Turdus Migratorius

Spring must be here!

This morning I looked out the back window and saw 15 to 20 robins running, flying and digging around in the yard. It was rather impressive to see 5 or 6 clinging to the same branch, as well as several rooting around in the bushes, looking for food, and flocks chasing each other in flight. The chickadees, juncos and even a woodpecker were especially lively today, too.

I've been throwing food on the ground for the juncos (and some sparrows), and lately a squirrel has been visiting, too...I think he likes the corn that's in the mix I sprinkle out there. This also means the neighbor's dog ventures over to sniff the ground...

Photo from a report for Mr. Lancaster's Environmental Science class.

Book recommendation: The Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
Recipe recommendation: Bird Pie (from Roald Dahl's book The Twits)
Game recommendation: Be My Guest

peaked

Ah, nothing like a head cold to get you down. And it's the kind that lingers, so I feel like I've been sick forever. I did manage to lose my voice for a coupla days, which made life really interesting…

It meant I did a library presentation by croaking and missed a couple of days of work (meaning: tons of email when I finally logged on the computer again). And, unfortunately, Chip and I missed our chance to celebrate Mardi Gras at one of our local restaurants. We've gone for the past few years, and it's been a fun tradition. I'm not sure when I'll kick this, as I have more library stuff coming up later this week...

clipart from school.discovery.com

Book recommendation: When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd (thanks Mom!)
Recipe recommendation: Lemon Anise Biscotti
New product recommendation: Chocolate covered Altoids

aggregation

Okay, so go read the entry from earlier about storytimes, and substitute 'winter' for 'fall' to get a general picture of daily events. Other than super cold weather and low attendance, things are pretty much the same in that department!

One thing I'm working on now is rearranging the country books in the nonfiction collection. We're changing things to make them shelved alphabetically, rather than by Dewey number, as it should make it so much easier to find them. Now when a student comes in and needs a book about Brazil, we can just go to the 'B' section of the countries area and find it, rather than having to look up on the computer to see what its call number is...


Chip got the Happy Birthday song at least three times on his birthday this year! It was a busy Sunday: Patti was up for a quick visit, we had Bible study and then went to Andy and Danielle's for a fabulous Super Bowl party (GO COLTS!). There he got a carrot cake, with candles, and many well-wishes.



*sigh* They've started the condos behind us now. The retaining wall is complete, except for staining so it won't be a nasty grey color. I'm not sure what kind of landscaping they plan to do, or if the fence is still going up, but it's all kinda depressing. Hopefully we can get more stuff planted as well so we can start covering up the view of the road and garages. And roofs. Chip did point out that we can see the little pond better than we used to, since they took out all the trees...

Clipart from school.discovery.com

Book recommendation: The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
Recipe recommendation: Chinese barbeque pork
YouTube recommendation: Ok Go

jotter

I've been working on making a few new cards, partly to use some of the paper and stamps I already own (instead of lusting after new stuff...). Besides, I just enjoy making cards. The one pictured uses a little sewing to complete the look, and my goodness, it took forever! I'm not a sewer by nature, but I really wanted to try it. And I still want to try some machine sewed cards, and then I think I can successfully say "been there, done that" to that style. It looks cool, but I don't know if it's worth it.

Something else I've been doing is using cancelled postage stamps on my cards. I saved all the snowflake stamps we received on letters during Christmas and made a few cards that have a window on the front with these stamps drifting down in the background. Something I hope to do is make patriotic cards, as I have a ton of flag stamps. For that, I might need to purchase some more red and blue paper (yea! trip to the stamp store!), though I haven't come up with a design yet. Perhaps I should dig out that card Natalie made years ago...hmm....

We've got another all nighter coming up--at least five of us will be stamping and scrapping the night away! I might scrapbook the trip to the Bahamas that Chip and I took last May, as I really am not ready to scrap wedding or honeymoon stuff.

I really hope to get a new digital camera to do more artsy photos like this one.

Book recommendation: Oink? by Margie Palatini
Recipe recommendation: Venison Medallions with Raspberry and Green Peppercorn Sauce
Movie recommendation: The Illusionist

budgerigar and caesura

Happy New Year!
No New Year's Resolutions to announce here, as I think they're kinda silly. But Pastor Charles did talk about goals at the beginning of his sermon on Sunday, and I think I like that idea. Setting goals seems so much more attainable. Of course, I haven't done that yet, either.


Well, with so many others in my family making announcements of newcomers, I was feeling a little left out, so here's the newest member of the Bahr household:

The little bugger doesn't have a name yet, as we're not sure if it's a boy or a girl...plus we're still learning its personality to give it the perfect moniker. Chip's enjoying the new bird, and Henry is quite pleased as well (though it took her a little while to warm up to it). Yay!

Christmas was a great time of seeing a lot of family (and playing a lot of games...I'm in the state of exhaustion after that speed round of Settlers!). Here are a few glimpses of our holidays:

Manitowoc Christmas slideshow

Milton Christmas slideshow

Christmas photos taken in Manitowoc and Milton

Book recommendation: Daniel Half Human by David Chotjewitz
Recipe recommendation: waffled French Toast
Wine recommendation: Niagara from Galena Cellars