Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Today was the day for the panda naming ceremony. The little guy born on the 3rd of November has passed his 100 day mark. The ceremony was scheduled for 8 AM, which is uncharacteristically early, especially when the zoo gates typically open at 9:30 AM. But I got up at 6 AM and faced down the morning commute. The gathering was probably about equal parts zoo staff, media, and general public. There were a couple groups of adorable school children dressed in panda hoodies. And there were several of us hard core panda fans from last winter's deluxe nightcrawler programs. The ceremony included some delightful Chinese dancing first by two little girls and then by young women using ribbons. And there was also the obligatory puppet dragon with its flirting eyes and wiggling ears, alternately delighting and startling the children. Raymond King, CEO of ZooAtlanta, kindly kicked off the ceremony. Governor Deal said a few words. And a representative from Mayor Reed's office also sp...

I just came back from the Deluxe Panda Nightcrawler program at ZooAtlanta. Nightcrawlers is one of the oldest after-hours education programs in the country. On this program we got to learn about pandas, make enrichment for the pandas, and then have a behind the scenes encounter with the pandas. Cameras aren't allowed behind the scenes at the zoo, so I don't have any pictures of myself or anyone else in the party feeding biscuits to Lun Lun. I also don't have pictures of all the cool panda gear various participants were wearing. Most of the twelve of us were local, but Lola came all the way from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and another family flew in from Fort Worth, Texas. All of us are afflicted with Obsessive Panda Disorder, but none of us seemed to be in any hurry to be cured. But, I am very fortunate the bag of straw and scent that I assembled and painted was given to Lun Lun and Xi Lan. I scented the straw with banana flavor. The photograph is Lun Lun invest...

We have been "enjoying" uncommonly cold weather here in the ATL. Nearly every day this new year has been clear and beautiful and COLD. It is uncommon for us to have days that aren't above freezing, much less several in a row. And the meteorologists have mentioned the four-letter "s" word for Thursday. At least this should cut into the bug population for next summer. 11 December 2009 -- Mei Lan looking fabulous even while napping. One of the upsides to this weather, besides the opportunity to wear your warmest knitted clothes with pride, is that this is panda weather! I haven't been to San Diego Zoo, but I've been to Memphis and National Zoo and talked to people who have been to San Diego. From what I can tell, the best panda viewing in the United States is right here in Grant Park. Visitors can get closer to the pandas than in Washington or San Diego and there are more pandas here than in Memphis. (After visiting Memphis, I am pretty sure their ...

Those of you who know me well know that I have passions other than knitting. Pandas is one of those. I love pandas. Our local pair, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, do not look alike to me. I can often tell the difference between them in photographs. I haven't spent enough time around Mei Lan or Xi Lan, but they're good cubs, too. If you live in Atlanta, then you may have heard talk about the zoo's latest fundraising effort . Cuddly Hubby and I already gave, rather generously, back in the summer. I'm almost sorry we did then, because now the zoo is running a charity auction . So I've been over on that site today, looking at all the great panda-fanatic goodies that I'd be bidding on if we hadn't already given. They include: a photo diary of Mei Lan commemorative silk embroidery commemorative banners a behind the scenes tour for four Xi Lan paw prints a tower of chocolaty goodies And there are some things that just warm your heart. Two children -- local? I do...