Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I shared some of the details from my second visit to Tokyo DisneySea including how their "Mainstreet" is different than the typical Disney Park.  But, as you can imagine, there are quite a few *other* ways that the Tokyo parks are different from the one you visit in Orlando or Anaheim.  Of course, part of the difference is the guests and their behavior.  From the amazing costume'ing that guests wear at the Disney parks in Tokyo to the food items (the popcorn flavors!), there's so much to take in that is big picture stuff. But there's also little tiny details that caught my eye.  One of them is this sign in the men's room.  It says:  Clean Hands, Happy Faces!  That's a nice sentiment, isn't it?

This was my second trip to Tokyo DisneySea in as many years.  The first time I went was during Easter time in April of 2017 .  This visit didn't disappoint.  There's plenty of Disney bloggers out there who will tell you that Tokyo DisneySea is * the best* Disney Park in the world .  And I won't disagree.  It certainly is unique and at the same time, a little familiar.  On my last trip, I posted some photos of the place and took in the entire place.  This trip, I was on a little bit more of a mission to do some specific things (spend time in Cape Cod, ride Journey to the Center of the Earth , and buy a couple of Duffy and friends items for the kids).  Upon entering, you're greeted with this view of Mediterranean Harbor.  And the Bella Notte boat moored near the entrance.  There are guys rowing gondolas and people milling in and out of various places around the port.  This is a different kind of "Main Street" than the rest of the parks have:  it is more

Down at the Epcot Center in Florida, there is a store in the Japan pavilion that sells all sorts of novelty items from Japan including a live oyster/pearl tank where you can pick out an oyster and once opened, discover a pearl.  That store is called Mitsukoshi.  I had been going to the store for a couple of years until Natalie told me that it was called Mitsukoshi and that it is a department store in Japan.  Like...this isn't just a 'shop' in the Japan Pavilion, it is actually a location of this department store .  Having been to Japan a few times now for work, on my most recent trip, I decided to try to get into one of the Tokyo locations.  Turns out, the Ginza location was located on the walk between my hotel and the office I was working in all week.  You can see the store in the photo above:  the *older* store is the main portion located on the corner.  A bit down to the right, you can see the *newer* addition they've added.  Here's a look at that new s

A few weeks back, we went to a birthday party at a brewery that I didn't even know existed:  Miskatonic Brewing.  It is located in Darien - on a frontage road, but from Downers Grove, it is pretty easy to travel to for a beer.  The party room is in the back - like a lot of breweries, it seems.  And we had a great time.  I stuck to just one beer:  This Little Gray Belgian Wheat Ale which has a 3.8 from Beer Advocate .  I compare everything I come across to the home team over at Solemn Oath.  I'm sure this beer from Miskatonic is great - and I will be the first to admit that I'm a total craft beer amateur - but with all the craft breweries that have sprung up, they're starting to run together in my mind.  That's ok.  I'm not their target customer.  Since this place is so close, I'm guessing we'll be back.  And maybe then I can grab a coaster to join the online coaster collection here on the blog. 

It is March and we're still getting this big, beautiful bloom of double flowers from our Amaryllis bulb .  I planted this in the last week of November of 2018.   One week in, it showed no promise .  By the end of 2018, it still had not opened .  So, we missed our 'Christmas flower'.  Not the end of the world.  After giving it a constant drink of an alcohol mix, I was able to restrict it's height.  And it bloomed at the end of January .  Then, in February, I posted about how we were getting a second shaft coming from the bulb and that we were going to be getting a second set of flowers .  Today, I'm sharing a photo of this second bloom.  The variety is called a " Double Flowering Nymph ", but that notion of 'double flowering' has to do with the flowers in one bloom.  They have an inner and outer flower.  But for us?  We're getting a double, double flowering.  The second stalk is the first double.  The fact that they have rings of flowers i

It is hard to see, but inside of that little red circle is a Blue Jay.  Adding him to our [Bird Visitor Log] here on the blog .  And despite the zoom'd photo above being not so clear, it was *very* clearly a Blue Jay when I laid eyes on him.  The funny part?  That's exactly how the passage in our bird watching Field Guide book starts the Blue Jay entry:  "Nothing else comes close to looking like the Blue Jay.  It is instantly recognizable to almost everyone in Illinois -- bird-watcher or not."

Just five days ago, I posted for all to see my top 10 to-do items for our yard and garden in 2019 .  There were some significant items on there like dealing with trees and adding another espalier, but item #10 talked about planning for the 'outer walking path'.  I posted about considering a path like that in August of last year and then also discussed the idea of what material is right:  decomposed granite .   That path would wind all the way to the back rear portion of our yard.  And that's where this post comes in.  To get my head wrapped around some items in the yard this Spring, I pulled out the landscape plan and revisited parts of it.  Our plan was drafted by our landscape designer and I've shared portions of it here on the blog.  Here's the links to the various snapshots: Our southern fence line with Hydrangeas and allium One of our rear foundation beds outside of our kitchen A look at the north fence line that we put the Frans Fontaine Europea