Linaewen's Lake of Small Birds

I figured it was about time to change my default user icon -- it's a real shame to put away Aaron Rodgers, after a stellar year of Green Bay Packer football.  But I'll put him back out again when the time comes to cheer our team on again.  It's a shame that all the stuff going on in Wisconsin lately has diminished somewhat the euphoria and camaraderie we were all feeling after our SUPER BOWL WIN... 

;-)

Anyway, my new default icon is an attempt to encourage spring to come along more quickly:



In other news, I am pretty much totally inundated with reports and newsletters that have to be written, as well as having all my volunteer ESL teachers calling in sick today, so it's looking rather hectic out there.  Hopefully I can stay on top of everything without wearing myself out!  :-D

Hugs to those of you who have inquired about how I was faring as a result of the recent blizzard here in the Midwest.  <3

I think we had something like 20 inches dumped on us in our part of Chicago.  We closed the Center in advance of the storm, and are still closed today for the benefit of our volunteers who will have a difficult time getting up here -- and it's unlikely any South Asians will dare to venture out (if they can even open their doors for the drifts).  Folks from countries where snow is a novelty only seen in the mountains are not adventurous at this time of year -- and I don't blame them.  ;-)  I don't expect we'll see too many ladies wanting to learn English for awhile, even when we open again!

We enjoyed the blizzard (because we like snow) and relished the thunder snow (don't get to have that too often, even in Wisconsin).  And we appreciated being able to serve as the go-to people for dealing with Center-related issues that came up because of the snow, since we live only a block away and can get there on foot no matter how high the drifts happen to be,.  ;-)  Even with the place closed, we can still get over there and get caught up on some of the work that needs doing that doesn't involve opening it up to the public -- if we want to.

But those snow drifts I mentioned are still a barrier in other ways, and are contributing to our current frustration and irritation.  We have at least 3 feet of snow (that's aside from the drifted snow) on the street where we live -- not to mention all the other side streets in the vicinity -- and more in the alleys due to the wind, and even if we dug our car out, we wouldn't be able to drive anywhere.  We have heard that they will be plowing the side streets for a change (they normally never do, you just drive on top of the snow until it gets flattened), but when that will happen is anybody's guess.  We have a shovel, and we know how to use it, but I'm not sure we are up to shoveling a path several city blocks long...

The frustration is that we have plans to leave town on the weekend for a 5 day vacation from the work here.  (We're just coming off of a long bit of being indispensable due to staffing shortages, and another time like that is approaching when we'll pretty much be in charge and won't be able to get away until next month.)  But will we be able to get our car out and to a main street that will take us to the interstate by Saturday evening?  Who knows?  And if we get out, will we have a place to come back to when we return?

The DS up in Wisconsin fared pretty well -- he was plowed out by the city by 8 am on Wednesday and once he used the snow blower on the driveway, he was able to get to work on time.  Everyone knows that McDonald's doesn't close during blizzards, since that's when everyone decides they need to get out and buy burgers, so he had to get to work.  ;-)  He also kept a dentist appointment and was able to drive around without too much trouble, though he did have a wee fender bender that thankfully no one even cared about, it was so tiny.  They know how to do blizzards in Wisconsin!

I just heard on the news that they have begun plowing the side streets, so here's hoping they get to ours in the near future, so we can escape to Wisconsin in time to be on Cheesehead soil for the watching of the Super Bowl, the intended "kick off" of our vacation week!  \o/

Speaking of which, Go Pack Go!  ;-)

Watch this space for more snow and Packer-related updates, as well as some major catching up on my part (as I notice that the last time I posted here was in November....)

You know, it's really hard to concentrate on packing to travel home for the holidays when there's a Packers/Bears game on TV.  Especially when we never expected to be able to see it televised -- but I guess because it's a Bears home game, it's on network TV locally.  Cool!  I actually considered buying tickets to this one, since it's next to impossible to get tickets to a Packer game -- but we couldn't afford it.  And also, it would be rather cold in the stands today!  Next year, maybe I'll save up my pennies and do it!  The thought of being a Packer fan in the midst of enemy territory sounds kind of fun.

Anyway, so far so good in the game.  From our POV, anyway!  The Packers have nothing really to play for except a moral victory at this point, but that's a good enough reason to play well.  They haven't won yet, though, so I guess I won't count my footballs before they are in the end zone.

Anyway, back to packing.

/Cheesehead fanatiscm

ETA:  Here's a Dad update.  He had a blood infection, which is responding to treatment, so he's being released on Wednesday.  Just in time to celebrate Christmas Eve, yay!

ETA #2:  Overtime FAIL -- drat.  :-(  Oh, well.

We're starting to hear news reports of Brett Favre's retirement.  Which will cause all of us in Packer Land to heave regretful sighs, even as we squee some more over the great season we had this past year and wish him well, and congratulate him on going out at the top.

This breaking news is according to FoxSports, and ESPN, and NFL.com is also reporting it.  However....

It's not really true until we hear it from The Man himself, and see it posted on Packers.com.  ;-)


ETA:

Okay, now it's official.

http://packers.com/breaking_news/

STATEMENT FROM PACKERS GENERAL MANAGER TED THOMPSON:

Brett Favre has informed us of his intention to retire from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL. He has had one of the greatest careers in the history of the National Football League, and he is able to walk away from the game on his own terms - not many players are able to do that.

The Packers owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. He has given Packers fans 16 years of wonderful memories, a Super Bowl championship among them, that will live on forever. Brett's many accomplishments on the field are legendary. He leaves the game holding virtually every career passing record, plus his consecutive starts streak, which may never be duplicated.

The uniqueness of Brett Favre - his personality, charisma and love of the game - undoubtedly will leave him as one of the enduring figures in NFL history.

Details of Brett Favre's availability to discuss his decision are still to be determined, and will be announced once set.

*megasigh*

Cheeseheads are passionate about their team, even when they are losing dismally.  But when they are 4-0 and breaking records, then it is worth all those other times of waiting and hoping, lol!  So far, this season of being a Packer backer has been pretty exciting -- not to mention fun.

Take Brett Favre, for instance.  You've just gotta love him! These are the two guys who helped him break the record for career touchdown passes, and just look him. Posing for posterity!


In case you missed it yesterday, here is what all the hoopla is about:

Number 4 is Number 1

Thanks for letting me brag about my cheesehead-ness!