of the various cupcakes at Disney as well the foods.   Check it out.   A good site.   Enjoy life.   Lew

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/

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