Snake Eggs

Tonight at 10:00 p.m., my friend and former team teacher, Judith, flies into the Detroit Airport, so I wanted to make a quick post. I know once she gets here and our activities get started, I won't want to get too far behind in blogging and going through my camera chip. We will be busy bees!

On the 4th of July, after our photo shoot, we made a trip to the Detroit Zoo. It is a bit intimidating to me, to navigate all the traffic and lanes, so David also wanted to make sure I would be able to remember the route for when Judith, Harbor, and I are solo.

When I lived in the south and heard the term, "8 Mile," the only thing I could think of was the movie based on the life of Eminem. I wasn't really even sure it existed. Ha! Well, my southern friends, it is no urban legend. And it is a part of town we avoid.

What I didn't know was that there are many "mile" roads, and "8 Mile" was only made infamous after the movie. I know those of you from Michigan are shaking your head at me in disappointment. Sorry.



Harbor was really excited to be at the zoo and we have all enjoyed having one so close to us. The Detroit Zoo is less than 30 minutes away and we can visit the Toledo Zoo in over an hour or so.

Harbor is noticing the big crocodile on the other side of the glass!

After this picture, Harbor talked nonstop of "snake" eggs and that we don't eat them. I agreed with him that, no, we don't eat them. I guess the whole snake egg encounter shook him to the core.

In the above picture, David and I spotted a large group of bonafide monks. I really think that is the biggest difference living in a big northern city- the diversity. Apparently, there is a monastery close by.

And the monks seemed to be everywhere we were, so I couldn't resist a discreet picture of them. David pretty much dared me, don't you know!

It was a hot day {mid 80's} which really truly felt hot. I think being away from the drastic heat of the south has already changed my DNA structure because we all felt pretty heat stricken.  : ) The zoo had water misters set up sporadically to be used as a cool-off and Harbor enjoyed getting, "watered," as he put it.  : )

Harbor's favorite animal is the giraffe. We stayed here the longest.

After the monks, I started people watching more than animal watching {and taking people-watching pictures, too!} I thought this guy had a really nice camera! 

In other news, we have a big deep garden window in our kitchen. It makes the kitchen feel very "Better Homes & Gardens" to me. I love it.

Originally, I had a million little knick-knacks up there, but it just felt awfully cluttered. Sometimes, in order to make a big impact, I think you have to pair down. Having seven small accessories allows the eye to skip around instead of that big "show stopper" effect you sometimes want. I'm not saying this is a show stopper, and for some of you, it may be a little over-the-top, but I really like the tone it lends to the room. The window lets in such soft beautiful light that I really felt like I needed to do something special.

See that house out of the garden window? That is my neighbor. We have a house that close on the other side, as well. All the homes here are like that. Nice big homes stacked on top of each other is the definition of living in the city. I needed the outside to come in, to see nature, to see life.

So, I went into our yard, gathered a handful of branches, tied them in the middle with wire picture hanger, spray painted them with Rustoleum's Heirloom White, and had David hang them with fishing line.

They really do appear to hang suspended and it creates such a fun, whimsical tone in the kitchen. I attached a small bird's nest and a few egg candles from Michaels.

I may live in the city, but I have a bit of the country in my window.

It was a free {minus the nest and eggs} project with a big feel.

And while I was busy taking pictures, Harbor pulled a chair from his preschool desk up to the window. When I asked him what he was doing, he said {no joke}, "We don't need snake eggs in that tree!"