Henry Doorly Zoo

Something I've been wanting to do for several years now is visit the zoo. I live just an hour from the top ranked zoo in the world and I haven't been in almost 10 years! On Tuesday, I took a friend out for lunch and pedicures. Afterwards, we were trying to decide what to do next when she mentioned that she had a family pass to the zoo...SCORE! I wish I had my real camera with me, but these cell phone pics will have to do. Enjoy this photo-heavy post :)

 Beautiful flowers in the Rainforest

 

 Several cool displays of jellyfish in the Aquarium

 

Sorry buddy...no food for you!

 

The peacocks are so pretty! Until this one dive-bombed me! Just look as his sinister face!

 

Seriously the cutest thing we saw all day!!! In the Orangutan Forest

 

This guy was deep in thought

 

And these two were cuddling away :)

 

Almost all of the cats were sleeping, but this guy sure was cute :)

 

A cool view at the Desert Dome!

We got there kind of late, so some of the buildings were closing. I hope to go back and see the Butterfly Pavilion and of course stop at the Petting Zoo :)

Wordless Wednesday - Beauty

Out For a Walk

On Friday evening, I decided it was a perfect night for a walk. After all the rain we'd had, I was dying to get out and enjoy the nice weather finally. I decided to drive to town and walk out to the cemetery. It's a great walk, half pavement and half gravel, and not too much traffic.

The sky was blue and everything around me was green. It was just so peaceful and relaxing!

It's great seeing the crops coming up and surviving the rain.

A look back toward town.

 

And I found these ginormous dandelions. They are about the size of a baseball! So pretty!

I'm hoping to make this a weekly trip on weekends when Jesse has to work.

Tree Slice Cake Stand

I recently helped a friend's son with a 4-H project. And it is the largest piece I've engraved to date! Hopefully the piece will be going to fair, but it was quite a family project. The tree slice was about 2 1/2" thick and 22" x 24"! It barely fit in my new machine! His dad cut the tree down and cut the slice. Then I think every one in the family took turns planing and sanding the slice to get it nice and smooth.

It was quite an undertaking on my part too. I had to do some things with my new machine that I hadn't done yet, like setting a new home position. The old machine and new machine have different controls, so I got to learn a whole new set of instructions for the new machine.

I wish I would have taken a few more in-process shots, but honestly, I was busy trying to figure out how to run the machine...lol. The wedding is this weekend, and I'm hoping the bride and groom will share photos so I can show you the finished product as well.

Wordless Wednesday - Well, Hello :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Apparently Mother Nature can't figure out how to spread her love very evenly this year! While some states are in a drought, those of us here in the Midwest, and really lots of other areas, are getting flooded! And the rain just keeps coming!

I took some photos last week after a huge downpour! The surrounding towns reported between 5"-7" of rain within 12 hours!

This is our neighbor's field. Since we won't be boating on the river anytime soon, maybe we can borrow their field :)

 

And here are some other photos take by locals in town. This is the street my grandparents live on.

 And this leads to Main Street.

Darn crazy weather anyway! How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

The sun was actually shining for like 4 whole days here in Iowa recently! After about a month of rain, it was SO nice to see the sun and get out and enjoy it! It inspired this recent treasury Sunshine Summer.

Sunshine Summer

The sun was actually shining for 4 days here in Iowa recently!! So let's celebrate that sunshine (because now it's flooding again today...ugh!) Enjoy these finds from my Blogging Business Artisans teammates and other great Etsy artists.

Summer Sun Metal Wall and Garden Art 36x24" alkemymetal $75.00	Oven Mitt - Yellow Chevrons - Yellow and White -Gift for Mom - Gift Under 20 pasqueflower $19.00	Dandelion Refraction Photo - Nature Art Photography - Sunny Summer Yellow - Wall Art shopatmoxie $12.00	The Ice Cream Truck Mini Photo Book, 2x3 wallets - pink, aqua, green, yellow MisterPenQuin $15.00
Resin transparent Earring lemon Morpho Butterfly Jewelry - Summer yellow butterfly Earrings YaTomkaStore $19.00	Abstract painting, canvas, summer, yellow, orange, 30 x 30 x 3,5 cm, original painting,mixed media, CharmePainting €45.00	Girls Summer Yellow and Pink Chunky Bubblegum Necklace, Toddler Necklace, Chunky Baby Bubblegum, Summer Necklace, 1st Birthday Necklace LeeLouBabies $25.00	Sun coin purse. Sun and Stars. Astronomy Gift. Handmade from recycled neckties. You are my sunshine! Artist Made in NY FunkensteinsEtsy $32.00
Original Watercolor Painting Woman Fashion illustration home wall decor wall art contemporary modern love fine art portrait LanasArt $85.00	Golden Yellow and Blue Czech Glass Beaded Niobium Earrings BeadedTail $18.00	Live With Passion Hoop Art - Typography Embroidery Hoop Art, Wall Art, Office Art,Spring, Summer, Yellow, Motivational Print POWpourri $15.00	African Tribal Rock Climbing Chalk Bag - Red Orange Yellow Black Drawstring Pouch Fleece Lined Climbing Chalk Bag - Ready to Ship StalkingTheWildSnark $21.50
Motivational coffee mug, birds coffee mug, coffee cup, yellow, unique coffee mug, large coffee mug, birds on a wire, 16 oz TravelingTreeDesign $13.00	Button Charm Bracelet - Yellow by randomcreative on Etsy randomcreative $22.00	Vinyl wood summer sun home decor with hanger. 12x4" handmade kayteskrafts $22.00	Earring: Citrine Briolettes AntiquityTravelers $65.00

Click on your favorite items and give these artists some love :)

New Items!

It seems like forever since I've listed new items in the shop! But over the last few weeks, I've gotten a handful of items in different categories listed. And I have about a hundred new ideas that I still want to get made!

 Floral Wreath Recipe Book

 Bird and Scroll Scalloped Edge Post Earrings

 Wooden Arrow Post Earrings

 Bird and Scroll Scalloped Edge Dangle Earrings

 Etched Glass Vase - Tree Design

Hibiscus Flower Guest Book

And again, I owe a lot of these new designs to customers and their special requests!

Wordless Wednesday - Pool Day

A Surprise Gift

About a week ago I received a package from an Etsy seller. I didn't remember ordering anything, so I was quite intrigued to find out what was inside. Upon opening the box, I found this beautiful coffee cup with little birds painted on it. It was a gift from fellow Etsy and blogging friend LeAnn! LeAnn knows that these little birds are very special to me and this gift was such a sweet surprise! I cannot thank you enough LeAnn for your kindness and thoughtfulness!


Some of my long-time readers will remember that I got a tattoo of a bird (my Freebird) in memory of my brother. And this coffee cup is such a perfect fit! I've been having my morning coffee in it each day! And it reminds me of my brother every morning :)

I'd like to give a special thank you to LeAnn and a little shout out to her shop as well.
With 4th of July just around the corner, I thought I'd share some fun, festive items from her shop:


I purchased one of these oven mitts, so I can attest to their awesomeness! They are thick, durable and oh so pretty!


Last fall I got to meet LeAnn in person! And I picked up one her key fobs while visiting her booth. You can have your own...and this one is perfect for the upcoming holiday.


Throwing a party? How about a fun bunting to jazz up the food table or your entry way!

Thank you again LeAnn! I really appreciate my mug and your friendship :)