Let’s Play: At the Legoland 1

I have no idea when I became a person who goes to amusement/theme parks. Probably an unexpected side effect of becoming a parent and family cultures. We were not a family that went to theme parks. In fact, the only one I ever visited was the original Legoland in Denmark when I was six years old on a holiday with my parents. Mr’s family usually didn’t have money for a holiday, so their holidays were occasional day trips that included amusement parks*, so when the two merged and the kids learned about the concept of theme parks, we became people who go there.

Since the Easter holidays were badly timed, we decided against a week in nearby France and instead booked a two days trip to the Legoland in Bavaria. The very redeeming feature there is the wonderful Lego creations, which I’ll share with you, together with the anecdotes of the Giliell family at a theme park.

Our first attraction was the Safari, where you sit in little cars that roll on trails through the savannah.

©Giliell, all rights reserved

©Giliell, all rights reserved

©Giliell, all rights reserved
Interestingly, the grey animals come out looking like badly pixelated images from the dawn of computer graphics in the pictures.

©Giliell, all rights reserved
You could get a nice shower there.

©Giliell, all rights reserved

©Giliell, all rights reserved

 

*We do come from families that are remarkably similar and different at the same time.

Jack’s Walk

You Shall Not Pass. ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I were very near the end of our walk along the riverbank this morning when we discovered the last section of the trail was underwater. Jack didn’t see any problem with that and  just swam across, but I really wasn’t in the mood for a cold soak. The trail itself is a big loop and when you reach the (currently submerged) cement segment you are only one big left turn and a short jaunt away from the car. I almost took off my shoes and socks to go wading, but in the end we just turned around and retraced our steps all the way backwards along the big loop until we finally saw our car.

Full Fish Ahead: Part 5

Spring is the season for babies and Avalus has lots of new little cuties in his tank. Let’s go see.

Part 5 – Babies

 

Hey There! ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Not much going on in the new tank. I cut some of the faster growing plants, next week the platies will go back to the main tank and there will come new fishes (neon tetras (Paracheirodon innesi) and mosquito rasboras (Boraras brigittae)). Both are tiny colourful fishes, the neons are blue with a bit of red and the rasboras purple with a copper or golden tint.

But on to the titular babies. [Read more…]

The Art of Book Design: Spectropia (1865)

Spectropia or Surprising Spectral Illusions Showing Ghosts Everywhere and of Any Colour. London, Griffith and Farran, 1865

This is the follow-up book to the Spectropia (1864) that I put up last Friday. This week I thought I’d share a bit of what’s between the covers including the directions. I’m afraid it’s all just a parlour trick meant to debunk the notion that ghosts exist. You can click for full size. [Read more…]

YouTube Video: Did people have bad teeth in medieval times?

Through the magic of recommendations, I have discovered another interesting youtube channel about medievalism. I have watched this one video so far though, because reasons. But I intend to watch more when the opportunity arises.

I have often wondered how dental hygiene was done in medieval times. It is not a topic that is routinely taught at schools, not even good ones.

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

©voyager, all rights reserved

Yesterday I forgot to attach 2 photos so here they are today, a bright yellow daffodil and a deep pink hyacinth. Jack and I have been walking around our neighbourhood this week because of the flowers. Wild flowers in the woods are a few days away from blooming, but the bulb flowers of spring are opening up all around us. So far, daffodils, hyacinth and a few crocuses are showing off, but I’m most anxious to see the tulips, especially in our local park. Every year our city changes the colour scheme and it’s always a surprise until the flowers are open. The tulips are up and in bud, but they’re taking their own sweet time to bloom. I’ve got my eye on them, though, so I’m hoping to get photos when they’re at their peak. In the meantime, Jack has started his seasonal allergy tablets so he can tolerate walking on grass without picking his feet until they bleed. He likes to walk around the blocks close to home occasionally so he can pick up his p-mail and leave his replies. It’s very important dog business.

Spawn 2.0

Yesterday we saw a sac of frog eggs that Avalus had found in his botanical garden. Today he’s sent us another amphibian egg sac that he found in the same botanical garden. It’s not as far along as the previous sac from which tadpoles were hatching, but here the babies are all shaped like little, adorable commas.

Laich, ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Speaking of babies, make sure to check in tomorrow for the next installment of Full Fish Ahead. Avalus has lots of babies to show us and they couldn’t be any cuter.

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

I’m still recovering from my long day of waiting for my dear hubby to wake up from dental surgery, but today is bright and warm and the sunshine is doing wonders for my mood. Jack and I had a slow, pleasant walk around our own neighbourhood today and the flowers are starting to open and all the colours are finally coming back. My neighbourhood is also positively busy with life. I’ve seen butterflies and ladybugs, gnats and ants. The birds are busy building nests, finding food and singing their songs. The squirrels are digging, jumping, running and twitching their tails. Soon they will be harder to spot as the trees get fuzzier and leaf day approaches. Now is when the magic of spring becomes visible and my senses can take a long drink of the sweet outdoors. These are the flowers that are  blooming today and the hyacinth is scenting the air with a sweet bouquet. It’s grand.