A Swedish Beauty

From the Como Zoo Conservatory

 Petals of velvet

A delicate rosy hue

A lovely lady

  

Posted for One Shot Wednesday.

Quote of the Week

Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults. - Les Brown

Nothing expresses unconditional love as well as the animals with whom we share our homes and our lives.  They love us without reservation, whether we are happy, sad, fat, thin or grouchy.  

We should look at ourselves with acceptance and love just as we do with others instead of wishing we were thinner, prettier, or smarter.  Only in this way can we be all we were meant to be and enjoy life to its fullest.

Let's Get Creative

Hello! I'd like to take a moment to invite you to join me today at Tribal Blogs, where I will be guest posting on the topic of creative writing.  I will take you through my process for creating fictional stories.  Let's take a walk on the creative side together.

Tribal Blogs is a place where writers of all types come together to share tips, discuss writing, technical issues, and generally support and entertain each other.  Come see what we're all about!

A Day at the Zoo

Who needs breakfast?  That would be me.  Sure that we would find breakfast somewhere along the way, we headed out to zoo and our meeting with Jen, who writes the humor blog, Redhead Ranting.  Unlike where we live, there was not a McDonalds or BoJangles on every corner.  What to do?  We drive and drive...growl.  I can't go to the zoo on an empty stomach.

Just when we were about to give up and just eat whatever we could find at the zoo, we stumbled onto a nice little bagel shop in a shopping center.  A cinnamon raisin bagel toasted with butter, please!  Wonderful...it just hit the spot.

Now we backtrack to the fairgrounds where we could pick up a shuttle to the zoo.  There is on-site parking, but we had read that is highly recommended to take the shuttle.  They run some wildly decorated buses that leave no doubt as to their destination.  This one is giraffe spotted; the other is a zebra.

They had a posted schedule, and it appeared it would be another half hour, and we barely had time to make our meeting with Jen.  I called to let her know we'd be late, and she offered to pick us up.  About that time another bus pulled in - so much for their schedule.  


It was a short ride to the zoo, even though the bus felt like it had a square tire.

We hung out for a few minutes while Jen and her daughter caught up with us.  Like I said, parking is available, but getting a space isn't always easy.

 

 
I gave her a call to tell here where we were waiting, saying I would be the gal wearing a blue top with penguins on it, next to a guy in a blue Hawaiian shirt - what a pair!

Yay, the long-awaited meeting.  Jen is a warm, down to earth lady, who was in "mama mode" that day.  She had her lovely daughter with her, who added an interesting perspective on our activities.  We had a great time looking at the animals and reptiles and watching Sparky the sea lion perform for a packed arena.  It was a picture perfect day, but it began to get hot in the bright sunshine.  
 
It's lunch time.  There was a decent snack bar with a good selection of the typical zoo foods, burgers, hot dogs, pop corn, nachos and of course, ice cream.  We enjoyed lunch where we talked blogging, compared notes about the differences in our weather, and shared pet stories - hubby and I are never lacking for weird pet stories.

You can only ask so much of an 8-year old, so they left after our visit to the Como Town amusement park.

Afterward, hubby and I walked through the many rooms of the conservatory, a building filled with all sorts of unusual plant life.  This room was filled with ferns of all kinds, including the largest fiddlehead I've ever seen.

It was a lot of fun to meet fellow blogger, Jen, face to face, and enjoy some beautiful Minnesota weather.  There was so much more to see but, alas, not enough time.

Quote of the Week

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; 

it must be achieved.  

 Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd U.S. President)

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.   William J. Clinton  (42nd U.S. President)

In honor of the 235th birthday of America, I chose two quotes from Presidents, separated by not only decades, but world events, and the times in which each served.  They shared not only their political affiliation, but their propensity for enjoying the company of  women to whom they were not married.  However, they were both capable leaders, and popular presidents.

During his reign, Roosevelt stated that Freedom is not a gift, but something we must achieve through our efforts and faith in ourselves.

During his presidency, Clinton told us we can fix whatever is wrong in our country by using our inherent goodness. 

For all that some perceive is wrong with America, there is far more good in the people of this country.  We can accomplish anything if we just believe in ourselves.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!