Notes from Nubi: Introducing Miss Kelsie...

I’d like to take a brief moment to introduce the newest member of the North Judson-Wayne Township Library staff – Mrs. Kelsie Purcell. Now I haven’t met Miss Kelsie yet because I’ve been taking my retirement seriously and staying home, but mom is thrilled because Miss Kelsie is really into kids.

Starting with this year’s Summer Reading program, Miss Kelsie has taken over all of the NJWTPL children’s programming. And does she have some great plans for them for the coming year – a stuffed animal overnight; a scavenger hunt for 1st to 5th grades; a Parent’s Day Out; a combined Tot Time/Story Hour in December. Whew, it totally exhausts me; but I’m 77 in human years and Miss Kelsie is much, much younger.

I’ll have to talk mom into bringing me to the library one of these Saturdays so I can meet Miss Kelsie. Heck, maybe I’ll even volunteer if she ever needs an old dog to help with a program. After all, I do have a little experience in that area.

Love to you all,

Anubis

Notes from Nubi - It's Almost SPRING!!!!!

I can’t believe that it’s been over a month since I last put paw to keyboard!  Can’t believe that St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone!  Why before you know it SPRING will be here, at least that’s the rumor going around the house.

Mom checked the Farmer’s Almanac online (http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/region/us/6) and they’re predicting snow until March 24^th.  I certainly hope they’re wrong.  That snow in the backyard just isn’t melting fast enough for me.  Just a few weeks ago it was so cold that I could walk on top of the snow.  Then it got warmer and instead of standing on top I kept breaking through the crust, which made it difficult for me to explore.  It finally got to the point where all that smushed, gray grass is showing through so I now have most of my yard back.

Just can’t wait to see what decides to grow back there.  Mom says that what we do have isn’t all grass, but as long as it’s green I don’t think she minds.  Lately she’s been thinking of getting me my very own bush, something that won’t grow too big but will give me some shade in the summer.  Actually, I prefer to sit in the back yard and sunbathe, when it gets too hot I either move into the shade cast by the garage or the house – it depends on the mood I’m in.

Well, that darn cat Daisy is driving me crazy right now running around looking for food.  Daisy is so skinny that the vet said she should get two cans of wet food a day!  I only get wet food for my Sunday meal.  Anyway, Mom started “hiding” food for Daisy to find and suddenly she’s been eating like a little piggy and then looking for more.  When Mom came back from a small family gathering the first thing Daisy did when she saw her was to run to the TV and see if there was any food there!  She did that at least 3 times before Mom got out the food and restocked the hiding spots.

I was more restrained, as a result I got some special doggy treats Mom picked up at a bakery in Vincennes.  After telling Mom how glad I was that we were both back home – I stayed with Auntie Jane and her Great Dane – and after finishing my treats I settled into my chair beside Mom and fell asleep. 

Whew, all this typing as made me tired, guess I’ll stop now and get comfy in my chair and wait for Mom.  Hope you all enjoy the nicer weather.

Notes from Nubi 2/13/2014 Happy Day

Mom almost forgot that today was her younger sister's birthday (Happy Birthday, Auntie S).  She didn't mean to do it, but it's been a hectic week.  Heck, it's been a hectic year so far.  'Course mom did manage to remember that Friday is Valentine's Day and with Aunties birthday being the day before it really shouldn't be that hard to forget.

But mom does like to tell people that Auntie is one of those family members that you love dearly, but you would love them even better if they belonged to a different family.  You see Auntie is VERY talented, and while her birthday does occasionally fall on a Friday (making it a Friday the 13th) her original date of birth was a Wednesday.  Mom thinks having been born on the 13th is what makes Auntie so creative - she sews, cans, makes things with stained glass, does woodworking, makes jewelry (bracelets, necklaces, and who knows what else) and weaves beautiful baskets.  Heck, she can probably do just about anything that catches her interest.

And because Friday is Valentine's Day the Starke County Humane Society posted this on their Facebook page:

Please remember to keep your pets away from Valentine goodies. Many ingredients in candy can pose life-threatening issues for your pet, such as: Chocolate ( especially dark or baker's chocolate ), Chocolate covered raisins, Macadamia Nuts and Xylitol ( sugar substitute.) Also, be very cautious with your pets around flower arrangements that may contain Lillies. They are toxic to both cats and dogs.

Mom said she would buy me some treats that are good for my teeth and tummy. But no toys because I am a ninja dog and destroy them too fast.

So I hope you have a great birthday Auntie S and a great Valentine's Day, too.

Love Anubis

Notes from Nubi - 1/31/2014 Punxsutawney Phil Better Get It Right!

I am soooo ready for winter to be over!  It was okay at first, I do like a little snow, but it's these sub-zero temperatures that are getting to me.

The first snow we had was enjoyable; had a great time running around the backyard playing.  And I still enjoyed it until that nasty wind started blowing.  You humans are lucky because you wear boots, gloves and warm coats (not that I would let mom put any of those on me).  When it got really cold I nearly froze my feet off!  Mom told me not to go further than the edge of the garage, but a few times I insisted on going all the way around the yard.  Once it was so cold that I froze in my tracks, pun intended, and mom almost had to come out to pick me up and carry me back to the house.  But I'm a brave girl, I made it back into the house on my own and then cuddled up with my cold feet up against mom.  She also wrapped me in a blanket to help me warm up.

Today mom changed the library's profile photo on Facebook to a cookie groundhog pudding cup. She said that if Punxsutawney Phil gets it wrong we get to eat him! Sounds good to me!

Until warmer weather gets here, keep thinking SPRING!

 - Anubis

Here's the fake Punxsutawney Phil, doesn't he look delicious?

1/8/2014 Notes From Nubi: Glad Things Are Getting Back To Normal

Well, the library is back to normal hours as of today. Matter of fact I just checked the weather report and temps are supposed to be up to 39 by Friday - the only drawback to that is they are predicting a 40% chance of rain - and 40 with sunshine for Sunday. 

This is one of the reasons Mom doesn't like winter - all that time, energy, and gas that people spend cleaning up after the storm and then rain and sunshine will remove it naturally. I'm just glad she cleaned off the back stairs so I could get outside. A drift totally covered them, that plus the bone chilling cold kept me inside the past two days, but now I have clean steps and a small shoved area so I'm ready to go back outside.

Hope no one suffered too much from cabin fever, but if you did take advantage of the warm up this weekend. 

Love, Anubis

Track Santa this Holiday Season with NORAD

Here’s one last thing I wanted to share with you.  – Anubis

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) helps boys and girls all over the United States to look out for Santa.  

NORAD is a United States and Canada bi-national organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America.  NORAD’s headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. NORAD’s track Santa site gives a countdown to Santa, and provides information about Santa and other holiday traditions.  

You can start to track Santa’s travels on December 24th on Cesium maps to see how close he is to your house.  If you need help getting into the Christmas spirit, you can listen to music provided by the U.S. Airforce Academy Band!

http://www.noradsanta.org/

12/24/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #19

1 partridge in a pear tree on each of the 12 days. 1 x 12 = 12
2 turtle doves on the last 11 days.                         2 x 11 = 22
3 french hens on the last 10 days.                         3 x 10 = 30
4 calling birds on the last 9 days.                         4 x 9         = 36
5 gold rings on the last 8 days.                                 5 x 8  = 40
6 geese a-laying on the last 7 days.                         6 x 7  = 42
7 swans a-swimming on the last 6 days.                 7 x 6  = 42
8 maids a-milking on the last 5 days.                         8 x 5  = 40
9 ladies dancing on the last 4 days.                         9 x 4  = 36
10 lords a-leaping on the last 3 days.                        10 x 3 = 30
11 pipers piping on the last 2 days.                        11 x 2 = 22
12 drummers drumming on the last day.                12 x 1 = 12

A total of 364 gifts

That’s enough to take you through to next Christmas, when the gift giving would start all over again.

(This chart does count the partridge and the pear tree as one gift, but if you are one of those people who would consider them to be two presents the number goes up to 376.  Of course if you do that then you probably should count all the cows being milked, the pipes being piped, the drums being drummed, and the drumsticks being used to play the drums.  MATH OVERLOAD, CALL MR. KELLAM!!!!!)

Well, tomorrow is Christmas so this will be my last bit of trivia.  Have a Merry Christmas and I hope to see you in the New Year!

- Love, Anubis

12/23/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #18

No, Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Sneezy or Bashful didn’t ride in the sleigh.  They live in a forest and are probably cousins to the North Pole dwarfs who rode in Santa’s sleigh.  (Someone should write a song or poem about them so it’s easier to remember their names!) 

The Three Little Dwarfs who went along with Santa were Hardrock, Coco, and Joe. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT5Ohgl7eTM&safe=active

If you were lucky - or unlucky - enough to receive all of the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" how many presents would that be? 

I wouldn’t mind receiving all those birds.  I’d even be generous enough to share them, and the milk, with Daisy the cat.  She’s pretty small and doesn’t really eat much.

- Anubis

12/20/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #17

“The children were nestled, all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.”  Sounds so nice and sweet, but what the heck are sugarplums?  Mom thinks they are candies like gumdrops.  When I did a search on Google it came up with a recipe for a cookie, some chocolate covered marshmallows, soaps, diapers, nail polish and even Ale (whatever that is).

I also found a link to an article written by a person who did a lot of research about them.  She said that they are “a sweet made of sugar hardened around a central seed or kernel in successive layers using a process called ‘panning.’”  Just think of jawbreakers or Jordan almonds.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/12/sugar-plums-theyre-not-what-you-think-they-are/68385/

Christmas will be here on Wednesday!  Bet the elves are starting to load Santa’s sleigh with all kinds of goodies.  Everyone knows that Santa has plenty of elves busy making toys in his workshop.  But in 1951 there were “Three Little Dwarfs” who accompanied Santa on his sleigh to deliver presents.  Do you know who they were?

Hope we get some more snow before Christmas.

- Anubis

12/19/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #16

Some people might consider this a trick question.  In Polar Express Tom Hanks provided the motion-capture and the voices for 1) the father, 2) the conductor, 3) the hobo, 4) Scrooge, and 5) Santa Claus.  He also, along with Josh Hutcherson, provided the motion-capture for the hero boy while the boy’s voice was provided by Daryl Sabara.  Whew, that makes 5 characters for whom he provided both voice and animation plus 1 for whom he did part of the animation!

While the children in Polar Express took a train to the North Pole and saw Santa Claus, most children spend Christmas Eve nestled, all snug in their beds while visions of what treat dance through their heads?

I know there will be visions of doggie treats dancing in my head when I fall asleep on Christmas Eve.

- Anubis

12/17/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #15

If you are a Jean Shepherd fan then you know that quote comes from the movie A Christmas Story, which takes place in Hohman, Indiana.  In fact, Jean Shepherd provides the voice of the narrator, the grown up Ralphie, and has a cameo role as the angry gentleman who tells Ralphie, “The line ends here! It begins there!”

Actor Tom Hanks played several roles in the animated movie Polar Express.  Do you know how many characters he voiced?

- Anubis

12/16/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #14

Our sentimental singer is “dreaming of a White Christmas, with every Christmas card I write.”   Now where did the original singer live that they had to dream of a white Christmas?  The introduction, which does not appear on most versions of the song we hear, explains that:

The sun is shining; the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway.
I’ve never seen such a day
In Beverly Hills, L. A.
But it’s December the 24th
And I am longing to be up North.

The snow we had over the weekend made everything much more festive (as long as you didn’t have to shovel it).  Soon it will be "Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved."

Do you know what movie/book that quote comes from?

Well, I’m ready to take a nap now and dream of what Santa will be bringing me.  See ya later.

- Anubis

12/14/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #13

Johnny Galecki was 14 when he played Billy Quinn in ‘Prancer’ and Rusty Griswold in ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’  He currently plays lead character Leonard Hofstadter on ‘The Big Bang Theory.’

Well, that white stuff is making its presence known so hopefully we will have a White Christmas.  And speaking of that song, what activity is the person doing while they are “dreaming of a White Christmas?”
Hope you enjoy the snow.  I’ll have the answer on Monday.

- Anbuis

12/13/2013 Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #12

Christmas Trivia #12

While you would think that Jack Frost would be the one, it’s actually Suzy Snowflake who comes “tap, tap, tappin’ at your windowpane.” Mom always associates this song with the late Rosemary Clooney (aunt of George Clooney) who recorded it in 1951. In 1953 it was made into a short stop animation feature which was a staple on WGN for many years.

And since the topic of TV came up, do you know which star of a very popular current comedy series appeared in both the 1989 Christmas movies “Prancer” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation?"

- Anubis

12/12/2013 Notes from Nubi - Looking for the 2014 Indiana Festival Guides?

Well, they’re back.  I thought we had a whole bunch of them last year, but the UPS guy was in and dropped off 400 of those 2014 Indiana Festival Guides!  He must be really strong!

Hey, how about this for an idea?  Pick up one of the 2014 Indiana Festival Guides from the library and put marks by all the festivals that interest you.  Then you can give it to anyone who wants to know what you want for your birthday, anniversary, Mother’s/Father’s Day, vacation or just because.

Now don’t you worry if you can’t make it in to the library to pick up a copy right now, after all it is almost Christmas. Mom said that once the State makes changes to their website you can download the 2014 Indiana Travel Guide and the 2014 Indiana Festival Guide to your computer from Visit Indiana.  She said that they have over 50 other guides and brochures – broken down by North, West, East, Central, South Central, and South  - if you're looking for something special to do in Indiana.

Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #11

There have been many actors who have supplied the voice of God but very few who actually played him. George Burns and Morgan Freeman have taken on the role in several movies, but in 1969 it was E. G. Marshall who played God. Marshall often was cast in powerful roles as doctors, lawyers, and senators.

There is a certain little lady who tells you she’s in town by “tap, tap, tappin’ at your windowpane.” Do you know who she is and what she is bringing?

Hope you and your furbabies keep warm.

- Anubis

12/11/2013 Christmas Trivia #10

If you’ve read “The Littlest Angel”, or seen either the 1969 movie or the 2011 animated version, you know that he had a problem keeping his halo on straight. 

The 1969 movie version had an all-star cast for that time period, Johnny Whitaker played Michael (the Littlest Angel), his guardian angel was played by Fred Gwynne, and Cab Calloway played Gabriel. Can you make a guess as to who played the role of God?

- Think hard, Anubis

12/9/2013 Christmas Trivia #9

Janean and David Richards' display uses 502,165 LED lights that, laid end to end, would stretch for more than 31 miles.  How close did you come to this answer, without going over?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/26/247164212/500-000-lights-familys-christmas-display-sets-new-world-record

Well, we’re going to delve way back into the past again.  In 1946 Charles Tazewell wrote a children’s book called “The Littlest Angel.”  This little guy has a problem wearing something.  Do you know what it is?

Don’t you just love Christmas lights?

-      Anubis

Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #8

Well, they say you learn something new every day, or if you don’t you should. While looking for trivia topics I learned that in 1882, Edward H. Johnson had the first Christmas tree lit by the use of electricity. Christmas lights were mass produced around 1890 and by 1900 department stores started using the new Christmas lights for their Christmas displays. By the way, Edward H. Johnson was one of Thomas Edison's muckers, an inventor who worked under the direction of Edison. Johnson eventually became vice-president of Edison's electric company. 
http://todayinsci.com/J/Johnson_Edward/JohnsonEdward-ChristmasTreeLights-DetroitPost1882.htm

Keeping on the subject of Christmas lights, recently an Australian family recaptured the Guinness World Record for having the most Christmas lights on a residential property. Last year’s winner had nearly 350,000 lights, what’s your guess for the new record?

Notes from Nubi - Christmas Trivia #7

Mom was a Gene Autry fan back in the day so she knows that he considered the following ways for Santa to get to town if there wasn’t any snow for Christmas:

1) “In case of rain, will there be a train.”

2) “If he breaks down on his way to town will they let him use a bus?”

3) “I'd really feel much better if I knew he could fly a plane.”

If you’ve NEVER heard “If it doesn’t snow on Christmas” check it out on YouTube.  One other tidbit, this was the “A” side of the record, the “B” side was “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.”  (You younger folks might want to ask your grandparents about records and the meaning of A and B sides. OR contact the library, they should be able to answer your questions.)

Hope you enjoy the Christmas tree lighting tonight, 6 p.m. at Norwayne Field.  Which is a smooth transition to this bit of trivia - Edward H. Johnson created the first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree at his home in New York City with eighty small electric light bulbs.  Can you guess what year this occurred?