Go!

The girls are out of school this week and, according to weather reports, it’s supposed to rain every day except today.

So we - and apparently everyone else in the county, judging by the sold out time slots - hightailed it to the SB Zoo for a few hours of breezy, chilly sunshine. 

 Baby Pauline is almost as big as her mom now

I was afraid we wouldn’t see much of the animals since they are more active in the morning (our time slot was noon-30). Maybe it was the cooler weather or just plain luck, but we saw lots of animal antics, 

 Marta is behind mom, getting a bath

including Baby Marta running up the tree-walk after mom. I was too entranced watching to get photos in time. So cute!

 Giraffe, with gratuitous lion b*tt

The girls fed Audrey -

actually Leanne fed her while Jac watched, 

Jac’s still a little intimidated by the giraffes;

we saw the Kookaburras (my favorite of the zoo’s birds) and Tawny Frogmouth getting fed in their spacious new exhibit;

and the girls got to admire “their” Axolotl for the first time since they became its Foster Feeder. 

Who knew a salamander could bring such joy??

The end. 

Pajama Day

What to do on a rainy Monday after Christmas?

Leanne made another batch of zucchini bread (I love that she can do this on her own, with no input needed from me)

and Jac did art at the kitchen counter because it was too cold in my craft room, even with the portable heater running full blast. 

 Jac’s favorite people

Jac was annoyed that she misspelled her name, 

so I did a little grandma magic 

and **abracadabra**, no evidence = happy Jackie. 

That’s A Wrap

Such a fun day. Light rain, warm fireplace, and lots of laughs, food and presents. Hope all who celebrate had a joyous Christmas. 

Organized (?) Chaos:

 Donovan’s dragon from Auntie Rachel - big hit!

 Dino land

 She fits, so she still sits 

 The Batcave is almost as tall as he is



 D-man liked his new quilt



 Kids and cats like boxes best

 My first ever sports jersey

 The Batcave has an elevator!

The Food:

 Christmas china

 These took forever but sooooo worth it!

Fancy Pictures:

 Leanne, Jaclyn, Donovan, Leia and Naia





 Matt, Gary, Pop

 Mary, Donovan, Naia, Leia and Matt







 Gary and Shelley



 Leanne, Jaclyn, Scott and Marie







 Pop and me. That’s all, folks!

Traditions

With just hours to go, I think we’ve crossed most of our traditions off this year’s list.

Baking done. ✅ 

Leanne is our official zucchini bread baker - or “bikini cake” as Jac calls it. It’s an important position since this is Pop’s favorite holiday treat, made from his mother’s handwritten recipe. 

Christmas lights viewed. ✅

It was pouring rain - we got over 3” in 36 hours, highly unusual for our area - but the lights were (mostly) on so off we went. 

And found the inflatable we want for next year. 

House decorated. ✅

This entry hall table is where my favorite treasures go, including recent pictures of the grands, wax figurines I remember from childhood and decorations I inherited from my MIL.

Sewed (mostly) all night. 🚫

Wanted to but my walking foot broke, spewing tiny springs and metal bits everywhere. Soooooo annoying! I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’ll be interesting to see what my Janome dealer says when I go for a replacement. 

Annual peppermint hot chocolate acquired. ✅ We aren’t coffee drinkers so this my only exposure to St*arbucks. So yummmmmmy!

Merry almost Santa time from our house to yours!