tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70718309403399148952024-03-20T00:49:18.581-07:00Pumpkin Delightan average girl with a great pornstar namePumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.comBlogger980125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-43165916133499314512019-01-27T20:50:00.000-08:002019-01-27T20:51:04.311-08:002018 Movies in Review, Part 2Oscar Nominations were announced last week. I have bolded the films that received one or more nominations.<br />
<i><b>Black KKKlansman</b></i> - Spike Lee's film about Ron Stalwarth (John David Washington) is about the first African American police officer and detective in Colorado Springs. In the late 1970s, he, by chance, becomes an undercover officer in the Klu Klux Klan after calling their offices one slow day and pretending to be a white man. He forms a phone relationship with a few high level members of the KKK including David Duke. When the need arose for Stalwarth to meet the members in person, they devised a plan to send white detectives in his place. Based on a true story, this movie is fascinating and really well done. The filming is great as it looks like a 70's movie it takes place in the 70s. It is called a biographical comedy-drama. While the circumstances are serious, the events are so outrageous it is quite funny as well. It is one of my favorites of the year.<br />
<i>Operation Finale</i> - In 1960, Israeli Intelligence finds out that Adolph Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) escaped from Germany and is living in Argentina. This film tells the true story about the Mossad agents (Oscar Isaac) who are tasked with finding him and bringing him back to Israel to stand trial for his crimes against humanity. The film received mixed reviews. I found it very interesting, but very intense. Even though I had some knowledge of how it all ended up, it was sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspenseful. It wasn't an enjoyable movie, but I'm glad that I saw it.<br />
<i>Life Itself</i> - Lives of several individuals are connected over three generations in tragedy and in love. It is an interesting movie conceptually, but it is emotionally exhausting. The tragedies were like punches to the gut you didn't see coming. It has a huge cast - Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Mandy Patinkin, Antonio Banderas, Annette Benning, and many international actors who I was unfamiliar with but were very good. The reviews for it are terrible. I didn't find it terrible, but I was tired after seeing it.<br />
<i><b>A Star is Born</b></i> - Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper star in the 4th or 5th version of this film. Jack, an alcoholic rock star (Cooper), "discovers" Ally (Gaga) who is a songwriter working in a drag bar. He falls in love with her talent, makes her famous, and then falls in love her. After some time she becomes ultra-famous and he slips further into the bottle. It is an emotional roller coaster of a movie, but Lady Gaga is WONDERFUL in it, and I was surprised in Bradley Cooper's singing talents. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anp6lGHKZw0" target="_blank">music</a> is great. Gaga lost out to Glenn Close at the Golden Globes. I did not see Close's film, and I'm sure it is very good, but I was hoping Gaga would win the Best Actress award. She had an incredible performance and that voice is something. She is nominated again for an Oscar. There's been a lot of buzz about how Bradley Cooper was snubbed for a Best Picture nomination. He did get one for Best Actor though.<br />
<i><b>Bohemian Rhapsody</b></i> - Rami Malek stars as the band Queen's frontman, Freddy Mercury. BR told the story of Queen with the focus on Mercury's over-the-top personality. It was a very interesting and entertaining story of his life (Hollywood's version anyhow), and the music was so much fun. Malek embodies what I remember of Freddy Mercury, and the casting of the other band members is brilliant. When the band was at their most well known, I was a bit young to be a fan however over all this time there wasn't a song in the movie that I wasn't familiar with. Mike Myers (star of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thyJOnasHVE" target="_blank">Wayne's World</a>) plays the record producer who refused to release Bohemian Rhapsody as the lead song on the <i>A Night at the Opera</i> album because it was too long. What great casting that was! It is a fun movie. We left smiling.<br />
<i>Widows</i> - Viola Davis and Liam Neeson open this film as husband and wife. Neeson is part of a group of bank robbers who rob a local politician/gangster. When they are killed in an explosion after the robbery, the thieves' wives are held accountable for the money by the politician/gangster. The women come up with their own plan for getting a hold of the money to pay back. There are SO MANY twists and turns in this movie. I'm not really a Viola Davis fan, but I liked the movie a lot. Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Jacki Weaver, and Michelle Rodriguez also star.<br />
<i>The Girl in the Spiderweb</i> - Claire Foy (The Crown) is the most recent 'Lisbeth Salander' from <u>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</u> fame. This book was the fourth book in the Stieg Larsson "Millennium" series, but was written by David Lagercrantz after Steig's death. There is a lot of technical, over the top content in this story, but the actual story was in line with the others. Lisbeth Salander continues saving the world as a computer hacker when her sister, who she thought had killed herself, returns for revenge. It is intense and exciting like the other books/movies are. I think Foy made a good Salander. I liked it.<br />
<i><b>Green Book</b></i> - Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali star in the true story of Tony "Lip" Vallelonga and Don Shirley. Shirley was a famous pianist who hired Vallelonga to be his driver when he traveled to the Deep South in the 1960s to perform. Shirley, an African American from NYC, faced racism on this tour. Vallelonga had some prejudices of his own at the start of the trip, but they soon became friends and often lent a hand when Shirley found himself in danger. The move was entertaining and heartwarming. It also is a reminder of of how far we've come and how far we still have to go. Both actors were nominated for Golden Globes and Oscars, however I'm not sure why Moretensen got the Best Actor nom and Ali got the Best Supporting Actor nod. They were both equally in the film. <br />
<i>The Mule</i> - Clint Eastwood stars as an old man (because he is) who becomes a drug mule driving to and from various locations because he is desperate for cash. The DEA (Bradley Cooper) get wind of him and begin to track him in order to catch the dealers. It is based on a true story. The movie was ok, but kind of slow.<br />
<i><b>Vice</b> </i>- This film was written and directed by Adam McKay who also did <i>The Big Short</i>. The writing and pacing is quite similar to that film. It is quick and jumps around to different perspectives so you have to to pay very close attention. It is a biographical comedy-drama about Dick Cheney. After seeing the movie, I spent a little time trying to fact check it because it is definitely over the top in demonstrating Cheney's power as Vice President. As with anything political these days, if the review/reviewer leans left it's wonderful and all true, and if right leaning, the movie was awful and all false. However, according to the fact checkers, the events are mostly accurate. All can agree that liberties were taken with dialogue, even the writer/director admits at the beginning of the film that some of the actual conversation between characters was made up due to not knowing the exact words. It is a polarizing film. I personally enjoyed it while being a little sick to my stomach at the same time. Cheney's unprecedented power has always been unsettling to me, and that power was the main topic of the movie.<br />
<b>The Favourite</b> - Hmmmm, I just saw it this afternoon. I wouldn't say I didn't like, but I wouldn't say I liked it either. Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone star in this period piece about Queen Anne (Colman) and the women, Sarah Churchill (Weisz) and Abigail Masham (Stone), who vie for the queen's attention. The women, also cousins, wish to capitalize on their friendship with the ailing and tragic queen to rise in her court and become influential in her decisions. The costumes, wigs, and palace are incredible in the movie - opulent is an understatement and it's been rewarded with several artistic nominations. All three actresses have also been nominated. They were all very good. I can't put my finger on what I liked and didn't like about it. It is an odd film - not a comedy but not a serious period piece either. It's quite dark. <br />
As usual, the Oscar nominations leave me perplexed. There are several films in the main categories that I've never even heard of let alone seen. It's not like I live in the "boonies", but several of them didn't even come to our local theaters which always makes me wonder how in the heck they get nominated. The nominations often seem pretentious. The Globes are much more relatable as far as nominations go. A few of the big films that I didn't see but still wish to are Black Panther, The Wife, and If Beale Street Could Talk. <br />
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<br />Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-68948878654929729952019-01-23T21:16:00.003-08:002019-01-24T05:45:31.821-08:002018 Movies in ReviewOne of my movie going friends moved away last year, so I thought that my movie attendance may have dropped in 2018. However, it seems as I still (as usual) saw quite a few...<br />
<i>Den of Thieves</i> - Gerard Butler and 50 Cent star in this film about a group of violent bank robbers in Los Angeles and the Sheriff Department's elite squad of detectives. Apparently, Los Angeles is the Bank Robbery capital of the world (yay, us!), and this film is based on a real life attempt to rob the Federal Reserve Bank in Downtown. In the movie, there is a fine line between the behavior of both groups as the detectives engage in questionable behavior in both their personal and professional lives and the violent bank robbers have families at home whom they lovingly take care of. The reviews were mixed, so I went in with low expectations (and only went because I am a fan of Gerard Butler and the movie's genre). However, it was an entertaining and action packed film - typical of the police-cat-and-mouse genre with big car chases and big gun fights.<br />
<i>Red Sparrow</i> - Dominica Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) plays Russian prima ballerina who, after being injured, joins the SVR and is sent to "Sparrow School" to learn the art of seductive spying or "sexpionage". When CIA agent Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) is found to be working with a top level SVR officer to gain secrets for the US, Egorova is sent to seduce him and find out more about his double agent. I'm a sucker for an espionage film and the premise is a good one, but the movie was just ok. I'm not one to be offended by sex or violence in a film, even a lot of it, but both seemed gratuitous rather than important to the plot which I found irritating. <i>Red Sparrow</i> is based on a book of the same name by Jason Matthews. I'm currently listening to it when I walk the dog. I'm enjoying it more.<br />
<i>Ocean's 8 </i>- The <i>Ocean's 11, 12,</i> and <i>13</i> movies are some of my favorite movies of all time, so I looked forward to the "female version" of <i>Ocean's 8</i>. Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rhianna, Helena Bonham Carter, Awkwafina, and Anne Hathaway all star in this heist film. Bullock's character plays Debbie Ocean, the sister of Danny Ocean (George Clooney's <i>Ocean's</i> character) who is a bit of a con herself. During her most recent stint in prison she devised a plan to steal a Cartier necklace at the upcoming Met Gala. Once she gets out of prison, she assembles her reluctant team, all with a specific set of skills, to pull off the heist. As with the previous <i>Ocean's </i>films, this one was funny and quite clever - keeping you guessing with the twists and turns and the real motive behind the heist. I enjoyed this one a lot, the only downfall being the absence of George Clooney and Matt Damon as eye candy.<br />
<i>Sicario: Day of the Soldado</i> - OMG! This movie was so good- Intense but good. It is the follow up to 2015's <i>Sicario</i> about the CIA's relationship with a Sicario or hitman for the Mexican drug cartels. Josh Brolin stars as the CIA agent who enlists the help of former Sicario Alejandro Gillick (Benecio del Toro) to start a feud between rival drug cartels. They kidnap the daughter of one kingpin and blame it on another. In the end, the plan goes to pot, and Gillick and the teenage girl are abandoned by the CIA. They fend for themselves and try to get out of harm's way while the CIA tries to destroy all evidence of the plan, including them. The ending left me wondering so thankfully, a 3rd installment is in the works. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is very well done.<br />
<i>Equalizer 2</i> - Denzel Washington reprised his roll as Robert McCall, ex-CIA who now helps the "little guy" with big problems. When his friend and former colleague is murdered, he finds out that her killer is someone he knows. He takes matters into his own hands. I'm sensing a pattern here in my movie watching, but yes, it's another action/spy (ex)/good guy vs bad guy movie. I liked it!<br />
<i>The Spy Who Dumped Me</i> - Best friends (Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon) must become amateur spies after an ex-boyfriend who turns out to be a spy comes to them for help. This movie is hysterical and so much fun. It had some similarities to Megan McCarthy's "<i>Spy</i>" movie where the "bumbling" women save the day, but I belly laughed all the same.<br />
<i>Dog Days</i> - I'm not usually a fan of dog movies because when the dog dies I cry and cry and cry. This movie about how dogs are a wonderful part of our lives was cute, and even though one does die, they don't make us watch that part like other movies have done. It has a large cast with mostly stars famous for television (Eva Longoria, Vanessa Hudgens, Rob Cordry, Tone Bell, and Adam Pally). I noticed some reviewers named it "Dog, Actually" as a play on <i>Love, Actually </i>because the large cast is all related in some way or another and are all in love or trying to fall in love. It's not an award winner, but it's a sweet movie.<br />
I'm going to stop there for now. Oscar nominations were announced this week. I will share my thoughts on those in the next post. None of these were chosen. Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-49913268127373352722019-01-13T13:53:00.000-08:002019-01-13T14:07:31.235-08:00A Magic PotLike thousands of people this year, I got an Instant Pot for Christmas. When I first started hearing about the cooking appliance, I was skeptical. I have a Crockpot, and figured that's all I really needed for a cooker in addition to my stove/oven. After hearing more about it though, I was intrigued.<br />
I've been on winter break since Christmas so once the holidays were over, I have spent a little time rying to get to know the new pot. <br />
The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker. I know a lot of people who were raised in families who used an "old school" stovetop pressure cooker. I was not raised in one of those families, so don't have (fond) memories of it exploding all over the kitchen. With that being said, I don't really understand the concept of pressure cooking and all its ins and outs. Therefore, I have not made anything from my imagination - I don't understand enough yet just to throw something in and figure out how to cook it. However, I've been having a lot of fun just trying it out using yummy recipes I find on the internet. <br />
I started off slow with basic chicken breast (shredded, portioned, and put in freezer for quick meals) and macaroni and cheese. Both were super easy and worked just like the recipe said they would.<br />
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On my third try, I MADE CHEESECAKE! I joined a Facebook group for Instant Pot users because a lot of time there are a lot specific questions asked that aren't addressed in recipes or online information. I've liked that, but something else I found out while searching through the group...you can make freaking cheesecake in the Instant Pot. I've NEVER made a baked cheesecake in my life because it just seemed too hard. Well, in this FB group EVERYONE has been posting their cheesecakes. So making one in the Instant Pot is a thing, and I decided to try it! OMG! I am wowed!<br />
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I made it on Thursday night and topped it with ganache and peanut butter cups Friday morning. I took it to a party on Friday night, and everyone was stunned it came out of the Instant Pot. I was very impressed with myself.<br />
Last night I made beef stroganoff, and it was delicious. Stroganoff isn't the prettiest meal, so I'm not sharing pictures, but I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. The round steak that I used was so tender after just 15 minutes cooking time. When I make it on the stovetop I leave it simmering for at least an hour after browning to make it tender.<br />
So this is my take on the Instant Pot so far...It's similar to a slow cooker/crockpot in that you throw everything in and wait until it's finished without doing anything while it cooks. This frees you up to make additional parts of the meal (pasta, veggies, etc) or to do something else not even related to cooking. But the most important differences are that it is FAST, and it doesn't over cook the contents. At first, I was a little annoyed by the time it takes to come to pressure as it can take upwards of 20 - 30 minutes, but now that I'm aware of that I can factor the time in. It's still much faster than a lot of other cooking. While a crockpot has it's place for certain types of meats that you want falling apart - pulled pork for example. Most things I would cook in the crockpot all day came out falling apart, and sometimes that isn't want you want. The IP cooks fast while making things tender and juicy, but not overcooked. <br />
I'm kind of a kitchen appliance/gadget geek. The Instant Pot is making me geek out hard!<br />
<br />Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-8018011585968102652018-12-12T05:57:00.001-08:002018-12-12T05:57:49.001-08:00FilmingBeing quite close to "Hollywood", the suburbs where I live is used quite often in both television in movies. From the time I was in kindergarten, I've watched my city as the setting of various shows and films. The "Industry" has boomed here, and we now have several studios. Many have taken to calling it "Hollywood North" as you can find a film crew set up somewhere on any given day. So it was no surprise when earlier this week, we got notice at school that there would be filming taking place for the television show SWAT in the neighborhood closing a couple of our streets. In addition, they wanted us all to be aware that there would be several "police" vehicles on the premises as well as "armed officers" shooting their "weapons" so we didn't call a lockdown.<br />
I am not a starstruck person and driving past filming doesn't make me even slow down. The only emotion I usually have over it is irritation when the street I'm trying to turn onto is blocked or the gas station I want to use is closed due to filming. However, since I watch the show SWAT and like it, my interest was peaked at the notice. I remember as a kid watching the first SWAT television show with my dad back in the late 70s. When it premiered last year, I recorded it due to those memories with my dad. I watched the whole season over the summer and really enjoyed it. It's an entertaining police drama...my favorite!<br />
When the notice came out, some of the kids asked about it and there was some excitement over my explanation, some of the kids had even seen the show. So on the day of the filming I told them I'd take them out to see what we could see at the end of the day. Our school property is huge and the back part, where the playground is, is surrounded by a tall metal fence. We walked out towards the street until we got to that fence to take a look. There wasn't a lot to see from where we were as most of the street the school is on was being used for trailers, security, and craft services (food). However, along the corner of the fence we could see the street that runs perpendicular and there were police cars, and a lot of people milling around as they do. We spent about 5 minutes looking and talking about what we saw. A member of the crew walked up to the fence at that time and called me over. I thought I might be told we were in the way or something. Instead, he asked me if we'd like to meet the actors. Ummmmm, ok!<br />
When the cast of the show came out to see us, they seemed genuinely as excited to meet the kids as we were to meet them. They were so kind, shaking hands and talking with the kids. <br />
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I had not planned on this happening at all, so had left my phone in the classroom when I picked up the kids from lunch to walk them over. Thankfully, we have a yard supervisor who loves the be "in the know" and she followed us out to the back of the school. When we found out they were coming over, she whipped out her phone. </div>
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The cast spent several minutes with us before saying their goodbyes. The kids haven't stopped talking about it since...neither has their teacher.<span id="goog_718963871"></span></div>
Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-63724759999124443202018-11-04T22:20:00.001-08:002018-11-04T22:23:02.557-08:00What a WasteThis past week was quite hectic with a few nights of getting home later than usual so I did not take the dog out on her regular long walk on Wednesday or Thursday. When I walk the dog the long route, we pass by the mailbox, and I pick up mail. Since we didn't go by on those two days and since it's not conveniently located, I didn't pick up Wednesday's or Thursday's mail until we walked by Friday after work. With the midterm elections quickly (thankfully) approaching, we are inundated with campaign ads both on TV and through the mail. The junk mail is bad enough when we're not in election season, but when we are it's not a good idea to skip mail pick up. It doesn't seem so bad when it's picked up and tossed out on a daily bases. After three days accumulation, it's appalling. <br />
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There are 21, mostly full color, campaign mailers in this picture. The majority of them are the size of a regular sheet of paper or larger and all are double sided or have several pages. A few are different ads for the same candidate or proposition. I know that there has to be some kind of positive result for candidates to keep sending these out, along with paying the expense of them, but I feel like they are really a big waste of money and paper. As a fairly knowledgable voter, these do absolutely nothing to sway my vote (and even less so since I already voted last week) and really only further irritate me on the waste of money that is a political campaign. I don't know if junk mail like this is helpful to the undecided voter in the internet age. I wish they'd eliminate it as it seems like such a waste. What's your take on campaign mail? Does is sway you? <br />
<br />Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-12943286577321830372018-10-31T00:00:00.000-07:002018-10-31T00:00:02.166-07:00Halloween Odds and EndsTomorrow is Halloween! Personally, I could take it or leave it as a "holiday". Being that it falls during the week is the part I like least about it. It's not the 31st that is really the problem but rather the day AFTER halloween when you are a teacher. While I don't mind an hour or two of "celebrating" on the day of, dealing with sugarcoated tired little kids for 7+ hours the next day is NOT my idea of a good time. I have a pretty good group this year, so fingers crossed that they don't completely lose their minds (or that I don't lose mine) on Thursday. <br />
For years, I've been saying I want to get a proposition on the California ballot (it only takes 350,000 signatures) to celebrate Halloween on the last Friday of the month rather than on whatever day the 31st happens to fall on - which is the day before a school day 5 out 7 times! Just this past week, I read an article that there is an online petition on change.org for making that move. Actually, theirs is moving it to Saturday. Friday is a much better choice...more days to recover before going back to school or work, but I'll take a Saturday over a Wednesday any day.<br />
Speaking of Halloween articles, I read one this weekend about some towns making it "illegal" for children older than 12 (some 14, some 16) to go Trick-Or-Treating. I don't know how I feel about this. When I used to man the door for trick-or-treaters back in the day, I will admit it was a little irritating to have some 6 foot 4 ninja, zombie, or trench coat wearer show up at the door and take the candy you bought for the little ones. However, if they weren't causing trouble or being mean or nasty to the little kids, who really cares. Kids 12-15/16 are at that odd age where they are thought of as too old to don a costume and trick-or-treat, but they aren't really old enough to party either. If the older kids want to celebrate by going door-to-door for candy, I'd prefer that to them TPing or vandalizing the neighborhood. <br />
Happy Halloween!Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-57782120785811491772018-10-11T21:15:00.000-07:002018-10-11T21:15:06.299-07:00TillamookThe trip this summer was mostly about the beauty of the Oregon Coast, but we did make a few educational (and in this case yummy) stops, one of those was the Tillamook Cheese Factory. The city of Tillamook sits west of Portland on Tillamook Bay. Located on the bay and also having 5 rivers, the city is known for fertile land and mild temperatures which makes for happy cows. Not as happy as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xJmNdJHfpo" target="_blank">California cows</a> of course. The dairies there are part of a dairy cooperative called the Tillamook County Creamery Association, and the Cheese Factory is where they produce their cheese. They have recently added a modern visitors' center which was a fun way to spend an hour or two.<br />
When driving through town, the factory is hard to miss.<br />
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The factory used to allow visitors onto the factory floor, but in the late 60s that was (thankfully) stopped due to safety regulations. Now you can view some of the factory from a viewing area up above. <br />
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Here they were checking cheese blocks for correct formation. Those in the bin behind the checker were not acceptable. Those were then sent to the cheese shredder for bags of grated cheese.<br />
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This area wrapped the finished cheese in its packaging.<br />
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The best part of the self guided tour was that it ended with cheese samples. I can't say for sure, but we might have spent A LOT of time in this area. Duh.<br />
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The new visitor center has a huge food court with all things made from dairy. A vegan or someone lactose intolerant would have been very sad at this food court. Since I'm neither, it made me happy. We had taken our time in Cannon Beach that day, so by the time we arrived at the factory is was dinnertime. We had planned to share some cheese curds and macaroni and cheese - healthy stuff! Sadly, the cheese factory was OUT OF cheese curds, so we just had mac and cheese. It was very good. But the ice cream was even better. <br />
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We still had a little over an hour drive to the next stop in Newport, so we couldn't spend too much time eating dairy products. Tillamook was a quick but fun stop.Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-32989579276384094302018-09-28T06:52:00.001-07:002018-09-28T06:52:16.862-07:00A Big DifferenceWhen I arrived at school yesterday morning at 7:00, it was 58 degrees. When I left school at 4:00, it was 107. Almost a 50 degree difference in temperature. When the hot weather comes, we are not usually so cool in the mornings. Must mean fall is here!<br />
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<br />Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-17073282581534596822018-09-16T22:57:00.000-07:002018-09-16T22:57:02.501-07:00A School ChuckleSpending most of my life at school with little kids means I experience chuckles, giggles, eye rolls, and belly laughs on quite a regular basis. Some are funny enough to share...<div>
Last year, the state of California passed a <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB10" target="_blank">new Ed Code law</a> that went into effect this school year requiring Title I (low income) public schools to provide feminine hygiene products in at least 50% of the restrooms on campus. Research has shown that girls who come from low-income homes are likely to miss school several days each month due to their family's inability to afford these products. The state will reimburse schools for these products. While this is not something I have experience with since I teach the little kids, I have several colleagues in the upper grades who purchase these products, along with other hygiene products like deodorant to help out their students who need them. So while this requirement may seem trivial, there certainly is a need for it, hoping to keep kids in school.</div>
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As with most things in public education, passing the law seems like the easy part. Actually implementing the plan isn't always easy. Our facilities department was tasked with putting the storage containers with the product into the restrooms. Facilities is known for showing up to work on a project and leaving before anyone ever sees them, but the project isn't always executed correctly. We have three multi-stall girls' restrooms on campus. There is one in the main building, one in the breezeway between the main building and the playground, and one in the new building. Facilities put those containers in the main building and the breezeway restrooms. The only problem is the upper grade students don't use the restroom in the main building. The main building houses kindergarten and first grade classes only, and therefore the restroom in there is for those kids. The new building houses all the 3rd-6th grade classes, and that building's restroom didn't get any containers. And since the teachers are always the last to know about anything, the only reason we were aware of the new products was because the first graders found them. Upon the daily cleaning by the custodian, it would seem the little girls thought of them as good wall decor items as he found them stuck all over the walls. A work colleague of mine recounted when a couple of his first grade girls came back from a restroom trip with them stuck to their hands and clothes, proudly announcing to the class that there were "stickers in there!". Their innocence is so cute! Imagine going through your life thinking they are stickers and then finding out what they are really for.</div>
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Anyhow, since then, the product has been removed from the main building's restroom and put into the new building and a quick information meeting between the district nurse and the upper grade girls has been scheduled. Both good plans, but thankfully they were put in the wrong place to start or we never would have been able to laugh about the 'stickers". </div>
Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-61014518680209472102018-09-13T20:35:00.001-07:002018-09-13T20:37:40.764-07:00No Way!Yesterday, the results of the <a href="https://theharrispoll.com/the-harris-poll-announces-this-years-brands-of-the-year-in-the-2018-equitrend-study/" target="_blank">2018 Harris Poll</a> were released. The Harris Poll is a national poll that identifies the brands which consumers most identify with and consider the "best". Because it is a national poll, regional or local brands aren't really included. Some might question the "best" label on these brands when there might be local or regional brands that are better. But it would make sense that the ones most commercial and most widely known would be chosen. It would make sense except for one category...BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT. <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="267" src="https://abc7.com/video/embed/?pid=4225087" width="476"></iframe><br />
I would have to STRONGLY disagree with that claim, as would our local TV station. Having lived my life in Southern California, my experience with Mexican food is based on really good, homemade, authentic (minus the lengua or tripas) Mexican food. In my travels across country, the norm is that the further away I get from home, the less authentic and the more "Taco Bell" the Mexican food becomes. In fact, when I lived in New England, Taco Bell WAS where most people got their Mexican food. <br />
While this is not a knock on anyone who likes Taco Bell. Fast food is fast, convenient, and has its place. But to claim it's the best Mexican food is insane. It is barely Mexican food at all, let alone the best. Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-87669644652187000662018-09-03T21:49:00.000-07:002018-09-03T21:49:32.996-07:00The Coast, Part 2After leaving Astoria, we spent the next couple of days in Seaside and Cannon Beach. This was by far my favorite area visited on the trip.<br />
Seaside is a fun boardwalk town known for its sunsets. We were in between Seaside and Cannon Beach and mostly Seaside in the evening so I have only a couple of pictures from there. We had one of the best meals at an Italian restaurant in Seaside, but sadly (or not) no pictures. Sunset was beautiful, even with the clouds that rolled in.<br />
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Along the boardwalk, these street lights have sea life decor like this starfish. They are so pretty.</div>
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While Seaside is a lot of fun, Cannon Beach was the town I enjoyed the most. It is so quaint and pretty and quite different than the other beach towns in Oregon. </div>
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Cannon Beach's beach is well known due to its Haystack rock. </div>
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The beach is just beautiful!</div>
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One thing I loved about the Oregon Coast was that you'd be in the forest surrounded by trees, and just on the other side the cliffs drop to the ocean. It is much different than the Southern California Coast which is mostly flat with very few trees. <br />
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Cannon Beach was the only town in which I could see myself living. Who knows, maybe some day. </div>
Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-64338579722993499212018-08-18T09:30:00.000-07:002018-08-18T09:38:44.077-07:00There Ain't No Tired Like First Week of School TiredThis week, I began my 19th year of teaching. After two years of chaos and unprofessionalism on the part of our "leader", the calm manner in which we started this school year has me cautiously optimistic over the 2018-19 school year. I am still in 3rd grade, a high-stakes testing grade, which doesn't make me thrilled, but since I am better prepared with what to expect from the kids and myself adds some stability to my thoughts on that as well. <br />
I am EXHAUSTED this weekend. All I want to do is lay low today, but if I do, the piles of work that I brought home to work on will somehow multiply. That's the thing about the beginning of the year. In addition to the teaching part, there is more to create, do, write, think about, sort, color, prep, etc. than there are hours in the day. I tell myself every year to not make those things "everything", to stop at the end of the school day and not worry about it, to not let it take up ALL my time. But if it's not done, others will be let down - teammates, administrators, and most importantly the kids. Things settle a bit as far as work load in a couple of months, but right now there doesn't seem to be an end to that tunnel. <br />
I brought a teacher bag of work home with the plan of hammering it out last night, just to get it over with so Saturday and Sunday weren't about school. I only got through about half of the bag in between falling asleep twice. While I write this, I'm having my coffee, trying to revive myself after a hard sleep. I think I have a couple of hours left of school work to do...that is if I can stay awake. Two days down...only 178 days to go!<br />
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<br />Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-43828002157191344042018-08-11T13:03:00.002-07:002018-08-11T13:03:15.284-07:00The CoastThe main purpose of this summer's road trip was to spend some time along the Oregon Coast. I'd heard nothing but good things about it so the bulk of our trip was spent traveling North to South on the 101 (aka Highway 101 if you aren't from California where we put "the" in front of the freeway/highway numbers - ha ha!).<br />
We departed Portland, heading west to Warrenton where we met up with some friends. <br />
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The view of the pond out in the back of their house.</div>
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The Clatsop County Beach is a "driving beach". A ten mile strip of this beach allows for passenger cars and trucks. <br />
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But we had to watch out for jellyfish.</div>
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This area is also where the Columbia River (right) and the Pacific Ocean (left) meet. </div>
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I was amazed to learn how important the Columbia is to the Northwest. Not living near a river (well I live near two that never have any water) it was just fascinating to see and understand how much it is used<br />
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Standing on the bank of the river, looking at Astoria.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbxg9iy5mzdhHxh7tAJz5SPQNMyXIch0pbijIhs0wQST7SGmDC-HhiUJx7UhGOcRDomQ0KoTy8HDj3sRiL8OGlpML06e45no8shZmN8ik37e3CsYc6U0pG0nr62kLV5ZOsFDbRhyddIan/s1600/IMG_8273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbxg9iy5mzdhHxh7tAJz5SPQNMyXIch0pbijIhs0wQST7SGmDC-HhiUJx7UhGOcRDomQ0KoTy8HDj3sRiL8OGlpML06e45no8shZmN8ik37e3CsYc6U0pG0nr62kLV5ZOsFDbRhyddIan/s320/IMG_8273.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Huge cargo ships and tugboats go up an down the river hourly. The river is only deep enough in this section right down the middle, so they can only come through one at a time and often have to have special drivers sent in just for the this stretch. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TNFlfcvYXjGxK8EQPr3BH7Hnrrr5T6JmTfWisX0RzSaHGdm-M22-lMa0VGyb53x_tP8ECzDmd3GNjDWhBPvC4-NNvP1_5GoihloFQmJ7FzUcVtx7G7pg2YVqiceg-EY-GMqahvYQ08fE/s1600/IMG_8290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="1600" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TNFlfcvYXjGxK8EQPr3BH7Hnrrr5T6JmTfWisX0RzSaHGdm-M22-lMa0VGyb53x_tP8ECzDmd3GNjDWhBPvC4-NNvP1_5GoihloFQmJ7FzUcVtx7G7pg2YVqiceg-EY-GMqahvYQ08fE/s320/IMG_8290.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We call seagulls ocean rats, but these two were quite photogenic.<br />
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The foxglove was in bloom everywhere...swoon.</div>
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That evening, we crossed over the bridges to Astoria for the night. Astoria was the setting in the 80's movie "The Goonies", and I ALWAYS thought the story took place along the ocean. Astoria actually overlooks the Columbia River, NOT the ocean. <br />
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The view from our room.</div>
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Some sites along the river/old railroad tracks.</div>
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I was a little bit starstruck over being in The Goonies' hometown so we researched some of the sites to find them, but mostly ran into this...</div>
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However the jailhouse (Oregon Film Museum) and the Courthouse were available for pictures.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Next stop - Seaside and Cannon Beach</span></div>
Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-15311198836064560572018-08-03T00:48:00.000-07:002018-08-03T00:48:03.898-07:00Gas TanksThis past weekend, I made a trip to Lowes in order to exchange my bbq's propane tank. They have a cool program (like most big box hardware stores do) where you can exchange empty tanks for full tanks. While I waited for the clerk to unlock the cage and exchange my tank, a man arrived to the front of the store to load up propane tanks into his truck. He had purchased 3 empty ones of his own. As I watched him drive away, I chuckled remembering a time my dad had done something similar. <br />
My dad loved to grill on the bbq. He cooked a lot of our family meals and many of them were made on the grill. When my parents moved from California to Hawaii he bought a new grill for the backyard. Shortly after, their local Costco had empty propane tanks on sale. As an avid griller, he wanted a few on hand. On a side note, this was a common theme with my dad. <a href="https://pumpkindelight.blogspot.com/2010/06/another-dad-story.html" target="_blank">Why have one extra when you can have 3 extra because you bought them inexpensively at Costco?</a> Now the Costco in Kona happens to be on the way to the Kona airport from my parents' house, and during that sale I was was flying into Kona for a visit. They decided to make a stop at Costco before coming to pick me up at the airport. That was a logical plan in order to not make the trip two times, however it wasn't all that smart of plan. You see, 9/11 had happened less than two years before and the airports, even the teeny island ones, were on high alert. The Kona airport had police at their one and only entrance in order to check ALL cars that came into the airport. My parents had driven their Jeep Cherokee that day to accommodate three propane gas tanks AND my luggage. As you can imagine, the police were not thrilled to see those gas tanks.<br />
My parents explained the tanks and after demonstrating they were empty, the police let my mom meet me at baggage and sent my dad and the car off into parking lot exile. When I got off the plane and said my hellos to my mom, I asked where my dad was. She explained their mistake and detainment as we walked across the airport to where my dad was waiting with his propane tanks. <br />
<br />Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-91873059387673030762018-07-31T00:50:00.000-07:002018-07-31T00:50:32.610-07:00Test RosesWhile I have been to the Portland Airport and spent some time just over the river in Vancouver, Washington, I had never visited Portland before our road trip. It's a fun city. Since we were there such a short time, we visited all the touristy things like Powell Books, Voodoo Donuts, the Saturday Market, the Sunnyside neighborhood, and the "Keep Portland Weird" sign. But my most favorite attraction in the city was at Washington Park - The International Rose Test Garden. The garden's main purpose is to test new varieties of roses. It is one of the oldest test gardens in the United States. <a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=viewpark&propertyid=1113" target="_blank">Here's a little bit of information and history</a>. The park is stunningly beautiful and smelled so good.<br />
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Even though this is the rose garden, when you first walk in these hydrangeas are at the entrance gate. Kind of funny, but they were amazing - the size of my head.<br />
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We only had a couple of hours to visit, but I could have spent all day there taking pictures and literally smelling the roses. Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-4530304215507225792018-07-26T23:54:00.000-07:002018-07-26T23:54:29.705-07:00Having it DownExactly two weeks ago (from the date this was written), I sent a small package to a friend in Scotland. I had to fill out a form in triplicate and pay $14 for first class postage, which is about $11 more than it would have cost to send the package in the US. Thankfully it did come with a tracking number that would supposedly follow it all the way to its destination. I was told it would take about 10 days to get there. The length of time it takes to send something internationally through regular mail always makes me wonder. It literally takes a day or less to get to most places in the world by air, even with multiple stop overs, so if ten days is the norm for a package to get to the UK, what is happening that makes it take so long. When I went to Scotland last year, I flew to London and then took a TRAIN to Scotland and it didn't take 10 days! But I am familiar with sending things abroad. I don't understand it, but I accept it.<br />
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So when two days after sending the package I checked the tracking number to find that it arrived in London the day after sending it, I was pleasantly surprised. If it were already in London a day later, it wouldn't take the full 10 days to arrive, would it? The answer to that question was given 10 days later when, after wondering why I hadn't heard from my friend I checked the tracking once more, and other than a note that it had departed London for the destination, there were no other updates. I asked whether that was "normal" with international mail and told that it wasn't exactly normal, but not abnormal in the summer, "Posties are a skeleton staff in the summer, July is when they usually take holidays - it's the trades' break so it may well be sitting at the local delivery office just waiting to go out." </div>
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That made me feel better about the wait, I guess. Until on the 25th, two weeks after mailing, I checked the tracking again and it finally had some movement....BACK TO THE US!!! Somehow after 13 days it has "arrived" in Jamaica (Queens), New York. </div>
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Are you kidding me?!?!? And this isn't the first time I've experienced international mail that has taken a detour. Last summer, while in Scotland, I sent some postcards out including one to myself (I like to have the stamp/postmark for my journal) on our second day in town. About 6 months later, they arrived in California with a postmark not from Scotland but from the Philippines.<br />
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This is such a first world problem, but it's curious that we are SO ADVANCED in so many things, how is international shipping still this archaic. <br />
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Update: As of 6/26 the package has been "processed" in Jamaica, New York, "arrived" in Newark, New Jersey, and "departed" Newark, "currently in transit to the destination" once again. We shall see.<br />
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Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-56839829898815326172018-07-23T11:52:00.000-07:002018-07-23T11:55:55.144-07:00GiantsThe Monday after school got out for the summer, I left on a road trip headed north. Our plan was to drive up to Portland, Oregon, spend a couple of days, and then head south along the Oregon Coast. We were gone about two weeks in all.<br />
We had all been on numerous California road trips so decided to blow through most of our LONG state, not wanting to spend too much time seeing parts we'd already seen. However, once we got past Sacramento, we headed west and spent some time along the coast of the northern part of the state making scheduled stops in Mendocino, Fort Bragg, and Crescent City before heading up to Portland. Here are some highlights of the drive up...<br />
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We did stop along the Central Coast to visit friends in Morro Bay and do some wine tasting. </div>
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We made a quick pitstop in Salinas. It is called "The Salad Bowl of the World" due to its agriculture industry. John Steinbeck (home above) called it home. I've never seen artichokes as part of the landscape before.<br />
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We spent a few hours in Mendocino, which is a beautiful little seaside town. It is known for its beautiful cliffside hiking trails.<br />
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A few miles north of Mendocino is Fort Bragg. I REALLY wanted to stop here and visit Glass Beach. Years and years of using the beach/ocean as a trash can created what is now known as Glass Beach due to all the sea glass that washed up on the shores after being rolled and tumbled in ocean water. <br />
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For years, I've seen pictures of how beautiful the beaches were with the sea glass glistening in the tides. Sadly, others felt the same way and got there before we did. The sea glass has essentially been depleted by tourism. You can see little bits of it in the sand and rocks, but the large shiny pieces are nearly non-existant anymore. <br />
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Near Crescent City is the entrance to the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. This park preserves old-growth Redwood trees. The park is just beautiful with lovely hiking trails, and the giant Redwoods are mind blowing. <br />
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We spent a few hours in the park before heading north to Portland. More later!Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-49025163928741387712018-07-15T23:00:00.000-07:002018-07-15T23:36:35.430-07:00Not ChargingThis past week, I spent about an hour at the Apple Store having one of my Apple devices looked out. Back in December, I purchased a new iPad Pro. It's the one that has the pencil and the click-on keyboard. It is very cool, but weirdly last month it started giving me some trouble. When I plugged it in for a charge, rather than showing the charging "lightning bolt"on the display it said, "Not Charging". It was in fact charging, just at an incredibly slow rate. I looked online trying to trouble shoot, but none of their tips worked. The USB plug and cord worked fine with my phone, so I knew it wasn't the cord either. It would sometimes take 24+ hours to get it charged to 100%, and then when it did get there it lost its charge very fast. It would be down to 10% within a couple of hours of it being at 100% and without any use on my part. So something was up.<br />
With the end of the school year and leaving right after on my road trip, I didn't have the time to deal with it until our return. Oddly enough, upon my return the "Not Charging" disappeared, and I got the lightning bolt back. It seemed to be back to its fast charging as well. I thought maybe it was bumped in the travel bag or using different plugs throughout the trip or something made it charge correctly again - technology often has a way of working out its little hiccups with a restart or for no reason at all. Unfortunately though, the iPad still wasn't keeping its charge. During those first few months, once it was charged to 100% it could go 4-5 days with medium use before having to plug it in again. That was no longer the case. Even with it turned off, by the end of the day it was dead.<br />
I hate dealing with sales/service people because I always have a feeling I'm being finagled. While I have an assertive personality when I am knowledgeable about something, when I'm not my meek side shows up which usually means I'm opening up my wallet and saying, "Here." Needless to say, I didn't want to take it to the Apple Store and kept putting off making the appointment. The fact that the iPad was just a half a year old, I knew that I couldn't just let it slide or I'd hate using it. So I made the appointment.<br />
For the day or two before, the iPad was watched very carefully so I could tell them everything I knew - how long it took to charge, how long the charge would last when used or not used, etc. And I knew that my "little story" about it "Not Charging" in June would be suspicious since it wasn't doing it anymore so I wanted to be armed with all I could.<br />
The store was packed the day I went in. Even though I had an appointment, I waited a bit, but was helped about 10 minutes later. The "Genius" listened to my spiel. He was very nice and didn't make me feel like an idiot. However, because it seemed to be charging correctly, he felt that there probably wasn't much he could do that day as we'd probably have to open a case and create a history of issues before anything would be dealt with. He did do a basic reset to see if that would help me any. I was convinced, I would leave that day without anything changing and would have to come back again and again to have anything done. <br />
When the setting reset was finished, he had me log back in and was ready to send me on my way. But before he did, he plugged it back in one more time just to see. To my surprise, the "Not Charging" came up on the display again. He noticed it first. When he pointed it out to me I literally clapped and said, "Oh, yay! It did it!" That never happens. Usually the problems never occur at the place giving the service and you look and sound like an idiot trying to explain them. I was so relieved that he would see it with his own eyes.<br />
From there, he had a better plan. He did a full reset to factory settings, and if the "Not Charging" came up again he could replace the iPad with a new one. I waited with bated breath, fingers crossed that it would come up again so I didn't have to worry about it anymore. That factory reset took some time, so he kept leaving. Finally I logged back in, and he plugged it in. And the message CAME BACK UP AGAIN. So that was it. He typed in his notes, went in the back of the store, and returned with a brand new iPad. <br />
The upside is the new iPad is working like it should - charging fast and lasting several days once charged. The downside is that the new iPad assumes the old iPad's warranty. So rather than having a year warranty from the day I received the new iPad, the warranty on it only lasts until December when I bought the old one. I've never used a warranty on an Apple product until now (Knock on wood), so hopefully the old iPad was an anomaly and the new one will be just fine. Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-77674573396135702482018-07-11T13:16:00.004-07:002018-07-11T13:16:44.260-07:00A LetterRight after summer break started, I went on a road trip for a couple of weeks. I will share more on that at another time. It was a great trip, but I was ready to get home to start my relaxing. The day after we got back, I had to have a wisdom tooth out. It wasn't something I was too worried about, but I wanted to get it over with so it wasn't something I had to think about during break. The "surgery" was fine, done with just local anesthesia, and I was home resting on the couch just a couple of hours later. While things were tender the first couple of days, I felt pretty good. The doctor had prescribed me some pain meds, but aspirin was enough to keep me comfortable those first few days. It's been a week since I had the surgery, and I feel worse than I did those first couple of days. That's normal, I've been told, but the whole right side of my face just aches. I had the week check up appointment and was told all is healing nicely and that this pain is expected. Thank goodness for ibuprofen as I've been taking it by the fistful every four hours, and the prescribed Tylenol with Codeine has been a life saver at night the last few days as it's helped me sleep through the aches. <br />
Speaking of Tylenol with Codeine, I've had that pain reliever prescribed a few times in my life. But this was the first time I've received this letter, warning me of the addictive nature of the Codeine, from the insurance company. It arrived about 3 days after having the prescription filled at the pharmacy. <br />
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Clearly, this is a reaction to the US being ranked #1 in the world for opioid usage. #somuchwinning While I want to applaud this small effort, I'm not so sure a 2 page letter is going to stop our opioid problem. If you haven't been living under a rock and keep informed on current events, the information in this letter isn't anything new or surprising. And I'm not so sure those who have become addicted would have been deterred by a letter like this. The problem is so much bigger than information. In reality, the letter is probably more about the insurance companies covering their butts in the event of a lawsuit. This seems more like a way to say, "We're doing something," than actually doing something that will work. All I know is that sending out this letter and the postage it takes to mail it is probably being tacked onto my insurance costs and not just being sent out of the goodness of the insurance company's "heart".Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-76987758066428756812018-06-10T09:33:00.001-07:002018-06-10T09:33:36.962-07:00A ChuckleEarlier this week, I was out of the classroom for the day due to a meeting at the district office. The meeting finished at 3:15, and since I wasn't at school with a pile of work to do, I decided to run some errands that I usually take care of on the weekend - one of those being the car wash. <br />
After leaving my car with the attendant and then checking in, I popped into the restroom. When I finished up in there I approached the sink to wash my hands. There was a mirror above the sink that looked quite high. After washing my hands, I looked up into the mirror as one does, and all I could see was the part in my hair at the top of my head. At 5' 4", I'm not the tallest of girls, but not the shortest either. Clearly, a very tall person (I'm assuming a man), put that mirror up and could see themselves in it just fine. It makes me laugh that it has just remained that way.<br />
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<br />Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-73217066392789499602018-05-29T04:00:00.000-07:002018-05-29T06:38:36.085-07:00At the EndAfter a beautiful LONG weekend, I head to work this morning to begin the THIRD week of standardized testing. As I might have mentioned, <a href="https://pumpkindelight.blogspot.com/2018/03/now-that-im-in-grade-level-again-that.html" target="_blank">I HATE testing</a> with every fiber of my being. So the fact that my students have already spent almost 14 hours on taking tests since May 14 makes me sad and furious all at the same time. That's not even to mention the three make up sessions (about 6 more hours) that have taken place for absent students or students who have needed more time. We have three more tests to give this week (at least 6 more hours), and if all goes well my class will be done by Thursday. Twenty hours (or more) of testing in three weeks time...there's got to be something better to do.<br />
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Fourteen more days left people!</div>
Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-54160918159243605272018-05-26T09:33:00.000-07:002018-05-26T09:33:05.828-07:00The Northern LightsAs per the norm, the workload after returning from spring break totally negated the vacation. It's taken a long time to get through the photos of Iceland. I was a little concerned with my Northern Lights photos because they are taken at night and the settings on the camera are so very different than what I'm used to shooting with. They seemed to be decent on the LCD screen on the camera, but until I got them in larger size on the laptop I did worry that I didn't capture them well enough. Thankfully, my amateur skills didn't impede things too much, and I got some nice shots.<br />
I had done some studying about photographing the aurora before I left for my trip and went armed with notes on initial settings and a tripod. On a side note, I HATE traveling with a tripod and the time it takes, so I often just don't bother. I am SO glad I brought it for this trip because even those with good cameras didn't get the shots I got because they didn't bring a tripod. It's hard to stand still for 15-30 seconds while the shutter is open.<br />
What I wasn't prepared for was how different the view was between the naked eye and through the camera lens. While what we saw with our eyes was pretty cool - oily white/grey lights swirling through the sky, the camera is able to take in the color of the lights that our eyes are not able to see. Explained here...<br />
<a href="https://www.space.com/23707-only-photos-reveal-aurora-true-color.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #5b5b5b; font-size: 16px;">Thus, the human eye primarily views </span><span style="color: #3366cc;"><span style="line-height: inherit;">the Northern Lights</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5b5b5b; font-size: 16px;"> in faint colors and shades of gray and white. DSLR camera sensors don't have that limitation. Couple that fact with the long exposure times and high ISO settings of modern cameras and it becomes clear that the camera sensor has a much higher dynamic range of vision in the dark than people do.</span></span></a><br />
Anyhow, the colors the camera picked up were incredible. <br />
In order to see the Northern Lights there are a few factors that need to be in place. First, the sky needs to be clear of cloud cover. Second, they need to viewed in an area with little to no light. And lastly, which is the tricky part in Iceland, there needs to have been bright sun the day (or two) of the night you see them. On the day we arrived in Iceland, the sky was partly cloudy with the sun moving in and out of the clouds all day. We were supposed to go out that night to see the lights, but it was too cloudy to go. The next day was overcast, so we didn't go that night either. It snowed all the next day, so no chance of seeing. The following day was overcast. At this point we were half way through our trip, and I had to keep talking myself off the ledge, "It will still be a great trip even if I don't see them." We woke the next day to gorgeous sunny (but so windy and cold) skies, and that night we went out because it was as clear as could be. The location where we waited was just beautiful and we got there just before complete darkness so I had a chance to set up, get focused before I couldn't see anything, and I had a gorgeous back drop of some mountains topped with snow. We waited until 12:30/1:00 am wishing them to arrive, but they never did. While disappointing, I have never seen a clearer more star-filled sky. On our second to last day, it was again beautifully clear so we went out that night. We didn't arrive until dark and the location was a Farmer's hotel off to the side of the road so the location wasn't ideal. I had a much harder time setting up and trying to get the camera in focus. Murphy's law, right? Because that was the night they arrived.<br />
About 11:00 the white swirling started. It was very faint at first and, as I mentioned above, looked like a lot of stars. <br />
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After a few minutes of swirling, they then began to cover the sky. It was still very faint, but to watch it "build" was very cool. Then the swirling stopped and they seemed to dissipate in front of our eyes. We waited a bit, watching a clear sky for quite some time. Then they reappeared. Once again, it started off as light swirls and streaks, but built in intensity. <br />
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Then they started to spread, and soon the entire sky was covered. It was fascinating.<br />
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I hope that it is not, but this felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Every time I look at these photos, they make me giddy. It was our second to last night, already in April (they are most prevalent in October-March), I just can't believe how lucky we were.Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-58895157140028809172018-04-15T21:27:00.000-07:002018-04-15T21:27:14.269-07:00The Accidental SelfieI have returned from Iceland. It was a wonderful trip, and Iceland is an amazing place. I've been back home and back to work for just about a week now. While I thought I had gotten off scott free in terms of jet lag, the travel gods laughed in my face this weekend when all I wanted to do was sleep sleep sleep. <div>
In between naps, I did have a chance to go through my pictures. The subject matter is quite photogenic so I'm not foreseeing hours of editing, but I had to chuckle at one photo in particular. </div>
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I am NOT a selfie taker and I don't understand the obsession with selfies. The last thing I want are pictures of ME, but this picture is like a symbol for the entire trip. While the trip was amazing and the country is beautiful it was was freaking cold! Let me clarify, the temperature wasn't cold like some places are cold - it was in the low 40s each day - but the windchill was something. We had snow the entire second day, while the remaining days were clear and beautiful, but the winds blowing off that snow were bitter. We were dressed in many many layers which mostly had to be taken off while inside so we didn't suffocate from heatstroke and put on quickly once outside. Photos were a struggle at times because gloves have to come off for touchscreens, but if off too long frostbite was sure to set in. I took most of the photos on my canon but also some on the iPhone. The switching back and forth took time and made me flustered in the cold as well. The whole process made me feel like we were on treadmill running full speed and the fact that I took a shot in selfie mode isn't surprising. Although I'm wondering what I was taking a picture of! What did I miss?!?!<br />
Anyhow, I will share some photos later. A week wasn't long enough to see the whole country but it was all I could make happen over spring break. We went to see the Northern Lights, and we got to see them! So now I can go back over the summer when it isn't so cold, it's light all day and night, and I have more time available. Northern Lights in Iceland were on my bucket list, but those have now been replaced by summer in Iceland. Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-30654632718234936602018-03-29T00:10:00.000-07:002018-03-30T12:22:13.731-07:00The End, Part 2<br />
Our second full day in The Lake District was slightly less rainy than the day before, so we decided to brave the elements and do a walk to Near Sawrey in order to visit Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's home and inspiration for many of her stories. <br />
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After our views from the bus the previous day, I looked forward to seeing the area first hand and taking some pictures. We did have light rain most of the day, but not enough to ruin plans. It was just enough to be a nuisance. The walk to Hill Top is a little over 3 miles, with a lot of gorgeous scenery and tiny villages along the way. </div>
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Once we got down to the lake, we had to take a ferry across to the other side. </div>
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Looking at Lake Windermere from Bowness</div>
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It was fitting that on the way to Beatrix Potter's home we were greeted by Mama Swan and her babies as we walked off the ferry. <br />
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Claife Heights Viewing Station, built in 1790</div>
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Looking across the lake at Bowness.</div>
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The rest of the walk was just beautiful. </div>
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Author Beatrix Potter visited the Lake District with her family as a child a moved there as an adult. Hilltop was only her home for a short while as she met her husband shortly after moving and moved in with him. However, she kept Hilltop as her writing sanctuary. It was the inspiration for several of her stories. The home is now a museum set up with mostly her original furniture as well as memorabilia - letters, sketches, notebooks, etc. </div>
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It was so special to see the gardens as I could picture the little animals from the stories up to their shenanigans. </div>
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The small village of Near Sawrey also inspired Potter.</div>
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Notice the tupperware container to leave your money. </div>
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The rain started to come down harder after our visit to Hill Top so we took the bus to our next destination - Hawkshead. Beatrix Potter's husband was a lawyer in Hawkshead and his offices were left to the National Trust and turned into a <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrix-potter-gallery-and-hawkshead" target="_blank">Beatrix Potter Gallery</a>. The gallery changes its exhibit regularly. During our visit, the exhibit showed Potter's artwork from her stories and the Lake District's inspiration, then and now. It was fun to see what some of the places we had visited looked like back in the day as well as how she portrayed them in her books. It was a lovely little gallery.</div>
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Letters and picture of the Pottery Family in the Lake District.</div>
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Some examples of the exhibition.<br />
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I really liked the villages with the clean white paint, black trim and ALL THOSE FLOWERS!<br />
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The Hawkshead Grammar School where William Wordsworth once attended is now a museum.<br />
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Part of the grammar school in the front while the St. Michael and All Angels' Church in the background.</div>
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After another long, wet day we took the bus back to Bowness, had some dinner across the street from our cottage and turned in for the night. The next day we checked out and boarded the train at noon to head back to London. The next day I said goodbye to the UK and flew home. The end!</div>
<span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 246px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 5326px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span><span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 246px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 5326px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span><span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 192px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 9325px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span><span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 192px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 9325px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span>Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7071830940339914895.post-76194914783777108742018-03-25T12:12:00.003-07:002018-03-25T12:12:43.403-07:00The EndWith just a few days before I leave for Iceland, I figured it was time to finish sharing my SUMMER trip to Scotland/England. Where I last left off, we packed up and left Scotland behind. But the trip wasn't quite over. We boarded the train in Edinburgh and headed south to the Lake District of England (Cumbria), Bowness-on-Windermere to be exact. We rented a little cottage for our time there, and it was so cute.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After being in a hotel room for the week, it was nice to have some room to spread out AND a washer and dryer to freshen our clothes. </div>
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We arrived late afternoon and spent the evening just wandering around our new town, trying to get our bearings. Windermere is a more well-known and populated area which was just north of us. Bowness is a bit smaller and sits right on the lake of Windermere. </div>
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Bowness-on-Windermere was exactly how you'd expect a little English village to be. Quaint little shops lined narrow streets, flowers adorned most of the windows and walkways, and the architecture was all very "English". </div>
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We had been watching the weather reports for a few days about our time in England. The forecast looked like the ones we had seen in Scotland. Rain showers predicted each day. However, while in Scotland the rain was mostly during times we weren't out sight seeing, we weren't quite so lucky in England. The day we arrived it was partly cloudy, but that was the last time we'd see the sun on our trip. We didn't have a car because we had planned on taking advantages of the many walks and hikes the district offers, so that threw a little wrench in our plans when we woke up on day 2 to pouring rain. </div>
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After a little research (and a lot of grumbling about the rain), we had our plan. We boarded the bus which stopped at the end of our street and took it to the main bus station in Windermere where we bought an all day ticket. From there we headed northwest to Keswick to visit the <a href="https://www.derwentart.com/us/us/7523/derwent-pencil-museum" target="_blank">Derwent Pencil Museum</a><span id="goog_1482975858"></span><span id="goog_1482975859"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>. Now, most people giggle when I share this story, but I have to tell you it was FASCINATING. What started out as the Cumberland Pencil Company in the 1800s is now the Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company who makes school and art pencils. We use Ticonderoga pencils at school, but in the art world Derwent pencils are very well known and of very good quality. I have a few sets of my own, both colored and water color versions. It was fun to see how they were originally made and how they are made now. Their history is also very interesting as they have played roles in many of the historical events that have taken place over the last two centuries, including helping the Royal Air Force in World War II by <a href="http://www.lakedistrictwalks.net/secret-pencil-kits/" target="_blank">making secret map and compass pencils</a>. It has to be in my top 5 museum experiences. </div>
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The James Bond of Pencils</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbmMRZbBZG4XjLqehiAWGSGdTQEAySHlBAt-9sCXFdeLzi-585CcMeT1e1DjmgtdKTGAnZKY4z-qmA5J0nkE2mpVSwiWqj5yutSbQfHivpf_-iCC7gMrC3BShFQuFTxcOFtmigAB_PET9/s1600/IMG_6455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbmMRZbBZG4XjLqehiAWGSGdTQEAySHlBAt-9sCXFdeLzi-585CcMeT1e1DjmgtdKTGAnZKY4z-qmA5J0nkE2mpVSwiWqj5yutSbQfHivpf_-iCC7gMrC3BShFQuFTxcOFtmigAB_PET9/s320/IMG_6455.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There were numerous commemorative pencil sets on the display which were just beautiful.</div>
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This series of pencils was used primarily in schools as a reward system. Students could earn them and wanted to collect the different colors.<br />
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The largest colored pencil in the world!</div>
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William and Kate commemorative set</div>
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A portrait commissioned by Derwent to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Only Derwent pencils were used.<br />
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At the end of the exhibits were a few tables set up with pencils, watercolor pencils, and art paper in case one was inspired after their visit. We were!<br />
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The actual factory has since moved to another town, but this is what remains of the one that was on site.<br />
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It was midday by the time we traveled to and finished our visit. We hopped back on the bus and headed back south, stopping in Ambleside on the way. Ambleside sits across Lake Windermere from where we were staying. Another cute little English village. So charming!</div>
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One thing that was kind of disappointing about our time in Cumbria (other than the rain) was that since it was still June, the summer tourism season in the area had not hit full speed. That was a good thing in that the crowds (and kids) were minimal, but that also meant the summer hours weren't on yet. Most shops and museums closed at 5. We didn't get to Ambleside until around 4 so only had a bit of time to explore before the town shut down. And when we got back to Bowness it was almost 7. Other than pubs/restaurants, everything was closed for the night. So after returning to Bowness, we wrapped up our first full day at a fun pub. <br />
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I had one of my favorite meals of the trip there. It was a steak and ale "pie" with all the trimmings. Delish!<br />
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We walked our waterlogged selves back home after the pub, watched a movie, and headed to bed. Even though a lot of it was spent on a bus, our first full day was busy.</div>
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Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.com10