What Does A Friend Do?

I spent this afternoon at my family doctors and have a bit of a bug. So rather than a normal date night, Mark stained my deck, cleaned my gutters, treated my mailbox post and the glider with linseed oil, bought me a take out pizza and watched a chick flick with me. Now, that is a friend for you.
PS. This movie is hilarious!

Greek Fest - Fort Wayne IN - June 2010

One of the nurses I work with is a part of the Greek community in Fort Wayne. She is working the ice cream booth at the festival all weekend but took time out to hang with me while I enjoyed the wonderful food, the Greek dancing performance, and the shopping.

Book For This Week - 6/24/10

The

Brethren

by

John Grisham

The following is quoted from the author's website:

"Trumble is a minimum-security federal prison, a “camp,” home to the usual assortment of relatively harmless criminals–drug dealers, bank robbers, swindlers, embezzlers, tax evaders, two Wall Street crooks, one doctor, at least five lawyers.
And three former judges who call themselves the Brethren: one from Texas, one from California, and one from Mississippi. They meet each day in the law library, their turf at Trumble, where they write briefs, handle cases for other inmates, practice law without a license, and sometimes dispense jailhouse justice. And they spend hours writing letters. They are fine-tuning a mail scam, and it’s starting to really work. The money is pouring in.
Then their little scam goes awry. It ensnares the wrong victim, a powerful man on the outside, a man with dangerous friends, and the Brethren’s days of quietly marking time are over."

I just finished listening to this on audio on my way home from work tonight.  To be honest I did not really care for it.   I have enjoyed many of John Grisham's books.  (My favorite is "The Last Juror",  perhaps because I have always had a soft spot for up and coming journalists.)  But "The Brethren"  did not appeal to me.  Click on the author's name and book title above to learn more.  Certainly read John Grisham.  But I would not recommend you choose this particular book.

Nutrition Facts: An interactive guide to food labels - MayoClinic.com

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrition-facts/nu00293

Glee's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with Oil Spill Images

This beautiful song and the tragic images from the Gulf Coast oil disaster remind us that we have a choice to leave a better world for our children.

From My Email Bag Tonight (Adult humor)

GEOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN

Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa . Half discovered, half wild, fertile and naturally Beautiful!




Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe .Well developed and open to trade, especially for someone of real value.



Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain , very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.




Between 36 and 40, a woman is like   Greece , gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.




Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain, with a glorious  and all conquering past.




Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel, has been through war, doesn't make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.




Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada, self-preserving, but open to meeting new people.


After 70, she becomes Tibet ..  Wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages. An adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge.


THE GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN


Between 1 and 80, a man is like Iran ,... ruled by nuts.

100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change

http://100milediet.org/
I have been checking out some sites with info on eating local.

Ready to not pay taxes?

Good  find Stephen!  Two of my three children were born in Colorado Springs.  It was a beautiful place in 1981.

Truth Is Alive Through Alertness - OSHO

Listen HERE





This post is mostly about me experimenting posting the audio link. 

Gene Stratton Porter/ Geneva Home

A couple of years ago I posted a photo album of my visit to Gene Stratton Porter's Rome City Indiana Home. When my friend Linda and I visited it we decided we would like to visit her home in Geneva Indiana too. We did that yesterday and unfortunately I forgot my camera. The following shots are taken with my phone. After touring her home we drove to a nearby wetlands area that is being restored. One of the things Gene Stratton Porter is known for is her conservation efforts. Read more about her - http://www.bsu.edu/ourlandourlit/literature/authors/portergs.htm

Freedom Of Speech?

Many times I have been teased that with my mouth  I would not last five minutes in a country other than the USA,  so the thought of being forbidden to speak out and say what I think brings to mind   an image of being in a foreign country.   Therefore the knowledge of "veggie liable laws"  just sits wrong with me.   Click HERE for more information.  When an industry becomes so powerful it is able to stop people from talking about whether or not  it does things in a correct manner in my mind a futuristic and apocalyptic aura emerges.   While certainly when being critical of anyone a person should be careful to have their facts straight,  it is ridiculous to state a person can't say that they have made a personal choice not to eat meat and to state why they chose that.   To spend large amounts of money so that people can't afford to fight for their right of free speech is not proper use of our justice system.  Click HERE for one man's opinion on this topic.  And for a closer look at the meaning behind  our first amendment click HERE.    I still eat some meat but have vastly cut back how often.  This allows me to use the money and the calories I would have previously spent on meat on fresh fruits and vegetables.  Not eating meat very often has caused me to explore vegan alternatives and some vegan thought processes.   I should not be at risk of any litigation for saying so.  

Attachment: oei-02-08-00080.pdf

Mary Mchugh photo

Another meaningful photo. This one I can give the credit to the photographer - John Moore.

Book For This Week - 6/1/2010

The Black Hills

by

Nora Roberts

---

" #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts takes us deep into the rugged Black Hills of South Dakota, where the shadows keep secrets, hunters stalk the land, and a childhood friendship matures into an adult passion.

A summer at his grandparents’ South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan’s idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he’s discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn’t as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, with Coop’s annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker’s body.

As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her dreams of becoming a wildlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father’s demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most.

An investigator in New York, Coop recently left his fast-paced life to care for his aging grandparents and the ranch he has come to call home. Though the memory of his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something . . . or someone . . . has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil’s beloved cougar, recollections of an unsolved murder in these very hills have Coop springing to action to keep Lil safe.

Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. But now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey."

(This audio book was a gift to me from a MP friend and I just finished listening to it  Monday night on my way home from work.  Although I find love stories unrealistic,  this novel also involved action/adventure and held my interest with its quick pace.  As always click on the title and the authors name for more information.)

Annual Health-Related Costs of Foodborne Illness for Each State - Make Our Food Safe

http://www.makeourfoodsafe.org/cost_map
What is the cost for your state?

Kevin's Law

Robert Kenner's Website can be found HERE.
This evening was my Tuesday with Mark.  I eat beef once a month still.  So after going out to a local bar and grill for a great meal of prime rib we stopped at the video rental and Food Inc was in.  I have been wanting to see it for a few months now and it is always checked out.  The documentary touches on many issues.   I was probably the most unaware and shocked by the seed issue the farmers have to deal with.  It amazed me that a large company has obtained a patent on seed and prevent farmers from saving their own season to season.   On another note,  the part of the movie about Kevin's Law was especially heartbreaking.  Kevin's grandmother wrote a blog that can be found  HERE.  

In the following video Kevin's mother tells his story.