Good (and cold!) afternoon! I've been missing in action while putting into motion plans for my immediate future. I turned in my resignation on Monday. Director refused to accept it. She's telling me that I'll be back. But, I had already decided to take time off from working, period, to finally have my knee replacement surgery. That is now scheduled for March 7th. Only one knee needs it. The other one has a kneecap problem which will be dealt with at another time. I need to drop a few pounds between now and the 7th to make recovery easier for myself. So, I've hit the SS way hard and heavy. I've been invited to a Girls' night out with some of the other teachers tonight at Gloria's, a Salvadoran and Tex-Mex restaurant. Wish me luck SS'ing there! lol Zig, it's so nice to see you here again. Jen, I'm glad your girls are on the mend. Winter is always a rough time on little ones. BJ, I admire you for being able to work in the funeral industry. It takes a very special person. Dee, sounds like you and your dh may have a very special evening coming up! Suzanne, I know the job is still hectic, but isn't it nice to have one you like? Maddie, sorry your dh is under the weather. Hope you manage to enjoy your enforced weekend at home. Raeanne, Marci, Donna, and Besh, it's always a pleasure to read your posts. Oh, Patti, where are you? Well, heading for a quick nap before my big night out on the town. I'll be up past my usual bedtime. LOL Take care and stay warm. It's supposed to drop to the 20's during the night here. Brrrr!

Since Galilei is one of my dinner invites, of course I like his quotes. If he could visit any of the observations stations in the world, see the pictures from Hubble, etc. and visit NASA, he would be one happy person.

Ok, this is the only loved ones visit I actually liked! I was so happy that they let all of them stay - and that they included the other island players as well. Cute at the end when Boston Rob thanked Jeff and they all group hugged him. I agree about the whispering at tribal - the first time it happened was odd - now it's almost expected and it's annoying. It's much more interesting if something comes up and people start to look panicky at trying to figure out what to do - without whispering to everyone else. Survivor needs to stop allowing that to happen.

Dee: Your robin or blue jay may be common for you but they're a rarity in other countries. Also it's important to keep track of our common birds. The numbers say a lot about what's happening in our bird world. Climate change is also affecting the species we can see. I used to get way more blue jays than I do now - I think there was a West Nile virus outbreak at one point that really decimated them. floral-UK: Tradition matters. Your people aren't about to change the date just because GBBC is now happening. GBBC just went global a few years ago and has always been tied to our President's Day holiday. I looked at your Big Garden Bird Watch site and that format looks awfully familiar. I wonder if GBBC will incorporate the data from the BGBW event. Claire