I’m back from two weeks out west visiting my mom and taking a side trip to Disneyland in California.

I can sum this trip up in one word … HOT.

They were experiencing above normal temps for the entire two weeks we were there.  The high was 99° or higher until our final day at my mom’s.  The hottest day was 106°.  Anaheim (a.k.a. Disneyland) temps were also well above normal in the upper 80’s to mid-90’s while we were there.  We were not expecting this kind of heat in October!

There were three distinct segments to this vacation.  For the first three days my sister, niece and I were at my mom’s.  These were the hottest three days, including that 106° day.  And for some crazy reason, we chose to head to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area for a picnic lunch one of those days.

Normally we would have done some hiking, but obviously it was too hot for that.  So we enjoyed the scenic drive and made a very quick pitstop at a sheltered picnic area to eat our sandwiches.  We certainly had a lovely view while we ate, but we definitely didn’t linger.

The rest of those days were spent in the pool at my mom’s townhouse complex.

Usually when I visit my mom I head over to her local Goodwill which is only a block away from her place.  This trip was no exception, however the only thing I purchased there were the pool noodles you see floating in the photo above.

You know, 106° isn’t so bad when you’re floating in the pool with a Lemon Drop martini.

My niece, sister and I headed off to Disneyland next.  I didn’t take many photos there, but I will share a couple that I took on one of my favorite attractions, the Storybook Land Canal Boats.

This particular attraction is one that they have in Disneyland (California), but not in Disney World (Florida).  So when I’m in Disneyland I make it a priority.

It’s also one of the original Disneyland attractions from 1955.  According to Wikipedia, Walt Disney was inspired to create this ride by a visit to Madurodam in the Netherlands.

Some of you may remember that I visited Madurodam last year, and I loved it!

The Disneyland attraction is a boat ride through Storybook Land with scenes from popular Disney movies like Pinocchio, Snow White and Alice in Wonderland in miniature along the banks of the canal.

You know I love miniatures of any kind, so obviously this is right up my alley.

I try to get a good look at the landscaping to get ideas for my own fairy garden.  It includes lots of miniature bonsai sort of trees that are kept small through pruning.

I definitely need to up my pruning game next year!

We had a great time in Disneyland just goofing off and having fun.

And enjoying a lemon and blue raspberry frozen concoction that turned our tongues green!

My niece had to return home to go back to work after Disneyland, but my sister (far right above) and I (middle) went back to our mom’s house for another week.

Unfortunately, mom’s townhome association doesn’t feel it’s worthwhile to keep the pool open for “the winter”, so the pool was closed at that point despite daytimes highs that were still over 100°.  Go figure.

We had to find other ways to keep ourselves occupied for this third segment of our vacation, so I opted to paint my mom’s headboard.

Now, I have to say, this is a case where the acorn did indeed fall really far from the tree.  My mom and I have very different taste when it comes to decorating.

You know how there those bloggers out there who say things like “I grew up visiting thrift shops with my mom”, or “my mom took me to flea markets as a kid”, well … that’s not me.  My mom prefers matched sets of furniture purchased new.  So I was a little surprised that she wanted me to paint her headboard.

She wanted ‘green’, but not dark green, and not mint green, and not lime green.  So I ended up choosing one of Dixie Belle’s Cottage Collection colors called Weeping Willow.

I didn’t want to get in trouble with the TSA people, so I had ordered a brand new unopened 16 oz. paint and a small 4 oz clear wax to pack in my suitcase.

Now remember, my mom’s taste is quite unlike my own.  Keeping that in mind, here is her headboard.

This is actually one half of the headboard that went with the king-sized bed she had when she lived in a much larger house.  She downsized everything when she turned 80, including her bed.  She still uses the matching dresser and nightstand, but she didn’t want those painted.

After cleaning the headboard, I applied two coats of the Weeping Willow.  As you can imagine, paint dries really quickly when it’s 85° (in the early morning) with about 10% humidity, so it was quick work to paint it.  However, I had to wait until the following morning to apply a coat of clear wax because the day was already heating up by the time I finished painting.  Dixie Belle recommends applying their wax when the temp is no higher than 85°.

Mom was very happy with how it turned out.

In addition to painting the headboard, my sister and I also visited the Clark County Museum, which is less than a mile away from my mom’s place.  I’m going to save that story for another post, so be sure to stay tuned for that one.

It was a bit disorienting to come back home to 50° and blustery!  Although this is typical October weather for us.  The low tonight is supposed to be below freezing, so it’s time to move my painting projects indoors, and start buttoning up the garden for winter.  I’ve got some fun mini projects to share later this week, and it’s also time to get cracking on some holiday items.  So be sure to stay tuned!