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This is one of my favorites.

I saw some beautiful animals while I was out west.

Philly is classic.

Of course, I can't forget the Lehigh Valley.

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Cape May Zoo

A few weeks ago I went to the Cape May Zoo. It wasn't my first time, but I enjoy going back here from time to time. It's a great zoo.

 
There are snow leopards! They were all sleeping. The big tortoises were in for the winter, but we did see some small ones in the reptile house.

Hey, I'm not a pillow.

And this guy was right up against the glass.

Definitely stop in and visit the animals if you're in the area.

Pumpkin whoopie pies

I like pretty much all things pumpkin. I tried out a pumpkin whoopie pie recipe from Baked.

It was easy and very tasty! The pumpkin part was cakey and moist, and the cream cheese frosting was better than other cream cheese frostings I've had. They're even better the next day, if they last that long.

Doctor Who: Inferno

Inferno is pretty well known among Whovians because of the parallel universe storyline. How do we know it's a parallel universe? The Brigadier wears an eyepatch!

The eyepatch means he's evil.

Make that the Brigade Leader wears an eyepatch. However, it takes two whole episodes before we finally get to the other Earth. In both timelines, scientists are drilling to the Earth's core to tap it for energy. This is always a good idea in science fiction stories...Green ooze is coming out and turning people into Primords, who go around killing people. There are drilling issues, too, but Professor Stahlman is full steam ahead no matter the warnings.

the Doctor, Section Leader Liz Shaw, and Brigade Leader Lethbridge-Stewart

Once the core is penetrated, all hell breaks loose. The Earth is doomed to disintegration. The Doctor tries to convince Liz Shaw and the Brigade Leader to give him power to use the TARDIS console to get back and save the parallel Earth, which isn't as far along in their drilling. The Doctor escapes just as lava engulfs the place, killing everyone who has helped him. It's a sad moment. Their counterparts are still alive, but we've come to like these other versions of them. Well, most of them. I wonder if the writers had fun with this. The Doctor always saves the day, but in this parallel universe he doesn't and they get to destroy the Earth this time.

He arrives back in his universe unconscious. Will he be able to avert disaster? I guess we know the answer to that since this isn't the last episode of the show.

Bye, Liz

This is Liz Shaw's final story, but she doesn't get any send-off or goodbye. In the next episode she's gone, and Jo Grant takes her place. It's unfortunate. They had an intelligent scientist companion and replace her with a flaky bimbo. Sorry, I'm not a fan of Jo.

THE RUNDOWN

Doctor: Third
Companions: Liz Shaw
Episode: #54, "Inferno," seven parts
Adversary: Primords, Professor Stahlman

Classic Lines: the Doctor, to Professor Stahlman: "I'll tell you something that should be of vital interest to you, professor. That you, sir, are a nitwit."

Tuck This Away to Impress Your Friends: The Doctor says his normal pulse is 170. 
Next Up: "Terror of the Autons

Minestrone

I made another attempt at using the slow cooker. This time I made minestrone from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Soup?

It was another slow cooker fail. Massive fail. This did look like soup when I put the pasta in. By the time the recipe said it was done, there was no liquid left. The mini shells had soaked up all the liquid and were a gross, mushy mess. One day I will find something I can cook in the Crock Pot. Why is this so hard for me? It's a mystery.