February in review

Let's see... There was the Feb. meeting of the Environmental Club during which we made bird feeders from pine cones, peanut butter, honey, and bird seed...what a mess!  Madison's basketball team got to play another team in her league during the Memphis Grizzlies' game half-time on the court at the FedEx Forum.  Madison nearly made a basket on the 10 ft. goal but was robbed.  It was an exciting 5 minutes.  The Grizzlies were pretty cool too and managed to win for us, which was nice.  We had Madison's birthday party, including Chuck E. Cheese and a sleepover.  Last night was the Cultural Festival at Madison's school, and we sponsored a table about the Netherlands.  I made a poster and a flag;  we had some Delftware and gave out some Gouda on a frilly toothpicks.  I've done some tutoring but not a lot.  Andrew and I went to Cafe Toscana for Valentine's Day.  And about a week ago, Andrew introduced me to Fino's From the Hill, and we took our sandwiches to Overton Park and enjoyed a perfect spring day.  Now we're looking forward to an exciting March! 


Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 02/28/07.

This is for you, Neal

To the tune of "Wind Beneath My Wings", popularized by Bette Midler (a la Beaches)

Did you ever know that you're my hero...
You're everything I wish I could be...
I can fly higher than an eagle...
Because Neal Conan is the wind beneath my wings...

I've come to rely on Talk of the Nation...
For its balanced coverage of today's current events...
It's the best news-talk call-in show...
Hosted by Neal Conan, the wind beneath my wings...

Did know that Neal Conan is Lebanese...
Or that he was once New York and London Bureau chief...
You can find all this in his bio on NPR's website...
Because Neal Conan is the wind beneath my wings...

Fly...Fly...Fly away on the radio waves of NPR... (x2)

Thank you! Thank God for you and Talk of the Nation....

Fly away on the radio waves of NPR...

(All y'all are lucky I couldn't figure out how to put my vocalizations - not really singing - of these inspired lyrics on here!)


Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 02/08/07.

Science fair results

Madison didn't get disqualified!  She won 2nd place for the 4th grade and got an honorable mention for the entire school.  She was ecstatic!  Her presentation gets to remain on display at the school with the other winners for awhile.  We both had a lot of fun working on it, and it was cool that Madison got to see that hard, careful work can have its rewards.

Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch at 02/04/07.

Urban ecology

This hawk was hanging out in a small tree across the street from our house, practically at eye level.  He was unconcerned by the picture-taking and allowed himself to be observed for almost 5 minutes from a distance of about 10 ft.  Andrew took several pictures with his phone,  then ran back into the house for his camera and captured these.  I love raptors, and this brush with one up close made my day!

Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 02/01/07.