Thankful Thursday: And some ranting... well, a LOT of ranting.

First of all, yes,  I am a little pissed off.    I hope that the "brilliant people" in Washington don't go back down that blackened Yellow Brick Road to Perdition that we are still trying to walk away from, in a half assed way, in two countries.  But, I digress....

I'm thankful that there are still people out there in America who are working hard to expose fraudulent use of any government program - our money after all, yours and mine.  Talk about abuse of chemical toxins!  But, I digress...  forgive me, it's hotter than Hades in paradise.

Thank you  Evelyn Pringle .

Thank you Democracy Now for your Piece, HERE

At LawyersandSettlements.com I found THIS.

This is Part One of the article that explains what has been going on in Medicaid Fraud directed at children, some as young as one year.  This article is from 2009.  I'll bet you never heard of it?

Keep your Eyes on The Prize.  The tendency is to bird dog Americans off onto the threat of yet another WAR involving weapons of mass destruction.  A war that may, or may not, be a product of some nefarious third county's annoyingly ever present agency.

What was that saying that Prez. Bush Jr, mangled?  "Fool me once shame of me, fool me twice shame on.. er..."  I think we really need to keep ripping down curtains, and getting looks at the "Wizard" behind them.

And, thank you to all the others who are working hard to expose how government programs are being milked by unscrupulous entities who are laughing all the way to their hedge funds, and other public money milking addresses.   How on Earth can "Karma" handle all of this?  It's insane.

Wordless Wednesday

Find out more  HERE

a Mother Jones article about Old Cell phones....26th day of the Happiness Challenge, Tuesday Tails

Firstly, here is the Mother Jones Article that should be of concern to those of us who find themselves in the Monoculture Wheat Fields from Hell (aka The New Earth Created by the Infamous One Percent):

This is part of a Mother Jones article about the non extension of the DMCA rulings.  Part of the reason is that carriers (not the big metal ones the DOD churns out but the other more "airy" types) can spend literal Fortunes on this  issue, and we can fight back with, maybe, bake sales, and tiny rallies.  In other words, we can do diddly squat.   And we thought AGRA business was the biggest bad boy in the Lobby at the Congressional Building.  Well, "Duh" upon us...

Here's the part: "In March, a coalition that includes the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Reddit, and the popular website BoingBoing petitioned Congress to permanently exempt cellphones from the DMCA. Legistators from both sides of the aisle have introduced bills and the White House supports the idea. Yet so far none of the legislation has made it out of committee—thanks, no doubt, to the clout of the wireless industry, whose annual revenues of $196 billion dwarf those of agribusiness and auto manufacturing. In 2012, the CTIA, a trade association that lobbies for the major carriers, spent more than $12 million pressing Congress on various issues, while individual carriers and phone manufacturers unleashed well over $30 million. (Backers are most optimistic about a new bill from California Rep. Zoe Lofgren that would address the ban as part of a more significant DMCA fix.)
Wiens of iFixit says industry could take other steps, like putting repair manuals online, to keep phones out of landfill. But lifting the ban is "low-hanging fruit," he adds—especially for pols who wants to please their constituents. "It's amazing how popular these unlocks are.""

... So, what will now become of them. our cast off phones.  Can we do a lot of squawking?  Come on all you little parrots!  We can do this thing!

Yes, I know.  It IS "Mother Jones", and they are sort of Leftist but who in the heck isn't Leftist visa vie the right wing nut jobs running the "Big Business Fake Foundation Parade" these days.

Day 26 of August Happiness Challenge.  

Over the past three months, I have been getting some of these.
They are comfy and lovely.  Though other colors tempt me, this is enough.  Well, maybe some blue.

Now for Tuesday Tails:  I saw a bird on the Mendocino County Audubon web page that I couldn't ID.   So, out came the books and in the NGS Birds of North America out popped the Varied Thrush.  It's a male.  GO SEE?  It is the bird in the bottom left corner.  And to whomever took the picture of the Allen's Hummingbird on the tree bit, I congratulate you!  I've got a resident Allen's that I can't get more than a few pictures of a YEAR!

Today, there was a Wilson's Warbler (tiny bird twice the size of the Hummingbird) in the Cape Honeysuckle, and that  sassy little warrior Allen, was dancing all around it trying to flush it out of getting  dinner and force the Wilson's into an aerial dogfight.    Even the Giant Green June Beetles, one of which DH caught inside a rose eating pollen in the picture below, even this hapless and bumbling creature has felt the wrath of the Allen's male. 

 God Himself knows that the honeysuckle was MADE for hummingbirds, as they, and they alone have a bill and tongue built for sipping the nectar.  That is HIS bush made for only the Hummingbirds!  None but the Orioles  are given a pass.  When they arrive, dread Allen hides out in the Lemon tree or goes to the back wall to wait until they leave.  Orioles thrashing around in the big bush are something to avoid.  It's a little like sailboats dueling with aircraft carriers.

Knitting,  The knitting is all on long needles now; we got them today.  Tomorrow, and every day until they are done, I want to do a few rows until the two fronts are done.  On long needles I can knit them with out getting befuddled and with them ending up  two different sizes.  As knitters know, if this happens then it's very bad for your reputation, or someone wearing it, unless it's designed that way.  This one is not.

It rained this morning.  And it REAAALLY rained in the Mountains- three hours of steady rain.  We are glad of it, but hope that it keeps up through September so the Indian Lands get the water they need.  It was so wonderful to wake up to the smell of rain.

It's time for me to hit the hay.  It's been hot and muggy, and that wears a person down.  I think that is why the pace of life in hot places is a much more sensible one, more human scale.  It's good to relax and take it easy in the heat.  Now you all be sure to do the same!  Sweet Dreams!

Monday Music:Joni Mitchell -"California"

This is the closest to the original sound and feel of being at a music festival when they were still small enough to be "intimate".  Enjoy Joni's singing of, "California", accompanying herself on a dulcimer.



It's hot today and will be getting hotter tomorrow.  I'm afraid we are finally getting the rest of summer.  Blech!  Come on Fall! 
At least I can look forward to getting the long size six sweater straights that I need and spending some time in the bathtub with my knitting.   Just kidding!  It's still 80 degrees, and it's 12:30 AM.  We are all in this weather whip, my friends.
good night and Good Luck staying cool enough!

Sunday Stealing

Young At Heart Meme
Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. First, we always credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's post. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") We do sometimes edit the original meme, usually to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, sometimes to select that meme's best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from either this new meme or recently asked questions from a prior featured meme.
Let's go!!!


From Lacey Eagle Bear


1. Are you a young heart or an old soul?

 I am an old soul, apparently.  When I was12 years old, my uncle asked me, "You never play like a kid do you?  You are always so quiet and serious."  I was plotting my get-away but I couldn't tell him that now could I?!. =)



2. What makes someone a best friend?

A best friend is someone that you can share secrets with.  Someone you feel safe with and they with you.

3. What Christmas present do you remember the most?

 When I was a kid it was a used typewriter.  When I was a grown up it was that my littlest month old twin started thriving after a whole month of maternal angst on my part. She finally took  two ounces of formula and smiled at me.

4. Tell me a movie/song/TV show/playbook that has changed your life.  

Hollywood is not that powerful.  But an amazing dream did change my life.  I lost my fear of dying, at least for quite a few years. lol

5. Name one physical feature that you like about yourself and one that you dislike. 

  I like my toes and feet, but don't like my legs.  They were sort of "crook".

6. Can money buy happiness?  

Money can buy happiness..... for others.  That's what you should do with it when you get gobs of t.  Just give what you don't need away.  That's not only altruism, it is actually the one way to make sure you don't fall ill with money insanity.


7. What’s more important in a relationship: physical attraction or emotional connection?   

Emotional connection, and the physical somehow just takes care of itself.  The best relationships are built on the love is blind model, if it's mutual.

8. Is there anyone close to you that you know you can’t trust?  

 No.  I'm lucky.


9. Where was your favorite place to go when you were a little kid? 

  I liked to go to my Aunt T.H.'s house and see her and my nice uncle who let me play the piano his baby grand piano.  It was a lovely place with orange trees that produced huge, very sweet, navel oranges that my uncle picked for us to take home.

10. Have you spent a night in the hospital?  Yes.  Three weeks one time, that was the longest.

11. Do you enjoy being only with 1-2 friends or with a large group of people?  

 I like being with friends and the more the merrier!!


12. Have you ever been bullied?  

Yes. Quite a bit. I was beaten up twice - second grade and high school.  L.A. County schools were tough and prejudice was rife.


13. If your partner wanted to wait until marriage until having sex, would you stay in that relationship? 
 Absolutely

14. Do you believe in God?  
Yes, and I have very good reasons, personal experiences, that have brought me to believe there is a Supreme Being, yes.

15. Out of all the social networks in the world why use a blog? 

 I like to read blogs and that made me think it would be nice to start one.  I read them for several years before starting one.  It was Ten years, I think, before I started one because I had a business I was trying to keep alive and had no time before then.


16. What is your quirkiest habit?  
Probably that I talk to everything that is alive, and even some things that are inanimate.

17. What is normal? Are you normal? 

 Since reading a bumper sticker which said,"Everyone is somebody else's weirdo ",  I think that just about everyone not infected with terminal selfishness, narcissism, or money insanity is normal enough.

18. Someone close to you is dying! You have the choice to let this person live for 10 more years but if you do you cause the death of 10 strangers.  And you want me to say what I would do?  Obviously, I couldn't save the person from dying at some point, because we all eventually die.  There is no reason to take out ten others, not unless they were trying to kill the first person,and that is why that person was dying.  IF that were the case, I would just call the police, and hide out with my loved one.  Is that Byzantine enough for you? 

19. What is one thing you could never forgive? 

  I have forgiven the worst thing already. I can't seem to forgive myself very well, though.

20. When you’re alone in your own home, do you talk out loud to yourself?  

 I talk to any friendly Spirits who may just be in earshot,and I also talk to my dog, myself, the plants, little bugs.. you name it.

21. Who is your favorite super hero? 
 St. Michael!


22. Could you be in a long distance relationship? 
  I have been, so yes.


23. Do you know what makes you happy?  

Yes.  I've had a long time to work it all out.  I like to make things.  It makes me happy, and to plant things and watch them grow.


24. Who was your first crush? 

 A  boy in the third grade.  I thought he was dreamy for years!

25. Where is your favorite place to go out and eat?  

Point Loma and Shelter Island.  I like to eat fish and chips down by the Bay.


26. Are you an early bird or night owl?  

 I'm both.  Sometimes I don't sleep a lot.


27. Give me an unpopular opinion you have.  

Unpopular in what way?  The kind that gets you chastised and pilloried in the press?  Well, Here goes: I think we could end up in a civil war if we don't change the way our Congress is influenced by Corporate  $$$$$ to enact laws or change existing ones.  Shame on them.  They take our money and still sell us out.   


28. Do you believe in giving kids medals and trophies for participation?  

Yes, they all should get medals.  No exceptions.  It tells them that teamwork is important.

29. What song best describes your life right now?  

"Landslide"
30. How do you express your creativity? 
 In the past I painted in oils, made life drawings of kids and animals, and I still sketch, make ceramics and jewelry.


31. Describe your neighborhood.  

Middle class working families, and some retired, essentially Friendly folk, more so now than in the past.  We've become a friendlier place over time as we became more diverse.  We have a good neighborhood.

32. Give me the story of your life in 6 words.

 Lovely Mother,Wonderful Hubby, Great Daughters!

Saturday Komeekz- Crabby me!

I had a crabby day on Thursday, and this cartoon fit my mood.  Nothing was going right.  It was like I had a Devil sitting on my left shoulder.  I felt not myself and believe me, now I know what people mean when they say they have a devil.  Finally, I  threw some salt over my left shoulder and went to sit by myself until the feelings passed.  It took the entire day!  I've NEVER felt like that before, so my sympathy to people who feel possessed! 

Thank Heaven for Thankful Thursdays.  That post helped to set things right.  Being reminded to be truly thankful can help immeasurably!

The fire just outside of Yosemite had me living on my last nerve.   Two of the kids, possibly three, were back packing in the park, and even though DH pointed out that where they were, and where the fire was, was pretty much from here to Fallbrook, about 50 miles away, it didn't do any good.  I picked fights I was so edgy.

But having lived through three fast moving and huge fires in San Diego in the last two decades, and being evacuated once, I just couldn't settle down.  I wanted to pull my hair out at times and sometimes just wanted to BITE something!   Happily DH stayed well away from me.  And Wolfie was and always be a calming factor. 

That might be a good "Five Minutes" but it's a day late. Sorry!  I'll do better next week, hopefully, since it really is fun to do.

Knitting:  I gave up trying to use long straights mostly because I thought they would be too cumbersome, and now I'm thinking about it again.  Since, in my incredibly VAST supply of knitting needles, I HAVE  NO long sweater needles in size 6.   I will simply have to buy some.  I have everything from 1 to 5, then from 7 to 11.  No 6's.  It's not to be believed!  But I'll go get a pair tomorrow I suppose.    There is one more place to look but what the heck.  I have three pairs of 3s!  The 6s must have fallen down the Rabbit Hole!

 Good News for last:  I am going to get another pair of crocs but the color is a secret.  I've gotten a good lime green pair- about the shade of the grass in front of that rabbit hole - from when the kids were here - and I LOVED THE THINGS!  Being the Luddite that I am, it took me a long time to catch on to the comfortable things!

I'd bore you with a picture but EVERYONE knows what they look like.  I'm hoping to score two pair tomorrow.  And then, over time, a rainbow set?    The Creator did a wonderful thing when colors were made.  Color can go a long way to cheer up someone with a devil living on her shoulder.   *tosses more salt over her left shoulder*.

Friday Catchup: 22 day of August Happiness challenge/TampaBayTimes cheater charites list... etc

If I can't figure out how to do it right, I won't be doing Five Minute Friday Small anymore.   I cannot figure out how to abide by the rules on the original- maybe I'm too brain dead by the time I go try to do it.  Also, I am finding the phrase (on the web) in approximately 9 different places, many with different buttons, or similar ones, plus different logos.  So, the towel is in the ring.  No more for me.  Just color me dumb unless I figure it out.

The TampaBay Times thing:
Feel good about giving, but don't give to these guys.   The ranking and reasons why those who are on the list are there is right over yonder *points to the Linkie ----  50 worst American Charities.

TampaBay.com created this site, which is a collaboration between the Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting.   I'm posting it here in the hope of letting a few more Americans know what is happening to any money they contribute to these rapscallions(the ones on the list).

August Happiness Challenge for the 22 second day.

Sweet Jimmie with an adorable 8 week old Pit Puppy at Mission Trails

I'm happily remembering the visit from our twins.   It was great to have them here for a week and get to share meals with them and watch some Netflix, and share "Hobby Developments".

I'm also happy because the messy studio at the end of the big room is getting cleared out; slowly but surely things are going out the door.  I want to make it back into the pretty room it once was.  It will be a lot of work but it can be done.  

Have a great weekend. 

August Happiness Challenge- Day 22 Tort report, knitting angst. that sort of thing

August has just roared by hasn't it?  I'm still spinning around at how fast the whole WEEKS are speeding by!

It's been a challenge to be find singular bits of happiness in this month but one thing that has truly made me happy is that it's been cooler, here, than last year.    We've been blessed with nights that cooled down below 65°F at times.  

The sky last night was beautiful as clouds from the Northwest , off the ocean, floated across the sky in small puffs as the sun was going down.  Every edge of these small clouds was transformed to a deep lilac as the last rays of sun sunk below the curve of the earth.   The air was balmy from the high of the day, and the whole effect was one of relief and peace.

Today, I got rid of major stuff in the messy end of the great room.  I hope to get a lot done this year but I won't say anything about it until it's been accomplished!  I'm trying not to give away things that I will need later and regret parting with.  Two desks that went, I really could have used better than the massive table that is still there.  Oh well, this is a dirty job but someone has to do it!

Tort Report:  Milagro is back in from the too cool nights.  DH found her sunning herself in the early morning sun.

Knitting Report:  I had to take the first rows back off the needles where the ties are joined to the fronts.  Had to is because I had a back to a front in one tie/front section.  After I did that it occurred to me that the ties didn't matter since they were, after all, in the right position.  Who on earth was going to look that closely?  Maybe a Knitting Nazi, but I just don't know any of those. 

Thankful Thursday: Also: Rock hounding Way Back Wednesday - Late

I really am thankful for having this man on our side.

Once Greg Palast cleaned up his language, though I understand the rage, I could actually post some of his intricate and newsworthy missives.  This LINK is to Palast's article about the Secret End Game run by some completely ruthless World Class Crims in Finance.  Herein lay the path to another world war.  Luckily the world is sick enough of world wars at the moment that it didn't ignite one.  Thank God for the Bolivar movement in South America!

Way Back Wednesday.... Thanksgiving in the desert.

For decades the Rockhounds went out to the desert and celebrated Thanksgiving.   It was always wonderful to be with friends, when one couldn't be with family, to celebrate this holiday.  We loved it!

Everyone Digs in

Back for Seconds..  There was always plenty

The way this worked was that a big oven was built, or brought, and the turkeys were baked in it.  The side dishes were all planned out ahead and served buffet style.  It was a GREAT big potluck.  Some of us had some really advanced kitchen appliances out in the boondocks, and helped reheat dishes.

It was LOADs of fun, and I'm glad we got to do this so long a time.

Wordless Wednesday: The Pacific Ocean just outside the mouth of San Diego Bay-From Cabrillo LightHouse

Tuesday Tails. USGS Video of a desert tort hatching..... And our back yard Dove Machine does it again!

Milagro, tucked up closely to her big brother, Lucky,  went walk about a couple of days ago, and she is smart enough to not let us ever see her even though we've looked high and low for her.  There is more than enough out there for her to eat.  But I hope we can catch her before the cold nights start. 

Lucky, on the left, and Poko Ono share a rare treat of corn on the cob

 

This next video is from the USGS which is doing an extensive study in the Mohave Desert, and is raising as many wild babies as they can.  I  know how hard this is, as the same predator that picked up Lucky and dropped him into a flower pot those twenty odd years ago, has decimated the wild Gopher tortoise population in the Mohave.  Anyway,  here's a bunch of eggs they collected and one of the cute little torts hatching out of an egg in the research facility.



And, not to leave their close relatives, the birds, out of this tale of tails, here is a snap of our local mourning dove and her two babies tucked up into a space under the shade patio.  We delayed working on new covering because that darn dove never stops raising babies there!  I guess we'll do it in November.

The light through the shade cloth really makes lovely patterns on the doves and the wood. 
The other chick is just visible under the mother dove, and you can see the head and bill in the shadows behind her, and a tiny tail end sticking out the other side of Mama.

This morning the Towhee's brought their babies to forage and drink water.  They are a sweet family of four.   No pictures though.   I surprised Mother taking a bath so didn't want to cause more problems for the family!

I'm going to be knitting, and also painting ceramics today.  I'm not knitting half that I should be!  I blame crossword puzzle mania!  I'm addicted!

Have a good one.  Sweet Dreams!

UPDated to include Doobie Brothers Video.... Music Monday, Harvard report on women's heart health, 19th Day of the August Happiness Challenge.

The Video got stripped out for some reason.   YouTube is acting like a pig lately....

First: I started to wonder why I was still having so much discomfort from an angina like pain, and irregular heart beat, even though I do not have blocked or clogged arteries.   This is what I found.  It's long but worth the read.

Since women die everyday EVEN when they have passed the normal stress tests and other diagnostic tests for heart dieease, there had to be something else going on.  This site may have breakthrough medical evidence of something serious and very under studied.

Harvard University, New View of heart disease in women.

Second: I can't leave you without a little something in the August Happiness Challenge so I picked this picture:

Thank God for all the wonderful Animals!

Isn't he beautiful?  This was a picture on a bookmark from the World Wildlife Fund.  It makes me happy every time I see it.

That's my 19th Day August Happiness Challenge entry!

Keep on knittin' Mama, knittin' your cares away!  Happy Crafting!

And, as promised, from those Great Doobie Brothers, with, "Long Train Running"

Enjoy!  Turn it up!

Sunday Stealing

 

Let me Give Your Heart a Break

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. First, we always credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's post. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") We do sometimes edit the original meme, usually to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, sometimes to select that meme's best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from either this new meme or recently asked questions from a prior featured meme.
Let's go!!!


This week's questions come from Cinematic Symphony.


Let Me Give Your Heart A Break Meme

Do you prefer a lot of ice in your drinks or just a little bit of ice? 

If it's already cold just a little, otherwise I load up the glass.

Which condiment (ketchup, mustard, etc.) do you use the most of? 

Mustard, I don't even like ketchup

This looks like good stuff

Does war scare you? 

Absolutely.  This is why: War is the poorest solution to any problem but it seems to be the one chosen first much too often.   The really clever countries put economic squeezes on other countries (economic warfare) until that country attacks them.  Then, of course, it's self defense.  So clever and useful!  Sadly, so good for business.

Do you know any songs that are older than you are? 

Lots of them, and I'm an old lady.  I like ballads from Ireland and from Scotland.

Are you comfortable sharing drinks with your friends?

I will take a sip of someone else's drink from time to time. 

  What season were you born in? 

 I was born in Winter
in a place that is really cold, and during a snow storm. 
I was born in my Grandparents' farmhouse.

 Have you ever spent over $100.00 on an article of clothing? What was it? 

Yes, I bought a down jacket ages ago.  But not until I was an adult living in a nice warm place that I thought was too cold.

Do you think you’re too hard on yourself sometimes? 

I don't think I know what that means?  Self critical?  That's a good thing, right?  It keeps your feet on the ground.  But, in truth, not if  this hardness makes you want to off yourself.  That is VERY bad, indeed.

What pizza place do you usually order from? 

Sadly, I can't eat pizza anymore.

Honestly, have you ever mooned or flashed somebody? 

No, I've never done that but that doesn't mean that there weren't times when I wanted to moon someone who so richly deserved it!  .. ahem...

Do you have a least favorite color? 

A color that makes me run away screaming?  Let's see, that would be the color blood gets when it dries... the real stuff.

Honestly, have you ever written something on a bathroom stall? 

No, I'm a little too law abiding to do that but that is not to say that I haven't read some of the graffiti in that place with amazement and a chuckle.

Who do you consider to be the king of pop? 

You mean like Pepsi?  Or do you mean something like music?   That would have to be Neal Diamond.

Do you know all of the words to any children's song?  

Yes. I know all manner of songs.

Can you name 3 purple foods? 

Grapes, eggplants, figs, some of them anyway.

When was the last time you made a pinky promise? 

With my great friend and nearest buddy, D.  This happened in 1978, or so, when she was moving away. 

What celebrity do you wish would have a big comeback? 

Haven't they all done that already? 

Do you think your parents know things about you that you don’t want them to? 

My dead mother may know more about me than I would want her to.  I hope that I've "done her proud", so to speak.  The paternal unit can just go back to hell where he belongs!

Have you ever walked into a spider web? 

Gobs of them.  I'm a camper and hiker, or was.  Now I tramp around the trails a little bit.

What grocery store do you usually get your food from? 

I don't have to do the grocery shopping anymore so I just don't know.  It's probably done mostly at Trader Joe's and Sprouts. 

What would be your happily ever after? 

 Is that like in "Princess Bride"?  Or is it after death?   I would like to be rich enough to adopt fifteen dogs and train them to do circus acts;  we'd go on the road with them. 

When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people? 

In the 90's.  I was the president of a big club.

Who is the worst driver you know? 

One of the Rockhounds who used to drive with a foot on the brake and one on the accelerator while waving her arms and talking.  Terrible driver.  I don't think she's on the road anymore.

How about the best driver? 

My daughter, who is a very careful, attentive driver, and who can also drive a double axle truck because she used to do that while making deliveries for a fabric company.

Are you shorter or taller than most of your friends? 

Shorter

Do you know anybody who was born on a holiday? 

My sweet SIL, who was born on Armistice Day

What is one thing you really don’t like sharing? 

I won't share my toothbrush with anyone!

Have you ever been hit on through text message? 

No, I'm just not communicating with people who would do that. lol

What was the last junk food you ate? 

Probably that would be french fries with our fish and chips.  Fish is good, fries are good, but fries are the epitome of "junk food"; is it not true?

Do you prefer sweet or sour candy? 

Sweet chocolate only, please.

What was the last alcoholic beverage you consumed? 

A couple of beers a few weeks ago.

Heehee

Currently waiting on something/someone? 

You mean in the mail?  No, because I just got some seeds from my daughter.  She sent me some Plantain seeds. 

What was the last thing you watched on television? 

If Netflix counts the last thing I watched was a Ted Talks.

How old will you be in 12 months? 

You can ask me that in 12 months

Do you sleep naked? 

Absolutely negatory!  The EMTs might not care but I sure the HECK do!  If I wasn't already dead, I would die of embarrassment.

Have you ever held hands with someone in a car? 

Yes, with my DH.  We still sometimes hold hands in the car.

Could you go the rest of your life without smoking a cigarette? 

Easily.  I don't smoke

What do you say during awkward silences?

I usually start to giggle.  I'm not so old that I can't enjoy an awkward silence in it's entirety.

When will you next see the last person you texted? 

 Friday.

Honestly, when is the last time you have been to Texas?

When I was thirteen.  I practiced my driving while going through Texas, both ways.  There is Nothing but "straight as an arrow" roads for a thousand miles in Northern Texas so it's a good place for underage drivers to practice holding their own against the big trucks.

"There's always free cheese in a Mousetrap".... Video of a Retired Marine Colonel talking about Homeland Security.

Yep!  But, I want to say that this is not political, unless human rights and American Freedoms are political.

Who's getting rich supplying all this??  Follow the Money, darlings.  AND, It's OUR MONEY!!!



No comic today, or August Happiness Challenge but at least we see that the Marines are wide awake!  Yay! 

Five Minute Friday Small, August Happiness Challenge-the Daylilies reappear, Wolfie, Update on the Jam

In Order:

Link back to Origin

Five Minute Friday.  This can be brutal:

Since I'm a topic writer this is very hard.  I've heard of writing this way but it seemed fruitless.  Stream of conciousness is not something I'll willingly do!  I'm thinking of finding new authors to read, or new books from authors like Annie Proulse or Jane Smiley that I already like, but there are all of Noam Chomsky's books to read because I think of him as one of the truly remarkable minds of the last one hundred years.
Sometimes it seems pointless at my age to be spending time reading but the thing is there is a connection between all of life, some of it more sentient than others, but still the less sentient need their space so It's a good thing to remember to put pressure on the ruiners of the earth to recall that each and every one of them, they themselves(!), depends on fresh water to live and some acreage that grows food; you know arrible land that growers can't use anything but fresh water for irrigation.

Water, land every one depends on it for their food and drink , there is no equivocation on that.  Every single one of us.  Now I am thinking, is this going to be able to be cleaned up, this writning or do we just present it as is?  Being new to it I have no idea whatso ever but that's is all the time I have except to say that love is the most important thing in solving all the problems we have. I love you, the end.

 Now, I'll tell you where I got this:

The Lieber's Family Blog

And, If you want to participate, here is the place for the rules, and that  cute little Icon for your blog posts.

Now,  My August Happiness Challenge for day 16

These came up!  I haven't seen them for several years because the tortoises just ate them back to the ground every year!  Once the crab grass covered them up to the point that the tortoises were afraid to walk out there, up came my dwarf Day Lilies.  So, I am very happy to see them today...

The grass mat is VERY thick, so the torts will not venture onto it.

Wolfie was staring at me the other day, begging to come flying over the arm of the chair and into my lap.  He was so cute that I got out the camera and took this rather unfortunate snap.  The pink reflection on the door frame is from a red afghan atop the loveseat that can't be seen.

I called him, and he came jumping across the arm of DH's Chair and onto my lap.

The jam from the experiment with Cactus Apples actually jelled enough to be nice for a topping for ice cream, and I have the snap to prove it. lol

This stuff is totally yummy!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend, with as many good things to do and to eat that can be put into it.  Happy Knitting!

Way back Wednesday and some Knitting...

The knitting Report:

I'm working on the fronts of the pink Stardust, slowly because it's been a very busy two weeks I didn't get a lot done, but enough.

If I make this again, and I hope to, I'll make it "in the round.  it would be so much easier than trying to keep track of the pattern on two fronts and a back.  There are dozens of renditions of this pretty sweater at Ravelry.  Just search for "Stardust sweater", and you can see them all.  Sorry, you have to sign up with the site but if you are a knitter, it's a good thing to do. 

Way back Wednesday picture:

I will be doing this until I run out of pictures I guess.  lol.  It seemed like an interesting thing to do.

The second picture is of our  Rock-hound club in the Sixties.....  It was taken near a place called 11 mile road across from what was once called Goldrock Ranch.   It may still be there and called that but we haven't been back in a couple decades.

This old, old photo was up at the Rock Hounds shop, as were all the others that I'll show you over time.
That is why it looks like it was spattered with oil, because it was.   Some of the machines cut cabs using oil as a lubricant.

 All those people are looking for surface agates or Dumorteirite.  Beautiful stuff!  I found a fragment of an iron pot out there, and keep it with my rust collection. 

The Jam Report:  The jam didn't jell.  That's the first time that's ever happened to me, but I thought we could make some sorbet out of it, or, as one friend suggested, Smoothies.  I like that last.  It would be very good in a smoothie with cherries, banana and soy silk vanilla.  Yum!

Today, I'm going to see my sister for a good chin wag and maybe tea and cookies.  I'm taking my knitting but we usually talk too much for me to be able to knit a pattern so maybe I'll take the sweater that's done but not sewn together.  That Noro one.

Enjoy your day.  I hope it unfurls something charming and heartwarming for you.  
  

Tuesday, wherein I both whine and crow. A bit of Earth Tribal News, and Torts, too!

Poko and her baby, Dusty, share a meal of roses.

Churchy's little tail

Thrilling "Tribal News" from yesterweek:

Friday the Thirteenth came on a Tuesday this month!

You will remember that I picked prickly pears on Friday last week.

I did some of this canning stuff wrong, apparently, by flipping the jars upside down but no worries.  I snapped at DH and paid for it PDQ when I burnt my thumb on the boiling water bath.  But!

But if it all JELLS,  I will be so very happy indeed!   I'll be dancing in the kitchen! Will this serve for the 13th day of August Happiness Challenge?  My happiness was challenged!

Saturday we cleaned the pears of most of the thorns.   I also peeled, cut up, and ground up these fierce fruits, and put that goop into the Fridge with a lid on it so it could not get out in the night and reek havoc about the place! 

Sunday,  and I added stuff, cooked, cooled, and stored the goop until Monday, satisfied that it was good and DEAD!

This is a mishmash of pictures over many days, some were on the phone cam.  sheesh

Four of these, full of those (below).

Each of those 50 some little "tunas" (Actually, I think of them more as PUMAS.  Dear God they are fierce !) got pealed and chopped.
I spent the evening on Friday picking little thorns out of my finger with a pair of tweezers,
while wearing an Optivisor, to find the tiny beasts.
  I cannot stress enough, WEAR STEEL TIPPED LEATHER GLOVES FOR THE PICKING AND PEALING PARTS!

Sunday,  I think, I added a whole tray of frozen lime juice from our trees, plus four cups of sugar, and boiled all this for 12 minutes.
After letting it cool down, it went into the fridge for the night, absolutely, completely DEAD!

Monday, I boiled it again, for another 10 minutes, just for fun, no really I had to get the pectin into it.  I added 3 and a half tablespoons of pectin.  This !@#!*$&# stuff had better JELL!

I filled the jars and sealed them, then flipped them over just like about half the people in the world do- those in Europe who went through two world wars and the great famine and that should count for something, right?  They should know what they are doing?  Yes?
Then I got exceedingly worried.  The other half of "canning world" nixed this as a proper seal, plus some of them said flipping the jars bottom up could "break the Gel"  Yikes! 
Anyway,  I fell back onto my mother's tomato canning methods, sure, by now, that I had "Broken the Gel",  Mon Dieu!  Sad really. 
After ALL The work and the ANGST!  It's not like I had never canned before, I had, I've done a lot of it!  I blame the web, and that wicked Opuntia!

In the jars went to be boiled yet again! 
Not having a proper water bath canning outfit I had to rely on Luck and the Virgin Mary (no I really mean that) to keep the jars from blowing up as, I HAD NO RACK! 
The online sites said to use a rack to keep the jars from blowing up!
I sat in the other room, but close enough to hear anything happening, and waited for the sound of disaster.   After 10 more minutes in an amazingly HOT, rolling boil (that in itself made me feel like a wizard but the fairly massive stove burner deserves the credit) the jars all came through just fine.

This time I was satisfied that there was no microbe Known to Science, NONE, that could have lived through what I'd put those pears through.
I am firmly in the water bath school, or TRIBE, which ever the case may be.

There really is something so very "Tribal" about canning your own Stuff!   All the jars sealed, and I could hear the pings all the way in here from the kitchen with the fan blowing in my ear.   Did I mention that my hearing has returned? 

The reason that there are fewer jars than you might expect from all those prickly pears is that you can't use ALL of a fruit unless you use the "Blowtorch tribal methods" described HERE.  I may have put that link up already but it really is a pretty blog post, not so unruly as is mine.  If you read this far, I congratulate you on your stamina!

With a blowtorch, you get off nearly all the thorns, and the skin comes off very thinly, and therefore, much more of the flesh of the pear  stays With it.  And, as an added bonus, the men of the family think it's a very cool tribal method, indeed.  If memory serves, you just try getting so much as a finger on that blowtorch yourself! 

Also, there is another reason:  since it was in the afternoon, I was in my "blind as a bat" state.  This meant that I couldn't tell there was actually a LID on a storage container that was set before me.  Half a big jar of juice went all over the counter top, down the cabinets and onto the floor.  This almost caused me to flip out and decide to go cut that  @$#%^& Opuntia down with the pruning saw, and just BE DONE WITH IT FOREVER!

If my jam doesn't jell, it will make one heck of a Tequila Sunrise, eh?  I'm not cooking it again.  I'll just freeze it and eat it like popsicles.

Tally ho, EarthTribe!  Have a very good time this week!

Music Monday: Twinnies!

This is day 12 of the August Happiness Challenge. My happiness today is that anywhere you find people, some of them are singing or playing music. This is a sign to me that we still have what it takes to change the world!   Enjoy Die Twinnies!

You Gotta love kids who can roller skate while playing an accordion, and while singing, too!

I'm still dealing with prickly pears, so missing things like Sunday Stealing, which is a lot of fun, too.  Next week!  

Well, I did Sunday Stealing.    Although I got no pictures of this day's process,  I actually managed to strain and cook the juice along with sugar (lots) and lime juice (from our lime trees) this evening when the weather cooled off.   Instructions for doing it that way came from HERE.   

Tomorrow I have to find the canning jars, wash them, heat them in hot water bath, and then cook the fruit puree with the pectin and can.  Whatever doesn't fit into the jam jars for processing I will have to just put in preserved jars and freeze.  Freezing jam is a good way to preserve it, actually. 

I'll be getting pictures of that to show off the amazing golden color of this Opuntia's fruit.  This is an heirloom plant from my mother.  I can just see her standing in the garden blessing it with such an incredible amount of fruits this year.  Thanks Mom!

If you want to watch a lovely, lovely film about the small pollinators, this is the one for you:  




I've seen our tiny Allen's Hummingbird do that same Aerial combat twirl with an Giant Green June Beetle earlier this summer.  Want to SEE MORE BEETLES?  Bug Alert!  Anyway, I love them.  Some new beetles were on the Opuntia cactus this year.  They are part of the pollination squad.

Have a great week.   If something starts torquing your head, just think, "It's only a thought." 

Sunday Stealing

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. First, we always credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's post. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") We do sometimes edit the original meme, usually to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, sometimes to select that meme's best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from either this new meme or recently asked questions from a prior featured meme.
Let's go!!!


This week's questions come from a blog called In Case You Were Wondering....



Meme 325

Something that’s holding you back from achieving your dreams:  Age.  I got too old.

Something you think you could win an award for:  Really, an award?  Tilting at Windmills?

Something you fear more than anything:   I'm so afraid of it, I can't name it.

Something you wish people would understand:  Life is short.

Something that keeps you going everyday:  The beauty of nature, and Love.

Something amazing that happened last summer:  My oldest daughter talked to me, heart to heart.

Something you hate that people say:  "You know I'm right!" when clearly, historically, they are not right.
Something you refuse to pay money for:   War, if I could do it.

Something you wish you could have told that person that you never saw again:  I would have told my mother how much I love her and appreciated that she tried to give us so much when she had very little.  She gave us all a great work ethic and the love of nature, the plants and animals.  She was a gentle and unassuming person.

Something that really stands out about last year:   Getting over the mind crushing anesthetics from knee surgery.

Something you like that everyone else thinks is weird:  I like skunks and the way they smell.  I think this is because I was sprayed by one when we were trying to catch 13 of them, two mothers and 11 babies, for Project Wildlife.

Something you do when you’re trying to calm down:  I breathe, and tell myself, "It's only a Thought".

Something you do when you wake up at three AM:  I pray a little, then push myself back to sleep.

Something amazing that’s happened this year:    The priest who appeared at the crash scene in Mo. 

Something you love doing on cold rainy days:  I love to knit all snuggled into my comfy chair.

Something you listen to when you’re in a really good mood:  Slack key Guitar, although it PUTS me in a good mood.

Something that irritates you more than anything:  repetitive scratching noises.

Something you’re addicted to/can’t stop doing:  Crafting counts, yes?

Something that really stands out about you:  I'm invisible.

Something about you that’s like everyone else:  I breathe in and out.  I bleed.

Something that makes you change the channel:  I won't watch animal cruelty or anything that is like real life cruelty to anyone.

Something you think about every night before you go to sleep:  I think of Nothing just to go to sleep.  Anything I like would keep me awake all night long!

Something that you don’t think will ever change about you:  I will never, EVER, be cruel.

Something about you that you think will soon change:   Well, I might become a butterfly.
Something that broke your heart as a child:  my paternal unit.

Something that really sparks your interest:  I love flowers and plants and being able to make a new plant with a cutting.

Something that truly disgusts you:  The way that people have been lied to  and manipulated by others who used them.

Something the opposite gender has complimented you on:  my voice.

Sunday: Day 11 of Challenge: Getting ready to make Prickly Pear Jelly

Happy - well mostly Happy, Adventures in Cooking.  That's my Tenth Day Happiness.

Two days ago, Friday, I picked all the prickly pears off our Opuntia cactus.   It was loaded with them! 











Yesterday I used THIS method to prepare the fruit.  DH helped me (a lot!), and we got some spines in our fingers because we didn't use the suggested leather gloves - which we didn't have; so, we just used stencil brushes (these worked great by the way) and canning tongs.   I suggest that you use the gloves, too, though.   Our hands feel like pincushions! 

Alas, the link does not go to a page that tells you how to make these.  I thought it did. Somehow they are made with THIS tool Clover makes which I remember making out of cardboard.  I'll be looking for another link to the way they are made because we all can hear Christmas hauling around yon CORNER at lightning speed, yes?!  Want more pincushions?  Go HERE  Chirpy Mouse has some lovely tutorials and I'm sure one of them will help with the pattern for these.  And here is TipNut's Blog, filled with 50 free patterns for pincushions.   

Aren't they cute! 

But, I digress... Back to the cactus adventures:

  
The tiny thorns never bothered me before but I've never done this many prickly pears at one time, either.    For some reason, these fruits are also called Tunas.  I've never heard them called that before in a whole long life of picking and eating prickly pears.  Go figure....

Last night, Saturday, I made the juice which will then be made into jelly after I strain it and cook it today.   I'll share pictures of the process on Monday.

Waste not want not!  Boy, I think I'd better get to bed!  Nighty Night!

Day 10 August Challenge, Saturday Komeekz, and goodbye to an old friend ( my Fujika 35mm)

Today, there is this AMAZING THING!   Since the Priest didn't appear in any of the dozens of photos taken of the scene, it makes it truly inexplicable.


Aside:  Oh, and the new Fall Interweave Knits came.  Hurrah!  There's a story about our Clara in it!  Yay!


Speaking of Photos:

Saturday Komeekz..  One to go with my goodbye to the Fujika.  We had it thoroughly conditioned a few years ago, because I thought I'd use it again, but times have changed.

Film is scarce and expensive.  If you want to do your own developing, fine, you can get all the special effects; but really, I think that era's over for most of us.  Onward to an era of photo shopping out stray hairs, red eyes and gray teeth...

Today I am resting, and knitting.