October 20
No, it's not a gathering of people who are nuts. I have been watching the squirrels and chipmunks gathering nuts. Anyway, here's another rendition of The Blog About Nothing.
September 14
Emily and I drove from her house to Deb and Paul's house in New Hampshire. We went into North Conway to buy some goodies at the General Store for Sue's birthday. Pork Chop always like a photo opportunity and here he is on the Town Common showing off his good side.
We had a bit of a rest on a bench after walking up and down the main street.
October 3
The tree in the back yard was almost fully colored, it did get a bit brighter but it immediately started to rain and all of the leaves fell off.
At the same time, believe it or not, the flowers below were still in bloom showing the last vestiges of summer. This pot is at the church (I had been there making jam) and oddly enough I had one lilac flower at my house. (The flowers are gone now since we have had a couple of 32 F. nights. I'm writing this on October 20.)
October 6
Emily and I drove from Amherst to Washington, DC on October 5. We stayed at the Royal Sonesta in Dupont Circle. We had a $50 food credit per day at Certo, the restaurant in the hotel. (It was part of an Expedia deal.) Here we are eating an omelet each -- which came to $48.50. We laughed because we only had to pay the tip.
Then we ubered off to Paris 1874: The Impressionists at the National Gallery of Art.
Monet (above)
This is the description of the clown below by Manet. I thought the painting was relevant to today.
Below is a striking Renoir that I had not seen (and I keep forgetting the artist's name! Hence the explanatory card below).
Then we waslked over to the National Museum of the American Indian. The weather was lovely, sunny and in the upper 70s.
This baby carrier was totally hand beaded except for the wood ski-like back. Any baby in this would be snug as a bug!
This modern flag was also hand beaded with micro beads. The 'stars' were actually the two letter state codes that the Post Office uses. The red stripes had all of the various Indian tribes' names in slightly darker red beads! It was amazing.
October 8
We got to the Cincinnati Zoo shortly after they opened in the morning. Again the weather was perfect for a lot of walking and we did a lot of walking.
Flamingos preening
Red pandas napping in the trees
Fiona the hippo is the extra pink one on the right. I can't believe she's 7 years old already! Her younger brother, Fritz, and her mother are next to her. Fiona is pink because when they sweat, it's called "blood sweat" and it creates the pink color on their skin. She's still "too little" and needs to gain weight before she can have a boyfriend. She was born very underweight and had to be monitored 24/7. She made it and is healthy but still a bit small for a mature hippo.
This cheetah got very excited when two Zoo staff members came by with two dogs. They were companion dogs who as puppies played with the baby cheetahs. These dogs weren't her playmate, so they didn't go into the enclosure. It was thrilling to see her run over to that part of the fence because she's so graceful -- and fast.
These giraffes are actually different from those at the Living Desert in Palm Springs. One had spots that look like puzzle pieces (with rounded edges) and the others have geometrically shaped spots (more angular).
Little Blue Penguins. Their backs look bluer in the sunlight than what you can see here, They are little, about 12 to 14 inches long.
Another shot of the giraffes. I tried very hard to keep the photos in order, but I didn't succeed.
There were dozens of pumpkins everywhere. This is one of the smaller displays with smaller pumpkins. They are artificial but all were carved. The bigger ones (if they were real they would have weighed 20 pounds) were carved by artists. I think businesses bought they for a donation and had an artist carve their logo or their building on it. One section was all sports, andother was comic book heros. Emily and I wondered where they store all of the pumpkins plus the many pedestals.
More flamingos
Lioness
Red Panda pacing around his yard.
This picture otter be clearer.
Fiona again
The kangaroos were walking around and we got to go into the enclosure with them but we cautioned many times to stay on the path. I got nervous when one started walking toward us. I've seen them on TV being aggressive and I wanted no part of that. We walked fairly quickly through the enclosure.
More of our favorites (above) are the African Spotted Dogs. Their coloration is really effective camouflage up against the rocks.
Our next overnight was in Pennsylvania because it would have been an 11 hour drive with no stops back to Amherst which was too much for me.
October 10
We stopped in Hadley on the way home from PA so I could get a big pumpkin for the front yard.
October 12
A friend requested a bag big enough for a two litre soda bottle.
October 16
View from South Church parking lot
Yes, I have been at the church a lot, volunteering in the kitchen. We have made all kinds of jam, tricky pickles, and last Wednesday, I was peeling apples for applesauce. Or maybe it was for apple crisp. Whatever. It was fun because the four of us chatted and laughed as we peeled.
Yesterday, on Saturday (Oct.19), I was "squash" for the pork dinner assembly line. (I put mashed butternut squash either on a plate or in a box.) We had 30 people dine in and a total of 132 meals made.
In the neighborhood
October 18
I have been making things for the Sleighbelll Fair (November 23). Below is the midpoint in the construction of the bowl cosy (cosies?). I think I have made seven so far. I have also made a half dozen of little packets of catnip. I have more cosies to stitch. That's the 100% cotton batting by the way. I have plenty of polyester batting, but you can't put that in the microwave because it will melt. Ugh.
And here's my favorite! Barbie beds! Cathy's husband, Bill, constructed the wooden beds, Cathy made a mattress and charming pillows. I made the quilts and I have to paint the beds. Cathy might make the third bedspread.
Ooops! Here are a couple of finished cosies.
Okay ... I'm done! It's 2:30 a.m. so if there are typos or mispellings, that's why. I hope you have a great coming week. I'm getting used to its being 32 F. when I get up and the temperature rising to the 70s. My Canadian friends say snow is imminent for them and I saw that they had snow in the Adirondacks and West Virginia. I sure hope it doesn't hit here!
Ciao!
