2013. What will the new year bring. This past year has brought the death of my grandmother at age 99. A new job at Amish Acres which I loved. Met so many new people from around the world. I completed Disney College Of Knowledge making me a Disney travel agent. If anyone needs help planning a trip to Disney or a Disney cruise please contact me (574-546-3275 or becky@enchantedearstravel.com). I'm hoping 2013 will bring a better paying job, an advancement in my Disney planning business & more travel.

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.