Winter

This just in: Famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow, meaning that there will be six more weeks of winter. However, alternate groundhogs, such as Atlanta's General Beauregard Lee have predicted an early spring, so we're not sure what to believe. Groundhog Day has always been America's most underappreciated holiday, but not in our house! Our kids saw it on the calendar and have been eagerly anticipating the great day for weeks.

Apparently Groundhog Day is derived from an old German superstition brought to America by early immigrants. The groundhog (Marmota monax) is a large rodent common in central and eastern North America. We don't see groundhogs out here, but we have a close relative, the marmot, which lives in the Sierras. There aren't any groundhogs in Germany, either, but marmots are common in alpine areas, so perhaps that's the original groundhog.

Groundhog weather prediction accuracy has been estimated at 75–90%, although less optimistic sources put the overall reliability at 39%. Still, not bad for a rodent.

I decided that I’m going to do something for myself this year—I finally joined our local health club and I’m going to get myself back into shape. I signed up at the Marin YMCA a few weeks ago, and have to say that it was the best decision I’ve made so far this year. Not only am I able to take advantage of the workout room, but our entire family can participate in the classes and programs they have to offer as well.

One of our favorites features so far is the indoor pool. Believe it or not, we have been making a lot of use of it during on these recent rainy weekends, and my kids are able to burn off some energy as well as brush up on their swimming skills. My son wants to join the swim team in the spring and he needs to be able to swim the length of the pool first, so we’re getting in some valuable practice time.

There’s something I love about swimming in an indoor pool on a rainy day. At first thought it seems a little odd to want to go swimming when it’s cold and wet out, but once you get to the pool it’s warm and pleasant and a contrast to the yucky weather going just on the other side of the windows and walls.
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It seems now that just about every other day there’s a new recall of toys, most of which are mass produced in China. Invariably they end up being a popular plastic toy contaminated with lead or who-knows-what-else. Although it’s difficult in this age of imports and outsourcing, you can find quality toys from the US or Europe that not only are unlikely to be tainted with anything, but are higher quality, to boot.