Happy Fat Tuesday! Things are shaping up for the luncheon downstairs, and the food smells great. Judy made a beautiful cake. And as is fitting for the occasion, she has hidden a small trinket in the cake. The person who finds it in their piece will be deemed King or Queen of Mardi Gras and a receive a (very) small prize. See you at noon.

Happy Birthday Michelle! It's nice that we are able to celebrate two occasions today!

Visitor
Louis Dominic Beaupre will be in NL on Mar 6-8

Baby News
We'll it's official. Rob and Kassandra are having twin girls!!! That's great news and we're so happy for you Rob.

Pot Luck
Remember we're having a Mardi Gras pot luck tomorrow. Please email me asap and let me know what you are bringing. It will help some of us decide what to make if we know what others are bringing. Please join us at noon even if you can't bring a dish to pass.

Trivia
Thanks to Pam, Andrea, Terry, Barbara, who responded to the trivia question about American Colonists. You were so close! However, Kathie Silva was the first to respond and she was the only one to answer correctly. Way to go Kathie! In 1630 the colonists ate popcorn for the first time.

Pot Luck
Next Tuesday is Fat Tuesday. We need some fun around here, so to celebrate, please wear your beads, bright clothing, or anything else you think would be appropriate. Also, we're going to have a company-wide pot luck, so please bring a dish to pass. No sign-up sheet. Just bring whatever you like on Tuesday.

Have a great Friday and a great weekend!

Good afternoon all. Hope your day is going well.

Who's in and Out
Bill is in Pennsylvania today and will fly from there to Minnesota for the rest of this week and all of next. Kathleen is in New York today.

Mary Carol is the proud owner of the 2006 Catholic Press Directory. It's much more user-friendly now that it's spiral bound. Feel free to contact her if you need to use it.

Health Insurance
Please see Barbara if you still haven't received your debit card from Exante.

Daffodils
Judy is still collecting money for daffodils. If you haven't done so yet, please pay her by the end of the day Friday. Thanks again for your orders and support for the American Cancer Society.

Trivia (gasp! on a Wednesday??!!)
On this day in 1630, what did American Colonists eat for the first time? Please email me with your answer.

Good morning. Happy Friday! Hope you're looking forward to a great (and long) weekend. We know where the race fans will be!

Insurance Update
Most people have received the Exante Bank debit cards, although there are a few who have not received their card. If anyone has received their PIN number yet I would appreciate your letting me know. As far as I am aware no one has yet received their PIN.

Your Exante card will work for prescription purchases. I have successfully used it at CVS. When you process you card – press CREDIT CARD. The card system will ask for a PIN, just tell the pharmacist that it is a new card & you have not yet received the PIN.--Valerie

Time Cards
Because of the long weekend, Barbara needs your time cards TODAY.

Quote for the Day
The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. --Mark Twain

Good morning! Hope you had a great Valentine's Day evening.

Who's In and Out
Bill and Dan are on their way to the East Coast Conference. Bert and Matt will be out Thursday and Friday.

Welcome Back!
Jane's first day back from maternity leave is today. Her hours are 11-4 Mon-Fri. She brought pictures of baby Noelle if you'd like to see them. Welcome back Jane. I'm sure it was hard to leave the little one, but it will get easier.

Daffodils
Judy is now collecting money for the daffodils you ordered from the American Cancer Society. Please pay her as soon as you can as she'd like to send it off in early March.

Interesting Fact
On this day in 1965, Canada changed their national flag to the red and white maple leaf design. Go Canada!

Happy Valentine's Day! It's nice to see so many flowers being delivered. There's still time left, so don't forget that special someone.

New Phone Ext.
Our national sales rep, Vikki Shepp, now has a 23rd phone extension and email. Her extension is 189; email: vshepp@twentythirdpublications.com. Outside callers may leave voice mail messages for her at that extension.

Who's In and Out
Louis-Dominic will be here Mon-Wed this week. Andrea starts her vacation tomorrow.

Good afternoon everyone. Happy Friday. Dust off your snow shovel 'cause you're gonna need it! Now on to more serious matters.

New Responsibilities for Paul
We're happy to appoint Paul Bourque as Traffic Manager of Bayard's East Coast operations. Paul will manage the projects schedule, keeping our creative endeavors on time. He continues also in the role of Production Manager of the Consumer Magazine Division. Andrea Carey will also continue in her role as Production Director for the books, curriculum, and audio visual lines in the Twenty-Third Division. Please join us in extending our appreciation to Paul for enthusiastically taking on this new challenge.--Bill and Kathleen

Andrea will be on vacation Feb 14-17.

Louis-Dominic will be here Feb. 13-15.

Exante Debit Card
Not everyone has yet received their Exante debit card for their health insurance account. Karen called and was told due to a huge backlog, they are still processing some of them. If you feel the need to check on it yourself the number for Exante is 1-866-234-8913. Also, I've been told that the envelope you receive in the mail is somewhat non-descript and doesn't have Exante printed on it. It has a window for the return address and mail-to address areas.

What 's That Smell?
Now that we're in closer quarters, please be considerate of others when wearing perfume or heavily-fragranced lotions. You may want to apply such products in the bathroom or not use them at all. Some people are more sensitive to these aromas than others.

Parking Update:

A parking set-back: Due to CGB customer complaints we are losing 2 parking spaces in the CGB lot. Please do not park in the last 2 spaces marked with Customer Parking signs. This means we currently have 9 parking spaces in the CGB lot starting at the Bank Street entrance through the 1st two ‘customer parking’ spots.

The bank has reassured us that they are still working with the Medical Building and expect to have 5 additional spaces soon.

Important – Please park in the 13 parking spots along the Medical Building 1st (starting with the 4 spots to the right of the stairs) to secure these spots for Bayard & CGB employees. After these are full, then park in the ‘non-customer’ parking spaces and park in our two ‘customer parking’ spaces last.--Valerie

Good afternoon everyone. Hope you had a great weekend and that your favorite (Superbowl) team won. Didn't watch much of the game myself as I'm not into sports, but I did find the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet entertaining. The "kitty" halftime was just purrr-fect!!

Daffodils
Judy says thanks to everyone who ordered daffodils from the American Cancer Society. Your generosity is really appreciated. There's plenty of time left if you'd still like to order.

New Hire
We're delighted to announce that Casey Cyr has now joined our staff as a full time artist and designer. She'll be working partly on site and partly in her own studio. Jeff will be her immediate manager, but she'll also have a very close relationship to Mary Carol for the book line and to Bill for the curriculum lines. She starts today! Please welcome her!

Baby Update
More good news about Rob's twins. At least one twin is a girl. The doctor was unable to determine the gender of the other twin. Maybe next time. Great news Rob. We're so happy for you.

New London, Not Mystic
Many packages, including Overnight, are still being addressed and delivered to Mystic rather than here. When dealing with vendors, please make sure they have our new address. It's a waste of time and money to have them go to Mystic.

Yesterday's Trivia
Not one person made a guess at yesterday's trivia question. I'm so disappointed. Here's the answer anyway. Canada's famous groundhog is Wiarton Willie, and New York's is Pot Hole Pete.

Happy Friday everyone.

Happy Groundhog Day! Unfortunately the little guy saw his shadow this morning. Six more weeks of this mild winter may not be so bad. Anyway.... Here's a little history about this special day:

The legend of Groundhog Day is based on an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year." Candlemas Day, February 2, a Christian holiday that celebrates Mary's ritual purification.
Every February 2, people gather at Gobbler's Knob, a wooded knoll just outside of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Residents contend that the groundhog has never been wrong.
The ceremony in Punxsutawney was held in secret until 1966, and only Phil's prediction was revealed to the public. Since then, Phil's fearless forecast has been a national media event.
The groundhog comes out of his electrically heated burrow, looks for his shadow and utters his prediction to a Groundhog Club representative in "groundhogese." The representative then translates the prediction for the general public.
If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, it means spring is just around the corner.
Approximately 90% of the time, Phil sees his shadow.
Phil started making predictions in 1887 and has become an American institution.

Trivia Question:
What is the name of the famous groundhog in either New York or Canada? First person to email me with the correct answer wins.

A Bit of Humor from Alison
Did you ever hear of a book called Little Doghouse on the Prairie by Laura Inkpaws Woofer?

Good morning all. Happy February 1. Wow, January sure flew by. It will be spring before we know it!

The mailboxes have been rearranged slightly to make room for Dinora and Pam. Today is Pam's first day. Welcome (back) Pam!

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers, and clouds, and stars."
--Luther