Matches have arrived for this month

Matches have been received today, but no news yet as to what the cut-off is going to be. I will keep you posted. It's looking like it will be somewhere between January 20 - 22, 2006. Which will translate into an 8 to 10 day referral month. It may be a "decent" number of days, but number of babies referred this month went down. Well, I guess I need to think of it as 8-10 less days to go. I try to keep optimistic, but it isn't easy!

Cool Lightning Storm

This evening and still going on we've had flash flooding and really cool lightning storms (alerts expire at 12:30 a.m.). Some of the lightning literally went totally across the sky. Amazing to watch! The streets are REALLY bad. I went out this evening and some of the roads in town are closed due to flooding. We found this out first-hand. Even our street right in front of our house was flooded over the curbs and onto our front lawn earlier in the day. It was pretty scary. But we are all safe and that's all that matters. Robert got this great video of one of the lightning storms. Enjoy!



... and yes, our basement is DRY!! Can't say that about the flood plain behind our house. I think it's the worst we've ever seen it in the 5.5 years we've lived here.

The weather outside is frightful...

Well, the weather may be frightful, but it certainly didn't stop our feathery friends from stopping by for a visit. We've had severe weather for the past 2 days with hail (thankfully we didn't get it at our house, but just a few miles away they did) and flash flooding. It's not been fun. North of us, they were expecting even possible tornadoes. Didn't hear of any officially, but there was a report of a roof removed due to high winds.

Our Robin has been making her visits to her nest and is getting more used to us being around and she doesn't seem to mind as much that we're around. We're trying to keep our distance to not disturb her too much, but I do need to get to our herbs on the deck.

I've lumped 2 video clips together to get a sense of where she is in relation to us. Why she chose our deck and a potted plant of all things to build her nest in, I have no idea. She seemed quite content to nest in the pouring rain. You will also see the huge amount of flooding that we had in our flood plain. The birds have been feasting all morning long...

A New Home...

... for a Robin, that is... I was looking out our kitchen window this morning and what did I see - a Robin who was nesting in one of our flower pots that we have on our back deck. By the time I got the camera and then opened the door to take his/her picture, the Robin had gotten too scared and flew away. Here is the Robin's new home.


I guess they love our deck. Since we all know that our cat isn't such a big threat to them, they feel quite at home perching and nesting on our deck... It just cracked me up!!

OK, we're both getting OLD!!

Our weekend all started out great. We had some great weather and got a bit ambitious in deciding to clean out our garage. It hadn't been done since we moved in 5.5 years ago. It was about time we did it! It took us about 5 to 6 hours, but now it looks great and mostly organized - bought a few garage tech stuff to hold our shovels, ladders, etc that still need to go up (we have one up already, but 2 more to go) but it is mostly done. But, in the process, Robert got a hernia. Poor thing! He has a scheduled appointment with the surgeon this week to discuss his options (surgery most likely). He's been in a bit of pain from it. He needs to get the surgery done soon so he has plenty of time to recover before we go to Yellowstone at the end of August.

So now, the running total is:
Robert: hernia - surgery to come
Sue: rotator cuff injury - physical therapy to come

We are truly starting to feel our ages! YUCK!!

Charity's Woodstock Bread

Thanks to a lively discussion on home-made breads using our bread machines with my CCAI chat group, I got this wonderful recipe from Charity for making her famous Woodstock Bread. It over-rose a bit when I made it, so I'll have to adjust the recipe slightly (she has a fancier bread machine than I do with more controls to adjust). It's a whole wheat bread with lots of seeds in it. I can't wait to take a bite out of it this evening! YUM!! If only there was smell-o-vision with this blog...

I did it again...

I think I'm getting old. I don't know how I did it, but I have an impingement and rotator cuff injury on my left shoulder. It's been bothering me for close to a month and nothing has helped so I finally went to the doctor the other day and got the official diagnosis. Now, I have to have physical therapy and it's going to delay my re-entry back into the swimming pool. I was supposed to start my masters swim class on June 9th, but that's going to be put on hold for a few weeks or months, depending on how therapy goes. This is now the second time I've had a rotator cuff injury. Not fun!! Let's put it this way, I can't lift my arm straight up any more without being in excruciating pain. Simple tasks are no longer simple. Oh well...

Welcome to geezer-hood for me!

The 5th friendliest city in America

By Barbara Corcoran, Today Show contributor

What makes a city friendly? We looked for certain standards like safety, diversity, pedestrian and bike friendliness, as well as the presence of parks and public spaces. Then we looked for something unique, like a place that always has big, fun public events or someplace with a lot of farmers markets. Most importantly, we talked to brokers to get their personal stories of friendliness. And finally, we took a look at statistics that help make a place friendly, such as enough hotel rooms to welcome visitors, enough bars to have a robust happy hour, enough tourists willing to visit and, of course, budget-friendly home prices.

Here are some notes, findings and quotes from our 5th friendliest city:
Madison, Wisconsin: Friends help friends through the snowstorms

“It’s pretty hard to walk down the street of any neighborhood without getting a friendly smile or a friendly wave. Madison is a very active town with many bike paths, parks and lakes for residents to enjoy. Having so much in the way of outdoor activities really does get Madison’s residents interacting with each other in a fun environment.

Madison gets its share of snowfall every year along with some bitterly cold weather. It's not uncommon to go a week or two without cracking 10 degrees. You might think this would put everyone in a bad mood. It seems to have the opposite effect on many Madison residents, however. This past year, and really every year that I can remember, neighbors have gone way out of their way to help those who need assistance to make it through the winter. Every year there are one or two big snowstorms and even before the snow has finished falling there is the sound of people snow-blowing out the driveway of their house and many of their neighbors', or sights of people helping push cars through the snow of condo complexes, or just checking on their elderly neighbors and friends. My uncle used to fire up the snowplow in the morning and clear out the sidewalks of his whole street.” — John Schroeder, Madison real estate broker

Did you know?

• There are 15 farmers markets throughout the city.
• Voted #8 in the 100 Best places to raise a family
• Madison ranks No. 1 on Prevention Magazine’s list of most walkable cities.
• It’s a college town, and the thriving student life at the University of Wisconsin makes the area a vibrant epicenter for music, art and theater.
• State Street is downtown’s pedestrian mall.

This is how you know you have an old kitty

This is what happens when you're an 18 year old kitty and you are approached by an angry mom Robin. Her baby decided to land about 2 inches from our little cutie and what does she do - nothing!! Her feeling - I'm just too darn old for this! I used to like to chase birds, but now it makes my arthritis hurt too much. I'd rather soak up the morning sun!

Here's a short video clip of the event. Enjoy!

China's Earthquake: Donations Needed

On the afternoon of Monday, May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale, rocked China. The epicenter was Wenchuan County, Sichuan, northwest of Chengdu. They are currently fearing that death tolls could reach up to 50,000 people - many of them, children. Below are 2 wonderful organizations that are taking donations to help the children and orphanages of China.

Half the Sky Foundation:
In cooperation with China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, the ministry responsible for disaster relief in China, Half the Sky has created the HTS CHILDREN'S EARTHQUAKE FUND. Your donations to the fund will be used to provide emergency and long-term relief to children in Sichuan and Chongqing affected by the quake. If you wish to make a gift, please visit our quake relief donation site at Global Giving or, if you prefer, donate directly through Half the Sky's earthquake donation page. Either way, we can promise that your gift will reach the children who urgently need help.
http://www.halfthesky.org

Update: You may also use Global Giving's website for Half the Sky.
http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

Love Without Boundaries:
Earthquake Aid: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China. Our heartfelt condolences are sent for lives lost and damage incurred as a result of this disaster. While we know there was great devastation and we are seeking further information from our China staff, we will not know the extent of the damage for a period of time. All of us at LWB are very concerned for the safety and well-being of all affected by this disaster. We are currently working on assessing the situation as it relates to the children in LWB programs and those orphanages impacted. We are starting an Earthquake Relief Fund to be able to provide immediate assistance.
http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com