Doris Mae II

Doris Mae II
Our newest travel bug. Follow her adventures!

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Southwind Treasures

Southwind Treasures
Click the t-shirt to see where Bug & I get our tie-dyed clothes.

Doris Mae

Doris Mae
Click on the photo to follow the travels of our geocaching travel bug, Doris Mae.
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Friday, June 22, 2012

Baby robin rescue.



 Bug was outside playing with a friend when they discovered this robin on the ground. They were very worried about it and were sure that I would know what to do. I did  a quick check on google and then went through the house in search of a basket. I knew that we couldn't leave it on the ground, as the neighborhood cats would eat it. Bug's dad came home about 15 minutes later and got a ladder and hung the basket in the tree. Mama robin came by about 5 minutes later with a snack for the baby...and couldn't find him. It took her several minutes, but she eventually figured it out and they were both happy. I was sure that the baby was going to jump out, but so far, so good.





Here's a short video of Mama Robin flying in for the first time.
http://youtu.be/NPN8LGw9GQ8

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Better Chinese ipad app

I've been waiting for this app for a LONG time. I first heard about it late last year, and it was said that it might be available as early as January....obviously, that didn't happen. It was, however, worth the wait.

Bug has worked her way through the Better Chinese My First Chinese Reader Book 1, but definitely didn't fully absorb the last several chapters. This app uses the Discovering Chinese books, which are pretty much the same, but geared towards teens. It is amazing. You can download the app for free which gives you the first chapter. Additional chapters are $5.99 each, or all 12 for $49.99. Not cheap or an app, but consider this: the student book is $22.95 and the workbook is $17.95. If you buy the app, you don't need the books. (you might still want them) You also get audio instruction which is priceless if you don't have access to native speakers.

If you download the app to try it out, I suggest watching this video from Better Chinese, as it shows how to use everything. I also hadn't noticed some of the extra screens for each subject, so it was useful to me.
Discovering Chinese ipad app demo video

You'll also want to go to Settings> General>Keyboard>International Keyboards>Chinese-Simplified pinyin and add it. You'll need this for the writing section.

Right now, only Volume 1 is available. Hopefully 2-4 will be coming soon.