A day of fun and frolic

I wasn't sure I wanted to post this today, but since I had NOTHING else to show, I couldn't go an entire day with nothing to show on AEDM.  Then I remembered that photography is a genuine artform, so photography it is.  I'm really glad I have this new wonderful camera, or this post would look entirely different.

Before my friend Kathy arrived, I got the purse ready I always use to keep anything in that I'm giving to her.  That way, when I have something to give Kathy, I simply slip it in this convenient and colorful container.  I also lit the candles on the table for a bit of festive look.  I was hoping she wouldn't notice I hadn't deep cleaned my kitchen, especially since I had been busy much of the previous two weeks helping my friend Sally reorganize her own kitchen.


Upon Kathy's arrival, I took a photo of her and the bag of goodies I hoped she would enjoy and appreciate. 

Isn't it weird what we see when we download our photos.  For example, I noticed the baggie I had drying on the side of my fridge, and the cat toy sitting prominently in the dining area.

First up were the scrapbook pages I sewed made her late last week.  She was quite happy with all of them, and kept them all.  Now I have more to make, of course.

Next came more goodies.

Kathy took time out to talk to Bleubeard who likes to sit in our bags we use to shower gifts on each other.  The gift she's about to open is wrapped in some red rosin paper that originally covered my craft room table.  I sewed it into a gift bag when I reviewed

Ruth Rae's Layered, Tattered and Stitched for my March Artful Reader's Club entry.

Kathy was really concentrating, as you can see a tiny bit of the gift I was giving her.

I seem to have missed capturing her opening the cigar box I made specifically for her during October's Artful Reader's Club book review of Terry Taylor's Altered Art, and the art (decorated cigar box) I made to compliment that review.  Please check it out, if you've never seen it.

In the above photo, Kathy is leafing through a 2 year calendar I've given her for her purse.  It was also at that time my camera battery needed recharging.  I really MUST get another battery so we don't have to wait for it to recharge.

I took Kathy to lunch, and on the way, she asked what I was taking photos of.  I told her they were metal pieces that were to show people they were approaching the Zoo.

I can only imagine what these photos would have looked like from my other camera's lens.

I'm sure many people driving by are surprised by these beauties.

The only thing that saddened me was the trash that was strewn along the fence.

We were finally at our destination, and if this photo looks cropped, it's because it is.  I noticed my reflection in the glass as I was taking the photo, but couldn't move out of the way quickly enough, since Kathy was moving at a quick clip.  You can just see the top of my head in the background and how short and small I am.

Once inside the restaurant, I was thrilled that my camera showed how beautiful the wood and glass was, although I was hoping for better resolution of the glass panels.

Once we were seated, Kathy went to get her food, while I took a few photos and watched our purses.

Not exactly the most flattering photo, but I was trying to capture the beautiful images in the glasses.

A marginally better photo of those various painted glass panels that separate the booths from the buffet area.

I'm always so used to taking photos of our drinks, I didn't even wait till the gal brought Kathy's soda and my coffee.  I'm glad it's not T(ea) Tuesday, or I'd need to redo the photo.

Kathy set these down and went back for more salads.  I couldn't blame her, since everything looked really good.

When Kathy returned to the table, it was my turn to visit the buffet.  On the left are appetizers and soups.

It's a huge buffet with Mongolian BBQ and sushi in the far back located under the red neon signs.  The middle is filled with lots of salads.

Hot food is served on the right.  There are also three more dining areas.

While we were enjoying our dessert, the waitress brought me the check and each of us a calendar for the new year, along with our fortune cookies.

Speaking of desserts, here is a photo of the possible desserts that they serve each day, along with several flavors of ice cream I failed to get.

After we ate, we worked our way to our friend Dana's house, but I failed to take any photos after this one, even though I carried my camera in my hand the entire time I was there.  In fact, one of the last things Dana asked me before we left was if I had my camera.  How I wish I'd used it rather than simply carrying it in my hand.

Today is Day 20
of AEDM.  We are now 2/3 of the way through this month and I took lots of photos of Kathy's visit for posterity.