Kinky Boots!

After resting our tired feet in Times Square we walked to the Hirschfeld Theater to see Kinky Boots. I chose this show because Cyndi Lauper wrote the music and lyrics and it sounded like it might be funny. I was hoping it would be a show all three of us could enjoy.

Wow. Kinky Boots blew us all away. Everything about the show was outstanding. The music, the singing, the acting, the story, the costumes, the choreography, the dancing, the transitions, the set design, all of it.

At almost every show I go to I find myself watching what is going on in the wings or behind the scenes. Not this time. It was so engaging, and the transitions (with the set) were so seamless, I hardly noticed them.

I was surprised how much my dad liked the show. He even bought the cd afterward. We were all really sad that Ross wasn't there to enjoy the show with us. We sent him a post card. My parents said I chose well. We all loved the show.

Times Square: My Name in Lights!

I know it is silly, but seeing my name in lights on a huge screen in the middle of Times Square made my day. The screen was on a five minute loop, showing various scenes in high definition. I texted our names and they showed up pretty quickly.

For some reason my mom's name didn't come up the first couple of times I texted it. Finally, it came up.

How cool is that?

Zabar's

We headed to Zabar's after the museum. We browsed all the kitchen goods upstairs and then went downstairs to shop the food. I bought some tea and two hard salami.  I bought quite a bit of tea in New York. Mom threw a crumble cake in the basket and it turned out to be soooo good. If we had been staying closer to Zabar's I'm sure we would have gone back for more.

American Museum of Natural History

We exited Central Park and took refuge in the cool air of the American Museum of Natural History. It got so cold in some areas that I put on my (newest) cashmere sweater. We wandered around and then ate at the museum cafe. 

Ross and I have a thing for octopodes (my preferred plural term for octopus), so I took a photo of this drawing.

The main reason we went to the museum is that my dad wanted to see the special exhibit Spiders Alive! It took us a bit to find the exhibit, so when we did we didn't have to wait for our timed entry.

We watched a short movie about spiders. It was very informative. I didn't know how tarantulas molt. They actually showed a tarantula molting in the film.

I think this was the neatest live spider they had on display. It is a trap door spider. The spider had made a burrow up against the glass and you could see it moving around in there. I could actually make out the trap door on the surface as well.

Here I am posing on a giant spider. I think we all learned something in the exhibit.

After the spiders we went through the Hall of Biodiversity and Hall of Ocean Creatures.  The Hall of Biodiversity was my favorite. So many different and contrasting kinds of creatures in one area and next to each other.

New Hummingbird Feeder

When my parents were here I actually saw some hummingbirds out front. I decided to get a new hummingbird feeder. The old one is hard to clean and has gotten kind of gross. I got this one at Home Depot. It is glass and mostly metal (with some plastic.) The only reason I put in the red liquid is because it came free with the feeder. Normally I just dissolve sugar in water. The red dye might actually be bad for the birds and it isn't necessary to attract them. I have yet to see a hummingbird feeding from it, but I haven't really been watching.

Central Park in July

It was hot, hot, hot! We started at the South end of the park and walked up to 77th St.  They were filming a vampire movie along the mall, supposedly with Nicole Kidman. They closed off the area and we had to walk around. I didn't have my big camera, so I couldn't super-zoom to see what was going on. Celebrity sighting is not really my thing anyway. Nicole Kidman was at Maryland General Hospital filming a movie when I worked there and I went home to get some sleep rather than sulk the halls hoping to get a glimpse of her.

Despite the heat my parents liked Central Park. Next time I go I'd like to start out on the North side and wander my way down.

Limerick and Bo Update

Limerick has two large limes and two small limes. These are the larger limes.

I don't think Bo's orange is growing as quickly as the limes. I'm so excited that the trees are growing fruit this
(first) Summer.

High Line

I headed to New York City last week and sent out greetings from the High Line. It was our first touristy stop.

There were different flowers blooming this time. And it was a lot hotter than last time (when I went with Kitson in May).

Here's me and my mom, in our white hats.

Another shot of blooming flowers.

I got a paleta on the High Line. Uh, apricot rose-water flavored.

Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo--Again

Yeah, I've been a total slacker about posting this month. I'm going to try and catch up over the next week.

So my parents came to visit and we went to New Braunfels to see the Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo. My favorite part this time was feeding two cavies by hand.

This is a cavy. I imagine that the billybumbler in Stephen King's Dark Tower series looks something like this.

And here is one of the lions. The lions have really grown since we last saw them in February.

It was a hot day, and most of the animals were laying around, conserving energy. Ross spent a long time talking with the owner. He has some really big plans for the place. They are getting a wolf cub, and servals. And I think maybe another kind of big cat too. I can't remember. Update on Princess: she was sent away to a breeding program, and was supposed to come back. Well, Princess found a boyfriend. (She was only supposed to encourage another female to mate with the male.)  So she's moved in with her boyfriend and won't be back. I'll miss her, but I'm glad she found love.

Joint Effort

I make the filling. Ross makes the crust. This week we made blueberry pie. Last week--cherry.

Look What I Did!

Every weekend I try to make latte art. Most weekends I have too much milk in the pitcher and I make something up---It was supposed to be a swan! See it? This past weekend I was making 3 cups of coffee instead of the usual 2.  I ran out of milk and had to steam more. Just the right amount of steamed milk was in the pitcher and this is what came out! Now, if only I knew how much was in the pitcher.