Well now you can download many of his eCookbooks from here --- How cool is that!
I use to have to send in a sase to get the recipes and wait for them to get back to me. Now all I have to do is download them. Just shows you how far we have come in 30yrs. Although I'm sure it was longer than 30yrs ago I was sending for those recipes. At least it seems like it. From small kids to grown up kids. Where did all the time go? Now I have grandkids. Won't be long and I'll be having gr. grandkids.
Oh the thought......... be still my heart.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Akoya Pearls- how they come about.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-966356099720042124&hl=en
This is very interesting. I never knew they actually had to have help to grow. The process is painstaking. The things we take for granted, for such beauty. I have always loved my pearls but I love them even more now.
I would like to add a tid bit from Karipearls
where I found this video. She has this other info on her blog. I thought it was interesting and thought I would share it with you.
Don't worry, you're not alone. Watch this video then read.
Watch pearl nucleating video here. (A new window will open.)
We all understand cultured anything else...after all we don't usually find our strawberries in the forest anymore. Our farm is filled with wild parsnips...but if I want parsnips I buy them at the grocery store....they're much bigger and better developed.
Well, pearls are much the same way...either wild or cultured.
Wild pearls are called natural pearls. Although, often the term natural is also used to specify whether or not the color is natural....so keep that in mind.
Natural pearls are still being found all over the world...even 10 miles from my home here in eastern Iowa, people find natural freshwater pearls in the Mississippi River.
So what exactly does cultured mean? Is a cultured pearl a real pearl?
Well....are the strawberries you buy at the grocery store real strawberries?
That person is glad that some intelligent folks figured out how to propagate strawberries and develop them into large, sweet, red gems that explode with flavor.
Cultured pearls happen much the same way...through planning, development and farming techniques.
My son planted strawberry seeds this year in a planter. Without the seeds, no strawberry plants would have sprouted.
Without a little help most mussels or oysters won't grow a pearl either.
Several people worked on figuring out to start a pearl growing, but Mikimoto is often the man credited with carrying the process to full development.
It's similar to taking a plant cutting. Has your mother ever visited a friend's garden who shared a slip of geranium with her so she could start her own plant?
Well, in a similar way, to get a cultured pearl started, the mollusk needs a piece of mantle tissue from another mollusk.
Often, for both sea and freshwater pearls, along with the tissue is placed a shell bead which can be a variety of shapes. The mollusk then coats this bead with pearl substance. This way, the shape of pearl can be controlled.
Now, take a few minutes to watch this super informative 6 minute 18 second video and you will see for yourself how cultured pearls are made.
Watch Pearl Nucleating Video Here (A new window will open up.)
Those big beautiful round lustrous pearls that have always been popular are often mostly a shell bead inside with a coating of pearl on the outside. Are they real pearls? Yes! But be sure to buy from a reputable seller to make sure the coating is thick enough not to peel or wear off.
Most freshwater pearls from Asia are nearly solid nacre...you don't need to worry about them peeling.
Because more pearls can be grown in freshwater mussels than saltwater oysters, the price is often much more affordable.
Saltwater, freshwater, natural or cultured pearls...all are amazing gifts from God...and the lowly, humble mollusk.
Enjoy those pearls! How are cultured pearls made? Now that you know...remember the mollusks who worked hard creating them for you.
This is very interesting. I never knew they actually had to have help to grow. The process is painstaking. The things we take for granted, for such beauty. I have always loved my pearls but I love them even more now.
I would like to add a tid bit from Karipearls
where I found this video. She has this other info on her blog. I thought it was interesting and thought I would share it with you.
How are pearls made?
What exactly is a pearl? Cultured, natural, akoya, freshwater....do these terms confuse you?Don't worry, you're not alone. Watch this video then read.
We all understand cultured anything else...after all we don't usually find our strawberries in the forest anymore. Our farm is filled with wild parsnips...but if I want parsnips I buy them at the grocery store....they're much bigger and better developed.
Well, pearls are much the same way...either wild or cultured.
Wild pearls are called natural pearls. Although, often the term natural is also used to specify whether or not the color is natural....so keep that in mind.
Natural pearls...
the only kind available centuries ago, are rare and valuable...if available at all. The country of Bahrain, however, still deals in natural pearls...in fact, selling of cultured pearls is illegal there.Remember seeing those old paintings of the queens all draped with long ropes of pearls? Those were most likely natural pearls, although, even back then, they had ways of making artificial pearls.Natural pearls are still being found all over the world...even 10 miles from my home here in eastern Iowa, people find natural freshwater pearls in the Mississippi River.
Ahhhhh, freshwater
....now just what does that mean? That's an easy one. Any pearl found in a body of water that's freshwater, like a lake, river, creek, is a "freshwater" pearl.Sea pearls or saltwater pearls are found in bodies of saltwater such as oceans, seas, or gulfs.So what exactly does cultured mean? Is a cultured pearl a real pearl?
Well....are the strawberries you buy at the grocery store real strawberries?
Yes, cultured pearls are real pearls.
Say someone really liked strawberries, but could never find enough of them in the woods, or the ones they found were too small, or too tasteless?That person is glad that some intelligent folks figured out how to propagate strawberries and develop them into large, sweet, red gems that explode with flavor.
Cultured pearls happen much the same way...through planning, development and farming techniques.
My son planted strawberry seeds this year in a planter. Without the seeds, no strawberry plants would have sprouted.
Without a little help most mussels or oysters won't grow a pearl either.
Coaxing a pearl to form
But there are ways to start a pearl growing in these mollusks (or molluscs). (Mollusks are any of numerous chiefly marine invertebrates of the phylum Mollusca, typically having a soft unsegmented body, a mantle, and a protective calcareous shell and including the edible shellfish and the snails.)Several people worked on figuring out to start a pearl growing, but Mikimoto is often the man credited with carrying the process to full development.
It's similar to taking a plant cutting. Has your mother ever visited a friend's garden who shared a slip of geranium with her so she could start her own plant?
Well, in a similar way, to get a cultured pearl started, the mollusk needs a piece of mantle tissue from another mollusk.
Mantle tissue needed
A tiny piece of mantle tissue from a mussel or oyster is inserted into a live mollusk which is set back into a body of water. A pearl sac is developed from the piece and the mollusk begins forming a pearl with layers of nacre....the substance of pearls....making a pearl.Often, for both sea and freshwater pearls, along with the tissue is placed a shell bead which can be a variety of shapes. The mollusk then coats this bead with pearl substance. This way, the shape of pearl can be controlled.
Now, take a few minutes to watch this super informative 6 minute 18 second video and you will see for yourself how cultured pearls are made.
Watch the Pearl Nucleating Process
Those big beautiful round lustrous pearls that have always been popular are often mostly a shell bead inside with a coating of pearl on the outside. Are they real pearls? Yes! But be sure to buy from a reputable seller to make sure the coating is thick enough not to peel or wear off.
Akoya pearl
An akoya pearl, by the way, is a pearl from the akoya oyster (Pinctada Fucata Martensii), which lives in salt water.Most freshwater pearls from Asia are nearly solid nacre...you don't need to worry about them peeling.
Tennessee Pearls
In Tennessee, however, cultured freshwater pearls are grown around a shell shape making intriguing pearls which are extremely durable and lustrous.Because more pearls can be grown in freshwater mussels than saltwater oysters, the price is often much more affordable.
Saltwater, freshwater, natural or cultured pearls...all are amazing gifts from God...and the lowly, humble mollusk.
Enjoy those pearls! How are cultured pearls made? Now that you know...remember the mollusks who worked hard creating them for you.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
"We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment. "
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment. "
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?
For AT&T cell phone users
I got this from a friend----
Just got this text from att.
Text: 11113020
AT&T Free Msg: You're a valued AT&T customer. We'd like to add 1000 bonus Rollover minutes to the mobile number ending in xxxx. There's no cost or obligation to you. It's our way of saying thank you. To have your minutes added, reply "YES" by 9/7/2011. Reply stop to end mktg msgs.
Doesn't hurt to try.
Text Yes to 11113020
Then I got.
Thank you for responding to our free 1000 bonus Rollover Minute offer. You will receive a confirmation message upon validation of this mobile account.
They said that friends of theirs that had unlimited plans still got this to work for them.
The old dented bucket
Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the clinic.
One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. "Why, he's hardly taller than my 8-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.
Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus 'til morning."
He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face .... I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments .."
For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning."
I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch.. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. "No, thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag.
When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn't take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her 5 children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.
He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going...
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.
He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind."
I told him he was welcome to come again.
And, on his next trip, he arrived a little after 7 in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen! He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. And I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.
Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk 3 miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.
When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning.
"Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!"
Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But, oh!, if only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.
I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.
Recently I was visiting a friend, who has a greenhouse, as she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the loveliest container I had!"
My friend changed my mind. "I ran short of pots," she explained, "and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."
She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven.
"Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body."
All this happened long ago - and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b)
Friends are very special. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear and they share a word of praise. Show your friends how much you care. Pass this on, and brighten someone's day.
Nothing will happen if you do not decide to pass it along. The only thing that will happen if you DO pass it on is that someone might smile (because of you).
One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. "Why, he's hardly taller than my 8-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.
Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus 'til morning."
He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face .... I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments .."
For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning."
I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch.. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. "No, thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag.
When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn't take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her 5 children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.
He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going...
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.
He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind."
I told him he was welcome to come again.
And, on his next trip, he arrived a little after 7 in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen! He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. And I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.
Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk 3 miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.
When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning.
"Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!"
Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But, oh!, if only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.
I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.
Recently I was visiting a friend, who has a greenhouse, as she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the loveliest container I had!"
My friend changed my mind. "I ran short of pots," she explained, "and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."
She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven.
"Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body."
All this happened long ago - and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b)
Friends are very special. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear and they share a word of praise. Show your friends how much you care. Pass this on, and brighten someone's day.
Nothing will happen if you do not decide to pass it along. The only thing that will happen if you DO pass it on is that someone might smile (because of you).
Monday, August 29, 2011
The Bridal Shower was a success
Yeah, I know since when does the Minister attend your shower. Considering you have only met her once. But I guess anything goes now days.
We all had fun. Now for the big day next month I get to make another trip down south. I love it when I get to travel to go visit her. She is my favorite cousin by the way.
She needed a pair of pearl earrings to go with her necklace so I made her these
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I'm going to a Bridal Shower this weekend so I made me some new *BLING*
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
What do yo think??
Mr. L. thought I would look better as a Blonde. I'm still debating on this one. What do you think??
This was taken by his phone so that accounts for all the glare from the sun. I know you can't see it very well but I am wearing my newest jewelry out fit I just made this morning to go with my purple shirt. I made earrings to match the necklace. As you can see they were pretty long. About 3inches.
Well to tell everyone before they ask me why I dyed my hair this color--- it is a wig. We came across it at the Salvation Army Store this weekend and Mr. L. just had to have it for me. So I took him up on it. It isn't very often he gets excited about something *for me* so I went along with this. I figured for $10 oh well. If anything, the grand kids could use it for dress up. I have to say I didn't mind the length, since this was light to wear. As my hair is super thick and if it were this long I would be having some major headaches. The reason for keeping it cut short. Not that I want it that way.
Well everyone have a nice night.
Well to tell everyone before they ask me why I dyed my hair this color--- it is a wig. We came across it at the Salvation Army Store this weekend and Mr. L. just had to have it for me. So I took him up on it. It isn't very often he gets excited about something *for me* so I went along with this. I figured for $10 oh well. If anything, the grand kids could use it for dress up. I have to say I didn't mind the length, since this was light to wear. As my hair is super thick and if it were this long I would be having some major headaches. The reason for keeping it cut short. Not that I want it that way.
Well everyone have a nice night.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Upgrade Your Life: Revive a dying laptop battery
Revive a dying battery
This was on yahoo today and of course you can't put the video on here so there is the link instead. After that video it will go into other great informational videos if you want to stay and watch them.
This was on yahoo today and of course you can't put the video on here so there is the link instead. After that video it will go into other great informational videos if you want to stay and watch them.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Interesting tidbit for today
NBA VS NFL
Even if you aren't a Sports Fan this is Very Interesting!
36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71, I repeat 71 Cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related Charges
8 have been arrested! For shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits and 84 have been arrested for drunk driving In the last year !
Can you guess which organization this is?
Is it the NBA Or NFL?
Give up yet?
Scroll down,
Neither,
it's the 535 members of the United States Congress.......
***My note: and to think we have no problem with them running our country. What's wrong with this picture? Why is it we as a nation won't stand up and do something? But we have no problem setting down and complaining to each other. If we all stood up and joined together we could get things done.
Even if you aren't a Sports Fan this is Very Interesting!
36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71, I repeat 71 Cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related Charges
8 have been arrested! For shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits and 84 have been arrested for drunk driving In the last year !
Can you guess which organization this is?
Is it the NBA Or NFL?
Give up yet?
Scroll down,
Neither,
it's the 535 members of the United States Congress.......
***My note: and to think we have no problem with them running our country. What's wrong with this picture? Why is it we as a nation won't stand up and do something? But we have no problem setting down and complaining to each other. If we all stood up and joined together we could get things done.
Hands
Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg , lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.
Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of the elder children, Albrecht and Albert, had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.
After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.
They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg .
Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to
earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you."
All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ..no ...no ..no."
Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg . It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ...for me it is too late."
More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.
One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands."
The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one - no one - - ever makes it alone!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
How to solve the Seniors Retirement problem and the growing Prison Inmate problem with one change...
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!!!....
Here's the way it should be:
Let's put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes.
This would correct two things in one motion:
Seniors would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.
They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical
Treatment, wheel chairs, etc.
They would receive money instead of having to pay it out.
They would have constant video monitoring, so they would be helped instantly... If they fell or needed assistance.
Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.
A guard would check on them every 20 minutes.
All meals and snacks would be brought to them.
They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.
They would have access to a library, weight/fitness room, spiritual counseling, a pool and education...and free admission to in-house concerts by nationally recognized entertainment artists.
Simple clothing - i.e.. Shoes, slippers, pj's - and legal aid would be free, upon request.
There would be private, secure rooms provided for all with an outdoor exercise yard complete with gardens.
Each senior would have a P.C., T.V., phone and radio in their room at no cost.
They would receive daily phone calls.
There would be a board of directors to hear any complaints and the ACLU would fight for their rights and protection.
The guards would have a code of conduct to be strictly adhered to, with attorneys available, at no charge to protect the seniors and their families from abuse or neglect.
As for the criminals:
They would receive cold food.
They would be left alone and unsupervised.
They would receive showers once a week.
They would live in tiny rooms, for which they would have to pay $5,000 per month.
They would have no hope of ever getting out.
"Sounds like justice to me!"
Here's the way it should be:
Let's put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes.
This would correct two things in one motion:
Seniors would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.
They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical
Treatment, wheel chairs, etc.
They would receive money instead of having to pay it out.
They would have constant video monitoring, so they would be helped instantly... If they fell or needed assistance.
Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.
A guard would check on them every 20 minutes.
All meals and snacks would be brought to them.
They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.
They would have access to a library, weight/fitness room, spiritual counseling, a pool and education...and free admission to in-house concerts by nationally recognized entertainment artists.
Simple clothing - i.e.. Shoes, slippers, pj's - and legal aid would be free, upon request.
There would be private, secure rooms provided for all with an outdoor exercise yard complete with gardens.
Each senior would have a P.C., T.V., phone and radio in their room at no cost.
They would receive daily phone calls.
There would be a board of directors to hear any complaints and the ACLU would fight for their rights and protection.
The guards would have a code of conduct to be strictly adhered to, with attorneys available, at no charge to protect the seniors and their families from abuse or neglect.
As for the criminals:
They would receive cold food.
They would be left alone and unsupervised.
They would receive showers once a week.
They would live in tiny rooms, for which they would have to pay $5,000 per month.
They would have no hope of ever getting out.
"Sounds like justice to me!"
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
9 Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime.......
Something to think about.
Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come-------
1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. e-mail, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.
2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with cheques by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.
3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major mobile phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.
4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.
5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the mobile phone companies will let you call customers using the same provider for no charge against your minutes.
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.
8. "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future.. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud.. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or hand held device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof ?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.
9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and mobile phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits.. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.
All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.
Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come-------
1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. e-mail, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.
2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with cheques by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.
3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major mobile phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.
4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.
5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the mobile phone companies will let you call customers using the same provider for no charge against your minutes.
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.
8. "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future.. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud.. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or hand held device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof ?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.
9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and mobile phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits.. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.
All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.
Letter to the Editor
ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER-New Immigrants
This is a very good letter to the editor. This woman made some good points...
For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple. NOT printed in the Orange County Paper..................
Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published; but, with your help it will get published via cyberspace!
From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsman- ship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.
When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte
I sincerely hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!!
KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING. FOR THE WRONG THINGS TO PREVAIL THE RIGHTFUL MAJORITY NEEDS TO REMAIN COMPLACENT AND QUIET!! LET THIS NEVER HAPPEN!!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Want to lose your spare tire with just 2 exercises?
These 2 exercises will have you well winded at the end of doing these. But they will also help to rev up your metabolism. You can't beat that.
They go like this--
You do 15 reps. of the kettle bell swing then go right into 15 reps. of squat thrusts. Then go back to 14 reps. of the kettle bell swing and onto 14 reps. of the squat thrusts and on down until you get to 1 of each. You will be working backward in reps. for each. That will give you a total reps. of 120 each or 240 for both.
You will do them at a good pace and should be done in around 15 minutes.
You might find that you can't finish and that's okay. Just start at a lower number and work up until you can finish.
As in all exercises-- Don't over work yourself.
For the kettle bell swing--
For the squat thrust--
http://bcove.me/hnxv7ehf
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Comcast to launch $10 internet service for low-income families
Comcast launch $10 Internet Service for low income families
Not bad but not all families can sign up for this. You must have a child in your family and they must be in school to qualify. Plus other restrictions.
If you qualify-- good luck. Happiness all around.
I don't qualify :(
Not bad but not all families can sign up for this. You must have a child in your family and they must be in school to qualify. Plus other restrictions.
If you qualify-- good luck. Happiness all around.
I don't qualify :(
Necklace and Earring Set I made for someone
This is a set I made for a lady that wanted to put her own necklace and earrings on to them. So I didn't charge her as much as I usually would if I had added them.
I used the 2 square beads on top for the earrings, just to set them off a bit and a round one for the necklace. They all have hearts on the bottom. The one just didn't turn well when I took the pic.
Friday, August 5, 2011
FREE Address Labels
Who doesn't love free, plus free address labels on top of that.
wah hoo
The pic below is *not* of the actual labels you will be getting. I just wanted to get your attention. You don't need to fill out your phone # or credit card info, just hit submit after you've put in all your contact info. You don't even have to put a correct email address down if you don't want to be bothered by them later on. They don't send a confirmation email. So no worries there.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Gatorade Recipe
Mr. L. has been wanting gatorade for work but wanting to take 2 bottles a day adds up. So I had come across this recipe a few years back and never had given it a try. So I dug it out and did some taste testing and came out with this.
2 envelopes of kool aid (Mr. L. prefers "Grape")
18 Tablespoons of sugar
1/2 tea. of table salt
1/4 tea. of Nu Salt
I mixed this in with 1 gallon of water and Mr. L. said it tasted just like (if not better) than gatorade.
You can adjust the sugar if you want but I must say it did taste fine just as it was. And I'm not that much of a gatorade drinker. It's not suppose to be that sweet since it's not kool aid. But it does come out pretty good with just the 18 tablespoonfuls.
The cost isn't that much. My Kroger store had kool aid 10 for $1 this week so I stocked up. Then with you not using that much sugar and salt's it's maybe 26-30cents a gallon. So I'd say that's pretty got for making it yourself. It gives him 4 bottles out of that with the 32oz. bottle he has. Not bad I'd say.
2 envelopes of kool aid (Mr. L. prefers "Grape")
18 Tablespoons of sugar
1/2 tea. of table salt
1/4 tea. of Nu Salt
I mixed this in with 1 gallon of water and Mr. L. said it tasted just like (if not better) than gatorade.
You can adjust the sugar if you want but I must say it did taste fine just as it was. And I'm not that much of a gatorade drinker. It's not suppose to be that sweet since it's not kool aid. But it does come out pretty good with just the 18 tablespoonfuls.
The cost isn't that much. My Kroger store had kool aid 10 for $1 this week so I stocked up. Then with you not using that much sugar and salt's it's maybe 26-30cents a gallon. So I'd say that's pretty got for making it yourself. It gives him 4 bottles out of that with the 32oz. bottle he has. Not bad I'd say.
Dear Mr. President
Dear Mr. President,
I heard you say you will not guarantee SS checks if the debt ceiling isn't raised.
Why is it the scare always has to do with SS, Medicare, & our Soldiers pay?
Why not stop your pay, your staff, or Congress and the Senate's to save more money for our country?
If that isn't enough, how about withholding foreign aid?
Why use Seniors, Soldiers, & our Needy as examples?
Take the money from those who take no risks and reap the benefits!!
Instead of threatening to withhold Social Security, VA and disability payments of people who really need the money....
Lets hold the paychecks of all house & senate members, then see how fast they resolve the debt ceiling crisis !!!!!
I don't think any of you could live on what they live on monthly and make it.
How about giving it a try. Oh, I forgot, one of you tried and couldn't do it. So you went back to your cushy fat paycheck and forgot all about the little guy.
Thank you..
If you agree, Please repost this & keep it going across the whole USA.
Things learned while living in the South....
A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.
| There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in the South. |
| There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in the South, plus a couple no one's seen before. |
| If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha. |
| Onced and Twiced are words. |
| It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy! |
| Jawl-P? Means Did y'all go to the bathroom? |
| People actually grow and eat okra. |
| Fixinto is one word. It means I'm fixing to do that. |
| There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there is supper. |
| Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar. It is referred to as the Wine of the South. |
| Backwards and forwards means I know everything about you. |
| The word jeet is actually a phrase meaning Did you eat? |
| You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is, you work until you're done or it's too dark to see. |
| You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH em. |
| Ya'll is singular, all ya'll is plural. |
| You measure distance in minutes. |
| You switch from heat to A/C in the same day. |
| All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect, or animal. |
| You know what a DAWG is. |
| You carry jumper cables in your car - for your OWN car. |
| You only own five spices: salt, pepper, mustard, Tabasco and ketchup. |
| The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local high school sports and motor sports, and gossip. |
| You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday. |
| You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit a bit warm. |
| You know what a hissy fit is. |
| Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite pastime known as goin Wal-Martin' or off to Wally World. |
| You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good beef or chicken stew weather. |
| Fried catfish is the other white meat. |
| We don't need no dang Driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive!!! |
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