An iced tea day

We had a wonderful weekend.

Emma and her parents arrived on Friday evening. I managed to put together Emma’s birthday present and she was able to play with it for a little while before going to bed.

Ta-da! The finished product! A wooden play kitchen. It’s not crooked or tilted and neither are the room or floor in which it’s sitting. It’s my picture taking that’s slanted. A lot of my photos come out tilted a bit. I can usually fix this using Picassa (software for photos), but I don’t have access to it right now. I don’t know why I lean or tilt a bit when I’m taking photos, but it happens frequently.

Saturday we went to the Cleveland Zoo. I often find zoos to be a little depressing, but I’m still fascinated by the animals and could spend a lot of time watching as they go about their day. Where else would we be able to see some of these animals? And the way things are going, zoos may well end up being the only place where some can continue to exist. (Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m getting preachy. It’s Earth Day. Give me a break.)

Emma enjoyed it for the most part. She got a little cranky here and there, as toddlers will sometimes do (especially when it’s getting past their nap time). She was also afraid of the elephants, but I can’t blame her for that. They’re enormous and she’s just an itty bitty little girl.

The Cleveland Zoo is better than some, with rather nice habitats/exhibits for the animals. One of the inmates, a gorilla, even has its own television set. The park is pretty well spread out with one heck of a hill that takes you to the upper part. There’s a deck walk that gently takes you up to the top, but it was closed yesterday. That meant we had to tackle the hill. Great exercise, especially for Emma’s dad who had to carry her up that hill.

The kangaroos were active, hopping all around. I got a kick out of watching them and I think Emma enjoyed them, too.

After the zoo we came back to Breezy Acres (our property) and hung out by the pond. M the Younger’s girlfriend was here and we had a nice little party of sorts. I had some drama with a couple of chickens that were not thawed as they should have been. But once the chickens were stuffed and in the oven I was able to go out and play with everyone else. Emma really likes being outside. I think she’d spend her entire day outside if she could.

Dinner, even after the chicken drama and the long wait for the dang things to cook, was great with lots of good conversation and laughter. Once the clean up was done and Emma was put to bed, the six of us adults sat down for a fun game of Pictionary. The young ones (M the Younger and his girlfriend) won, but Emma’s Dada and Mama and M the Elder and I didn’t do too badly. I think we ought to mix it up for the next game instead of pairing off into the couples that we are. It might make it even more interesting.

The weather this weekend has been gorgeous. Clear, sunny, and in the 70’s. We should get close to 80 today.

Emma & Co. left fairly early this morning. The M&M’s will be working on the shed which was damaged in the high winds we had last week:

As you can see, it’s a little too ventilated. The wind ripped the back right off.

As for me, I’m going to hang out some laundry, grab a glass of iced tea and go sit outside by the pond, maybe watch the ducks swimming around or read a book or take a nap. If I’m feeling particularly ambitious, I might take the rowboat out and get some exercise. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy this lovely day.

Today’s weather shot: