Lots of walking and a yummy salad

Quinoa and Arugula Salad

1 c pre-cooked quinoa

2 portions arugula

1/2 oz red onions, sliced

1 Tbl sun-dried tomatoes

1/3 c blanched asparagus

1 1/2 fl. oz champagne vinaigrette

2 tsp toasted pine nuts

2 Tbl feta cheese crumbles

1. Toss all ingredients together, except the garnish

2. Evenly distribute feta cheese crumbles over the salad

 

While we were in St. Louis, we ate at

and this is where I had the quinoa salad….delish!

Imagine my delight when I found the recipe on-line….

definitely going to try and re-create this! (just got some fresh

arugula at the farmers market)

The other “new” thing we had while we were there was their

white corn and guacamole appetizer.

I found an imitation recipe of this on the net HERE and we’re

going to try and re-create that this weekend.

Kenny has already  bought all of the ingredients!

 

So enough about food, am I the only one who looks forward

to going on vacation just to eat?!

The 2nd day in St. Louis we decided to go to the zoo.  The forecast was

predicting a high of 86….sounds perfect!

And it was, until we got to the zoo and looked and looked for a place

to park…..we finely found a place near the art museum which is a bit of a hike,

but what the heck, it was a nice day.

Here are a few pics of the animals at the zoo….I didn’t take a lot because I was

totally caught up in watching the animals….I love a zoo!

How funny is this! We spent quite a bit of time watching the chimpanzees

and the gorillas….still amazed at just how large they are!

These next creatures were my favorites! I think they

are called okapis…..they look like they would be

related to the zebras, but they are actually more

closely related to giraffes.

This pair was so sweet, they were always “kissing”

or grooming each other.

There was also a herd of elephants, complete with babies

and toddlers.

Of all of my pictures, this one is probably the best,

of course it’s easier to get closer to butterflies than elephants!

By the time we left the zoo, we were starving….yeah,

I know, big surprise!

We trekked to the boathouse for lunch and cocktails…

it was fun to sit and watch the people in paddle boats and

the various birds that were quite brave, trying to get a bite

to eat.

This egret was quite smart and fun to watch. He would wait for

people to throw bread for the ducks in the water and then

when fish would come up to the surface he would dive down and grab the fish and

swallow them whole….it was so fascinating to watch

him in action.

After lunch we decided we would trek even further and visit

the Jewel Box….what a beautiful Art Deco building!

Again, so much beautiful statuary in the park.

On the way back to our car, we had to trek up this

hill in front of the art museum….it may not look very steep in

the picture, but at the end of the day, it felt REALLY steep.

On the way up the hill, I told Kenny that I didn’t think we had walked

this much together in our 17 years of being married as we did on this day.

He agreed….

I’m at it again!

Oh yes, it’s WAY too hot to be outside,

 

so I spent a good chunk of yesterday in front of

the computer listing more items for sale

on eBay.

 

Where did all of this stuff come from anyway?!

 

A lot of it, I’ve used and enjoyed and now it’s time for it to find a new

home!

Christmas ornaments, figurines, books, magazines, hooked rugs,

vintage purses, bookends……

Yes, it’s quite the eclectic collection on eBay!

Curious to see what I’m selling?

Check it all out HERE

The purge continues!

Now to just get cooled off like these flamingos that we

saw at the St. Louis Zoo

Missouri Botanical Gardens

Monday, we headed to St. Louis for a little get-away.

Our first stop, The Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Needless to say it was warm, I think in the 90’s, but in the

gardens there were quite a few shady spots to help

beat the heat.  Plus, seeing all of the flowers in bloom,

seems to make the heat not seem nearly as hot.

There are many old huge buildings filled with flora

and we would walk through them and think how grand

it would be to have a beautiful conservatory that large

to garden in year round.  That way, Kenny would not have to

drag tropical plants in and out of the sunroom in the spring and

the fall.

The daylilies were blooming profusely and there

were so many different varieties, many visitors were

there with notebooks, jotting down names of daylilies

they wanted to acquire for their own gardens.

This is one that I liked, that had a ruffled edge.

In the Victorian garden, we were taken with these

balls made of succulents.

Inspiring!

After seeing this specimen of spotted may-apple,

Kenny is now on a quest to find one for his garden.

Yes, he has “regular” may-apple plants, but

he is always on the search for something more

unique.

Below is a cool spot of shade,

with a beautiful sculpture.

Small running creeks.

The gardens are VAST and amazing, this picture

gives you a little idea of just how vast….

A waterfall in the Japanese garden area….

I especially liked this combination of flowers.

The tall dark grass combined with the bright yellow

and deep scarlet.

The whimsical nature of this water sculpture made me

smile. I love the way the water is splashing against the

feet of the ducks and they are spitting water out of their

beaks.

More fun water sculpture….playful racoons!

Of course, we saved the best for last….or at least it

is always our favorite part of the botanical gardens….

the Climatron!  Full of tropical plants, waterfalls and even

a few visitors.

“The Climatron has no interior support and no columns from floor to ceiling, allowing more light and space per square foot for plants than conventional designs. It rises 70 feet in the center, spans 175 feet in diameter at the base, has 1.3 million cubic feet, and encloses approximately 24,000 square feet (more than half an acre).”

Yes, it’s big…..

This is one of the visitors….I think it’s called a rhinoceros beetle….

looks like something from dinosaur times!

This is one of the waterfalls you can walk underneath.

Chihuly glass sculptures inserted into the gardens

Pineapple ginger

Beautiful orchids, ferns, air plants, etc.

The large tree in the middle, below, is an Australian

tree fern.

Another visitor….no, the pictures aren’t upside

down, he is!

I have no idea what plant this was, but it

was spectacular!

More beautiful waterfalls

This is called a corpse flower….

it rarely blooms, but this one had just finished

blooming…

We spent about 3 hours at the gardens, but you

could easily spend an entire day there! 

Needless to say, by the time we finished we were hot

and parched….which made our next stop a complete

necessity!

Ted Drewes frozen custard!

More tomorrow….I’ll say just one thing, the

3 hours walking at the gardens was just a warm up

for all the walking we would do the next day!

Oh yeah, with all that walking we also had room for Pi!

Custard AND Pi?!

Ohhhhhh, I meant pizza Pi!

Made with a cornmeal crust….delish!