Computers, Coats, Kitchen, and Cubs

     I did not make it to the zoo this week!  I don't know how they managed without me!  :-)  It is always amazing to me when I see the cubs, even if it's only been a week.  They seem to be growing so quickly now that they are eating solid food.  When they were just a few months old they really looked like overgrown kittens.  Now that they are just past 6 months old you can tell they are the royalty of felines.  There is no doubt that they are lions.  Majestic is the only word that does them justice.

My babies!  With Mom in the background

     I was privileged to witness the ongoing attempt at uniting the pride last Saturday.  They decided to put both the lionesses (mother and aunt to the cubs) in the large inside enclosure and bring in one cub at a time to meet their dad, the handsome Abuto.  The first cub in was Aslan who has a rather laid back personality.  He was very reluctant to get too close to Abuto even though dad showed a lot more interest in the upside down pine tree hanging from the ceiling than he did to his baby.  After about 10 minutes everyone seemed bored so they sent Abuto into one shoot and Aslan into another and then out came Elsa before they let Abuto back into the enclosure.
     It was a much different story with her!  From the beginning I had nicknamed her "Party Girl" because all she ever wanted to do (even as a little bitty thing) was play and eat!  As soon as she saw "Daddy" she was all over him wanting to play.  So very different from her reticent brother.  Abuto wasn't sure what to do.  He let her try to climb on him and jump up in his face and all was fine until she bit into his leg.  They he swatted her.  Not hard and not in an aggressive way, but she must have let out a whimper.  Because both the lionesses were up, snarling and baring their teeth.  Poor Abuto backed up and looked so confused and headed for his shoot which the keepers opened for him.  He may be "King of the Jungle", but the lionesses rule the pride!  I was so glad that I got to see this.  It takes time, I'm sure, for all of them to figure out how to be a pride.  They are so wonderful and I'm so proud of our zoo.
     I felt like Goldilocks this week trying out new computers.  One was too small, one was too big and now I'm waiting on the arrival of one that's in between those sizes and am hoping that it will be "just right".  My Sony Viao, which I love, is now 10 years old and has some geriatrics problems!  It's definitely time for a new computer.  I tried a Microsoft Surface Pro 10" thinking it could take the place of both my Kindle and my laptop.  But it was too big for a tablet and too small for a laptop so I sent it back.  Then I tried a 15" Acer laptop and really liked it, but it's even bigger than my Sony and not very good for all the traveling I plan to do.  So now I've ordered a Dell 14" laptop and hope that it will be just the right size for me.  Keep your fingers crossed!  And I will order an updated Kindle Fire as they are selling for $49.99 right now!!  Amazing buy.  I love my Kindles.
     You're probably wondering about the "Coats" in the title today.  As I was cleaning out my closet, yet again, to take donations to Good Will for the end of the year, I realized I seem to collect coats!  Some women collect shoes or handbags.  I had no idea I had that many coats.  Who in the world needs 15 coats?  And I had a really hard time getting rid of some of them because I really liked them!  So I got rid of 5 :-)  I know I'll have to pare down even more before I head to France.  10 coats will take up way too much room in my suitcases!  Oh dear!
     I started on the kitchen this week.  I had bought a counter top resurfacing kit many months ago when it was on sale at Home Depot.  It is supposed to give your existing counter the look of granite.  I watched 5 or 6 you tube videos on how best to apply the different surfacing liquids and I'm actually pretty pleased with how it turned out.  I have only done the one corner that I took pictures of.  But I did everything in that corner so I could get an idea of what the entire kitchen will look like.  Also, I wanted to practice on a small area before doing all the counter tops.  I think I like the wall paint.  I was trying to get something that would "harmonize" with the new counter top and also bring the look of Tuscany.  But I'm wondering if it is too dark.  I had a lighter shade but it looked pink and not coral.  So I'm still deliberating on the wall color.  I also repainted the cabinets and the existing hardward.

Counter before

Counter after

Corner before

Corner after

     I will do the rest of the counter tops this week and continue painting the cabinets.  I need to make a trip to Home Depot and have them come out and measure for the new flooring.  I will NOT attempt to do that myself!
     So, that's my week in review - oh yeah, and the Broncos won!!!!
     I'm still aiming for March 1 to have my house all finished and on the market.  Of course, I will let you know how the updates are coming and if I've hit any bumps or bends along the way.  Thank you so much for joining me on this journey.  I appreciate all your comments and encouragement.  Merci!!