Yesterday was such a nice day, we thought we would take advantage of it and spend some time with the animals at the zoo. I'm glad we did. There was a lot of activity. Funny how most of us end up at the zoo in the heat of the summer, in the middle of the afternoon, but that seems to be when the animals are more likely to be hiding in the shade sleeping...

The elephants were eating when we got there and then one of them started trumpeting. She went outside and bashed around some sort of mangled plastic tub... mostly with her back feet, accompanied by more grunts and trumpets. She was loud enough to draw a wee crowd.

We even saw some dancing goats. Have no idea what they were up to, but one of them bounced about like.. well, like he was dancing.

Here are some pics...

Here is the agouti.



And a Wallaby



A cute, but slightly blurry pic of the baby giraffe... he looks curious in this shot, i think.



And one of the adults, making sure i wasn't doing anything to the cute baby..



Last, but not least, (e:Uncutsaniflush), looking at his favorite part of the zoo. He mentioned something about channelling (e:Paul)....

Or as we used to call it in my family, my brother's hangover day, since February 1 is his birthday. He turned 40 yesterday.

According to the CBC

Groundhog Day consensus: early Canadian spring
Last Updated Thu, 02 Feb 2006 09:05:23 EST
CBC News

Canadians can look forward to an early spring, based on two famous groundhogs failing to see their shadows on Thursday.

Wiarton Willie's handlers consult with the rodent seer before announcement.

Groundhog Day cheers erupted in Wiarton, Ont., as Wiarton Willie's white-gloved, purple-robed handlers made the morning announcement that the rodent hadn't seen his shadow, indicating an early end to winter.

Organizers of the Wiarton Willie Festival claim the albino groundhog's track record over the past 50 years is "better than 90 per cent."

On the East Coast, Nova Scotia's best-known woodchuck also signalled an early spring. Shubenacadie Sam emerged from his heated home at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park outside Halifax and failed to see his shadow.

The news comes as many Canadian cities reported their warmest January on record. Environmental officials believe a vortex of cold air that usually traverses the globe is parked over Russia, blanketing Europe with arctic weather. In contrast, North America is bathed in warmer air from the jet stream.

That fact isn't lost on Wiarton Willie, said his handler, Mack MacKenzie, who translated the groundhog's comments: "Fools, it is spring already. Why are you making these silly predictions?"

South of the border, Punxsutawney Phil delivered some unwelcome news.
Mack MacKenzie, rodent handler and translator.

The large crowd gathered in Gobbler's Knob, Penn., groaned loudly after learning the chunky critter saw his shadow, indicating six more weeks of winter.

Groundhog Day legend began with a German superstition that suggests if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on the Christian holiday of Candlemas, which is Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. No shadow indicates an early spring.

Europeans used to watch for hedgehogs, but a hedgehog shortage in North America caused settlers to switch to woodchucks, also known as groundhogs.

Got the nicest silver elephant braclet in the mail today. It came from my friend, Linda, in Knoxville. Took these pics of them to email her my thanks, and thought i would share with ya'll.

Here it is.. matches my white gold wedding ring nicely, i think. :O)



And detail. See how it sparkles... lol.




In Other News..

We went to see the film Zathura at the cheap movies out in the wild and wicked suburban east end. Cute little film. We understand why it wasn't particularly popular. A little dark for small kids, too young for teens... i guess that is why (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i thought it was amusing. lol. But hey, it only cost us both $3 to see it. It kinda reminded me of the Robin Williams movie, Jumanji now that i think of it...


New Themes

I like the Ontario theme, (e:Paul). I swear it's not because i was born in Ontario! :O) The seafoam is pretty good, too... a tad bright, but maybe it will be good for mornings, when i need a jolt!

That was one of the first things i heard this morning. Luckily, before the phone rang, i had a chance to pee, 'cause sometimes, when i wake up in the morning, the walk from our bedroom, down the stairs and to the back of the house seems like miles.

In this case, the desperate voice on the other end of the phone was a neighbour. Through my grogginess, i found out that she got to work and a co-working casually asked her "so what did you have for breakfast?", upon which she panicked. Yikes, her eggs were still on the stove cooking!! She wanted to know if i would run over to her house and see if her house was on fire! Thank goodness, (e:Uncutsaniflush) was awake longer than i was and was able to get over there. He looked in all the windows to make sure nothing was alight while i talked to her on the phone as she rushed home. When i saw her car pull up, i went out in my robe and slippers to see how the house was. Thank goodness everything was ok... other than a pan or frying pan or whatever the eggs were in. I reckon her morning was mulit-tasking gone wrong?

Made me think how glad i was that we were home and how, for those 5 minutes or so, our neighbour had someone to at least talk to while in her panic. Which sort of lead my mind in another direction....

In my lifetime, i have always been happy to help. I think of myself as a fairly reliable person. I could be full of myself, but that really is how i see part of who i am. It honestly makes me happy to help. Now that i am married, i tend to hesitate slightly because i have someone else to consider when i give away my time... and sometimes, it involves him. He always tells me i need to be who i am and that my desire to help is something he cherishes in me. Which is just so cool to be married to someone who respects who i am.

Yet, sometimes, my longing to help leads me into feeling taken advantage of. It's happened in my past. I used to time phone calls from a friend when i was in my early 20's. Every 6 weeks, about a week before her day off the following week. Would i cut her hair... for nothing... again? I always did. Eventually, after trying a few times to hang out with her when she didn't want a haircut, i gave up. I tried to explain to her how hurtful it was, but i failed at it and eventually, i just stopped answering her calls. I would like to think i have learned from those days. But have i? Do i still feel like a doormat from time to time? Yeah. Do i feel resentment? Yeah. But ultimately it is because i can't articulate how i feel without offending, or at least fearing to offend. Still, after all these years, this is a challenge for me. I don't know if it has anything to do with how i see myself, or how i value myself. Do i think i am only good for helping, but not for fun stuffs?

Through it all, i like doing for others. Yet i rarely ask others for help myself. Why is that?

Just a short note to wish you a very Happy Birthday, (e:Jessika)!

Did you know you share your birthdate with Mozart?

... MATH?

(E:Paul)'s post [inlink]paul,4143[/inlink] got me thinking. No single person should bear the brunt of the financial burden for our beloved (e:strip) alone.

If we all take a day, or 2, or 3.. or even a week and not get that one latte or mocha frape or beer or.. <insert favorite beverage here>, we can all chip in and help get (e:Paul) the RAM he is looking for. It will add up. I reckon a week of beverages will add up to $20 easy. Every little bit will help, i am sure.

It's not that much money for a place we all cherish, is it?

OMG. Guess who we saw at Wegmans today?

Johnny Depp!




We even bought some. Ah, but i am not eating that Kelloggs crap (that's just a dig at my uncle who works for them... not that he reads this, he has more important things to do). We bought it for our friend, Mark, who just had to tell me about it and asked me to look for it for him. Lo and behold, there it was, right on the shelf of our neighbourhood Wegmans!

Yesterday, i finally got round to uploading some pictures that were in our digital camera for quite some time.

Squirrels are too damn smart...



And a beautiful male cardinal in the snow...



A snap of Buffalo that we took when we went for a drive a couple of weeks ago. I love the turned over white plastic chair...



A polar bear at the zoo just sniffin' and hangin'...



And the smoke from a fire in our neighbourhood last week...

As it stands right now, at almost 11pm, it appears as though Steven Harper will become the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. (E:Uncutsaniflush) and i have been glued to the CBC all night, me hiding behind a blanket as though i am watching a horror film.

It woudn't be so horrific if it weren't Steven Harper's Conservatives. I used to kvetch about them all the time, but i would be oh so willing to take back Joe Clark's Conservatives any day.

At 4.30am? I am awakened from a sound sleep with hiccups?!?

Well, %@#&*$%@!!!!!!!!