February’s Cheep Trills

Chirped by Cass and Tina

Oh February! Even though it had an extra day this year, it still seemed to fly by. The weather didn’t help, being very mild, warm and wet here in PA – hurrying us along towards spring. Our shortest month did, however, yield some efficient days of crafting, blogging and catching up. We squeezed a lot in! Here are our top ten favorites from this productive month…

Favorite Books

February’s choices for both book clubs had mixed reviews from our members. Cass’s book club read Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood. It describes a mother in the ’70s trying to save her daughter (born with Downs Syndrome) from a cruel institution and manipulative in-laws. The novel is based loosely on a 1971 exposé of horrific care inside a Massachusetts “school for the feeble-minded”. A guest speaker came to talk about her adult son, who has severe autism. The writing was good, the discussion interesting. Some of us were dubious about how quickly Lucy adapted and rebounded from her first two neglected years. But hey, kids are resilient, right? Continue reading

0 Shares

Flocking Together

Chirped by Tina

Like it or not, an empty nest tends to leave us with extra time on our hands. No more school sports, plays, or club competitions to coach, costume, or cheer on, no PTA committees to join or school board meetings to attend. All the chauffeuring and homework help are things of the past. Mealtime has a tendency to get abbreviated without a full complement of nestlings to cook for and interrogate about their day… You may still be wondering how to use that new-found downtime? Continue reading

0 Shares

February’s Cheep Trills

Chirped by Tina and Cass

February has left us with some crazy weather patterns here in PA (though nothing compared to what friends and relatives in the “polar vortex” experienced last month!). Temperatures have bounced from the 60s one day to below 30 the next, bringing alternating snow, sun, ice, wind and lots of rain. As a result, our favorite things are a mix of indoor and outdoor gems, and what a selection we have!

Why We (mostly) Love Winter in PA!

It’s so much shorter and milder than in New England, while still having a smattering of snowstorms (or even the occasional blizzard) to mix things up. Continue reading

0 Shares

Bloom Bounty

Chirped by Tina & Cass

Giant-Flowers.gif

Giant Flower Garden at Menlo Park Yarn Bloom, Earth Day, 2018 (see 10,000 Flowers Project)

In our original post about gearing up for the Menlo Park Yarn Bloom, we promised you pictures of the final installation, and it’s time to deliver! The park looked crazy, cheery and colorful for the Earth Day festivities in April. Kudos to the organizers of all the Earth Continue reading

0 Shares