Hey Where's my Dinner?????

Last night we went to Longdoggers where else haha and there was lots of talking going on. John was planning to fish today with Reid & Chandler. Ron was already out fishing with some other guys, my brother Mark was planning to go out and so was Al.(other people were going fishing too) Naturally, all of them were talking about all the fish they were going to catch. Al, Mark and John had a bet going on who was going to catch the biggest one...and we decided we were one way or another going to be eating LOTS of fresh fish at Longdoggers today at around 6pm. Wellllll.....that was the plan but
Mark got nothing. John, Reid & Chandler got one small bait fish, and Al got one mackerel..(but won with that!) hahhaha Ron & crew got lots and lots of tuna..but they were also 128 miles offshore...so that didn't count.
It wasn't as calm as they expected.(so that rain gear John assured Reid he wouldn't need would have been nice to have on board).....but it was a beautiful day. Just no fish.
So...I guess when the rest of the gang showed up at Longdoggers tonight...looking for Ron? John? Al? Mark? and all the fish...they got
skunked too!
John was in bed...Ron was so tired he wasn't going anywhere. AL may have been there for work...bragging about winning with one mackerel...and Mark???.....who knows.
I guess you could say "Don't count your fish before you catch them" haha

Test

I am getting tips from Brenna on how to put a link in my post...which I have done before but can't seem to do two times in a row without screwing it up somehow...haha
so...this is a test link to art festival we are planning to attend in July with the family.

Winter skies

Today was a beautiful day!Blue skies with white clouds...and it started out a little cool...but warmed up nicely to the mid 60's...which is pleasant when the sun is shining.



Meanwhile up in Washington DC yesterday my brother-in-law and my daughter Megan both got caught in the storm yesterday trying to get home. Megan's 4o minute commute took 4 hours ! Apparently Rob's did too...he called John while en route... Megan said she got stuck a few times, people helped push her car...and she crept along until she finally got home.One of her roommates
was on the road for 9 hours!

Steelers: Here We Go - 2008-09 version

Actually...this was what I was trying to put on the last post....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
(sound of my sigh) one of these days I will figure this all out...and have a computer that doesn't have a mind of it's own.....and I will be a super blogger! hahahah a scary thought!
This is the sound of the song fans were singing in 2008...at the local "Steeler" Bar..(although this was not taped at the local spot).....where all the fans gather to watch the games that aren't on regular TV. Most Pittsburgh fans are SERIOUS fans...they cry when they win as well as when they lose....fortunately they seem to win often. The Alabama fans come pretty close....the whole stadium gets loud and everyone is into it. Florida fans are serious too...but it's a different level of seriousness.... after all.....it's Florida! And Dolphin fans...well they've just about given up hope of winning...hahaha So Pittsburgh is going to the Super Bowl and we'll see what happens there!

Pittsburgh's going to the Suuuuuuuuuuper Bowl

First this...as soon as I figure out how to get a link there will actually BE something here...haha
It was a good day for football fans...especially Packer fans (like Reid) and Steeler fans (like ME!) We were invited to a party at a house on the river. I wasn't really sure about going...but they asked us several times...and there was going to be fresh fish...and I wanted to see the house now that it's finished...because John & co did all the tile work. It is quite a house!
And seeing it on a beautiful day like today...well..it was impressive.Above...the side yard and pool & hot tub & looking out towards the river.Below the front hallway...beautiful wood floors throughout. The lighter wood is old Merritt Island pine...there wasn't enough for the whole floor...so they incorporated what they had into the entryway/hall.
Elevator...had to try it out...just because.
one bathroom
outside deck...background is the river and Ballard Park
view from side deck
back yard...beautiful oak trees
tile work John did down where boats pull in. It is on the spot where there was an old boat house...in this case they knocked down the original and rebuilt a new house...in the same design/style as the original houses were built. Putting in the last row of tile near the water was pretty tricky...on a platform...getting wet while working
downstairs kitchen in the "rec" room. Still a work in progress...but they have the beautiful tile and cabinets and woodwork, a nice pool table and it's coming along.

bathroom

view of the river
sea glass back splash in the main kitchen
pool again
deck by the living room All through the house was the blue & green colors. Beautiful tile work and lots of nice art work by local artists. It was really nice...and comfortable too. I ended up having a good time...even though we were among the older folks in the crowd. We stayed for the first half of the first game. Came home...watched the Packers win and then headed out to watch the Steelers game...and the rest is history. The Jets looked pretty good...and I would not have been too upset if they pulled off the win...but Pittsburgh is hard to beat!
Oh...and just for the record...my car kind of smells like a big piece of fried fish (after the party in the garage)...haha I'm surprised I don't have a bunch of cats lurking around!...I am hoping the Febreeze I sprayed in there tonight helps "freshen" things up! haha

Friday Night Fish Fry (in the garage?)

John went fishing Wednesday night/Thursday with Ron, Ben, Anthony, Alex and Matthew...on this boat. (Anthony is a partner on this boat with another friend) we think It's a little bigger than John's boat...and that was helpful since it was a little rougher than they expected. The extra 8ft came in handy...haha
They did not find any wahoo...but they did get some grouper and snapper.

Anthony & his brother Alex (Alex and Matthew and his friend Veronica are visiting from Quebec)
While Ron & Ben cleaned the fish on Friday evening...we ate!
snapper
It started to rain a bit so we all moved into the garage...cosy enough..not exactly luxurious..haha but the food was good so we didn't care.Besides...that way my whole house didn't end up smelling like fried fish!
Anthony brought some wahoo and made up this sushi...with a special spicy sauce...pretty good.
we invited our friend Mike over and he brought a big lobster. Anthony's kids were both scared and fascinated by it
After a little coaxing...Aidan decided he would touch it
We ended up eating and drinking in the garage until late into the night...we listened to music, laughed and just enjoyed a casual Friday night get together with plenty of good fresh fish!

Another good week

Winter stories and other things

Last Saturday was the 2nd annual Coconut Run for the library. John was out of town, so I walked by myself. The hardest thing about going by myself is getting UP and getting there on time! hahah without John moving me along! Mostly I do these races to get the shirts! haha and get my exercise for the day.




Winter sunset
This week my regular storytime was canceled because the Friends of the Library were getting set up for a book sale (can't complain too much...they give our children's programs lots of $$$)...and of course 15 kids showed up. I hate when I don't get to do my program! Then I was told Feb 4th(5th?) I can't have my program because a school group is coming...now this sort of ticks me off...why do they have to schedule it for the same time/same day as my ONE program...Dianne does Toddler Time and LapTime 3 times a week...did they cancel her programs...of course not....GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR And then of course I got sent down to do Reference during lunch. Sometimes I love my job and sometimes......I wonder.
But I did get to go read to Amy's class on my day off. It was fun and they were happy to see me. It's been unusually chilly here so my winter and snow books were perfect.I love this story Grandmother Winter (* ok I totally screwed up there but can't figure out how to undo it...so who cares!)The illustrations are beautiful...the artist (Beth Krommes) uses scratchboard.This is her first picture book..
I love the details. Look at the birds!
If you've ever made a snowman...you have to like this one. Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
Cynthia Rylant describes all the different types of snow in this book...with lovely verse like this
"Some snow falls only lightly,
just enough
to make you notice
the delicate limbs of trees,
the light falling
from the lamppost,
a sparrow's small feet."

And the last book wasn't about the mittens you wear...but rather a kitten named Mittens...but the illustrations from this book written in the 1930's were too cute not to include.
And other favorites are included in this post from last year
http://annebk.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-books-for-kids.html

A new year means time for calendar stories

I love this book! Could it be because I also LOVE chicken soup with rice?????hahaha
The first Storytime of the New Year for me always means it's time to get out some favorite books about the seasons. We had a few stories and then the kids took these die cut pieces and made a little (paper plate) wreath.
I bought myself this cute book last year because I just love the illustrations. I also liked the concept of listening to the world around you and being able to tell what season it is.
As anyone who looks at the books I recommend can see...I like books with rhyming verse. There is just something about rhyming words that is pleasing to the ear. It's fun and (actually makes it easier for me to remember). This is another one of my favorites...each month has a two page spread...with a simple verse like "Jump into January, come along with me! The local pond is glazed with ice-what can you see?" Then along the bottom are names of 12 things to be found in the picture.
When I read this book I let the children come up one by one to help me find the pictures within the picture. It's fun. I like the simple kind of folk art style of the illustrations and the catchy title...(think about it Jumping into a new year!)
And one of my favorites is this one..I love the poem
The sun comes up, the moon goes down and tick by tock a day goes by......and it goes on to talk about days, weeks,months and a year.
Reading stories about the months make me realize how quickly the year goes by...when I read about the special things each season offers...it doesn't seem so long ago that we were celebrating things like the 4th of July, Halloween, etc.
Next up...snow & winter stories....I'm getting them together now.

Beautiful day

Yesterday was a busy day at the Library. When January rolls around things are always busy...all the "snowbirds" are back in town and they are flocking haha to the library. This means the front desk stays busy,busy! From the moment I got there yesterday...until about an hour before I got off...I really didn't stop. First job is to empty the bookdrop and since we open late on Tuesday (12 noon) it is usually just about full when we empty it at 11:00am. I filled up a cart and we managed to get everything checked in and on it's way back to the shelves or to other libraries before it was time to open. When we opened the doors...there was a small crowd out front and from then on it was nonstop. We were checking things in and out, processing new cards, temporary cards, updating cards...well...you get the idea. Two staff members and a couple of volunteers were out sick...so it was Susan and I trying to saty one step ahead on each task. Kathy filled in during lunch breaks...and we all did pretty well together. When my day ended at 7:15pm...my feet hurt and I was a little tired.
But the good thing is I have today off...and what a beautiful day it is! I took my camera out for a bike ride....
This year I have noticed more color than I ever remember...maybe because it was so cold last winter????? Whatever the reason...I am loving it. People are probably tired of me commenting on it...because everywhere around town I can't help but notice trees with red, yellow and orange instead of the usual brown leaves.The house at the end of the block has this tree with all the colorful leaves...I keep looking at it every day when I walk Kiena...and finally decided to snap a few pictures of the color before it's all gone.
Another tree we pass on another block has a vine with these bright red leaves. They are almost gone...but I have enjoyed seeing them ever day for the last couple of months.

When I go north in the fall I can't help but collect some leaves as I walk along...and yesterday morning when I passed the tree at the end of my street I gathered these up. All this color...from one tree!
This morning John and I took a walk...and the river looked so nice...I decided to ride down to the causeway and take some more pictures.
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Looking towards Melbourne...look how glassy the water was...no wind.
Pelicans on a dock at the end of a path to the river.


When we were younger we spent many afternoons paddling rafts, sailing (small) boats and skiing on this river.

Heading back to the road.BEAUTIFUL!