OC in November

Thanksgiving Break is reaching it's end. We're deep in the middle of the Holiday Season again! The Holidays with many people just struggling to get by with the basics. I'm hoping for more sales than last year, but it could be difficult. I'll have to go minimal also.

Earlier this week I did go down to Orange County for busy, fun-filled experiences. First, went to a Tribal Party in the South Bay area. Met some new people, got to know some others a bit better. Fun time, but very different for me to go to that part of the world.

The next day was a party at my sister's for my 3 year old twin nephews. They're growing up fast, but just as energetic as ever!

Next was a long lunch with my dad and his friends at the best vegetarian restaurant. Au Lac in Fountain Valley can convert the biggest meat eaters to go veggie! It's vegan Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. And has a large supply of raw selections too, if that's your preference. This has been Wesley's favorite food since he was one!


Then there was our long, but enjoyable, day at Disneyland. Always special at Christmas time. The Small World has reopened. It seems they didn't completely get rid of the Rain Forest Room, but condensed it into the Island-type of room. Not sure what happened to the original room, I didn't notice it. See my post about Saving The Rain Forest if you're interested.


The castle is completely gorgeous this time of year!


Finally our last day we went to visit a very old, dear friend and his adorable daughter. (So sorry we missed you KP!) We went on a little walk into the Coyote Hills. This is a little slice of nature in the middle of suburban Orange County. Unfortunately they want to pave another piece of paradise for more unneeded housing. Well I think it's unneeded when there are so many foreclosures everywhere. While I feel for the construction industry (I know many people struggling now with little work), I also feel the need to conserve the little bit of nature we do have in So Cal. So I say Save Coyote Hills!

Now I've got only part of weekend left until the ol' grind to begin again. The ol' grind with the busyness of Christmas thrown in. Oh Boy!

Tikis

Wesley and I spent a couple of days drawing tikis. This is Koro - The Midnight Dancer. We also like to call him The God of Luaus. I first thought Koro was an actual Hawaiian Legend, but I now believe he was made up by old Walt Disney and his Imagineers some 45 years ago for The Enchanted Tiki Room.


Here's another of my Tikis. This one is Hina Kuluua. She's The Goddess of Rain. I hope she makes a return here for Summer Rains, soon!

As we're researching more, we found some non-Disney Gods, and hopefully we can illustrate some of those soon. I'll have Wesley post his cool creations on his blog soon.

These are done with micron pen and markers in my 8x10 journal.

Where have the first couple of weeks of summer gone?! We've been doing lots of activities, and I see I haven't posted much. We did go on a little adventure for Wesley's birthday. Down a local control road to a creek. It's always fun trying a new spot. It was beautiful and very buggy, and I was pissed at myself for forgetting my camera! Something I rarely do these days.

A real drag is that I think my scanner is broken. These pix were taken with my camera instead of scanning. I guess it will have to do for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get a new scanner soon. I hate how it's not worth getting electronics fixed. They always cost about the same or more than just buying a new one. Technology companies should take more responsibility for contributing to the pollution problems. At least it's becoming more easy to recycle these products.

A Disneyland Treasury

I'm in an Etsy Treasury curated by the CCCOEteam. What a fun Treasury! It's a Disneyland theme, and as you may know, I love Disney! But this isn't your run-of-the-mill Disney. This is Disney with a twist, making it that much more creative and fun.

That's my "Tea With The Mad Hatter" print up there in the 2nd row, first on the left.

Go give the Treasury a click, it has a couple of days to go, and needs some love!

Save The Rain Forest... Disney That Is

One thing we did over Spring Break is go to Disneyland! This is a regular thing for us. We hadn't been in a year, so we had been missing it! We renewed our yearly passes, and luckily for us it wasn't too crowded.

One of our favorite things is the Tiki Room. We always get a Dole Whip Float and enjoy the Tikis outside, it's very refreshing!


The Jungle Boat is very relaxing too. I'm so amazed with the jungle, and how very large the bamboo grows there. AHHH!


Disneyland is extra special in the Spring. Lots of trees are blooming, and look at how dazzling these foxgloves are! They are very storybook indeed!


I found out that the so called "Imagineers" are planning an update for the Small World. I first heard they were completely redoing the ride. WHAT!!?? How can this be I thought. Well now I've learned they are planning on adding some characters here and there (just another commercializing, brain-washing maneuver to squeeze even more money from parents). Well, I can handle that if they MUST. But what's worse is the possible plan to exterminate the Rain Forest room to modernize it with a "Celebrate America" room. YUCK! I don't like the idea, and now I'm on the wagon to Save The Small World! Sure it's a small, meaningless cause, but I love that Rain Forest and those characters created by Mary Blair! Let's leave some of the original, retro wonders alone as they are! And don't think I'm unpatriotic, I love many things American. But isn't this ride a place to embrace THE WORLD? I'm happy with the little Cowboy and Indian at the end of the ride for America, as stereotypical as it is.