Old made new

The old made new.  Old photos usually have scraps, scratches, and over time marks that have degraded the quality of the original photo.  For better or worse it's now possible to restore this photos to original quality. A nice little app called "retouch" can remove those marks. Here's a good example...

Common sense

Finally... Some common sense,  sound reasoning,  and a slogan / saying that promotes the intended social awareness & response. It all started with the issues of police and black deaths connected with police actions. But rather than developing a slogan / saying that clearly focused on this issue, proponents adopted the saying  "black lives matter". Short sightedness of the proponents, not thinking of possible negative aspects of their slogan, really did not convey the issue at hand.  The intended message was lost and created even more social division. After all... Don't all lives matter? As resentment grew over the slogan "black lives matter", many people perceived the growing resentment and social division while proponents defended their position. A righteous movement, expressed in a manner that has created more negative social issues, rather than drawing attention to police / black deaths. Finally... Some common sense...

Reflections

Reflections of my life. Most of us have a special place in our lives and in our hearts for pets that were elevated to the status of "family" because they were such a special parts of our lives.  Always happy to see you,  always there when you needed a friend, a hug, and a friendly face. Always willing to be playful or simply quiet companion. They gave unconditional love and companionship. Hours, days, months and years of faithful friendship. They will always be in my memory as one of the absolutely best parts of my life. They provided overwhelming joy a happiness, and when gone, they left a whole in my heart that can never be healed. They say time heals all... but some losses will never ever be healed. It hurts less with each passing year, but still the happy memories and their loss leave my heart heavy with despair. So much so that I could not say there words without getting emotionally choked up, and left with the inability to speak at all. Always in my heart, alive in my memories, years later, their loss is still filled with heavy emotions making it hard to even breathe.
My cinnamon chow  "Bear".
My black chow  "Nikki".
My black lab  "Shadow".
Wonderful memories. Boy.. do I need a huge hug right now.

Africa bound

Africa bound... the last trip to the African savannah...

Live better

Good advise to live happier.

Fading away...

Sooner or later... any memory of us will fade away. The grandmother I never met. My father's mother that passed away when I was less than 4 years old... perhaps a bit earlier. I lost three grandparents before I was born of shortly thereafter... Having no memory of them at all. Only one,  my mother's father lived for me to know him... And even that was very superficial. Looking through since old photos, the one on the left from 1901. Wow... 118 has ago... Almost too much to imagine. What were their lives like? What did they enjoy? What kind of people were they? Their personalities? Their loves & passion and interests. What did they do?  How did they live?  Their lives story! Questions that will never be answered. In this case, Emma was lost to history before I even knew her. For most of us,  usually any one beyond grandparents are totally lost to history except for perhaps a record of their name. And so shall it be with everyone now. Beyond our grand children,  we too will be lost to history. At best a faded fragmented memory of small bits and pieces of our life. And while historical records may provide census information, we will have faded away into history too. An old photo that would bring up more questions than answers. Such is life. Ashes to ashes... dust to dust... and as we pass the great grandparents station in life... Completely forgotten... Almost like we never lived. At best, a name on an old photograph. All these lives that mattered... sooner or later... gone... as if we never existed. But what will it really matter anyway... For we will be long gone.   Just something to reflect on... early in the morning...alone with my thoughts.

Songs

Songs that are stuck in my head...
No matter what... Thank goodness it's not  "is a small world".

Simply magnificent

Simply magnificent...

Room at the Inn

Room at the Inn... At last count, Disney has upwards of 30,000 rooms at Disney world.  Pricing runs from the economy resorts like Pop Century and All Stars to moderate, premium,  and luxury resorts. For the most part your room is pretty much a place to sleep... You are gonna be on the go, out and about most of the time.  It all depends ic you want the "Magic" to end at your room or be the last thing your see before falling asleep,  and the first thing you see in the morning.  Economy rooms can be had for as little as $108 during slow demand times. Economy is exactly what it indicates... It's a place to sleep... pixie dust didn't make a visit here.
Spend more... Get more... More magic that is. The $300 - $500 per night comes with all the "Magic" you'd hope to get at Disney. Even the moderate price resorts get some pixie dust... The premium resorts get the most pixie dust with plenty of non stop magic. Here's some pics of what to expect.  I'd have to say... If you can afford to stay at the better Disney resorts, the price of non stop magic is worth the price.  You spent good money to get to Disney... tickets, food, merchandise, spending money... nicer rooms may be worth the investment for total enjoyment. 

Like it !

I like it... no wonder I liked it... go figure... $150.

Morning

Morning on the battlefield.
The Battle of Cedar Mountain,  Culpeper County,  Virginia.
Quiet, peaceful, and solomon remembrance.

Flower& Garden

The Flower and Garden show.
Our favorite event at Disney.

Mixed thoughts

Mixed thoughts and feelings. Disney is the greatest entertainment venue in the world. Both in quantity and quality , the entertainment ability of Disney goes unmatched. Disneys ability to totally immerse guests in a completely themed environment of fantasy... well, no one does it better or more completely.
Disney is currency on a building program of unprecedented levels of expansion.
Having said this, the ultimate entertainment venue which is in high demand, willingly yields to the rules of supply and demand. The more the demand,  the greater the prices resulting from that demand. Seeing what has happened over the last 10-15 years with price increases, premium surcharges, and the selling of privileges and benefits, it certainly seems that Disney has taken the fullest advantage of supply and demand pricing... not missing any opportunity to charge anything they want, even for services & benefits that were once included with general admission. Additionally, Disney has excelled in creating premium services,  benefits, and privileges that are available to those with the ability to pay extra over and above general admission. Supply and demand... The greater the demand, the greater the prices.
The ultimate in entertainment comes with the ultimate price. Disney Magic!
Nobody does it better... And all magic comes with a price.
The only thing left up to debate is the how you view and justify the prices verses demand... And the insane profits resulting from Disney pricing practices. Of course, no one is holding a gun to your head,  forcing anyone to go to Disney... It's a choice.
So glad we were able to enjoy Disney before all the price increases and the selling of privileges & benefits. We got to enjoy Disney for several months each year from 2004 - 2011. Our future as to visiting Disney... Extremely limited and perhaps non existent.
You either have the ability to pay for Disney not being affected by the increased prices... Still go to Disney under the burden to higher prices... or will never get to enjoy Disney due to the exuberant pricing. Kinda sad for the vast majority of people.

But this is just one view point,  being shared by more and more people. 

Green

The wearing of the green....

Happy St. Patty's Day...

3 days

3 days until spring... the cravings are in full swing...

Childhood favorites

Missing some childhood favorites...

Happy St. Patty's Day

Hope y'all have a great St Patty's Day...

Flashback

Flashback to 2008... and disney prices. We spent a lot of time at disney during what I'd call the sweet spot in time. We were there 4-6 months a year from 2004 - 2011. Not only were prices much better then, but the entire fast pass system was on a level playing field. in other words, everyone had the same opportunity to obtain fast passes for rides and attractions. There were no selling / purchasing of passes, no special benefit to resort guests, no dinner/passes combo packages. This was kinda nice, everyone had the same opportunity /benefits. Money didn't buy special privileges. But the biggest advantages were the prices. Annual park passes were $399, no black out dates, and included parking. 10 day passes into the parks were $237... yes for ten days admissions... $24 per day! Yep... times have certainly changed. Not only have prices gone up dramatically, but now there are premium peak prices. Just saw that a one day pass during christmas is $159 per person. So here's a photo of the 2008 prices.
Verses today's prices...
A mere ten years ago,  I could buy a 10 day (1 park/day) pass, to be used anytime (even what is now called peak holiday times) for $237. The same pass now, to be used during peak holiday times would cost over $643.

Disney seeks to control the over crowding of the parks during peak times to ensure that all guests can have a more enjoyable experience.  The plan to do this is through pricing... peak and holiday seasons and pricing will be at premium prices to encourage guests to visit the parks at less popular and less expensive seasons.
Holiday pricing at $159/day verses low attendance times at $109/day.  It's easy to see that there will be some people that will,  through financial necessity, make inconvenient plans to visit Disney at low attendance times.  The greatest majority will simply bare the price increases during premium peak & holiday seasons, thus increasing Disney windfall profits. Of course,  this is only one way of looking at the price increases and premium season/holiday prices.

Draw your own conclusion ...