Oma's Trunk

 While getting ready for the church rummage sale, I found box after box of. . . . vintage items.  I have old books, newspapers, magazines, postcards, stamps.  Then, I have lace, patterns, buttons, trim and other sewing paraphernalia.  Some I inherited, but I bought a lot at garage sales 25 years ago, too.

 Rachel visited over Labor Day weekend and helped me get started.  I had already decided what I would sell and the name of my shop---Oma's Trunk.  All of the stuff I had could easily fit in a trunk (as opposed to a closet or an attic), but I knew the name "Grandma" was probably already taken.  Since I have German books and maps, I decided on "Oma", the German word for "Grandma".

 We quickly decided that Grandpa Long's trunk photographed better than mine.

 While Rachel handled the artistic details (like the banner at the top of the page), I researched my items to see what my treasures could sell for.

 We made the Dining Room the staging area because of the large table top and good Northern light.

 I had to break out my iron which hasn't been used since my son-in-law Todd was here last. 

Staging area for most photos----note ladder to stand on!

Rachel and I agree that the above photo wasn't the best way to display the collar, but this scarf was a real headache.  I didn't like it flat but Rachel didn't like any of my hanging ideas.

 

I think we finally agreed on these.  Not too busy, but showing off how the scarf looks draped.  So, here is my Etsy shop.  Wish me luck!

Surprising St. Louis Zoo

 Last weekend, we took Brett (cobra), Libby (kitty) and Davis (eagle) to the St. Louis Zoo.  Although I have been going here almost every year for 65 years, I am always impressed and surprised by something.

 I usually buy the kids a toy, but we decided to splurge on face painting this time. I didn't even know they did that! Then, I asked each one what animal they really wanted to see.

Brett really wanted to see the Anacondas, Cobras and Boas. . . but he usually is too afraid to step too far into the "snake house."  But, we got him all the way in and took his picture in front of the sign to prove how brave he was.  That was a wonderful surprise!

 

Libby wanted to see the monkeys, but spent a lot of time on "Poop Patrol" with Davis. :-)  No surprise here, really.

On our way to Davis's animal request, we passed a lion napping in the trees!  I don't think I've ever seen that before.
Davis requested to see the Okapi, one of his Webkins, but it was very shy hanging around the rocks.  An animal interpreter came up and he was surprised that we knew what an Okapi was. He even showed us this Okapi's baby picture! Apparently this animal has a very small fan club.

So he dug out all of his charts and told us the story of how Okapi's were "discovered".  Click here for a very interesting history.

It is actually more closely related to giraffes than to zebras despite the zebra-like stripes.

The St. Louis Zoo is pretty amazing--it is free, it is wonderful, but it is also very beautiful.  There were more flowers blooming than at the Mo. Botanical Garden last week.

It has some pretty amazing art also.  The art above was in the Herpetarium which looks pretty much how it did when I was a child.  John E. Wallace, the architect, hand sculpted many of the architectural details.

The area around the Bird Cage (built for the 1904 World's Fair) has some beautiful stained glass.  The one above had a hole in the middle to frame the swamp currently in the Bird Cage.

But, outside were some other wonderful stained glass pieces and mosaics.

Davis wanted to see the Okapi, Brett the snakes, but Libby wanted to see the monkeys.  Every time I tried to take a photo, this ape turned around.  I was certainly surprised to see how much this looked like scary eyes glowing in the dark on. . . 

The End.

Japanese Gardens

The Japanese Garden brings such peace and tranquility.  I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Alaska 2002 Part IV

 Still sunny on June 16 as we entered College Fjord.  Here we saw otters and whales in addition to the beautiful Glaciers.

 Our dinner table on this cruise was the most interesting one we have ever had----we all were from Missouri or had Missouri connections:  two couples (minister, wife, church secretary, her husband) were from Lamar, Mo (Gages and Littles) and the other couple were the parents of Larry Rice.  All of us being from Missouri were familiar with his ministries---Dave had even volunteered there.

 We disembarked in Seward and took a bus to Anchorage.  We saw a lot of dead wood which is from the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake, a 9.2 on the Richter scale.  Because the area dropped 5 feet, salt water rushed in killing all of the spruces.   Click here for more information.

 We also stopped at a Wildlife park where we were able to see moose, elk, caribou (there are more caribou than people in this area). 

 We took a bus tour telling us more about the Alaskan earthquake---damage was still very visible almost 40 years later.  Ships no longer come to Anchorage after the earthquake but with tides of 35 feet, I can't imagine the large cruise ships managing it.

 We also had some time to walk around Anchorage.  The cruise lines had a large terminal in Anchorage where we could check our luggage or just sit waiting for our flights.  We had been told that Mt. Ranier is rarely seen from the ground----thousands are disappointed.  But, as we were leaving Alaska, there it was reaching out past the clouds.

It was a great vacation---we look forward to going again sometime.