Today is one of my eight favorite days of the economic year. We got the Fed’s Beige Book, the central bank’s anecdotal look at the American economy, this afternoon. And when I say anecdotal, I mean it.

The Wall Street Journal’s Real Time Economics blog does a great job of pulling out the best tidbits.

Like this one from the Minneapolis Fed:

Logging in northern Wisconsin was slowed by a warm winter that made the ground too soft for equipment.

Also, this one from the Richmond district:

An executive at a health-care organization reported being inundated as a result of a large, late-season increase in flu and norovirus cases.

One more? Alright.

From the Boston Fed:

A toy maker says volatility in financial markets and uncertainty surrounding the economy at the beginning of the year had no discernible effect on demand for toys.