Saturday Morning at the Zoo

The last time we visited our local zoo with Miss W, the entire visit took 20 minutes as she ran from one exhibit to the next, not stopping long enough to see or feed anything. That was in the back of our mind when we decided to visit the zoo Saturday morning. We had about an hour, thinking that would be plenty of time to run from one animal cage to another.

The zoo had LOTS of visitors that morning. Mcbe was happy to ride in the stroller. Miss W walked, yes, WALKED to each exhibit and cage. Maybe the number of people around kept her closer to our sides, or maybe because she is a year older, she was interested in seeing the animals. Whatever the reason, the zoo excursion took two hours and that was rushing through the fish and birds inside the visitor center.

Mcbe LOVES birds right now. He got pretty excited to see the penguins. He also liked the monkeys. On our visit last fall, Miss W would have nothing to do with the goats. She fed them this time. Mcbe was NOT interested in feeding the goats. It was a very enjoyable couple of hours.

Miss Congeniality

His hands were moving and he was saying

"BIRDS! BIRDS!"

These monkeys were close enough to the fence to

easily see them

Mcbe was so animated 

Watching the bear standing on the table eating

Miss W on the 'scary' bear

The jaguar passed by the window

Miss W feeding corn to the reindeer

Mcbe feeding corn to the ducks and geese

Checking out the bison

Hatching from an egg

Riding the elephant

Miss W feeding the goats

And a turtle ride

Friday with the Cherubs

Other than the day beginning at 5:30 AM, it was a beautiful day to have the G'kids. We spent almost 2 hours outside before lunch and an hour later in the afternoon after naps.

Most morning activities lasted about 5 minutes.

Too much to see and do?

Mcbe using his new crayons

A new to us playground close to our home

Like the morning, most things lasted 5 minutes

Miss W needed help with the monkey bars

His idea of going down the slide

And backwards down the big, twisty slide

He does not enjoy the swing like his sister

She knows her way around the playground

Finally, he caught on

His favorite piece of playground equipment

Weekend Visitors

Yes, it has been awhile since I have posted. We've been busy with weekend travels and then the week days to catch up and chill out until this week. Spring finally arrived in this part of the state. I have not bought flowers yet, or plants for the garden. In fact the garden may be on hold this year. The jury is still out on that decision. Flowers might happen as the yard looks pretty BLAH without them. In fact the early perennials are just now in bloom.

So here are some odds and ends photos, just because.

Our Favorite Daughter's B-Day weekend

Temps were nice enough to enjoy lunch on the patio in St. Paul

She took us out for breakfast on Sunday, 

Mother's Day, before we headed home

Back to see the G'Kids the following weekend

and to see...

Miss W's first dance recital

She danced Friday & Saturday evening

Her group danced to "The Yellow Submarine"

by the Beatles

On our way home on Sunday, we stopped in Luverne MN

to grab a specific geocache. (We got more than one.)

This bison monument cracked me up!

Not only were there unusual rocks displayed,

but check the yellow pile between the legs of the bison!

The G'kids are with us for the weekend.

Neighbors have the cool wagon for their g'son

and were willing to add our two for several 

rides this afternoon.

Drake, Mcbe & Miss W

Yep, we have been invaded!

A trip to the attic yesterday uncovered this cupboard.

It was built for Our Favorite Daughter by

my grandfather, Fred Ryckman.

Tomorrow we will find some dishes for the 

almost 40 year old cupboard.

I did not take a before photo, but the toy

box my grandpa made for our kids went to

the g'kids' house today. It needs a coat of paint,

but will find a new home and additional

memories with another generation of little kids.

I know G'pa is smiling as the little ones continue to

enjoy his handiwork.

Scandinavian Arts at the Institute

As we waited in line to enter the American Swedish Institute's Cocktails at the Castle we were entertained by these folks

Th gentleman was playing the saw

while his accordion waited patiently.

There was a lot going on between the grounds of the Nelson Cultural Center and the Turnblad Mansion. The Going Ons was to celebrate Europe Day. "Across the pond, May 9 is known as Europe Day - an international celebration of peace, unity, and the European Union. Institutions across the continent are opening their doors, embracing the moments that make each country unique while sharing the culture and arts that connect people to one another despite political and geographic boundaries."

We enjoyed music, street food, roaming performers, a juggler, and 

a runic fortune teller

Hubby chose the rune representing words.

There were artisan exhibits on the third floor of the mansion.

Artist Ian Ward Garlant discussed his sculptural reliefs with visitors

This wall sized piece incorporates ancient Norwegian language

with modern patterns

His work was part of a display "Love Norway X"

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of

Norway's Constitution Day

A piece of hardanger on display

Hardanger uses white thread (usually) to embroider on 

white even-weave cloth.

Papercut! The Incredible Psaligraphy of Karen "Bit" Vejle was also on exhibit

A 3-D papercut piece of art

I think there were 10 wall sized pieces similar to this one

All done by hand

A video was playing to show how Karen Vejle creates

her paper works of art

She sat on a chair with a small scissors in her hand

and snipped and cut and turned and flipped

creating a story from one continuous piece of paper.

Her work was playful, detailed, and stunning.

Her exhibited works were beyond incredible!

Karen is a Danish-Norwegian artist

Psaligraphy is the Danish art of papercutting

Sonja Peterson shared some of her works "Entangled Introductions"

Sonja "builds networks of negative space into large-scale,

intricate cutouts whose mazes of quiet colors and soft

shadows add depth and whimsy to the simplest of mediums:

paper."

Sonja Peterson is a Minneapolis artist

Metallic acetate pieces were displayed on another wall.

Don't know the artist, but I liked the spider-web creations.

The volunteer called this "30 bobbin lace."

Handcrafted lace created by twisting and braiding 

strands of thread wound on bobbins

creating intricate patterns and designs.

This tapestry was on the wall in the Nelson

Cultural Center

It was HUGE

I thought of my weaving friend Nancy

when I saw the wall hanging.

It was impossible to miss!

Our night at the castle