Weather through Weekend/Movies for Autistic/Reading Twilight Eclipse and Beyond

WEATHER
On Tuesday, cool spot will be northern Rockies with highs in the 30s and 40s. In contrast. The central, southeast and southern US will have highs in the 70s and 80s. The northeast and west coast will be primarily in the 50s and 60s. There could be some severe storms in central South Dakota and Nebraska with showers and thunderstorms possible from the northern plains to extreme south Texas.

Houston will be mild with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Very little variability through the weekend with lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s and low 80s. There could be a few showers Wednesday or Thursday. P.S. Sorry about the rain early last Saturday. At least the rest of the weekend worked well for outdoor activities.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do scratch or arañar, pronounced ah-rah-NYARE. Ever wonder why dogs arañar the ground. See what I found out, in the AND MORE section.

Learning more than one language, especially at an early age, if very beneficial to cognitive function. Help your children learn to love languages. Order our award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are on the shelf (in the education section) at Barnes & Noble stores or you can order them from http://www.frankandpaco.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com

AND MORE
Allergen Update -- First the good news...tree pollen levels, reported this morning by the City of Houston Health Department Laboratory, were only heavy (as compared to extremely heavy...down to the 300s from levels in the 3000+ range just a week ago). The bad news is that grass pollens are now heavy. Remember, you can check the Monday through Friday levels, updated in the morning, by calling 713-247-5846.

Well I've been reading the 3rd in the Twilight series, Eclipse. No...I did not read Volumes 1 and 2 (much to the consternation of my step-daughter Megan). Yes. I am a very naughty girl. I'm one of those people who doesn't mess around. In fact, I am tempted to go get the 4th volume, Breaking Dawn, and just read the end so I'll know if I even want to bother with what is in between. But I will say this, it is fun to read. Bella and Edward though, really need to talk more...they get into trouble when they take too long to level with each other. And ewwwww....Edward is like almost 100...and Bella is 18...that dirty old man!!! Seriously, it is a good read.

So, I'm a glutton for punishment. I've taken on volunteering to do the decorations for the Earth Day performance at Sarah's school. I'm very proud as Sarah has a speaking part. But guess what? I'm the only one who volunteered to do that. Gee I wonder why? Everyone else was too smart!!! Ha! Ha! I know what I want to show...but I could use some creative input. Any suggestions?

Sarah and I have been walking a neighbor's 2 dogs and have been curious about why they scratch the ground. They dogs pee frequently as they go along and occasionally poo (don't worry I'm disposing of it) but they seem to be randomly scratching the grass. I read all kinds of sites about this and what I found is quite varied...even from the experts. I think I agree with the theory that there are sweat glands in their feet and that they are using that as yet another way to mark with their scent. Any thoughts?

A big thank you to Sherry Harlan for sending me this info. about a special movie viewing opportunity for folks with autistic children:
AMC Entertainment (AMC) and the Autism Society have teamed up to bring families affected by autism and other disabilities a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis with the "Sensory Friendly Films" program.

In order to provide a more accepting and comfortable setting for this unique audience, the movie auditoriums will have their lights brought up and the sound turned down, families will be able to bring in their own gluten-free, casein-free snacks, and no previews or advertisements will be shown before the movie. Additionally, audience members are welcome to get up and dance, walk, shout or sing - in other words, AMC’s “Silence is Golden®” policy will not be enforced unless the safety of the audience is questioned.

AMC First Colony 24
3301 Town Centre Blvd. South, Sugar Land, TX 77479

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sensoryfilms

Now that is just neat! Thanks Sherry and thanks AMC!!!

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman