Mattercam

I must confess. I'm a Mattercamaholic. Ever since I saw a post on Facebook about the Mattercam of Disneyland on the Howard Johnson by Disneyland Park website, I have been watching it. I have it bookmarked on my iPod Touch so I can check it throughout the day. On the weekends I try to catch World of Color & the fireworks. It'll be fun to watch the action on June 15th when Carsland opens. Right now there's a construction wall in front of it although they recently got the waterfall going & the camera has started shooting it also. This summer the mountain climbers are coming back to the Matterhorn so it will be fun to watch them climb the mountain. I've never been to Disneyland, I'm more a Walt Disney World girl, but these cameras have made me want to go there at least once. That's a lot longer haul than WDW for this Northern Indiana girl but maybe someday.

Fitzgeraald Bay

I have been reading Love Inspired Suspense 2012 continuing series Fitzgerald Bay. In the first book Olivia Henry is killed. By the third book I think I had figured it out. I just completed book 5. My theory still holds & some of my suspicions were confirmed. There was a shock in 5 that I didn't like. This is not a spoiler since I haven't read the 6th & final book yet, this is my hypothesis. I believe Christina Hennessy killed Olivia because Olivia is the Hennessy's adopted daughter, Georgina's birth mother & she wanted her baby back. Christina couldn't let that happen since the baby was so important to her husband Burke. Now who Georgina's father is I don't know. I'd like to think it is Conner Hennessy & his father adopted his daughter to cover up a family scandal. Will see how accurate my theory is. I'm about to start the last book.

Update: I was right about some things, there were some curves thrown in & of course everyone in the family lives happily ever after.

Duck who thought she was a Martin

I have never seen this. A female mallard landed on the top of the Martin house & for a while I wasn't sure if she was going to get off. The Martins tried to dive-bomb her with no success. All she did was squawk at them. They finally settled for one standing on each side of the roof with the females standing in front of the doors to their nests. Eventually she got tired of standing up there & flew off. Her mate joined her in the lake. Later saw the two of them being chased by another Drake. Have no idea why she thought the top of the Martin house was a good place to land.

Titanic

I'm watching Titanic: the Final Word with James Cameron. I feel frustration. I think my feelings have changed since visiting the Titanic Museum last October. I used to be fascinated with how it sank; now it doesn't matter to me how it broke apart. It kind of detracts from the story. Titanic hit an iceberg & sank. That's what happened. The real story to me has become the passengers' stories. One of my favorite parts of the visit to the Museum was the kids' audio tour. It has the kids looking for Miss Frou Frou, a dog that looks like my nieces' dog Coco. She was owned by Mrs. Helen Bishop who received her as a wedding present from her husband. The story for the kids' audio tour is Frou Frou is running loose around the boat & you need to find her. Frou Frou is found but unfortunately she doesn't survive the sinking. When you "board" the Titanic Museum, you are given a card with a description of a passenger. You look through the displays for objects or stories associated with your person. In the Memorial Room you find out if you lived or died. Grandma & I lived; Mom died.

Now watching Saving Titanic with Bob Ballard. I love Bob Ballard. I feel bad for him. You can see he feels some responsibility for the current tragedy of Titanic being exploited. I wonder if he regrets not taking a piece from the wreckage when they found it in 1985. If he had, he would have had the salvage rights & could have protected it from scavenger hunters & sightseers. He cares about the stories & not how Titanic broke up. To me stories are what make life meaningful. That is why we practice aural history in our family. We pass the family stories from one person & generation to another. We should probably write the family stories down so they won't be lost. Some will be scrapbooked; some will be lost to the ages but as long as someone in the family cares about the family history, the stories will survive.

The Amish-Country Cookbook Giveaway

I have entered this giveaway & I am really excited about it. The Amish-Country Cookbook is this week's giveaway at Recipe Lion. The cookbook in the giveaway is volume 1 of 4 from Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury. This is one of my favorite Amish restaurants, along with Amish Acres in Nappanee. We usually eat family style. Afterwards we hit the bakery to take some of the pie we had for dessert home. I love their Pot Pie noodles. My grandmother made Pot Pie noodles & these may not live up to hers but are better than my attempt at making Pot Pie noodles. Although, the key to making good Pot Pie whether it's Grandma's or Essenhaus' is boiling them in sausage broth. I'm curious if the Pot Pie recipe is in this volume & if the recipe is similar to our family one. Even if I don't win this contest, I'll have to check out these cookbooks. Good luck to everyone who enters.

Hate Being Sick

I have been so bad about keeping up this blog. I got a head cold a couple of weeks ago & I just haven't felt like doing anything. I hate feeling sick. I just want to sleep but I can't sleep because when I lay down I get clogged up. Hate to take medicine but finally went & got some Aleve D Sinus & Headache. Took one & felt a little better but have taken any since. I haven't had much appetite. Only thing that has been tasting good is Mint M&Ms which I just found at Walgreens last week. Haven't seen them for a while so don't know if they're just out for St. Pat's Day or Easter or if they're always out & I just haven't noticed them since I don't go to Walgreens much.

Smitten

I love the book Smitten. I haven't been able to put it down. It's a novella about a town named Smitten whose major industry closes & the women of the town decided they should capitalize on the town's name & become the romance capital of the East. I got interested in the book due to an e-mail from FamilyFiction about signing a petition to save the town & enter a contest. I visited the website, signed the petition & entered the contest. One of my favorite authors, Colleen Coble, wrote the first "book" Natalie. I read it within a few hours & wanted it to go on. I'm now reading about Julia. Wish I could just sit & read the whole book in one sitting but supper needs to be put on the table. To visit Smitten, Vermont go to Smitten, Vermont. Review to be continued once I finish the book.

There is No Wrong Way | PassPorter Blogs

 New scrapbook blog from PassPorter blogs

There is No Wrong Way | PassPorter Blogs

The Bookworm and His House – Part 1 | Applied Imagination Blog

I love Applied Imagination. They build garden train layouts for botanical gardens, museums & cultural centers. Every year we try to go to Fernwood Botanical Gardens every year. Two years ago they had lighthouses, last year they had roadside attractions. Can't wait to see what this year's theme will be. The first Applied Imagination layout we ever saw was at the Chicago Botanic Garden. They had the National Park buildings. A similar but small National Parks layout is at Eiteljorg Western Museum over Christmas called Jingle Rails. I love the Mesa Verde & Grand Canyon layouts. This past summer while I was in Nashville, TN I saw that Cheekwood Botanical Gardens had a garden train. Turned out it was an Applied Imagination layout & it's theme was Tennessee buildings. Loved the ladybug house. I love that Applied Imagination uses all natural items to make the buildings. Eiteljorg has a Girl Scout activity in conjunction with Jingle Rails where they have to go through the Native American exhibits on the second floor answering questions about what natural items the exhibits are made of. Elle got a Jingle Rails patch for her GS vest for completing the activity.

This link shows the newest building that was made for the Fort Thomas Library in Kentucky. I love the Bookworm.
The Bookworm and His House – Part 1 | Applied Imagination Blog

Winter is finally here

Winter has finally come to Northern Indiana. It has snowed albeit lightly for the last 2 days. The lake has frozen but not sure it is strong enough to skate on yet. Madison has been asking to skate since October & Elle started in November. Didn't think I'd ever be able to tell them the lake was frozen. We'll see how long it'll stay frozen since 40 degree weather is supposed to be back next week. The Junco's have finally come in. Wasn't sure they would ever show up. They're about 2 months late. Don't know if that means we're going to have a short winter or if it'll be snowing in May. I'm wondering if it's going to be a short winter since I've seen geese flying north. I believe the animals & birds can tell us a lot about the weather. I keep a list of bird sightings every year so I can compare when I've first seen the species at the feeders that year. I can go back & compare year to year & that's how I know that the junco's are late this year. I also keep a baby count. Don't think we had as many goslings & ducklings this year. We did however had a large family of Martins. They kicked most of the sparrows out of their house & filled it up. I'm hoping they all return this spring.

Social Media Frustrations

I've been entering a lot of contests lately. A lot of these contests are using Rafflecopter which makes entering easy. Usually you just need to like the sponsors' FB pages &/or add a comment to a post. Usually there are also entries for Twitter followers & lately they have also been including Google Friend Connect. Google just confuses me. I have gmail, this blog & I love Google Maps & Google Earth but I just don't get Google's social media. I have Google+ & I sort of know how to access it but I can't figure out Google Friend Connect. I've seen it. I've added friends to it but I can't figure out how to access it to see who's part of my GFC network. I know I GFCed a blog connected with Gooseberry Patch months ago but I still haven't found where this connection went to. When I hit the "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" button the profile picture that comes up is not the one connected with my other Google accounts. I've looked in Google help for GFC but can't find any mention of it. I'm wondering if when I hit join GFC if it is putting those joins into Google+. Why can't this be simple? I'm going to have to figure this out if I want to add entries to the Disney Moms' Dooney & Bourke giveaway. I'm so bummed that in order to enter the Dooney & Bourke giveaway sponsored by the Disney Gurus you have to follow everyone on Twitter. Don't get Twitter. Don't want to do Twitter. Have enough problem keeping up with FB. I got a complaint from a friend recently that I don't post very often on FB. She wanted to know why I would be on FB if I didn't post. Only reason I joined FB was because my girlfriend in Evansville wanted me so see her pictures. I've found FB is good to share pictures that normally would just stay in a computer & nobody would every see. Also like that I can send people messages without having to look up their e-mail addresses. I really like the contests that have been going on. Haven't won any big prizes but have won some books, CDs & DVDs. The shopping & coupon tips have really come in handy. IN Good 'Cents" is one of my favorites. Love that she does the ad & coupon match ups for me. I keep up with Disney through FB & Google+. In fact my FB newsfeed is almost completely taken up with Disney posts. I've got FB lists kind of like the Google+ circles. I think I'm going to have to delete everyone from my newsfeed & use these lists. The good thing about Google+ is they don't decide what they think is important to put on your newsfeed like FB does. I also like that Google+ has all your +1 in one place. Can never find something I liked through FB thinking I could go back to it later. Now when I want to make sure I find something I really like if "like", +1 & if I really like it I Pinterest & Evernote & add it to this blog. Might be over kill but I'm tired of searching the web or my computer trying to find something, usually a recipe, at a later date. So forgive me my blog followers. Some of my posts are just so I can find something later.

Disney World Quick Tips – Packing Checklists

My dad could have really used a list like this on our last trip to Sevierville. Spent the first 2 days running him to Walmart & the medical supply store because he forgot important medical supplies & equipment.

Disney World Quick Tips – Packing Checklists

Epcot Smores Brownie recipe from Le Cellier, Canada Pavilion - Talk Disney Vacation Planning Information

Epcot Smores Brownie recipe from Le Cellier, Canada Pavilion - Talk Disney Vacation Planning Information

I've never eaten at LeCellier but I love Smores so I want to try this recipe