Manor House

 

When asked about Disneyland, Walt would say, “We’re just getting started!” He meant for it to always be growing and changing. I vividly remember visiting the park in the 60’s, when we lived an hour away. People dressed up to go out then, and our mother made us matching outfits with shoulder bags just for the occasion. There was a luau in Adventureland near the Jungle Cruise, and a pow-wow at Indian Village where Critter Country now stands. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was the tame Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland. Tarzan’s Treehouse was home to the Swiss Family Robinson, and the Skyway ride passed from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland through a hole near the peak of the Matterhorn. You could rocket to the moon, ride a time-traveling carousel, or take a journey through inner space. Disneyland back then smelled chiefly of tobacco smoke and diesel exhaust. Would I go back if I could? Maybe not.

Basket

 

“What I’m suggesting is that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man, my father would say, ‘Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.’ Look for good and build on it. There is so much of the strong and decent and beautiful to build upon. You are partakers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel means ‘good news.’ The message of the Lord is one of hope and salvation. The voice of the Lord is a voice of glad tidings. The work of the Lord is a work of glorious accomplishment. I’m not suggesting that you simply put on rose-colored glasses to make the world about you look rosy. I ask rather, that you look above and beyond the negative, the critical, the cynical, the doubtful, to the positive and affirmative” – President Gordon B. Hinckley

Bungalow

 

During a church service, the pastor asked if anyone in the congregation would like to express thanks for answered prayers. Suzie walked to the podium. She said, “Two months ago, my husband, Phil, had a terrible bike accident and his scrotum was crushed. Phil was unable to hold me or the children and every move caused him terrible pain. We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation, and they were able to reconstruct Phil’s scrotum, using wire to reinforce and shape it.” Men in the congregation cringed and squirmed uncomfortably. “Now,” she announced, “thank the Lord, Phil is out of the hospital and the doctors say with time, he’ll recover completely.” The pastor rose and asked if anyone else had something to say. A man stood and walked slowly to the podium. He said, “I’m Phil. I just want to tell my wife the word is sternum.”

Wagon Wheel

 

If you’re ever bored, Google “Florida Man” and see what pops up. Sure, you could put any state in the place of Florida, but somehow the sunshine state outdoes us all. In late July, a Lake Worth, Florida landscaper awakened his client to ask him to move the Tesla parked on the grass he was there to mow. The client, Phil Fraumeni, went outside and discovered the Tesla in question wasn’t his. Moreover, it had been sitting on his lawn, charging all night for free. First Phil checked with his wife to make sure the car didn’t have permission to be there. Then Phil called the police. The police arrived at the same time as the Tesla owners, who confessed they’d run out of juice visiting a friend nearby during the night, and decided to help themselves to Phil’s power. And lawn. The police actually had to explain this was illegal. Luckily for them, Phil didn’t press charges. This time.

Georgian House

 

Sour cream is a cultured product, produced by fermentation. In a sense, it’s “gone bad” in a very specific way. That doesn’t mean it can’t spoil. It’s generally safe to use sour cream up to three weeks after the sell-by date, as long as it’s stored, covered, in a refrigerator. If you notice an “off” color or smell, or signs of mold (even just on the lid), it’s time to toss the whole container out. I recently bought three pounds of sour cream, so using it before it can walk out of the fridge on its own may take some effort. I’ve put baked potatoes and chili on this week’s menu, and I have recipes for ranch dip and strawberry ice cream that call for sour cream. Pancakes are a great way to use sour cream, as a topping and in the batter. It’s also amazing in pie crust, deviled eggs and chocolate cake.

Double Wrench

 

We’ve been to France several times, but never to Paris. Unless, of course, you count the Charles de Gaulle Airport. We’ve wandered aimlessly around Honfleur, got hopelessly lost trying to find the Dunkirk McDonalds, very nearly made it to the LDS chapel in Le Havre, and spent several unforgettable days at Disneyland Paris (which is nowhere near Paris). We might have enjoyed visiting the Louvre or Notre-Dame, but somehow, we never actually got around to going. That might have changed if we’d known a decade ago that you can visit Gustave Eiffel’s apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Like Walt Disney’s digs on Main Street, USA, Eiffel had a pied à terre a thousand feet in the air. Walt’s apartment was 500 square feet; Gustave’s was 1074 (minus the elevator shaft). Neither had space for a bedroom, but there is a piano in the Eiffel Tower apartment. Eiffel couldn’t really sleep there, but he could have played Debussy.

Tower House

 

A week ago today, August 17, was Black Cat Day – a very minor holiday to help dispel age-old myths, superstitions and fears surrounding black cats. The Saturday before that, one particular black cat helped to save his human’s life. Tamar Longmuir heard her 83-year-old neighbor was missing, so she began searching her farm in Bodmin, Cornwall. She and other searchers noticed the woman’s black cat, Piran, pacing back and forth near a gate, meowing loudly. They followed the cat and found the elderly woman had fallen 70 feet down a steep, heavily wooded embankment and was lying, helpless, in a stream at the bottom. Rescue workers were able to safely carry her back up to a waiting air ambulance. "Without the cat,” Tamar said, “it could have been hours before anyone checked there." If you missed Black Cat Day this year, International Black Cat Day is October 27.