Seen somewhere

Always cite your sources. . .

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New tires

sure do feel good when there's an inch of snow on the ground and traffic has ground it down to ice. I was parked on a little incline at the coffee shop, sensed a little slippage, but not much. I bought them about 3 weeks ago. I so rarely watch TV that if it weren't for e-mails, I wouldn't know what else is going on. Lots of snow in northern Illinois and northern Ohio.

USAToday reports that Miami could have 30 degrees, and frigid temps will go as far south as Key West. Detroit yesterday had a 7 hour storm that dropped 15" of snow in three counties. O'Hare cancelled 150 flights due to the weather. A 100" snow storm is being forecast by computer models for the northwest. I think they already have quite a bit--maybe they mean 100" accumulation.

Meanwhile, Al Gore, call home. You've messed up some expectations.

This map from Weather Underground shows the deepest snow as a light coral color. Don't miss the wonderful photos at this site.

My frozen car door blog is getting many hits today.

<<<<<---------and in other news-------->>>>>

My husband is still "under the weather" so he's cancelled the exercise class today at UALC Lytham Rd, and I'm picking up his paintings at an art show that comes down today. So I've changed into corduroy slacks and flat shoes, and I'm off to battle the elements.

Four years ago, gearing up for the 2004 campaign

Four years ago about this time I was complaining about our President:

But I do wish George Bush would stop spending money like a drunken Democrat (no name, but you know who I mean). In fact, his spending increases are far greater than Clinton’s on domestic programs for the same time period in office. This makes it difficult for Democrats to criticize him on domestic policy, since those are their pet programs, resulting in a fractured and lack luster campaign. Also, it is hard for Republicans to rein him in, since he is their guy. A responder to a Cato Institute paper says he “has become the "Mother of All Big Spenders."

Nothing's changed. He's a Republican, but not a Conservative. No one will soak the rich the way GWB has--the tax coffers are now around 60% supplied by the richest, compared to about 54% under Clinton. The Democrats' tax increases will be to punish success, not to grease any economic squeaky wheels. And they'll hit all of us who live on investments in our retirement. So where does that leave Edwards and his "two Americas" theme--the man who made his fortune suing the very companies we need we for surgeries and cancers, driving up the insurance costs of doctors, all the while promoting universal health care to dumb down the whole system. Want universal health care in a disaster like an epidemic or terrorist attack? Look to FEMA and Katrina for results. Want cheaper health care? You won't find it in Washington. In addition to what I pay for Medicare coverage (a lot), I'm paying $132 a month for Medi-gap.

New Year's Dinner

Just us. Eating in separate rooms. My husband is sick, so the house is zoned. But here's the menu for tonight. After all, it is a new year.

Beef roast in barbeque sauce
scalloped potatoes with cheese
tender, crisp asparagus
cherry topped, sugar-free cheesecake

He's in 7th heaven with all the football, and has a little table by his side for food. It reminds me a bit of Christmas 2003 when he decided to have his shoulder surgery between Christmas and New Year's so he could watch football on TV while he healed. He was so deathly sick and in such pain, none of us enjoyed anything!

Good-bye Charlie

And I just found him. It's over.

The most popular New Year's Resolution

Do we even need to research this? It's most likely to "lose weight," "lose 10 pounds," or "get in shape." So I've looked back over my notebook for inspiration, and here's a few tidbits, some encouraging, but most not.

The hallmarks of successful weight loss maintenance include a low-calorie diet and high energy expenditures--1300-1800 calories a day consumed, and 2600 calories spent a week in physical activity.

Medications for weight loss haven't worked well compared to lifestyle changes. In fact, Robert Lustig, MD, says their effect is "underwhelming."

Based on observation of who uses them, I'd say that diet drinks and special diet foods help make people fat. These foods, in my opinion, don't taste right and create a craving for more. Want low fat? Add some water or milk. The label says that's the first ingredient. Or use less of the real thing.

According to the EPA, removing 100 lbs. of "stuff" from the trunk or back seat of your car will improve your fuel efficiency by 2%. Removing 10% of your body weight from your "trunk" or "back seat" will improve your own energy efficiency too.

Losing the sloppy jeans and t-shirt look, a close shave, and a good haircut can probably make a man look 10 lbs. thinner. Math clue: baggy sweat pants and shirt add, they don't subtract.

The ordinary person without type II diabetes has average health care costs of $2848 a year, including $541 out of pocket costs; the person with type II diabetes has annual health care cost of $9,797, with oop of $1566. In 2006, the nation spent an estimated $22.9 billion on direct medical costs related to diabetes complications (www.aace.com).

Research shows that kids will eat more of anything after watching food ads, so the advertising doesn't necessarily build brand loyalty, but does increase weight. Turn off the TV or computer and send them outside to play.

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2007;167:766-773) found a clear relationship between being overweight and filing Workers' Comp claims. Employees with a BMI 40 or over had 11.65 claims per 100 FTE, where recommended weight employees had 5.80. So on a job interview, does the HR person see you and your skills or $51,091 vs. $7,503 per 100 FTEs and more lost work days? Think about it. Is that really discrimination or watching the bottom line (no pun intended)?

Children with sleep disorders are often hyperactive, have attention deficit, and more absenteeism from school, according to a study in JAMA, June 27. Obesity, adnoids, tonsils, facial abnormalities, colds and allergies are contributing factors.

Women who weigh themselves every day are on average 7-8 lbs lighter than those who don't. Just wearing a pedometer will increase your activity level.

Obese people tend to sit for 150 more minutes a day than their lean counterparts.

Only 30% of older women get regular exercise.

Healthy eating doesn't fix everything. JAMA reported in the July 18 issue that women breast cancer survivors did no better on special low fat, high fruit/vegetable diets than the control group who ate the recommended 5 servings a day. The researchers were surprised and disappointed.

Out of the frying pan into the fire: according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences some powerful drugs used for treating mental illnesses cause patients to gain so much weight that they often develop life-threatening complications such as diabetes and heart disease. I've seen this happen to a loved one who was depressed and suicidal last year at this time, and mentally healthy today but 70 lbs heavier.

Arthur C. Brooks observed in the WSJ (2-17-07) that a BMI of below 25 can't be "normal" if so few people are there. Overweight men give more money to poverty relief and also are more generous with their time in volunteering than thin men. Brooks suggests that denying one's self may translate into denying others.

Of all the "foodie" books I noticed in 2007, this one, "What to eat: an aisle by aisle guide" by Marion Nestle (2006) looked really good. I haven't read it yet, but she has my philosophy, "eat less, move more," and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Arranged like a tour of your supermarket, the book is, according to a CDC review, "a revealing look at the standard practices of government agencies, retailers, and food manufacturers that the complex world of food sales comprises." I have certain aisles at Meijer's that I won't walk through.

About a year ago, JAMA reported that in a study of the four major diet plans, the only successful people were the publisher and the author/researchers who got the grant. None of the diets worked well, or consistently, and none of the groups (ladies) were really following them.

It's not rocket science. Reading and following even well-intentioned, healthy recipes can add pounds. A roasted pear, walnut and feta cheese salad has 400 calories. A side dish of fresh, tender crisp asparagus has 88. And if you're like me, the cheese will make you hungry.

Considering how many presidential candidates are suggesting that universal health care is the solution and not the problem, I'm concerned by how many positive research articles I see on 1) government regulation of food intake, 2) surgery as a solution for obesity in order to lower long term costs, 3) attributing obesity to social class, race and poverty.

And why am I an expert? Yes, I research and take notes. However, as an adult (I was reasonably skinny as a kid), I've lost a lot of weight--20 lbs. in 1960, 20 lbs. in 1982, 10 lbs. in 1987, 20 lbs. in 1993, 10 lbs. in 1998, and 20 lbs. in 2006-07. Plus multiple smaller adjustments along the way. Right now I have a refrigerator full of luscious desserts left from our party on the 30th. The cherry cheesecake hasn't even been cut! Tough decisions ahead. Need to start the new year right--how about you?

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I've been tagged--7 weird/random things about me

Here are the rules: Link to the person (Dancing Boys Mom) that tagged you.

Post the rules on your blog.

Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.

Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

[I'm pretty sure I've done this one before--but here goes. The fact I'm doing this means I'm out of topics.]

1. I have 11 blogs, or 10 if you don't count the one that is completed and never added to, or 12 if you count the one that isn't at blogger.com.

2. [deleted] I hate to exercise, sweat, or breathe hard. I know it's good for me, but I've never liked it, and guess I never will. But right after I wrote this I went outside and walked a mile because the sun is shining. When I was 43 I joined an aerobic dance class and lost 20 lbs. But I still hated it.

3. I was an excellent student--mostly A's, and I loved school, but I think I withdrew from college 4 or 5 times. I've sort of forgotten the details. Rather than get a bad grade, I'd just withdraw.

4. I have all my permanent teeth, even four wisdom teeth.

5. I never worked in the first profession for which I trained (teaching).

6. I had grandparents until I was 43.

7. I do not like to be "overscheduled" (busy), so I plan accordingly. My theory is that people are as busy as they want to be.

My tags:

1. Matthew
2. John
3. Lady Light
4. PJ
5. Janeen
6. The Laundress
7. Emelou

The Christmas Exchange

The mirror looks nice in the bathroom--it was an exchange for a cast iron utensil too heavy for me to use. But the good news is, I found the itty-bitty Martha Stewart roaster I wanted at K-Mart--about $8.00. Then I exchanged the flannel pj's, fuzzy slippers and red dressy t-shirt for two jackets I am wearing for parties. Both with a wine or cranberry color backbround. While at K-Mart I found a nice T that would go with both--$4.00. The paisley print must have 10 colors, but I'm thinking only gray or wine/rust will work; the longer jacket with mandarin collar and side splits is wine (shown here in loden).

Generate your own jargon

With just a click, this little ap will provide the verb, adjective and noun you'll need to write that important grant proposal, or just stupify your friends. Educational Jargon Generator. I saw it at Joanne Jacobs blog and she saw it somewhere else. I've seen print versions for political speeches.

I wonder if Joe Morgenstern uses something like this to write his film reviews for WSJ? Friday he reviewed "There will be blood." As usual, by the time I worked my way through the complicated phrasing and multiple layers of performances by which actor played who in other films I didn't see, I had no idea why Daniel Day Lewis should have an Oscar for this. Four and five clauses per sentence using commas and dashes followed by parentheses just make my eyes swim.

The Eco-friendly rich

It's easy to be kind to the environment if you are over 65 and living on a teacher's pension and social security. We need less; buy less; budget more; conserve more. Plus we've learned that more stuff is just a burden to store and move around. But it's not so easy if we're rich with a "I deserve it" attitude. Last week USAToday featured a boomer couple using a solar powered water heater for their swimming pool. What sacrifice!

One of my favorite indulgences of opulence is Architectural Digest--you really see how the rich live in that magazine. And the green ads! What a hoot. The January 2008 issue has a special advertising section for just green money makers. Green renovating? Be eco-luxury and eco-gorgeous with the SBS-245 from Liebherr which combines your wine and food storage with 5 temperature zones in one eco-friendly unit! Of course, you'll want a refrigerator in your home office, your media room, your guesthouse too, so everyone will be happier with chilled drinks near by. A wine cooler in the pantry or bar is especially convenient, but when selecting these appliances look for the ENERGY STAR label so you don't waste energy.

Then you'll want to upholster your furniture with Edelman Leather, tanned with ancient techniques without chemicals (everyone knows that old ways are more natural and eco-friendly, right?) using vegetable dyes. You can even have that exotic jaguar, zebra or leopard print silk-screened onto cowhides to complement your new decor. Not to worry about the animals though, every hide is a by-product of the food industry, so you are actually preventing waste!!

And what could be more eco-friendly than a 65" flat screen LCD TV from a plant in Japan that has reduced its CO2 emissions by 76,000 tons per year!

Don't forget to rip out the HVAC system and replace it with a radiant heating and cooling system by Uponor (formerly Wirsbo)--eliminate allergens, use pipes (embedded in your wall$) made of polyethylene tubing, which unlike copper will not corrode (whatever happened to natural?) and enhance your indoor air quality.

And why not build a New England style home (originally designed by hardy folk to battle wind and snow on the east coast) along the windwept dunes of Malibu? Or a huge mansion in Palm Beach, FL that is inspired by jungle houses of Southeast Asia (designed by primitive peoples to work with that environment). Ah, the rich grow green. I'd love the irony if they weren't liberals trying to shove a limiting lifestyle on others while they merrily spend away.

And for the rest of us

hybrid cars which will take years to pay for, or ethanol spewing God-knows-what into the atmosphere while raising food costs

energy efficient bulbs containing mercury, made only in China in dirty coal burning factories, soon to be required by federal mandate, even though there are dozens of appliances that won't accept them

reusable cloth bags to carry into Trader Joe's to buy frozen fish from Indonesia and nuts from the Philippines

sale of carbon off-sets so we don't need to do with less, while cutting down trees in the midwest to grow more corn for ethanol

donations to "green" groups (with no track record)

public transit campaigns in suburban areas where it is a tax boon doggle for politicians, mostly Democrats who have grabbed the top 20 earmarks in the current Congress

employment in marketing firms that are now producing self-laudatory brochures and advertisements promoting green products

brands that say "organic" but not "grown in the USA."

Martin Luther's Christmas Book

Several weeks ago I checked out this title from our church library and forgot about it. Because of its seasonal topic I was only supposed to keep it one week! Now I'm reading it, and think it is so wonderful, I want to buy a copy. Luther's writing is timeless, and he wrote on every imaginable topic.

If I'm reading the publication data on the verso correctly, the editor, Roland H. Bainton, put it together with selected woodcuts from German artists of the era in 1948. This paperback is by Augsburg Fortress, 1997. Unfortunately, Bainton is a bit vague on where to find the originals, citing "the index to the sermon on the Gospels in the Weimar edition of Luther's works, vol. XXII," and suggests the stories are more beautiful in the original German. The back cover tells us that this little devotional contains 30 excerpts from Luther's Christmas sermons and that Bainton, a renowned Reformation scholar, translated and arranged them into eight topics. A reviewer at Amazon.com says that this represents 1/20th of what Luther preached and wrote about Christmas.

This is from the first chapter, "Annunciation."

"Our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a line of ancestors whom the Evangelist Matthew arranges with artistry into three groups of fourteen patriarchs, fouteen kings, and fourteen princes. Among the latter were a number of disreputable characters, as we learn from the book of Kings, and there were no savory women. God holds before us this mirror of sinners that we may know that he is sent to sinners, and from sinners is willing to be born."

So much of today's emphasis in evangelical churches is on Jesus as a friend and buddy, a close relationship, personal self-worth and happy, clappy, feel-good worship services, and service to God in order to feel good. Many of the songs are "I, me, my, mine" or "we, we, we." Luther never loses the awe and majesty of God come in the flesh, but also he doesn't let us forget why we need a savior. And as with all presentations of the Gospel, if you don't start with sin, you have no climax or ending either.

He takes the smallest part of the story and builds a sermon--like the birth of Christ taking place during a census and uses it to explain the Christian's relationship to government, or why virginity is not superior to marriage, or what low-down grubby work sheepherders had to do, or why the Wise Men, whom he called the sons of Abraham, were just learned, honorable men and not kings or princes. Always, Luther asks us to return to scriptures.

Why did the star not take the Wise Men straight to Bethlehem without any necessity of consulting the Scriptures? Because God wanted to teach us that we should follow the Scriptures and not our own murky ideas.

Thirteen Little Things

When we are children we learn life time lessons from our parents, some by their words, others by actions. Today I'm jotting down 13 habits, techniques, behaviors, attitudes, etc. learned from my parents that are still with me, some without thinking about them, some throw aways, in no particular order. Chime in with a few of yours.

1. If you are with someone, always open the door and let your friend(s) walk through first.

2. Make a square, military corner on the bottom sheet (when I was a little girl there were no fitted sheets) to keep it from pulling loose. Stop to admire your effort. Although I don't do this now, the principle of doing something right the first time and taking pleasure in it is a good one.

3. Always wear an apron in the kitchen. Aprons certainly aren't what they used to be, and it seems to me food splashes more, so when I put one on, I often think of my dad who always reminded me, even as an adult.

4. Turn housework into a game (usually against the clock). My mother was big at trying to make "work" into "fun." This usually got an eye roll from me and a whine.

5. Respect others with your appearance. Both my parents would "fix up" for the other after their work day, and we always ate as a family with properly set table, pleasant conversation.

6. Clean up the kitchen after the meal; never leave dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. I often fail with this one--maybe this would be a good New Year's resolution.

7. Start the week right with church attendance.

8. A gentleman always comes to the door to pick up a lady for a date. First timers meet the parents.

9. Sit like a lady (this was back in the days when girls and women usually wore skirts or dresses). Corollary: don't slouch.

10. The proper way to answer the phone. We often had to take orders for my dad, so this greeting I no longer use. However, I still keep paper and pencil by the phone, and I try not to mumble. I also overheard how dad spoke to his customers and even today I expect this from business people.

11. "A soft answer turns away wrath." This is my mother's from Proverbs 15:1. Never quite grasped this one, but it worked for my mother, who lived it and often quoted it. I can't remember her ever raising her voice.

12. The person who feeds the puppy is the one who will be loved by it. Usually this was Mom, because despite all our promises to care for it, she's the one who usually took pity on the poor thing. When I was growing up the dogs and cats lived outside. If it got bitterly cold, they could stay on the porch or in the basement.

13. In your lifetime you will probably have three really good friends. I'm still thinking about this one. Life has different stages--friendships vary--but the number seems pretty accurate.

Banner by AmandaF

Christmas Returns

Yesterday I heard on the radio that 40% of the gift receivers return something. Usually, that isn't me. I hardly ever return a gift--primarily I suppose because I'm pretty specific about size and color or type. This year I had no ideas, so a lot is going back! On Friday I asked my daughter if she'd already bought me something, and she said not everything. So I mentioned that my little (ca. 3 lb) roaster was starting to look a bit shabby and chipped. I think I bought it at K-Mart maybe 5 or 6 years ago for $5.00. It's just perfect for a small roast and I use it a lot. She shopped and shopped and shopped, and couldn't find anything. . . except a 5.25 quart ceramic covered cast iron pot in lime green with Rachel Ray's photo on the box. It was so heavy I could barely lift it. Keeping in mind my small kitchen, marble counter tops and glass oven top, I told her I couldn't risk using it (dropping it). She's very organized, so she had the sales receipt taped to the box, and a $20 "same as cash coupon" for the store. So yesterday, expecting the worst, I was off to Kohl's to exchange it. It wasn't at all crowded and the staff was very helpful. I couldn't find anything in cookware, but did exchange it for a new mirror for the bathroom, new cotton flannel sheets in sage green, and I still have over $40 left on the temporary credit card they gave me. And it was 15% off for seniors.

My husband bought me some things that are too small and the wrong color, from a store I never use, so they will go back too. So I'm off to shop. Next year, I'll be more specific to save myself some post-Christmas shopping.

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Checking out the new blogger features

Today I was browsing the blogger.com blog and discovered, or rediscovered, some features. I'm trying out the new template format that doesn't require knowing any html to change your template. I tried it first on the blog with the fewest entries, Growth Industry, since I wasn't sure the changes and revisions would hold. I also learned that because of the objections of people who use blogger.com for their blogs, the comments by non-blogger users has been changed. I think everyone hated it. Works much faster than writing your congress representative!

Me? If people have revised their template to include videos, pod-casts, flickr and ads, my computer locks up, or I can jog around the block while it loads. I am restricted to leaving comments at the more simple designs. But my main blog (this one) is pretty busy too, mainly with links to things I like, such as library databases, on-line newspapers and magazines, and political blogs. Also, it is always a shock to see what my blogs look like on another screen, since on mine I have only a very tiny, discreet border.

Merry Christmas

Photo by Matt Carbone used with permission, mcarbone@aiacolumbus.org
This lovely photo of Matt Carbone's black lab, Mr. Cooper, will remain at the top through December 25. Scroll down for current entries.

'Twas the day before Christmas
and all through our house
all of us were bustling
even my spouse.

Our children are adults now,
happy and busy
with final shopping, all
in a tizzy.

With potatoes and cole slaw,
cranberries, pork roast,
apple bacon stuffing,
dinner we'll host.

Silent Night, Joy to the World
the carols we'll sing
9 p.m. service to
Jesus our king.

I ponder all my blessings,
read each Christmas card,
and thank the good Lord as
I pray so hard

for all my loved ones who will
gather around our tree,
in two thousand and eight
happy will be.

Second day of Winter

It is black as pitch at 7 a.m. in central Indiana this time of winter! We left our hosts still snuggled in bed (they leave for Florida tomorrow) and made our way down a windy 38 on to Mt. Comfort Road and the Rt. 70 exit.

"Oh, look at the lovely RVs," I sighed, as the bright lot lights lit the whole exit with the fancy paint designs of a huge RV sales lot. "Maybe we should spend $80-$100,000 and just take off across the country visiting little RV parks."

"If you're ever a widow, ask your next husband," he said, and a strong tail wind pushed our little mini-van home by 10.

A sober diet

Although I said I wouldn't browse when I returned my books to the library, I lied. Poor Richard's Almanack [Ben Franklin], December 1742, had this to say about eating a sober diet:

"A sober Diet makes a Man die without Pain;

it maintains the Senses in Vigour;

it mitigates the Violence of the Passions and Affections.

It preserves the Memory,

it helps the Understanding,

it allays the Heat of Lust;

it brings a Man to a Consideration of his latter End;

it makes the Body a fit Tabernacle for the Lord to dwell in;

which makes us happy in the World,

and eternally happy in the World to come,

through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour."

Today's 10 Tasks

1) Return 3 volumes to the OSU library on Ackerman Rd. DO NOT STOP TO BROWSE!!!

2) Pick up the dry cleaning.

3) Make dessert to take to Indiana.

4) Walk at least a mile. It's NOT cold.

5) Read my health care plan.

6) Open up the box with the new computer and read the instructions.

7) Clean my desk top.

8) Let everyone know the Monday-Tuesday schedule and check supplies for dinner.

9) Type VAM minutes.

10)Go out for dinner with friends and swap Ireland stories (they've been there many times).

Huckabee's Merry Christmas

The hysteria about Huckabee's "Merry Christmas" ad is amusing--is it political (yes), is it about Jesus (yes), are there cross shapes in bookshelves, venetian blinds, floor tiles, building plans and airplane wing spans (yes), does the birth of Jesus Christ come before his death on the cross (yes), are there pagan, non-Christian elements in the ad, such as a yule tree (yes), do other religions have celebrations that involve light (yes), is Huckabee wearing a red sweater which could possibly symbolize his party, his faith, or the Christmas season (yes), is he a former Baptist minister (yes), is he a candidate for President of the United States (yes), is the U.S. a nation where the majority of the citizens report being Christians (yes), are the media looking for reasons to bring him down (yes), do the media and the entertainment industry regularly look for ways to demean Christians and their faith (yes), is this controversy a way to sneak the word "Christmas" back into the winter holiday (yes)?

Thursday Thirteen--13 Employment Strategies

Although I'm retired, there was a time in my life 25 years ago when I worked in the employment field. Yes, I was unemployed, couldn't find a job in my own field (libraries), so I went to work for the state government of Ohio, using federal funds (JTPA), helping other laid off or unemployed people find jobs. A sweet deal for me, although my colleagues and I in the program may be the only unemployed people who actually benefited. I loved my co-workers and the tasks--I did research, wrote publications, put on workshops, travelled, wrote speeches for bureaucrats, learned a lot about government, and was on a steep learning curve, something that has always been the joy of working in libraries. Your tax dollars and mine hard at work.

So when I saw this in today's Wall St. Journal in Sue Shellenbarger's column, I just couldn't resist. A recent graduate with an MA in Art History can't find a job in the Memphis art community. I immediately attacked the problem with my own on-the-job training of 25 years ago, plus my 23 years in the library field, and 18 years of hands-on parenting skills dumping loads of unheeded advice on my own 2 children.

1. Although it's too late now, don't pursue a degree in art history. And you certainly shouldn't have gone on for a master's. Do your parents have a money tree in the back yard? This degree is for rich kids who just want to say they went to college or average income, scholarship students who get bumped from their first choice when it's time to declare a major. This field employs no one except the faculty who teach it.

2. Move away from Memphis. If there ARE any jobs in art history, you have to go where the jobs are. They don't come to you. This also applies to librarians, lawyers and linguists. Just don't come to Columbus. We have a terrific art college here (CCAD), plus OSU, Franklin, Otterbein, Capital, and Columbus State, and their graduates are looking for work, too.

3. Whatever computer classes or skills you have now, get more. If you're lucky, the left and right sides of your brain are on speaking terms. If they're not, get used to hating this aspect of your career because it isn't going away. Deal with it. No one said life is fair.

4. Spend 40 hours a week looking for a job. That was the primary take-away I learned from my own JTPA contract in the employment field. Your job today is getting a job. If you can't bear the thought of one more interview or sending out one more resume, you're sunk. (Keep in mind, however, that most people get jobs through people they know who know people. So make part of that 40 hours telling everyone you know that you're looking.)

5. Research each place you apply to, and that includes the "culture," especially (if you're female) what they wear to work. Sounds trivial, but if you show up looking like a bank executive and the boss is in a t-shirt and ball cap, you won't put on your best performance, even though he probably won't notice your outfit. Green or purple hair and tongue studs almost never work on an interview. Drool is so tacky. Wouldn't hurt to know what they do to please their board of directors and donors, either.

The next suggestions are from the WSJ column, but I have to tell you, if these worked, no one would be getting the tougher degrees, they'd all have art history degrees. Shellenbarger suggests expanding the job search into these fields--

6. marketing and advertising
7. design
8. photography
9. web-site architecture

(these are all art related, but look what CCAD expects of high school graduates to have in their portfolio)

10. publishing
11. teaching
12. writing

and then

13. hiring a job coach to work on your interviewing skills.

Pork Cracklings

Whether you call them scrunchions, scratchings or cracklings, they are fried, salty, fatty bits of pig skin. And Congress loves its pork.

"President Bush signed into law historic energy legislation Wednesday that will shape U.S. energy policy for decades to come. The law seeks to dramatically reduce U.S. energy consumption over the next 25 years by applying the AIA's 2030 carbon-reducing targets to federal buildings, increasing fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, and establishing new energy efficiency standards for appliances." AIA Angle Dec. 19, 2007

Not much new here. Move along.

Emergent or emerging, we were doing this EC stuff 35 years ago at another church--before we were believers. We sat in the dark, stared at candles, listened to strange music with no theology, and talked churchy-talk and psycho-babble. Nothing or little about Jesus. Just churchiness. Community. Feel-good service. Relevancy to the culture. I'm really surprised that young Christians (although their Pied Pipers aren't all that young--aging boomers) are falling for this. PBS seems to get it better than some evangelical pastors. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzZ14Sk9u9Y

Oldie but goodie

This has been around the net many times, but it popped up in my e-mail this morning, sent by a friend of my husband from his high school years. I got a chuckle, maybe you will too.

A woman in a hot air balloon realizes she is lost. She lowers her altitude and spots a man fishing from a boat below.

She shouts to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consults his portable GPS and replies, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degree s, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

She rolls her eyes and says, "You must be a Republican!"

"I am," replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answers the balloonist, "everything you tell me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you're not much help to me."

The man smiles and responds, "You must be a Democrat."

"I am," replies the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," says the man, "You don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it's my fault."

Can WSJ writers find a real victim?

I've complained here many times about the "news" stories in the Wall St. Journal, WaPo, and NYT. Most of the "social concern" stories belong on the editorial page, except that's what intelligent, well educated people read. But the one on Dec. 6 in the WSJ titled "House of cards; how the subprime mess hit poor immigrant groups" written by Jonathan Karp and Miriam Jordan really takes the cake for biased, bad reporting. What school graduated these incompetents? We really do have a subprime mess--but using one woman, Naira Costa, to make a blanket statement about immigrants, and she an illegal immigrant who used someone else's credit card to inflate her credit score, gets a home loan for $713,000 (on a cleaning job salary of $2,000/mo), never made a payment, and she's suing the broker? Oh PULEEZE! Just for good measure, they throw in her Pentecostal church as one of the bad guys, and in today's WSJ reader section, the pastor says she wasn't a member and besides he has no control over what members do. Karp and Jordan must have really been trolling the dregs to find this story.

I'm a Mandarin!

You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.

Talent: 49%
Lifer: 38%
Mandarin: 54%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

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Bad dreams

We rarely see Law and Order in a current season, so we didn't see the 2005-2006 season finale until last night. It was really awful. I left the room and went to bed it was so brutal and vicious. Checking the show blogs and story lines this morning, I see that in April, 2006, Annie Parisse, who was playing Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia, gave her notice because it looked like the show wasn't going to be renewed--or possibly, she was just tired after 34 episodes of the dumb lines and ugly clothes they always write for the ADA who does all the grunt work for McCoy, no matter who plays the part--Jill Hennessey, Angie Harmon, Carey Lowell or Elizabeth Rohm. Like a lot of series where women play the second banana, they are expected to look good if they peel. I never thought Elizabeth Rohm (the ADA before Parisse) was a very good actress, but she was stunning. I'm sure it was a surprise to her in her final episode to discover she was a lesbian--sure was to me. Smack her around a bit, Mr. Wolf; make sure the audience will always remember that just in case anyone casts her in a romantic lead. Sam Waterston and Jerry Orbach aren't pretty guys, how come they don't have beauty standards for men?

Annie Parisse (whose brother married Sam Waterston's daughter, according to Wikipedia) is not just brutally and graphically murdered in the final 2006 episode, but is found in a dumpster, not unlike the usual opening scene, mouth duct taped, having aspirated her own vomit and with her face bashed in. I hope they used a mannequin, because if it had been me, I would have refused that scene. Man, they were really mad at her!

I think it is time for Law and Order, all versions, to close up shop. Women, conservatives, anyone religious but especially Christians, and all honest and ethical law enforcement personnel should change channels; those are the folks either ridiculed, besmirched or written off as evil. No more reruns for me.

Everybody knows

that diets aren't the answer; that it's a lifestyle. Or do they? I was reading through the comments at a blog the other day. Both the blog writer and reader were commenting on their own obesity. The reader said she had successfully lost 60 pounds, kept it off for six years, been a counselor in a commercial weight loss program, and then gradually all the weight returned as she realized that without spending all her day thinking about what she would eat, there was no way she could maintain her weight.

And the thought occurred to me that most people of "normal" weight probably do just that--think about what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat, and how the calories will be expended if overeating does occur. I do. So do others who are not overweight. I just finished breakfast (fruit and walnuts); I'm already thinking about lunch (4 or 5 vegetables). In fact, my husband is the only person I know who seems to have built-in signals that keep him from over eating, but if he does decide he's "packed on" 5 lbs., he stops eating crackers and peanut butter in the evening, and in a few weeks, he's back to normal (ca. 155 lbs.)

My great-grandmother Nancy (1833-1892) had nine children, as did her mother-in-law Elizabeth (1791-1878), who lived with her after her husband's death. You don't think these ladies spent most of their day figuring out how to bake enough bread or slaughter and stew enough chickens to feed a bunch like that? This is nothing new for women--what's new is abundance instead of scarcity, choices instead of physical labor, and we haven't learned the new game plan.

We went out to eat Friday night with friends we've known (but not well) for about 30 years. She's thin and toned. She's probably in her early 70s, but has looked this way to me since her 40s. For dinner she ordered a turkey wrap and a salad. She took half the wrap order home. The next day she was going to be biking 20 miles to have breakfast with friends. The temperatures here were about 30 degrees, and it was windy. She's also a swimmer. We then went to their home where she served a wonderful warm pumpkin tart made with Splenda topped with sugar-free Cool-Whip. You don't think she plans, computes and calculates everything that goes in her mouth and how many calories are burned in biking and swimming?

Oddies, Endies, and Undies

Yesterday I noted that my husband squeaked through on registration to tour the new Dublin Methodist Hospital to get 3 credit hours in health, safety and welfare for his continuing education requirements. At supper last night (homemade pizza) he couldn't stop raving about the design, creativity and planned well-being for patients. So it is definitely a winner, all around. You folks who live in Dublin and surrounding areas are going to have one super community hospital.


As I was settling in for a nap (one of my favorite events of the day) about 2 p.m. I heard a loud crash. I was a bit groggy, but realized the roof was not above me--the master bedroom is there. So I walked upstairs carefully, thinking perhaps a mirror or painting had fallen. When I got to the master bath, I saw that all the marble trim tile had fallen off the edge of the vanity. If anyone had been standing there in bare feet, he would have had a broken toe. I walked downstairs and told my husband (he uses that bathroom), and he said he wasn't surprised, that it was noted in the inspection in 2001 when we bought the condo, but hadn't been fixed.

So I settled in again for my nap. The phone rang and my husband picked it up from the kitchen. I opened an eye and looked at the TV screen. A name and phone number appeared. The conversation was with the buyer of one of the condos that has been for sale for a year. My husband is president of the association, and this purchase has involved many meetings of the board. When he hung up he said the purchase was final. I asked the buyer's name, but he couldn't remember. Was it--and I mentioned the name that had appeared on our TV screen, and he said Yes. Now that's weird. We assume it is something in her phone, because to our knowledge, this has never happened before. Has this ever happened to you?

A nap was definitely out of the question after two interruptions, so I decided to go Christmas shopping. I had four cards from Macy's. Two for $15 off a $50 purchase, and two for $25 off a $100 purchase. The problem was Macy's was also having a one day sale--something like "take another 20% off the already 50% markdown." I'm math challenged. So when I got my carefully totalled gifts (in my head) to the head of the check out line (waited 10 minutes), they only came to $82. So I'm refiguring what we'd agreed on, and go back and pick up an item that was $18 (although the $9 would have done just as well). See, that's how they trap you. In my head, I'm deducting the $25 off my son's gift, so it evens out with my daughter's and son-in-law's, but the receipt shaves each item--and actually totals $26 and not $25. I'll stick with my head on this.

I still have two cards left, so I browse the ladies lingerie department--not for a gift, but for me. My favorite brand of undies (which always seems to be on sale) has a buy 3 get one free (ca. $18), although because of the sale, I have no idea what it will be when I get to the register. So I go down stairs and look at shoes to see if there's something in 8.5 AA, and I select 2 Naturalizers and take them to the desk (no one comes to you these days). You would have thought I'd asked for the moon. "We have no narrow sizes in any style," she sniffed (She was quite large, and I think that's why narrow sizes are disappearing). You see, I thought if I bought a pair of shoes I didn't really need, I'd get the panties I didn't really need almost for "free." Saved from consumer hell by a shoe width.

Pholph's Scrabble Generator My Scrabble© Score is: 37. What is your score? Get it here.

That was close!

As an architect, my husband needs a certain number of continuing education credits each year to keep his license, and he has plenty, but was .5 short in one category--health, safety and welfare. One of the problems with finding anything out is that he doesn't use a computer, and all his newsletters have gone to e-format. So I'm the one who glances through them, and mentions things to him. (Like the architect his age who died when he fell off the ladder cleaning gutters.) But because he didn't know until 2 days ago about the 1/2 missing credit, I haven't really been paying attention. So yesterday I scanned the last few issues to see if we missed something, and at 4 p.m. an e-mail popped up about "only 4 spaces left." I thought maybe it was spam because I didn't recognize the sender's address, but I clicked on it. There it was: 3 credits for something today at 3 p.m., near-by, and inexpensive! I hollered downstairs, "I found something, but it's tomorrow!" I printed it off, he called, and the office was closed. So this morning about 9:15 he called--got an answering machine. She calls back in 5 minutes, and said she'd just had a cancellation (it was full). So he's in, and should have a good time previewing a new hospital in Dublin, Ohio.

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Books are such wonderful things

My mother wanted to be a librarian. She worked in the library at Mt. Morris College when she was a freshman there in 1930-1931 (the college had a disasterous fire in the spring and closed the next year). The Depression, then marriage and motherhood ended any career dreams, but she briefly worked as a clerk in the town library in the late 1950s. She was quiet, well organized, determined and tenacious; if anyone ever said a negative word about her, I never got wind of it. She drove to Rochelle to teach migrant workers to sew, held Bible studies in her home for years, ran a retreat center on her family's farm, and looked after innumerable relatives. For the most part to fulfill her dreams, she just read, researched and collected. We always received books or magazine subscriptions as gifts at Christmas from my mother and grandmother. Shortly before she died in 2000 she was still walking to the town library, which had become a public library while she was in college, and she had card #14. When she was in high school, she won an essay contest at the Dixon, Illinois public library, the nearest library to their farm. I think this was written when she was 15 or 16 and was published in the paper, so I only have the clipping and not the date.

Books are such wonderful things
There is one place, above all others, that holds a fascination that is not to be dimmed by frequent explorations. That place is a library. Rows on rows of books reaching to the ceiling. Some are nicely bound, clean and little used; others are shabby, worn out by loving an d unloving hands. They are there waiting for me, quiet and orderly from the outside, as they rest in neat lines on the shelf. Inside of the multi-colored covers is action, teeming life, successes and failures, tragedy and comedy.

To prepare for a trip is a different task, especially if it would be a journey that would reach around the world, turn back the centuries and allow me to live with the world from the earliest time to the present day. Such a journey is, of course, impossible, although extremely pleasant to dream of taking; time has never been known to stop or turn back. Out of the years has come something better for men. People of all times have written or recorded their thoughts on stone, parchment and paper. Only the best is left to us, and we may have a microscopic, yet comprehensive view of the world.

Only a slight motion of the hand is necessary and the cover of a book is opened; a kingdom waiting to be explored. Perhaps in this lies some of the wonder of a book. One need not leave the room to enjoy adventure or learn what is going on in other countries. What has happened hundreds of years ago is as close at hand as the present day. We may know more about Mary, Queen of Scots, than the “first lady of the land.”

A book is for relaxation of tired minds and bodies, inspiration through the actions of some ancient hero of mighty deeds. It has the power to lift the reader from surroundings that are familiar to places of dazzling splendor or trouble or squalor. A book will take you farther and faster than Mercury’s wings.

One summer day I sat down to read. The air was heavy with heat; only by reading could I forget the uncomfortable weather. My book was an Alaskan story. I climbed snowy mountains and crossed bleak valleys with the lone traveler. As the story proceeded, the traveler crossed a supposedly frozen lake but disaster came upon him. The ice was thin and gave way. I sailed through the icy waters with no hope of rescue, with the unfortunate man. It was terrible for life to end this way--no friends to weep, just lost. I shivered as the awful desolation of the north held me in its power. With a dry throat and my heart pounding wildly I stopped at the end of the chapter to find myself shaking with cold under the rays of a scorching sun.

A book is so wonderful, if it is truth from the author’s heart. It can do more than dazzle the brain with facts and fancies. It will reveal the vision of life as the author sees it. It may be ugly or it might be beautiful, joyous; it might be merely silly. Through the thoughts of his characters will run his own thoughts, their actions, what he himself might have done. Their philosophy of life is his, though it may not appear so on the surface. The author cannot keep himself hidden no matter how he tries.

Through the ages, men have attempted to tell realistically of the actions and lives of others. No matter how they failed or succeeded, they left a true picture of themselves--an example of the real feelings of that time more exact than any attempted story. That is why books are such wonderful things.

Monday Memories--A special Christmas

Christmas is a time to bring out the memories, isn‘t it? This one is quite fresh--last night, in fact. It is so easy to let special times slip by without mention--we think we'll always remember. That’s why a diary (this blog) is so useful when the memory track becomes so jumbled, scratchy and full--and a thesaurus might help too, because some superlatives can be overused.

Our couples group from church, called SALT (Serving and Learning Together), met for dinner at members’ lovely, traditional home in south Arlington. Treasures collected over many years of marriage--through lean and plenty--decorated every room. Nothing splashy or over done, but lovingly displayed each year--a framed needlepoint, tiny ceramic Santa Claus, an angel. Each one precious with stories to tell. Our hostess provided a delicious pork loin, and the other couples brought appetizers, salad, potatoes and dessert. Every morsel was prepared lovingly and to perfection--the wonderful smells wafted throughout the house. However, it was the Christian fellowship that made the night so special. The five couples sat around the dining room table, beautifully set with seasonal treasures, with just the right touches of holiday greens and red candles, china, silver angel napkin rings and goblets.

After catching up on our activities since we last met in November, the talk easily flowed to Christmases past and what was special “in the old days.” Many of us had parents born in the early years of the 20th century (my parents were born in 1912 and 1913, as were those of several others), and we told what modest celebrations they had--perhaps an apple or an orange, a plate of cookies or a new outfit. In the case of my mother, nothing, because Christmas wasn’t observed in her family when she was small except to go to church. Then we moved along the years to our own childhood Christmases, then our children’s, and now the grandchildren’s--with the bag of gifts growing with each year. It’s probably our age, but we all seemed a bit nostalgic for a time when we had less! There were funny stories, too--one man told of carefully slitting the wrapping, peeking inside the boxes, and then meticulously rewrapping the presents; another recounted the time his little brother unwrapped all the beautiful presents their mother had so artistically wrapped and placed under the tree--the day before Christmas. One woman told of an uncle who would come by with sleigh bells, circle the house, jingling them outside while the children were in bed (but still awake), banging on down spouts if someone had already fallen asleep. Was it the laughter, the candles, the sharing--but something felt like a warm cozy blanket in that room.

Then we moved to the living room to sing carols--our hosts have a gorgeous piano and a room that complements it in color and size. One of our members is an accomplished pianist and church musician. I love to watch her play--the graceful hands, the studied, far away look on her face, so I stood by the piano (Oh, it was beautiful!). We shared more stories and then prayer concerns. I’ve been in many groups over the years, but this one seems the most spiritually mature, the most dependent on God for strength and comfort through prayer and service.

I was opposite the tree. The lights in the room were dim--or seemed that way--and as the evening progressed, the tree appeared to glow. The lights reflected against the silvery roped strands, sending reflected light from the ornaments into the room. I’ve seen hundreds of Christmas trees in my life, but on this special night with friends, celebrating the first advent of our Lord, this tree was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. About 9 p.m. we held hands and prayed, then moved out into the starry, crisp night. Yes, a wonderful Christmas memory to pack away and treasure.

Maybe there’s a volcano or other hotspots?

Scientists have discovered what they think may be another reason why Greenland's ice is melting: a thin spot in Earth's crust is enabling underground magma to heat the ice. They have found at least one “hotspot” in the northeast corner of Greenland - just below a site where an ice stream was recently discovered. The researchers don't yet know how warm the hotspot is. But if it is warm enough to melt the ice above it even a little, it could be lubricating the base of the ice sheet and enabling the ice to slide more rapidly out to sea. “The behavior of the great ice sheets is an important barometer of global climate change,” said Ralph von Frese, leader of the project and a professor of earth sciences at Ohio State. Read the news release at Ohio State University Research

Green pork

Green, green, grant green they say,
On the side of Capitol Hill.
Green, green, not goin' away
'Cept where the grass is greener still.

"The House Committee on Education and Labor recently approved legislation that would create a new grant program for colleges and universities to promote sustainability. Originally reported in the AIA Angle in October, the Higher Education Sustainability Act of 2007 (H.R. 3637), drafted by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), would allow institutions of higher education to apply for federal funding for the development of programs and initiatives that address sustainability, specifically in the areas of green building, energy management, and waste management.

Education Committee Chair George Miller (D-CA) included The Higher Education Sustainability Act in a comprehensive higher education bill, The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (H.R. 4137). The committee unanimously approved the legislation, and it is expected to be debated on the House floor before the end of the year. And on Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced a version in the Senate (S.2444) . The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingman (D-NM); Christopher Dodd (D-CT); Edward Kennedy (D-MA); and John Kerry (D-MA). The House and Senate hope to finalize the bill and send it to the president by early next year." From AIA Angle, December 13, 2007

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words is called alliteration. I wonder how long it took the author to come up with this title, "Commercialization, Commodification, and Commensurability in Selective Human Reproduction: Paying for Particulars in People-to-Be." It's almost too cute for a very serious subject, selective reproduction (also called "offspring enhancement") by author Dov Fox, of Yale Law School, appears in the Journal of Medical Ethics. This type of enhancement looks a bit more troublesome than rich athletes using steroids, don't you think? Other than taxing it or regulating it, I'm guessing Congress won't do much. Once God's been kicked out of the public square it's hard to invite him back in. As a nation we've decided that the less-than-perfect products of conception deserve a pre-natal death; so designing the uber-perfect baby is probably the next step in our moral decline.

Pre-natal screening and genetic modification may one day enable parents to pick individual traits for their offspring from among a range of available options. If Americans already enhance themselves at a cost of $50 per orgasm, $500 per patch of hair, $1,000 per SAT point, $2,500 per cup size, and $50,000 per inch of height, and if the unlikely prospect of biological design nevertheless became possible, why wouldn’t parents opt for mathematical aptitude, a witty disposition, or straighter teeth for their children-to-be? Fortune magazine gauges the prospective U.S. market for preconception sex selection alone at over $200-million-a-year annually.Abstract here, with links to downloading

Is she kidding?

Ellen Goodman claims the Democrats are suffering from an embarrassment of riches, and the Republicans just an embarrassment.

I know she's a liberal, but blind, deaf and dumb, too? How does this woman survive with so many talented pundits trying to get her job? [She's not in this magazine--I just liked the cover.] The Republican roster, even including the ones I don't care for, like Rudy and McCain (mainly because of their messy personal lives), so far outshine the troika of Hillary, Obama and Johnny there's just no match. Hillary claims "change and experience." She's a has been before she gets to the gate. Who wants to go back to Bill running things and calling it a change? Edwards keeps whining about 2 Americas trying to paddle that canoe in the Great Society swamp, and Obama can't quite get the black folks to believe he's one of them (for very good reason).

Was I this silly when I was a liberal? Don't think so. I probably held my nose when voting for Bill.

Global Warming; the origin of the consensus

Let's look back a few years--to 1992. I'm not sure I was even aware of global warming in 1992--I probably was still under the influence of the global cooling theories. 1988 was the hottest summer I can remember, but then I wasn't around in the 1930s, although my parents could tell the stories of the dust bowl and the ghastly hot summers. I had watched Lake Erie rising and had seen the huge boulders they were bringing in to keep it from destroying the lawns that led down to the flat rocks. I could see from the old photographs of Lakeside that the lake was much higher in the 1970s than it was in the 1950s or the 1920s. Of course, all that has changed now--the lake is low again, and would be even lower if it weren't for the other Great Lakes draining into it. The boulders look a bit silly and lonesome now.

Check out what Richard S. Lindzen said about the origins of the "consensus" in 1992, and then what he said in 2006. Then browse a bit of history--like how cold it was in Europe in the late middle ages--how people froze from the cold, or starved because the growing seasons were so short after experiencing a balmy period in the 11th and 12th centuries. Then ask yourself, why should the world always be only the way I remember it? (Of course, Ohio used to be covered with a glacier, so I know it is getting warmer, and I'm so glad it did.)

And then pause to remember the Chinese, yes, the billions and billions of Chinese, who are just on the cusp of wanting what we in America and western Europe already have. They could sign 10 Kyotos, and it won't make a snippet of difference (following a contract is not in their tradition), while Al Gore and friends try to shut down the American economy in hopes of cooling the planet. Yes, think about China as you screw in your energy-saving, mercury filled bulbs made in coal fired factories in China and congratulate yourself for being so careful with fragile, elderly Mother Earth.

JAM says he could take global warming more seriously if only the people warning us about it were acting out their concern or behaving respectfully toward the environment in their daily lives. He's a bit more generous. I might take it more seriously if they weren't the same folks who say it took millions and millions of years for humans to develop a brain and walk up right, owls to learn to eat field mice, and terns to learn to navigate to their nesting area over thousands of miles, but now we're going to hell in a handbasket in just a couple of hundred years. How did evolution ever succeed without Al and his oversight committee of the IPCC?

Do your part to save the planet:

lose weight,
stop smoking,
pick up trash along the road side,
conserve resources,
plant a garden,
pick up after your dog poops in someone else's yard,
keep your cat in the house,
don't put out bird seed or throw bread to the ducks,
don't take down the fence rows on the farms,
put up a purple martin house,
don't drive like a drugged jack rabbit,
and be nice--reduce hot air by using your common sense.

Wild turkeys

couldn't keep me away from browsing "deepwoods" photos over at Weather Underground photo blogs.



She writes (but I can't find a place to comment and tell her how much I've enjoyed her photographs): "I am a lady who is now a stay at home homemaker. I live in the woods on the rocky coast of Maine. There are many opportunities to snap some great nature and wildlife scenes, as well as whatever else catches my eye as being interesting or a little different. I also love to bake, and do bake all our bread. Reading is one of my favorite pasttimes, non-fiction only. I am working on a book about my dog, Ridge, who also appears in many of my photos, as he is my constant companion...my hiking buddy, and my best friend. My firm belief and hope is that everyone will one day make a visit to the great state of Maine....it's not called "Vacationland" for nothing!" Sounds like a great life, doesn't it? I spent a summer session at a college in Maine, and we went there to see some fall color in the late 1970s. It is truly a gorgeous state. And winter doesn't look too shabby either!

Don't you need a kitty to love?

Capital Area Humane Society is looking for you. 3015 Scioto-Darby Executive Court, Hilliard, OH 43026 (614) 777-7387 FAX (614) 777-8449.

Where do you display your Christmas cards?

A survey at USAToday reported 46% on a table, 22% on the fireplace mantel, and 17% on a bookshelf. It's the 15th of December. My credenza is full; we need to find a new spot. In our other house, we wrapped red ribbon around the hall closet door, and taped the back side of the card to the ribbon so it sort of became a bulletin board.



See the photo of the boys on the far right side of the mirror? I nearly cried when I saw them. Could not believe how grown up they are. They now live in Texas, but their parents lived here when they were pre-schoolers--they are now 17 and 20 and the younger one is taller than the older. Our guys met on a job interview; architecture was so slow in Texas, but my husband's firm was unable to hire this promising, young Tejano architect. We invited them to church and became friends. When they moved back to Texas two years later when the economy improved, we were sorry to see them go.

This year birds are the winners--probably 4 cardinals in the snow cards with several other species, then kittins, then lion and lamb, maybe two dogs. Only a few snowmen, and really not very many baby Jesus cards either.

The weather outside is. . .

Snowing in central Ohio. Grab a camera. I've just been browsing Weather Underground and the superb photos posted there. I think you join, and post weather related photos. The horse photo was posted after the December 13 ice storm, and the barn in Missouri earlier by idzrvit (I have no idea who that is, but I just liked the photos). In the search window enter, "ice storm." With some 300,000 people without power don't talk to these folks about global warming.