Peanut on Safari

It was a sweltering day as we finally turned off the main roads onto a small back road that would lead to the wide, open savannah.

Peanut had traveled happily, and we were all excited as we gathered our tour maps and animal-spotting guides. One last turn brought us to the beginning of our wilderness safari!

We soon spotted the unmistakably long, twisted horns of a herd of antelope-like animals making its way through the tall grasses. So majestic! A wilder young one was racing in circles around the group. Peanut turned to me with her eyes wide open as if to ask "mama! what are they?!".

Our vehicle bumped along the way a bit further before we were approached by more animals. These deer soon had blocked off the path. They circled us and inquisitivity looked in our windows. A bit too much too fast for Peanut. She cried "up, up!" and was soon safe in mama's lap.

We moved along carefully so as not to miss any of the wonderful sights. Halfway into our trip, we began a steep ascent to the hill top from where we could survey the area. From there, it got even more exciting.

In the foothills, we encoutered a corps of giraffes among the tall trees. Just amazing! We didn't need to just peek at them through the sun-roof as one soon lowered his towering neck to greet us through the driver's window.

Nearby, a herd of zebras gathered. As we passed, they lazily moved past our vehicle also pausing to by our windows. We were literally within inches of each other. Peanut happily hissed "zee, zee, zee" as they came by.

In the heat of the day, the cheetahs were taking it easy. Just like Miuku & Mauku do at home. We saw one lolling on its back and another fast asleep against a tree trunk.

We ended our safari by visiting the Lodge and Foothills Tents - once we were able to find them that is. Sheltered away from busy - or any - roadways, the overnight accomodations looked cozy and secluded. They both overlook a popular watering hole visited by many of the parks animals.

What a fantastic day trip! The Fossil Rim wildlife reserve was just 2 hours away from home, yet we felt as if we escaped to a completely different world.

Not so a'muzed

Peanut and I took a peek at Kidz Muze during its grand opening weekend to see if it offered another indoor play place. I just didn't get the concept from reading their website other than to understand it was indoors, for children and had some different sections. Oh, and it cost money for children and parents to go. Hmmm...

The enthusiastic high schoolers (ok, they could have been college students - they all look sooo young to me nowadays. Sad.) at the front desk said of course there was tons for a little 15 month old and took us on tour. Tons was more like milligrams.

Kidz Muze occupies a warehouse type space that's been kind of spliced into a number of play zones or rooms. There was a zone with a couple of doll houses and train sets on tables, a zone for kids karaoke with play instruments, bean bags and supposedly dress up (I saw one lonely dress), a zone for a jungle adventure with a small climbing wall ("you can help your little one climb this!"), a room for crafts and then several make believe play areas I liked. You could be a vet with all the stuffed animals, play in one of two kitchens, or run the grocery store. For wilder times, there was a bigger climbing contraption and a huge indoor play gym/jungle gym. Though all areas were marked for 4 and older.

For truly smaller ones, there was one area with a few puzzles, climbing cushions, a baby gym and Little People-like farm house. Not very impressive. The odd part was that it was a no-shoes zone, but the management office for Kidz Muze was at the rear of the space so employees were constantly having to take off their shoes to cross through there....

The cost will also probably keep us away:

$8.50	4 to 12 years old
$6.50	1 to 3 years old
Free admission	Under 1 year old
$2.50	13 years old to adult

Note the TO ADULT price.

I asked why adults had to pay as well - it seems a bit silly. Even sillier was the answer I got.
"Its because the adults can also play with all the equipment!"

Roastin'

We've been roasting over the past weeks here in Texas with temps finally dropping "down" into the mid-90s F. Let me tell you, it feels great! So refreshing! Cool, even!

In the midst of the peak temperatures of around 105 F, our air conditioning went out. On a Saturday evening. It just seemed to be getting warmer and warmer around the house. Then, I dared to suggest that the A/C died....a thought no one wants to really entertain when no relief was in sight.

Sure enough the outside unit was silent as a sun-crisped cricket shell.

The home warranty service promised to call us on MONDAY morning to set a time for a repair man to come out. Not for a repair to come out on Monday, but to set a "mutually convinient" time for a repair to come out.

I suggested this required emergency repairs since it was so hot, we have a toddler, under a heat advisory, etc...According to the warranty co, an emergency repair can be ordered ONLY when its 105F - at the very moment you call! Nevermind if its been that hot that day or will be the next day. Nevermind if your very own reliable Biltema digital thermometer shows that its 104, if weather.com doesn't show 105F, tough luck. Get ready to roast.

We opted to install window A/C units in our bedroom and living room rather than evacuating to a hotel since with Peanut + 2 kitties, it would be no fun for anyone.

We draped the thickest curtains we could find in doorways, closed off no-critical rooms, dropped all the shades and sacrificied our Finnish darkening curtains to make covers for west facing windows. Anything that gave off heat was a no-no... no toaster, no oven, no stove, no coffee maker. Thank goodness for microwave meals. And, friends who offered fans, guest bedrooms and numbers to their favorite repair men.

It brought it down to a toasty 88F for the afternoons in the main living area. Our bedroom was an oasis of 76F.

Finally, five days later the A/C unit was whirring again pushing blissfully chilled air throughout the home.

What stories do you remember?

My mom recently sent me a copy of a story I had told her when I was a child. She was really great in writing down our creations and saving them over the years. Somehow she knew we would one day appreciate her dragging these boxes around as she moved.

The tale was about two 'nakeros' (don't ask, I have no idea what they are) and how they finally met each other, got to play, eat cake and then eventually get married.

There is one storybook that was given to my mom by her parents that I now have on my bookshelf. Its called 'Satumaan Portinvartija', the Gatekeeper of Storyland, by Jorma Maenpaa (umlauts on the 'a's).

This is my all time favorite fairy tale book. As a child, I would only get to hear stories from it when we spent the summer at my mom's home in Ilomantsi, Finland. The book always stayed there on the shelf. In the evenings, my sister and I would snuggle into our mom as we all lay on her bed and she would read these fantastic fairy tales to us.

To this day, I can clearly imagine the story of the Hullumylly (The Crazy Mill) - there were no illustrations in the book so all the images are my own. The Crazy Mill would grind the hearts of people and fill their sacks with whatever secrets their hearts carried.

I've started on my own translation of the book so I can share the stories with Peanut. While I hope she learns Finnish, I know its an uphill battle and I don't want her to miss out on the magic of this book.