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As of July 1, 2010, all Puerto Rican birth certificates will be invalid. This is because of a law enacted by the government of Puerto Rico last December.

It seems it was a common practice for Puerto Rican schools to retain a child's birth certificate while the child was in attendance at the school. Some criminal groups saw those unguarded collections of birth certificates as a way to easily provide illegal Hispanics with American birth certificates, as all Puerto Ricans are born Americans. After many schools were robbed, the government of Puerto Rico decided invalidating all birth certificates and issuing new ones was the only way to prevent fraud.

The new birth certificates will not be available until July 1, 2010 and will cost $5. The fee will be waived for those over the age of 60 or for veterans.

Those living outside Puerto Rico (as does my husband) will need to write the Puerto Rico Office of Vital Statistics on or after July 1, 2010 to request a new, state-of-the-art birth certificate. 

More details are available in this PDF from the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.

Because it is the 200th birthday of Frederic Chopin, a free album of his music is available for download from Amazon.

Free - I like the sound of that. And isn't that cast of Chopin's hand really creepy? But not near as creepy as what happened to Chopin's heart. Click on his name to find out what it was.

Monday we participated in the GBBC 2010 and enjoyed ourselves much. This was the most I have exerted myself since my brain surgery in November, so I was very tired afterwards. We stayed in our own neighborhood and didn't travel the local trail, as we usually do. Because of this, we didn't spot as many birds as in past years, but I think we still did well.

Here's our tally:

• 12 Muscovy ducks
• 32 Mallard ducks
• 1 Snowy Egret
• 1 Great Egret
• 1 Little Blue Heron
• 1 Green Heron
• 5 White Ibis
• 1 Wood Stork
• 1 Turkey Vulture
• 4 Common Moorhens
• 1 Northern Mockingbird
• 1 Palm Warbler

See? Not too bad. As you can see, we found many water birds - thanks to the three ponds in our tiny neighborhood.

The best part of the bird count was that we got a chance to see a newly laid clutch of Muscovy eggs.

A few photos from the bird count:

Shakepeare's plays are an integral part of our homeschooling curriculum. We typically read three of them per year - one play during each school term. After four years of this, we've read most of the most famous ones:

• Henry V
• The Tempest
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• King Lear
• Hamlet
• Othello
• Julius Caesar
• The Merchant of Venice
• Richard III
• The Taming of the Shrew
• Macbeth
• Twelfth Night
• The Winter's Tale 
• As You Like It
• Much Ado About Nothing

We will finish this school year with Romeo and Juliet and something else.

The reason for all this Shakespeare is for enjoyment, yes, but also because these plays influence our world. From the World War II miniseries Band of Brothers (Henry V) to the TV show Lost (The Tempest), the Bard of Avon touches everything.

If you also enjoy Shakespeare, you might like to participate in Extreme Shakespeare and read 38 plays in 38 days. Sounds fun...and hectic. I'm not sure I have the time. For those interested, the 38:38 group reading challenge begins March 1 and ends on April 7. Check the calendar for the schedule of books. Oh, I just realized something. If the challenge had begun yesterday, it could coincide with the 40 days of Lent - though I don't think Shakespeare would actually qualify as a Lenten sacrifice. 

The picture above is a lovely blank journal I found at a thrift store. I was attracted by the graphic, but the pun makes me smile.

I took a poll of the children's favorite plays. D chose Twelfth Night and The Tempest. S chose Henry V and Twelfth Night. I think I love all of the soliloquies and monologues the best.

Do you have a favorite Shakepeare play?

Today is not Presidents Day (or, Presidents' Day). We are actually celebrating Washington's Birthday. Sorry, Abe, no Federal holiday for you.

But Washington's Birthday isn't celebrated on George Washington's actual birthday. We celebrate it every third Monday in February to give many Americans a three-day weekend. Washington was really born on February 22, 1732 - according to the Gregorian calendar. We use the Gregorian calendar now, but when the stork brought baby George to Augustine and Mary Washington the world was using the Julian calendar. Thus, George was really, truly born on February 11, 1731. Confused? I think I am. This Slate article attempts to clear up things.

Poor George! His birthday keeps moving around the calendar and he has to share his special day with a gaggle of other guys - most of whom he never knew and probably wouldn't like.

Speaking of George Washington, we had so much fun visiting his house, Mount Vernon, during our DC vacation last spring. I think it is one of the best homeschool field trips we've taken. Few things compare to touching a tree planted by George Washington.

I thought it was too late in the season to revisit our Snowman in a Bottle craft, but the Snowpocalypse has changed my mind.

From December 14, 2006:

These bottle snowmen were quite easy to make. I got the idea while I was washing the bottles (which formerly contained coffee drinks - I try to reuse such things whenever I can) and thought the metal lids looked very much akin to snowmen hats. After washing the bottles and removing the labels, I used a black Sharpie to "paint"  the lids black. The kiddies and I filled the bottles with Poly-Fil for snow and used dots of Tacky glue and beads to make the faces. Bits and scraps of yarn, fabric, ribbon, and cord were used for the ties, scarves, and hats. Each snowman represents a family member.

The Tim Tebow commercial which aired during the Super Bowl was supposed to lead to the destruction of life as we know it. This was the event that the Mayans warned would end the world.

Or not.

I'm waiting to hear a lot of backtracking today. More than likely, though, those who made such a ruckus will pretend nothing happened. Maybe being exposed for the Chicken Littles that they were will wake a few people up. I doubt it.

I hope the good folks at Focus on the Family are enjoying all the free press the pro-abortion folks have given them. This tempest in a teacup is still providing press this morning as most news outlets are discussing how non-controversial the ad was. Even the celebrity gossip website TMZ is shocked that this benign commercial was the source of so much hoopla:

After weeks of hype and outrage, the Super Bowl commercial with Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow finally aired Sunday night -- so what was all the fuss about?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what the rest of us have been asking since the story on the Tim Tebow commercial first broke: What is all this fuss about?

In case you missed the ad, take a look for yourself:

A successful son and his loving mother - definitely a recipe for apocalyptic mayhem 

It's almost time for another Great Backyard Bird Count. Seven more days, to be exact. This year's count will begin on Friday, February 12 and end on Monday, February 15. There will be prizes for the photo contest and a general prize drawing among all the participants. How nice! All of the prizes look great and would be helpful teaching aids in our homeschool; however, we love to participate in the count each year, regardless of potential prizes. It is great fun to look for birds and to contribute our collected data.

To participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, print a tally sheet for your area. Next, you will need to spend at least 15 minutes counting the birds in your area. You can observe in your own backyard or at the park down the street. Just make sure to keep a separate tally sheet for each location and for each day you participate. After you count your local birds, enter your tally at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

After the bird count, scientists will use the data collected to answer many questions. That's why the bird count is so important.

Teachers and homeschoolers might like the free classroom materials available.

Here are the rules for the photo contest. Here are the galleries of photos from previous years.

If you don't have a bird guide book to help you with identification, you can look online for help. I often use eNature.com for identification. I take the closest photo possible and use it as a reference when I return home. In fact, I identify most flora and fauna in this manner.

I hope you all will join the Great Backyard Bird Count this year. Remember: it begins in only one week. 

Did you view Masterpiece Theater's "Emma" on PBS last Sunday night? When it was shown last year in England, it garnered less than stellar ratings - leading many to announce that the Age of Jane Austen Movie Adaptations was now over. However, after watching Part 1, I completely disagree with the naysayers. I thought the miniseries was wonderful. Though some may dislike an adaptation which strays a bit from its literary birth, I have yet to discover any part of this newest Emma which would make her creator fume. Any writer who begins a story with "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."  is one who keeps her tongue firmly in her cheek. A reason why Jane Austen has never gone out of style is that she was an acerbic wit and much of her novels must be read with a twinkle in one's eye.

Speaking of style, did you experience quite a bit of deja vu viewing while watching "Emma"? I did and the trivia page at IMDB reveals why: I've seen many of the costumes in other favorite movies. One most particular is the lovely gown worn by Emma at the Weston wedding. Formally, it was donned by Edmond's love, Mercedes, near the beginning of "The Count of Monte Cristo". Reusing costumes is, of course, a common practice for period films, but it is still great fun to play the "Where have I seen that dress/coat/bonnet before?" game.

Part 2 of "Emma" (60 minutes) will air this Sunday night and Part 3 (60 minutes) will air on Sunday, February 7. Any missed part can be viewed online until March 9, 2010. Also, a second Twitter Party is on for this Sunday night. Details at PBS.

The PBS website also offers many sweet treats, such as behind-the-scenes videos, an article from the Chawton House Library, a screenwriter Q & A, and much more.

Since I'm still recovering from the whole brain surgery thing, my sister-in-law invited us over for Thanksgiving. My neighbors heard and surprised us by ordering Thanksgiving for us so that I won't have to leave the house. Isn't that so sweet?

My post-surgery update:

• My stitches are out and the Dr says my incision looks great.
• My hair, where they shaved my head, is growing like mad. The rest of my thick hair covers the area.
• I left the house to get the stitches out and was very happy to go home again. I was really dreading going somewhere for Thanksgiving. That's why my dear neighbors bought us a cooked dinner.
• H is back at work but D is in charge and watches me better than a Mother Hen.
• If I bend over, it feels like my head will explode. So, I don't do that.
• I can't really spend much time at once on the internet, but I am at Twitter.

On my Free Things page, you can find my Thanksgiving Menu - if I was able to cook.

I hope to post again before Thursday. If I don't, here's Tennessee Ernie Ford singing one of my favorite harvest hymns: