Friday, September 14, 2007

Rant - Woodland Park Zoo

Today Baby Girl and I went to Woodland Park Zoo to get some fresh air and see some animals. It was kind of an overcast day so I didn't think there would be many people there, boy was I wrong. Parking was almost full but we found a spot and made our way in. Oh and someone had a dog locked in their red Hummer in the parking lot.

Anyway, we were making our way around the exhibits but other moms/dads/nannys/caregivers with their strollers and wagons full of kids would get in the way. I'm not talking about going slow I'm talking about blocking the paths so you have to come to a complete halt. It actually started to get quite annoying.

Last time Hubby, Baby Girl and I went to the Zoo we didn't see the elephants. Elephants are my favorite animal and I have a hard time seeing them confined. But this time we made our way and it was sad. They were in their barn and it just looked too small. The zoo must have complaints cause I saw a number of signs showing just how much room the elephants have for their exhibit. The problem is it's not all that much room. I've already blogged about this, but I just had to mention it again.

We were there for about an hour and a half and I think Baby Girl enjoyed herself. I was a little depressed about the animals but I know zoos do good things, so I'll leave it at that.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Monkey

This post is neither a Rant or a Rave. Today I had to say goodbye to my cat of 17 years. It was the hardest decision I have had to make to date and as soon as it was over I was second guessing myself.


She was the best cat, never sick, never had any litter box accidents. She loved car rides and especially watching semi trucks. When we would rearrange the furniture she would get all frisky. She knew the sound of my husbands car and when she heard it she would wait for him to come through the door. She truly was unlike any cat I'd ever known.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Rave - Seattle Sewers Rejoice!!

Yesterday I was in Ballard for a Meetup at Golden Gardens. As I was heading home I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned the car around to see if what I saw was true. And it was! A new quilt store, with much excitement I parked the car and proceeded in with Baby Girl in tow.

The store is called The Quilting Loft and their fabrics and displays are yummy. They have fabrics from:
Alexander Henry
Amy Butler
Andover
Bali Batiks
Benartex
Clothworks
Free Spirit
Hoffman
In the Beginning
Kaffe
Michael Miller
Moda
Northcott
Red Rooster
Robert Kaufman
South Sea Imports
Timeless Treasures
Windham
Asian, floral, retro, geometric, flannel, batiks, novelty, Halloween & Christmas are just some of what I saw.

They also offer Long Arm Machine Quilting, Classes, Club, Kits, Books and Patterns. There were a number of Amy Butler patterns which is a favorite of mine. They opened in March of this year and are slowly growing with customer sales. Back in March I Ranted about our lack of Fabric Stores in Washington (mainly Seattle). I wished someone would open a Fabric Store because with the closing of In The Beginning all we had left was Pacific Fabrics, Undercover Quilts in Pike Place, which is not easy to get to, and JoAnn in Shoreline.

After going through the store twice I purchased some flannel to make a blanket to keep in the car for emergencies and as a picnic blanket. Baby Girl seemed to like my selection.

Please visit this store as good quality and unique Fabric Stores are slowly disappearing. Now if only someone would open a store with Swiss Batiste, Lawns, tatting, baby cord, smocking supplies.......

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Rave & Rant - Woodland Park Zoo

My husband took today off so we could go on a family outing to Woodland Park Zoo. The weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot.

We loaded up the car with everything we thought we would need, change of clothes for the baby, food, sunscreen, hats, water and blanket. We decided to buy a Membership since we will probably be visiting the zoo frequently with a child now. So we made our way up to the booth and told the gal we wanted to join. She asked us to go to the Membership booth since there was a family behind us and it would take a while to complete the membership. We did as she asked and the woman at the membership booth was non too happy. How dare we interrupted while she was sitting in the MEMBERSHIP BOOTH. Upon leaving we realized she didn't even hand us a map. Oh well I'm guessing she woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Now my husband HATES zoos. He hates seeing animals stuck in cages. And I have to admit I don't like it either but I know zoos are trying to help survival of certain species. And most zoos are upgrading their animal exhibits with actual habitats unlike the concrete and bar cages I remember as a child. Like poor Ivan who lived at the B and I in Tacoma but now lives at Zoo Atlanta.

We started off with the Penguin Pool. The water was a bizarre shade of green but I think baby girl liked watching them. Then we made our way to the Tropical Rain Forest exhibit. The Colobus Monkey and Gorillas were of interest to baby girl also. There is a new female Jaguar who is there on a breeding program. She was pacing around and part of me was feeling very sad for her.

Next was the Temperate Forest with all the different birds and after that was the Family Farm with pigs, goats, sheep, bunnies, miniature donkey's, horses and cows. They even have a contact area where you can pet some of them. I took baby girl and she petted their bunny. I wish I knew what kind of bunny it was cause it was very soft.
Continuing on was the African Savannah, my favorite exhibit. They have zebras, ostriches, giraffes and gazelles all in one exhibit roaming just like they would in the wild. I think the hippos are in that exhibit also.

We noticed baby girl was getting fussy, her nap time is usually around 1:30 and it was now after 3. So we decided to call it a day and see the rest of the animals another day.

Rant - Mattel did it again

So here we go a third recall of Mattel toys. This time it is Barbie and accessories, It's a Big Big World and GeoTrax toys. The Chairman and CEO of Mattel even has a video on their site saying how they are stepping up testing of their products and that the safety of our children is important to them. I think it's more along the lines of them wanting to keep the money coming in and not the other toy companies who don't use China Manufactures and have not had any recalls of their toys do to safety issues. Which is one reason why they are in China right, money?
Now like I said before I know not all Chinese people are to blame here. There are a few within these companies who are making decisions behind Mattel's back. But I am so tired of American Companies going outside of the US to have products made.
I for one have completely changed how I buy items for my family, have you?