Echidnas and a Challenge

Nathan loves the zoo. He specifically loves the Philadelphia Zoo. One of the reasons I can't bring myself to send the kids back to school is because they would be less available for field trips. Today we compared the price of a single day admission to the zoo versus a membership price. This was really a no-brainer. So tomorrow, membership receipt in hand, we head off to the Philly zoo. Nathan really loves the tigers. Nolan was hoping for an Echidna. Just what is an Echidna, you ask? Well, it is a monotreme that lives in Australia. A monotreme is a class of mammals that lay eggs. Yes, the platypus is the other monotreme. The boys (and thus, mom too) have been taking a class called Classroom Earth and have just finished up a study of the ecology and animal life of Australia. The Echidna was one of the first animals studied. And, surprise of surprises.....they have one at the Philly Zoo. For those video game enthusiasts, Knuckles from Sonic Heroes is also an Echidna.

As for the challenge....my friend Heather has arranged for an artisan fair at our parish in December. I haven't yet committed to it but have committed myself to getting back into the sewing room. I have a few things I'd like to accomplish. I signed up quite a while ago to the doll quilt challenge on flickr. I have made a few of the challenges but want to get back to it and work on some more. My goal is to hang the mini-quilts above our bed. I also have wanted to make some felt fairies. I do have quite a bit of felt and a few patterns. So I am challenging myself to spend at least an hour sewing each day. I would love to hear what everyone else (if any of you are out there) is up to. My friend Michele has started a sewing forum. Check it out for some great ideas.

I promise some pictures tomorrow from the zoo.