Blogs

Our next monthly SABA meeting will be held this Wednesday, March 10 at 7:30. As usual, we will meet at the house at Normandy Park.

Turnout for the meetings during the winter was low, which makes sense since it is a quiet time for SABA. Plus, the weather kept many of us hunkered down at home. Now, the snow is finally melting, flower shoots are beginning to sprout up, and we are starting to go outside because we want to, not because we have to shovel snow. This is when SABA activities begin to pick up speed and we are most in need of your energy and enthusiasm.

Brandy my year and half old Lab loved the snow. Me not so much.
Click the following to see more :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24126870@N07/sets/72157623310185945/

Before the next little addition of snow happens. I thought I would share a few photographs taken outside my home. Did not want to venture to much further.

Dear neighbors,

Have you adopted an African-American child? Do you have friends or family in the area (Ardmore, Main Line, or West Philly suburbs) that are an African-American adoptive family? We would love to hear from you!

Krista and I are hoping to start an informal lunch and play group for families that have adopted an African-American child. There are plenty of such groups for families that have adopted children from Asia. The idea is to get together and share experiences, challenges and successes, and for the kids to have some fun together. We would love to hear from families with children of all ages, and from multi-racial or African-American families.

If interested, please contact Krista at krista_malott at hotmail dot com. If you know someone who might be interested, please make them aware of this announcement.

Thanks in advance.

Here are some of the plans SABA has for Normandy Park. Your input and additional suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Our longtime volunteer, Bill Davis, died last fall. SABA would like to honor his years of contribution to the neighborhood and to Normandy Park in particular with a memorial at the park. Bill was a quiet, understated man who did a tremendous amount of work for the community without seeking the spotlight of recognition. Our plans are to install a park bench with a memorial plaque and to plant a tree near the bench. You can donate to the funds for this memorial. Simply send a check to SABA (SABA, P.O. Box 772, Ardmore, PA 19003) with "Bill Davis Memorial" on the memo line.

Steve Fischer has been investigating options for painting the house at the park. With the new roof and our ongoing landscaping and furniture improvements, painting the house seems like the logical next significant improvement that can be made to the look of the park.

As you know, SABA survives and thrives on the generosity of neighbors who volunteer their time and energy. These volunteers have created and continued our many local traditions. Without them, our neighborhood would not be the wonderful place to live that it is. Unfortunately, over the past year, we have lost a number of important volunteers and we are need of finding their replacements. These positions include:

President
Civic Council Liaison
Newsletter Coordinator (and someone to arrange the layout for printing)
Block Captains
Event coordinators and volunteers
We might also me losing our Treasurer

SABA publishes a newsletter about the events and activities of the civic association and neighborhood. This newsletter is distributed to every household in the community twice a year. Usually this occurs in the fall and spring. Last year we did not write a newsletter in time for distribution in the fall, Therefore, we are trying to write and distribute one this winter.

The content of the newsletter typically includes a review of some recent SABA events, plans for upcoming events, updates on community projects, a list of officers and key volunteers, and information for contacting and donating to SABA. Other articles or submissions are welcome.

Hi everyone,

This Saturday, our neighborhood judges will be out taking a look at all the house decorations. They will select the 3 best decorated houses in the neighborhood. If you are interested in helping with the judging, please contact me.

This Sunday evening, 12/20, is the night for this year's Luminaria Night. We have luminaria bags and candles available for purchase. A set of 10 bags and 10 candles is only $5 and create a beautiful glow for your house. The sets are available at Diane Wilder's house at 807 Aubrey. There is a chest on her front porch so you do not need to call ahead. Simply leave a check for $5 made out to SABA in the envelope in the chest when you pick up your supplies.

Also, the Luminaria Night Celebration is this Sunday at Normandy Park from 5:00 to 7:30. Please come join your neighbors for a little holiday cheer, caroling, and more luminaria as we celebrate the season and the winter solstice. Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering for this event. We will announce the winners of the House Decoration Contest at the Luminaria Night Celebration

Hope to see you there as we all enjoy our neighborhood-wide celebration of light on one of the shortest days of the year.

Bill Gardner
SABA Volunteer Coordinator
wingardner AT earthlink.net

I just completed an upgrade of the SABA website to Drupal version 6. Most of the upgrade went well, and I wanted to give a brief list of major changes:

- I updated the voting system. Users can now vote on posts right from the front page, as well as comments made on posts.

- I blocked about 400 spammers who signed up here. If I accidentally blocked your account (you won't be able to log in if I did), please contact us and let us know what your account name is, and I'll fix it.

- I added better captchas around the site, to try and keep spammers from registering.

- Many many "under the hood" fixes, which should make the site faster and more responsive.

Enjoy!

-- Doug

(posting for my friend Em) Barbara Felicetti, 606 Woodcrest Ave

Ming! Beautiful, sweet, playful young female black cat looking for a home.

Here's a photo:

Meet Ming! Ming is a long, lean beautiful black female cat, with a little tuft of white hair on her chest, and striking yellow eyes. She is sweet and enjoys being around people, and also doing her own thing. She loves to chase balls and run around, but her favorite toy is a feathered bird called Showgull. She likes to sleep in a comfy green cat bed and loves her cathouses. Ming enjoys the company of people and likes to sit on laps and be pet and make lots of biscuits (a cute way to describe kneading).

It is with a heavy heart that I share this news with you. Many of you know Bill Davis from his very active participation in SABA. He and his family have been very involved in and committed to our community for many years. His mother was active in the Ardmore Manor Civic Association, the predecessor to SABA. Bill has served as SABA's liaison to the Haverford Township Civic Council for many years. The Civic Council is the organization that brings together all the civic associations from across the township. The issues, concerns, and goals for each neighborhood are merged into an overall vision for our township wide community. Bill has been an invaluable source of ideas, compassion, enthusiasm, and action.