The Zoo!

We were privileged enough to be able to go to the zoo this summer. We haven't been in years, since our older two boys were little. We went with my husbands' sister and her three kids. Here is a friendly giraffe, 'Give me something to eat!' (See his mouth open and waiting? People kept feeding him-or her- giraffe crackers you could buy there.) There was a baby giraffe, less than a month old, there. It was soooo cute! I didn't get a picture of it, it was too far away. (Don't forget, you can click on these pictures to get a bigger picture, too.)

Here are some wallabies, or joeys, the lady said; nearby this exhibit. They were cute, too. We got to see a baby wallaby, too, and pet it. (There was a BIG container of hand sanitizer nearby, that we used afterwards...)

And *THE* animals (?) I could not wait to see, budgies!!

We got to feed them with a stick. (Something stuck on the end of the stick, they loved it.) They were so colorful and cute. I can't wait to crochet one of Cupcakes budgies (in my free time-HA!). I will never forget seeing these guys at the zoo. I hope they will bring them back again some year. Tomorrow we will be picking my mom up at the train station to visit us for a week~Yay! So if I am gone for a while, you know why... ;p

Books

Since I've been to the library, I've been reading more lately. (I missed it.) One of the books I got at the library was 'When This Cruel War is Over' by Thomas Fleming. I just finished reading it today. It was a historical fiction story, but at the end there was a prologue that said this story was written from hundreds of pages of notes compiled by someone, and letters from the families in the story. So some of the story may have been fabricated, but they were real people during the Civil War. I don't know why, but I love historical fiction. Probably because I love history, and I love to read. They had a civil war display upstairs at the library, almost like a museum. (Which was really neat.) They had a few books on display, and one of them was 'When This Cruel War is Over'... well I couldn't find it anywhere in the library. I asked the librarian, and she said it was fiction. So I went back upstairs and (eventually) found it....When I brought the book home, I thought 'This doesn't look like the book they had on display.' Well, it wasn't. This was the book they had on display. (Same title, different author!) I'll have to go back and get it now. Another book I got at the library was 'Millionaires Row' by Norman Katkov. (I just liked the title, so I grabbed it... :p) I haven't started reading it yet. Then, my sister-in-law (who is more of a bookworm than I am, I think-- if that's possible...) gave me a book called 'The Hearth and Eagle'; written by Anya Seton. The cover on the book in the link is very different than the cover on the book she gave me. (I like my cover better). I think I might read this one next.

Wallace and Gromit

I took our kids to the library recently downtown. (I took them to the library at least once a week, when our library was open.... it is being renovated now, and has been closed for weeks and weeks... well I finally found out where the next closest library is, and we went there a couple of days ago...) Anyway, one of the things our kids like to get at the library is movies. (I like that they are free-- if you return them on time, that is-- lol!) Anyway, one of the movies we got was Wallace and Gromit, the Were Rabbit one... Well now our four year old loves Gromit! So I went on to Crochetville to see if anyone had ever tried to crochet a Gromit. Someone did!! Dina! But, the admins removed the pattern as it is a licensed character... :( !!!!!!!!! Waaaaa! I then tried googling to see if it was anywhere else on the web... but to no avail. :( I did try to contact some people though, to see if they had saved it to their computer. No one has replied yet, though. I just want to make one for my four year old, for crying out loud. They have Wallace and Gromit knitting patterns, I don't know why a crocheted one would be a big deal? Unless the people who made up the knitting pattern had permission to do it? (Sigh.) Well maybe I can try and figure out how to do one from the picture. Although I'm not as good at doing that as I used to be.... Have a Great Day everyone!

Will The Real Rupert Bear Please Stand Up?

Oh, I guess they are both standing up.... lol. Well one of these bears is the real Rupert Bear (what my son named his stripey bear I crocheted him...) The one I finished is on the left. His ears are bigger, and he is smaller. Don't know how that happened. Actually, I think I used a G hook on this one. For Rupert I used an H hook, I think... Do they look like twins? :p

Here is the new bear, for KristieMN's toy drive. I think he looks quite handsome. (I did Rupert's ears wrong~~ Shhh... don't tell anyone.) Well I think this is the last of the toys I am going to make for the toy drive. I don't have them all quite finished yet, but I promise I will post a picture of them all when I do get them all done. If you are not sick to death of hearing about teddy bears.... Here are some teddy bear activities you can do with your kids. I really want to have a teddy bear tea party with my nieces before they go back home, but I am so busy I don't know if I would have time.... Maybe I can do one with my own kids. This page has a teddy bear name quiz. Mine was something like 'Silky Wooly Ears' or something... Here you can enter a drawing for a free teddy bear! I think I might try it. (Not that we need any more bears.... if I won I could donate it or give it away...) If you have small children pre-school age, here is a dress-up teddy bear game. I played it for a while myself. :P Here is some Teddy Bear History if you are interested. Here are a selection of bear books...
Here is a page with clip art, you can make your own personalized teddy bear stationery.

Here is a Teddy Bear Orphanage. I also saw a page where a woman rescued bears and adopted them for herself. Well that's about it, for twenty pages of Googling, that I could come up with... (I think it's enough to keep a person busy for a few hours at least.) :P

15th Anniversary....

.... and look at the roses my husband brought home for me. :D I told him not to get me flowers, but as you can see, he doesn't listen to me... ;) (Lots of roses in my posts lately, huh?) Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner at On the Border . It was nice. We very rarely (I mean *ever*) get to go out by ourselves.

Doesn't he look lonely?

And armless and legless?.... :( But I thought I'd post about him, anyway. This is a bear I am working on for KristieMN's toy drive. I've made one of these guys before, for our four year old. (And for our fifteen year old and our ten year old.... The ten year olds' bear is in the same link, next to the four year olds' bear. Can't seem to find the fifteen year olds' bear. Although it could be around here in a bag or box, who knows...) Anyway. I finally got some eyes to finish his head. I think he looks cute. I hope it will make one child feel a little better. In some way, at least... Some kind person at Crochetville found a web archive of this pattern. It does not show the picture, but.... you can see the ones I have made. :) And, the pattern is pretty clear on where to place the eyes, and nose... So that makes it easier. I don't know why, but I love these scrappy bears.... I will post a picture of everything I am sending to Kristie when I have it all together (ha ha~~ that will be never!!...) But, when I have all my crochet projects together... ;p

Rockin' Girl Blogger Award!!

Mimi just recently awarded me with a rockin' girl blogger award. Thank you, Mimi. I don't think I've ever won an award, except in school for the honor roll or academic excellence award, etc... :D You have made my day.

Witchetty Grubs and Pretty Lace

( Well those two things don't really go together...) But, they are both crocheted! At least in this case they are. These are two witchetty grubs I crocheted. I got the pattern from Cupcake ~~ Thank you, again, Cupcake! :D I did a Google search on the Witchetty Grub. Very interesting. I also ordered Cupcake's 'Budgeriar' pattern from her etsy store. I had wanted to make them, anyway. Then I noticed a billboard sign for our zoo that said they have 'Budgie Babies' this summer!! Then that made me want to make some even more! They are so cute! I love all of Cupcake's patterns, but some of them more than others, and I *have* to have them. ;)

Today I recieved an item I won on eBay! Ever since Mimi sent me the 'T' she had crocheted from this book, I had been wanting to get the book; 'Pretty Lace'. Then I tried to make my own T, and then I decided it would be so much easier if I just had the book. Then I could make whatever other letters are in there, too. :) Sorry about the blurry photos again folks. I almost don't want to even blog any more it's so embarrassing... ;) Have a Wonderful Day everyone!! :)

"Goofy Looking Cow"

...from KristieMN. Although I don't think he is goofy looking at all~~ I think he's adorable! This isn't the greatest picture again (sorry). I don't know if I will ever get any toys crocheted for Kristie's toy drive, my kids keep wanting toys, too. You can find the pattern for the cow here. I don't know if I posted the link for the pig pattern, too, or not. I'll have to go back and look.... Our ten year old wants me to make a monkey just like this one (scroll down, to the second picture), "but with a red shirt, red pants, and a red hat to look like Ditty" ;p