Mixed Bag

GOODWILL HUNTING: Yesterday we had a few minutes to spare before their science class, so we stopped at Goodwill in Shoreline. It was quite the shoppers' paradise there, let me tell you.

For just $49, we could have taken Barbra Streisand home with us. Someone had spent HOURS and HOURS on this enormous (about 3-by-4 feet) portrait of her. And they managed to make Bab's nose look even bigger than it really is. ...

And we found a horrifying clown in the toy department. It's eyes opened and closed. Super scary.

Annabelle really wanted to buy this basketball, since we had just heard on the radio that the Seattle Super Sonics might rise again (via the Sacramento Kings moving here).

But I told Annabelle that I didn't think we needed a basketball with a hole in it (you could actually feel the air streaming out when you held it).

But the Bestest Thing Ever was this plush. ...

We call him the Afronana.

It's a stuffed banana. With an afro. And no eyes. How it ever wound up at Goodwill, I'll never understand. I mean, who could bear to part with such an absolute TREASURE?
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PRESIDENTIAL: Since the inauguration is just a few days away, I thought it would be a good time to do some learnin' 'bout the presidents. Specifically, I'd like the kids to learn all the presidents names, and be able to recite them in order.

To that end, today we watched and listened to the Animaniacs' song featuring all the presidents (well, up through Clinton) over and over again.


We also read along with a narrated book online, "So You Want to be President?" written by Judith St. George, with illustrations by David Small. We accessed the video  through the BookFlix site via the Seattle Public Library site. The 23-minute video shared all sorts of factoids about the office and the men who have held it. Rather than tackle the subject chronologically, the book examines presidents in other ways, physical characteristics, hobbies, education and personality. It was entertaining and informative.

LANDSAT UPDATE: This morning, we watched a live press conference about the upcoming launch of the latest satellite that's part of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. A collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological survey, the Landsat program has a 40 year history of monitoring the Earth's landscape from space. Data collected from the satellites is used for everything from farm to forest management. This new satellite is the eighth in the Landsat series, which started in 1972.

The next Landsat satellite is scheduled to be launched on Feb. 11. Here's a photo of it installed on a horizontal frame after the satellite completed thermal vacuum testing at the Orbital Sciences Corporation facility in Gilbert, AZ.

Photo credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.

We put in for the #NASASocial to attend the launch. Notices go out on that Jan. 18, so our fingers are crossed. ...

There's a great video all about the Landsat program and upcoming launch can be found here: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?11166

WATERWORLD: In science class yesterday, the kids had a chance to mess around with sand and water while learning about how geological formations like the Grand Canyon were made. Fun!