How Grand!

So I'm a little late to this game, but only because I am a passionate Walt Disney Classics Collection (WDCC) collector. However, may of the same sculptors of WDCC are doing these Grand Jester Studio busts. I'm so glad my friend Kenneth twisted my arm and sold me my first piece, which is this Sorcerer Mickey piece. The detail is fantastic!

Mickey was sculpted by Rubin Procopio, whose WDCC work includes Sorcerer Mickey, Edna Mode, and Maleficent, to name a few. Below are pictures of the concept art and the finished production piece. I'm certainly adding more Grand Jester Studios busts to my collection, because they compliment my WDCC collection!

Check out Rubin Procopio's Masked Avenger Studios blog! 

See a list of the WDCC pieces Rubin has sculpted here! 

 

Enesco 

Flashdance?

Okay. I have a bad habit of taking pictures of people and posting them on my Facebook page. I know it's not nice, but I can't help myself. Sharon and I went to Subway to grab a sandwich to bring back to work, when I saw this Flashdance wannabe. I didn't realize until I got back to work and looked at the picture that I got caught in the act this time around. Click on the picture to get a better look at his reaction.

Memo to self: be more careful next time!

Fire in the Hole

Last night, I got up around 12:30 AM to potty, and when I looked out the window only to see fire trucks. I got myself dressed, went downstairs and outside, only to see the entire street filled with all sorts of emergency vehicles! There were at least 20 of them up and down the street. People were standing around everywhere and while I couldn't see any flames, I sure smelled smoke.

In the morning on the way to the bus stop, I could see the front lawn of my condo covered in ash. There were more cars parked in the street than usual, and then I noticed people sleeping in their cars. My bus stop is just outside of this apartment unit, and on the news, we found out this fire burned at least two or three units, and 100 people were evacuated. Below are pictures of the burned out units.

What a Storm!

I was supposed to be up in Duluth, MN for a League of Minnesota Cities conference on June 20th, but they received such a huge rainstorm, there was flooding, road closure, and the city all but shut down. Animals got loose from the zoo and were found all over the city! They received over 9 inches of rain in a matter of hours, and roads were washed away.

It's hard to see, but because so much sediment ran off from the hills, the water, including Lake Superior, turned red!

The next day, we were able to go up and it was as if nothing happened. Fortunately, the conference went on without a hitch and my stay at Canal Park Lodge was fun. I'd recommend staying there!

What Happens When You Don't Take Care of Yourself

I thought I had heartburn for a few days, and it turns out it was much worse. I had acute pancreatitis, and that caused me to win a three-day stay at Fairview Southdale Hospital. They don't know what caused it, but I had a swollen pancreas, an infection, and they think a gall or kidney stone may have passed through the head of the pancreas.

For three days, when I was finally able to eat or drink, it was nothing but liquids. Sounds like it will be a low-fat/low salt diet for at least six weeks.

Losing 30 pounds in a matter of two weeks was great, but not really doing it this way. However, now that it's off, I hope to keep some, if not most, of it off!

Back to My Roots

On this trip to Colorado, I taught two of my nieces how to make won ton soup the way my Mom and Grandmother used to make it. Trouble was, I could not find any Daikon in Colorado Springs! Really! 

So on a trip to my Disney collectible dealer in Lakewood, CO, (The Gift House) Febra and her family told us of a huge Asian super market and Chinese restaurant nearby called Super Star Asian Cuisine and Pacific Ocean International Marketplace. They weren't kidding! I found all sorts of food on which I was raised. And look how huge the Daikon is! It's a root vegetable that is wonderful in soup and loaded with vitamins. Too bad I found this place on the last day of my visit, but we'll be back.

And for those of you who never have had Coco Rico, you must find it. It's like carbonated coconut water.  Brought me back to my youth!

Morning Wood

 Check out this AmericInn in Pequot Lakes, MN. Looks like Paul Bunyan decorated the place. I woke up and saw wood everywhere.