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Frisbee had been ill for almost a year, not that anyone seemed to have told him. We thought we’d lose him in early 2011, but with treatment he perked up and was right back to his old tribble-purred self. And then, right smack dab in the middle of the holidays just passed, his health took a major nose-dive. But, being Frisbee, he held on a while longer, and quite enjoyed sitting under our first Christmas tree.

We didn’t even get Frisbee until a few years ago when his people had to move away. I didn’t complain. I’d known him for years, and he was more than welcome. He was originally supposed to join them when everything got settled, but I was selfishly pleased to keep him. He enjoyed play fighting with Sam, our tabby. He kept my MIL company during the day. He had the most amazing silent meow that he would occasionally use if extreme cuteness was required. The most laid back and mellow cat I’ve ever met was our Fris. I mean…he let small children use him as a pillow and had none of the traditional vacuum fear. Mind you, woe betide anyone who didn’t wake up when he wanted them to. He’d go from batting your face to licking your eye to just curling up on your head, depending upon the situation.

I’ll miss his habit of curling up on anyone lying down long enough. My iPad isn’t quite as much fun, now that he isn’t constantly trying to sit on it. My kitchen is empty in the morning when he’d normally be begging for treats. I even miss the “claws-in-my-thigh-pay-attention-to-me” thing.

We miss you Mr Frissers, and we hope you’ve found a nice warm vent to sleep next to in Heaven.

And this should be the last of the Holiday Haikus. Emma asked for “bear(s)” so I hope that this works for her. Happy holidays to all and sundry!

Bears Have The Right Idea
Some large predators
hibernate during winter
to avoid the mall

Here’s the next holiday haiku. This one is for my friend JM who asked for “Snow.” I hope that this works for her. (I took the photo below when I was on my way through Yosemite to get out the other side.)

Snow
Delicate crystals
used for skiing and snowmen
Oh. And snowballs. Duck!

So, here are a couple of fun pics that are vaguely related. You see, in the Magic Kingdom, they have a ride/game called Astro Blasters, that features Buzz Lightyear. This is our best score. Also, I think we look pretty Badass. (Please note that my hubby actually ranked.)

In Disney’s California Adventure, there is a ride/game called Midway Mania, which features all of the folks from Toy Story. (I would like to point out here that I totally beat my hubby at that one, on our one time through, by 200 points.) While we were in line, we ran across this sign:

It…doesn’t translate well from American English to British English, does it? *gigglesnort*

While we were wandering about at the (rather under construction) Disney’s California Adventure, we ran across something that caused a bit of a…geek moment. (Caution, this post is very full of photos.)

Yes. That is Flynn’s Arcade. As you might imagine, this caused some smartphone research as we stood behind the barricade and stared. And what did we discover? Well, something called ElecTRONica.

Of course we had to go back at night to encounter this.
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Far too early on Saturday morning, I got up and drove for a relatively traffic-free hour (instead of the feared two hours of gridlock) to arrive for the original reason I made the trip down south. The wedding of my beloved Evil Twin.

(Don’t they look nice from the back? My Evil Twin is wearing the same tux as the 11th Doctor favors. Obviously he is a man of taste and refinement.)

After the wedding, we reversed course…then decided to test my vertigo thing by going on the huge Ferris Wheel.

I am frankly amazed that I didn’t drop my phone while trying to take this photo. For the record, the first time I went on this ride (on my honeymoon, no less), I (stupidly) tried one of the swinging gondolas. Yeah. I’m surprised that my husband didn’t lose his sense of hearing then and there. *shiver*

Sadly, I’ve got to keep this short, since I want to post while it’s still today, so, for your hint for tomorrow – Have you seen either of the TRON movies?

(Okay, it’s actually only one podcast, but it sounded better in the plural. You know how it is, yeah?)
I believe that I mentioned that a podcast asked to use one of my poems? Well, it’s been posted, and here it is: The Jackass-Penguin Show’s Jazzy Selection (episode 7) (warning: it starts playing on load). If you like modern Jazz, you might think about subscribing.

And now back to my holiday snaps. When last we we saw our intrepid travelers, they had arrived at their destination, and were off having fun.

I got to have Dole Whip THREE TIMES during this trip. And this is what it looked like standing in line for my favorite yummy thing the night we arrived. (For those of you who are curious why I love Dole Whip so much 1)I love pineapple juice 2) I love soft-serve 3) Dairy products (especially ice cream) do not love me. The sadness! *dramatic gesture* Now while this may be great for my waistline, it’s not so good for the happiness of me. Therefore: Dole Whip, complete with no dairy! Cue the choir of angels!)

What can I say about the new Star Tours that isn’t too spoilery? Um…Okay, how about this: It’s in 3D, and each of the three times I went on the ride…it was different! Give it a try if you can.

And here is the view of the Matterhorn, with its eerie glowing heart, taken from the Monorail platform. Do they still have climbers on it at any point these days? I didn’t see any while I was there, but that may have had something to do with the time of year. I did actually go on the ride at one point in the weekend, and it jerked me all around just as I remembered. Ow.

Tomorrow: The other reason I was in SoCal – My evil Twin’s Wedding!

(We continue our story already in progress…)

After missing breakfast, we headed off into the cow-scented air to get some…breakfast.

The cloud-shapes were really interesting to watch as we traveled. As you can see, I attempted to get a photograph of them as documentary evidence.

Eventually, we stopped before the Grapevine (Lebec?) at the Iron Skillet. For the record, I’m pretty sure that our waitress was actually an elf, not that this had an effect on her waitressing in any way. She even had the tops of her ears covered with her hair. Truefax, my friends.

As we were on our way out, I spent some time window-shopping, while I waited for my hubby to buy a few things. (Are you in the market for candy cigarettes? The Iron Skillet has some…) Well, what do you think I saw in the window of the wee shop right there next to the Iron Skillet?

…A pop culture reference! Amusingly enough, they were displaying a nerf-type gun right under this. Less likely to shoot your eye out, I suppose.

We headed off again, and arrived at our destination at about 2pm. Conveniently, our room was already good to go. We dropped our stuff in the room, but did we take a moment to rest?

Nope.

(Part of the themeing for Haunted Mansion Holiday. My cameras aren’t too fond of the dark it turns out, but this came out okay.)
I will just note here that Pirates of the Caribbean was closed the entire time we were there, and leave you here.

Tomorrow: More artsy pictures of our first evening in D-land.

I live right near the trash compactor for my apartment complex.

…As a result, people leave all kinds of things behind my car, that I then have to maneuver around to get out of (or into) my parking space. So, of course, I’ve started taking pictures of this profusion of items to share with you all. Here are the first two:

Seating for four…

…and someplace to put your tea cup.

Party at Chez Behind My Car? (Chez derrière ma voiture?)

And this is the lonely road that we traveled to continue on our way to our next stop.

This is one of the places we passed a bit further on. As you can see by the snow, it’s likely that we couldn’t pass that way even now. It’s fun to know that we managed to squeak by before the rainy/snowy season started.

Also? It was quite cold up there even then. Next time I’m bringing my gloves.

And that’s the end of our Reno trip. We got home at a bit after 11:30p.m. …And went to work the next day. Ugh.