Post Birthday

Last night Henry and I took down the balloons that were about the house. Surprisingly, he seemed more upset about the balloons I let the air out slowly out of and gave to him rather than the balloons I popped. At dinner we were reminded of just how much Henry likes spicy food. He chowed down on some spicy tofu Meg made without any problem. He also seems to be attempting to say more words. Perhaps he's saying more and we don't understand him?

I searched some coin while we watched TV.

Ten large dollars and three half dollars didn't produce anything.

1,960 quarters yielded five Canadians, four US dimes and three US nickels. One of the Canadians was a 1964 80% silver! The smaller US coins I found didn't bother me too much as they were extras. I found quite a few rolls with 41 quarters in them.



3,950 dimes produced two silver Rosies (1956, 1962D), thirteen Canadians, one Singapore 10¢, one UK 5 pence, one East Carribean States 10¢ and two US pennies.

2,260 nickels turned up nine Canadians (2 Ni). In the nickels I also found a big batch of early AU Jeffersons. This must have been from the same source I found similar coins from a few weeks back (same bank). The coins were: 26 x 1939, 26 x 1941, 13 x 1941.



I also finished reading a book on during our snow day. The book is River Road to China: The Search for the Source of the Mekong, 1866-73 by Milton E. Osbourne. It details a French expedition undertaken in the middle of the 19th century to determine if the Mekong River was suitable for navigation and trading. The Mekong River, which starts in Cambodia, almost immediately proved to be unfit for their purposes as they encountered multiple sets of rapids and the countryside they journeyed through was not as wealthy as they hoped. Eventually the team made their way north into China. There they were assisted by French missionaries and successfully avoided being caught up in an ongoing Muslim rebellion. Their expedition was salvaged a bit by their "discovery" of the trade possibilities of the Red River.



I was a bit disappointed by the book. The journey the Frenchmen undertook was amazing, but Osbourne description of it was lacking. Several of the expedition's members wrote books about the trip, but unlike other exploration books I've read Osbourne did not use these sources in a way that helped me really understand the men or their environment. I think I'll read another book on the expedition and possibly acquire some reprints of the original works. The pictorial journal done by the group's artist looks to be fantastic. It's just a little costly.



Found: 4 pennies (1 at Target, 1 at Sovereign Bank, 2 at McDonald's)