Mickey Lamp

 Because of the positive feedback that Nicole and I received on our Mickey Lamp, I thought I would share how I made it.

For the most part, I followed the directions on http://www.carol-anne.ca/Mickey%20Lamp.htm and https://erinblackwell.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/how-to-make-a-mickey-lamp-post/. I do believe both of these posts were produced by the same person because they share the same photos. Because I followed these post, I am not going to repeat that information here. Instead, I will simply share what I did differently.

When I was thinking about this project, I came to the conclusion that I would have to modify the plans. The first modification that needed to be made came from the fact that Nicole and I camp in locations where we do not have access to electricity. It is very hard to plug in a lamp when there are no outlets. The second modification needed to come from the fact that it would need to fit into my Prius; it needs to be easily disassembled and reassembled.

So, here are the items that I purchased. I got most of the items from Home Depot simply because the webpages that I was looking at had their product numbers. The one item that I ran into is that these pages are old pages, and some of their information is out of date. Because of this, I have also listed the part numbers of the items that I used.
1. Lamp post: Model # 501817 Internet #202636904 Store SO SKU #1000946165
2. Plastic Post-Top Globe Fitter: Model # 7785-01W Internet #100671529 Store SKU #348480
3. 12 in. White Neckless Globe: Model # 8188300 Internet #203066102
4. (2) 6 in. White Polyethylene Globe: Model # 8190500 Internet #203066112
5. Solar Black Outdoor Landscape Spot Light with Solar Panel and Wire: Model # NXT-3149 Internet #206267338 Store SKU #1001486802
6. Umbrella base that I got from Target.

I didn’t noticed it until the items were delivered, but the 12 inch globe that I ordered was made from acrylic and the two 6 inch globes that I ordered were made from polyethylene. Because of this, Mickey’s ears are not the same color has his head.

I first made the globe by following the directions on the webpages, so there is nothing new to report here.

For the lamp portion, I was wondering how power the light. I was first thinking of using a flashlight, and I was wondering how to mount the flashlight along with how to turn the lamp on and off. One day I was walking around Target and I saw solar-powered landscape lights. Then I was thinking of making this lamp solar-powered. Then I was wondering how and where to put the solar panel. While looking at the solar-powered landscaping lights on Home Depot’s website, I came across one that has a detached solar panel, wiring that will run the entire length of the pole, and an on/off switch at the solar panel. I decided that this lamp would work for this project.

The first thing that I modified was the globe filter. I first removed the lamp socket. I then drilled one hole that was large enough for the wiring to pass through. I then drilled four smaller holes so that I could strap down the lamp.

I also replaced the self-tapping screws that were being used to hold the globe clamps in place with regular screws and attached a nut on top of the clamps. I didn’t know how well the self-tapping screws would hold after the lamp has been disassembled and reassembled several times.

I then had to modify the lamp. Because this was a spotlight, it was designed to produce a spotlight. Because I wanted the lamp to illuminate the entire Mickey’s head and not just the area between his ears, I first cut off the top part of the lamp. I also had to cut off part of the lamp so that it would fit centered inside the globe. After cutting the landscaping lamp, it now looks like this

I then attached the lamp to the globe filter. I first tied it into place with wires. I then ‘glued’ it in place with J-B Weld (https://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-Two-1-oz-Twin-Tube-Cold-Weld-8265-s/100189012). So now, the globe filter and lamp now looked like this:

Because this was a spotlight, I still needed to modify it so that it would illuminate the entire globe. So I went to Goodwill and purchased a very very very very small champagne/wine looking glass and attached it to the top of the lamp. Now, the lamp looks like this:

The last modification that I had to make was to the lamp post. Because the lamp post is so much larger then the metal base for a patio umbrella, I needed to figure how to make the post stable. I decided to drill a hole in the lamp post and use the bolt that came with the base to secure the umbrella to secure the lamp post.

Then I put everything together, and our Mickey lamp now looks like this

And when the sun goes down, the lamp looks like this

Anyway, I do want to say thanks for the feedback on our solar-powered mickey lamp #mickeylamp #solarpowerdmickeylamp #solarpowered

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 13 results - Chicken Lyonnaise

Chicken Lyonnaise

Once again, my niece and nephew came up with another great idea. They came up with the idea of having the same meal that some people had as their last meal on the Titanic.  Because the cooks on the ship had different meals for the passengers (based on how much the person paid for his or her ticket), it was decided to try the first class meal first.

The recipe for the Chicken Lyonnaise can be found here: http://posttrib.suntimes.com/lifestyles/renwald/10875595-452/titanics-last-meal-chicken-lyonnaise-simple-but-elegant.html


While this was one of the better meals that I have cooked in a couple of months, I was still expecting more.  I did cut back on the salt (I tend to use 1/4 of salt that is listed in a recipe), and I believe this was one of the issues.  I also believe it could use some fresh thyme.  The thyme that I used was not that fresh.

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 12 results - Madagascar Chicken

Madagascar Chicken

Hmmm,
This was not the worst meal that I have cooked. Palvo has that spot as of right now.

As a matter of fact, it wasn't that bad.  It wasn't that good also.  It was simply bland.  I am not sure why, but I do know that I will not be making this meal again.

The recipe we used can be found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/madagascar-chicken-309431

Around the World in 80 meals (meal number 12) Madagascar

King Julien & Move it

I was at Busch Gardens, and this show gave me the idea for the next meal.  So we are going to, as King Julien would say, "move it move it" all the way to Madagascar.  

Here is the link to the actual dish we will be cooking: http://www.food.com/recipe/madagascar-chicken-309431

Around the World in 80 meals - meal number 11 results - Tempura

Tempura

 For our 11th meal, we went to Japan for some tempura.  Tempura is the batter used to deep fry various meats and veggies.

Because I have only deep fried my food one other time, you could say that I am not an expert in this cooking method, and it showed.

I fried some fish, chicken, and some green beans, and nothing looked like it came from a Japanese restaurant.

I made four different variations of tempura.  The first was the recipe from the Food network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tempura-batter-recipe/index.html) without any changes.  Without any seasonings, it was very bland.  The batter was also very very very thin.  I did add more flour to thicken it up some.

I replaced the seltzer water with ginger ale for the second batch.  This made a small change in flavor, but not much.  The batter was a little sweeter.

For the third batch, I added some old Emeril's Creole Seasoning blend that I had in the frig.  This seasoning made the meal.  The chicken, beams, and fish all tasted good.  The fourth batch also used Emeril's Creole Seasoning blend, but I didn't use as much.  This too was good, but not as good as the third batch.