Camera Critters

It's Saturday and that means Critters Day!
Be sure to visit Camera Critters to see the other participants.

Last weekend there was a special photo day at the zoo.
The zoo opened early for about 150 folks with their cameras and
umbrellas in hand. It rained (lightly, thankfully) most of the morning.

Under the umbrella, the first animals we came across
were the cheetahs.
They seemed to love the light rain.

They have become real favorites at the zoo.

Just look at that face!
WOW!

Peace Party

Did you know International Peace Day is September 21?

I was visiting Vanessa over at A Fanciful Twist this morning. She mentioned that her friend Rhonda Roo was having a Peace Party on September 21. I don't know about you, but a Peace Party seems like a very good thing to me! Why don't you join us?!

Here's a quote from Rhonda Roo's lovely blog:

"So let's do it! Won't you join me? On September 21st, let's post our little doves, and whatever else means peace to us-a peace symbol out of rose petals or the rose itself, a poem, a song, a person, a quote, a story, or a word, a picture, a moment in time, whatever it is that you see in your mind's eye when you think of peace! It doesn't have to be lavish--or, you can go extravaganza style! Whatever you can spare, so that, for just one day, there are so many people thinking peaceful thoughts a cloud bursts and starts showering us with shimmery love drops!"

Partying for Peace!

YeeeeHaaaaw!

(I'm editing this post to include the information that a new book is starting at The Next Chapter (an online book club). The book is The Joy Diet by Martha Beck. It just seems to me that JOY and PEACE go together! )

Postcard Friendship Friday

I'd like to thank our lovely postmistress Marie for putting Postcard Friendship Friday together.

Be sure to visit her to see the other participants.

Does this look familiar to you?
Can you hear the theme song playing in your mind?

We visited Lake Tahoe several years ago.
Near where we were staying was the amusement park
The Ponderosa Ranch.
On the North Shore of Beautiful Lake Tahoe

Who was your favorite Cartwright?
I liked big brother Adam, then there's Little Joe,
Dad Ben and of course, Hoss.
Here they are in front of the Ranch House.

The Ranch House of the Cartwrights
showing the exterior, living room,
and Ben's Office.
"This legendiary home has authentic antiques
and furnishings gathered from around the world."
(From the back of the postcard.)

This may be my favorite postcard of the Ponderosa Village
at Incline Village, Nevada.
I love the view of Lake Tahoe in the background.

Every time we go someplace new, I buy postcards. I even send a few out to friends and occasionally send one to myself. Memories!

Mail Call!

I was one of the winners of a give-a-way at Olde Thyme Prims and my gift arrived in the mail yesterday. I just love Mail Call!

I was so excited when I saw this was one of the give-a-ways.
First, it is by my buddy Sarah at Cottage Garden Studio
and, second, it is from a series of hers of different shops
and places to visit in a little magical town filled with witches,
unicorns, dragons, owls ... you get the idea.
Anyway, The Zoo is perfect for me!
It combines one of my loves (THE ZOO)
and fantasy!
Thank you Sarah and Olde Thyme Prims!

But that wasn't all.
I guess Sarah was feeling sorry for me after Rocky's death.
She included this wonderful little ATC.
Isn't this little lady with her magic wand fun?!!!
She looks dressed up for a special occasion.
Halloween isn't very far away!

Joy!

My World

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself!

Mr. Dragon and I took a jaunt (love that word)
to Williams Tower to see
Celebration: The Legacy of Arthur Turner.

Mr. Dragon is taking color theory from Mr. Turner who is a well known
water colorist. He has been at the Glassell School for 40 years.
This exhibition featured some of his students.

The Williams Tower is located in the Galleria area of Houston - a multi-use area, shopping, restaurants, hotels, condo et al. We parked in the Galleria parking garage and walked over to Williams Tower. I had to take a photo of the sign marking the Helistop!


This dramatic 64-story, 1.4 million-square-foot office tower is a product of the award-winning architectural team of Philip Johnson and John Burgee.

At 64 stories and 901 feet (275 m), the Williams Tower is the tallest building in Houston outside of the Downtown area. When it was constructed in 1983, it was also the world's tallest skyscraper outside of a city's central business district. Williams Tower was named "Skyscraper of the Century" in the December 1999 issue of Texas Monthly magazine.

The building is unique in that it was built to function as two separate towers stacked directly on top of one another, one comprising the first forty floors and the other the forty-first to sixty-fourth. The building has separate banks of elevators and lobbies for each of the two building sections. A majority of the bottom 40 floors are occupied by Williams. The remainder of the building is occupied by a variety of tenants. The building's stepback design suggests one of Johnson's earlier (and smaller) works, the IDS Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Committed to being an environmentally responsible building, Williams Tower was designed to be energy efficient and has earned the EPA’s Energy Star label for each year since 2000 that it was eligible and is now actively seeking LEED Existing Building certification from the United States Green Building Council.

Here are a few of the paintings in the exhibition on the ground floor of the building. Remember, these are all watercolors!

Onaxis and Eggplants by Anstis Lundy

Urn and Blossoms by
Keiko Yasuoka

Beautiful Morning by
Keiko Yasuoka

Map Poem, gouache on Strathmore paper by
Dee Wolff

A very successful jaunt.
We walked back to the Galleria and had lunch at the cafe
in Nordstroms.

Click here to view all the participants of My World Tuesday.

Joy!