prayer

a very dear friend has come ill. the symptoms and the guesses lead to a diagnosis of leukemia. the family has suspicions and concerns that an orthopedic implant composed of a metal alloy has caused the trouble. they are having difficulties finding doctors who either agree or will accept the possibility or the connection between the two. the doctors want to do a marrow transplant and as I understand it, are not open to other alternative theories.

at this point, nobody really seems to know and it's all guesswork. his condition is very unstable at this point and some sort of treatment is needed very soon if he's going to make it.

i would ask, if you have a mind to, to pray for this man and his family and most of all his doctors to make wise decisions and be open to find the right answer to the right question.

another herbal concoction

this stuff is my newest concoction for drinking in the evening or anytime i don't want coffee...it's sweet & yummy

3 T catnip
3 T oatstraw
4 T orange peel
3 tsp unprocessed stevia herb
30-36 whole cloves
1 gallon water


for 1-2 cups, use about 1/2 teaspoon of catnip, oatstraw and stevia, 3/4 teaspoon orange peel, and 2-3 cloves...enjoy!

if you want to use processed stevia, leave out this measurement and sweeten to taste after the tea is made. i'm sure it will work fine, but i really enjoy the more natural flavor that the raw herb provides.

grabby kitty

the newest member of the family apparently doesn't understand the "pecking" order.

good article @ ehow

Avoiding Mosquito Bites, Naturally

new low

i get scam emails all the time and a friend of mine was even taken in by one, a long time ago. wound up costing around $5000 and the threat of prosecution for fraud.

the email I received today hits an all new low, but it works the same way...

Dear Brother in Christ,

I am Rev Greg Mark.Unfortunately, we are unable to help you. Our church states that we can
only do business with other members. If you were a member that would be one thing but since
you are not, there is nothing that I or anyone can do here. Sorry about that.

If you wanted to become a member, there may be a great many opportunities to do something
together, including helping you with your affairs.

Recently, our church was all set to begin an expansion into West Africa, Nigeria to be
exact. A member of only one month had promised to help us start a new congregation in Lagos.
He had completed all of the necessary steps to begin and was about to receive an initial
$5,000.000.00 to get started. Then, without warning, we never heard from him again. This was a great disappointment for us. If you wanted to take his place, we would be very eager to talk to you about that.

Let me know if this would be something that you would be interested in send me an email or call me through my cell phone - 17183548913.

Best regards,

Rev Greg Mark.

for anyone who has never seen this sort of thing, the methods used by this particular scam are very tempting. they offer to send you money and they really do in the form of a check. then they ask you to send them money for some contrived reason...to forward to a clerk or pay for services rendered or whatever, but it's usually only a portion of what they send you. so you wind up with money in your pocket and they get some cash from you...the catch is...it's a bad check and you're stuck holding the bag for cashing a fraudulent check and the sender (usually out of country and untraceable) has your cash. this friend of mine cashed at least 3 checks via this method before the bank put a stop to it.

some of these letters are more obvious than others, but they all amount to the same sort of thievery and should be filtered, ignored and/or sent to the authorities whenever possible.

if you, or someone you know has ever been taken in by something of this nature, you can contact the FBI internet fraud division to make a claim. this is a good step to take to be sure the victim is not made the criminal.

whole wheat chocolate & chips cookies

thanks to a very good friend of mine, i have found the perfect chocolate cookie recipe for use with hard red wheat. it even works with a course grinder for those who don't have a nutramill.

these are even BETTER than they look...

2 cups freshly ground wheat flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup lard (melted)
1/4 cup butter (melted)
2 tsp vanilla

***********
1 tsp soda
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 2/3 cups chips of choice
1/2-1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

***********

• 1. mix all ingredients by hand in first section.
• 2. let soak for at least one hour.
• 3. add soda, eggs, and sugar.
• 4. mix with beaters and/or dough hooks.
• 5. add chips and fold/mix in.
• 6. spoon teaspoon size balls onto baking stone.
• 7. bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes for a crisp/soft cookie.
  

careful getting them off the cookie sheet. they will be very soft and flexible. they will firm up when cooled. makes approx 7 dozen 2-3 inch cookies

note: the original recommendation was 8-12 minutes, but i found with my ingredients and the baking stone, this was not near long enough. you may have to experiment to find just the right timing for your neck of the woods and your particular baking equipment.

ain't he cute?

meet the newest member of the family. apparently this little guy thought we needed him, because he showed up a few days ago and without any prompting decided to stay. hubby broke down and fed him after 3 days and now he's officially got a name. introducing...(drum roll, please)... Nickle "Nickey" Mouse...

(this picture is right side up!)



(my first bath, i'm thrilled...)



(that bath really wore me out...)



(aaaaaaaaaaaah...home.)

may flowers

i only get to pick these once a year and oh how i love to look at them on my table...and they smell so lovely.




From my son...




From my daughter...

weird illusion

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, the dots will remain only one color, Pink.



However if you stare at the black + in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black + in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see only a single green dot rotating.

There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear.


Weird...

beware!

this is NOT a valid email. it is called a phishing email and it is used to gain personal information about the recipient...in this case a yahoo account name and password - presumably for SPAM purposes. Don't respond to these. Mark them as SPAM or JUNK or whatever your email client provides for.

Dear Yahoo Account User,

This message is from Yahoo! Mail message center to
all Yahoo! Mail account owners.

We are currently upgrading our database and e-mail
account center due to congestion. We are deleting all
unused Yahoo! Mail account to create more space for
new accounts.

To prevent your account from closing, you will have
to verify it below before One (1) week from now!

VERIFY YOUR YAHOOMAIL ACCOUNT NOW!!!

Yahoo Mail ID:................................

Password:.....................................

Your Birthday:................................

Your Country or Territory:....................

Click on the reply button to send the above requested
information to us.

Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his
or her account before One (1) week of receiving this
warning will loose his or her account permanently.

Thanks,
The Yahoo! Mail Team.
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.