How Zonta International Convention will be hotter than Jennifer Lawrence!

Right now, here in Canberra, it's freezing.

Dead of winter.

Frosts everyday.

Polar fleece, gloves, blankies, central heating. I'm a wuss. A cold wuss.

Crap! Look at next weekend! -5 c (23F) to only 6 C (43F) And it's described as "COOL" - WTF?

Whilst this time of year in Orlando, it's a tropical heatwave!

Mr Ice Cream Man! You've come back to me!

How do you deal with the summer weather?

Here's a couple of my suggestions you could try:

Pace your Day
Get up early in the morning, go back inside at lunch time, and then come out again for dinner and the evening.  Guess what? Most people on vacation stay up late and SLEEP IN. Beat the heat and the crowds with early morning starts.

It is really hard to do 12 hours out in a theme park, at the pool or kayaking the swamps.  So get up early and do your outdoorsy stuff first up, then retreat - away from the crowds and have a nap or a swim or at least get into the air conditioning. Staying on site at WDW makes this strategy really easy - just hop on the monorail or a bus back to the hotel, when the crowds are really starting to arrive in the middle of the day.

Come out for dinner and then you'll have the evening for a theme park or wandering Downtown Disney in the cool.

The Rain is OK
June is the beginning of the wet season. It's not hurricane season, but you will have those afternoon short storms. Rain isn't going to stop any of the sights so you can keep going.

You'll rarely see an umbrella (they are too difficult to manage). The rain outfit of Orlando is the plastic poncho!  Top of the range are the Disney ponchos - I bought these for $8 in 2006 and they are still in perfect condition. You could go to your local $2 shop - or - yes - there are plenty of people who punch a few holes in those green garbage bags.

At least Mickey has a hood - beats the garbage bag every time.

The problem part about being in the rain is that your feet may get wet. Wet feet in wet shoes is a recipe for blisters. If rain is likely, carry a change of foot ware, put it in a locker when you arrive and then you change into dry shoes when needed. 

Bring your own air conditioning
There are a bunch of options in this category:

• Disney will happily sell you a misting fan - full of icy water and batteries, this baby is will mist you and keep you cool for a whole hour or so - until the water reaches ambient temperature. Then you have to go around and beg the vendors for ice for top ups.

$15 will get you the top of the range tepid water fan cum mister

Then you'll discover that they are too big to fit in the freezer portion of your hotel room bar fridge, too big to shove in a carry bag or even carry easily - esp. when getting on and off rides; and too big to take home in your luggage.  (not bitter at all)

If you must have one of these, go to Walmart and choose a smaller, cheaper version.

• Frogg Toggs Chilly Pads - these hi-tech fabric scarves, bandanas and cloths come in a range of shapes and colours, and are reasonably inexpensive. When wet they become super cooling and are re-usable. Better still - they fit in your luggage!

Similar to chilly pads are these odd cooling vests. I hope you can keep up the ice supply in your little bar fridge freezer!

Use the Available Resources
Take advantage of the trees, shade, ice cream vendors, air conditioned stores and restaurants as much as you can.

• instead of walking down the middle of Main Street USA, walk through the air conditioned stores.
• instead of catching the open air boats, ride the air conditioned monorail and buses
• do the outdoor rides early or late and do the indoor air conditioned shows, movies and rides in the the hot times
• book lunch indoors in an air conditioned venue
• remember your sun screen and hats. Use rated rashies when at the pool.
• go and have your spa or salon treatment in one of the resort hotels
• take advantage of the giant misters in the parks

Ahhh .... cool misty goodness..... I wonder if the water is recycled?

I know everyone has their heat beating tips and hints .... and we'll be wanting to know them all next June!

Zonta International Convention 2014 - 10, 9, 8, ....

Start the countdown clocks!

Only 1 year to go until we meet in Orlando for the 2014 Zonta International Convention.

Free Disney Tickers

I've set up my new countdown ticker and that little sun will slowly march down the line till we come together from all around the world - and prove that it is a small world, after all.

Here is your countdown checklist:

Letting the OCD inside run free

You thought it would be easier than this didn't you?

You have to plan if you want to stay in the hotel you want, eat in the restaurant you want, avoid the queues and crowds. Book each of these items as their window opens and you'll be guaranteed your most fun holiday.

And yes - you have to book your dining reservations 6 months in advance. Unless you want to eat theme park burgers. Although "eat" is the operative word, cause the theme park food is technically inedible. Check out my "Hungry?" list, by clicking the tab above, and you'll see how far out you need to book to secure your table service dinner.

Get planning!

Boardwalk Empire - but without the gangsters .... and the bootlegging ....

..... or the guns.

At first I kinda liked HBO's TV drama, Boardwalk Empire.

I was "OH it's dramatised history and I can pretend I am learning"

and it was all done with marvelous tailoring

But mostly, I kept thinking how close it all looked to Disney's Boardwalk Inn and Villas. Admittedly, both Disney and HBO are copying the 1920's New Jersey shoreline and the famous Boardwalks.

However the Disney copy is done with a lot less violent shootings and concrete boots. And Crescent Lake has the ultimate problem that is it less than 6 feet deep. So any bodies thrown in there just bob up to the surface.

what? too crass?

Crescent Lake at WDW is located between the Epcot and Hollywood Studios parks, and is home to Disney's Beach and Yacht Club Resorts, Starwood's Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Disney's Boardwalk Inn and Villas.

(source: Robo on the disboards)

The Epcot resort area is a fabulous place to stay. 5 deluxe hotels to choose from, walking distance to two parks - AND a miniature golf course! Also this is the epicentre of "adult disney" supplied with bars, restaurants and walking access to the food and wine festival in Epcot.

Long term readers will know that I am planning to be at WDW before ZI Convention begins in late June 2014. And when I get to WDW, I'll be staying at the Boardwalk Villas. Right where I can act out my Mr Creasote tendancies without too much walking.

Carnival lights entrance. (source: tripadvisor)

Given its location in the epicentre of the action, staying at the Boardwalk is a pretty straightforward choice.

The resort comes in two parts: The Inn - with standard hotel rooms:

2 Queen beds + sofa turns into single bed + desk + TV unit + bathroom and closet.

 And the Villas - DVC timeshare apartments in 3 sizes: studio, 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom

Basically the same except sofa bed and a kitchenette

Kitchenette in Villa Studio

As there are 5 of us Zontians in our merry group, we are renting a 2 bedroom villa = one of these studios bolted onto a 1 bedroom villa. This gives us 4 beds in 3 separate sleeping spaces, and 2 bathrooms. Plus the 1 bedroom villa has a lounge room and full kitchen!

Lounge room by day, bedroom by night.

You know ..... for all that home cooking one does when at Disneyworld ..... and you think  "hmmm 479 eating places and ... well .... I'd rather buy the ingredients and cook?!"

Fully equipped - ready for 5 hungry Zontians who do not want to miss ANY dishwashing.

 3 TV's, 2 showers, 2 toilets and we will run a raffle every night for who gets to go in the spa!

It's not Zonta, without a raffle.

spot the hidden mickey

This short video gives you a glimpse of both the 2 bedroom villa and the whole resort

 We little band of Aussies will be at the Boardwalk Villas the week before Convention begins.  Enjoying our libations under the palm trees.

Boardwalk Lounge - G & T's all round.

We are hopefully taking advantage of renting DVC points to attain a substantial discount for the room.

I will probably be wearing t-shirt and shorts rather than a spiffy 3 piece tailored suit, but I can still wander around acting like I own the joint - at least for a week.


 And what about you? Will you be visiting, or even staying, at Walt Disney World?

Resort photos are WDW official company shots

Ray of Light

Here in Canberra, I work directly across the road from the National Gallery of Australia. I get to keep up with all the latest blockbuster international art exhibitions that come to Australia. Right now we are enjoying a Turner exhibition from Britain's Tate Gallery.

Turner, Derwentwater, 1797 - 1801

Basically, Turner is famous for his interpretation of light, and his mastery of technique which reflects emotion through the use of light in the painting.

Throughout the centuries, artists have been playing with light using different media. And so it is time for us to return to Louis Comfort Tiffany and his use of light through glass.

Daffodils window 1916 at the Morse Museum

Every December the community of Winter Park hold a HUGE Christmas in the Park celebration. The street is closed to traffic, local stores and restaurants set up stalls. 

The chinky clinky pavers were all mine onto which I could scamper!

In the actual park at Winter Park, there is a Christmas concert. The students and artists from the Rollins College of Liberal Arts come with the Bach Festival Society, and the Brass Ensemble and play Bach Christmas music and other classics.

It was jammed packed with thousands of people - all with their folding chairs, their bubbly and little nibbly things

Scattered throughout the park, the Morse Museum displayed huge Tiffany window panels in free standing light boxes. These things were easily the size of a large door. These pieces only ever came out for this park celebration. They were kept in the archives and not on display in the museum.

Several were religious themes: such as this panel depicting the Genesis story of Hagar, as Hagar and Ishmael are banished into the desert and the angel of the Lord brings forth a fresh water spring.

Most though were simple beautiful floral based themes.

There are 11 of these panels, all of which are dedicated, one each, to the members of a select group of women. This group of wealthy New York ladies founded the Association for the Relief of Respectable, Aged Indigent Women in 1814.

The Association operated housing for genteel women, who had found themselves homeless, say through inheritances passing to male lines of the family or losing their husbands in the Revolution or the War of 1812.

Operating about 100 years before Zonta, these ladies were at least opening the door on 'women as philanthropists' and supporting fellow women in need. 

The ladies included Olivia Slocum Sage, who married to a robber baron and childless, inherited over $70 million in 1906 when Mr Sage died. Olivia donated $250,000 for the construction of a new wing and chapel at the residence. It was this chapel where these 11 panels were housed.

The clematis climbs the trellis, toward a white dove - the Christian symbol for the Holy Spirit.

Other members of the Association included Katherine Hinman Hamlin, who was wealthy enough to have had an obituary in The New York Times; and Ruth Seely Dunning, who was married to a prominent New York attorney. These ladies clearly had resources at their disposal. Though the background of most is unknown.

And the choir sang on

In 1974, the Chapel was threatened with demolition. The Association Board approached Hugh and Jeanette McKean, the founder of the Morse Museum in 1942 (it named after Jeanette's father, Charles Hosmer Morse) and offered the panels for safe keeping.

Julia Henop Memorial

Today, there is no Zonta in Winter Park. The closest thing is The Women's Club of Winter Park.  These ladies commenced in 1915, at the home of Jeannette McHugh's mother - Helen Morse. (It's a small world in Winter Park). Somewhat like a Zonta Club, they focus on local community service, student scholarships and a range of social activities, such as art, music, travel, and drama. Those ladies set up the Christmas tree for the concert.

The decorations were hand-drawn by local school kiddies.

This post reminds me of our Zonta emblem: the 'Z' like character in the emblem is the Sioux symbol for "ray of light", "sunshine", "flash of radiance" or "inspiration". The symbol alludes to each and all members of Zonta being radiant with Zonta's values and an inspiration to others.

You  might not be able to afford an honorary Tiffany glass window panel, but you can proudly display your own light through your actions.

BONUS SHOT:

At the end of evening, walking back to the car, I came across this:

Your USA Southern style kindie: mini southern mansion with mini portico and columns and all your little mini-me kiddies. of course ......

Remember: my offer still stands - I have arranged a free guided tour of the Morse Museum for Zontians who wish to join me in Orlando at Convention time. Details will come - eventually.

Disney dining discounts deliver delight when deliberating the dollar's deepening dive.

"All right, don't practice your alliteration on me"

Maybe I have managed to pique your interest, just slightly, in the wonders of WDW. 

Perhaps even gotten you interested in going over for a meal or two?

It may be that in doing your own WDW research, you have noticed there are rather a lot of dining options and rather a lot of food.

Given the Aussie Dollar is now starting to slide away from the USD, I'm looking for any discount I can get so I can still eat like a king - rather than stand in a car park sucking an ice cube. 

FREE FOOD?! I'm sooooo there.

We have already explored that WDW is HUGE! 

Look at it! The huge lump! Just like my arse. Which is kinda congruent really. Cause dining at WDW is how my arse got to its "huge lump" state.         OK.........ONE of the causes.

What Disney want, is for you to stay on property and never leave. And spend all your money there.

One way in which they lock you in is to sell you a dining plan attached to your Disney resort accommodation booking.  These dining plans come in different sizes for different budgets and different desires. The Disney Food Blog does a very good job of explaining how the plan works.

So if you are going to join Mrs. Banks and our other Zonta friends who are having a little WDW holiday in the week before International Convention, you may want to work out if the Dining Plan is a sensible option for you.

To work this out is very easy - or really really hard -you just need to, for every meal:

• work out where you want to eat
• what you want to eat,
• the price of all that food compared to the chosen dining plan price.

Excel is my 2nd best friend

The WDW Dining and All ears.net are the go-to websites to check out the menus and prices.  At the DISboard Dining Reviews everyone is food critic! with photos!

Every single menu from every single dining option - AllEars - I luvs you

I have done the Deluxe Dining Plan a couple of times, and it was fabulous to eat amazing, top class, table service meals every night of the trip, at a decent discount and ...... well .... we're back to the size of my arse again, aren't we? But it is A LOT of food - maybe too much.


Another option is to get an Annual Pass or get a friend with an Annual Pass - like me. I have an Annual Pass! With an Annual Pass, for $100 I can purchase a 'Tables in Wonderland' membership and eat almost everywhere with a 20% discount on food and beverages. And I take 9 friends with me and the whole meal scores the discount.

My precious

Read those restaurant menus and decide where you would like to dine. Then whip out your excel spreadsheet and start doing your sums. The best option will be different depending on your family size and your hunger levels.

If you are an obsessive-compulsive planner, this is HEAVEN!

If you are not, then just tag along to my restaurant bookings.

So rabid, hungry readers, what is your favourite dining cuisine?

When Mrs. Banks met Lady Gaga

My Zonta friend Narelle sent me this yesterday.

Before you go "ha ha! someone made an olde worlde version of Lady Gaga", discover exactly what this parady is about by having a look at this ....

Mrs. Banks had more friends than just Mrs. Pankhurst! She also knew Alice Paul!

BTW: Check out the Alice Paul Institute and see all the qualifications the lady achieved. See how Alice spent her spare time when she wasn't in the slammer or the mental asylum on a hunger strike and being force fed. Alice is one gutsy dame who was part of changing the world!

Unlike Mrs. Pankhurst, Alice pursued peaceful and silent, but persistent, protest. You can check out her story if you track down this 2004 movie: Iron Jawed Angels

I have to admit, this poster is missing all the fabulous tailoring for which Mrs. Banks was also famous

How about you, gentle reader, are you upholding and honouring the path these ladies cleared for you?

A brighter, cleaner, Prime Time World at 50's Prime Time Cafe

Ahhh.... life in the 1950's. Everything was all floral dresses and 60 watt light globes over the sandwich making pull out lap board.

This is the Australia of ye olde worlde - before Miele, Thermomix and Highlander stoves.

Frankly, I'm glad its gone. I wonder what our grandchildren will think of our ceiling mounted rangehoods and built in micro steamers? Anyone who knows me will tell you I have a dishwasher fetish. Oh .... how my heart sings with joy about the time and energy saving little box splashing away in the corner.

But when you look at life in 1950s Australia, well .... you'd wish the 1950s were gone too. I mean how drab. How mundane. Betty and her mother live in a "handy kitchen" where the saucepans are conveniently located. WOW!

(oh and there's a piece of classic Aussie culture! go back and listen to the first minute. Everything good she says, she tempers: "it's shiny and new - now - the scratches will come". The sink is too low for her friend. New cooker!! well - the electricity is on so she "might as well use it". Crikey! I am sorry you have to go through the whole new kitchen bother. "Oh look we've won the lottery! I suppose I'm going to have trail down to the bank and open new accounts and go on some kind of luxury cruise now - sigh)

Yes she has baby poop olive green coloured cabinets, and a place for the salt. But where is the trailing plastic ivy and wax fruit baskets?? I demand textured wall paper and a solar system inspired wall clock!!

I demand a world where the table corner is trimmed to match the sink!

Fortunately there is a place in this modern world that understands the desire to visit that mythical version of the 1950s. A place that reaches back in time to those innocent days of Yore (can there be such a thing?). A place that transports one back to the magic that was Sunday night dinner at your Aunty's house.

"Kids!! It's time for dinner!! and set the table

It's the 50's Prime Time Cafe - where the Dick Van Dyke Show and Leave it to Beaver are FOREVER on TV.

The 50's PT Cafe harkens back to that imaginery time when laminex ruled and plasticky nickynacks are jammed onto every flat surface. The whole cafe is a series of "kitchenettes" where you come in for your home cooked meatloaf.

So my friend, Clare, and I came in when called, washed our hands, set the places, kept our elbows off the table and had a look at the menu.

(source: disneyfoodblog.com click to embiggen)

For first course, how could I go past deep fried cheese?

Herb and garlic cheese with warm raspberry sauce, crutons, apple and grapes

I think the last time I had a deep fried cheese was in the infamous Double Bay Steakhouse (geez - remember that?! in 1989). All of that fruit was needed to cut through the cheesy creamy smoothness, but for me, this was easy. A great dish - deserving of a spot right through to 1989.

My friend Clare needs a celiac diet and accommodating her requirements was too easy. First up she selected a gluten free item: the Wedge Salad

Iceberg, blue cheese dressing, bacon and chives

Wedging anything has several different connotations in Australia and so it is not something Aussies do to our lettuces. However Clare was very happy and this is a simple dish - you can easily imagine the taste.

Next up for main course:

The chef made a special gluten free version of the chicken pot pie. Neat! Apparently the filling was already gluten free - thickened purely with vegetables, milk and slow cooking. Instead of a pastry lid, they provided a rather sad piece of gluten free toasted bread.

This bowl was FULL of chicken. No skimping on the protein here. and carrots. Carrots must have been cheap at the markets that morning

(note: Orlando is a place feeding 55 million+ tourists every year. If you have dietary requirements they are easily accommodated. I have seen the most astonishingly limited people adequately catered for)

Once Clare and I had finished bitching about the travesty that is gluten free supposed "bread" (do not try this stuff); our attention turned to my main: The Sampler Plate.

Fried chicken, pot roast and meatloaf with all the "fixin's" : name potato mash with gravy, steamed veges and tomato sauce.

Each item in the sampler is available as a dish in its own right. The meatloaf was actually very good and the tangy sauce was a perfect match. As a lover of the deep fry, that chicken was great at first. I suppose the deep fried batter was great! But the actual chicken was a bit bland, and a bit dry. Still, that is why gravy exists. The pot roast was very moist and unexpectedly good - however the whole dish was HUGE and I got into trouble for not eating all my vegetables.

After all, you can't have dessert if you don't eat your vegetables. One of the kids at the next table scored his uneaten vegetables, buried under a pile of whipped cream with a cherry on top AS his dessert. Mom's tough love here.

However, instead of dessert, we ordered specialty drinks:

Clare enjoyed a "lemonade with wildberry foam" (foaming things was VERY in) and I had my favourite root beer float.

Who needs green beans with cream when you can have root beer? Oh and check out the boomerang patterned table top.

By this stage I was giving this meal 3 Mr Creasotes. I was STUFFED - imagine if we had done dessert? eek!

and I am going to give 2 spoonfuls of sugar - however - one of the spoonfuls is alloted because the restuarant is sweet!

Everyone stays in role, the restaurant is committed to the theme and completed fitted out to suit the era. Even the cute little TV's on every kitchen counter are showing old 1950's family TV shows. Your Aunts and Uncles treat you like family (and you'd better know what colour is the soap in the bathroom) and if you misbehave? Well - it's standing nose to the wall or perhaps a rendition of "I'm a little teapot" as penance.

Frankly, dessert was not worth it. A brownie with vanilla ice cream, cheesecake, apple crumble/crisp - it was if the 1950's had not yet discovered the joy of baking. Nigella's influence is yet to come.

But 50's Primetime Cafe - I'll be back. Like every family, eventually you have to have the get together and catch up on old times.

Arrgghh - they stole the solar system clock!

So dear reader, do you have a favourite childhood meal?