Minor Milestone

I started running again a few months ago--after a twenty-four year hiatus. That's a long time to go without lacing up the track shoes. It feels good to push myself this way again. For a long time I didn't think it was even worth trying to run, because my joints just didn't seem to want to cooperate with the process. I have these freaky knees that turn in and don't line up with my feet. It was always a challenge when I danced ballet, and even more of one when running. All that pounding on the joints made them scream a little too loudly. Okay, a lot too loudly. So, I gave it up, and stuck to hiking. A breakthrough happened last fall, though. I found these amazing squishy balls that when you lay on them (that's it, just lay on them and relax) loosen up the joints so much that they don't seem to have the same problems that made running a thing of the past. I also got some advice from a marathoner I know about technique that has really helped me keep my joints happier during a good long workout.

You might wonder why, after all these years, I even want to pound my body that way. Who's crazy enough to start running again in their forties? Yes, I know I'm a little touched in the head, but I have several good reasons for wanting to keep in shape. First off, both my parents developed heart problems at very early ages. My mom had a (non-fatal) heart attack in her twenties, and all six of her siblings and both her parents had heart disease issues when they died. That is reason enough right there to take fitness a bit more seriously than the average couch potato. Another reason is a theory I've developed lately regarding my allergies. My environmental allergies are severe enough to hinder my lifestyle significantly. Fevers and migraines and no end of general sickness and fatigue are common doings in my life. It affects me and, worse from my perspective, it affects my husband, and there hasn't seemed to be anything I could do about it. I've been told by several doctors that what it comes down to is that my liver simply doesn't process out toxins well enough, and so my immune system has gotten turned on too high, thinking that everything from perfume to pollen is an invading enemy. I don't understand it all, but it has gotten me thinking of ways to try to rid myself of those toxins in a way that bypasses my liver. Thus, the running. My theory is, if I get myself to sweat like crazy for a few hours a week, maybe that will "wash" some of the things I'm allergic to out of my system. It actually seems to be working. I'm recovering from allergic situations much more quickly, am generally stronger and more energetic, and, most amazing and wonderful thing of all, I haven't had a migraine in over a month!! This is a major source of rejoicing and celebration here chez meow.

Anyway, here's my minor milestone. Today I ran five miles straight, no stopping. I've run that far in spurts, with walking rests in between stretches of running, but this is the first time in two decades I've made it so far in one swell foop. It wasn't even that hard. Since I know other people who run 26.2 miles at a pop, this doesn't seem that impressive in the grand scheme of things, but in my little world it's a pretty exciting accomplishment. I feel most triumphant!!

BTW: Those squishy balls really are amazing for loosening up all sorts of joints and muscles. I don't usually give product endorsements, but these Miracle Balls are great, and really inexpensive for the amount of good they do. Here's the Amazon link if you want to check them out.

Thought For The Day

I've been mulling over some of the issues swirling around the Barrack Obama/ Reverend Wright kerfuffle. I've been reading an awful lot about it, a fair bit of it from black pastors and pundits who all have their own take on racism in America and Liberation Theology. It's been very interesting reading. I'm not going to get into the political side of this, but one spiritual thing has struck me rather forcefully. Much of what I have read has claimed that the black church in America breaks down into pretty much two camps, the Liberation Theology camp--blacks are an oppressed people on whom the wrongs of the past are still being wrought today--and the Prosperity Gospel camp--God wants you to be financially prosperous, healthy, and untroubled in life. I'm not sure how accurate this assessment is. I personally went to a church for over a decade whose black pastors and black members of the congregation completely rejected both these teachings. However that may be, many now are saying these two belief systems are the predominant lines of thought. What I am convinced is the case is that these two ways of thinking may seem like different ideologies to the people who embrace them, but they are two sides of the same coin.

Think about it. If you believe that God wants you to have every material comfort, if you, in fact, believe this to be a spiritual law, when (as is inevitable in life) you face trials and adversities, you are going to have to find some reason to explain why God is not blessing you as He has promised. You have to blame Him, yourself, or someone/something else. If you see yourself as following His rules and complying with the things He requires to guarantee these blessings, then something, or someone else must be at fault when they are not forthcoming. It is a natural progression. It also follows that you would do the same when you see others who you believe to be worthy facing an inevitably imperfect existence, especially if you see your condition and theirs as intrinsically linked. I don't care what race, color, gender, etc. you are. Most of us try to find ways to reconcile when our worldview and our reality come into conflict. Often that reconciliation takes the form of blame and resentment.

Now, the problems I see in this type of thinking are myriad, but I will limit my response to just a couple. First off, we are flawed and sinful beings, and the first person whose goodness and virtue we ought to look to question is our own. After all, we know ourselves quite intimately, and see the things inside our heads which no one else gets to see. Casting blame should always come back to "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." That, however, is really just the surface of the issue. The Prosperity Gospel's intrinsic flaw, in my opinion, is that it perverts the nature of our motivation for coming to Christ. What the Bible clarifies over and over is that humans are separated from God by our own sin, and that He has made a way, through Jesus, for us to be reconciled to Him and to be changed. The Gospel is all about spiritual restoration and transformation--often a very uncomfortable process as we let go of our selfishness and submit to God's better understanding of what would be best for us. (To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, God's goal is not to make us happy, but to make us good.) We come to God because we love Him and are grateful that He loved us first and wants a relationship with us--that He made a way for that to happen.

What happens when people make it about God making us comfortable instead? They lose the very essence of the love relationship. I ask you, on a strictly human level, do you want people in your life who are your friends because they love you come what may and are grateful for your love in return, or because you give them stuff and make things easy for them? On a less self-focused note, if you want what is best for those you love, where is the benefit to them from merely having things given to them? If your goal for those you love is to see them become better and stronger people, more able to help themselves and others, how will those traits be developed if you never allow them to face trials to develop and prove that growth? Weight lifters only get stronger by adding more weight. Runners gain endurance by pushing their limits. How many of us grow personally during the good and easy times? How much strength and perseverance and wisdom and virtue are gained on a beach in Maui? Now, how many of those do we develop as we work hard to support our families, or endure physical pain, or serve a suffering loved one? It's the hard times that teach us best. All of us naturally want to avoid pain and suffering, but we should not look to avoid them completely, nor desire a life with no trials for the ones we love. Would you want your children so coddled in life that they never develop any character, but remain weak, selfish, dependant whiners their whole lives? Now, take that limited human understanding of wanting what is best for those you love, and combine it with God's infinite love, knowledge and foresight. It goes against His very character to suggest that His goal for any person or group of people is perfect health, wealth and happiness. He loves us too much for that, and He does not want us to come to Him because He can give us stuff, but rather because He can change who we are.

I don't know how really prevalent the teachings of "prosperity" and "liberation" are in the black church, or any other church in America for that matter, but I do believe that those who cling to such teachings deny the true power of the Gospel. That true power is the power to change lives, through forgiveness for our sins and an ongoing changing of individual character which makes us able to say with Paul:

...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

My husband always says, "Circumstance is nothing. Character is everything." It's who God is shaping us to be that matters. All the rest is just circumstance.

A Post Of No Interest

...to anyone but myself. At least that's what I'm assuming. This post is not one to entertain the masses. In fact, I can't imagine why anyone but those who have to love me (because they've made a promise before God, or because they think they owe me some indulgence after I listened to them go on for hours about their goldfish having babies or something) would keep reading at this point. You have my complete understanding for bailing right now. Honest. No, really, I mean it. . . Okay, but any boredom you experience falls on your own head.

You might recall that I got sucked into a new hobby after giving my niece some wire-and-bead jewelry making supplies for Christmas. I liked the hands on design process, and found myself making the shiny baubles, despite how very rarely I have ever put jewelry on my generally unadorned person in the past. I honestly have no need for jewelry in my life, if my past behavior is to be used as any indicator of future wants, but somehow the need to make the stuff has grown, not diminished over the last few months. I don't want to wear jewelry for jewelry's sake any more than I ever have. It's not the wearing, but the making that has me hooked.

In an effort to find some justifiable reason to make more sparklies, I started picking the odd item out of my closet to have something to match. This can only go on for so long. I've already started coming to church far more elaborately decorated than I ever have in my life before, and once you get past the Sunday-going-to-church attire, it gets more difficult. I don't have a job outside my home (which explains why I have the time to waste on a jewelry-making hobby), and even an addicted-to-making-pretties Kat such as myself cannot justify making earrings to go with the very casual clothes that I wear on the average weekday. T-shirts and elaborate earrings or bracelets just don't mix in my world.

I've managed to pawn a few of my pieces off on a good friend, who indulges me by letting me design coordinating baubles to match some of her clothes, but I'm starting to think that I'm going to have to find another outlet--selling them maybe, or making the rounds of hospitals and passing out bling to cheer up despondent patients. I've been toying with the idea of selling it to raise money for the musical based on The Screwtape Letters which my co-writers and I recently got permission from C.S. Lewis' estate to produce. We will definitely need a lot of money for this--we do not want a second-rate "churchy" production on our hands, so finding ways to raise substantial cash is important. We'll see whether that includes my new hobby. I need to continue to improve in technique--not scratching the silver and gold as I form it, for example, and getting consistently perfect shapes in the wire. I also need to continue to develop a sense of what makes a good design work, and get more original in what I produce. At this point I would not feel entirely comfortable charging money for my creations, although I am steadily improving. As I said, we'll see what happens. I sure am having fun, though, even if I never come up with a better reason to create jewelry than, "Gee, I love to do this."

Anyway, here are some pictures of pieces I've made recently that I like. (If you've made it this far, you must not be so easily bored that I need to be afraid of scaring you off now.) Ked and I had fun tonight, playing design photographers. We dug out a black velvet dress from the back of my closet to drape bits of jewelry over, and tried to get my magnifying lamp to work as photographic lighting. We did okay, considering we are total amateurs, but please overlook the seams, color variations and other visual distractions. We had a hard time getting the crystals to sparkle without the whole piece washing out, and the colors are not entirely accurate. I had read that it's difficult to photograph silver wire well, and we found this to be true, but decided to cut ourselves some slack. After all, this is just for fun.

These rose and gold beads are so full of beauty and "life" that I couldn't resist making a whole matched set. (I wish you could click on the picture to get the larger image. I have no idea why, but sometimes Blogger lets that happen and sometimes it doesn't. This time it's being uncooperative. Wah.)

It's hard to tell in this picture that these amethyst Swarovski crystal beads and gold wire sparkle like Mirror Lake on a clear day, but they really do gleam somethin' fierce.

This was my first project using a jig to help shape the wire. I never could have made all those little loops with just a pair of pliers and my own steady grip. Even I don't have that much free time.

I'm not sure how well you can see it in the picture, but these beads are so pretty. They are a swirl of pink and gold suspended in a clear ball. Altogether the bead and silver filigree make a much larger earring than I've ever been comfortable wearing, but what the heck. In for a penny, in for a pound.

This very simple design was fun to make. I don't have much blue in my wardrobe, but I'll make do. One thing I simply refuse to do is go out shopping for clothes to match whatever jewelry I've put together. I have to draw the line somewhere!

I got the jig out again for this one. Turns out that copper wire is pretty easy to work with, and a less expensive option as well. The ear wires have to be something hypo-allergenic, but that's not hard to swing, and colored wire adds a decidedly less formal feel to some pieces. Hey, maybe I can make jewelry to go with my sweats and t-shirts after all!!

These light amethyst Swarovski crystal cubes are absolutely stunning in the real world. In Photography World (at least the one inhabited by Ked and me) it's a little harder to see how much they let the light dance through them. Oh well. Use a little imagination, please, to make up for our photographic deficiencies.

This last one I just love because of the color. Green is a big player in my wardrobe, and this very clear peridot is a personal favorite. I really like the Flemish spiral design in the wire, too. It looks solid without looking too heavy.

Well, there you have it. If you stayed this long without being one of the people who love me, thanks for the indulgence. If you stayed this long, and are one of the people who love me, thanks for the love. Watch out, though, I may be trying to make you take some jewelry soon. I'm running out of places to store it all!!

Exploring Oregon

I thought I'd throw up a few pictures from a couple of recent pleasure outings Ked and I have taken here in beautiful Oregon. We've had absolutely lovely weather of late, and knowing this could, and likely will, change very soon (Portland being the soggy city that it is), we have been scraping together what little spare time we can muster to indulge our enjoyment of the "local" winter landscapes, on both the hiking trails and the snow. (Anything within 60 miles or so is local, if you ask me--so to my mind, Mount Hood counts!) I won't jabber at you much. The pictures have much more worthwhile things to say than I do. :-)

Here's one of Portland's more famous tourist attractions. Pittock Mansion was built a long time ago, by rich people, and today, tourists can wander through its fancy rooms and see all the amenities which were on the cutting edge of modernity back in 1914. (Did I mention that when I said "a long time ago," what I really meant was "a long time ago by Pacific Northwestern, non-Native American standards," and not really a long time ago? I can hear the Europeans and Chinese laughing uncontrollably in the background.) Anyway, Henry and Georgiana Pittock made their money in newspaper publishing, and this truly lovely residence is the fruit of that labor.

Here's the view to the east from the mansion's lawn. Portland spreads out below you, with Mt. Hood gracing the background. Hood is not the only mountain viewable from this much-to-be-coveted location. If I remember correctly, you can see something like five different mountains from the top of this hill--when the weather cooperates, that is.

Here's a closer look at some of the architectural detailing of the building. There are all sorts of stonework and concrete accents, leaded glass and graceful roof-lines. It's about a six mile hike, round trip, from where my husband and I usually start out to come up to Pittock, and worth every step. No matter how many times we trudge up this hill, I never get there so tired and out of breath that this home doesn't manage to take a little more of my breath away.

Moving on to a completely different outing, last Sunday Ked and I took another snow jaunt out around to the east side of Mt. Hood. We had intended to hit one of the snow-park trails we know, but we never made it that far. As we crossed a bridge and passed by this spot, we saw this little river cutting its way through the snow and just had to stop to explore and take a picture or two. The open terrain kept calling us a little further, until finally we decided that this would be our trek for the day.

This little river was rushing madly through the snowfield. Despite the cloudy evidence to the contrary, it was a warm enough day for us to start taking off gloves and other bits of weather-protective clothing, and I suspect all that warmth was giving the water level a little added oomph, and the flow a little extra zip.

On the way back to the bridge which led us to this snow extravaganza, the path is looking pretty lonesome, isn't it? It did seem as though we should feel like the only two people in the world, but don't be fooled by this picture. Yes, it was an isolated spot, but we weren't the only Oregonians out looking to commune with nature on this day. We saw at least a couple dozen other people, and no less than five or six dogs frolicking in the snow! Most of the folks were equipped with appropriate clothing, and the sleds, snowmobiles, or snowshoes to take full advantage of the wintry scene, but there were a few exceptions. We ran into one family in jeans, sweats and tennis shoes who were having a ball, but you could tell had very little experience with the frozen white stuff (or with the English language for that matter). They had the cutest brown-eyed little girls, watching with delight as their mom tried to climb down an icy bank without resorting to sliding on her backside. I so wished I had a basket of snow gear in the back of our car, so that we could introduce them properly to the snow. The combination of little girls and snow simply cries out for boots, mittens, sleds and a great big hill. Oh well, maybe they saw everyone else at play and they'll want to come back again, but this time better prepared for winter fun.

Well, that's it for this time. Blessings on your head (wherever your head happens to be).

Chasing Snow

Sometimes I just long for snow. I love it best when it's right outside my door, and I will gladly sit at my window for hours, with a cup of cocoa and a blanky, to watch those beautiful crystals fall from the sky. We're not often blessed with snow here in Portland, though, so those afternoons at the window are few and far between. We've actually gotten snow in town a few times this winter, but never enough to trudge through, and play in, and claim as our own. It has melted away too quickly to warrant any of the giddy excitement that snow usually triggers in my normally calm and mellow little life. So today, when the snow longing could go unfulfilled no longer, Ked and I took the only logical course of action open to us--we went snow chasing on Mt. Hood. I've taken to using the Meow as our photo journal, so here's what we saw through the eye of the camera. Neat discovery alert: The last couple of times we took the camera out in the snow, the batteries died lickety-split from the freezing temperatures. This time we got one of those little chemical hand warmer packets that skiers use, and stuck it in the pocket with the camera. Worked like a charm. The camera stayed toasty and the batteries stayed fresh. Thus I am able to show you these:

As we drove east from town, we thought it likely that we'd be caught in a snowstorm when we hit the mountain. The western side of Hood was extremely grey and damp, and once we reached the magic elevation, all that moisture turned to a fine haze of flakes mixed with fog. I would have been happy to tramp around in the falling snow, but I was just as happy to see that once we crossed to the east, toward Mt. Hood Meadows, the weather opened up remarkably. We spent our afternoon in the clear and windless calm of a sunny afternoon. Lovely doesn't begin to describe it.

You can see how the clouds have piled up to the west, and yet it's all radiant blue here on the leeward side.

I think I'll title this picture "Blue Man." I don't know why the snow looks like it fell from a celestial swimming pool, but I think it's kind of cool.

One of my favorite things about these mountain treks is the way the sun glows through the tall, tall trees... and the way the wind talks, and the soft flakes fall, and the snow drifts glisten. Oh, heck--I love it all.

This trek at Bennett Snow Park was a fairly mild workout, but we made of it what we could. It's hard to work up a sweat, though, when you are constantly stopping to take pictures! We're hoping to do some skiing in a week or two, and we'll leave the camera at home if we do. Since that will be our first ski outing of the season, and we're not in the best shape this year, I suspect it will be a bit more of a challenge.

If you look closely you can see the icy Moon there above the trees.

Our eyes were often drawn heavenwards. This time they came upon some solid evidence that winter days are not always so benign here on the eastern side of Mountain Hood.

Our eyes weren't always looking up. This hill behind me had us looking down with some childish enthusiasm. It looked so inviting, we wanted to plop right down and go for a slide. Alas, we brought the wrong equipment, and sledding will have to wait till some other time when the mountain calls.

I hope it calls again soon. Snow is good for the soul.

Disney World 2008 Pics Of The Day--Day 7

Ked and I have a few minutes before our table is ready for our final dinner here at Animal Kingdom Lodge. He's putting in a bit more reading time before vacation is over and it's back to real life where he doesn't have nearly as much time to read for pleasure. I'm going to put in some more time here, finishing up this little travel log. Not that I think it's really of interest to anyone beyond Ked and myself, but it's nice to have a record of the memories, with all their highs and lows, and I hope, since you are here now, that this can entertain you enough to make it worth your time. Anyway, the trip wound down nicely, with some lovely Florida weather in our favorite Disney park--Animal Kingdom. Because of our health issues this week we never made it to Disney's Hollywood Studios, nor Magic Kingdom (let alone the other places we considered going this trip, Sea World and Kennedy Space Center), but Animal Kingdom was just the right place to finish our vacation. We ended it on a high note, in a place we knew we'd like a lot. After the week we've had, it would not have done at all to have had a bummer last day!

We started off with a little snafu. Last night we forgot an important camera imperative--always check your batteries!! Both our cameras were shy on battery juice today, and, technology being what it is, of course both of them have proprietary battery systems, so we couldn't just go locate a couple of AA Duracells. For most of the day we had to be content just to enjoy the park and let our minds capture the memories, rather than the shutter. While we do both love taking pictures of the things we find interesting or beautiful, it was kind of nice to just focus on having fun, instead of how to frame the perfect shot. We did snap a few, most of which we'll share below, but the selection is limited, so we'll have to be content mostly with boring people shots, rather than cool and amazing animals doing cool and amazing things.

Today was the first day both of us felt up to a little more up tempo adventure, and since it was warm enough today that we didn't fear a little water (or a lot, as it turned out), we decided to brave a ride that we didn't make it onto last year when we were here--the Kali River Rapids. It's a lot like the Grizzly Rapids ride in Disney's California Adventure Park, but perhaps a little shorter we thought. Despite it's relative brevity, though, we loved it. Beautiful surroundings, and because it was so warm today, we didn't mind a bit getting soaked to the skin. (Well, okay, I didn't mind getting soaked.) Even Ked, who's usually a fur hat and parka kind of guy this time of year (small exaggeration alert, albeit very small), walked around in shorts and a T-shirt for the whole day, and well into the evening--even after the drenching!

Needless to say, other fun was to be had throughout the park, although some of what we did reminded us that we're not as young as we used to be, and that we might want to reconsider some of the more thrilling rides the next time we are tempted to defy gravity. For today, though, we took our turns with great enthusiasm (at least until they were over), on Dinosaur and Expedition Everest. (Ked did not like plummeting backwards in the dark!) We mellowed as the day went on, and had some milder Disney fun watching "Nemo the Musical," and "It's Tough To Be A Bug." We tried to catch a few of the animals as the day went on as well. We bid farewell to the tigers just as they were retiring for the night, and wandered down a few paths that we had missed on our previous visits, discovering a few nice views and heretofore unnoticed beasties. It was lovely. A good time was had by all--or both, if you want to get technical.

After being sick for days, I had eating to catch up on! We had snack credits to burn, so the first stop of the day for me was the popcorn stand. It satisfied the salt craving, but Kedley's popcorn kicks on the theme park variety. He makes it in a pan on the stove, with olive oil and just the right quantities of butter and salt. Still, I was in a junk food mood today, and this popcorn definitely fit that bill.

Part of our wandering took us past these primates of indeterminate variety (indeterminate at least as far as we were concerned, and we never saw an explanatory placard to fill in the knowledge gap). I turned the camera on and quickly snapped this photo, ever conscious of the waning battery, but I just had to get a picture of the baby clinging to Mama for all it was worth. Mom swung from pillar to post, and baby never slipped an inch. It's amazing what those critters can do with a "grabber" on all four limbs.

This is Ked after Expedition Everest, which definitely hit the "we're getting too old for this" nail with the hardest hammer. We walked by this expedition gear and started thinking about how the next vacation really ought to be a camping vacation. Lots of hiking, beautiful scenery, nothing turning us upside-down...

Here's one of those giant tortoises that live to be over a hundred years old and grow to six hundred pounds. You can't see it in the photo, but I'm working on my own six hundred pounds, with the strawberry Haagen Daz I have in hand just out of this shot. I told you I was in a junk food kind of mood, and ice cream was my next junk food choice-of-the-day.

Winter follows autumn. Spring follows winter. There are drums. Ked plays them. It's a simple fact of nature.

Here are our last shots before we put the camera away for good this trip. Ked's on one side of one of those habitat "ruins" that Disney does so well. I'm on the other. We thought they merged together rather nicely.

Later: We just got back from our last dinner here at AK Lodge's African buffet restaurant, Boma, and I've gotta tell you, I have never been so disappointed to be a food lightweight as I am tonight. This might very well be my favorite restaurant of all time (at least top three), and definitely so in terms of the value related to other restaurants here at D-World. I highly recommend the experience if you are ever in the neighborhood (especially if you aren't prone to getting full after the first eight bites.) The cuisine is all interesting and exotic, without being the least bit strange, if that makes any sense. Yum. (Oh, the really good part--they hand out recipes!)

Well, that sums up this Disney adventure. We have to be up tomorrow at 4 in the morning to catch our early flight home. We should be cruising into Portland around 11:30, which works out to about a six hour flight once you adjust for the time change. If you are one of the people we love at home, and are kind enough to be here reading about our little adventures, we'll see you soon. If you are a stranger just cruising by the Meow, may your journeys be pleasant ones. Goodnight.

Disney World 2008 Pics Of The Day--Day 6

Day six was a day of ups and downs. My health gradually improved as the day went on, which was a blessing for which we were extremely grateful, and the lovely warm sunshine lifted our bodies and spirits in tandem. However, we also got some very bad news from Portland fairly early on in the day, and it was difficult for us to process our emotions and thoughts while in a place that is so far from home, and so entirely focused on frivolous and very worldly things. Rest assured, nobody died or anything, except perhaps a few of our cherished hopes and dreams. Actually, even that last statement isn't true, because our hopes are not rooted in people or circumstances, but in the One who is above them all. It just took us a while to remember that. Remember we did, though, and after walking, talking, and praying together, our minds and hearts settled into a somewhat subdued, but peaceful state.

We did enjoy our last day at Epcot. We didn't go on any of the more adventurous rides, or push my physical limits too much. We were mostly just satisfied that I was out of bed and we had such nice weather. We shopped a bit and bought some small gifts for the children of the friends who are providing our airport taxi service for this trip. (We live very near the Portland airport, and are often called on to do taxi service. We are always glad to do so, and it is generally no trouble for us, being so close, but it is usually more of an effort for the people we ask, because none of them live at such an easy distance as we do. We are very grateful for friends who will put themselves out for us like that, and know that while they would refuse any token for themselves, they will not turn down Disney trinkets for their children. We feel quite tricky and self-satisfied at this method of getting around their reticence to being properly thanked!) One of the highlights of the day for us was watching the newly updated circle-vision movie about Canada. They've got the always amusing Martin Short serving as tour guide, and have cut in new footage with the old to bring the movie into the 21st century. We love circle-vision movies anyway, but the upgrade made it all the more fun.


Okay, now we come to the whiny complaint portion of what is turning into a rather lengthy trip journal entry. Here it it. "Wah! I wanted French Food!" That in a nutshell is my chief gripe for the day. Let me explain: We bought into the Disney Dining Plan, which pre-pays for meals at some rather nice restaurants, and because the restaurants are very popular, requires advance reservations to get a table. No problem! We booked our tables well ahead of our trip, through the Disney Dining reservation center. The trouble is, you never really get a chance to look at the menu before you choose where you will eat. This is a leap of faith for me, because I have some rather annoying dietary restrictions (no wheat) that make it a bit of a crap shoot whether there will be anything at a given restaurant that I can eat. Some restaurants are easy--I can always eat Mexican and most Asian food, and Italian is almost always out, unless I make noodles at home from scratch. The Disney website assured us, however, that all their restaurants could handle dietary restrictions, and, thus assured, we planned to expand our dining horizons by venturing into a highly-touted French restaurant. When we actually sat down to look at a menu and talk to our waitress about what I could have, however, it boiled down to "anything without the sauce." What?! The whole point of French food is the sauce!! They said I could have escargots in burgundy sauce--without the sauce--a.k.a. dry snails. They said I could have a beef fillet in peppercorn sauce--without the sauce--a.k.a. slab-o'-meat, and they said I could have green beans. I could not, however, have any of their potatoes, including mashed. I ask you, who puts wheat in their mashed potatoes? You'd think fancy French chefs could whip up an alternate sauce using corn starch--heck, even I could do that! We just couldn't bring ourselves to pay $50 dollars per person for dry snails, a steak and some green beans, so we left. We spent the next hour walking around looking for a restaurant with an open table, and found not a one. (Sometimes I just hate what my stupid dietary needs put my husband through. He could have had the French food, and I started thinking I should have just eaten the stinking boring green beans and meat slab.) Eventually, though, we had a breakthrough. We called the magical Disney Dining central office, where they see the reservation lists for all the D-World restaurants at once, and the operator saw that there had just been a cancellation at the Mexican restaurant across the way. We jumped on it, and within half an hour we were happily dining on tilapia with guacamole sauce. Margaritas further improved our mood.

That pretty much sums up day six (at some length I might add). On to a few photos...

As we were leaving Animal Kingdom Lodge for the day, we passed by this watering hole. It was rather picturesque.

Ked and I had fun playing with lots of sciency stuff at Epcot. The techno-gizmo pictured above measured our reaction time, memory, and hand-eye coordination. We were, of course, outstanding in all categories. We got to play a fun driving game, too, in which I qualified to be a secret agent!! I was so excited, I immediately called up the CIA to see what my pay-grade would be. They said they'd get back to me...

Here's Ked in "Canada." Made us a bit homesick for the Pacific Northwest. Good thing we're heading home tomorrow!

We had an enjoyable stroll through "England" as well, and saw a really fun street play about King Arthur, which drew in volunteers from the audience. I really wanted to play the evil wizard. Oh well, maybe next time.

Personal disclaimer: I did not want to post this picture. I felt tired and grungy and highly un-photogenic, but my dear husband likes it, so I comply. It would, perhaps, have been better for me to comply without the disclaimer, but vanity, alas, has won the day. The disclaimer remains.

Here is Kedley at the restaurant where we did not eat, in France. I show it to you, however, because you might like to dine there yourself someday. Other than the fact I couldn't eat anything on it, the menu looked terrific!! I hope your day is a lovely one. We are off to say our farewells to Animal Kingdom. Especially the tigers. We like the tigers.

Disney World 2008 Pics Of The Day--Day 5

The title here is highly misleading, since there are no Disney World pics for day 5. There was nothing interesting enough in our hotel room to warrant the posting of pictures, and the hotel room was where we stayed. Ked read a good book (Jane Eyre), and I slept--a lot. While generally I would say that if I'm going to be bed-ridden, I'd rather do it at home where I have familiar things and my favorite comfort videos, all-in-all the Animal Kingdom Lodge isn't such a bad place to be laid up (once you get past the fact you're spending hundreds of dollars a day just to lay around sneezing). Ked and I took one of the mattresses off the bunk beds that occupy one corner of our room, and placed it by the sliding glass doors that lead to our balcony. (I still love that we have our own balcony. I'm really very easy to please.) This placement gave me easy Internet access, and also allowed me a view of the outdoors, where the giraffes and ostriches cavorted for our amusement.

Giraffes really are fascinating, extremely graceful creatures. Did you know that when they walk they move both legs on the same side at the same time? Most other four-legged animals alternate sides so that at any given point they have a tripod of support underneath them, but not so the giraffe. One wonders how they stay balanced, but they not only stay upright, they stay upright with dignity and panache. They are really beautiful when they run, too. A few times yesterday we saw them chase each other in play, or chase one of the ostriches in earnest. (We haven't figured out what they have against the ostriches, but it was quite diverting to watch.) Of course, at none of these times did we have a camera to the ready, so we can't share the visuals with you--not that a still photo could have captured the moment properly anyhow. Another interesting bit of yesterday's animal observations was the ongoing mournful bellow of one of the ankole (pronounced an-coal-ee) cattle. He was wailing long into the night, and continues as I type this. I choose to think that he is moaning his sympathy for my poor pathetic excuse for a vacation, locked in my room as I have been.

Oh well, the flu seems to be letting up a bit today, and the sun is shining. I think we'll be heading out of doors again and re-familiarizing ourselves with the taste of fresh air. Perhaps the sunshine will perk us up, eh? We might even take a few pictures...

Disney World 2008 Pics Of The Day--Day 4

The flu attacked again in force today, slamming back down on me with swift and brutal determination. I tried to stay in the fight for a few hours this morning, but eventually succumbed to the increasingly urgent call of my pillow and bed, some orange juice and a couple of Nyquil Liquicaps. Hopefully a good night's rest will put my depleted body in a little better shape, and then we can pick up where we left off. Today's plan was to visit Animal Kingdom in the morning, and then Magic Kingdom for the afternoon and evening. We never made it past the animal part of the scheme, but maybe we can go see Mickey tomorrow. I don't have much to show you today. We only got a few snapshots taken before misery got the better of me, but what we did get I'll pass your way now, before I say goodnight again. There are a few lovely birds, most of which shall remain nameless, and another interesting creature or two. One thing you will not see, however, is the elusive Giant Red-Eyed, Red-Nosed Kat. It's dripping season for the Kat, and that's a time when the breed becomes particularly camera shy. The Ked too becomes scarce at such times, as it is only the lure of the Kat which draws him out into the open. Trust me when I tell you that right now the Kat is not very alluring...

We don't know what variety of bird this is. We just decided to call it "Pretty Birdie."

This is the same bird, but for lack of a better moniker, let's just go with "Pretty Birdie II."

Though not quite in focus, we thought the iridescence of this little beauty warranted its display here at the Meow.

This proud bird, all decked out in her (his?) Easter bonnet is an African Crowned Crane. Finally, a bit of actual information!!

This fellow (or lady) is a Military Macaw--the name having something to do with the color of Spanish soldiers' uniforms from some previous century or other. (While in my influenza-induced stupor, I take no responsibility for tracking down more specific information than that. If you'd like to research the topic more thoroughly and then educate us in the comments, please feel free to do so. Otherwise, we must all choose to live in unapologetic ignorance. Apologizing would be pointless.)

Here parades a Giant Anteater of some sort. I can't remember the entire name, but I do remember that it's the biggest variety of anteater. Giant is an accurate description, too. The brush on his back stood up about three-and-a-half feet, and he was probably seven feet strung out from tail to snout (or, tail to snot, as I originally typed it. I think I have a mental theme going here somewhere.)

Here's a Nile Crocodile, who looks so jolly we think someone must have cracked a funny right before Ked snapped the photo. Let's guess what it is, shall we? I'll start: "A crocodile and anteater walked up to a game warden and said, 'Did you see that Military Macaw that flew by? His tail was so green....'" This is where you come in... or not. It really is a lame idea, isn't it? I blame the Nyquil.

Disney World 2008 Pics Of The Day--Day 3

Ked and I had another lovely day today. After a VERY leisurely start to the morning, we headed on over to Epcot for some rainy-day fun. Most of what we did was of the indoor variety, which was a good thing, since every time we emerged from our sheltered pursuits we saw fresh evidence of the teary weather. Actually, though, we had very good timing for most of the day, and while we frequently trod on dewy pavement, we seldom saw (or felt) the showers that kept the sidewalks glistening. We popped from experimental greenhouse to aquarium, aquarium to ride, and so on, and barely noticed the weather--other than a experiencing a vague sense of homeyness, since rain reminded us of what it was like to be home in the Pacific Northwest.

I'm not going to babble much at you tonight. It's very late and we're both still sick, but I do have a few pictures to send your way, so here goes:

Just like the last time we were here, in January 2007, we couldn't resist climbing on board a couple of Segways and taking them for a spin.

We also enjoyed taking another tour of the experimental greenhouses where Disney magicians grow giant fruits and vegetables and work on new and innovative ways to increase product yields. The picture above shows some of the different ways their produce gets its start. One of the things they're working on is a way to grow plants with no soil, just water and nutrients sprayed right on the roots. They're hoping that maybe someday the folks at NASA can use this method to grow food in space.

We spent quite a bit of time around the aquariums, watching dolphins race by and manatee munch on romaine lettuce. We also had a look at some of the smaller aquatic scenes, such as the vivid tank pictured above.

We saw a few of Nemo's friends and family when we peered into their watery homes.

This Nemo wannabe tried to convince us he was our favorite little clown fish, but he couldn't fool us--not enough stripes!!

If this wasn't Dory, though, she was doing a pretty fair imitation.

I don't know what kind of creature-fish this is, but the whole scene, fish included, was such an intriguing combination of ugliness and beauty that I just couldn't resist giving you a glimpse, even though the picture is a little blurry.

On our way out of Epcot in pursuit of our dinner, we made our way through Canada and England, and headed off to enjoy what will almost certainly be the food highlight for the week. We ate at Flying Fish Cafe tonight, and it was stellar. The food, the service, the atmosphere, all of it added up to a great memory. The waiter was everything a waiter should be. The chef came to talk to us not once, but twice, and all that attention didn't even hold a candle to the wonderful food, so you can imagine what a fine meal it was.

Here's a sample of the decor. As you can see, the fish are flying.

I'll leave you with the images of our delightful repast. On the left is Ked's monkfish, followed by my potato-wrapped snapper, and a beautiful cheesecake with a walnut crust. Mmmm, cheesecake...

Good night.