Random Hallmark Moments: Gifts

   Peanut butter & choco cupcake almost too big to fit in my hand?
I love you, Kim Brown. (And Cupcakes ala Mode, too.)

   And to pass along the good will, I asked Azusa to try to find　いたずらパンダ (this cute panda bank) on her recent trip to Japan, and she just returned, bank in hand. I wanted to get it for Maria, our resident panda freak.　どうもありがとうございました、あずささん！ (Maureen likes her  タカラ／トーミついまる, too.) This is Twimal's Twitter feed.

Red Panda

I just caught a show on Animal Planet that was all about red pandas, in the wilds of Nepal. Hard to imagine a cuter animal, as evidenced by these photos I found on Google. Makes me want to visit the zoo...

Not that I feel old, but...

Today is my birthday. And I'm in Columbus, so I checked both horoscopes. The Kansas City Star horoscope sounds a bit ominous: "unexpected events will occur" and I "should make friends with Pisces." The Columbus Dispatch says, "Your intelligent way of handling yourself & others will attract powerful people. You'll be asked to do important jobs. February brings a promotion. You'll pledge your love in August. Gemini & Virgo people adore you." So I think I'm going for the latter—nice specificity!

You know what sounds good? Some "Long Roll Cake" from Japan! Best. Packaging. Ever. ここがうさぎのロールちゃんケーキです：

Henry was kind enough to procure an AMAZING multi-layered choco cheesecake, however, and it will more than suffice, despite the lack of cute character on the packaging!

KC Zoo: 2008

   Today was a delightful day at the zoo. And I nominate this cheerful sheep as the official greeter:

The fallow deer were also friendly: for the low price of some food pellets:

Speaking of domesticated animals, what the?! Are those shiba inu?

They're not, but they look like close cousins!

The lorikeet were bright & friendly:

And had their fill of sugar water, and also my shirt collar:

The meerkats must have been hungry too, because that is some good begging:

The male lion was lounging:

And the females were no less lazy:

Missing something?

   While I was at the glass & this gorilla was way in the back of the enclosure, he suddenly decided to charge right at me. Point taken: gorilla are freakin' FAST!

Ring-tailed lemurs, aka Sun Worshippers:

That tail makes me wish I had a lemur:

And this photo makes me wish I was a red panda:

   And this one makes me wish I was a kid again. Though, as a kid, I would have spent too much time choosing which animal I would ride...