A Little R & R

I apologize for my absence this week - in an attempt to de-stress and unwind, my husband and I took a few "much needed" days away this week for a little rest and relaxation. We headed down to Kansas City for several days of unplanned vacation...and although the terrible storms limited our activities, it did feel good to getaway. We spent a couple days finding indoor activities to avoid the thunderstorms and tornadoes - we visited Crown Center and toured the Hallmark Visitors Center (which was very cool - my favorite was seeing the bow making machine create star-shaped bows!)....we walked around Union Station...we spent an afternoon at The Plaza and had wonderful barbecue....we visited the Federal Reserve where we saw millions of dollars...and we saw a movie at the greatest movie theater I have ever been to (leather recliners, a full cocktail bar, dinner menu, totally classy, clean and comfortable!).

When we finally got a day of sunshine, we visited the Kansas City Zoo, which we thoroughly enjoy...below are some of my favorite photos I took while we explored the gorgeous grounds. I loved seeing the Straw-Necked Ibis adding to their giant multi-tiered nest with eggs in several areas...and even got a close-up shot of one of the Ibis repositioning some eggs...there was an adorable baby Rhinoceros (and although they were laying in a position where it was hard to take a photo, I did manage to get the baby snuggling up with mama)...there were several baby Giraffes...young Southern Lesser Kudu...an Aldabra Tortoise slowly making it's way to some shade...a Meerkat that posed perfectly for me...and a Kangaroo just a few feet from us. We always have a lovely time at this zoo and the weather cooperated and made it a relaxing way to spend a day.

I am still feeling a bit rundown and stressed, but a few days away definitely helped. Tomorrow I will get back to business - I have the finishing to complete on the Elegant Stitch Workshop piece...I have some new charting in the works...and I have a couple models I really want to get started. On a personal project note I have a small appliqué wall hanging that I need to quilt and bind, a cool new machine embroidery pin cushion to finish, and a small black and white quilt I want to start....so I will have a lot of fun creative things to share with you in the near future...