Rain ... Reluctance

Because of rain and colder weather we haven't had many opportunities to take Henry anywhere fun lately. We have, however, heard lots of new words and seen many cute things. He's now often saying two words together and makes little sentences (a couple of nouns and/or verbs strung together). It's great to hear about his day from him a bit. Today he showed some good pretending to us too. It started with him saying "pretend bird" and running about with his arms flapping and saying "caw-caw" (a crow, I guess). It then continued tonight around supper. We got him to pretend to be a plane, a bunny and a baby (with a crying motion). Lastly, Henry also said "hi" to the baby by patting Meg's belly and saying, "hi."

With all this rain my commutes into work this week have been pretty brutal. Seems like lots of people are avoiding the smaller, potentially flooded roads and taking the highway (my road!). I think it has also discouraged people from turning in their coin at the bank. It's certainly put a damper on my picking up coin.

My results haven't been so good lately, either, so it hasn't been as fun to post. :(

8,000 halves produced nothing.

1,800 quarters turned up one Canadian and one US nickel.

1,500 dimes yielded one UK 5 pence.

200 nickels had two Canadians (1 Ni) and a key date Jefferson, 1949S.

2,500 pennies rounded up six Wheats, twenty-three Canadians and two US dimes. One of the Canadians was an old, corroded George V penny, 1920. The Wheats were:

1945, 1946, 1955, 1957D, 1958D(2)

Found: 2 pennies (one in Stop & Shop, one in Burger King), 1 dime (in Stop & Shop)

4,300 pennies produced thirty-two Wheats, forty-five Canadians, three US dimes, one German 2 Pfennig (second one this week) and one Philippines 1¢ (1963). The Philippines coin is a new variety for me. The Wheats were:

1911, 1916D, 1918, 1937, 1938, 1940(2), 1941, 1944(2), 1946(2), 1946S, 1948, 1949(2), 1950S, 1951, 1951D(2), 1952S, 1953(2), 1953D(3), 1955D, 1956D, 1957D(3), 1958D

Just a quick coin update ...

3,160 quarters turned up four Canadians, 3 US nickels, 2 US dimes and one US penny.

1,950 dimes had three silver Rosies (1951D, 1963, 1964), four Canadians and one US penny.

1,400 nickels yielded one Buffalo (1930), seven Canadians (3 Ni), one Belgian 1 franc and one US penny.

Found: 1 penny (at Costco)

Last night I searched some coin.

5,600 quarters turned up four Canadians and four US nickels.

1,450 dimes had one silver Rosie (1957), six Canadians, one UK 5 pence and one Israel New Shekel.

760 nickels yielded three Canadians, one Bermuda 5¢ and one Canadian penny. That's the first Canadian penny I've found in US nickel rolls.

Lastly, 6,150 pennies produced thirty-four Wheats, forty-seven Canadians, five US dimes, one Panama 1¢, one German 2 Pfennig and one Bahamas 1¢. The Wheats were:

1935, 1936D, 1940(3), 1941(4), 1942, 1942S, 1944(3), 1945(2), 1946(2), 1947, 1948, 1949S, 1951D, 1952, 1953, 1955(2), 1955D, 1956(2), 1956D, 1957D(2), 1958(2)

Found: 2 pennies (outside Burger King)

You Bike

This weekend was a great weekend for non-coin finds. We found free items for Henry at three separate houses. The first item we happen to see driving by was a big wheel. It's a bit beat up, but Henry loves it. He calls it "you bike" (yup, he's still referring to himself in second person!). We let him ride it at a park and then at our home. He wants to take it inside, but we haven't let him. On the way back from the grocery store Meg scored a nice train table, a small tractor and a small fire truck. We're hoping Henry will be willing to trade the train table for some of his other furniture that we want to put in the new baby's room. I hope there are some more great weekends like this soon.









At my sister's house all three cousins were in the bathroom at once to watch Liam's potty TV. The only one who pooped was Henry.

This weekend's halves stunk! 8,000 had nothing.

I did better with the nickels and pennies I searched late last week.

3,160 nickels had three War Times (1943P, 2 x 1945S), ten Canadians (3 Ni), three Bermuda 5¢ and one US penny.

11,300 pennies produced seventy-six Wheats, ninety-one Canadians, ten US dimes, one Panama 1¢, one Barbados 1¢ and one UK penny. In the batch was a new variety for me the 2009D Presidency. The 1909 VDB penny is in awesome condition, it's definitely at least a $16 coin (catalog price). My picture of it got messed up; I'll redo it soon. The Wheats were:

1909 V.D.B., 1918, 1919, 1920, 1926, 1937(2), 1938, 1939(3), 1940(5), 1940S, 1941(2), 1942, 1944(4), 1945(6), 1946(2), 1950(4), 1950D, 1950S, 1951, 1951D, 1952(3), 1952D, 1953(3), 1953D, 1954(2), 1954S, 1955, 1955D(2), 1956, 1956D(6), 1957(2), 1957(7), 1958, 1958D(3)



On Saturday I also finished reading another book, Alfred Maudslay and the Maya: A Biography, by Ian Graham. The work of Alfred Maudslay (1850-1931) is well known to anyone who has read anything about the Maya. In the late 1800's he financed multiple solo exhibitions to the Mayan ruins. Although not formerly trained as an archaeologist or anthropologist Maudslay set a new standard for respectful study. His trips produced numerous photographs and casts of monuments that aren't as accessible today as they were in his time. Maudslay didn't formulate many theories about Mayan history and culture (that was for others to do, he believed), but he did pay for the production of a lavishly illustrated series of books that are still in demand today. Graham's biography is quite readable. At times he describes the background of different characters associated with Maudslay with too much detail, but other than that I don't have any complaints about the work. I'm glad to know more about such an interesting man.

Found: 1 penny (at Bank of America)

Happy Pat Day!

"Pat Day" is what Henry's been calling St. Patrick's Day (today). I'm not sure why he decides to try to say one thing over another, but this one's a cute one. Maybe he'll be saying "Happy Easter!" somehow?

Yesterday Meg and Henry came back from a quick trip they took to my in-laws. This gave me a chance to take the day off and clean out our study for the new baby. Everything's just about gone from the room and we're ready to start preparing the walls and windows for painting. That felt good. Henry didn't seem to like it when I told him that the room was for his younger brother or sister.

He's seemed to understand the "2nd baby situation" a lot lately. Meg took him to an appointment last week and since then he's associated mom's belly with "baby" and "boom-boom" (the heartbeat he heard). He's asked us if he has a baby in his tummy too and if Daddy does.

Last night things returned to normal and I searched some coin.

5,840 quarters produced one silver Washington (1964), ten Canadians, four US dimes, two US nickels, one US penny and a Swiss 1 franc (1982). The Swiss coin is a new type for me.



5,750 dimes yielded two silver Rosies (1958D, 1959), eleven Canadians, one US penny, one Cayman Islands 5¢ and one Hong Kong 10¢. The Hong Kong coin is a new variety for me.



As parting gift for me (she's switching branches) a teller saved me some coins, a 90% silver half (1964) and six Wheats (1942, 1945, 1950S, 1951D, 1956D, 1957D).

Found: 2 pennies (1 at Costco)

Compound Nouns

This weekend despite the continual rain and a near miss at the puppet show (Henry didn't make it past the intro music) we had a lot of fun. We had fun visiting his grandparents, had a good church breakfast and heard lots of new compound nouns. His new words include, "birdhouse," "cheese truck," "raincoat," "tow truck" and "water bottle."



Henry amused himself for forty-five minutes one day carrying these bottles into the dining room and arranging them on the table.



8,000 halves produced six 90% halves (1935S, 1954, 1959D, 1960, 1963, 1964D), twelve 40% halves (6 x 1967, 7 x 1968D, 1969D) and one proof (2005S). That's a bit better than last week and the Walker was a nice upgrade to the one in my album.

Found: 1 penny (at Bank of America)

I found a wee bit of coin last night.

9 small dollars ...

800 quarters didn't produce anything.

1,000 dimes had three Canadians.

2,000 nickels yielded one Buffalo (1934), three War Times (1942P, 1945P, 1945D), six Canadians (2 Ni), one Bermuda 5¢ and one Russian rouble (1998). The nickels saved the day! :)

Sometimes the stars just misalign and it's tough to get any coins at all. This week seems to be one such week.

50 small dollars and 300 halves didn't produce anything. I've now surpassed 20,000 small dollars.

Mr. Fix-It

This weekend went pretty well for us. The temperature was very warm (for us anyway) and both days were sunny. On Saturday Meg and I had a our first day alone in our house since before Henry was born! My mother and father watched him for the day. We got a lot done and it felt very satisfying. I didn't realize just how tense I am sometimes with Henry around. In the future we'll have to try to get a day "off" for us at least once a month. Henry seemed to enjoy it too as he was very well behaved for his sitters. On Sunday we had a good time spending the day outside together.

In the evening, after supper. I fixed two of Henry's toys by putting new batteries in them. Henry seemed impressed. After I worked on the second toy, a firetruck, he brought a third to me saying, "Dad. Battery." Unfortunately, I can't work miracles as this second firetruck doesn't have a battery compartment. I'm glad Henry thinks I can add lights and sounds to any toy, however!

My halves were so-so. 8,000 half dollars produced three 90% silver halves (3 x 1964), fourteen 40% silver halves (1966, 7 x 1967, 5 x 1968D, 1969D), one proof half (2002S) and a UK 50 pence (1982).

Found: 17 pennies (1 at BJ's, 3 at Papa Gino's, 12 at the DCU, 1 at OSV), 2 dimes (at the DCU), 1 quarter (at work) and 6 foreign coins (2 Canadian pennies and four Canadian quarters at the DCU)

Mickey Mouse Or Oatmeal?

Well, I never thought the words "Mickey Mouse" sounded anything like "oatmeal," but when Henry says them they somehow seem the same. It's pretty cute. Henry's been into Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse on the Disney Channel. We thought he was always saying "oatmeal" when in fact, it seems, he's been saying "Mickey Mouse" some of the time. Meg brought out a stuffed Mickey last night to regive to Henry. Henry immediately said "Mick-me" (oatmeal is "mit-me") and "Tar-tar." Translation: "Hey, a Mickey Mouse doll. Did that come from Target?"

Last night he also said, "Friend. O. (Owen)" We asked him, "who else is your friend?" He said "In. (Evan, his cousin, could also be Liam, his other cousin, Henry's word for them sounds similar)"

I just finished searching a big batch of pennies last night. There weren't many Wheats in the bunch. 11,700 produced thirty Wheats, sixty-seven Canadians and seven US dimes. The Wheats were:

1930, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941(2), 1942, 1944, 1944S, 1945(2), 1946D, 1948D, 1951D, 1952D, 1954D, 1955(2), 1956(3), 1956D, 1957, 1957(7)

Curious George

Yesterday Meg took Henry to a special Curious George exhibit at a local children's museum. He went with two of his friends. Henry loves Curious George. He can make an association to Curious George or "E!" as he calls him can be made with almost anything. The subject of this trip was perfect. It was a little zoo-like there, but it sounded like everyone had some fun despite some chaos. Here's some pictures Meg took.







Last night I had some more luck with quarters. 2,760 of them turned up one proof (2004S Texas), four Canadians, three US nickels and two US pennies. That's two new quarters in two days!

2,400 dimes yielded one silver Rosie (1947), seven Canadians, one UK 5 pence, one Bermuda 10¢ and one US penny.

1,000 nickels had two Canadians and a Cayman Island 10¢ (1977). Strangely, one nickel was stamped with a large "3."

Happy Birthday!

Today is Henry's official birthday. It's been a week+ of celebrations, but today is the day. Today Meg's got a special treat for him. Hopefully there are some good pictures from it. Yesterday he had friends over for birthday pancakes, mmmm.

Here's a picture of Henry examining Steggie while playing in a couch fort.



I did pretty well with last night's coins.

51 small dollars and 81 halves produced two new small dollars I needed, 2009P Zachary Taylor, and 2009D Zachary Taylor. I was surprised to find both of them in the same batch. It's not that often I find a D mint presidential dollar out here.

2,400 quarters yielded one silver Washington (1959D), ten Canadians, two Bermuda 25¢, two US nickels and a Russian 5 Roubles. The silver quarter is the first new silver quarter I've found since June! Yikes! The Russian coin is a new type for me as well.



2,800 dimes turned up just two silver Rosies (1960D, 1961D).

1,200 nickels had six Canadians (1 Ni) and one UK 20 pence. In there was also one key date Jefferson, the 1950.

4,950 pennies rounded up twenty-seven Wheats, forty-two Canadians, three US dimes and a UK penny. The Wheats were:

1927, 1941, 1944(5), 1945(2), 1947(2), 1948, 1948S, 1949, 1951D, 1951S, 1952(2), 1955, 1956, 1957, 1957D(4), 1958, 1958D



Last Friday I finished reading Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick. I had been anxious to read about the Pilgrims after reading about Jamestown, especially since I plan on visiting Plimouth Plantation in the Spring. I think this was a good book to choose. The first half of the book concerns the Pilgrims and their troubles. A lot of the basics were familiar to me, but I didn't know all of the personal motives behind the history. They didn't cover that in grade school! The second half of the book dealt with King Philip's War (1675-1676). (The title doesn't mention this part of the book at all.) I didn't know much about this conflict at all. Philbrick did a great job laying out what lead up to this war, how it transpired and its immediate consequences. Overall, I liked Philbrick's style quite a bit. I have two more of his books on order.

Found: 2 pennies (1 at Stop & Shop)

Happy Birthday ... Part II

This weekend we celebrated Henry's birthday for the second weekend in a row. Meg made a car shaped cake and pizzas for our guests. Henry appreciated it all as they are both his favorites. Although we skipped singing happy birthday to him, we did open presents with him participating! He seemed really into the whole day. He and his cousins behaved excellently.











I didn't do so well with this weekend's half dollars. 8,000 of them produced five 90% silver halves (1934, 4 x 1964), four 40% silver halves and one proof half (1999S). This batch put me past the 1,000,000 mark! I think quarters will be next.

Found: 3 pennies (1 at BJ's, 1 at Target)