Speaking of recipes, Kathleen has outdone herself lately with stunning photos and scrumptious dishes using native plants and wine from deep in the heart of Texas. Don't miss her at Hill Country Mysteries
I'm happy to report that Beth has her blog back up and running again, so if you want to check in on her upbeat take on life, revisit Switched at Birth. She's also got recipes-plus at her companion site, The Longleaf Bar and Grill Speaking of recipes, Kathleen has outdone herself lately with stunning photos and scrumptious dishes using native plants and wine from deep in the heart of Texas. Don't miss her at Hill Country Mysteries
1 Comment
Friend June in Delaware sends along this photo she took on the Chesapeake Bay the other day. Birds on a Wire, meet Gulls on a Pier. Thanks, June! This is from Linda, who lives in the Washington, DC area: I majored in French at Earlham College and spent my sophomore year in France , which was then less prosperous and untouched by American culture. From Earlham, I transferred to the U. of Maryland for my last year and a half and finished with two courses at Columbia U. I lived with my mother and my New Yorker stepfather in the east 50s while I looked for a job in publishing. One interviewer asked me if I typed and took shorthand. I said no, but asked if the young man already in the job was so skilled. He said no but complained, “I don’t know why they don’t tell you girls in college what to expect in the real world. I don’t care if you’re a Phi Beta Kappa if you can’t type and take shorthand.” Women’s rights were yet to be in ’63. Chastened, I retreated to Maryland to live with relatives in Kensington and look for a job. On November 22, 1963 , I was hired by Peace Corps headquarters at Lafayette Square and was shopping at Garfinkel’s when I heard that John Kennedy had been shot. That death tore me out of the ‘50s and flung me into the ‘60s. This comes from Karen, in California: A couple of years ago I young man I knew did a solo motorcycle journey from Oakland, CA, to Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. He had all kinds of adventures (and mechanical challenges) along the way, and while in Costa Rica he visited an ecological sanctuary where birds, animal, trees, and plants thrive. I began seeing fabrics with tropical designs which became the focus of this quilt, "Sanctuary." Imagine snuggling up under it on a cold night! Sanctuary, indeed! I had a lot of enjoyment making this quilt, and can't begin to count the hours I put into it!. "Sanctuary" is machine pieced, and machine and hand quilted, made from 100% cotton fabrics and batting. It measures 72in x 90in, suitable for a twin or double bed. ~~~~~ Karen has donated the quilt to the Palomar UU Fellowship to help raise funds for environmental education and social justice projects. To find out how you can purchase a raffle ticket (before November 14!), see www.vistauu.org You may have thought, with health care reform at center stage, employment at record highs and the economy near shambles, newspapers would have plenty to publish on their very expensive newsprint. Wrong. Apparently, Friday was a very slow news day. This, from the front page of Saturday's Recorder (Greenfield MA): Heroic Goldfish Heads Home BUCKLAND -- The little goldfish that could is back home and safely swimming with his tank mate. 'Poopsie,' the 3-inch goldfish who took a swim through Buckland's sewer system earlier this week, was reunited with his family on Wednesday. Wastewater treatment plant operator Alan Nichols and Chief Operator Daniel Fleuriel have seen many dead goldfish come through the plant, because so many pet fish are given 'flushing funerals' after they die. But a live goldfish coming through the sewage, twitching against a screen that filters larger objects, was a shock to both, said Board of Selectmen Chairman Stefan Racz. Sherry Clark, town administrator and administrative assistant to the Board of Selectmen, named the rescued fish 'Poopsie.' 'That was for obvious reasons,' she said with a giggle. Clark said when Fleuriel told employees at Town Hall what had happened, they thought, 'Wow, this is Buckland's fish!' 'Everyone is very, very happy that Poopsie was reunited with his family,' said Clark. 'And the family was delighted.' http://www.recorder.com/story.cfm?id_no=6548154 I thought we'd take a little vacation from health care reform for a while, giving readers a chance to contribute, and me a chance to enjoy what you have to offer. Fear not, this issue is not going away. We'll return to it shortly, or even earlier if I believe more aspects need clarification. For those who can't get enough or simply want more facts, see Time Goes By, listed as a favorite blog on the right. Ann Sentilles, Dallas-based journalist and publisher of The Third Third, has kindly permitted us to republish one of her recent posts, My Rx for Health Care. Her thorough and thoughtful statement will move you, I guarantee. You can follow this important piece to the end by clicking on Read More, just below the line dividing this post from the next. Thank you, Ann. For more of her fine writing, visit her blog, which she calls an online journal for women engaging the third third of their lives. ~~~~~ My Rx for Health Care The Third Third June 25, 2009 I think that ancient Chinese curse has taken hold: we are indeed living in interesting times. These are, in many ways, the times my Dad has worried about his entire adult life. As a child of the Depression, he was always afraid of running out of money. And as a physician, he was terrified of “the government taking over” health care. (Instead, as I have pointed out to him repeatedly and to no avail, the insurance companies took over health care and made a real mess of it.) As the Obama administration takes on both challenges – the economy and health care reform – all the while linking them inextricably, I am feeling a huge sense of bystander’s responsibility. I’m heavily invested in the government getting this right. Yet I’m not sure I have a voice in the discussion, and I know I’m not a player in the game. What’s a bystander to do? I’m ready for the times to be a bit less interesting. Translating this at both the macro and the micro levels, that would mean something like steady 5 to 7 percent growth in the economy (and by extension, the stock market, upon which our retirement depends), and a dependably accessible and effective health care system (and for me and mine, one smart, attentive primary care physician with access to the best resources should we need them). Nothing too complicated, right? But, as the cliché of the week insists, “The devil’s in the details.” (Just as an aside, can one call a trillion dollars a “detail”?) For the moment, let’s leave the economy to the, ah, economists, and move on to health care. Oh, how they’ve muddied the waters. What exactly is health care today? (To read the entire story, click on Read More, below theviding line.) Wish you were here!
The weather's good -- daytime highs 70-75, nightime lows 45-50. Put us on your calendar for next year. Kick back and enjoy the scenery. No fancy clothes necessary. In fact, leave them home. Aside from those few words we shared at the symposium in 2003, here is my Ted Kennedy memory: In 2006, I contacted Kennedy’s office to ask a favor for a dear friend who had spent her life caring for children from war-torn environments. Lynn never forgot how Ted Kennedy convinced an international adoption agency in 1973 to let her adopt a half-starved child from what is now North Korea, in spite of the fact that she was young, single and worked full time as a teacher. She was a very religious person and had spent a year in Zimbabwe, doing mission work, her own version of a year in the Peace Corps. She came home determined to help young children who had been left behind as victims of armed conflict, or were simply unwanted in the first place. In her mid-twenties, Lynn began adoption procedures while she was engaged to be married, but when marriage plans fell through, she was told didn’t qualify as an adoptive parent. Determined to adopt a child she had sponsored for through an international charity, Lynn called on the junior senator from Massachusetts for advice. Ted Kennedy talked the agency into letting her complete the adoption. Thanks to him, she was the first single person in the state to do so. And thanks to him, in 1975 she got special permission to travel to Southeast Asia to bring home a Vietnamese orphan, one of the lucky ones to escape Saigon on one of the last planes out. Later, Lynn adopted more children, all from places rife with war or poverty. Click on Read More (below, right) for the rest of this story. |
NOTE: Scroll down the page. At the bottom, click on the word Previous, to continue to another page. Blogger Profile
Retired reporter, writer, wife, mother, stepmother, grandmother, photographer, singer, knitter, kayaker, cook, swimmer -- not all at the same time
songbird@birdsonawireblog.com Blog Awards
Honest Scrap Kreative Blogger click here for
|