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Small World Garbage Cans - Disneyland

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These garbage cans are just beautiful, right?  There's all sorts of Mary Blair kinda-stuff going on with them as they are lined up along the route to the ride. I took this photo on the way to It's A Small World After All in Disneyland and you can see the little 'stage' that I mentioned in the post with the Disneyland espalier photo I shared recently .   The visual design on the cans is striking, of course.  But the whole idea of the garbage cans at Disney Parks are a concept with a huge amount of attention on them as a topic.  First...there's the notion that Walt Disney and Imagineering (or WED as it was likely at the time??), invented this 'style' of garbage cans. From Theme Park Tourist : As he planned Disneyland, Uncle Walt examined the trash cans of the era. They were mesh cans that had a couple of major design flaws. The first was that a can with holes in it allowed goop to seep out. Yes, gross. The second is arguably worse. A can with holes in

On Finding A Four-Leaf Clover

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One of the kids is playing soccer this Fall and the practices have started.  So, I have plenty of time to hang out in the clover and look for one of these lucky guys.  The kids were unimpressed when I brought it home to show off. 

We Went To The Black Spire Outpost At Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

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Back in April of 2018, I posted this photo of one of our kids celebrating the upcoming Star Wars land at Hollywood Studios .  Go check it out here .  That land is currently open to cast members and will be opened to the public before the end of the month.  But, being "Disney People" (with air quotes), we couldn't wait for that and had to squeeze in a visit to the California version of Galaxy's Edge/Black Spire Outpost/Batuu/Star Wars Land 1 during our recent trip to the park.    And we really liked it.  There's only one ride open (The Falcon) and yes...everything is expensive. But, the imagineers really did an amazing job on the land.  It certainly feels *immersive* and that seems to be all the rage these days.  Now, we haven't been to Universal Studios to see any of the Harry Potter land(s), but what I've read about it, that word (immersive) comes up over and over.  And, between Pandora in Animal Kingdom and now SWGE, I think that Disney - and

Disney Parks Ephemera: Disneyland Map Black Spire Outpost Opening

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Documenting this here on the blog as part of my Disney Parks ephemera collection.  This is the Disneyland Park Map from July 2019 when they opened Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and features a couple of people piloting the Millenium Falcon.  A little bit over a month ago, I posted the map for Disneyland Park and Disney Studios at Disneyland Paris .  This Spring, I posted a photo the map and guide celebrating the 35th anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea . At the beginning of 2019, I posted the Holiday park map for Disney's California Adventure . And one with snowflakes from Disneyland in Anaheim .  In 2017, I posted the special Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party guide and map from the Magic Kingdom.  The first Disney Parks maps that I shared were back in the Spring of 2017 with both guides/maps from Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea .  

August Is Mirai Sweet Corn Season

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During the Summer months of July and August, you can go to any Jewel or Mariano's or what-have-you and you'll come across sweet corn in a big bin.  On sale, you can sometimes get it for a dime per ear.  And, occasionally, you'll get some really great corn.  But, if you get to one of the handful of Farmer's Markets where they sell Mirai Sweet Corn, you'll be ruined for any of that grocery store stuff.  Mirai Corn is sold by an outfit called Twin Gardens Farm and they sell it in half-dozen bags that you see above. From Twin Garden's site : Mirai, pronounced ME-rye, was developed in Harvard, Illinois in the early 1990s. Mirai is a hybrid that combines the three main sweet corn genotypes, SE (sugar enhanced), SU(sugary), and SH2(shrunken). Mirai is not genetically modified and was bred naturally by cross pollinating the different sweet corn genes.   ... The seed was first introduced to Japan because they have small farms where much of the work is still done

Backyard Pizza Oven Inspiration - 2019

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Not my photo.  Not my pizza oven.   Found it here online . Over the years, I've posted about my pizza oven dreams.  Backyard pizza oven dreams.  All the way back in 2010, I posted this photo of what I THEN called my "Dream Pizza Oven" .  And in 2011, I posted another photo that showed off a little 'roof' out front of an oven that I collected as inspiration.  That's close to ten years ago, so this *dream* has been going on for a while - as far back as our original house in Elmhurst.  But, when we moved, the backyard pizza oven dream didn't die and I even posted about the various locations that I could put it here on the blog .  And that brings me to today and *this* oven that you see above. I came across it online last week and have revisited the photo a few times now.  To be totally clear, that is NOT my photo above.  You can find the original here .  But, let's look at a few things that jump out to me in terms of pizza oven inspiration.  Fir

More Belgian Fence Espaliers At Disneyland

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Back in January, I posted a photo showing off a Belgian Fence espalier that I fell in love with during a visit to Disneyland in Anaheim .  During a recent trip to Southern California, we ended up going back to the park and I found that same espalier.  I wanted to see if it had changed at all during the six months since we had seen each other last.   That's it in the photo above during the end of July.  And while there's some thickening-up of the branches, it is mostly the same as we last saw it.  Due to their climate, one would think that there isn't much seasonal differences, right?  They certainly get some growth in Spring and Summer, but Winter dormancy in Los Angeles isn't quite like what it is here in Zone 5B. Seeing this again, only enhanced - in my own mind - my desire to bring a Belgian Fence to our property.  It is #2 on my 2019 To-do List , but here we are in (almost) mid-August and I haven't even acquired the trees.  That isn't to say that I hav