Because of St. Patrick's Day... a post from my family history blog with pics of the Irish relatives

Rhodes Family History: Sam and Jenny Muirhead: "Until now, I'd only seen one picture of Sam and Jenny Muirhead. Sam 'the butcher' - with his wife Jane sitting in front of their home..."

Do you know how many days old you are?  I do - and it just hit a certain number in the thousands. I know thanks to that unexpected call from a certain "rainman" that keeps track of this and other auspicious numbers in the lives of those he knows. 

And to think I get to celebrate on Pi Day! 

What are you celebrating?  Maybe it is Valentine's Day, but I am choosing to celebrate the anniversary of the B-52's first gig in 1977.   Rock Lobster! Down, Down, Down, .....

Valentine's Tulips, originally uploaded by whistlepunch.

Triple Treat!

Just wanted to express how grateful I was today for three happy surprises. A Mavis Staples CD in my mailbox at work, a shared ticket to Theatre Calgary's upcoming show "Much Ado about Nothing" and a beautiful bouquet of pink and purple tulips. All three for very different reasons but all appreciated so much! Another day with unexpected smiles.

Happy Groundhog Day!, originally uploaded by Boy_Wonder.

It's that time of year again. Based on the Scottish couplet "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year" we are all anxiously awaiting to know if spring is right around the corner or not. I always forget whether seeing a shadow is good or not but I guess if a bright and clear day means double the winter then shadows are bad.  It seems like we have a few winters and springs here in Calgary due to the chinooks, so I don't put much stock into Punxsatawny Phil or Balzac Billy's predictions but it's fun to hear what the celebrity groundhog's shadow report tells us.  I always enjoyed sharing this cultural tidbit with my ESL students - learning that we look to a rodent for a weather prediction.  The movie "Groundhog Day" was a particular favourite to view - with all the repetition, even the lower levels could pick up what was happening and it was always a hit.

You can check out our local groundhog at the Balzac Billy website here and find out about the official celebrations but be warned - there is a soundtrack to this site! 

And here's to an overcast day - which I don't think we are expecting to get or to at least a few more chinooks to balance it all out.