Texas Grandsons - Days 7&8

14th - I am the first one up this morning and there is a church garage sale down the road so I walk down (without any money, naturally) and find 10 100% cotton men's shirts for $.25 each.  I also spot a sewing machines but let it pass.  After asking the cashier to give me a few minutes to get the money, I walk back to the house and grab some cash.  I pick up my shirts and make a stop at another neighborhood sale where I find a quilt batting for $1.00.  This is a great start to my day.  People are starting to wake when I get back home and we decide to go to farmer's market and then the zoo.  This will be a full day.  Jon and I walk down to the sale as he wants to look around as well.  He finds a mattress pad that he wants and soon Mister is picking us up and we are off to the market.  They are making changes at the market and you can no longer park under the sheds.  YES!  This has been my chief complaint since arriving in Dallas.  It is so much nicer now.  AND more festive.

On the way back to the house, Mister spots an estate sale in the neighborhood and we make a pit stop.  Jon has not been to one before and is surprised when we tell him that everything in the house is for sale.  Mister finds a vacuum attachment that he can use while working on the sewing machines and I spot some bobbins.  We also grab some puzzles for us and his mom.  Heading back home, we put the food away and relax for awhile.  I get all the shirts washed and dried so they are ready to cut up.  Our trip to the zoo today will be in the afternoon as we are staying later for concert.  This is new so I hope we actually see some animals this late in the day.

It is zoo time.  I honestly think I could come here each day and see new things and not get tired of it.  Today, after seeing the Lemurs and hearing them scream at each other, we head for the Savannah for the predator encounter.  They are working with lions today and it is amazing to me just how beautiful these animals are.  So majestic and graceful.  It is not any wonder why they are called "king of the jungle."

The giraffes are not interested in any food today and are just standing back watching us as we watch them.  I know what I am thinking, but what about them?

As we leave the Savannah, Jon decides that he does need to get on the elephants.  Well, that means a picture for sure.  He chooses the baby one and is soon mugging it up.

Our next stop is the encounter stage and porcupines.  What a cool little creature.  From there we head into the back side of the Gorilla trail.  We are going to go backwards and hopefully we will have a good day in here.

We stop in the aviary and I have to tell you, I could have sat here all day watching the Taveta Golden Weavers build their nests.  The entire aviary is buzzing with activity as these birds go about their annual chore.  The nests are built with a small hole in the underside --- fascinating as I am so very curious as to how the eggs stay put.  Additionally, are they not oh so beautiful?

We arrive at the chimpanzee exhibit and I still have not been able to see the new little one.  Today is different.  The chimps are moving and playing with each other, with the teenage one actually being chastised by dad and a chase ensuing.  Pretty entertaining stuff.  However, high in the trees Mister spots mom and baby.  Very cool.

Moving on, we come to the gorillas and I am astounded.  There are 3 of them today!  In all of our trips here, we have not ever seen more than one although I know there are about 1/2 dozen in the enclosure.  Oh fun!

As we walk to the other end of the habitat, the other 3 are out as well.  I can't believe it.  Perhaps late in the day is not so bad after all.

It is time to head over to the other side of the zoo for the concert.  I am looking forward to sitting down in the shade an relaxing for a bit.  It's been a great afternoon so far.

We sit back and enjoy Brave Combo for awhile, while eating empanadas and having a cool drink.  Nice way to end the day.

15th - It's a sew day!  Jon and I head out to the studio and he starts in on his strips while I de-bone my shirts from yesterday.  It doesn't take long for me to realize that the pattern we selected will not work and so --- re-vamp.  We switch to a strip quilt and he gets started on creating his VERY long piece of 175 strips sewn end to end.  Once that is accomplished, he starts sewing the long strip together.  This will take awhile.

As he sews, I work on my own project, sewing blocks while he is ironing.  It works out pretty well and I have a sizable stack in no time.

The evening is spent working on our puzzle and then I set Jon up in bed for a Dr. Who marathon.  I am off to bed.