Zoolights at Reid Park Zoo

Our friend, Cara, gave us two tickets to the 2010 Reid Park Zoolights which we had never seen so last Sunday we drove down to the zoo (also the first time we had been to the zoo) for the event.

When we arrived the line must have been about 1,000 people long. We started to wait when Michael mentioned that maybe this was the line to buy tickets and there was a shorter line for people with tickets.

I walked up to the entrance and as I was walking up there a man was coming down the line asking if people already had their tickets and if they did he would direct them to the shorter line - I found that line and called Michael on my phone to come and join me in the line that had maybe 15 people in it!

Needless to say we were one of the first people to enter the zoo and that enabled us to get better photos.

We even managed to see one of the animals although he didn't display his face.

It was well done and we enjoyed ourselves.

We stopped by to thank Cara for her generosity on our way out.

3 Sewing Machines Later or 3 of 4 Cushions Finished

Since we moved in to our home here in Tucson we have wanted to have cushions for the outdoor seating/kitchen area to make it more comfortable to sit either in the cold or the heat.

We bought the Sunbrella last year and the foam this year and hauled it down from Tacoma.

Beverly, my sister, agreed to make the cushions with me helping wherever I could - she is the expert!

So earlier this month Bev came down to spend a few days with us and make the cushions. She brought her older machine and I had a newer machine. We could not get Bev's machine to work with the Sunbrella and after quite a few tries gave up on it.

Cutting out the cushions

We then moved on to our new Singer lightweight machine which did just fine with the fabric. The first two cushions went very well but when Bev was about half way through the third cushion my machine just died. We spent a lot of time working on it doing everything we knew how to do then called Singer who suggested that we open it up - it is well sealed like a lot of products these days - and we tried but were afraid that we were going to break the housing. They didn't know what else to do so Bev and I returned it to Costco and bought the only machine they had on the floor - a different Singer.

The Third Machine

This machine was terrible from the first stitch! The fabric moved around, Bev couldn't make it sew around corners, it jammed, the feeddogs would not adjust to help with the issues. She, a saint, managed to finish the third cushion but it took ten times as long as it should have. Needless to say we returned that machine to Costco also.

The fourth cushion Bev took home with her to sew on one of the machines the family has up there. She also took home the pieces to make our bbq cover.

Laying out the bbq cover

Bev and Michael testing out the first cushion

Bev was so much more patient that I was with the @#$% machine!

Chef Michael

While we were in Tacoma we bought a 'real professional' Chef's coat for Michael.

This year my sister, Beverly, used her very fancy machine to embroider "Chef Michael" above the left pocket.

Looks great!

Ayla's 4th Birthday Party

My Grand Niece turned four recently and invited us to her party up in Avondale.

We drove up to Phoenix, ran some errands, spent the night then joined family and friends for Ayla's birthday party at her parents' home.

She had a couple of friends there along with her younger sister, Lyra. Princess garb, etc. was the theme as you can tell from the photos.

We missed last year's party and she has grown up a lot.