My favourite part of Animal Kindom!

Can you believe this is a food station at Disneys Animal Kingdom?

Honestly, I want this in my driveway!

ATTENTION ALL ANTIQUE JUNK LOVERS!  I was tempted to try to sneak things out of this park in  my pocketbook (purse in Canada, but I'll try to fit in with the US lingo...)

Arda

My Oh my,

Well its been a while since my last post...

I baked a tonne of stuff for the kids bake sale (actually, I baked everything for the bake sale) as I guarantee peanut/treenut free and a peanut treenut environment (due to my son being anaphylactic, my home could be certified).  That was a huge success due to my handy piping bag.  Funny that if you pipe icing on anything, it elevates it to 'professional' level.  Thank you George Brown College for teaching me how to pipe!

Then, we drove down to Florida (Disney World to be exact) for 8 nights of luxury and good peanut/treenut free cooking at the Grand Floridian - Thank you so much, Chef Tim and crew at the Grand Floridian Cafe.  It was HOT HOT HOT!  Coming from Canada where we do actually have very hot summers (in Toronto), this heat was unbearable!  I mean we would leave our hotel room at 8 a m and be dripping sweat before we got to the monorail!  Regardless, it was fun, and thanks to Mr W. Disney, Epcot (experimental prototype community of tomorrow) serve beer that you can walk around with...so I learned to appreciate the merits of beer.  Especially the beer in the England  pavillion, (which could be purchased with fish and chips cooked in canola oil - so the whole family could partake in my guilty pleasure). 

No antiquing on our trip although it tugged at my heart strings.  My kids are too young to appreciate it, and there was absolutely NO ROOM IN OUR CAR FOR ANYTHING besides a box of poptarts!  You Americans have the best poptart flavours!!  We bought ice cream sunday and cookies and cream!  WOW, the kids had to wrestle me for them!  I dont even like cookies, but these poptarts were insane!

I dont know if I mentioned how much I love Disney.  Mr Disney, or whoever runs Disney World, and makes it possible for all kids (even those with severe allergies) to have a good time, and fit in, and eat what they like!  It truly was a magical experience for my family (two years now).  Its the only vacation where we didnt have to stay in a room with a kitchen, and me do the cooking.  CHEF TIM, I LOVE YOU !!!! 

At every meal, the chef comes out and speaks to the allergic child and cooks for them!  I mean it!  Liam feels right at home in this hotel.  Even at the parks, they sell prepackaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which are snackables, and no cross contamination can occur because they arent made on site.  They have Divvies and Enjoy Life products which cater to many of the top allergen sufferers.  We drive down so we can splurge on The Grand Floridian, and the meal plan is honestly pretty affordable - you would probably have to spend near to that just eating at McDonalds 7 nights a week! 

As my Armenian ancestors from the village of Ourfa would say...

I want to kiss Walt Disneys mother (loosely translated of course)!!

Looking back on lusher days....

the leaves are wilted

the pink has browned

the stems are left

to remind me of the flowers that bloomed

and promise me that if I can last until next year

they will return to put a smile on my face

again

:)

Happy Independence Day Armenia!!

To all my fellow Armenians, behold our flag being flown high next to the Canadian and Ontario flags in Markhams Civic Centre.  Thank you Markham, Thank you Ontario, and above all Thank you Canada for being a shelter for so many displaced Armenians.  I have called Canada home for the last 42 years, and couldnt imagine living anywhere else.  Thank you for letting me feel like this is my home.

An AHA moment!!

Did you ever have an item of furniture which you really liked, but it needed work?  I have this vintage lamp, which was no bargain, so I didnt want to spend more money on it, but the lampshade was almost tattered, and, unless I spent big $$$ at a specialty lighting store, I couldnt find a replacement shade for it.

Here is the before photo of the lamp, and tattered shade:

This is just the tatter on one side of the shade, the paper/plastic liner is really torn all around the shade.  YUCK!

Then as I was perusing my usual bloggy haunts last week...I came across a post on one of my regular sites:  http://beachvintage.blogspot.com/2010/05/project-day-2-minute-lamp-revamp.html 

The lovely Austrailian beachy Goddess which writes this blog had a simple, cheap, and gorgeous idea about just such an ugly lamp fix!!!  So, here are my 'AFTER' photos:

And here is my new lovely lamp illuminated:

WOW!!  What a difference, and it cost me a  whole $2 (Canadian, none the less!!!!)  Isnt it just lovely now? 

Thanks Simone from Beach Vintage!!!  You are one smart lady!

Not much, whats new with you?

Well, okay if you really want to know:

• I just started a baking theory class at our local downtown trade college.  I've taken a 'for fun' baking course there before, but this time I decided to take one from their certificate program.  Not that I would go for the whole certificate, as I have a university degree, and to be honest, although it looks good on paper, it hasnt done much for me.  I want to take a couple of courses from a few of their baking arts/hospitality programs.  Lets see where it leads...
• I'm doing something with the kids today, but I cant tell anyone cause I dont want to jinx it.  The kids dont get what I mean by 'jinxing', and I'm a bit embarressed at my double standards because I pretty much a realist...dont believe in horoscopes, fortune tellers, etc... but when it comes down to being jinxed...well, thats a whole other ballgame!
• I bought an incredible lot of war memorabilia (I live in Canada, where its legal to buy/sell US war medals) belonging to a Vietnam Veteran, who donated them to a church charity shop prior to his death.  He said his family didnt want them.  Can you believe it?  I'm not a pro war person, but I couldnt imagine a family not wanting something like this.  There is his purple heart, and the pin which accompanies it, a marksmanship medal, a vietnam medal, a brass lighter with 'Ask not what your country..." , and a sketch of a naked girl on it, his dog tags, and patches from his uniform.  It was a real history lesson for me and my family, looking at this mans very personal memorabilia.  Very grounding.


My iphone didnt take the best photos, but it gives you an idea.  I dont think I'd ever sell them, I just bought them really to preserve them. 

Heres a bit of nothin...Last summer we went to Disney World and stayed at the Grand Floridian, and look at the gorgeous chairs they had in their lobby!!  I wanted them so badly!!!  I'm might not want them in dusty pink velvet...love pink, dusty pink not so much.  Arent they adorable!!!  Wishing peace and prosperity to all.

Go suck a lime!

Hope everyone had a great weekend...my daughter did!  Cheeky monkey!