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"Your lettuce is going to seed," she accused me ever-so-haughtily. "It me that people don't harvest their vegetables and at least give them to the food bank." I sighed. It was true. Some of my lettuce the spinach. The basil too. Not all, mind you. Hubby and I have been eating fresh lettuce and basil and spinach until the cows come home. I wouldn't qualify her accusation with a defense; but in my mind, I mulled over how much of it went to friends, neighbors, and passersby. "Hey, do you want some lettuce?" I hollered one day to a pretty young Mexican woman walking along the sidewalk with a baby in the stroller and a beautiful little boy in hand. The child was around 5, with huge brown eyes that seemed to fill his tiny face, and his jet black hair was long and wavy. "Too pretty to be a boy," I thought, thinking that he reminded me of my 'pretty boy' Sammy, when he was about that age. She spoke little English, but we figured out how to communicate a bit. She seemed happy to have the lettuce-- and the boy was thrilled to play for a moment with Baron, my big lab; who always accompanies me when I go over to the community plot to weed and water. "Lucinda...my name..." she said, placing her hands on her heart. "I am Debora," I replied in kind, "and this is Baron." The little boy repeated his name over and over. "Baron, Baron, Baron. I like Baron." We smiled at one another and they took the lettuce and walked home. I went back to my weeding. No big deal. No magnanimous gesture--it was just lettuce. Today I went over to water my plot. The garden's getting pretty ratty-looking and more plants have gone to seed. I groaned. Wonder what "Miss Persnickity" will have to say about this? I decide to pick some poppy pods. I'll take them home and sow them in a sunny spot in my yard next spring. Poppies and cosmos grow wild in our community garden. They come up wherever the wind and birds drop them. I just let them grow randomly among the radishes and spinach. It's always such a welcome surprise to see what pretty thing nature is going to drop on my doorstep! I've been thinking much about seeds. Seedtime and harvest. "To everything there is a season," pens the sage author of Ecclesiastes. "...and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted..." In spite of what my dour friend thinks, going to seed is not necessarily a bad thing. It's a necessity for the continuation of the species, be it poppies, lettuce...or human beings. We are born, we bloom, we bear fruit, and we return to the earth. I think about all of the seeds that have been planted in my life. The seed of life from my parents. Seeds of knowledge from teachers, seeds of friendship and kindness, and sometimes sadly, seeds of hatred, despair, and hurt. We all sow them; don't we? Our words, our deeds, our thoughts, our prayers, our smiles, our gestures...all seeds. Sometimes we sow them purposefully and with intention, in neat little rows. Other times we scatter them carelessly. Somewhere along the way I figured something out. It's pretty simple. Sow seeds. Sow love. Sow kindness. Sow relief to someone in pain. Sow a smile. Sow a potted geranium. Sow a bowl of soup. Sow a "you look beautiful." Sow $10 for gas. Sow a phone call to your mom. Sow a note to somebody who's down. Talk to the homeless guy who's living by the pond where you exercise your dog. Help him remember that he is worthy of being heard. Give somebody a head of lettuce...That's it. There it is...your anvil with a note scribbled on it from me. While I was picking poppy pods, I accidentally crushed one of them. Hundreds of little poppy seeds spilled to the ground. Hundreds. From just one flower. You're like that. Just full of seeds waiting to be sown. From just you, little ol' you! Imagine that! The Poppy Blumenfeld by Claude Monet

The Middle Sister has moved to Lancaste,r PA, and the Kid and I went down for the weekend - partly to visit, partly on one more stop on the never ending book plug that is The Secret Language of Knitters Friday night I did an event at the Heritage Center Museum, where I met lots of knitters and made great wonking progress on my Socks That Rock socks, much to the delight of the non-knitters who wandered by. I finished one sock and got the ribbing and part of the leg done on the other. I find being confined to one space with only one knitting project goes a long way towards avoiding Second Sock Syndrome. We woke up Saturday to discover that in addition to the regular Central Market hours (which was cool enough on its own - the Kid said her cinnamon bun was the best she ever tasted in her entire life!) there was a birthday celebration/street fair in full force. It looked a little like this. And there were many many things for eleven year old's to do. Like eat cake, and paint wooden shapes, and get balloon animals, and wander into the market 14 times, and.... you get the idea. One of the tables was set up with various veggies so you could make critters out of pumpkins and gourds. Aside from the hot glue gun, teeny nails and hammers, and a few random pipe cleaners, everything else on the table was food of some sort. The Kid made Pumpkin Guy - who is a little blurry but cute none the less. And look who I found! Three furry friends from Eastland Alpacas. Fiber - it's everywhere. On the work front, I have three stories on loggie topics to finish up, and a red sweater for Soysilk. I was hoping to get it finished for Stitches East, but no go - the sleeves are annoying me more than I thought they might. Counting the minutes until And now that I got my invitation to I am just too busy dreaming about yarn for words.

A few days ago, I happened to be discussing with my mother some of the vinyl I had been tracking down over the last few months. I mentioned that I had recently found nice, clean used copies of the few Sly & The Family Stone records that had been missing from my collection. My mother -- who, when I was growing up, seemed to have a collection primarily made up of Judy Collins and Tom Rush records (okay, and yes, The Beatles too) -- responded with a great deal of enthusiasm: "Oh, I used to love Sly & The Family Stone!" Now, I know it's not like Sly records are super obscure, having as they did quite a few number one hits -- but I was still taken by surprise. Never once growing up did I see or hear a Sly & The Family Stone record, or anything else remotely similar. When I was given what was left of the family record collection (much of which had been lost over the many, many moves before I was even born) it consisted mainly of a bunch of classical records, The Beatles' Teaser And The Firecat , and my sisters' Doctor Who picture discs. It certainly didn't include There's A Riot Goin' On My folks have always enjoyed music, but they can at times make that fact very easy to forget. My dad -- despite having hearing troubles -- used to be a hi-fi addict, piecing together the best possible stereo equipment he could afford (basically all of which was sold during the leaner years -- much to my, and my dad's, sadness now). While living in New York City, he and a friend used to build bizarre electronic music devices and do avant performances together. (Side note: when I sent my mom a tape of the noise rock band I played in when I lived in Virginia, her first reaction was "This reminds me of the stuff your dad used to do. How fun.") However, despite living in New York, he and my mother declined to go to Woodstock "because it was raining, and that didn't seem like it'd be much fun." My sister and I like to tease them about that. My favorite music growing up was always The Beatles. I can't even guess at how many times I listened to the . I loved singing along to that record -- even if the songs didn't always make much sense. ("Why don't we do in the road?") One of my favorite songs was "Rocky Raccoon." There's something great about thinking about the six or seven year old version of myself running around the living room while reciting lines like "The doctor came in / stinking of gin" or "Rocky had come / equipped with a gun / to shoot off the legs of his rival." The latter is especially funny to me, as my sister and I were both expressly forbidden to play with toy guns. Even pointing sticks or fingers and yelling "bang!" was frowned upon, though it was tolerated. I remember eventually the family retired the record player when they bought, as a Christmas gift to themselves, a CD player. I have the recollection that one of the first CDs opened that Christmas morning was Genesis' -- though, perhaps that one came a bit later. (I may mock now, but I do remember quite enjoying it at the time. Hey, Patton Oswalt has a whole bit about how he used to love Phil Collins' , so I'd like to think I'm in good company. I was young. Cut me some slack.) I remember them re-buying a lot of The Beatles discography on CD. There was also lot of Enya. No Sly, though. Over the years, I've enjoyed introducing my folks, particularly my mom, to new music. Some of the first successes were Low and Morphine. (There's something very satisfying about being able to say the sentence: "Yeah, I got my mom into Morphine.") Interestingly enough, when Mark Sandman, the lead singer of Morphine, died, it was my mother who called me with the news. Sigur Ros and Belle & Sebastian have also been big hits. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings also went over really well. I think Headlights and Camera Obscura were also enjoyed, but I'm not sure if they've entered her collection yet. Neutral Milk Hotel was one of the few that didn't go over quite as well as expected. ("It's interesting, but I don't know if I like his voice.") I'm thinking that the next time I have an occasion to give a gift though, it'll have to be some Sly. Sly & The Family Stone

It is good to have one's backyard touch the borderlands. The ability to step out and leave behind polite society keeps me sane (or at least helps me fake sanity). So, Black Friday found Clark and I spending the day hiking in the borderlands. We'd walk for a while then spot a sweet sand bar just begging for a small campfire. Off would come the backpacks, out would come some snacks and a way to make requested fire. After 30-40 minutes of sniffing woodsmoke and searching for petrified wood we'd pack up and head off again. Fire therapy. Boiling water with woodgas. We spent seven hours out there and walked over 11 miles according to my GPS unit. But the really great thing was we never got farther than two miles away from my house. We've been exploring this area for almost three years now and have yet to tread on a majority of the land or follow the same path. The Spring Creek borderlands stretch for miles in each direction uninhabited thanks to periodic flooding. It is the most amazingly wonderful backyard a person could have within 100 miles of Houston. Our GPS track. All along the banks of Spring Creek were strange tracks like something dragged itself through the sand. We are assuming turtles made the tracks though we have seen alligators along here. The tracks were usually 6"-12" across and would come out of the water, cross the sand and disappear into the woods. Spring Creek is occasionaly turbulated by outcroppings of clay. These clay deposits are fairly hard but get carved into interesting features. They also allow for fairly dry crossings of the creek when it is running low. Back when we did the First Descent of Spring Creek we portaged Seeker's Fate over stuff like this. Walking under it is much easier. We ended our walk at the Montgomery County Preserve. Having bushwacked for seven hours, we were tired. Rather than turn around and walk the two miles home we gave Clark's wife a call. A few minutes later we were driving home. A few minutes after that I fell asleep on Clark's couch. I just meant to sit for a bit. Walking the block to my house I caught Mini- and Misseswether as they made a drop stop from their Black Friday shopping excursions. Silly girls! Malls instead of sandbars? That's just plum insane. Adventure! Excitement! Exploration!

Please note: the text contains major spoilers about the penultimate episode of the fourth season of The Vampire Diaries! Atenção: o texto contém grandes revelações sobre o penúltimo episódio da quarta temporada de Vampire Diaries! A curious episode name was chosen for the penultimate chapter of the fourth season of The Vampire Diaries: "The Walking Dead". Check out the official synopsis to find out to whom the title refers: Um curioso nome de episódio foi escolhido para o penúltimo capítulo desta quarta temporada de The Vampire Diaries: “The Walking Dead”. Confira a sinopse oficial para descobrir a quem esse título se refere: Image source: Playback / CW(Fonte da imagem: Reprodução/CW) Episode 4x22, "The Walking Dead": As graduation day approaches, Caroline tries to distract Elena, giving you simple tasks such as notices, but Elena will not be persuaded to leave his new obsession. The Sheriff Forbes and Damon calls Stefan to the hospital, where someone has attacked patients. Still trying to force Katherine to help her, Bonnie refuses to give up his plan of defeating Silas. When a storm causes a blackout winds in Mystic Falls, ghosts reappear suddenly - some with good intentions and others wanting revenge. Everything indicates that the undead that the title refers are the ghosts are back in town in this episode. It has been revealed that the actor who plays Jeremy, Steve R. McQueen, will reappear on the show in one of the final episodes of the season - and that is just the penultimate fourth year of Vampire Diaries. The chapter "The Walking Dead" on May 9 passes on American television. Episódio 4x22, “The Walking Dead”: Enquanto o dia da formatura se aproxima, Caroline tenta distrair Elena, dando-lhe tarefas simples como enviar avisos, mas Elena não será persuadida a deixar sua nova obsessão. A xerife Forbes chama Damon e Stefan para o hospital, onde alguém tem atacado os pacientes. Ainda tentando forçar Katherine a ajudá-la, Bonnie se recusa a desistir de seu plano de derrotar Silas. Quando uma tempestade de ventos fortes causa um apagão em Mystic Falls, fantasmas reaparecem de repente — alguns com boas intenções e outros querendo vingança. Tudo indica que os mortos-vivos a que o título se refere são os fantasmas que estão de volta à cidade neste episódio. Já foi revelado que o ator que interpreta Jeremy, Steve R. McQueen, voltará a aparecer na série em um dos episódios finais da temporada — e esse é justamente o penúltimo do quarto ano de Vampire Diaries. O capítulo “The Walking Dead” passa em 9 de maio na televisão americana.

The wife, back there in third place. With C's bike race taking up a little under two hours on a tough course under thundering clouds today, we both thought that it might qualify as an "epic" ride. But just as epic, I realized, would be my parenting assignment: to keep two kids who'd been up until 11:00 the night before happy in the rain. Fortunately for me, kid saviors in the form of our friends the Floyd children (B refers to them as "my friend Floyd") showed up and made my job a simple thing. C had that special kind of happy vibes you only get after two hours of racing your bike around. You can see it in her eyes here. I was jealous all the way home.

One of my goals for the week is to maintain a food journal. Yesterday, after lunch, I decided to throw it all in an excel spreadsheet and create a pretty graph of the macronutrient proportions. It was nearly perfect. I was on course for appropriate number of calories and the breakdown of the macronutrients was right on. To boot, a large portion of the food was whole foods. Then I went home after work. I found these: Yup...homemade soft pretzels and homemade granola bars. Now the granola bars have some white chocolate chips in them, but otherwise are rockin' fuel containing nuts and chia seeds, and instead of oil, somehow she works magic with beans and uses them instead. I kind of blew it there. All told, for the day I consumed a whopping 3200 calories. Now, I did go for an easy run in the morning and then hit the gym, and after eating the pretzels and granola bars, I went back to work until 8 pm. But, that's a bit on the heavy side, eh? I'm not too worried about it...600 of those were something that rarely happens (two weeks in a row though), and dinner was much more calorie-dense than usual. Now we have a fancy new body fat scale. It also calculates your BMR using your body fat percentage. Monday morning I was 210 at 15% body fat. The stupid thing said I should eat 3100 calories a day to maintain my current weight. Sheesh, that's gotta be wrong, right? Regardless...when I told my wife about the body fat scale she said, "Well, if the fat percentage comes back higher than the weight, I'm not writing it down!" Today I went on a nice jog, the injured hamstring felt strong, but I didn't push it. I followed the same method as yesterday. I turned on the timer on my phone, put it in my pocket and just paid attention to the legs. Today I picked up the pace on the second mile and was really tempted to go for a third. But, better to finish feeling like I could've done more than to finish regretting having done more, at least when healing. Last thing...this afternoon's training ride might really suck. The hamstring hurts while riding (ugh), but is generally okay. The problem really is going to be that it's supposed to be 20+ mph winds. Running in the wind is bad, but riding is a whole different level of hell.

Election Day 2012: Fifty voters at Leighton Town Hall, District 5, were mistakenly given District 4 ballots. How many noticed the error and reported it? The same number who apparently don't care who their county commissioner is. Zero to be exact. Lame duck Colbert County Probate Judge Tommy Crosslin called it a non-showstopper, meaning the snafu didn't affect the outcome of the election in which Roger Creekmore retained his commission seat. Creekmore defeated Tommy Oswalt by 64 votes. There was no commission race in District 4 since the incumbent ran unopposed. Colbert Countians are fortunate in having six commissioners; Lauderdale has only two commission districts. Colbert's commissioners should have a close relationship with their constituency, yet apparently neither Creekmore nor Oswalt made any impression on these 50 Leighton voters. Nor did these 50 individuals care who their next commissioner was. Can we get a collective "Pitiful?" That brings us to the poll workers at Leighton Town Hall. We say workers, but in a small precinct, there may have been only one responsible for issuing the ballots. Apparently quite a bit of worker training is needed in Colbert County. Let's hope they get it before the next election.

I know I haven't blogged in a while. I've been super crazy busy lately!! My dad came for a visit. Then Craig's band came into town to play some shows (more on that later). And I've started my busy holiday photos season. It's going to be a crazy month! And I'll be posting TONS more photos as the weeks go on. No more long blogging breaks for me! Now... on to this super cool family. I'm sure you will notice this cute little boy below. He's starred on this blog a few times already and has pictures all over my website. He's super awesome! Probably because his parents are pretty darn cool. This is one of my favorite families to photograph. We got together a few weeks ago to take some family photos, and a few portraits of Mr. "T". I'm finally getting around to posting them. Enjoy!

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? There almost always seems to be a laundry list of complaints that accompany this day, perhaps a carry over from weekend chaos. There was a mouse in the kitchen drawers. The dishwasher decided it no longer wanted to drain. The kids didn't have any shirts for school, and I spilled coffee on the keyboard, meaning we could no longer use the computer. While my husband was looking over the dishwasher, I took my frustrations out by cleaning and organizing the laundry room. I ironically found myself sorting through every kind of stain product, ones I obviously haven't been using to keep my kids' white shirts sparkling clean. We got the computer back on line, so I can now order more school clothes. The laundry room is clean, so I can more properly wash them. The dishwasher only partly works, and I'm pretty sure the entire kitchen and it's contents need a serious decontaminating. So... Meal planning for this week? It may not happen. It may involve frozen pizza and paper plates. It was supposed to involve healthy choices, since last week's comfort food binge combined with trying to fit into clothes for 80 degree weather made a few things very clear. I need to eat better. And exercise. But first, I need to clean the kitchen. I'll be entertaining visitors in the laundry. All it needs are some prints of smiling, dirty children.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:9-11 I took this picture of the sunset recently. Amazing! What a wonderful and powerful God we have to have created this with his mighty words! The sky always reminds me that God has everything under control and like Romans 8 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." so with him we have nothing to fear in our lives, and nothing to be anxious about. My God, I will glorify your name forever! Amen.

Next stop on the Brazil foray was Caratinga, specifically to see the Northern Muriqui. These are the largest South American (non-human) primates. There are fewer than 1000, they are restricted to the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil and because of fragmentation of the forests the remaining Muriqui are languishing in small isolated groups. The best studied group are to be found on a private reserve – Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Feliciano Miguel Abdala, in the state of Minas Gerais. All praise to its owner. The Muriqui has long limbs and a long prehensile tail. They swing through the trees with great agility eating mainly young leaves and fruit They live mixed-sex groups of between 8 and 80 individual which are not particularly territorial or aggressive. Females tend to give birth to a single offspring during the May – September dry season. Male offspring remain with their natal group. Females disperse to join other groups once they have reached adolescence at 5 – 7 years. We found a female with a baby and an older sibling almost immediately and later a group of twenty or so. We spent a long time with the Muriqui, but as is always the case, time in the field is always rewarded. The day yielded 44 species of bird and three more primates … Buffy-headed Marmoset, Brown Howler and Black Capuchin. Plus a Nine-banded Armadillo made a brief appearance, it’s rare to see these at all and most sightings are at night.

There wasn't a thing I ate this weekend that I didn't just love. My parents and I clipped every one of the 600 bulbs on the pre-lit tree and started afresh. I dyed my black jeans, and it felt like the pioneer days. I watched my first ever Hallmark Christmas movie on top of every 90210, Duck Dynasty, and Price is Right episode to be had on the DVR. I black Thursday-ed it and Friday-ed it. That was the Thanksgiving break that is never long enough. A picture of all the Gandy's in attendance. Maggie on Black Friday be like.. PS- Yes, Maggie is big. I know. But she proudly walk 3 miles everyday with me and my mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET CALEB.. this was actually taken last year. This year was a bit of a blur since Caleb came home with flu/stomach bug symptoms that didn't rear their ugly head until just before his scheduled pizza party at our house. The sweet little man spent his 30 minute party either by the potty or trying to hold his head up while we talked to him. He had the chance to open his presents really quick and that was that. He didn't even eat pizza nor did we have the chance to do cake and candles.. :( Sad Face Caleb continued for the next couple of hours to try and get comfortable but whatever it was, it was not agreeing with him... Finally, we got him to bed and although he had a fever, I felt ok seeing how he would do through the night.. there is nothing worse than the feeling of a sick child...I cancelled my appointments and stayed home with Caleb today and intended to take him to the pediatrician, but his fever broke and he seems to be picking up spirit slowly.. he has also been able to keep some soup and crackers down. So, on the road to recovery thanks to prayers.. That was not the only thing that happened yesterday..Josh and I enrolled Caleb and Ella into a new Please continue to pray with us about a very smooth transition for both Caleb and Ella as they begin with their new classes on Tuesday for one day of what La Petite refers to as "Discovery Day" for the children. This will allow them to spend a day with their new teachers and friends before heading off for vacation to Disney and Grandma's house that week.. This also eases them into their 1st official day.. Caleb's Pre-K class has 11 friends and one teacher, Dolores, who has been teaching for 20 years. The classroom is really warm and set up more like an interactive Kindergarten class then a free for all daycare center .. they have a structured learning and fun curriculum that gets the children ready for Kindergarten.. Caleb will have one on one, which he will love because he loves to be challenged.. (he is so smart) Ella will be 2 classes down in the toddler two's and she too will have a class with just 12 friends and it is so cute how it is set up with mini toilets and sinks and tiny tables and chairs.. I just know that in all my searching and waiting that the Lord provided the perfect place for them to continue to grow spiritually, mentally and physically.. Oh.. they say the pledge of allegiance every morning and pray before meal.. :) Well, I will sign off for now.. but will post pics of the kid's "Discovery Day" Tuesday..

If your kidlet is an iCarly fan, you're probably already aware of the deliciousness that is spaghetti tacos. We had them for supper the other night, and today Bella has the leftovers in her lunchbox. These are leftovers she's excited about eating! Bella has mini taco shells to fill with spaghetti at lunch time. I stuffed her folded napkin into the end one to help keep it from breaking. I filled a gummy bear container (a gift from Biting The Hand That feeds You, originally a fast-food meal toy) with shredded cheddar for topping. On the side she has cherry tomatoes & baby carrots with (random dancing), Fig Newtons, and in the little pink lidded cup, a few gummy bears for a treat. I packed the hot spaghetti & "meat" sauce (ours is made with veggie protein crumbles) in her I chopped the noodles up a bit so she'd have an easier time filling the shells with her The gummy bear container holding the cheese was filled with gummy bear-shaped notepaper and stickers so I wrote her a note and stuck it to the lid of her Stuff used for this lunch:

The guys made some progress tonight and we did another test layout to make sure everything is going to fit. So far so good! Oh and if you have never put anything together from IKEA watch out because the directions have no words... Tomorrow I am going to analyze granite again!

Books and Brews: Poetry with Andrew Coons Books and Brews with Laura Vosika has, for its first three months, aired in the Food Freedom time slot once a month on Saturday mornings and been recorded live. We are now moving into our own time slot at 10 am Sunday, last Sunday of the month, although we are working toward becoming a weekly program. (Interested in sponsoring the program as a weekly advertiser? This is what we're working on right now.) Today, for the first time, Michael and I pre-recorded with our guest, Andrew Coons, poet. Andrew has recently released his first book, a collection of poetry: From the mysteries of fatherhood and the beauty of a newborn child to the pain of loss and the isolation of depression, Sin Eater speaks to the very nature of humanity within us all. The balance between good and evil, light and dark, structure and chaos are all on display in this first confessional collection of work from Minneapolis poet Andrew Coons About two weeks ago (just before I set out on my , including the Epic Bruce and the Moose Moment), Andrew sent me four poems and I sent the four poems on to Michael. This morning, Michael brought a beer specifically paired to each poem. Yes, you can pair beers to poems! We talked about how he does this pairing process for oh, say, flowers, as Michael has done in the past. But as you can't smell a poem, there was clearly a different process at work this time. It was really interesting to see the brews he picked, and hear why, and I could definitely see how that worked, on two of the poems in particular. Among other things, we talked about Andrew's poems (of course!) and about depression and anxiety and the healing power of poetry both to the poet and the reader. And I have to say--I think we all had a lot of fun. I really like Andrew's poetry. It's very readable with beautiful turns of phrases and touches on things we all experience. It was great to meet Andrew after weeks of talking via e-mail. And Michael picked some great beers! My life seems to attract irony: The kid who got kicked out of organ lessons now teaches music lessons! I have never liked beer and now I'm hosting a program featuring beer! However, I find that I do like some beer. Among my favorite of all we've tried so far on the program was today's Dragon's Milk. Tune in on Sunday to hear about it, and the poem it went with! Watch for a guest post from Andrew Coons in the next two or three days. If you're local to Minneapolis, you can hear the program when it airs at 10 am this Sunday. If not, I'll be posting the link to listen online after it airs. We're talking to a slam poet for our May program and the owner of Eat My Words, a local bookstore, will appear with us in June. Also coming in June (the 24th--hey, that's the anniversary of Bannockburn!), Michael Agnew and I will be doing a reading at Eat My Words. If you would like to follow this blog, sign up HERE It helps us continue to do what we do other posts under the

Foto by tgw, New York City, October 2012 Say Goodbye to: Hans Werner Henze , the prolific German composer who was also a devout Marxist who left Germany in 1953 because of politics and his homosexuality moving to Italy where he lived most of the rest of his life. , 86, German composer ( Elegy for Young Lovers The Raft of the Medusa I Don't Mean to Alarm You, Folks, But Are You Prepared for Chaos? Let's look at the Big Picture: Solar flare storms are predicted to hit from now until 2013; the dollar is dropping in value on a daily basis; our involvement in WAR is wreaking havoc with our economy; climate change is coming more rapidly than predicted; drought and heatwaves have devastated middle America--wheat and corn production are at all-time lows; most cities in the US are bankrupt or on the verge of bankruptcy; the Federal Reserve is still bailing out our still-failing banks to the tune of trillions of dollars; we are determined to kiss Israel's ass with our President saying an attack on Israel is an attack on the USA; we are losing the war in Afghanistan big time; Iraq is more unstable now than it was under Hussein; we are definitely in a second Great Depression; we are totally dependent on electricity--what if the grid blows up?; we continue to go fracking mad a process whose ability to wreak havoc on our earth, our water, our future is unknown, unregulated, and benefiting only a handful of oligarchs with Pennsylvania, where fracking is going wild, now allowing Chesapeake (whose CEO is an out-and-out crook) to frack drill 1 mile from a nuclear power plant in Shippingsport; President Obama has opened up more of our public lands to drillers and miners than any other president before him; etc., etc., etc. And that's a little quick rundown, folks, of how we got ourselves in the serious mess we're in at this moment, a serious mess that neither backwards-thinking Mitt "the Mormon" Romney or President Barack "Nobel Peace Prize Winner" Obama act like they even know exists. Not once in any of their silly debates did they realistically handle this economic crisis we're in; not once did they mention the rampant poverty in this country; not once did they mention the bankrupting of our cities, like Detroit, where Obama tooted about saving the automobile industry--a saving he did by first nationalizing the industry (a good thing) but then forcing auto workers to accept cuts in salaries and entry-level wages reduced to barely subsistence levels, a bail out he didn't mention was also based on help from Canada and then selling Chrysler to the Italian company Fiat Motors, who, by the way, make one of the worst cars in automobile history. Have you maybe noticed how many Fiat commercials you are suddenly seeing all over our commercial pap media? Chaos thrives on confusion and most of We the People of the USA are confused as hell. More confused than us are Mitt "the Mormon" Romney who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground and Barack "Executive Order Murderer" Obama who can't decide whether he's truly Black or if maybe he's not more White...Obama's trying to redeem himself by joking about the election, cracking jokes while Mitt "the Mormon" Romney, believe it or not, is now running neck and neck with him. Don't forget, at least 50% of We American Fools voted G.W. "Georgie Porgie" Bush into two terms--I mean, yeah, he stole both elections, but he didn't need to steal that many votes...what, less than 50,000 in his brother's backward state of Florida in the first election--the one that the Supreme(ly dumb) Court appointed him as President---and about the same amount of votes in the backward state of Ohio in his 2004 win. Also, don't forget, the White backlash put the Republicans back into power in 2012. Fools, folks, go where Angels fear to tread. And remember, too, folks, Sigmund Freud warned us about our personal and societal death wishes. And to Further Add to Some Potential Chaos A hurricane called Sandy (it's a male Sandy) is on a beam to hit New Jersey, New York City, and New England square on with at least gale-force winds, high waves, and heavy rains at the same time from out of the west is coming a fierce winter storm that may bring snow as far east as New York City. The NYPD is suspecting this is an al-Queda plot and has nothing to do with climate change. Idiots! And we are all idiots...except maybe I'm not.

Posted by Anup Baral September 28th, 2016 : Dashain is a very popular festival in Nepal and India. It is called Dussehra in India. It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese Hindu people throughout the globe. It is also celebrated by many Hindus elsewhere. It is the longest and most anticipated festival in Nepal. People return from all parts of the world, as well as different parts of the country, to celebrate together.[2] All government offices, educational institutions and other offices remain closed during the festival period.The festival falls in September or October, starting from the shukla paksha (bright lunar fortnight) of the month of Ashvin and ending on purnima, the full moon. Among the fifteen days on which it is celebrated, the most important days are the first, seventh, eighth, ninth and the tenth.

A few days ago Lohren and Kelsey had this great idea that we needed to go camping ASAP, little did I know that they literally meant ASAP. Friday rolls around and all the sudden Lohren is looking up tents online at Walmart to go buy so we could go camping that night. Surprisingly enough, thats exactly what we ended up doing. I had been sick all week so I sent Jess, Lohren, and Kelsey to get the tent while I saved up my energy for a night full of excitement! There were 9 of us that went, Lohren, Jess, Kelsey, Walker, Rico, Andrew, Landon, Egan, and me. It was about 11 by the time we got everything pulled together but the boys proved to be true boy scouts and got the tent up inrecord time and right when it started to rain. We all climbed inside and began a night of games, scary stories, talking, and laughter. At about 3 we began winding down but then had sudden bursts of energy where we would all be up laughing again. It was a blast and a half! At about 4 we began to fall asleep, only to be woken back up at about 6 am, just in time for the sunrise. Unfortunately, there were so many clouds that you weren't able to tell that the sun was even rising! We climbed back in the tent for about an hour before we decided to pack up and head back home! We were all so tired when we got back that we ran to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast and then back to the dorms to sleep. Lohren, Kelsey, and I woke up at 1 pm to a stormy rainy day outside. We decided to go lock ourselves into our T.V lounge for the day, curl up in our blankets and have a movie marathon of Never Been Kissed and Moulin Rouge, it was a fun filled night followed by a much needed day of relaxation!

...Still knitting a lot, actually! Firstly, thanks loads to everyone who left blocking-quickly tips in the comments. Fortunately, the sample was nice and dry by the time I needed to send it out to the publisher without having to do much more than stomp on top of it with dry towels once or twice a day. So that deadline project was made relatively stress-free, and it and its co-deadline project arrived at the other end with several days to spare. Woohoo! My third deadline project, that of my cousin's baby blanket, was made only by dint of giving up all sleep one night a few days before it had to be done. I probably wouldn't have had to do such a stupid thing if I hadn't completely effed up the edging chart the weekend before and basically wasted two whole days of work doing entirely the wrong thing, ripping back the entirely wrong thing, and recalcuating and rewriting instructions so that it would actually come out properly. But despite this, this finished product turned out beautifully and I was quite pleased. And apparently it was a big hit with the parents-to-be. Hooray! I will eventually be writing up the pattern (somewhat differently from the original, so that knitters everywhere who take it on don't want to KILL ME), but for now I'm letting that one simmer while I recover from it. :) Deadline project number four sailed along without incident, but its co-deadline projects (numbers five and six) ran into the rather serious snag of yarn support arriving much later than originally expected. Fortunately, the editor took pity on me and, instead of expecting to knit everything within 24 hours (I like to give two weeks for shipping), gave me an extension, and I am happy to report that I finished up the knitting this weekend! Yarn for deadline project number seven arrived this past week, and after finishing all the other deadline knitting, I started on it today, and it was coming along really nicely. Yes, was. About twelve rows into it, I realised that my gauge was off, so I've ripped it out and restarted with slightly smaller needles. Hopefully that will do the trick. So there you have it, a whole lot of blogging about projects without telling you almost anything about what they actually are. :( Sorry about that. On the upside though, I'm going to be able to do a heck of a lot of reveals this summer! There was, however, a period during all that deadline knitting where I was waiting for yarn to show up and had done everything I could possibly do until it arrived...so I knit on other stuff! I made good headway on my dad's Christmas present: And I broke out the Opal Vincent van Gogh sock yarn that my husband gave me for our anniversary in February. Our LYS recently started carrying this stuff, and it's so cool. The concept is that each of the colourways in this yarn line are pulled from colours in various famous works of Vincent van Gogh. Happily, my husband chose my absolute favourite as my gift, "Starry Night". I have decided to be selfish and make socks out of it for me. He heartily approves of this decision. :) I can already tell that I am going to loooove these socks: I also got a teensy bit done on a third preemie hat at the last charity knit night of my local LYS, but nothing to shout about. I expect I'll be able to finish it off at this week's gathering. Finally, DD1 has made it clear that she would really, really like it if I could knit her a "Hedwig" owl based on the "Errol" pattern from my Charmed Knits book. Her birthday's coming up, so guess what? Yeah. So that's next on my list.

Dad has been back in Harmony long enough now to have rekindled old friendships, reestablished old ties, and, more importantly, to have sniffed out a couple of nice fishing holes in the neighborhood. We took the kids fishing at a couple different ponds whose owners have been well-schmoozed (good job Dad), and had a great time catching some very nice, fat rainbows and tiger trout, and some scrappy smallmouths and bluegill. Nathan tried out flyfishing for the first time, and did well; he is definitely going to need a little help with the "10 & 2 flick of the wrist" concept. He had something more like the "8 & 5 water slap" going on. It looked more like he was pitching a baseball than casting a line! He still managed to catch a few fish, somehow. Some friends brought by A River Runs Through It tonight, so maybe we'll continue his training by watching that together. Purists might have chortled just a little if they had seen the three of us all piled on a paddleboat, fishing tube jigs from ice-fishing poles in somebody's private puddle. ( You might be a redneck if... ) Let 'em laugh, though. We had a ton of fun together, and those fish were tasty breaded and deep-fried for lunch the next day. Anyway, the cattails were high enough around that pond that I'm pretty sure nobody saw us anyway! As usual, Grandpa Vern outfished us all. His trophy was 23 inches, 5 1/2 pounds. (Hence the title of this post.)

“I’m that girl that’s always happy. the one who never has problems, and when I do, they don’t get to me. Everyone sees me as the one they can count on to put a smile on their face because as far as they know, I always have one on mine. No one looks any deeper than that.” Dont be scared, you dont need to pretend that everything is fine. let it go, cry if you must, fall apart, go on…let it drain you. pour out everything, let your heart mourn, let it hurt until it hurt no more. And once you gain strength, stand up again, dry the tears, pick up the pieces and live again. And see how it molds you to a better and stronger person. so, it's okay. :)

These lavender grendels didn't always die from eldritch entrancement, sometimes they just didn't like eating. Delta died of starvation, and I wasn't surprised. He and Bay had a mutation that made eating seeds useless for them and both of them had problems remembering to eat in the past. I would have been worried for Bay, but he had a happy smile on his face and plenty of food near him. So the only way he would starve would be to ignore all of the food around him. With Delta's death, Fjord was born. He quickly dove into the group of adults and it took a few seconds before he came out for this screenshot. He was Creek and Loch's baby, so I moved him over to his parents group. They immediately welcomed him with hugs and kisspops. Meanwhile in Aquanornia, everything was fine. Firth and Spring were still on the top level, Arryoyo and Lagoon were checking out Mere's old area, and Gulf was off on her own still. Balmora had finally decided that pushing unpushable plants was a waste of time and instead filled the air with her wonderful vibraphone songs again. Almost as soon as she did, Lagoon took the elevator up to the top level and started pushing Balmora. Pretty soon a little fan club had formed around her, though Lagoon made it very obvious that she was Balmora's biggest fan. Besides a newly formed fan club, the world was other wise very quiet for a while. Eventually the main population started entering the old stage and even Fjord was growing up. I decided to celebrate this by burying everyone in ice cream and quirky cookies. They weren't very impressed at first, but some of them eventually gave into temptation and ate some.

It seems ironic that I wrote only one week ago about what a lovely weekend I had had, when I have just endured one of the toughest weekends ever! I've been ill having picked up yet another stomach bug, my 8th in the space of a year! The trouble was this time that my hubby was working meaning I was solo-parenting. He's a journalist - a job which pretty much doesn't give you a day off when you have an event to cover. So, despite my being ill on Saturday he had to head off, leaving me with a troublesome toddler. And boy, did Monkey know that I was ill! He was so naughty, finding anyway he could to do whatever it was that I asked him not to do. At one point I ran off upstairs to be sick only to come back to find him hiding in the understairs cupboard, a place he knows he is forbidden to go. As I lay on the sofa with a raging temperature he hit my head, as I covered myself in a thousand blankets to stop the chills he took each one away saying that I didn't need it and as I prised myself off the sofa to go change his nappy he stood at the bottom of the stairs refusing to let me past until he had sung me a song. Now, normally he sings 'ABC' at sonic-speed - this time he went as slowly as humanly possible. And just as he saw me almost fall to my knees he would get halfway through and say 'I start again now'. Hubby was back on Sunday but still our naughty toddler stayed and tested both our patience to its limit. It's funny I normally feel a pang when I leave him at nursery but today I just needed him gone and so happily dropped him off. Sometimes it's just not easy having a toddler and you just need some time to yourself.

I am struggling to find the right words for this post. I initially wanted to write about Mother's Day....and how grateful I am to have amazing, strong women surrounding me, encouraging me, and constantly supporting me. I wanted to write about how thankful I am to be blessed with two handsome, sweet boys...and how lucky I am to have been chosen to be their mother. Then, I read some of your posts...and I felt guilty. Guilty because there are some people out there that tomorrow..will not be celebrating. Those that have had the unfortunate experience of not having a mother of their own...and those that have had devastating losses...and those that have and always will be unable to concieve or become mother's themselves. However...I am celebrating...as callous and selfish as that may sound. Me not celebrating Mother's Day, and what I do have would be like me not celebrating Christmas because other's don't believe or me not celebrating if I won the lottery because not everyone won. Tomorrow I am celebrating the fact that I do have a mother...a mother that did the best she could to raise her 4 children, a grandmother that has always been there for me in everyway, and the 4 babies that I grew in my tummy...2 of which are in heaven and 2 of which I am going to smother with kisses and hold onto for dear life.

On February 20, Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) Georgia Power subsidiary received federal loan guarantee approvals that should give investors a big sigh of relief. While still in a technical bearish to neutral pattern since early September 2013, the federal loan guarantees should remove a looming question mark for future investors. With a current yield of 4.7% and a current value of a mere 5% above its 52-week low, SO should be on your radar screen as a long-term core holding. While the application has been in review by the Dept. of Energy (DOE) since 2010, the administration moved against the wishes of one of their main constituents: the environmental lobby. For example, the Union of Concerned Scientists published a report in 2009 against the issuance of federal loan guarantees for the construction of nuclear power plants. They concluded the guarantees were a means of subsidizing the wrong type of power generation. However, in an hour-long speech at the National Press Club, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz justified the action as an endorsement of President Obama's "all of the above" energy strategy by including heavy-handed government support for a wide swath of generating fuels. Of the $8.3 billion in guarantees, Georgia Power, one of the three owners of two new reactors currently under construction, will receive the majority of the benefit. According to the latest reports, SO has stated its current construction budget for the reactor at Vogtle will cost $4.8 billion, not including about $2 billion in financing costs, or about $381 million more than the amount approved by state regulators. SO is 45.7% owner of the project. Vogtle reactor #3 is scheduled to begin commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2017, with Vogtle #4 to follow about a year later. The terms of the loan guarantees are as follows, from their February 20 8-K filing with the SEC: Total maximum amount under the loan agreement $3.46 billion, or 70% of the cost of construction; Georgia Power has initially borrowed $1 billion under this Facility; Half of the initial advance was priced at a 30-yr interest rate of 3.86% and the balance at 3.49% with no principal repayment due until 2020. Future borrowings under the Facility will bear an interest rate at the applicable Treasury rate plus 0.375%; Security for the federal loan is the 45.7% interest Georgian Power has in the two new reactors. While known in the press as "guarantees" and implies third party lending, the reality is the program is a direct loan from the federal government to Southern Company's subsidiary. From an article at WSJ.com: Federal guarantees are new to the U.S. nuclear power industry. In the last construction cycle, which hit the skids following the nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in 1979, utilities and their customers were exposed to cost overruns and losses. This time around, the power industry lobbied for guarantees so utilities could protect their customers and shareholders from potential losses. According to comments by Southern Company's CEO, the loans will save SO ratepayers about $225 million to $250 million in reduced financing costs. While any financing savings will flow through to ratepayers rather than shareholders, this action will reduce the overall cost of the project. The lower cost will tend to placate regulators, and investors, who have been concerned about the cost of the plants. It would seem it is a win-win-win for the company, for rate payers, and for investors. In addition, the guarantees will reduce the risk profile of the company as worse case will reduce exposure to a complete project failure to 30% of overall project costs. Since last September, SO share prices have traded just above their support level of $40. A drop below this support may create a vacuum until the $35 price target is reached. Prices would have to rally to over $44 to signal a new leg higher. Southern Company offers compelling value at current levels with an improving risk profile, lower potential need to request rate increases tied to financing of the Vogtle project and a nice current yield. The news over the last few weeks should have consolidated SO position as a core utility holding. However, investors need to watch closely any break below $40 for additional buying opportunities. Author's Note: Please review important disclaimer in author's profile. Disclosure: I am long SO. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

You won’t find Miranda Lambert spending her money on fancy cars and outrageously priced designer clothes. Instead, Miranda and her husband Blake Shelton choose to invest in land. According to Miranda’s new interview with Good Housekeeping, the couple’s land holdings top out at about 4,000 acres. That love of the land may have something to do with Miranda’s childhood. When she was young, her parents’ private investigation business went under. They were forced to live with family members for a few years before being able to rent their own place in Lindale, TX. That’s when the Lambert family literally started living off the land — growing their own fruits and vegetables and keeping their own animals to eat eventually. “We didn’t go to the store for anything but milk,” Miranda says. “My mom made bread and canned everything from the garden. We had chickens, pigs and rabbits. My dad hunted.” Miranda continues that way of life today. You may recall she actually killed the deer to provide the venison served at her wedding in May 2011. Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio Recent posts in Music News

How can there be Rosh Hashanah sans Tzimmes? My recipe does evolve and change from year to year, but on Rosh Hashanah, there must be a sweet orangey vegetable dish aka Tzimmis! This year I made mine with: a bit of onion carrots sweet potato pumpkin prunes brown sugar cinnamon sticks spoon or two of oil water All that went into a pot, which was covered and cooked on a low heat until soft and ready. It's that easy. The carrots are on the bottom and the pumpkin on top, since carrots take longer to cook. Have a Very Sweet Year!

Rasta Gets Sevens Going Rasta Rasivhenge blows the whistle to get the Cape Town Sevens going on Saturday. The two day party, which masquerades as a rugby event, takes place at the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point which has a sold-out notice for the two days. It is the second in World Rugby's 2016-17 Sevens Series. South Africa won the first in the series in Dubai next week when they beat Fiji in the Final. Saturday's matches start at 10.15 when Rasivhenge blows the whistle to start the match between Scotland and Samoa. The last match is scheduled to kick off at 19.56 when Richard Kelly of New Zealand referees the match between South Africa and Australia, which could well decide the winner of Pool A whose other countries are the USA and Russia., The referees for this week's Sevens are James Doleman (New Zealand), Craig Evans (Wales), Nori Hashimoto (Japan), Richard Haughton (England), Richard Kelly (New Zealand), Jaco Kotze (South Africa), Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa), Damián Schneider (Argentina), Jordan Way (Australia) The referees for the Cape Town tournament are the same as those who refereed at the Dubai tournament last week. Fixtures with Referees and TMOs Scotland vs Samoa Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge Television match official: James Doleman Wales vs Uganda Referee: Richard Haughton Television match official: James Doleman New Zealand vs Argentina Referee: Craig Evans Television match official: Nori Hashimoto England vs Canada Referee: Damián Schneider Television match official: Nori Hashimoto France vs Kenya Referee: Jordan Way Television match official: Richard Kelly Fiji vs Japan Referee: Jaco Kotze Television match official: Richard Kelly Australia vs USA Referee: James Doleman Television match official: Richard Haughton South Africa vs Russia Referee: Nori Hashimoto Television match official: Richard Haughton Scotland vs Uganda Referee: Jaco Kotze Television match official: Damián Schneider Wales vs Samoa Referee: James Doleman Television match official: Damián Schneider New Zealand vs Canada Referee: Nori Hashimoto Television match official: Rasta Rasivhenge England vs Argentina Referee: Richard Kelly Television match official: Rasta Rasivhenge France vs Japan Referee: Jordan Way Television match official: Jaco Kotze Fiji vs Kenya Referee: Richard Haughton Television match official: Jaco Kotze Australia vs Russia Referee: Damián Schneider Television match official: Richard Kelly South Africa vs USA Referee: Craig Evans Television match official: Richard Kelly Samoa vs Uganda Referee: Nori Hashimoto Television match official: Richard Haughton Wales vs Scotland Referee: Jordan Way Television match official: Richard Haughton Argentina vs Canada Referee: James Doleman Television match official: Rasta Rasivhenge England vs New Zealand Referee: Craig Evans Television match official: Rasta Rasivhenge Kenya vs Japan Referee: Jaco Kotze Television match official: Jordan Way Fiji vs France Referee: Damián Schneider Television match official: Jordan Way USA vs Russia Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge Television match official: Craig Evans South Africa vs Australia Referee: Richard Kelly Television match official: Craig Evans

So, yesterday Brenner told me they were having a fieldtrip for preschool.  "Hmmm, that sounds fun."  "There's a letter about it in my backpack."  (ok, I'll look at it later.  It wasn't on the calendar so it's probably for March sometime.) So we get up to go pick up Carly (the little girl we carpool with).  Her mom answers the door and says, "ummm, we're going on the field trip today." So, I checked Brenner's backpack and sure enough, there was a letter in there for the field trip today!  He was sick and missed a day last week, so she had given him his paper yesterday.  We jumped in the shower and headed down to the Planetarium for his field trip.  We saw a 3D movie about the ocean.

for this recipe. I don't really roast chickens so I was inspired by this butterflied version and it looked so crispy and tasty in their photos! A whole chicken, I used a 1.7 kg free range chicken 2 cloves of garlic crushed juice of a lemon 3 teaspoons of mild paprika 1/4 cup of fresh chopped coriander 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder or chilli flakes 2 tablespoons of olive oil To butterfly the chicken, wash the chicken in cold water, inside and out and pat dry with paper towel. Place chicken, breast side down on a chopping board. With poultry scissors, cut down both sides of the back bone and discard bone. Open out chicken, turn over and press on the breast bone with heel of hand to flatten. Combine marinade ingredients and cover chicken with marinade in a large shallow dish. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to overnight. To cook, place chicken in a large backing dish, skin side up and wing tips tucked under. Use any reserve marinade to baste chicken with. Cook for approximately 1 hour in an oven set to 249 degrees Celsius. Remove and cover with foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. I served mine with couscous and eggplant and coriander. Alternatively you could serve with roasted veggies.

DAVE THE FISH GUY was at the market yesterday morning, with the salmon we've come to depend on. Delicious as it is, though, it was matched tonight by a very favorite dish of mine, braised leeks and carrots. Normally I'm the one to make this, and I always slice the leeks and carrots lengthwise before cooking them in butter. Lindsey sliced them crosswise, and damned if it doesn't make a better dish, bringing more leek flavor to the mix, and merging it more completely with the carrot. Baked potato, as you see; green salad afterward. Cheap Pinot grigio; Cabernet sauvignon, Château St. Jean, 2001 (bottle-ends, both, and none the worse for that)

Along with what feels like most of the knitting world, I started Mystery Stole 3 . This is my first attempt at bead knitting and I'm enjoying it, although I thi uld have gone for a little more contrast in bead color. I wanted to keep it subtle, but I thin k I may have gone a little too far. Opinions Also, if you notice the subtitle of this blog, I claim that I knit, I figured it was time to show off a little weaving. I haven't actually been doing much weaving or spinning lately, I seem to go through stages on my hobbies. But I have been working on what I hope will be a nice roman shade for my bedroom. (my weaving so far only incorporates flat items) This is the first panel. So far I'm liking it, panel 2 has been wound off and may possibly hit the loom this weekend. And finally something strange is happening in my backyard. My Christmas poinsettias refuse to give up. Most of the red leaves are gone, but they are growing and evidently thriving. Any gardening type people out there know what to do to get them blooming again?

Candace Walden: Small UAVs for volcanic plume sampling California State University, Northridge When volcanoes erupt thousands of pounds of ash and rock particles are ejected into the atmosphere. These particles can prove deadly for jet engines leading to large stretches of airspace off limits and thousands of flights grounded after each volcanic eruption. If we could more accurately track the areas affected by the volcanic soot, we could lessen the impact of each eruption while maintaining public safety. Small, inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) constructed from off the shelf components can be used in coordinated teams to sample the airspace and provide an accurate picture of unsafe areas. The UAVs are constructed from hobbyist RC planes, where the remote control is bypassed by a programmable autopilot. These UAVs are equipped with sensors to detect particles and communication devices that connect automatically when close enough. I focused on creating programming that ensured the UAVs were always within communication range with the home base while flying a mission, either themselves or through a network of relay planes.

Nate Byham rounds out a competitive group heading into the start of training camp this week. (USA TODAY Images) Heading into training camp the Patriots have questions at the tight end position, but they added additional depth on Saturday after adding former Buccaneer Nate Byham. According to Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston Byham agreed to terms on a contract with the team and pending a physical, he'll fill the 90th spot on the roster after the Patriots also added receivers Derrick Johnson and Tyler McDonald on Friday. Byham's style of play has him as more of a blocking tight end, although that's a label that he previously said he was trying to shed. "That’s my strong suit," Byham said via the San Francisco Chronicle back in 2012 when he was with the 49ers. "I wouldn’t say that’s all I am. I don’t want to be labeled just a blocker because I feel like I can do a lot more. But that is definitely my strong suit and I think I can fill that role in the offense as a blocking tight end." He'll add to a competitive group behind Rob Gronkowksi and Michael Hoomanawanui that includes D.J. Williams, Justin Jones and Asa Watson. Byham had six receptions for 56 yards in two seasons in Tampa Bay along with a touchdown. He was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round out of Pittbsurgh in 2010 and played in 14 games, finishing with 5 receptions for 27 yards.  He tore his ACL just two days into the 2011 training camp with the 49ers His bad luck continued after calf and knee injuries ended his season just four games into 2013 in Tampa Bay and he was placed on injured reserve on October 1st.  He became a free agent back on March 11th and also worked out for New Engalnd previously back on May 21.

If I were a math teacher ( teacher of some subject involving or multiple-choice tests), the end of the semester would be a much easier thing. But I am an English teacher, and so at the end of every semester, I amass a pile of of student-writing the likes of which Seriously. The picture doesn't do it justice. Maybe I should have piled the folders for maximum effect. Just so you know, each of those folders (and that box-top is full of 'em) contains five essays, three of which are "new" to me (revised essays). In order to be eligible to have a revision considered for an extra grade, my students have to write "letters of reflection" to explain what they changed and why. So I read those, too. I also read their final "author's letter," which addresses their semester-long journey. My point is, I have a o' reading and grading to do, and it's hard! (I'm not even going to try to omit the whiny tone. I wanna whine, dammit!) But it's not the quantity that makes it difficult. Wait, yes it is. I mean that it's not the quantity that makes the end-of-semester grading throw-down so difficult. It's also that I have to give it a grade, and doing that to my students' work--well sometimes it just about breaks my heart. I spend a lot of one-on-one time with my students. I meet with each and every one of them for at least three conferences each semester. During that time, I try to establish "professional boundaries," but inevitably, tears fall, confessions are made, and I wind up playing the role of therapist/parent/friend to my students in addition to my role of teacher. I'm working on a paper about some of this, actually. Since the storm, the confessions have become darker and more depressing (as you might imagine), and my own mood has plummeted, too. Professionals in the field have published plenty of advice for what to do in situations like these. I think they refer to the teacher-behavior that comes from our empathy for our students as "affect." They say that we maintain a professional distance--that we should nod and go, "That must be hard for you," but then, slap that D on there, anyhow. After all, a D is a D is a D. Can't nothing be done about that! But a D is "just a D". I know it and my students know it. A "D" can determine whether or not they hang on to their scholarship-money, which can determine whether or not they stay in school, which can determine, well, a damn lot. So when I get to the end of the semester and I see (as I so often do) that my D students--the ones I've grown to care about so much--haven't managed to pull it together, I feel awful! How could I have better served them? What could I have done differently? Given my workload--and the nature of living here (or anywhere, I guess)--I'm not sure there's much I can do differently. I'm doing all I can do. I'm giving them as much of me as I can afford to give (and then some.) So I need to forgive myself for their failure. (Clearly, this is easier said than done.) Because I want to give my failing-students a heads-up (so they re-work their schedules), I try to tackle the high-risk portfolios first. When I first start into the pile, I have energy and hope. My blue pen has ink, I have coffee, it's all good. But today, several folders in, I found that I was taking on too much guilt. I was writing really long evaluation letters explaining why students had gotten the grades they did. This shouldn't happen, though. Right? I mean, my students should be prepared for the grades they'll get, and I shouldn't feel so guilt-stricken. Yes, it's at times like these that I wish that I were a math teacher... or something, anything, else. Do students make these confessions to math teachers? I doubt it. (Unless they're trying to explain their absences.) Do math teachers struggle over awarding grades? Probably not. Stick that thing in a machine and let it determine the fate, right? Maybe going to the neighborhood association meeting will make me feel better. I hope so!

I apologize for not blogging in the previous days. An unfortunate event occurred on Friday evening in which I had misplaced my Brown ID. I didn't notice until I got back to my building from dinner. I searched every single pocket in my backpack and still couldn't find it after ten minutes. Did I forget to mention that the concrete floors outside were flooding with rainwater, the sky was pouring, the weather was hot an humid, there were distant sounds of rumbling thunder, and that shots of lightning were bombarding me every second? Luckily, one of my floor-mates came down and opened the door for me. I slugged up the two flights of stairs, trying to make my shoes squeak as little as possible. I knew that without my ID to get back into the building, I wouldn't be leaving my room much tonight. Instead, I decided to start blogging and get more sleep for Newport the following day. Just as I thought my day couldn't possibly get any worse, my laptop decided to go brain dead on me. My files did not load, and my screen remained blank. I stared at that blank screen for over half an hour, wondering why of all times my newly bought laptop would break down on me. As a result, I haven't been able to type up my blogs online for the previous days. However, Don has talked to me about the problem and has graciously volunteered to send over one of his laptops to me. Once I receive the laptop on Tuesday, I promise I'll be up and running again. I'll basically be posting the blogs from Friday - Sunday in one whole blog. I'll try to make them seem as interesting and short as possible. So please, bear with me. Jamming on my homework Friday was kind of a blur for me. Because of the dim and wet weather, I didn't really go exploring much. We did, however, have a very interesting day in class. It was very different from the other days. A few days ago, Professor Coleman had given us a worksheet and told us to define them. Today, we went through the terms but also related it to some of the recent economic events that link to it. For example, we talked about credit default swaps (which are sort of like "credit protection" policies) and how it was related to the AIG crisis. We also went through some important questions like "how do banks get money" and "how does investment work". I always used to ask my dad silly things like "Why don't we just get rid of money and we just trade items for other items?" After Friday's session, I finally realized that the economy is not as simple as it seems. You can't simply leave banks to bankrupt, or else there will be no more investing or borrowing. How will people buy houses then? If people can't buy homes, how will the government get their land value tax? And if the government does not have money in their banks, how do we expect ourselves to get school funding, or get that bumpy highway fixed? No. Economics are a much more complex puzzle. However, for every minute I spend in "Introduction to Macroeconomics", a bit more of that puzzle is solved. I mostly stayed in my dorm for the rest of the day starting on my new homework assignment and catching up on some rest. The rest of the day was mostly just me stressing over my Brown ID and my laptop. Soaking up some sunlight in the park with Ms. K Saturday was a pretty leisure day for me. I woke up at 8:30 AM to the roars of the buses that would be taking most of the Summer@Brown students to Newport. I was full of envy because I really wanted to go to the beach with everyone else, but I had to make sure I solved (or at least attempt to solve) my ID and laptop problem first. Tired of the revving engines, I decided to wake up and start of the day with some early breakfast. I called Ying-An over and we walked down to the V-Dubb together. Thayer Street was emptier than usual (probably because all the students were at Newport) so the walk was surprisingly quick. We got to the dining hall in about 7 minutes. As I walked towards the counter and began thinking of how to explain my lost Brown ID problem to the lunch lady, there it was. My ID, with my name and face on it, was lying on the counter. The lunch lady had seen it on one of the tables while cleaning up and held on to it for me. I was so grateful and glad that I wouldn't have to pay an extra $10 for a new ID. Ying and I met up with Ms. Kaplan at Starbucks after breakfast. She came over to help me with my laptop and ID problems. We discovered that the laptop couldn't be fixed here, and I had already found my ID. So instead, Ying and I decided to take her downtown to see one of the events that I found online. Unfortunately, the time online was wrong and the show wouldn't start for another 5 hours. Since we were already here, we decided to go to Macy's. I bought myself a blazer for the dinner at Boston we'd be going to a few days prior to our return back to California. I had left my suit jacket at home and it would've been to much of a hassle to have that shipped over to me. On our way from the mall to the car, I also saw Professor Coleman. We talked for a while (since we walked in the same direction) and got him introduced to Ms. Kaplan. One of the historical houses on Benefit Street Since Ying-An and I didn't have any plans for the rest of the day, we decided to just cruise around Providence with Ms. Kaplan. On our way to the grocery store, we passed by some of the most historical houses in Providence. Every house had their own golden plaque with the year it was built and the names of the original owners on them. Some of the houses there even dated back to the late 1700's. We actually even passed by the house of Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones. She was considered as the greatest African American woman soprano singer in the late 19th to the early 20th century. In fact, she performed at the White House several times for President Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt as well as the British royal family. [This was all on the plaque outside of her house.] Ironically, Benefit Street (where the houses were on) was one of the most "unhistorical-looking" placed in all of Providence. It's hard to believe that so little of Providence's history is exposed to the public. I'd expect the house of Matilda Jones to, at least, be referred to as an interesting spot to stop by. In retrospect, I'm very glad that Ms. Kaplan took the long way to the grocery store. Otherwise, I would have been like many others and missed out on the history of Benefit Street. Feeling the summer breeze and smell of grass at my new favorite place in Providence Ying-An's residential adviser invited him to the park later in the afternoon. I decided to tag along. It was a nice 20 minute walk and definitely worth it. It was a very nice spot next to the water, full of excitement and people. My favorite part of the park was the consistent wind that kept blowing even as we played handball in the hot summer sun. Waterfire with the people of Providence We also went to Waterfire that evening. It was a really great experience. The show alone wasn't what I expected it to be, but it was totally worth my time. I'm very glad I went to experience some of the Providence culture. We had a lot of fun that evening, especially Kelly (who ran across to the other side and back just to get a white flower). I had a very great day exploring the history and culture of Providence, and every new building or piece of art I see makes my love Providence even more. The highlight of Sunday was our trip to the RISD museum. Nick and Emily were busy doing homework, so Ying-An, Kelly, Tayler, and I went to RISD with Ms. Kaplan. RISD was full of wonderful works of art and antiques, all lined up on their little glass shelves. We saw a giant Buddha and a hall of paintings. My favorite part within the whole museum had to have been the gift shop. It wasn't the shopping itself that was impressive. Rather, it was the fact that all the products sold in that gift shop were made by students at RISD museum. It was insane. They had amazingly designed ties, rainbow makers, and even toy bug robots. I've had such a great weekend exploring Providence. From historical streets to the creative minds of the students, I've grown to love Providence so much. I don't think I want these two weeks to pass by so quickly anymore....

Oh that key lime pie was good yesterday!  Glad you all savored it along with me.  I went out for a 4 mile run this morning to work off those calories.  Much better to have virtually enjoyed it! Another week of figure class come and gone.  I feel like I am learning so much but applying so little!  This week began with doing contour drawings after our gesture warm ups.  I won't be posting too many gestures as you all have the idea.  If you click on the drawing above it will take you to the set of drawings from figure class.  I added 8 new ones from this week. The contour was fun but difficult to do.  She didn't want us outlining but rather to use a calligraphic line to move through the figure from one place to another.  The first exercises were total blind contour but then we progressed to peeks at the paper but mostly keeping our eyes on the model.  My final sketch that day I felt like I didn't do what she was asking so I didn't even put it up for a critique. Today we continue with the idea of contour drawing and including using the basics from the previous weeks:  spirit line, stick figure, filling in volume with the wire form or smoke ribbons.  I had a hard time today and got so frustrated at myself.  She stepped in and began a drawing for me and then it clicked what she was teaching.  I did much better with my drawing after that.  The above is what I did after her private mini lesson with me. Work the next two days and then I really have to get going on my master studies, two which are due on the 26th.

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The rains of spring have arrived, and with them have come bursts of color and inspiration and memory inside my brain. A good friend posted several photographs from college yesterday on a fairly public website; I've been enjoying them and thinking of those times since. Those pictures have stories; those stories have smells and textures and strange little jests. I do not want to forget these things. They must not disappear behind the cloudy eyes of days not yet born. It makes me think of my parents telling me stories from their college days. They both maintain that the happiest days of their lives (at least until parenthood) were those in college. I remember a few of these stories, but not enough. My stories and memories matter to me, and so do the stories of my parents and family. We're not famous; I very much doubt any biographers are going to pieces together our miniature sagas in decades of the future. So, I want to save some snippets. I do not know where this will go. -A sideshow performer hailed from the region of my mother's birth, and he still spent his time off the circuit in the area. The Knots of Knott County had small growths all over his face. They projected, dripped, bumped and stuck out from every part of his face; his specialty consisted of using his eyebrows to wiggle a long one that hung out over his eye. He did this to scare and amuse children. When he did this in my mother's direction, she was terrified and indignant. -When asked, my grandma would always say that she choose to marry my grandpa, a salesman eight years her senior, because he was the best dancer. -When I was a very little girl I spent lots of time outdoors. One day my grandmother came with me to spend time near my tree in the apple orchard. We brought my little round basket filled with play jewelry and decorated the early tree with these sparkling baubles. Plastic hearts, rhinestones, and all my assorted treasure made my already special tree otherworldly in the bright sunshine. Somehow we even managed to gather most of the jewelry back into the basket though, if I recall correctly, that was much harder.

God loves to look at us, and loves it when we will look back at Him. Even when we try to run away form our troubles...God will find us, bless us, even when we feel most alone. . unsure...God will find a way to let us know that He is with us in this place, wherever we are. I thought we all needed some sunshine and roses on this dark, dreary winter day. Enjoy!

Well it's a good news/bad news situation this month. The good news: I'm finally below 300 pounds for the first time since Clinton was in office (and in Monica). I am very, very happy about that. The bad news: this month's weigh-in--293. Yep, that's it--10 whole pounds. Better than a kick in the head, but definitely not as dramatic and satisfying as previous months. I attribute this to two things. First, diet. Even with a tiny pouch for a stomach, it's still possible to eat the wrong things. My weight loss stalled at 300 for what seemed like forever. I have since cut out all but a minuscule helping of carbs, with those that I do get coming entirely from vegetables. Once I switched to strictly protein and veggies, my weight loss kick-started back up again. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, exercise. Much of this month has been rainy and freezing cold. Trying to exercise in such conditions is a sure-fire recipe for getting sick, and I did just that. Now that the rainy season is subsiding and temperatures should be picking up a bit, I look forward to getting back outside regularly again. I recently attempted--I stress attempted--week one, day one of the "Couch to 5K" (C25K) program , designed to ease a novice into jogging. Using the C25K iPhone app, which provides "walk" and "run" audio cues while playing your selected music tracks, I managed to make it to the chipper "you are halfway done with your workout" prompt before feeling like I needed a paramedic. I completed the rest of the regimen by fast-walking during the "run" prompts, a strategy that I'll be staying with for a while until I build more stamina. As you can see, I also finally got my spiffy new Body by Jake "Tower 200" door gym, so I will now be slowly integrating some light strength training into my workout routine. So far, this thing seems to have been everything that it's advertised to be--sturdy, solidly built, easy to install, and easy to use. I look forward to torturing myself on it soon. So it has been an up-and-down roller coaster of a month, but at least things are still moving in the right direction. Between greater attention to diet and resuming/broadening my exercise regimen, I expect (and hope) to shift my weight loss trend back toward the more dramatic results of months past. Still, even though this was a "slow" month for me, I certainly can't complain about the overall results so far. I was forced to go clothes shopping recently, as my entire wardrobe is far too big. It was a very dramatic way to see just how far I have come. These two pictures were taken in the dressing room at the store: <--This is the is the 5X t-shirt I came in with. I'm practically swimming in it now! -->This is the new 2X shirt I just bought. 2X! It's been a long time since I was in a 2X, and I know it's only going to get better! So, until next month, wish me luck folks! And as always, thank you all for your support and encouragement. It means the world to me.

Who doesn't love a good 'ol bowl of Macaroni and Cheese, or as my oldest son calls it "Macky and cheese"? It's about as comfort-foodish as comfort food gets, and in this house it gets gobbled up so fast my arm gets sore from scooping it onto the plates. Today I was in a hurry to get lunch together, and literally only had about 5 minutes before I had to leave to get my son from preschool. I opened the fridge and grabbed some fresh carrots, shredded cheddar cheese, almond milk, olive oil, and some plain rice pasta left over from dinner last night. Now I could have easily used whole wheat pasta, gluten free, semolina, whatev's, and same goes with the milk. Whatever pleases your palette! For me, I prefer my wee little Parker to be hive-free, so we opt for the egg-free/cow's milk free stuff! I started with the sauce. I poured about a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan and added some shredded cheese and a splash of almond milk and start stirring. It got all melty and I got all happy! I added a bit more of each until it was a creamy melty goddess of gooey and then added the secret ingredient - shredded carrot! I then tossed it all together with the pasta and poured it into a baking dish and popped into a warm oven to buy me some time. Meanwhile, I informed Logan on the way home from school that we would be having his favorite lunch and he exclaimed "MACKY AND CHEESE! WEEEEEE!". That is a direct quote. When the kiddos were good and hungry, I switched the warm oven to broil and let this bad boy crisp up and get all bubbly. I can tell you... it smelled amazing. The carrot gave it a yummy crunch, and some obvious vitamin power. I served it with apple's and cucumbers, and was immediately instructed that this needs to be added to our lunchtime rotation. and it came out looking like this: Okay, not the best photos, I know. Best I can do with the iPhone and 4 hungry kids. But I will tell you that this was probably the creamiest macky and cheese I have had. It was my first time making it with the almond milk and I must say, I am a huge fan. Our other household favorite for this yummy classic is the Squash Macaroni and Cheese which I talk all about on the most recent episode of

Noriega Trying To Stop Extradition Manuel Noriega is scheduled to be released from prison Sept. 9, but there is a good chance that he will be sent to France to stand trial there. The U.S. government had been treating Noriega while in prison as a POW (allowing him to wear his uniform, etc), in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. This should prevent him from being extradited upon release to any other country, but now the government is arguing otherwise. Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega on Thursday made his first court appearance in a dozen years, his face expressionless as his lawyers fought a French request for extradition once he is released from a Florida prison in September. A black coat covering his general's uniform and insignia, the 72-year-old answered tersely in Spanish to U.S. Magistrate William C. Turnoff's questions about his name, age and whether he understood the proceedings. The first hearing on the U.S.-backed French extradition bid to try him on money-laundering charges took place in the same 1930s-era courtroom where Noriega was convicted on drug-trafficking charges in 1992 and given a 40-year sentence. He was arrested in January 1990 by U.S. forces after they invaded Panama the month before. Because Noriega was taken into custody during the U.S. invasion ordered by President George H.W. Bush, he was deemed a prisoner of war by U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler, who presided over his trial and a decade ago also reduced his sentence by 10 years. Attorneys Jon May and Frank Rubino, flanking the diminutive Noriega, asked Turnoff to postpone any action on the extradition request until Hoeveler rules on their contention that as a POW, Noriega must be returned to his home country once his U.S. sentence is completed. Now a born-again Christian, Noriega has been credited with time for good behavior and is due for release from his apartment-like cell at a Southwest Miami prison on Sept. 9. Turnoff said that whatever Hoeveler decides on the POW issue would be "controlling in this matter," but that he saw no reason not to proceed with the extradition case pending that decision. He set an Aug. 28 hearing, more than two weeks after an Aug. 10 session Hoeveler has scheduled to consider Noriega's request to be sent home after his release. Under the Geneva Convention, a POW must be returned to his home country once the conflict and any sentence have concluded. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Patrick Sullivan argued in a brief to Hoeveler that the rules cannot be invoked to block extradition. "The defendant can be extradited to France in accordance with all of the United States' treaty obligations — including its obligations under the Geneva Conventions," Sullivan argued. An appeal by Noriega's lawyers for his release on bond pending the extradition hearing was denied by the judge, who noted that Noriega's prison term runs for seven more weeks. Rubino's claim that Noriega has ties to the community "as a resident of South Florida for 18 years and currently employed by the U.S. government" drew laughter from the packed courtroom. ... The U.S. move to oust Noriega and the charges that sent him to prison were inspired by intelligence that he had been collaborating with Colombia's Medellin drug cartel to ship cocaine to the United States via Panama, receiving as much as $500,000 per delivery. But it emerged during his trial that he also had been on the CIA payroll for years.

"Switched At Birth" will be airing, what is tagged as "the biggest finale yet" of season 4 on 10 March, Tuesday. The episode titled "There is My Heart" will tie together many loose ends, first and foremost of which, is whether Emmett and Bay will get back together or break up for good. As a concluding statement in "The Player's Choice", which marked season 4 episode 9, Bay (Vanessa Marano) had announced to her father Jon (D. W. Moffett) that she is going to LA to win back Emmett (Sean Berdy). After Bay's ex-boyfriend Tank (Max Adler) had non-consensual sex with her, everyone among her family and friends tell her that she was raped. She, however, partially blames herself for sleeping with him when pitch drunk and confesses as much to Emmett, who does not know if he blames her or not. After two episodes of "radio silence" from him, Bay decides that enough is enough and will be making a surprise visit Emmett's university. According to the trailer for "There is My Heart", Bay meets Emmett's friend Skye (Alice J. Lee ) and isn't quite pleased about it. Emmett still seems to feel that Bay cheated on him and she finally tells him, "If you want me to move out here, then you need to say it!" The trailer ends with Emmett walking towards Bay, hopefully to reconcile. Meanwhile Daphne (Katie Leclerc) is seen confiding in his former friend with benefits Mingo (Adam Hagenbuch) about failing at something. She tell him, "I can't tell if I failed because of me, or my deafness". The girls' mother Regina (Constance Marie) accidentally confesses to her emotionally unavailable boyfriend that she is in love with him and immediately apologises for the same. Although she is seen crying in her car, it remains to be seen how their relationship will pan out. Toby (Lucas Grabeel) had asked his girlfriend Lily (Rachel Shenton) to move in with him in the previous episode, but she had shot him down by saying that she had romantic feelings for a colleague. The season 4 finale will also deal with their relationship and how Toby will deal with Lily's feelings for another man. The season finale "There is My Heart" will map out many relationships, now that it is confirmed that Mary Beth (B.K. Cannon) broke up with Travis (Ryan Lane), whose new-found popularity as a star baseball player, she find too hard to handle. Watch out for Season 4 Episode 10 of "Switched At Birth" on abc at 9.00 pm (EST) on Tuesday, 10 March. 'Switched at Birth' Season 4 Episode 9 Spoilers: Will Emmett Forgive Bay on 'The Player's Choice'? 'The Originals' Mid-Season Premiere Spoilers: Hayley, Jackson Discuss their Sex Life; Freya Brings Mikael Back from Limbo 'iZombie' Series Premiere: Watch Liv Eat Brains and Solve Murder Mysteries [VIDEO] 'The Flash' Mid-Season Premiere: Is the Reverse Flash Running 'Out of Time'?

Thank goodness for the grand mammoo. She came over yesterday for a visit and we did many things. I read her vocal therapy instructions to her, and taught her what I have learned about diaphragmatic breathing. The cats loved that. Two of them parked themselves on her while I had her laying down on the sofa with her hand on her diaphragm to feel the rise and fall with each breath. Then a tuna sandwich (guy family tradition) and then we made prettiness where formerly there was sadness: Thanks to mrguy, who provided most of the succulents in the new urn arrangements, and to the grand mammoo, who has an artistic eye and loooooves to garden. Perfect project for us. Over time this will fill in and be tall and lush.

Here's my finished embroidery from the Edward Gorey illustration stitch along . I really like the way it turned out. I felt like I was getting behind (the next illustration stitch along is starting this month), but the little cats didn't take nearly as long to fill in as the big one. Since this illustration is from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, here's a bit of T.S. Eliot's poem "Mr. Mistoffelees" for you: His manner is vague and aloof, You would think there was nobody shyer-- But his voice has been heard on the roof When he was curled up by the fire. And he's sometimes been heard by the fire When he was about on the roof-- (At least we all heard that somebody purred) Which is incontestable proof Of his singular magical powers: And I have known the family to call Him in from the garden for hours, While he was asleep in the hall. And not long ago this phenomenal Cat Produced seven kittens right out of a hat! for more great Gorey embroideries!

Why is it that for most critics Pixar's feature Brave just hasn't measured up to anything earth shattering? So many luscious epics from Star Wars to Lord of the Rings or Avatar have left us with the same old dichotomous tales of corporate greed as empire, and individual heroism through alliance with primitives who are pure and innocent. In Brave, as IMDb reviewer jeev7882 notes, " the film doesn't really have a villain. This isn't a good vs. evil battle." Or at least, it mobilizes the internal and external good vs. evil struggles in some novel ways. he core bravery the film requires of its protagonist Merida is missed by too many of the viewers and reviewers. Only one I found stood out from the chorus of more disappointed voices. Cynthia Fuchs wrote that "when Elinor is gesturing the great story of her daughter's history and legacy and wonderfulness, literally over the heads of men, Brave represents an experience that so many mothers and daughters have shared, but rarely see in a movie." True, this film is not Snow White, nor Cinderella, nor any of the fairy tales where true mothers are absent and false one are menacing. Now we are a society awash in worries about very real vicissitudes of mother/daughter tensions. Such tropes abound in the currently metastisizing genre of tween lit but few literary offerings have the vibrancy of this film (with the possible exception of Pullman's trilogy, for which the film accompaniment disappointed too many). Few offer much that is new with respect to what parents can represent to the emerging selves of teenagers (although the visually lush surrealism of from Dave Mckean is worth mention). deserves to be read as a visually disturbing fantasy of how the wildness of galloping youth can connect to the power of mature selves and bodies around them. Animation clips borrowed from a posting "FromPillow" on the following tumblr site: So it is a shame that Fuchs isn't playing up the deeper meanings of gendered political and social labor that lie behind the "over the heads" moment in the film where Queen Elinor gesticulates, due to the fact that she has ben inconveniently (if unintentionally) transformed by her daughter into a giant bear. The arts of diplomacy and basic relationship maintenance that have long been socially constructed as work for women (thank you notes; party planning; apology delivery; ego soothing; alliance maintenance; gift exchange; flirtation itself) all appear to work effortlessly--even pleasurably--to mend all kinds of rifts so that progress for humans toward collaborating can continue. In this film, the tapestry that Merida must mend is a metaphor not merely for her relationship to her mother, but for fault lines between generations, ethnolinguistic groups, genders, and even species. There is no single arrow that can hit such targets; no easy endorphin-filled moment of "i did it." Rather there is the willingness to dig in and do it all again and again and again, with an irksome and ever changing mental map of where mending is needed to keep political and familial and interpersonal safety nets strong, thereby allowing individuals and groups to take collective risks, to fight for things together, or even to forge consensus on who are our heroes and celebrities. Pin Design can be viewed at Diane Keaton's memoir Then Again juxtaposes mother and daughter voices. She gives the reader a startling confession of bulimia and body image distress in her own young adult life. But she also offers the searing, sad prose of her mother's diaries and letters as an empty nester, trying to redefine nurture and channel it inward to herself or outward to wider worlds beyond her own brood. Her mother's challenge of shifting to self care from effective care for others is wrenching, and it is reversed in Keaton's own life where parenthood comes only in her fifties. Le monde a l'envers. Or perhaps both Diane and her Mother would have related to Janis Joplin's words, which have endured despite the fine she paid for uttering them in public: " Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got. There is no yesterday, no tomorrow, it’s all the same f...ing day." Okay, so Merida must learn that life for many girls and women is one long day's struggle with findi ng oneself amidst the more collective clatter of the rituals and relationships we weave to meet our needs. This is not the usual cortisol-peaking, crash-into-it- and-fight-your-way-out bravery that correlates with popular success in comic books and summer movies. Stories of that latter kind of bravery were my dominant traditions as a child, and are resurgent with recent retrospectives on Wonder Woman and emergent shows such as Agent Carter. Such stories, most of which relied on some chunk of contemporary conservationist Harrison Ford's grit and charm, made me feel alive and aware in a world that seemed to need brave souls when i was a teenager. Even a young adult in Africa serving in Peace Corps, or starting my own research projects, such constructs buoyed me; made me feel what i was doing mattered and was in some way glamorous. Back then i still galloped on horseback a lot, whether across hills in Tennessee, across plains in Central African Rebublic (and finally, less frequently, at the polo stables on the edge of New Haven, Connecticut where the big, bored ponies needed exercising during weekends and vacations without their student riders). These days, I worry about what would happen if i did something dumb like fall off a horse and break my neck. I am blessed but also burdened with responsibilities for others who depend upon me, from undergrads, masters students, doctoral students, and postdocs to neighbors, colleagues and friends in Central Africa, my own parents, and a collie. I need a different model for courage and heroism, or else I just feel tired and hardly worth anyone's attention. Now the kind of bravery i seek is daily (hum), monthly (ugh), and as-the-years-go-by bravery. The kind required to confront the animality of our own adolescent or aging bodies, and to understand that making peace, whether in a home or a nation, is a different kind of hard work than making war, and may be the more important kind if humanity is to continue on an upward trajectory for its capacity to thrive. Animation clips borrowed from the following tumblr site Mama bear's enormous exposed bottom is a weird and daring leitmotif in the film; when she herself catches a first glimpse of it she is horrified (see clip, above). It is the dripping, wiggling, shining, surprising animation triumph that has gotten far too little mention relative to flowing waterfalls in the background or tresses on Merida herself. That bear-sized rear end renders Elinor's crown irrelevant, and reminds her to retain the organic, physical connection to her own self in order to be powerful. In the end, she does rear up on that behind and beat back her nemesis, a male human spirit also trapped in bear form, thus freeing them both. In a society that flips out at even the suggestion of an exposed "nip," both on sitcoms and in real stadium events (sorry Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Janet Jackson), it seems odd that so many of the royal family protagonists are naked in the film's denouement. I s it a bizarre beacon of hope that growing girls somehow can and do help both themselves and their older female role models become more comfortable with their bodies? The end of the film suggests that with such comfort comes more awareness of their Grown Up Girl Powers: to defend (as much against our own selves and allies as against our enemies), to mend (not only damage done by our own words and deeds but also the rifts between selves, groups, and generations), and to transcend social strictures by (still, somehow) embracing carnal intensities like fishing and fighting (and yes, janice, f....ing), as we move through life's phases and become more and more sober citizens of the messed up worlds our parents made. Just like Diane Keaton did. Or does the best she could. Better, in fact than her mom was able to do. And so on. Seen thus, this film trumpets hope for women and girls, in a crudely elided "progressive primordial" moment. It draws a picture of distant human pasts as a platform on which we all now stand, built by both brave men and brave women. It speaks volumes at at time when contemporary women are having more and more public conversations about their limited energies perpetually divided among self, family, work, and world. Slaughter (yes, really) argues in her recent and widely read Atlantic article, that "...Women Still Can't Have it All." If one agrees that doing so is the ideal, then bravery is needed in spades. So, this long blog (log?) is a shout out to those women who opted for the matinee show of Brave with their daughter or niece instead of attending that physical therapy appointment they so needed, or finishing the laundry. Those everyday small sacrifices in our lives make the end of Brave unsatisfying, with its image of "Mum" galloping on horseback at the end with her hair flowing. Really? Just hop back on our horses? Chipping is right: " Brave would've benefitted from being far smarter in its dialogue, far more surprising in its plot twists and far less 'oh that's all right then' in its ending." But are we reading the film with enough generosity? Can we try to dignify its collaborative writing and direction, and its ambitious commentary on coming of age (and coming out of acting too much one's age) with more than just an assessment of it as a passable adventure flick? Please? In our society, movies are so much what we make them as we teach one another ways of "reading" them. As for what will happen next for we must hope that when she does meet a love she likes, she will know how to stay in THAT saddle. More on that later, maybe?

is the title of book by Tad Waddington. This guy is one smart dude. He's got a masters of divinity from the University of Chicago and a PhD in something about statistics. You can read all about it in the back of the book. His emphasis at UC was the history of chinese religions, and it clearly shows in this little book. The front flap says, "This book is for everyone." Perhaps everyone but me. I'm not a philosopher by nature or training, and many of the words he used were completely new to me. There's a handy glossary at the back of the book, which I discovered when I was done reading it. I guess I wasn't really in the mood to learn a whole new vocabulary in order to really sink my teeth into this book. pg 6 "...when does think before acting and when thinkers take action, remarkable results follow. When doers don't think before acting and when thinkers don't act, good people's efforts fail to acheive their full impact." pg 15 "It's not about smarts, but discipline." - this really resonated with me because I just finished reading Carry on, Mr. Bowditch to my children in school. Nathaniel Bowditch was one smart guy, but he achieved a lot because of his discipline. It was an awesome example of this. to do is crucial." Something I need to remember. Unfortunately, from my perspective, Waddington takes the entire book to explain why someone should want to contribute and all the causes leading to a lasting contribution... but without an ultimate reason. He clearly states in his book (pg 87), quoting someone named Bronowski, " 'There is no absolute knowledge. ... all information is imperfect. We have to treat it with humility. That is the human condition." Well - yes and no. I believe that there is One who is Absolute Knowledge, and He decided to share some of it with us - through the Holy Scriptures and the person of Jesus Christ. We still have to treat our understanding of the Bible with humility because, as Isaiah writes, "His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways." There's a lot about God we do not know. Ultimately, he tries to make a case for a purpose in life without the True Purpose. He writes on page 90 that 'Ethics and action are inseperable." James wrote the same thing in the New Testament "Faith without works is dead." I like Rich Mullins' version: "Faith without works is like a screen door on a submarine." Rather useless. I think I could sum up my impression of with the lyrics of another Rich Mullins song, When I turn to the world they gave me this advice They said boy you just follow your heart But my heart just led me into my chest They said follow your nose But the direction changed every time I went and turned my head And they said boy you just follow your dreams But my dreams were only misty notions My response would echo that of Mullins': But the Father of hearts and the Maker of noses And the Giver of dreams He's the one I have chosen And I will follow Him

I'm playing along with two challenges this afternoon - the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge blog , where the theme this week is Red and White ... ... (isn't that beautiful? I'd love to decorate like this one year!) and the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog , where the theme is Don't cut, just paste! The Design Teams and the gallery at both these blogs are just bursting with inspiration, so be sure to head on over for a looksie. This is the card that I came up with ... I used a Silhouette cut for a stencil and Liquitex Light Modeling Paste to emboss those little buildings onto a piece of red cardstock. After it was dry, I added some Wink of Stella and Stickles to the buildings, very hard to photo, especially on this rainy afternoon. I've never had any luck applying glitter to the top of wet embossing paste. It just falls off! But I do love using a serrated knife as my palette knife with embossing paste, just for that extra bit of texture. P.S. Ooops! Looks like I was too late for the #163 Merry Monday Challenge; the link-up had already closed. That will teach me for waiting until the last minute!

I just read a fascinating article on chronic pain. Some doctor in the U.S. did some brain studies on himself and discovered that neurones in his brain were being hijacked to send fake signals of pain. This resulted in a chronic feeling of pain that other doctors were treating with drugs when in fact the problem was brain based. The result was an almost permanent feeling of being switched “on” or alertness as to a pain event that didn’t exist. He found (using brain scans) that the neurones hijacked to make the pain were those that could do other things – one of which was visualisation. So he decided to hijack them back. Every time he felt pain (which presumably was all the time at first) he started visualising. I guess you could visualise anything, but he chose to visualise the brain scans, specifically the one which showed a healthy pain free brain. The neurones started to forget about making the pain signals slowly but surely. Over time (6 weeks in fact) he was pain free. After 13 years of debilitating pain. It made me wonder what’s the way to hijack something like tinnitus. It must be possible.

MY CHICAGO WORKSHOP GIRLS Meet some of the wonderful ladies from my Chicago Photography workshop. Loved these gals. I met some fantabulous new "friends." It is a great thing when you can spend a weekend with 10 other women who share the exact same passion as you do. It's so fun to talk camera gear, lenses, software programs, locations, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't get everyone in on these pictures. I am missing some of the girls and I am so upset about that. I wish I would have had the allotted time to snap everyone included in the workshop. For now though, this is all I got. In the photo below, you'll see our instructor, Debbie. She is wearing the white hat. This woman is a wealth of information and I'm very thankful for her willingness to share her knowledge with us newbies. I'm realizing more and more how rare that is in the photography industry. Thank you Debbie. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This shot below is what it looked like as Debbie was taking a shot of one of my fellow workshop classmates... This is what it looked like from my angle when it was my turn to take the same shot... At certain points we had to practice on one another. Here is another one of my workshop classmates. Gorgeous - just gorgeous... One of the classmates ran into a group of people she knew down by the river in downtown Chicago. I snapped this shot of her snapping them. I love their smiles and laughs in this picture. So genuine. So fun! Practicing on classmates again...Look at her awesome eyes... I broke out my wide angle lens and snapped a couple of architecture shots real quick at one point. Love those landscapes...especially with blue skies and white clouds. I of course wish I would've had the opportunity to finish and complete the workshop as I had planned on. However, life called. I'm sending a big hug and thank you to all of my workshop gals that have emailed and called me throughout this past week. You girls are just gems and have each left lasting impressions on my heart. Thank you for taking me in, lifting me up, and comforting me over the past 7 seven days. I feel like I've known you ladies all of my life at this point. I'm so blessed to have crossed paths with each of you and am very grateful for your friendships. And speaking of Big papa, I haven't had my camera out in over a week now and I think I'm beginning to go into convulsions. Wink wink! ;) You are talking about someone who takes pictures EVERYDAY. Therefore, to go a full week without snapping the shutter on Big Papa is insane for me. I'm feeling a serious urge to go shoot. In the meantime though, I have a ton of model shoots from the Chicago workshop to post and share here on the blog as well as sessions yet to be shared from my time with Leah still. My blogging is beginning to back up. OCD issues are starting to rear their ugly heads for me. For instance, the hundreds of emails in my inbox or the hundreds of private messages in my facebook inbox. I have issues with having more then 2-3 emails awaiting replies in my inbox. Let alone the 100's that are in there right now. I know...I'm not right! Trust me though - I've read every single one - every single email from each of you. I am replying to them but it is taking me some time. I want to respond to each one from my heart and therefore, if you've emailed me in the past week or facebook'ed a private message to me...I thank you. I got it and I have no words. A big huge thank you to all of you for wrecking my mascara this week. Ha ha! Love you gals... Much love, Angie PS...Foto Find Friday will now be back this coming Friday (hopefully). I didn't have time to mess with it yesterday as I had hoped. Labels: Chicago photography workshop

Thornburg Mortgage (TMA): 11.40 0.00 0.00% has issued a statement that it will revise its loss on the sale of securities from around $900 million to $1.1 billion on the sale of $22 billion of mortgage securities from the company’s portfolio. The shares skidded yesterday by about 10%. I think the revised numbers have little or no effect on the ongoing prospects for TMA and the share price drop is without merit. The asset sale was taken mainly to pay off the loans that were used to fund the purchase of these securities. In other words, the assets were sold to pay off a similar amount of debt. The fact that the securities were sold at a loss does not affect the ongoing prospects for the company. This is quite different from a company that spends more money than it takes in as revenue and thus books a loss. That company is spending more than it makes. Thornburg sold some assets to pay off debts. The loss of the assets should not affect the future profitability of the company. Thornburg has reduced its assets and debts by about a third. The remaining assets should be adequate to provide a generous ongoing dividend. I expect the dividend to be in the 40 to 50 cent range and increasing from there as profitability improves. I believe any investor who buys at these prices and holds on for the next few quarters will be well rewarded. This video features someone who thinks the $.68 dividend will continue to be paid. Disclosure: The author owns shares of TMA.

Gracie, my little grey cat, is the best hunter in Chacala. At least a frog or baby iguana or a gecko arrives on the patio every morning. It's absolutely disgusting. But she's so proud, I can't get mad at here. Gracie is about to be de-bugged. My son brought some de-flea stuff down. With directions in English, which I really appreciate. I am still nervous about following medical instructions in Spanish, as translated by me. Gracie had been banned from coming inside for weeks, and is not happy about this state of affairs. So in few days, all should be well. I would never have imagined myself as someone who would put poison on a cat, but things change, I guess. The little girl who lives down the street is now very mobile. She had definitely mastered walking. She's very adventurous, and her kitten tries to keep out of her way. Not always successfully. This cute little part-Siamese kitten (God knows where the Siamese part came from) is a real hunter. Always prowling, and usually being hunted by her little owner. Pets are big around Chacala. The current collectivo driver has solved the problem of the loneliness of the short-distance van driver. He just brings his favorite Parito to work. He is perched on the drivers shoulder for 12-14 hours a day. A kind of nasty little guy. Always watching for something to peck. But he's willing to step onto your finger, if you will tolerate the ritual finger peck first. The bird is amazing. We are driving along at 40 or 50mph. The bird is perched on the driver's shoulders, on the window side. He watches the scenery and the traffic. And never gets blown away.

This dip is the kind they serve at Italian restaurants while you wait for your meal. It is usually accompanied by a loaf of freshly baked bread, but since I am no restaurateur, nor do I have a furnace to make Italian bread, I just eat it with toast. What you need: 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried parsley 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro Extra Virgin Olive Oil What to do: Just combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well to make sure they are evenly distributed. Put a small amount on a dip plate and add olive oil as needed. Enjoy with your favorite bread. Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: Add a teaspoon of dried rosemary if you like the flavor. All ingredients can be tweaked according to your preference.

Today I'm doing something out of the ordinary. Because today my 'thought' comes from a section of my sermon from this past Sunday (Palm Sunday) where I spoke about Jesus withering of the fig tree and cleansing the Temple (out of in Mark 11:13-14 and 20-21). Many told me afterward that it helped them understand a text that had always confused and bothered them. So, if you are such a person, my prayer is that it may do the same for you. Enjoy (hopefully)! "The day after that first Palm Sunday, Jesus headed to the Temple, and on His way cursed a fig tree which had no fruit on it, and it eventually withers and dies (Mark 11:13-14 and 20-21). It's a story that makes some struggle, because it makes it seem like Jesus is simply in a bad mood, or being mean and irrational, since he expects a fig tree to bear fruit when it's not even the season for figs! Yet our struggle with the event can be resolved when we understand that Jesus is not mad, nor cursing the tree because He's irritated. Rather, He's engaging in a common form of prophetic instruction -- using a symbolic act that teaches a truth or serves as a warning of things to come. God employed this form of instruction with Hosea when He called him to marry a prostitute and to remain faithful to her, even though she would be unfaithful to him -- sign of God's faithfulness to unfaithful and idolatrous Israel, as well as a reminder to us who so often "cheat on God" with other gods or idols. Isaiah engaged in it as well when he as called by God to walk around barefoot and naked for three years -- a sign to Egypt and Cush that they would be defeated by Assyria, and "led away stripped and barefoot" (Isaiah 20:2-6). So why does Jesus curse and wither the fig tree ? Because as we often see in the O.T. the fig tree represents Israel (Jer. 8:13 / 29:17 / etc.). Paul uses the same imagery in Romans 11. And what's the message Jesus conveys through it ? The fig tree, like Israel -- looks good from a distance to the human observer (v. 13). She lush and green and healthy and full of leaves, and from all outward appearances seems like a tree that should be laden with fruit. But upon closer examination, she is found to have produced no spiritual fruit at all (v. 13b). Yes, Israel had her large, magnificent temple (which even Roman writers described as one of the world's most magnificent buildings). She had her intricate religious organization with over 700 priests on duty at any given time, along with her highly detailed order of rituals and sacrifices and a priesthood with all its colorful robes and finery. She had her High Priest, religious lawyers, scribes and elders. There was even the Sanhedrin, the Temple guards, and so much more. It was all quite massive and impressive (similar in many ways to the Vatican). But like the fig tree Jesus cursed, she had not produced what God desired most: The fruit of a holiness. A people that loved Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, prayerfully worshiping Him in spirit and truth and praising all the consummate glories of His Name. People who through great effort and personal sacrifice take the message of His greatness to the ends of the earth. And therefore, like the cursed tree which the disciples found withered and dead (v. 21), Israel would also be judged -- for she was not what she appeared to be. She lacked the spiritual fruit she was supposed to produce. That's the message of Jesus through the withered fig tree. Any "fruit-bearing tree" (or person) that BEARS NO FRUIT, will eventually be judged, wither, and die (Mt. 3:10-12, 7:15-20, John 15:6...). And the same is true for the cleansing of the Temple . It's another prophetic and instructive visual sign where Jesus seeks to show them, through actions that no one can ignore, that God is not pleased with the way they have taken what He ordained to be a place of worship and prayer and made it into a religious circus, and money-making machine. As with the fig tree, Jesus "wrath" is a prophetic sign of what God would soon do to the nation if they did not repent and restore the Temple to what it was supposed to be -- a place of reverence and praise and earnest prayer and the worship of the true God for people from all nations (vv. 15-17). Like the withering of the fig tree, the temple cleansing is intended to be a prophetic sign, foreshadowing in miniature what would actually did happen in reality in the year 70 A.D. when the Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem, and then dismantled the Temple stone by stone, until "not one was left upon the other" (Matt. 24:2). It may even foreshadow the Day of Judgment when God will clean house and separate the sheep from the goats. If those who witnessed this event had only heeded its true message, and the warning Jesus was giving them through it, it would have saved them from experiencing a much worse judgment in the future. For in reality, it's a very gentle form of "wrath" that is meant to save them from a much harsher form of wrath in the future. Which means it is really an act of God's grace and mercy, clothed in instructive anger, and conveying to all -- through a visual warning no one could forget -- a wrath that will be infinitely worse in the future if they refuse to repent and change their ways." Food for thought as we approach Good Friday and rejoice to remember that Easter is coming! In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Life in 2015 is moving at warp speed! There is just so much to do in a day and it seems like the hours are falling away. Working, cleaning, keeping up with friends and family can all be exhausting. Not to mention, school will be starting again for many of us. With a schedule that is bursting at the seams, it is no wonder we often feel overwhelmed when we try to add a serious relationship to the mix. Everyone knows that spending time with each other is an important part of being a healthy and happy couple. But, when we do find time to spare to be together it is usually spent dealing with the situations that present themselves in life. You argue, you plan, you contemplate, you reason, and still you might find your relationship is not as strong as it was when all you did was talk on the phone for hours about nothing. Relationships need regular maintenance. It is important to not let it fall beneath other things in your life that are far less meaningful. When you feel interference with your emotional connection there are a few things you can do to mend the weakening bond. Read the bible LOUD & PROUD - I know I have said this before, and I will probably say it again, because IT WORKS! You don't have to read the entire gospel of John, but do take the time to read a few verses out loud. For a steamy bible reading I recommend passages from Song of Songs. Not only does reading aloud help adults fully understand the material being read, it also can improve our focus on other tasks. Paying attention to each other as you read makes you both feel important, understood, and it encourages positive communication. Take the same "chill pill" - Spend time cuddling and kissing, knowing that it will not escalate to sex. When you first started dating you used to do that all the time! You made out for the joy and excitement of kissing, there was passion and freedom behind it. Make out in the back of a dark movie theater, or before you leave for work! On your day off, lay together for a hour, kiss, and occasionally talk about random passing thoughts. Define the relationship - Oh, the dreaded DTR. Most of you are probably cringing, thinking about relationship status conversations that have gone horribly wrong, and some of you probably can't stop smiling about the ones the didn't. For each milestone you and your significant other have passed, you have had a moment when you sit down to discuss the next step. This is not what I mean when I say DTR. You don't necessarily need to talk about life changing decisions. Simply tell each other your current feelings about the state of your relationship. If you are blissfully happy, share that! If you feel like you are headed in the right direction, the other person has a right to know! It can be encouraging to hear that your partner is feeling secure and satisfied. On the other had, if there is a problem, this can be a way to find a solution without it escalating into a fight or argument. The important thing to keep in mind is that relationships are not always perfect. There are high highs and low lows, but fortunately you have the rest of your lives to find a balance and to create a nearly perfect harmony.

Pasta! Let's have some pasta! Monday nights seem made for pasta and a movie, don't'cha think? I really like cooking, but for the most part I don't really bother following recipes. Lucky for me, things usually turn out pretty well! I felt like spaghetti with a cream sauce so I looked up a couple recipes. (Actually - I really felt like having some kind of lasagna or stuffed shells, but the fact that I am oven-less prevented me from going through with that plan.) So stove top pasta it was! I wanted chicken breasts, but they don't have any at any of the supermarkets here (at least not de-boned and skinless) so I ended up buying a whole chicken and hacking it apart once I got home. No problem, though - I threw away the skin, set aside the hunks of meat, and threw the bones in a pot with some water, vegetables and spices to make some chicken broth. That turned out well. While that was simmering, I chopped up a bunch of eggplant, mushrooms, onions, and garlic! I stir fried that a little bit, then dredged the chicken meat in some flour with pepper and browned that in a pan. (I accidentally threw in just a little too much salt in the broth - so I avoided it for the rest of the cooking.) Then I threw in some wine. At this point, I thought to take some pictures. Here some broth gets ladelled into the mix: And that all partied on low heat for awhile, making sure the chicken was cooked through. Then the veggies jumped in with the mix and I zested a lemon and dealt with some some wee tomatoes. This one was pretty happy to see me: until I explained to him how he was going to be halved and thrown into a pot! Some cream and milk, and chopped parmesean and the tomatoes are all together now: Pasta is cooked, and the sauce is spooned over it and it's sprinkled with the grated lemon zest! Really, I thought the best things about this dish were the tomatoes and lemon zest. They added a bit of tangy zing to the meal. It was really very delicious, though! Oh, and just for the hell of it, here's a meal from last Monday's comfort food and movie night, shrimp and veggies in a curry (korma) sauce with I threw a few cashews on the top and enjoyed it with a nice bowl of rice. It was really good too. Man, I wish I had someone to cook for other than myself, though. It just makes for a happier meal, I think, if there's someone to share your dinner with. (And better yet, someone to say "Damn, woman, this is some good food!") which I enjoyed. It made me homesick, thinking of my mother. This week's selection was and I really loved it. The animation was fantastic. I highly recommend it!

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Friday announced the appointment of five members of his leadership team, including three new additions to the office. Grewal, confirmed last month, named Jennifer Davenport, most recently with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, as his first assistant attorney general; Andrew Bruck, who has been with the U.S. Department of Justice, as executive assistant attorney general; Kevin Jespersen as chief counsel; Melissa Liebermann as chief of staff; and Lora Fong as chief diversity officer. “This team of legal experts brings a wealth of experience and keen legal acumen that I will rely on as we confront the challenges that face our state,” Grewal said in the announcement. Davenport has been counsel to the New Jersey field office of the DEA. She previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey and was chief of the general crimes unit, the announcement said. Before that, Davenport was with the Newark office of Latham & Watkins and with a predecessor firm to Squire Patton Boggs. Bruck previously worked for the DOJ and was an assistant U.S. attorney. He also worked under former Deputy U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, who temporarily served as acting attorney general under President Donald Trump, until her ultimate firing after she refused to defend the executive order barring entry for travelers from certain Muslim-majority countries. Bruck also worked at the New York office of Davis Polk & Wardwell. Liebermann has been with the Attorney General’s Office since 2016. Before that, she was the managing director at K2 Intelligence in New York, the announcement said. Between 2008 and 2015, Liebermann was with the Office of the State Comptroller, where she served first as chief of staff, and later as acting deputy comptroller and acting comptroller. Liebermann earlier worked at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis in Woodbridge. Jespersen had been executive assistant to now-former Attorney General Christopher Porrino since last year. He joined the Division of Law as a deputy attorney general, rising to assistant chief of the professional boards prosecution section, the assistant attorney general in charge of the affirmative civil enforcement practice group, and the division’s deputy director. Jespersen was in private practice from 1981 to 2004. From 1996 through 2004, he practiced as co-founder and partner of Slattery & Jespersen in Short Hills, which focused on complex civil litigation. Before that, he was a partner at Bridgewater’s Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus, where he was a member of the litigation department and health care department. From 1984 through 1989, he was with Morristown’s Manger, Kalison, McBride & Webb. Fong has been the chief diversity officer since the creation of that position in 2016. Before that, she was a partner in private practice at Brown, Moskowitz & Kallen in Summit and also practiced at Greenbaum Rowe and Sills, Cummis & Gross in Newark. Fong also was general counsel and senior vice president at Diversity Inc.; managing counsel at Salesforce.com; and associate general counsel at Fujitsu Consulting.

Biography : Rifki Ismal Rifki Ismal, Assistent Director of Macro-prudential Policy of Central Bank of Indonesia, was born on November 6, 1973. Before he join in Macro-Prudential Policy, he joined in Islamic Banking Department. Besides Assisten Director, he is a lecturer at various universities such as University of Indonesia, Trisakti University, Yarsi, and also he was a visiting lecturer in Strasbourg School of Management, France. I met him when I was meeting in Central Bank of Indonesia. He is kind, humble and smart person. Out of academic and official activities in Indonesia, he was a visiting researcher at Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Hong Kong representative office. His educational background, he finished BA at Unversity of Indonesia (1997). After three years later, he continued to take MA at University of Michigan, USA (2003). After he finished his MA degree, he continued to take Ph.D at Durham University in 2010, UK. One of his achievements is his papers have been published on 30 International Journals. He is a special person for me because he has a great experience in academic and honestly, I want to be like him.

This is a bit of a surprise, isn't it? Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am was honored with carrying the Olympic flame today while shuffling (OK, he was running not shuffling, but that's what we picture in our heads) through the city of Taunton in southwest England. However, he did do a little moonwalk.

You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Music’ category. The PKO was honored to play at an elegant bash on Friendship Street two weeks ago. Hoping to see more photos. For now here’s a peak through the window. Bernard, Mirko and I joined by a new freind Jenna on stand-up bass. We played one set of Klezmer tunes. Guests gathered to listen and some even danced. It was a thrill.

'THE BREAKFAST CLUB' GREETING CARD 'THE BREAKFAST CLUB' GREETING CARD What can possibly be more important than the most important meal of the day? Nothing. Why do you think breakfast in bed is so highly regarded? Because food is the way to one's heart – especially if said person is hungover. But there's another card for that. This greeting card titled 'The Breakfast Club' has been hand drawn and digitally edited by Tiffany Loh of Petite Street. SPECS A6 greeting card (105mm x 148mm) with white envelope Cards feature the Petite Street logo on the back Printed on high-grade 340gsm stock Cards are packaged in a non-bendable waterproof envelope

IF PERTEMPS Bees can come close to matching last week's performance against Northampton, then not only will they demolish Rotherham tomorrow but they will more than likely be well on their way to pulling off one of the great escapes of the modern game. The Titans beat a lacklustre Plymouth Albion 34-22 last weekend, which moved them to fifth from bottom in National One. But the heady days which saw them promoted to the Premiership are long gone and they are not out of place in the lower reaches of the table. Bees, however, are a much better side for 99 per cent of the time than their bottom-of-the-table placing would indicate. But that one per cent, when they make basic errors to end their own attacks or contrive a defensive lapse to enable the opposition to score, has been costly and with just six games left could yet prove fatal. The Sharmans Cross Road outfit now have a run of three matches away, Rotherham followed by Esher and a local derby against Coventry, before home clashes with Newbury and, crucially, third-bottom Sedgley Park. If Bees are still in with a chance of survival then, the final round of matches sees them away at Bedford, while Sedgley Park are at home to Rotherham and second-bottom Launceston finish a week earlier at home to Bedford. Bees' fly-half Jon Higgins, who helps coach the backs, said: "The result against Northampton was disappointing but we put in a performance that was the best we have produced this season so far and against any other team we would have secured a win. "We have to take that performance level and if we play like that tomorrow we will win easily." Higgins had an excellent game against the Saints but laid that at the door of the rest of the team. He said: "I am not the sort of player who can run through three tackles but when the forwards are playing well and the backs are making opportunities then it is easy for me to play well in a team like that." The refereeing last week tended to favour the Saints but Higgins said: "If some decisions had gone our way it would have got us a win but, having said that, we could have stopped their tries.''

I joined MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) in 2016 around September after successfully clearing Engineering service 2015. I had done Masters in Transportation Engineering and was excited to work in same field in Government sector. I worked in Ministry for 1 year. However, I was having reservation regarding having a desk job and was inclined to work in field. After working in Ministry for 1 year, we were sent to train in IAHE, training ground for all Highway engineers recruited through UPSC. It was around October 2017. We left our rented rooms and were happy to get a rent free accommodation in Delhi. We were sent to our respective rooms. Rooms were allotted twin sharing basis. As I entered the room, I was overwhelmed by the size and style. The room was major up gradation compared to pathetic one in which I was living in rent. A few of the perks which we enjoyed in having shorter training periods was the accommodation and food was free and was borne by the Government. We had lots of savings during this time. The rooms were cleaned by the house keepers. There was a super luxury of a thing called bed coffee. The mess staff will come and ask for coffee at 06:00 am in morning in your room. I felt like Nawab. I maintained that for one month and then after asked them politely to stop disturbing my sleep. We settled in the room and waited excitedly for others to come. There was lot of excitement as training was happening because of lot of follow ups with higher officials in Ministry. Batch of 2015 along with 3 of 2014 batch were first sent. Ours was the first batch to have a foreign training proposal as well as extension of earlier 3 months training to 6 months training. The Indian trips also had increased from 1 trip to 2 nos. Around November, our juniors of 2016 batch also came along. There were total 26 trainees to be trained. These 26 officers were called “special chabbis” after a popular bollywood movie. my room "messy as it gets" Our first class was Survey instruments which were extraordinarily taken by Ranbir Sir. When class was over, we used to play Badminton. The court was made on Tiled floor which were undulating and one needs to be extra cautious while performing any athletic moves. I must say, I have never played badminton in my life with a net in between. I learnt a great deal of Badminton while in the Academy. Also another sport which was never played was snooker. I was greatly addicted to this sport as one can easily play it solo. I used to play football solo mainly practicing my long shots. If not for the injury on my feet and hamstring, i would have bent it like beckham. My hamstring continued to haunt me throughout the training. On Diwali, when I had stayed back in hostel I was playing snooker all by myself. Playing piano (I know it’s just a keyboard) was also a thing which i semi religiously observed during morning hours when my roommate was in bathroom or away for breakfast. enjoying cricket with seniors In the training I also had started doing yoga and also bought some 10 kg dumb bells. Those seem to be like New Year resolution never to be revisited again. I had semi religiously maintained a dairy in which daily events were recorded. This was because of my need to read something or write something. However, towards the fag end of training, all these things gave way to lots of sleeping and gup-shup with friends. Apart from foundation training, IAHE is also host to numerous International trainings. There is mandate from MEA (Ministry of external affairs) to train some associate engineering officers from foreign countries in Highway sectors. I had interaction with only few people from South Africa. 69th Republic day in IAHE Our first field visit came to Jaipur. We were all little bit disappointed in the choice of the place. More over we were little off put by the Authorities of IAHE who had asked us to shift our belongings to one room. We were stern in our stand not to bend. The impasse was broken when Director talked about the heavy rush of engineers from foreign countries. Three rooms instead of one were given for shifting. However, our concern turned to be unfound as the trip was a great success. This was because of the excellent arrangements made by RO Jaipur. The journey was made via bus. During the bus journey, it was a jolly party with singing and dancing. The first visit was NH-8 Jaipur Kishngarh, which was a BOT project. The road according to me looked splendid. I couldn’t but wonder the traffic of Jaipur appeared very less. There were ample flyovers. There were multiple level structure of transportation with metro at first level and road directly on top of it. I wondered at the foresight of the engineers. The land is very precious and it is time to utilise it for different forms of transport. The time of excusive Right of way to Roads or the Railway or the Waterways is fast coming to an end. We did have a glimpse of extra dose bridge, RE walls, Tunnels, Concrete and Bituminous roads. We went to see Gardmahadev temple, Chawkidhani , Dharga in pushkar and of course forts like Amer. I was personally excited to see the IIT coaching Institutes. The young teenagers reminded me of my school days. The culinary delight was the dal bhati churma. We were fully stuffed with ghee. group photo of MoRTH and BRO officers in IAHE Around the same time, CES (Roads) association was strengthened with a steady subscription fees. Task groups in which one of my colleague was also elected executive committee member was formed. We gave our request regarding calling on Hon’ble President of India. While for other ESE organisations, it was routine part of training, we had to pursue a lot with Administration. A Whatsapp group of CES (Roads) was formed around this time. It was mainly to address the welfare of association members collectively that needed to be addressed. The trainees undergoing foundation course were of course one of the firsts to give subscription fees. The training quality was marginally improved with better faculty and inclusion of software like MX Roads, STAAD and IIT Pave. The time period was increase from 3 months to 6 months. However, the main highlight was the foreign proposal which was one of its kinds. Planting tree in IAHE by 2014,2015 and 2016 batch Our second trip was to Kerala. The selection of site was somewhat disappointing personally for me as I wanted to go some place which was not earlier visited. I was thinking of North eastern states. The choice in front of us was Andhra Pradesh or Kerala and all favoured Kerala. We were given flight tickets to Kerala. It was quite some time since visit of Kerala. We were first sent to Trivandrum in a hotel. Our first site visit was Kanaya kumari. The main attraction of trip was the bus which was a fully fledged DJ floor with lights and laser and music box which will bend any speakers to their knees. GOD'S own country Kerala Our second visit was in Trivandrum in Muscat hotel. Director IAHE had arranged for us to meet with Dr. E Sreedharan, more famously known as the Metro Man. He gave an inspiring speech on the Management, time efficiency, integrity and most important about maintaining a good health. I was most attracted by his charisma and charm. He was old but was full of vigour. The team visited Trivandrum bypass, kollam bypass and Alapuzha bypass. Along with these visits, many tourist locations like kovalam beach, Alapuzha back waters and other shopping areas were covered. The trip was good and fun. For many of juniors, it was first opportunity for flight. Our next leg of work was Ministry attachment for 1 month. The attachment was a good opportunity to savour all food in different Bhawans. It was also good opportunity to meet senior officers and know about the working of different section. Meeting Honorable Minister RT&H Our final conclusion was the President meet which happened on 2nd April 2018. This was the second opportunity in MoRTH. The call on of Hon’ble President of India by MoRTH officer trainees was one of the most cherished moments in trainee’s life. We were accompanied by Secretary (RT&H), DG and Special Secretary (RD), Director of IAHE(ADG). We took lots of photographs. Unlike earlier meets, we were given opportunity to have a guided tour in Rashtrapati Bhawan. The best part was that we were shown place where in the evening, Padma Shree awards were to be distributed. Hon’ble President of India emphasised the need of Infrastructure to be accessible to differently abled and the importance to maintain integrity in profession. And when in doubt remember technocrats like M. Visveshvaraya and Dr. E Sreedharan. MoRTH officers call on Honorable President of India We were now waiting for our posting order to come. Our sweet time had come to an end. I felt like my college days.

The April 18 edition of the Gazette is now available and can be picked up around Queen’s campus, as well as a number of off-campus locations. This latest edition of the Gazette is filled with interesting Queen’s-focused items including: A cover article on the recognition from the Canadian Cancer Society and Canadian Cancer Trials Group of the fundraising efforts by The Tragically Hip. An update on changes to a number of mandates for senior academic leadership members. An article on the work and responsibilities of the Records Management and Privacy Office at Queen’s. ​Updates on the latest research, awards and achievements of faculty, staff and students. The next edition of the Gazette will hit the newsstands on May 16. Anyone looking to get a story, photo or information in the Gazette can contact the paper's editor Andrew Carroll or Senior Communications Officer Mark Kerr. Also visit the Gazette Online for more stories and photos and follow us on Twitter at @queensuGazette.

We all have the ability to sort, think about laundry day. We pull out the lights, darks and the medium pile left. Here is two years worth of formula samples from my dyeing columns in , sorted once according to colour. I only regret I had not taken a photo and shown you the pile before, it looked like an incredibly useless jumble of crazy wool. In the next two photos I sorted them according to value in their colour families. Suddenly I had a powerful colour tool to apply to hooking. I could easily see the lights, mediums, darks, dulls and the brights and could work my shading magic. They are not all value order perfect but are close enough. I have also noticed I have a decided preference towards dyeing greens, we all have these tendencies, I bet if you look at your wool you will see much more of one colour than another. In the case of green such a wonderful colour and it's the colour of renewal, who doesn't like that in the middle of November?

This is a picture of George MacDonald, which I find sheerly delightful. The Day Boy and the Night Girl 4 of 5 stars Now this was just plain fun. An evil witch, good king (with a bit part), "orphaned" children, beautiful girl with giant eyes and strong, naive twit of a boy. After reading the first chapter, you know the plot of every other one, but it is such a delight to simply allow yourself to get whisked away and lost in MacDonald's mellifluous voice. Simple plot overview: a wicked(ish) witch, about whom MacDonald has some delightful opinions, manages to acquire a boy to be raised only in light, never seeing the night, and a girl to be raised only in the darkness (underground), never seeing day. Obviously, they each are everything lovely and pure, meet and fall in love, et cetera res bonus, minus a prophecy, but then it's a short book: when I was three quarters of the way through, I was convinced that it must be a part of a series. So, read and enjoy it; very good for family readings, especially for groups of kids under the age of ninety.

Reflections on Interesting People I Have Met Now, there are a lot of interesting people in the world - both famous and not - I have met a few of each. Our new friend Gene Long has been posting photos on Facebook of famous people he has met, and I thought that it might be fun for me to do that here - tell a tale or two of various famous people I’ve met. Probably the most famous person I’ve ever met is former President of the United States, George W. Bush. Fortunately for us the Republican Party in Texas was headed, at one time, by our local Chet Upham. Chet assisted future President George W. when he was stumping around Texas for his father, George H. W. Bush’s, campaign. It was a sort of whistle stop experience meeting in a darkened parking lot at the Brazos Shopping Center, but I can say I shook the hand of a President! The first famous person I ever remember meeting was Gene Autry. When I was a child, growing up in Stephenville, Gene Autry owned part of the Dublin Rodeo. You see, Stephenville, Cowboy Capital of the World, did not have a rodeo arena. We all went to Dublin to the rodeo, and Autry alway rode in the parade. Mostly, each year, he was as drunk as a skunk and almost fell off his horse, Champion. My daddy used to be very disgusted that someone who was such a kid favorite would be such a terrible role model! On the other hand, Daddy often sang Gene's song, The second famous person I remember meeting was Rex Allen, another cowboy actor, with his horse Koko when he made an appearance at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and Rodeo. As you can tell, we were a rodeo family. Daddy and I attended lots of rodeos, and I was a barrel racer. Two men who impressed me when I was a department manager, windows designer, and public relation person for Cokesbury in Dallas were Richard Harris, later famous for his Dumbledore character in the first Harry Potter movies, and sports journalist Howard Cosell. I had them both in for signings. Harris came in wearing a light tan leisure suit with bell bottoms, his shirt unbuttoned to the waist, gold chains around his neck, and a blond dripping from his arm. He had just made a recording reading the story which was written by Richard Bach. Harris had won a Grammy for his recording. He seemed very stuck-up and acted as though he shouldn’t be bothered. Howard Cosell, who had a very bad rap at the time, was totally different. He came into the store with his wife. He had several books out, and when the autograph session opened we had little boys and teenagers lined up around the building trying to get Cosell’s signature. When time came for the session to be over, there were still fifty or so boys waiting to have their books autographed, so Mr. Cosell called his wife aside, told her to change their airplane tickets to a later flight, and continued to autograph his books until the last child was through the line. That impressed me greatly! I held signings for people like Texas authors Lon Tinkle and Larry McMurtry, as well, and I got to know quite a few of the television and radio personalities of the day. I have met a few other celebrities, as well. When I was a child Pat Boone had a “Dance Band” sort of program on television from the Metroplex, and I went to it and met him. Of course, at UNT I met his mentor, “Fessor Graham, who was my music appreciation teacher. I have also met my favorite singer/songwritier Guy Clark on many occasions, both in Nashville and here in Texas. I met Willie and lived down the street from Waylon in Nashville. I met Johnny Cash and June and his parents at their studio where his mother entertained us on the piano. I met Webb Pierce at his home and would have been able to swim in his guitar-shaped swimming pool had I wished (Raf did). I met Lamar Alexander and helped with his campaign for governor of Tennessee. I’m quite sure there are others whom I have missed, but it’s been really quite interested, and, in most cases, a pleasure to meet these folks and to have tales to tell about them!

Some good news - some bad news... : The Conference Board's show that the recovery is in full swing, led by improvements in financial and labor market indicators. Check out the V shape: The FDIC moved quickly on Friday closing and then immediately selling of Oakland to Center Bank of Los Angeles, and of San Rafael to Union Bank of San Francisco. While these closures are not shocking (the media has been rumbling for sometime), they reinforce the stress that small institutions (and businesses) continue to endure.

Organizations have always used data to guide business decisions, but with the arrival of the internet increasingly powerful analytics tools have provided an opportunity to understand more about the sectors in which they operate. Today, companies are sitting on terabytes of data covering a wide spectrum of important factors, ranging from customer behavior and market trends to raw information about likely future developments. Such is the value of this data that analytics has become big business in of itself. It created a new industry for number crunching and has caused a major shift in the job roles of people working in IT. But even in this data-fueled environment a big question remains: are organizations making the most of the information at their fingertips? Dr Catarina Sismeiro is an associate professor at Imperial College Business School where she teaches on the full-time and Executive MBA, as well as the Business Analytics and Strategic Marketing master programs. Dr Sismeiro argues that many businesses have adopted a twin-speed approach to analytics. Complex algorithms are used to boost operational efficiency, cut costs and track customer behavior, but only a select few are using what they learn to drive strategic direction. “The main issues are a lack of data-centric culture, not enough willingness to rely on algorithms or data analytics for strategic insights, and the absence of a strategic plan for data-driven insights, especially at the top level,” she explains. “Although the evolution for a data-centric approach at operational levels started long ago, pushed by the need to improve efficiency due to fierce competition, changes at the top strategic level have been slower.” --- Becoming an Insight-Driven Business: the Journey for Consumer Products and Retail Companies --- Is the Board on board? There is a long list of brilliant data implementations, such as yield management systems pioneered by American Airlines, which Dr Sismeiro says led to an immediate uptick in profitability for the company. All major car rental companies, hotels and airlines now use similar systems to cut waste and create efficiencies. But while this is taking place on the ground, C-suite executives are perhaps proving less adept at making the change. The key is for senior staff to be able to derive action points. It’s a process which moves from raw data to information, to insight, to conclusions. A key step-change is starting to happen as MBA courses begin including lessons on data in the syllabus, something which Imperial College has already implemented. The transition to data is also happening organically, as a growing number of digital natives are promoted up the chain of command. It is telling that large dotcoms like Facebook, Amazon and Google, jam-packed with Millennial talent, are leading the charge. But it will also take an organizational reshuffle at the top, with greater coordination between CMOs, CIOs and CTOs. And with new rules impacting data gathering about to hit the EU, there will also be a greater collaborative role for chief privacy officers, or CPOs. David Morgan, human resources director, EMEA at Kronos agrees: “The more transparency you have, the more likely the business is able to drive better planning, forecasting and employee utilization and engagement. Good decision making based on what is happening in marketing and data supports improved prioritization based on demand, need and where to spend.” Data mining means delving deeper For growing businesses, lacking the large IT budgets of global corporations, the challenge is to deliver relevant insights from the data to hand. Often this means filtering the information and refining it to a granular level. “Data cleanse is crucial before acting on a poor metric, particularly if you’re looking to spend a fortune on A/B testing or CRO audits. Simple things like filtering data for your target region can go a long way to making KPIs healthier,” says Marc Swann, search director at digital agency Glass Digital. “There’s a danger in acting on top-level metrics. Dig deeper to see if you can get more insight into exactly what’s going on, and you’re more likely to make the smartest decision. “Segmenting data by page type might show that your product pages are doing well, but your help guides are dragging the average down because users visiting these pages don’t have purchase intent. “This context will direct your efforts into retargeting campaigns and better calls to action on blog posts, rather than funneling unnecessary investment into product pages.” Organizations that embrace the power of analytics will drive ahead of their rivals in the data-driven business environment. Making data work harder Growing businesses should consider sweating existing data, before splashing out on new insights. According to Dr Sismeiro, internal data is often surprisingly rich and it’s free. In many cases companies just need to organize, integrate and store it for easy access. For organizations wanting to get more from their data, Dr Sismeiro has further advice. Perhaps most importantly, don’t underestimate the important contribution employees can make. She recommends empowering all employees, not just analysts and data scientists, to use data and extract strategic insights. Organizations should remove “data silos” and work harder to integrate online and offline data to make it easier to draw out insights that are relevant to the business as a whole. This can be done quickly in small projects that will have a big impact taken together; better this way than spend a lot of time bringing everything together at once. Investing in systems is, of course, an important part of updating a data strategy. Legacy systems might not be capable of creating the new holistic approach. But this need not be a big up-front investment due in large part to the affordability of cloud applications and software as a service (SaaS). Finally, it’s important to share data successes. If teams understand the power of data and the results it can generate, they are more likely to respond and buy in to organizational goals. Bigger companies should consider creating a dedicated team to help instill an “insight culture” and promote the progress being made in the business as a whole. With the right approach, all organizations can benefit. According to Dr Sismeiro, businesses everywhere are waking up to data’s full potential: “We can now find many examples of businesses that use analytics to discover and assess new business opportunities, find what customers say about the firm or products, unveil market segments and make product recommendations, aid decision making, improve logistics and increase efficiency, influence voters, and even control manufacturing and protect crops.” Organizations that embrace the power of analytics will drive ahead of their rivals in the data-driven business environment. Those that fail to do so will be forced to take a back seat and watch as their rivals pass them by. Hear from Capgemini’s experts on Analytics: Beyond the Hype.

I guess what the soothsayer says is true. Be careful what you wish for. Ever since I, Todd Smith, was a young boy our family inn, The Silver Tankard, has never had more than one or two guests at a time. I’ve been prayin’ to Moradin, keeping my establishment clean and tip-top for years fixing rooms that hadn’t been used to curry his favor so that one day he’d bless me with a full house. Well today, all my ten rooms are finally full and it’s the worst day of my life. Two separate and strange groups of travelers came in from the storm wall all armed to the gills. Four rode in on drakes, and six came in on the caravan headed toward Blackbury yonder down south. Of the two, the six riding in on the caravan were the stranger bunch. Still, they had a certain aura around them. Anyway, I don’t pretend to know their business, though Ethel claims they be traipsing around the ruins on the hill. Don’t imagine why though. I mean if they traveled all this way, I would imagine they’d have something better to do than skulk about some moss covered bricks. After staying at The Silver Tankard for a day or two, the dwarf and the weirder of the gnomes say they need to speak to me about an urgent matter and we go around back. What they said was crazy talk. They said the Millennium Storm was going to crash in and sweep up the village in seven days. Ordinarily, only Wendel talks that kind of end-of-the-world nonsense after his fifth of the night. I didn’t ask why and didn’t feel the need to, but for reasons I don’t know, I believed them. We were doomed. Yup, felt it in my bones. They told me to warn the other families about it, which I did on the next day, but none of us really knows what to do. I mean, where are we going to go and how do they plan on surviving the forty of us after the wall comes crashing in. That caravan isn’t looping back from Blackbury for another fortnight yet. So after walking out to all the farms and warning the families about impending doom, Pyotr comes rushing in, huffing and puffing. His farm is on the northernmost edge of the village and closest to the storm wall. The storm wall had moved, tearing through a section of his crop. The collapse of our village had begun and my inn was no longer full. Metagame The ghouls at the guard house and the four mercenaries were two combat encounters. Talking down Elan Tennabre and his Golem also nets full XP. This brings you up to 4,926 XP. You have discovered and retrieved the Alexandria Core from within the golem, which is the item Gazal had asked about after you rescued her in Air Dock. Now that Elan Tennabre has given you the Alexandria Core, the Tumbledarmm haven will fully collapse in 7 days. The storm wall has already begun to encroach on the village. The caravan will not return for at least 14 days. Air Dock is at best a 4 day journey on foot. A caravan can make the journey in 2 days. Walking through the Millennium Storm without the shelter that a caravan provides is grueling enough for avatars such as yourself, let alone ordinary people. I made a deck of cards that has some effects that can be used in the game. The deck comes out when someone does something everyone thinks is awesome. The effects range from minor to pretty significant. We’ll see how it goes. These things are either fun or wind up being hokey. Question of the Week When growing up, did your character ever feel like they were being watched? If so, how did this come about? Was it an isolated incident or is this something that is recurring?

Today, I have the pleasure of having one of my favorite historical fiction authors, Elizabeth Chadwick, as my guest. I love her her stories and have read many of them. What draws me to Elizabeth's books is her love of history. To write good historical fiction one must first know the era well. It's the only way an author can truly open the door to the past and make it alive. It's not just a matter of knowing the clothes or hairstyles someone wore, or who was King or the barons of the land. It's knowing the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a particular time or place — the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits. Elizabeth does it very well. Her characters live and breathe and it's a joy to read such a story. J Today's authors are very much involved with promoting their work. We tend to think of promotion in terms of online presence and, of course, that is one facet of promotion. Elizabeth shares another form — public speaking. Meeting with audiences and readers can be quite daunting and she shares how she goes about it. One of the things I really enjoy doing as an author and that allows me to unfasten my chain from from my desk, is talking to audiences and meeting and chatting to my readers over tea and biscuits or a glass of wine. I've had some great days out and experiences – and I hope the readers have enjoyed the experience too. When I first set out on this published author lark in 1990, I was a stay at home mother to two small boys. I had never done any public speaking in my life and was terrified at the thought of doing so. I finally found my courage down to financial incentive! My local arts council was running a series of talks and wanted to do an author discussion panel, where three writers would discuss their experience of publishing for about 15 minutes each, followed by a question and answer session. I was invited to be on the panel as a newly published author. I was so tempted to hide my head in the sand and say no, but they were offering a fee of £80 ($120) which was a pretty decent sum in 1990 for a 15 minute talk and a few words on the Q&A. So I screwed up my courage and spent the next several weeks trying out things to say, practicing like crazy and biting my nails. On the big day I was fine, I didn't fluff my lines or embarrass myself, but I was terrified before going up on that stage and if ever I was a candidate for a heart attack, that moment was it. I don’t think my pulse rate has ever been so high! It wasn't even fight or flight, it was rabbit stuck in the headlights. For anyone, public speaking for the first time is a huge mountain to get over. Once I had done the deed, there was that huge sense of relief that while it hadn't been a thing of polished beauty, neither was it a flop and I’d survived. Nevertheless, I then had to face the fact that this wasn't the end of it and a career as an author meant that I’d have to go out and do more on a regular basis. The local library asked me to do a talk on my own to a reading group, so that was the next hurdle to get over. Again, I was terrified, and again I scrabbled through without mishap. And on to the next and the next. Somewhere along the line I lost my fear and it actually began to become enjoyable. These days I can go out and give a talk off the cuff and be barely nervous at all. There is no secret. In my case familiarity bred an ability to take it as a norm and deal with it. I also found that doing detailed preparation beforehand and knowing what I was going to talk about helped tremendously. Doing that donkeywork meant I was ready. I still have occasions when my brain just steps out of the room for a moment, and that is unnerving, but so far, if I pause for a drink of water, it comes back in and I can pick up the thread. It’s like anything; the more you do something, the less daunting it becomes. Coping strategies of deep breathing and pretending you’re talking to one or two close friends also helps. Also beforehand, visualizing the talk in a positive way will put you in a positive frame of mind. Dressing to suit the occasion and to feel positive helps too. I usually turn up in smart casual clothes with perhaps a statement piece of jewelry, and I usually get my hair done. I do confess though to putting my nail varnish on in the car en route (I’m being driven!). There’s an art to it… Most authors will give readings from their work but I prefer not to and just tell the audience about the background to creating my novels – how I came to write them, and the research entailed. I bring a case of items with me including examples of research works and replica items from my re-enactment resources, including replicas of a 12thc sword, shield and helmet from the 12th century! I feel that the strategy of not giving a reading allows me more time to talk to readers about novel writing processes and about history, and they can read the books for themselves. My aim is to whet their appetites and it certainly seems to work. I know many authors do like to give readings, but my point is that it is not the only way, and that when giving a talk, a writer should do whatever feels the most comfortable for them. After I've finished my talk, I make sure I’m available not only to sign books, but to hang around and speak to people and let them look at the things I've brought along. Many readers enjoy staying to chat a little longer and it’s a great opportunity to exchange more stories and information. It’s another way too of building an audience. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Not becoming a knight. Not when you don't fit in anywhere. Brunin Fitzwarin knows this better than anyone. Lost in his own home, he's now a knight-in-training to the Lord of Ludlow—and still utterly alone. That is, until the youngest daughter of the house befriends him. But England is in turmoil, and Brunin must fight with his lord to support King Stephen for the English crown. As the war rages on and his particularly close to home, Brunin must defeat the shadows of his childhood and take on the mantle of knight, confronting the future head on. A rich tale of coming of age in a world where chivalry is a luxury few can afford. Shadows and Strongholds is a tale of earning your place and finding your way home. Excerpt Elizabeth Chadwick lives in a 200 year old beamed cottage in the English countryside not far from Nottingham with her husband and their three terriers. She has been telling stories since she was little and went from an ordinary life stacking supermarket shelves to help make ends meet, to having her first novel win an award that was presented to her by HRH Prince Charles. Many of her other historical novels are award nominees and winners too. She is currently engaged in writing a trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Did you know that Elizabeth creates musical soundtracks of popular songs when she writes? I didn't either--but they do fit the story.

Ben and Claudia came from Montreal to Salt Lake, we had tons of fun climbing with them for a day. Oui Oui. Ben is pulling down in the photo below. Here is a photo of me bouldering in LCC. Here is a picture of me in my Sicilia hat with my friend Kim at the Salt Lake Ferrogosto Italian festival.

Work is horrendously busy so my posts have been woefully late and rubbish, I apologise. Anyhoo. This morning I was an awe-inspiring example of common sense, marred only by the fact it was prompted by someone else's silliness. I came in early this morning so I was among unfamiliar cyclists. I was watching carefully as, I have learned, some cyclists are worth avoiding for various reasons. A lot of lorries seem to be coming along the Uxbridge Road of late and they also warrant attention. One in particular was being a bit silly. A bit too close a bit too often. I decided to steer clear and let him get ahead of me rather than creep up the left. He was ahead of me when we hit a nasty junction. It's a two-laner. The left lane is for left-turns and those going straight ahead. The right lane is for those turning right. People weave across the lanes and/or forget to indicate all the time so it's a junction I'll queue at rather than head for the advanced stop line a lot of the time. Silly Lorry Man was ahead of me and, despite there being a cyclist waiting at the lights in the left-hand lane, he steamed right up to the stop line and sat looking menacing. Like th is (lorry is blue, bike is pink): My heart was in my mouth. The cyclist was a lady older than myself and looked sensible (I believe she was on a Brompton and had lights and all the kit etc), but I still worried. Perhaps she was turning left, but perhaps not. Maybe the lorry would go straight on..... What would happen?! Then, as my fear reached its zenith, something very peculiar happened. The cyclist looked up at the lorry, saw there was no way of getting in front of it, got off her bike and lifted it onto the pavement. As she did this, the lights changed and the lorry, of course, turned left. The cyclist then walked her bike across the crossing and got back on the road as I swept by, having queued in the traffic behind. I was mightily relieved and continued on my way, but I couldn't help thinking. What if? What if she hadn't taken the initiative? What if that lorry had turned left as she'd gone straight on. What if I'd been behind a horrific accident?

After a night of rest (and following our ordeal many of us caught some rest on the bus ride to Eilat Tuesday evening as well), we enjoyed a day of varied activities. Some walked the short distance to the Underwater Observatory where you can see the beautiful fish of the Red Sea without getting wet. Others went to the Eilat Camel Ranch and went on a journey into the desert with the Bedouins. Along the way they saw ibex, an animal that looks like a mix between a small deer and mountain goat. The camel riders ate after watching food prepared in traditional bedouin style and then returned. A few of us also did two dives in the Red Sea, one to a sunken missile cruiser and the other to a reef containing two massive rock formations called the Joshua Rock and the Moses Rock. In the afternoon, we traveled about 17 miles north to Timna Park. Timna was a wife of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, not the Eliphaz of Job. Their union birthed a son by the name of Amalek, leader of a family that was a thorn to Israel later. Two important sites we visited at the park were: the Pillars of Solomon. These steep "pillar" formations show erosion following the mining of copper here by the Egyptians. We climbed the step cliff, and exited down by the remains of an Egyptian temple to Hathor. We then visited the Tabernacle that is set up in the desert. It is easy for us to picture what their forty years of wandering would have been like and how the Lord had to provide for them all along the way. The lady did a marvelous presentation regarding all the symbolism, practicality, and meaning of all the aspects of the Tabernacle and its foreshadowing of Christ. If you would like to hear or read some of what we enjoyed and were inspired by, visit their site: . Tomorrow we leave early to head for Jordan and visit Petra.

The Jak fruit. The story is told of how 'Sakkara Deviyo' had given this fruit to be cooked by a village woman and asked why the fruits on the Jak tree were not plucked. She had replied that no one ate the fruit of that tree. 'Sakkara Deviya' had ordered her to cook a fruit for him and promised to come back for the cooked meal. The aroma of the cooked Jak fruit was irresistible and the woman partook of a small portion of it. When the God 'Sakkara' returned he called the woman a thief (Hora Liya) and said 'Hera Liya tho ma kaapiya'' - 'Thief woman you finish the entire fruit' and stomped away. To this day the Jak is called 'Heraliya' by the Sinhalese. A flower on a shrub growing wild. A wild Orchid, Kosgama, Avissawella.

Every Friday, I make a PDO breakdown graph. This season, tweeting out that graph generally leads to two different discussions: How unlucky the Anaheim Ducks have been. How very lucky the New York Rangers have been. Here’s an example – the PDO breakdown graph from Friday, March 11th. PDO is described really well here. For the uninitiated, PDO is the sum of a team’s save percentage and shooting percentage. In general, we expect these to add to 100.0 over a season. A team with a value much greater than 100 (see NYR above) is getting lucky and should be expected to regress back towards 100 over the course of a season. A team with a value less than 100 (see ANA) should regress to the mean too. As of March 11th, most teams had settled in within striking distance of 100. The Leafs, Flames, and NYR are examples of teams the furthest from 100 at this point in the season. The reasons are varied: TOR’s sh% has lagged behind league average all year CGY’s sv% is awful NYR’s been very lucky But a question I get into after posting the weekly PDO breakdown is just how lucky/unlucky have teams been? Is NYR’s PDO really far out of line with what we see in other seasons? To answer this, I’ve graphed each team’s full-season PDO score for every season since 2007 (9 seasons total). Have a look. check the larger and interactive view here. The shaded gray area represents two standard deviations below/above zero. 95% of team seasons are within that range. That PDO range is from ~97.75 to ~102.25. This alone is useful to know – over 9 seasons of data, PDO has almost always landed between 98 and 102. 5% of team seasons fall outside the range. Those seasons (and team seasons on the cusp of exceeding 2 standard deviations) are labeled with the season. What do we find? The lockout-shortened 2012-13 season (48 games long) was short enough to allow for several teams to fall outside of the expected range. Also, the Bruins have enjoyed several seasons of good PDO, including 3 seasons in the extremely good range. To swing back to this season’s NY Rangers, they currently own the fifth-highest PDO since 2007. So, that’s pretty darn high. Even if Henrik Lundqvist is the greatest goalie of our generation, it’s still reasonable to expect NYR’s PDO to fall back to league averages. As for the Ducks, their PDO this season is low but not historically low. The team should continue to regress towards league average as the season wraps up. As Travis Yost tweeted, the Ducks remain a scary playoff team. I can’t think of a team I would rather play less in the playoffs right now than ANA. Not one. — Travis Yost (@travisyost) March 15, 2016 PDO can only be tracked back to 2007. With 9 seasons of data, the sample size still isn’t large. As more seasons worth of information are added, the range may shift – for now, at least we have a starting point to guide our expectations. And watch out for the Ducks. --- But, what about 2012-13? A good point raised by Ryan Stimson was that many of the PDO outlier seasons happened during the 2012-13 season. How would the graph look if the shortened season was removed from the analysis? This is a great point and I’ve done so below: The crazy (and bad) outlier season for the Panthers and the crazy (good) season for the Leafs disappear, along with a handful of others. After removing the 2012-13 season from the analysis, the standard range for PDO pinches together a little – just under 98 to just above 102. Can a team like the NY Rangers maintain a PDO score out of expected range for an entire season? Sure, we expect this 5% of the time. But, for the most part, teams have fallen between PDO scores of 98 and 102 over a full season. This is a helpful guideline when viewing my PDO breakdown graphs and a useful piece of knowledge to keep in general. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Hit me up on twitter @SeanTierneyTss or seantierney1 @ hotmail.com

It's Sunday afternoon, and I've just had a visit from my parents, who took me out to lunch. I see them fairly often and talk to them most days, but I still look forward to visits from them nonetheless. And I'm incredibly grateful for them. I couldn't do half the stuff I do without them. We drive each other mad sometimes, but I wouldn't change them for the world. They have supported me through all of the ups and downs that life has brought me, and have done more for me than I will ever be able to pay them back for. They're the best parents I could have asked for. If I could be anyone else in the entire world, I would want to be my sister. She's the head-strong, confident one who knows exactly what she wants and goes for it. I envy her her confidence. She can be a pain, but she's my sister, and one of my best friends. I'm glad we're close. No matter what I do, how many wrong decisions I make, they've got my back. Always. I hope I make them proud. They are my ultimate inspiration for everything.

Motte :- A group of trees nestle together on a small hill in the middle of a flat lawn. Well, that's what it looks like at first. But if you were to go travel back 945 years you'd find yourself in the middle of Castle grounds in the year 1070. Bramber Castle was a Norman motte-and-bailey castle built by the 1st feudal baron William De Braose. There's now hardly anything left of the Castle itself apart from a large section of the main gatehouse and a few bits of wall here and there around the perimeter. The large mound covered in trees in the centre is the original castle motte. It's a lot smaller than it was back in its time but it still rises to 30 ft (10 m). A 'Motte' was a raised earthwork that would have had a wooden or stone keep situated on its summit. The castle is famous for being 'confiscated' during the reign of King John (1199–1216). Bramber Castle is situated in the village of Bramber in West Sussex. Land & Leagues :- One of my favourite beaches to take photogra[hs just happnes to be the nearest beach to where I live on the South coast of England and a few miles to the East of Brighton with all its famous trappings. More often than not I find I am the only one there so have the place to myself as I pick carefully my way out over the rocks at low tide. For some reason most of the shots and images I take here are looking West towards the coastal city and resort so I thought i'd post this one as it's looking the other way towards the East. It looks like the cliffs stop further ahead but in actual fact they curve around slightly before naturally dipping down at Rottingdean Village and then rise up again as they thunder through Saltdean, Telscombe, Peacehaven and eventually come to a stop at Newhaven where the harbour is. From Newhaven there's a large break in the cliffs for a few miles before they suddenly rise up again out of nowhere at Seaford Head and thunder off once again before dropping at Cuckmere Haven where the estuary is. After Cuckmere the once again come up out of nowhere and form the famous Seven Sisters before hitting Birling Gap and then becoming the famouos Beachy head which is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 metres (531 ft) above sea level. Great Hall :- I love this place. The gardens are immense and seriously well looked after and the remains of the house have got to be seen to be believed. It was once a grand regency style house owned by the Messel family who transformed it in the 1920's into a 'Medieval' Manor House. Then in February 1947 a vast asmoun t of the house was destroyed by a severe fire. It's hard to believe but somehow or other a small section of the house escaped unscathed and the rooms that were left behind were lived in by the last of the Mesels Anne, Countess of Rosse up until her death in 1992. Nymans house and gardens are now owned and looked after by the National Trust and are at Handcross, Haywards Heath in West Sussex.

I was unsure about exploring when I set out yesterday. It was a sunny day compared to the past few dreary days and I didn’t want to waste it. But I was feeling a little bit lazy and didn’t think I would really find anything. I didn’t expect to find what I did. Actually, I’ve been here before. When I last lived in Okinawa. It wasn’t nearly as beautiful as it was when I found it. Perhaps it was the rare burst of sunshine we were experiencing that made the word "Wow" fall from my mouth. Maybe the joy of finding something when I thought I wouldn’t made it so breathtaking. I was a little cautious to walk up the mossy steps. The turtle graves and statues of ancient legends in traditional Japanese dress told me that a white girl with frizzy hair wearing headphones with a cigarette dangling from her lips should not be here. But the open-close sign painted on white wood gave me an excuse, so I snuffed the cigarette and turned off my music. The stairs were shrouded in coral walls, trees, and tropical plants. I was expecting grave sites, broken logs that serve as stairs on dirt paths, and mystery. But at the top of the stairs, my view was opened up to a large soccer field. To my left were large grassy steps blocked with stones that I imagined would serve as seats during games. This day, it is empty. To my left is a sitting area with a traditional Japanese roof, sitting high upon a hill. I am immediately greeted by a pack of Oki-mutts, their curled tails raised happily towards the sky with intrigue. They bark, but don’t come too close. They’re curious about me but I continue walking. The sight of a wooden playground indicates that this is the place that I hoped someday I would find. I ate curry with my fingers with my best friend here, years ago. We talked a lot, but now I can’t remember what we talked about. Probably bras. In our adolescent girl days, we talked a lot about training bras. The rolling slide is still here. I decide to give it a go for old time’s sake. There are steps and paths leading into the small forest that I decide to venture on. Dog bowls and small shrines litter the path that I’m not sure I should be walking on. The coral rock formations fascinate me. They look like naturally formed houses for small imps. I imagine that this is where tales of kijumuna are born. It's deserted here, probably because it’s a Friday afternoon. I must be the only person on the island who doesn’t go to school and doesn’t have a job. It suits me fine, I like being alone. I feel awkward enough as it is, almost like I shouldn’t be here. This park is a perfect mix of the old and the new. The playground hasn’t been touched at least since I was last here. Yet it’s extremely clean. I think the people decided that it is perfect the way it is and didn’t want to cover it with cement and rubber. It seems to have a touch of old Okinawan structure and yet, nothing is broken. There are vending machines, but then again, those are everywhere. And it’s exactly what I love about Okinawa. Renovations haven’t been done in years because there is no need—people respect their surroundings too much here. Natural and traditional sites aren’t ruined, seeing as I’ve already found a handful of small caves and grave sites are untouched. It is hidden and therefore peaceful and quiet.

Yesterday was Memorial Day and my mom decided to have a BBQ at my grandmother’s house with family. I didn’t cook anything because my mom and grandmother both have this thing about making food for far too many people, so no extra food is ever necessary. Now unlike me, my mom is a phenomenal cook. I’ve never met a person who hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed her food. Fortunately for me, she found a recipe that was suitable for my diet: Chef John’s Grilled Garlic and Herb Shrimp. If you have a grill and know how to use it, I definitely recommend giving it a shot. Pair it with some grilled veggies or a salad. Yum! I also had a small bite of the dessert she made: Butterscotch Delight. It was really hard to stop at one bite, but I managed. Unfortunately, I came home and binged. I ate a whole moon cake because I knew I’d never throw it away, and the sooner it was gone, the sooner I could get back on track. I also was craving something really salty…I turned to reduced sodium salami. It was good, but I definitely regretted it after the fact. That was my first really big slip up. It sucks that it happened, but I’m glad it happened now rather than later. I am definitely more vigilant now and the will is even stronger. For the record, I did exercise harder to “make up” for the overeating. I don’t know that it actually makes up for it, but at least I exercised. I did the Fat Burning Cardio section from Hip Hop Abs twice in a row. I felt like I wanted to vomit, and I don’t intend to ever feel that way again.

Today I took a little trip away from the house. My objective was to pick something up for the boys for Easter. I can't tell you what I got them, as they sometimes read my blog and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. I do know they will be delighted. After finding what I wanted for them, I browsed in the garden section of the store. There, I found a garden fairy. The one I had last year was broken when Meeko went into the garden and got his lead wrapped around it. He knocked it over and broke the wings off. I have the pieces and may see if I can repair it. This fairy looks as if she is up to mischief. She's not as big as my other one and she is in grayish-green tones. The other was flesh colored. I'm not sure if I should attempt to paint this one or leave her as she is. After that, I stopped in at the dollar store to pick up a couple of things. While there, I found another delightful garden ornament. These two frogs and their little pad have chains to use for hanging. I can picture these cute little guys hanging on the back stairs. The little pad is scooped so birdseed can be placed in it. The birds will be eating out of the cute little dish this summer or maybe it will be squirrels, but something will be eating birdseed out of it. I enjoyed getting out, even though I was only gone for a little over an hour. The temperature was 9C --about 48 F. It was a nice spring day, though a little damp. I hope you were able to enjoy a bit of pleasant weather. Enjoy your weekend.

This sign has been causing some consternation. At least it has been causing some consternation. Does it worry you too? I'm not sure exactly when the "tsunami evacuation route" signs went up, but they now line Sea World Drive, a thoroughfare that is quite close, but yet I'm pretty sure people are going to instinctually head east, from the giant walls of water, but what do I know. Maybe we need signs. More upsetting than the pretty blue signs advertising tidal waves, is the new design of our street. Last week, literally overnight, our street when from its normal, flat driving surface to this: There was an earthquake last Tuesday night. Not a big one, I didn't even feel it while in the shower, actually, but my husband and many of the neighbors did, and headed outside to gab about it, as folks are known to do. Can you say holy shit? That same week we get the bill from these guys: Can you say good timing??

Creating Art has been a little slow recently. I am always sketching but haven't created anything worthy of framing or exhibiting. I have been enjoying some sketch pad apps available for my notepad. It is fun to learn to create with new media. For the creative person, something artistic can be made from just about anything. I guess our decendents' first permanent canvas was a cave wall. So here are some of the art I haved been playing with on sketch apps. I sketched this one in church using "Drawing Pad" app for kids on my Kindle Fire. The content was from a traumatic incident in my life. During the most painful time I saw Jesus in bright sunshine, comforting and helping me survive. Just sketching this scene was healing. This also was created on the SMemo app on my Samsung GalaxyIII The "Harvest" sketch below I also made on the "Drawing Pad" app on the Kindle Fire. And just for fun during a boring meeting I "clay doodled" this little guy and perched him on my notebook...just for fun. It is always handy to keep some Sculpy handy. So although none of these fun creations are masterpieces, it was fun exploring the endless media options available. And no messy paints are needed when the creative juices flow in the middle of a church service.

Our baby was 2 weeks on Sunday...sniff sniff. He is growing up so fast (ok i know some of you think i am crazy but it is just going by so fast!) What a fun little boy we have. He has become so much more alert. I love it when he smiles...although we all know why he is (passing a little gas). Here is his 2 week pic... We went to the doctor today and our big man is up to 9lbs! I couldn't believe it and neither could the doctor. He asked me if i was using formula, and i replied no...just nursing. The look on Dr. W's face was priceless. He is a growing boy :) Below is a picture of my two boys dozing! Now i'm off to write those last couple of thank you notes from gifts we got after Eli came & then start on his birth announcements!!

Since the bitter cold of yesterday was suppose to break today and actually climb up into the 20's it was a perfect day to get out to some of the standing dead wood I have earmarked for cutting and burning while the ground was nice and frozen. What I really need is some nice dry wood that flames a bit easier than the dense Oak I been burning and I had the perfect candidates all picked out over at the old homestead. We actually get a lot of wild Pecan trees around here especially as one gets down closer to the rivers but the two I had picked out happen to have grown up closer to a field edge. Actually they were about 20 yards down over a slight hill but I have other motives for wanting to get into that particular spot anyway and these old Pecan trees gave me the excuse I needed to clear an area to back into. Pecans are sometimes hard to notice in the Missouri woods as the squirrels keep the nuts pretty picked before the leaves fall and people can see the trees for what they are. The leaves also look a lot like Walnut during the Summer months, also I am pretty sure many of our wild Pecans do not actually bear nuts, I think it has something to do with having a non-related tree near enough for cross pollination. During the dry periods the Pecan trees that produce will throw out huge amounts of nuts and they tend to break a number of their limbs off from the weight too. That's what happened to the two trees I was cutting today during the drought of 2012 they lost most of their main limbs and never recovered. Pecans around here also seem to have issues with becoming hollow before they get really large. Not sure if that is a regional problem or not. Another interesting thing that very rarely happens with Pecan trees is when you cut one down and find it is hollow and completely stuffed with nuts. I have seen this happen a time or two over the years where some critter has made a stash in the hollow trunk and never got around to eating it. The wood burns well however after it has dried for a year or more. It also seems to lose a lot more weight when dried than other trees I cut normally such as Oak and even it's cousin Hickory. I think technically a Pecan is rated as a hardwood but honestly after allowed to dry a while the wood becomes so light it almost feels like a softer wood. I have heard that some people will cut and sell Pecan wood for use in smokers but I have never looked into anything like that although it is suppose to be an excellent choice for smoking meats. Other than that I know of no other use the wood was ever put to. In grid down situation having a bead on a couple of good producing Pecan trees would be invaluable. The nut meat is suppose to be so high in nutritional value that fort he effort harvesting and preparing the nuts pays off better than hunting or even most agriculture endeavors. Pecan nuts are also wonderful tasting too. Sadly the two trees I cut today died after they lost their limbs. There are also four nice straight Red Cedars that appear to have very thin sapwood that should be perfect for fence post use and a couple of other standing dead trees in there I want to get. First though I needed to get these two Pecans out and a couple of small sized live trees that will need to be removed as well and added to next years supply. For today though I just cut and loaded the Pecans. I will try and wait a few more weeks before cutting the live trees.

The weather man said this morning "has anyone seen August?". You will hear no complaints from me! I love this weather; It's hard to stay inside when its so beautiful out. But there are meals to fix, clothes to wash, floors to mop and dolls to sew. The house smells of sweet potatoes drying in the oven. Look at this sweet little guy! This is my sister's new baby Chance. He is so adorable. Here is the completed Oatmeal Complexion Soap drying.

On September 1, 1950, Texas native Corporal Leon Flake wrote a single letter to both his young wife and mother. Tomorrow’s assault would be no cakewalk. The North Koreans held a crucial hill northwest of Pohang Dong, a port city on South Korea’s east coast. Flake’s unit, K Company, 21st Infantry Regiment, was assigned to retake it. “I doubt I’ll survive the attack,” he wrote. “This letter maybe my last. During the summer of 1950, the People’s Army of North Korea had pushed the U.S. 8th Army and its South Korean allies back to the southeast corner of the Korean Peninsula. The city of Pusan was the only accessible port left to supply a desperate stand against a North Korean juggernaut. A 150 mile jagged defense perimeter, dubbed the Pusan Perimeter, separated North Korea from final victory. On the perimeter’s northeast corner, the South Koreans held off their Communist neighbors near Pohang Dong. Their line was like a concrete dam riddled with cracks. Any of which could burst at the slightest pressure. On August 27th, a sudden attack by the North Korean 12th Division forced the 17th ROK (Republic of Korea) Division back on its heels. The nearby 18 Division also fell back because its left flank was exposed by the 17th’s sudden withdrawal. The entire ROK I Corps was in danger of collapse. If the South Koreans kept falling back, Pohang Dong would fall and leave the backdoor open for an attack on the U.S. 8th Army headquarters at Taegu, just southwest of the South Korean positions. General Walton Walker, Commander of the U.S. 8th Army, recognized their dilemma. The South Koreans were low on moral and resolve. An American task force was needed to shore up their crumbling front. Walker turned to an aged World War II officer, Major General John B. Coulter. “I can’t get reliable reports,” Walker told Coulter. “I want you to go to the eastern front and represent me. I am sending a regiment from the 24th Division to help.” At the time of his enlistment, Leon Flake was the tallest recruit in the U.S. Army. The six foot nine Texan endured basic training at Ft. Riley, Kansas before being shipped off to Japan. Because of the shortage of available ships, World War II vintage troopships, once used by the Japanese, ferried U.S. troops to South Korea. “The weirdest thing I remember was a Japanese band playing the Star Spangled Banner as we left port,” recalled Flake. Like most of his fellow infantrymen, he was not fully prepared for what awaited him. The 21st regiment marched to Taegu on foot and entrenched along the Naktong River. Two series of foxholes were dug. One series was placed up front to listen for and repel any North Korean attacks during the night. The second was placed further back, away from enemy gun sights during the day. “Every once in a while they would make a run at us,” recalled Flake. “They’d get crazy blowing whistles and horns.” Shouting “Manzai !,” the North Koreans assaulted in suicidal waves only to be slaughtered in heaps. Sometimes they dressed as farmers to infiltrate the rear areas and attack from behind. On August 27, the 21st regiment’s commander, Colonel Richard Stephens, was ordered to march east to the ancient city of Kyongju. Stephen’s regiment was now part of Task Force Jackson, a scratch force assembled to help shore up the Pusan Perimeter’s northeast corner. Under the command of General Coulter, the 21st assembled for an attack on the North Korea’s 5th Division near Pohang Dong. The South Koreans were less than enthused about attacking. “Too many enemy, too many casualties, troops tired,” explained the commander of the ROK I Corps. Airpower and naval gunfire tried to drive back the North Koreans. The results were minimal as reinforcements beefed up the North Korean 5th Division in the hills north of Pohang Dong. One hill in particular was crucial in the defense of the city. On the morning of Sept. 2, 1950, the 265 men of Company K assembled at the base of Hill 99. The South Koreans had attacked Hill 99 but were bloodily repulsed. It was the Americans’ turn now. Company K ascended the hill under a hail of machine gun fire, mortar shells and grenades. Flake charged a machine gun nest. While the North Koreans attention was focused on him, three of his comrades got further up the hill. They never made it to the top. Only 35 men survived. Even fewer walked down on two legs. Corporal Flake was seriously wounded by gunfire in both thighs and forced to crawl down the hill into a creek bed. He feigned death to prevent being bayonetted by any roving North Koreans. One of them was not quite convinced. “I think he just didn’t want to get his shoes wet,” recalled Flake. “That’s what kept from walking into the creek and finishing me off.” The following day, he was placed on a stretcher by South Korean laborers and carried to a MASH unit. Miraculously, neither leg was amputated, but years of rehab awaited. “I remember hearing a speech by General Douglas MacArthur,” recalled Flake. “He said we were fighting a just cause and he expected us to be home by Christmas. Looks like I made it.” That letter to his wife and mother came home at the same time he did. Corporal Leon Flake was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on Hill 99. After getting his legs back, Leon Flake settled down in Wichita Falls, Texas. He went on to become highly successful in the linen business. Today he enjoys spending time at his home at Possum Kingdom Lake. South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu by Roy E. Appleman

Three of my backpacking friends had agreed to go on a wintertime overnight with me (with disclaimers: not too cold, no ice/snowstorms/not too far away/ect.) This weekend looked promising. Other than the updates I was getting from Craig and the Outcasts from their trails. We drove to Big South Fork, Station Camp East trailhead to hike the Pilot/Wines trail. The parking lot was full of trucks and horse trailers. We were hiking the trail counterclockwise. They all went the opposite direction maybe to the Big Island Loop. The trail was in fairly good condition after the rain/snow earlier in the week. Not too much mud. We got to see the Wilderness Resort cabins and stable on the border of the park; they have immediate access to trails from their cabins. I was able to find Pilot Rock for the ladies to see. It really is impressive. We got to the river level and hiked up the creek to find a campsite out of the mud. There was plenty of firewood and a log to sit on by the campfire. It stayed cloudy thru the evening but we did see the moon shining thru. Sometime thru the night, it rained a little, then the thunder woke us up at daylight. We got packed up and started cooking breakfast under my tarp when Nancy’s fuel canister rolled down the bank into the creek. I ran down to the crossing to try and catch it. It got stuck between a rock and a hard place, so I grabbed it. We headed out to cross the creek, sprinkles came and went. We got to the Dome Rockhouse and had a snack in the dry. When we got to the car all the horse trailers had disappeared, I guess horses don’t like rainy days. Just as we were loading up, the rain came down. Good timing! We stopped at the Hitching Post for something to drink and talked with the owner and his companions. You can’t get permits here for overnight backpacks anymore. The park service has an online option or at the Visitor Centers. It was really handy to get them here in case you weren’t going into the visitor center areas. He also runs a lodge in case you need a place to stay. We got to the Cracker Barrel to the other car and during swap over Amy noticed her poles were missing. She had left them in the Station Camp parking lot while changing shoes. After a quick call to the Visitor Center, the Ranger told her he would check it out when he got off work. Hope he finds them so she can get them back. Thank you to my adventurous backpacking friends for agreeing to a February backpack J

Watch Video: German National Threatens A Filipino Driver in Parañaque City A foreign driver, either Danish or German, caught in camera intimidating, banging the car's door and being physically aggressive to a Filipino driver as this is how Jessica Kaye Ignacio described the foreigner who threatened the driver of their car. According to Judge Maria Roma, in Parañaque City also known as Rarity bgsc on Facebook, the foreigner is driving a Nissan Xtrail with plate no. ZEP 994 who got off his car and almost hit their vehicle. Angrily, this outsider wanted a fight against a Filipino motorist who remained calm at the wheel despite hostile behavior shown to him. Rarity called the police. After she called the police, this foreign national suddenly responded to a foreign language, denying that he could understand English. The lady judge said, "w hen he realized that I wasn't backing off, and after I introduced myself, he hurriedly left the vehicle, and escaped." Rarity called this foreigner as a "bully." In a blog post of Mr. Alon Calinao Dy, he said, "road bullying happens in any part of the globe, but it should not be tolerated and accepted as this would result physical harm among drivers and passengers. As much as possible, stay calm during road rage." After the incident happened last February 14, a Valentine's Day in Parañaque City, Philippines, Ms. Ignqcio shared this post in social media. Through thousand shares on Facebook, this foreigner was identified by the police officials and concerned citizens who helped Jessica Kaye Ignacio and Maria Roma so that this incident would never happen again to anyone. Ms. Ignacio and Ms. Roma have expressed their hard feelings and anger about the incident as they could not stand and watch those abusive drivers who are road-rage bullies. I think we should not be silent witnessess of road bullying. SPEAK UP!

I got a huge treat for you all! My love for bread is one of the main reasons to why I would like to open my own bakery. Waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread is just heavenly, thanks mom for that! :) But back to the topic, I will be presenting you today the most delicious load of bread covered in flavoured sugar. The smell of cinnamon and freshly baked bread will fill the house while it is in the oven. The temptation of just taking a bite out of it even before baking is strong but like my mom use to say, good things come to those that wait! So you will just need to be very patient as the bread proofs twice before it is ready to bake, by that time you should be eyeing the timer and wondering why does 30 minutes feels like forever! I hope I have gotten your appetite going, now lets get straight into it. Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread 2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or more... 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast 2 ounces unsalted butter 1/3 cup whole milk 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract For Filling 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned Step 1 ( Making the Yeast Dough ) Whisk together 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a bowl and set aside. Whisk 2 room temperature eggs and set aside. Melt butter in milk then add water and vanilla extract to it. Next mix in the butter and milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Before you do so, ensure that the temperature of the butter and milk mixture is between 43 to 46 degrees Celsius. For those of you that are new to this, I suggest using a kitchen thermometer to measure as this is a crucial step. Too hot the yeast will die, not warm enough the yeast won't be as active and the dough won't rise enough. I did all of this by touch as I am familiar with the right temperature required for yeast . Once you incorporate the milk and butter mixture, mix in the eggs. The mixture will feel very soupy but that is alright keep stirring and add in 3/4 cup of flour into the mix. The mixture should appear to have a very sticky dough like consistency. As this is my first attempt at this recipe, I added in more flour than stated in the original recipe as the mixture appears to be more batter than dough like consistency. So I added an additional 2-3 tablespoons of flour till I felt it was sufficient. It should still be sticky before you leave it to proof in a warm place for about an hour and a half or till it doubles in size. Step 2 ( Cinnamon Sugar and Melting Butter ) As you wait for the sticky dough to finish proofing , start working on your cinnamon sugar at the last 15 minutes before proofing is done. Whisk 1 cup of caster sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. The original recipe asks for nutmeg, but I omitted it and it still tastes fantastic! set it aside. Then work on melting butter till it goes a nice brown colour in a pan, put that aside for it to cool down. By now the dough should be ready. Step 3 ( Rolling the dough ) Punch the dough to deflate it then knead in another few tablespoons of flour. The dough should be smooth, soft and easy to handle. If it is still sticky, add more flour into it. I added about another half cup of flour before it became smooth, soft and no longer sticky. So do not follow this recipe to the bone, add more flour if you have to but slowly add a tablespoon at a time to avoid overloading the mixture with flour. Once the dough is ready, with a rolling pin, roll a 58 cm Long by 38 cm Tall, your dough will not necessarily be that exact measurement, just roll as much as you can. Step 4 ( covering the dough with sugar and butter ) Then with your melted browned butter, brush it all over the dough surface covering every inch of the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over the butter covered dough. I know it is alot of sugar, but trust me don't hold back on it and just sprinkle till your hearts desire! Step 5 ( Slicing and Stacking the dough ) Take a pasta wheel cutter or a sharp knife, cut the cinnamon sugar covered dough into 7 vertical strips. Then stack the 7 vertical strips on top of each other. When trying to remove the dough strips to stack, the dough will probably be sticking to the surface, so be gentle when removing the dough. It doesn't have to be perfectly straight when stacking, it will still look and taste good after baking! :) After stacking, take a sharp knife, cut through the stack of dough vertically into 7 separate pieces. The size of each piece doesn't need to be exactly the same. Transfer that 7 pieces into a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, it didn't fit perfectly for me so I had to squeeze the last 2 pieces into the pan. Let it proof again for another 30 minutes before baking it for about 30 minutes in a preheated 175 degrees Celsius oven or till the top is golden brown. At the 15th minute mark, the smell of cinnamon and freshly baked bread has filled the house. It is just one of those smells that you will never get sick of! The outcome was a beautiful looking loaf of bread covered in butter and cinnamon sugar :) My sister even got creative and decided to make it a cinnamon sugar bread ice cream sandwich! Absolutely fantastic! 1) The amount of flour will vary, use more if the mixture is too sticky to handle. A tip for this recipe - For the first step , DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS! The dough will stick all over, use a wooden spoon to mix the flour into the dough. 2) Try not to over flour the mixture for the first step as it should be sticky but firm enough that it isn't a batter consistency. 3) After proofing, when adding the additional flour, careful not to overdo it. The dough should feel soft, smooth and a little sticky, that is how it should feel. But as long you flour your rolling pin and fingers when rolling then it shouldn't be too hard to roll at all. 4) Here is a tip for those of you who don't have a cooking thermometer. Because 43-46 degrees Celsius is higher than our body temperature. Try to estimate by touching the butter and milk mixture. If it is too comfortable then it is too cool, if it feels untouchable then of course it is too hot for the yeast. So it should feel somewhat comfortable to touch. It took me a while to get the hang of the temperature, even now I doubt myself sometimes. A thermometer of course would make things easier. Please ask me anything if your confuse about my steps :) You can always check back to the original recipe if necessary!

The early summer garden is filling in nicely as we move into the serious weed season. The first flush of roses is pretty much over, but it should be really colorful in about a week with the beginning of the Daylilies and Asiatic hybrids. I really should do some deadheading and remove the Hosta flowers, but the Hummingbirds seem to like them.... even if I find them a little distracting. My friend Jane Ann has three Hostas that have been in pots for ten years. She covers them in her unheated garage over the winter. I liked the look so I bought a couple of glazed pots and dug up a Krossa Regal Hosta, divided it and potted them up. They look a little sparse this year, but they should fill out by next year. Should look terrific in ten years (if I make it that long). "Excuse me, I can't die right now; I am too busy, I have Hostas to check on and plants to divide. And the weeds!" I want to thank Larry and Linda for the bricks they have given me over the years as they have redone their landscape. The old power chimney tower bricks didn't work for them, but they really define and make my humble garden just a bit special. Keep on keeping on,

In case you're too lazy to click the link or simply like consolidation, What is Women’s Equality Day? At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.” The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York. The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities. Bueno! Considering my knowledge on feminist history is very limited in comparison to many I know, this blog entry is going to be a little bit more whimsical than some of my other entries. But perhaps it's good to embrace the fun side of it since today is a happy day (even though we do have a long way to go)! So, two fun videos I came across and some fun facts about my relation to feminism (and I hope you'll share yours too in the comment section): Now, fun facts about me (because I know you're so enthralled): When I was a child, I apparently loveeeedddd Wonder Woman. Although, for some reason or another, I had problems with similar sounding words. I'd run around the house yelling, "WHEN I GROW UP I WANNA BE WOMAN WOMAN." My babysitter evidently tried to correct me that it was but my parents thought it was too cute to correct. I think my favorite quote by a feminist, because it carries so much weight, is "Your silence will not protect you." - Audre Lorde. I love it for trauma-related reasons but it also carries a great deal of political significance to it too, don't you think? Upon buying an incredibly awesome bumper sticker that says "EVE WAS FRAMED," I had decided to strategically place it under the bitten apple logo on my mac laptop. A lot of people caught onto it and appreciated it, and I remain to be fairly amused by the placement. My fellow feminist friend, , now owns this laptop and carries it around with pride. I bought another EVE WAS FRAMED bumper sticker and it proudly sticks to my bookcase (an equally good place to put it I think). I have a "Haters Gonna Hate" shirt if only because Jessica Valenti has that little guy struttin' away on her formpsring account, and because really, feminists have to deal with so many Haters. When I was a child, Annie Oakley was my heroine. I begged my 5th grade teacher to let me write a report on her. I still think she is one incredibly badass woman. The reason I got into feminism, ironically, was through a English class I took in Spring 09 entitled Rise of Raunch where we studied the impacts of porn upon American society. And, being an English major at the time, I decided to use that class to study how the words "slut," "cunt," "bitch," and "whore," could be used as sexually empowering words for women rather than derogatory words. I became so intrigued by this one final research study that I turned it into a SOC 499 Independent Study course entitled "Feminist Sociolinguistics," and wrote a 47 page paper on it. One day, I will hopefully write a book about this. I model in my spare time - and while this can be seen as somewhat... hypocritical, I find it to be empowering. I use modeling as an attempt to truly focus on my body and its feelings, per se, so that I grow more connected to it. As a trauma survivor, it becomes easy for me to dissociate from and ignore my body. Modeling forces me to focus on my body and notice its strengths and weaknesses, and reinforces that its okay for my emotions and body to link. Naturally, I will and have run into photographers who do not have good intentions and have not treated me the way I should've been treated - and I never work with them again. And I would caution and advise other girls who want to get into this sort of thing to approach it the same way. Always always remember how valuable you are. My dream, as many people know, is to work with sexual assault survivors and provide writing therapy for them - and hopefully, through this, increase awareness of sexual assault and change the language dynamics of how we approach a woman's sexuality. Essentially, the mission of this blog, my grad school studies, and my career. Hope you enjoyed the random media and life facts! I would love to hear any of your stories, favorite quotes, favorite feminists facts, or quirky feminist tidbits! Happy Women's Equality Day!

I have two projects I’m working on and I’m sooooo excited! The first one is a wooden horse wall decoration. I started with a simpler design of my logo horse and I was having trouble with the design because it didn’t flow the way I wanted it to. So my husband asked me why I didn’t just stick with the original design….well I didn’t know he could cut the wood in such an intricate design! So he took his amazing wood cutting powers and cut this horse out for me and the top piece. I used his Dremel to soften the edges of the top piece and have been staining it light cherry the last couple of days. I tested the stain on scrap pieces of wood to try to match it to my bedroom suite. But for some odd reason it’s not matching up like it was on the scrap piece. So I don’t know if I should stain it with another dark stain on top of the light cherry or what. I’m also contemplating painting the mane, tail, and hooves black or staining them the same color as the top piece. But here is what it looks like so far. My other project is a storage ottoman. I’ve been wanting one for our living room so bad but I haven’t found one in the right color to match our furniture or in a decent price range. They’re all so expensive. So I decided we would build one. We bought the plywood at Menards the other night and I went to Joann’s Fabric the other day and bought some clearance material. So I’m hoping when it’s built and I put this fabric on it I will like it. Here is a link to the plans except I changed the dimensions on it a little bit because I don’t want to go buy another piece of plywood from Menards and I wanted mine deeper. I’m still trying to find some furniture bun feet that are about an inch tall and are rectangular or square. And here are my plans…my numbers are in big brown font. If there isn’t a change then I’m keeping it the same. 🙂 --- Well it’s been awhile since I’ve posted.  I’ve been a little down in the dumps.  The whole photography thing.  I wanted to use this site to take photos every day and I find that I don’t have time.  My little guy is very demanding.  I think he’s starting to teeth or something.  He’s been very fussy the last couple of weeks so mommy hasn’t had time to do much of anything but relax in my time off haha. Here’s a video of him giggling 🙂 this is his first game of peek-a-boo that made him laugh like this. But I’m attempting to get back out there and it seems like spring may be on it’s way so warmer weather means more time spent outside so hopefully I’ll be able to take more photos soon.  I’ve sold a few diaper covers and hats on Etsy.  The mindless crocheting is a stress reliever 🙂 I started a project I’ll post when I’m done.  My husband and I went to Menards today and bought some boards for me to cut out horses to put on the wall.  Well he’s going to be the one to cut them out because I’m afraid of the ban saw!  I’ve obsessing over decorating the house and making it look presentable.  I feel like I need a very thrifty interior designer.  I want to build bookshelves downstairs and a storage ottoman for the living room.   I think accomplishing these tasks will make me feel better about myself. --- Well we had quite the ice storm here in Nashville.  I kind of wish we had gotten the 6-12 inches of snow instead of the ice but the ice coating the trees did make it look really pretty out.  We lost power for about 40 hours.  My husband and his dad had just installed our gas fireplace the weekend before we lost power so I think we ended up pretty lucky.  We have a huge living room and we just closed it off with a blanket, drug our bed in there, and turned up the gas!  It was sort of fun the first night but the 2nd night we had 2 power surges that left us disappointed and hoping that the power would come back on but it didn’t.  The living room smelled like an aromatherapy store lol with all of the candles we had burning.  It wasn’t as fun with a baby though.  I think he sensed our boredom and was bored as well.  So I don’t think we would make it as Amish people.  Got to have our electronics! I think I’m pretty well sold on the Verizon MIFI thingy though because even through the wind and awful storm we were getting I still had internet so long as the MIFI battery and my computer’s battery worked 🙂 This slideshow requires JavaScript. ---

Author and illustrator, Harry Horse, has long been a favorite of mine. His series of books about the bratty are always fun to read out loud. I adore his pen and ink illustrations so much, that I used one for the header on this blog. Harry Horse went on to pen a series of books for slightly older kids, referred to as "The Last..." series. Starting with The Last Polar Bears grandfather goes on epic adventures with his mischievous dog Roo. The story is told through letters sent home addressed simply to "My Dear Child." I thought that the first book was so weird and fun and quirky, that I wanted to read the other three books. Now I have a bit of time to do just that! Without further ado, I begin 7:12 p.m. This is why I love Roo (the dog). She is going with Grandfather to America in search of her own Grandfather. Last Roo heard, he was in the Wild West: "Of course, I have only Roo's word for it, and in truth I do find some of the stories about her grandfather a little hard to believe. According to Roo, he was a famous film actor. She has pointed him out to me on several occasions when we are watching television and, if truth be known, he looks like a different dog in each one. Roo says that's why he is an actor." 8:15 p.m. Grandfather and Roo are stranded in One Horse Town with a bunch of hooligan riderless horses that just made Roo their sheriff. I love the insanity of it all. "Bad news. The Riderless Horses have elected Roo as their new sheriff. I think it ridiculous that a small dog should even be considered for the position. Roo said that her breed was the obvious choice, being renowned as sheriffs. What nonsense! There are police dogs, it is true, but I have never heard of a sheriff dog."

After 21-years of death-defying gamble with the economic lives of about 2 millions with his persistent refusal to accept expert advise, the Gambian dictator has finally admitted failure. Speaking to rural villagers at Jarra Soma during his current tour of the rural areas, Jammeh made what amounts to a startling admission that his regime has failed the Gambian people, and proceeded to promise, yet again, that "by 2020 we will beat the poverty rate and backwardness" which now stands at 60% of Gambians and who live of $1.25 a day. The level of poverty is high, causing hunger acute hunger in the central part of the country that children in the CRR are suffering from kwashiorkor which is a severe form of malnutrition. The poverty figures provided by UNDP this past week are further confirmation of a condition that the regime of Yaya Jammeh has been denying at first, and concealing later, when the numbers have been staring us in the face for several years - at least since the 2011 late rains that affected agricultural production, and from which we have not recovered from since. He advised parents in the Fonis that "they should value the lives of their children and to stop encouraging them to participate in irregular migration", which begs the question as what are the causes of the "Back Way", when unemployment among the young is at its highest ever recorded. The fact that the University of The Gambia is producing graduates at a rate faster than the economy can create jobs is pushing the unemployment rate to unacceptably high levels. In fact, the economy is losing business establishment to neighboring Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Mali due to lack of competitiveness and downright hostility to the business sector thus making matters worse. He further complained that he's been asking Gambians to work hard but very few have answered his call, and thus the present predicament of the misery that has befallen the majority of the citizenry. Even in admitting failure, Jammeh sees nothing wrong in apportioning blame to Gambians for their misery because they did not work hard enough as he'd counselled. To Jammeh, it is everyone else's fault by Jammeh's even as president of the Gambia. At least one thing we have learned from him during the tour is that Vision 2016 is not about rice self-sufficiency, "as thought by many", according to Jammeh "but for any...food item. This new definition of Vision 2016 is not what Jammeh first said in Nuimi two years ago when he first introduced Vision 2016. At the time, it was rice self-sufficiency which led him to declare a ban on rice importation by December 2014 which was later moved to 2016. You see, agriculture is not a difficult venture, according to Jammeh. It is all in the head. "It is only the psychology of the people that can make it work or not work", according to Prof. Jammeh. He ended his lecture by thanking "Allah for Gambian women because if it weren't for them, Gambia would have gone starving." The entire tour would have been chalked off as one of those unfortunate events if it was not going to cost millions of dollars of taxpayers money to finance 16-day of pure idleness when he could have used this valuable time tending to the serious problems facing the country and save us the headache in the process.

Rick Pitino received 98% of money from Louisville’s Adidas apparel deal The overwhelming majority of the money from Louisville’s multimillion-dollar deal with Adidas was paid to head coach Rick Pitino, according to a review of the contract conducted by The Courier-Journal. Pitino was effectively fired following an FBI investigation that implicated the Cardinals’ program in the payment of a high-profile recruit. University of Louisville Interim President Dr. Greg Postel suspended Pitino and director of athletics Tom Jurich, effective immediately. Postel met with Pitino and Jurich separately to inform them of the decision, which comes after allegations that a men’s basketball coach participated with an apparel company and others in a scheme to pay a recruit to come to the university. That player has been notified that he has been removed from team activities. “The allegations are serious,” Postel said. “It is vital for this university to strictly adhere to NCAA rules and, of course, federal law. Doing nothing would be a tacit endorsement of potential criminal and unethical behavior.” Jurich has been suspended with pay, effective immediately, pending the next meeting of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees. Pitino has been suspended without pay, effective immediately. Postel said he will work quickly to name an interim athletic director and, together, they will name an interim head men’s basketball coach. He said he hopes to announce those appointments within 48 hours. Decisions regarding coaches named during the investigation will be made by the interim athletic director. Postel stressed that the university will cooperate fully with law enforcement and NCAA officials.