The Biggest Ball of Twine

I have a friend who teases me about my love of museums, factory tours and local oddities. When we went on our road trip and this most recent trip to Florida, he kept asking if we were going to visit the biggest ball of twine. What can I say? I love learning about new things.

It became a reality to me when Matt and I were first married and we were driving to visit our friends in Idaho. We stopped in Las Vegas the first night. Matt wanted to eat at a famous buffet and see a show, but the highlight of the city for me was the marshmallow factory tour. Yep, that's right. In Henderson, Nevada right outside of Las Vegas there were several factories and I toured them all. It was awesome! It was then we realized vacation for Matt meant entertainment, but for me, it meant education. Not surprising, since I am an educator and a life long learner.

The boys at Jamestown - 2003

Over the years, we've taken road trips, and gone on vacations to different places. Each place we visit, it is not an option; we must go and learn something. Sometimes it's a major museum. Other times, it is a national park or landmark. And every once in a while, it's a hidden treasure like the marshmallow factory. 

I have a few memories from childhood that include touring ruins in the Mediterranean, seeing a National Forest on Adak where the trees stopped growing, and hiking through tundra and seeing bomb shelters. But the one I remember best is when I was eleven years old and my dad had retired from the Navy. We were driving across country and we stopped in Virginia at the Luray Caverns. Of all the times, my parents had driven from place to place, this is the only time we actually stopped and did a tourist thing. Usually, we drove straight to the next destination. But this one time, my dad insisted we stop, and I saw my first stalactites and stalagmites.I still have the postcard booklet purchased so many years ago at the gift shop.

Gettysburg - 2003

My husband and sons know how much I love learning, so they each tolerate, accept or encourage my obsession to some degree. Whether it's taking me to Bodies - The Exhibition for Mother's Day or enduring a side trip 50 miles off the main road to visit the Little House on the Prairie, my family has patiently put up with me and some have even enjoyed themselves on our adventures.

The experience has also been shared with my friends. During a short cruise with my two dear friends, we spent a day on Catalina Island. We walked through the shops, admired the beautiful scenery, and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the community. When we came upon a museum and of course, I wanted to go in, my friends announced, "We are going to go get some coffee. Come find us when you are done." So while they sipped their hot drinks, I learned that the Chicago Cubs used to have spring training on Catalina Island and so much more.

White Sands, New Mexico - 2011

It's no wonder that I chose Epcot as the theme park to visit when we were in Florida. When given the opportunity, I'm a sucker for learning. I'm grateful for the experiences that have been deposited in my memory bank. I feel so wealthy!

Now, I haven't ever seen the biggest ball of twine (and I really don't want to), but there are still many more things to learn and experience. Anyone up for a trip to the museum?

It's a Small World After All

Yesterday, the boys and I went to Epcot. My sister had mentioned that she wanted to take my nephew to Sea World, but since Shamu is one of our neighbors in San Diego, the boys and I wanted to do something different. So we woke up early, borrowed my dad's car and made the two hour trek to Orlando and the wonderful place called Disney World.


The last time we were in Florida (13 years ago), we spent four days in Disney World and had a great time. We only had one day this year, so we decided to return to Epcot since it was the one theme park that was different than anything we have in California. Both Joe and Zach remember a little of our last visit, but David who was only four years old doesn't have any memories of our previous trip. I was curious to see how much the park had changed.

France

Epcot is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. That little tidbit of information comes from Joe. He is the king of trivia and regularly shared his knowledge with us throughout the day. We had a fun time exploring the two main areas of the park: World Showcase and Future World.

Morroco

World Showcase was very similar to what I remembered. It didn't seem like it had changed much at all. Even the movies in some of the countries were outdated. It became really obvious when we saw anything with technology. The computer monitors were monster-sized and looked like they were from the 90s. Still, it was fun to meet people from different countries and to learn about the history and culture of 11 places around the world. 

Germany

When we were in France, we took pictures of us wearing berets, and then decided that we needed to take a picture of David wearing a hat in all of the remaining countries. So as we entered each country, we looked for a traditional head covering that David or someone could model. 

Japan

Joe and David enjoyed a refreshing Japanese soda with an intriguing lid and method to open it. The lid was actually a marble that was pushed down into the soda bottle. It rolled around and stayed in the bottom of the bottle while they drank. We were so fascinated with it, that both boys saved their bottles to take home. And the rest of the day, they would shake the bottles and it sounded like they were shaking a can of spray paint.


We were making good progress around the lagoon, until it started raining. We huddled in an alcove eating our lunch and watching the rain come down. Joe bought me a rain poncho, and right on cue, the rain stopped and we resumed our journey.

Norway

After the World Showcase, we spent the rest of the day and evening in Future World. This part of Epcot was more updated with some fun simulator rides and interesting exhibits. The boys designed their own simulator rides while I experienced the effects of high winds on houses. 

China

One of the most enjoyable activities was in Innoventions. We each had our photos taken while running in place, jumping, and doing a victory dance. Then our images were loaded into a video game, and we got to play a game with our own images as the player in the game. We even e-mailed a link to the game so that we could play it over and over.

Mexico

We made it home and the crawled into bed around 1:30 a.m. All in all it was a fun day, and I'm glad we went. I always enjoy the time with my very grown up sons, and when I get to learn something too that's just the icing on the cake!

Christmas Memories

It's Christmas morning here in Florida and the breakfast dishes are washed and put away, the turkey is in the oven, the dough for the yeast rolls is rising, and the Watergate salad is made. We have a little reprieve before the mad rush to get everything cooked and ready for Christmas dinner.


Spending time with my family brings back memories of Christmases as a kid. I remember the year when my sister and I got new bikes. We were so excited because the bikes had baskets and banana seats! As a teenager,  my best Christmas was the year my parents surprised me with my very own stereo. I played my records over and over on it. But, I think some of my most memorable holidays are the ones as an adult, like the first time I cooked a turkey.


It was 1997 and my parents had moved to Florida. This was the first year that Christmas dinner would be at my house. In the past, we had always gone to my parents' house for the holiday meal, but this year, my parents were flying back to California and the mantle had been passed on to me to prepare the turkey dinner.


Since it was my first time, I was determined that I was going to do everything perfectly. So I started researching and asking friends how to cook the delicious and juicy turkey. My mom said, "Cooking a turkey is easy. Just put it in an oven bag and you don't have to do anything else." I was adamant that I wasn't going to cook the turkey like my mom and dad. I felt confident that I could make a juicy turkey and it wasn't going to happen using a bag!


I bought a fresh (not frozen) 24 pound turkey, lots of butter for basting, and a foil pan to roast it in. In addition, I planned to make homemade gravy, and stuffing from day old bread, and  Aunt Sidney's yeast rolls, an old family recipe from my mother-in-law. It was going to be the best turkey dinner...ever!


I was ready. I created a schedule and everything was planned out. We would eat at 4:00. My parents, uncle, cousin and her family would show up and be in awe of the fabulous meal I had created. My mom kept telling me, "I don't know why you are going to so much trouble. Just stick it in a bag." I remained undaunted and moved forward with my schedule which started the night before.


I cut several loaves of bread into cubes. My largest bowl was overflowing with pieces of bread, celery, onions, and more. Then I added the chicken broth, and my abundant stash of stuffing shrunk into a miniscule mound of mush. Still determined, I proceeded to stuff the turkey.


Then it was time to put the turkey in the pan. I had read that it needed to be put in the pan breast side up, but this turkey was so fat, I couldn't tell which side was the breast and which side was the back! I asked my husband, Matt, but he didn't know either. Eventually, Matt held the turkey up and we imagined it walking, which helped us to identify the breast. Mission accomplished.


The foil pan seemed a bit flimsy for the gargantuan stuffed turkey, so we came up with the brilliant idea of putting an airbake cookie sheet underneath the foil pan. The turkey made it into the oven on schedule, and I proceeded to baste it with a stick of butter...every 30 minutes.


In between the bastings, I continued on schedule with the other preparations until it was close to the time for the turkey to be done. I kept checking the thermometer, but the temperature of the turkey was not even close to 185 degrees. That's when I began to think the my perfect dinner may not be as perfect as I had hoped.


My parents had arrived and I asked my dad his opinion on my turkey. He checked it with his standard "twist the leg and see if the bone pulls away from the meat." No luck. That turkey was not even close to done, so back in the oven it went and I started cooking hors d'oeuvres in our toaster oven. When my very prompt uncle arrived, Matt offered him a pig in the blanket stating, "Hors d'oeuvres is french for dinner's not ready yet."


Time passed and that turkey didn't seem to be getting any more done, and we started questioning my oven My dad fired up our barbecue and announced he would finish cooking the turkey on the barbecue. I quickly scooped out the stuffing which was more like soup it was so soggy. My mom reassured me that we could put it in the oven and the stuffing would dry up some.


With the turkey outside on the grill, my oven was empty and it was definitely time to put the rolls in the oven. They had risen and were hanging over the pan. So in the oven they went with the soggy stuffing. Suddenly my dad rushed in to get water, declaring that he needed some liquid because the juices were boiling away in the foil pan. With a sigh, I said goodbye to my homemade gravy.


Meanwhile, I realized that I hadn't paid attention to the time when the rolls went into the oven. I checked them, and they were getting brown, so took them out of the oven and turned the pan over. Normally, the rolls fall out of the pan and I separate them into their individual rolls. This time, the top half fell out, the bottom half stayed in the pan, and the middle was sticky dough. It was the final straw. I quickly picked up the top half off the counter, returned it to pan, patted it down a bit and shoved it back in the oven.


We finally sat down to dinner two hours late. The misshapen rolls, flame broiled turkey, and wet stuffing were added to the table along with the rest of the Christmas meal. It all ended up tasting pretty good, or perhaps we were just very hungry.


I had humble pie for dessert while my mom repeated, "I told you; just stick it in a bag!"

Twas the Day Before Christmas

Stylin' Zach at Cracker Barrel

I'm sitting in my parents' house in Florida and it's about 80 degrees outside. So much for my Christmas sweaters! Good thing I brought some short sleeved shirts with me.


We arrived here on Thursday, the 22nd and have been relaxing and waiting for my sister to arrive with her family. They fly in tonight and then the fun begins. My sister is a presence that can't be ignored. She is loud and boisterous making her opinion known to anyone and everyone. When we were kids, we fought and argued all the time.  Now as middle aged adults, I love and appreciate my sister and I always treasure  the time spent with her.


This is the first Christmas we have spent in Florida. Normally, the family celebrates Christmas in San Diego at our house or in Nebraska at my sister's. In fact, the last time we were in Florida at all was when the boys were very young 13 years ago. So this is a special treat to see my parents' new home, and visit with their friends.


Last night we had dinner with my parents' long time friend, Bonnie. She made us a lovely meal served on her brand new Christmas dishes. She insisted that we use all of the dishes, so we had our sodas in the tea cups, and the gravy was in the tea pot. She is very fun loving and a big lover of Disney and Elvis. As a result we got to see her Mickey collections and listen to her Elvis hits on a real jukebox (complete with 45 singles).


We'll spend a week here and will hopefully do a few touristy kind of activities. I know Matt wants to go to a movie or two. But for now the focus is on Christmas: baking some cookies, and getting the preparations for the holiday meal done. I'm working on thumbprint cookies (my sister's favorite), and playing games as we pass the afternoon. Mexican Train, anyone?