TUESDAY TWO - BUTTERFLIES AND FLAMINGOS

These displays are at the Wildlights. Above is called Flamingo Lagoon and below is Fantasy Butterfly Garden. The display is located in front of Monsanto Insectarium. Many people went inside the Insectarium (45 degree) to keep warm.

TUESDAY TWO - MONKEYS JUMPING AROUND

One of the displays at Wild Lights at St. Louis Zoo is called "Chimpanzee Trapeze". We tried but could not capture the monkeys on the left. The flashing was so quick that we could only get the middle act (above) and the right side (below).

It rained all day today. The kind of gentle drizzling, enough to make your hair wet and your shoes squeak. I started working on our Christmas cards, hopefully it will be ready for mailing this weekend. We already got a few cards, some with name pre-printed because the person did not even bother to sign the cards, and then others with "annual brag letter" about all the fancy trips and big promotion! With so many people sending e-cards and the raising cost of postage, it would not be long before mailing Christmas cards became the thing of the past. Do you still send out Christmas cards?

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS

When Benjamin saw the above sign "Rock Paper Scissors", he asked me what it was about. I explained that it was the name of a store selling paper products like greeting cards, supplies for scrapbooks, and anything "papertry". I also mentioned that "Rock Paper Scissors" is a universal game which I remembered playing when I was a child in Viet Nam. For adults, it is a way to settle a bet or to decide winner and loser.
Then Benjamin asked me how the game is played. I explained that there are usually two players, each either put his hand behind his back or shake his hand a number of times, then put the same hand out either in a fist (rock), out flat (paper) or with the index and middle figures extended, either pressed together or slightly apart (scissors). Winning is decided based on the following rules - paper wins against rock (paper covers rock), rock wins against scissors (rock crushes scissors) and scissors wins against paper (scissors cut paper). I told Benjamin that I had wonderful childhood memory playing this game because it was a lot of fun. Then Benjamin extended his two yellow hands -------------------

WILDLIGHTS AT ST. LOUIS ZOO

We went to the Zoo last night. It was our first time walking through the Christmas Light Display. The annual evening walk is opened from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thousand of lights were strung on trees, along the fences, throughout the grounds with many fun animated lightings.

It is a family event where the kids could listen to storytellers or ride the carousel. Parking is free and admission is $5 per person. The entire zoo is not opened so it takes about 30 minutes to walk around and see all the displays. The cafe is opened for those wishing to get something to eat or hot chocolate as it was about 35 degrees. It was a crisp cold night for the walk but it could be a bit freezing to the bones, even with hats and gloves.

We offered to take photos when we see families and most of the people were appreciated. It was nice to see the kids having a good time with Mom and Dad or grandparents. I used to think of my nephew and wishing he lived nearby so we could enjoy these activities together. From an experience that was "a bad idea" when we were in NYC last year, I finally realized that JL has grown up and no longer the child that would be happy just sitting next to me while I read to him. Sadly, he is more interested in computer games than interacting with his "Big Auntie". I finally learned to accept that the kind of relationship I envision and hope to built with my nephew is not what he might wish to have. It is a lesson of letting go that most parents have to do with their children. You do your best, allowing them to fly away and hope that they won't be those "boomerang" kids!

FRIDAY "ST. LOUIS" SKY

After seeing The Grinch at Peabody Opera House, we decided to drive around downtown St. Louis. Most of the time when we came downtown for the hockey games, it was in the evening. We usually left town right after the Rams or Cardinals games. We drove to Laclede Landing and along the riverfront. We had about 45 minutes before dinner reservation at Kreis Steakhouse.

We saw a few joggers but no bikers (bicycle). It was in the mid-40s and one lady running with only a shirt and thin sweatpants. I commented that she was very brave to be running along the riverfront where it was almost empty. She could be dragged into a vehicle and no one would be there to help. Or maybe she was an undercover police officer. I would love to see the guy's face after he tried to attack her, not only she fought back and then show him her police badge.

We had a nice dinner, started with crab cakes and we both ordered the Colorado lamb. For dessert, we shared a bowl of vanilla ice cream, for toppings, we selected toasted almonds and chocolate syrup. Going to the show and having a nice dinner was sort-of Christmas celebration for us. My husband often reminded me, "we are on vacation", because he said everyday is a vacation day and to enjoy each day as a vacation day especially it will be 2012 soon! (What are your thoughts about 2012 and the end of the world?)

DA WINGS IN ST. LOUIS (MERRY CHRISTMAS, FATHER RICH)

These photos were taken at the December 6th game. The Wings lost again, for the 2nd time, to the Blues. My husband was able to get off work early, and we got to the arena enough time for the warm up. Last time, the game already started when we arrived. So, the Wings could not blame me for being a "jinx" since they lost whether I was there watching and like my husband said, "blowing kisses" to the boys while they were warming up!

The day after the game, I saw Father Rich after the 8:00 a.m. Mass. Before I could say hello, he said, "Well, the Blues beat your Wings again." (Father Rich saw us at a Blues v. Wings game and since then he gave me a hard time about being a Red Wings.) I thought since I already planned to go for Reconciliation before Christmas, I might well say what was on my mind. "Yes, Father, I am sure you will enjoy it more when the Blues finally won their 1st Stanley Cup." Father Rich did not have anything else to say because my response reminded him that the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup 11 times. Merry Christmas, Father. Remember that when it comes to hockey and my beloved Red Wings, don't mess with me!

TUESDAY TWO - FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME

I sort-of temporarily ran out of material for Tuesday Two posts so this photo captured at 2:06 in the 2nd period of the 2nd visit (Tuesday, December 6th) by the Detroit Red Wings to St. Louis, will have to do. Notice that I left out the word "beloved" when referring to the Wings. They lost again 1-2 to the Blues. Must be too much milk and cookies! They fooled me in the 1st period when they "seemed" to play well but somehow could not score on power-play and too many turn-overs. At one point, the Wings could not clear the puck out their red zone and they looked more like players that just came up the minor! The next game is in April 2012. Will I be fooled again? The 3rd time (if the Wings losing the game) will be a sham, not a charm.

CUTE LITTLE BUDGIES

When I planned my visit to Atlanta Zoo, I was mostly interested in seeing the Chinese pandas. I saw the pandas once at the Bronx Zoo, but that was more than 25 years ago. When I saw the above sign, "Boundless Budgies - A Parakeet Adventure", I almost screamed with excitement. I love these colorful birds. At St. Louis Zoo, the parakeets were kept in large cages with netting all around. Here they were in free-flights and we could get real close to them. At times, the parakeets literally bumped into visitors while flying around.

I have always been fascinated by these colorful birds. I read that parakeets are friendly, beautiful, clownish, easy to tame and they breed readily in captivity. Unlike the pandas who are so picky at mating and only mate once every 7-10 years! The main difference between the parrots and parakeets is the tail - most of the birds called parakeets have long tapered tails, whereas parrots tend to have shorter, blunter tails.

The American parakeet has another name as budgie, called by the rest of the world! Budgie came from the aboriginal Australian word, betcherage (budgerigar), meaning "good to eat" - blaah (I like parakeet better). Wild parakeets are found in only the wild green. Their primary predators are hawks, tree snakes and other raptors. Parakeets gained popularity around 1850 and later a yellow mutation occurred, leading to additional new mutations such as blue, white, gray-green, even violet.

I had to laugh (it is not really that funny - sad actually) when I read that parakeets in captivity are prone to become overweight because their activities are limited. Naturally, they should be flying, foraging for food, keeping away from predators, finding nesting sites, and protecting their youngs. In captivity, the birds don't have to do anything of these, everything is available for their enjoyment. Does it sound the social/political golden handcuffs with the sole purpose keeping certain group of people dependent on government subsidized programs?

I could not believe all the beautiful feathers and how adorable these parakeets are. Male parakeets are the best talkers and could repeat over a thousand words and phrases. Some even learned how to whistle. Parakeet does well when it gets lot of attention. I am surprised to learn that pairs are less likely to talk than the single bird and single birds with mirrors are often less likely to talk than single birds without mirrors. I thought it would be the other way around that the bird would see itself in the mirror and thought it was another bird and try to communicate with it. The move attention and affection the birds get, the more likely they would talk. Some birds like to be covered at night while others might get frightened in the dark.

After reading a book about parakeets and how much work involved in taking good care of these birds (proper housing/cage, nutrition, bathing, nail/beak care, wing clipping, general health, common illinesses, and potential problem behaviors), I decided not to run out and get a pair of parakeets. I think when I have an urge to see the parakeets, a trip to the pet store and to the zoo would be best!

BENJAMIN AT WORLD OF COCA COLA

Benjamin was high on sugar after tasting all 60 flavors of drinks from around the world!

This is the lobby and waiting area before the tour. Behind Benjamin are sculptures of supposely coke bottles painted with the faces of happy "drinkers" from various countries in all the countries/continents, speficially from China, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Benjamin and Dr. John S. Pemberton raised their glasses to make a toast for peace and happiness in the world.

FRIDAY SKY - THE A-TOWN

This is Georgia State Capitol, completed on July 4, 1889, has the impressive 75-foot dome covered in gold leaf and topped by a Statue of Freedom. My cheesy camera was not good enough for a zoom, so no photo of the statue. It wasn't until after the Civil War (1868) that Atlanta became the state capital. My next visit will definitely include a tour of the building so I could see the six Corinthian columns in front and inside the 237-foot ceiling in the rotunda. The Capitol is within walking distance from MARTA Georgia State station, Blue or Green line will get you there.

Above is Georgia Dome, 71,500 seat stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons. The Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and again SB XXXIV in 2000 were held here. (Current NFL standings - the Falcons is among the Wild Card teams trying to get to the Playoffs). Below is Phillips Arena, home of the former NHL Atlanta Thrashers. The hockey team was moved back to Canada and became the Winnipeg Jets. Since the NBA (men) has been on the lock-out, only the WNBA (women) games are being played here.

Our walk thru Centennial Olympic Park was nice but short because it was getting late (the sun was going down quickly) and there was an unpleasant part of big city (there were many homeless people there). We did not feel threaten but constantly being asked if we had any change, we thought it would be best to get out of the park.

The Coca-Cola tower on North Avenue is covered in white sheeting with an image of a soda bottle. Last May, the 26-story building was illuminated and turned into a giant projection screen showing images from the company's advertising library and photos posted on the company's Facebook. The occassion marked the 125th anniversary of Coco Cola.

GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS IN ATLANTA

Yes, TOTA was very impressed with Atlanta that I kept posting and writing about the A-town and since I took so many "cheesy" photos, it would be a crime not to share with my adoring fans - haa haa. The above "Coke" tree (I would not wish to impose my religion on the readers by calling it the Christmas tree - blaah!) was on display at the World of Coca Cola. My sister was working so I went on the tour by myself and really took my time to see all the exhibits and even tried a few different taste of sodas around the world.

At Centennial Olympic Park, workers were busy putting up Christmas decorations. (There, I said it - Merry Christmas to you Mr. Grinch!)

A worker saw me pointing the camera upward in his direction, he smiled and told his co-worker, "That is TOTA from St. Louis. She takes photos of everything wherever she goes. She even took picture of a piece of gum on the street!" The co-worker asked, "What does she do with the photos?" I was very pleased to hear the response, "She posts them on her blog. It is a very well-written and popular blog and I encourage ya'll to check it out and become one of her million followers" (Then I woke up and it was just a dream - haa haa haa haa haa haa)

I thought of Qaptain Qwerty and how much he would enjoy running in Centennial Olympic Park. I wish I had more time to see all the sculptures and so many other nice features at the park. I specially like the Fountain of Rings featuring the Olympic Ring symbol that was created just for the 1996 Olympic Games. Visit www.centennialpark.com for more information.

TUESDAY TWO - BUTTERFLIES

The theme for December at the Butterfly House (www.butterflyhouse.org) is Snow in the Tropics when over 1,000 Paper Kite butterflies in free-flight over white orchids. The black/white butterflies gave an illusion of snow falling inside the tropical conservatory.

Not much happening after the 4-day Thanksgiving break, just the typical work load and daily lunch that consisted of left-over turkey. The weather was still in the mid-40s. CP finally stored his golf clubs away. He also put the hard-top on the T-bird and then carefully giving "her" a good coat of wax. I started looking around for ideas what to get CP for his birthday/Christmas. It is nice to marry to a man whose birthday is on December 25th. I only have to buy two presents and then decide which one is for birthday and the other would be for Christmas!

2011 THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

Taking advantage of the sunny, warmer than expected weather, my husband worked on the Nativity display. After Ma passed away in 2006 (Pa passed away in 2000), the family went thru items in the house and getting it ready to sell, we mentioned that we would like to have the Nativity. We have been carrying on the tradition of displaying the Nativity in front of our house since then, just like the way Ma and Pa used to do during Christmas season.

For football fans, Thanksgiving is also a special time since we could eat and be merry watching the games all day. Traditionally, the Detroit Lions and now the Dallas Cowboys would schedule gameday on Thanksgiving. Nothing against Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay but I thought it would be funny if the Lions won the game and broke the Packers' winning streak. (Only serious football fans would understand why I thought it would be funny if that ever happened.)

My husband once again did a great job with cooking the turkey. He also made pumpkin and apple pies and my favorite side dish, green bean casserole. I reminded my husband of our "insider" funny story what happened in 2009 after we found the wishbone in the turkey. We silently made our wishes - my husband got the larger piece of the wishbone and I got the shorter part. CP then told me that his wish was that the exact model of the 2010 Mustang he ordered would be delivered sooner than scheduled. Well, he did get the Pony a few months earlier. What was my wish? I wish for peace in the world and for God's blessings for America. Talk about priority - if only I got the larger piece of the wishbone, the world would have been a peaceful place! (This year, we both wished for peace. Hopefully our wishes will come true!)

FRIDAY "THANKSGIVING" SKY - NYC IN 2010

These photos were taken at last year (2010) Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in NYC.

Besides visiting my family, being in NYC during Thanksgiving also sort-of anniversary celebration for us. Exactly 22 years ago (1988) that my husband flew from Michigan to NYC at Thanksgiving to ask my parents for my hand in marriage. When my husband said that he was very nervous not only about asking but also about the language barrier as my parents did not understand much English, I told him not to worry because my parents would be so happy that their 28-year old daughter (an very old maid in Vietnamese culture) finally got married!

We had a wonderful time and 2010 Thanksgiving in NYC was a memorable event. My husband got his wish of eating a Nathan's Famous hotdog in Coney Island. We broke our piggy-bank to pay for a delicious steak for lunch at Peter Luger Restaurant (only cash and PL credit cards are accepted there). Thanks to my brother, QQ, for driving us to see our 1st home in America on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. The next day, we walked around Flushing Meadows Park and then visited the apartment building in Elmhurst, Queens - our 2nd home in America. The highlights were spending time with my godparents, listening to my godfather telling stories about his service at the Battle of the Bulge during WWII, attending Mass with my 95-year old godmother and having dinner with my best friend from college and her family.

We are deeply thankful to be living in America and for the many patriots who love and serve our country. We thank God for His blessings and we pray that America will recover from its current downward, self-destructive path and with God's grace, we will once again look forward to brighter days.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

SAVANNAH - CITY OF SQUARES

Much of Savannah's charm and beauty is found in the layout of its historic squares by General Oglethorpe. On June 9, 1732, King George II granted a charter to British General James Edward Oglethorpe (1696-1785) and 20 Trustees for the creation of a new colony to be called Georgia, after the king. In 1733, General Oglethorpe landed on the historic bluff above the Savannah River and founded what would become the 13th colony in America. (I just found more information about these squares. Telfair Square is named for the Talfair family, whose members made important contributions to Georgia in the areas of politics, business, the arts and philanthropy. Well, no square will be named for TOTA, a poor church mouse!)Oglethorpe made his dream into reality with the layout of the new city. In this dream city, he created a town that filled with squares that would be earmarked as "green lungs" or public parks (he was green before the so-called green/environmental friendly stuff was cool). Oglethorpe wanted an orderly grid composed of 24 squares. (I went to the above Pulaski Square expecting to find a statue of General Kazimierz Pulaski but was greatly disappointed because there was no statue there. The General fought and died in the Battle of Savannah during the American Revolutionary War.) PS: The General was a Polish Count. (Again, no square is named for TOTA, the hockey fanatic for the useless talent of knowing the goalies in all 32 NHL teams or all the names and jersey numbers in the Detroit Red Wings roster!)I did not troll through all the 24 squares. Prior to the visit, I planned to visit and take photos of all the squares (just to prove that I was there) but I realized that the goal was not that important and down right silly. Walking, riding the horse carriage and driving around, I probably saw most of the squares. (Orleans Square named for the Battle of New Orleans, an American victory in the War of 1812.)

Madison Square is named for the fourth president of the United States, James Madison.

Johnson Square is named for Robert Johnson, the royal governor of South Carolina who aided Oglethorpe in establishing the colony of Georgia. Most of the squares are rather unadorned and basically patches of manicured greenery, Spanish moss hanging like curtains on beautiful oaks trees, wooden benches, fountains, inhabited by squirrels and unflattered residents. Johnson Square and Wright Square are two of the stately grandeur landmarks. Most visitors are interested in Chippewa Square where the bench which was a prop during the filming of the movie, Forest Gump. We were told the bench is in the museum, but that did not stop people from standing by the Chippewa Square sign for a photo op! My sister and I had our photo taken there too :)