Yes we've been to the zoo, zoo, zoo

We thought that yesterday might be a perfect day for a trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo. And it was. We got there right when they opened the gates, and were still feeding lots of the animals. We got to see almost all the primates out and eating, even all the gorillas. The elephants were still eating, and the hippos were actually out of the water and eating. I have never, in all my years of visiting the zoo, seen the hippos out of the water before. The cheetahs were out and pacing their entire territory. The male Bengal tiger was pacing around and started roaring while we were watching him. The lioness was practically posing for us, but the male lion was out like a light, laying on the grass in the sunshine.

We got to see two cranes fight over a squirrel that had made its way onto their turf (he quickly exited stage left), with their full wingspan out and beaks clacking together. But we didn't think to get the camera out quick enough, we were so flabbergasted at what we were seeing. We made our way to the herpetarium (sp?), and also for the first time in my life we spotted almost every snake, lizard, iguana, frog and turtle in their habitats. The snakes were almost all awake and moving around a little. It was just so cool! Jav had never been in there before, and even though he's not too fond of snakes, he was amazed at all the variety and how active they all seemed to be yesterday.

So needless to say, Jav and I had an absolute blast at the zoo. Gabriel is still a little too small to fully appreciate it. The gorillas frightened him a little, I guess because of their size. His favorite animal to spot in books right now is the giraffe, but he can't really focus on them because they don't move around much. He liked the tigers and birds and snakes, but you can tell his brain is not really understanding that these things he's used to seeing in books are real live creatures.

And I must say a word about my thoughts on zoos. I get really sad sometimes to see these majestic creatures ripped from their homelands and stuck in captivity. I realize the pacing of the tiger and the cheetahs is probably due to frustration of being contained in a small space. No hunting, no running. The look on the oldest gorillas face yesterday, as he glanced up at his human audience (some people beating on their chests and sticking out their tongues at him to get a reaction, which made me sick), the look on that face was so full of knowledge and dignity and soul, that not only could I not take a picture of him, but I had to walk away with tears running down my face. BUT I think the Fort Worth zoo does an outstanding job as far as zoos go. I want Gabriel to experience it and learn from it as he gets older, so I've had to get past being upset and just try to enjoy it for his sake. And I was pretty successful yesterday, on our perfect day at the zoo.

You can never have too many pink flamingos in a picture.

Gabriel, there's an elephant just over your shoulder. No really! Really!

Those really are hippos, not just speed bumps in the water.

I wish I could've gotten his face in the picture. Another "old soul" of a face.

Jav took this, my favorite picture from yesterday.

I hope he's not really listening to the words

I have become a big fan of Amy Winehouse (her music, not her unfortunate lifestyle choices). The other day I thought it would be fun to play "Rehab" and try to get Gabriel to dance around the living room with me. He has never seemed too interested in dancing, but has decided that spinning in a circle is the funnest thing ever. After he spun on his own for awhile, I picked him up and was spinning around with him, and everytime we got to the "No, no, no" part I would stop and wag my finger back and forth. We had a great time.

It turns out he was paying attention, because everytime I tell him "no" now, he wags his finger back and forth at me, and grins real big.

Joy

Yesterday Jav and I had our Valentine's Day date. We went to see No Country for Old Men (which I want to do a separate post about) and had a wonderful dinner. And although I had a great time and really needed some time with Jav and away from home for awhile, my most joyful moment of this year so far came when we got home. Gabriel dropped the book he was looking through, ran to me with open arms and gave me a kiss. I can't put into words how happy it made me.

A wonderful visit

My Mom, Gabriel and I visited the school where my Dad is a principal Wednesday morning. Jo Kelly is a magical place, where kids from the ages of 2 through 22 with severe physical and mental disabilities go to have their minds and bodies excercised. Each child is medically monitored very carefully, (they have 4 nurses on staff). They are also monitored to see the best way to teach them communication skills. Most students have the mental understanding of a 6 -12 month old infant. Some of the students are blind, deaf, and in rare cases, both. The classrooms are filled with toys that use the sense of touch to teach and inspire. Those classrooms are also filled with some of the most dedicated teachers and teaching assistants I've ever seen. These people have their hands full with some of the most challenging (physically and mentally) days anyone could face. But they are all happy and totally fulfilled with their choice of career.

Dad introduced us to everyone - students, teachers, nurses and cafeteria staff, even the IT guy. He is so happy to be contributing by leading the staff of this school. He's trying to learn all the students' names (they have around 40 or so), and the particulars of their personalities that make them special. But the neatest thing is seeing how much the staff seems happy to have him in return. It takes a special kind of person to not only want to be in this field, but also to figure out ways to make sure the daily challenges don't get to you and burn you out. I can't imagine knowing that some of your students are so fragile that their lives are hanging from a thread. They already lost one boy this year, and it was so very hard on everybody. But they realize that if they let that one loss pull them down, they are leaving many who need them behind. So they move onward.

I had a time in my life when I felt very sorry for myself and my circumstances. I didn't have full-blown depression, thank God, but I was definitely in the dumps most of the time and avoiding people. A work friend and I decided to volunteer at a ranch where disabled kids can learn to ride horses. That place literally changed my life. There were kids with everything from cystic fibrosis to autism. There was one boy in particular who was battling several physical obstacles. His little body was twisted so much that he had to be held up on the horse, and I happened to have enough arm strength to hold him. He was in pain most of the time and had breathing difficulties. Imagine my shock when I realized his goal in life was to get me to laugh. (And to get everyone to laugh, for that matter). When you meet someone like that, you wonder what on earth you have to feel sorry for yourself about.

I felt after our visit Wednesday morning that I had come face to face with many levels of heroism. The heroism that it takes to teach those who others deem unteachable. The students' heroism of just living through another day of obstacles, some of them even managing to smile. And of course, my Dad has always been my hero, and I got to see living proof of why. I'm so proud of him.

Great weekend

What a weekend! I love it when we are able to get alot done around the house AND manage to have some fun too. Jav and I moved around our guest room/office, partially to make room for Molly's kennel (we are having to move her out of our room because she can't be a good guard dog when she's in the far back of the house, and because she snores like a freight train), and partially because it just wasn't arranged very well to begin with. It took us the first half of Saturday and the second half of Sunday. The room looks so much better, but I keep thinking that Molly has her feelings hurt BIG time. It always amazes me to watch Henry, our blind cat, whenever we move around furniture. You would think that it would really freak him out and he'd go around bumping into things. But he just calmly walks the room and sniffs everything until he figures out where his favorite lounging places are, and you would never know we changed anything. It's like it's been that way all along. I wish I were that adaptable to change!

The fun part of our weekend started Saturday night when we ate dinner with Jim, Julie, Grace and Alex at Cafe Madrid. The food is always so good, and Gabriel really surprised me by being pretty content the entire meal. But the funnest part was getting to hang out with friends.

Sunday morning my nephew came for a visit, something he's never done by himself before. The weather was so beautiful (another part of this great weekend), so we were outside the entire time. We had so much fun with him, and Gabriel just was happy to follow him around the yard. He worships the ground Cade walks on, and even though Cade spent alot of time picking Gabriel up to move him out of way of whatever game we were playing, he was SO happy.

We're tired tonight, but very content.

I'll make my Tuesday a Fat one, thank you

Because I am giving up sweets for Lent (which starts tomorrow), I am having a very literal Fat Tuesday. I wasn't thinking about it starting so soon, so we have alot of sweets in the house. And I must eat them all up, today. Yes, I am becoming a good Catholic, and that means that I am not above a little cheating now and then. But if it's not here, I can't eat it. So along with regular food today, I must eat 6 peanut butter/chocolate cookies, 3 tapioca pudding cups, about a fourth of a carton of Breyer's Cookie Jar ice cream, and even less of a tub of Cool Whip (Light, of course). I'm making a pretty good dent and it's just barely 1:00 pm. (In fact, I better leave a little ice cream just in case Jav wants to have a little Fat Tuesday celebration tonight too.)

I never really understood the mystique about Mardi Gras, that is until today. I'm having a wonderful time!

Fine dining

Jav had given me a Central Market giftcard for my birthday way back in August. I couldn't decide on a class. I always thought I'd want to do a "hands-on" class, where the students actually cook with the teaching chef. But when it came down to brass tacks, this really made me nervous. I just don't think I'd enjoy myself. I'd be so concerned I was doing something wrong. I know that's silly, but that's just the way I am. Plus no matter how good the outcome, I'm a very sloppy cook.

So I decided to take a class where I could just watch, hopefully learn, and eat. I asked Jav to go with me once I found out there was a class scheduled with a chef we had both heard alot about. Donatella Trotti, the lovely owner of Nonna Tata (a tiny restaurant in the hospital district in Fort Worth), brought her authentic Northern Italian cuisine and sparkling personality last Monday night, and we were lucky enough to be there to enjoy it. She has been written up several times in the Star Telegram - once when the restaurant first opened, then a long piece where they told her very interesting story. She had lived in Italy until her early 30's, and had a career in the fashion industry. She came to the US and was offered a job opening up and managing several Versace stores across the country. One of those places was Dallas, where she lived for 8 years. She met her lawyer husband there, and decided instead of continuing to cook mounds of food for friends every weekend that she wanted to open a restaurant. They moved to Fort Worth, and Nonna Tata (Grandma Tata in Italian) was born two years ago. It has been a resounding success. There are only 10 tables in the whole restaurant, and there are lines to get in every night. On warm nights, people have been known to bring their own table and chairs and set up on the sidewalk, and they have even brought meals out to people tailgaiting in the back of their truck! Jav and I have been dying to eat there.

So we jumped at the chance to not only have her cook for us, but to explain everything while we were eating. Her husband, Gaylen Groce, came along and introduced the wines they served with our dinners (he is also a lovely, warm person). Donatella picked recipes that we could all actually make at home. There was nothing too hard or made with ridiculous specialty ingredients. Our appetizer plate was her trademark Foccacia, tiny roasted potatoes with gorgonzola, and fried sage leaves (which was Jav's favorite thing of the night). Then on to lentil soup, which was my favorite. It literally melted in my mouth. Our main course consisted of a lamb casserole with thinly sliced potatoes and carrots and tons of rosemary, and grilled radicchio on the side. I have never had lamb, and was a little worried I wouldn't like it. But I ate every bite. Then dessert was pannacotta (which translates literally to "cooked cream" - how can that not be good?). The whole meal was heavenly, but Donatella's charm and stories of her family back home made the evening twice as special. We found out that she and only one female assistant are IT at the restaurant. They make everything by hand, every night they are open. She even gave us her email in case we had questions about cooking any of the dishes. This woman truly loves to cook for people, and it comes out in her food. It was a wonderful evening.

Now we REALLY can't wait to eat there!!