January 7, 2014
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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's super lantern
There are many things I enjoy about being a grandparent, one of them is being able to watch Fairy Tales without someone thinking I'm just weird
( although I have been known to be a bit weird).
One of my favorites right now is :
Tangled
Rated: PG
Release Date: November 24, 2010
"When the kingdom's most wanted, and most charming, bandit Flynn Rider hides in a mysterious tower, the last thing he expects to find is Rapunzel, a spirited teen with an unlikely superpower: 70 feet of magical golden hair! Together, the unlikely duo sets off on a fantastic journey filled with surprising heroes, laughter and suspense."
Rapunzel, locked in a tower after being kidnapped by an evil old woman who wants to be forever young, watches these paper lanterns floating in the air every year...and is awed by the sight.
I remarked to my girls that I was in awe of the lanterns myself, wouldn't it be grand to float mini hot air balloons in the air, but I seriously didn't think they would work in real life. Well guess what I got for Christmas....yup...a whole box of them.
the very funny instructions say to have one person hold up the lantern, which is made of tissue paper glued to a very light weight metal frame, and have one person light a wax covered block that is attached to the metal frame under the lantern, the fire heats up the air in the lantern and soon it is air born. We lit this one Christmas Night, making a wish we watched in amazement as it floated up and up and up until the fire burned out and it floated back to earth as free as you please. Just like in the movie...it was just awesome!!!
Anyway...my plan was to send some up as the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve...only all the kids had already gone home and Barry fell asleep on the sofa about 10:30. I figured no problem and lit a big candle and sat that on a stand in the back yard and held the precious lantern above it and caught the wax block on fire....so far so good...the lantern filled with hot air and floated about 15 feet in the air and then the wax block fell off the metal frame and down to the frozen earth it fell, followed gracefully by the lantern...hummmm.....so I snuffed out the still burning wax and attached another fuel source to the lantern and lit that, but I guess I bent the metal frame somehow and the tissue paper caught fire and burned slap up.
I was going to get another lantern and start over but paranoia struck and I started thinking...Here I am out in the cold with guns shooting off everywhere and what if the lantern loses it's fire over someones house and the house catches on fire...or over the farmers hey stack...or... well you get the picture....
so I went back in the house and drank some very fine wine that our daughter and new son in law had graciously left. It was a very nice New Year....and I'll wait until I have another person to blame, I mean help, light the lanterns next time.
It's cold here....colder than it's been in more than 30 years.
speaking of grandchildren
our great grandson Braylon is doing great....
He looks like his dad and our grandson,
Reece
who left on the 29th for Boot Camp at Fort Benning.
( that's his sister and our grand daughter Mara with him)
Life Is Good - It's all Good!
ilym
Comments (9)
I see the resemblance between the two guys, Marsha. The cold is not supposed to be lasting very long down there, so hopefully no one gets sick or hurt, in the meantime.
Life is good...and resilient.
I love the lanterns too! I hope you get to float a few more! I would suspect that sending them off above water would be the safest route. Congrats on the new addition (he dose look like his dad!)
I'm so glad to hear Braylon is doing well! He is so handsome!
I love the kid's movies, too! Especially the fairy tales!
Those lanterns are soooooooooooooo cool! I've seen them go up before! I love the idea of sending them up with wishes, saying prayers, etc. I hope you get to send some more up soon! And I hope you have someone to blame...er...help you and enjoy it with you!
Stay safe and warm!!! As warm as you can!!! Do you gots any long underpants to wear?!
HUGS!!!
There is no age to love what is marvellous and somewhat magical . Myself I like burning the dried weeds in the garden but as you nknow it is always wet here !! Frustration:!:-).
I am glad,Mrasha, to hear Braylon is well . I did not realize he was already a great grandson.
ILYM
Michel
RYC :Yes Marsha , during the meal we alternate eating and playing together : this excites the appetite !:-) and maintains the warmth
Almost 2 years ago now I went to a party where the host had aquired some of those chinese lanterns. We set them off and were thrilled to watch them float off into the sky, most relieved as they passed the tree line, but later found out that since we live near both airforce bases and a sub base, people setting up such things are supposed to notify the authorities first. It's for safety reasons so they don't suspect anything from the "bad guys" I guess and have to take out a jet or helicoptor to investigate, or so that it's not seen as some sort of "UFO". Also, my friend had laser pointers we all used to try to tag the balloons in the sky and we were told that wasn't smart because certain ones could blind pilots. OOOPS!
Your great-grandson is so cute and so are his parents.
I love Tangled too. I loved Frozen too.
I kind of cheated and went south for a few days.
So we are staying warmer than those at home.
This post had me cracking up about the lanterns. I've always wondered how well those worked out... cause yes, no need to be starting fires.
When I watched Tangled, I found it to be a disappointment... but yes the lantern scenes were awe inspiring.