It’s the little things May 19, 2007

Too often in this busy world, we fail to appreciate the little things, and to stop and take notice. Fireflies on a warm night, little flowers blooming in the grass, butterflies in search of food, birds gathering bit of grass and string for their nests, a smile from a stranger as you pass by. 

                                                                                                  

Take a minute to look around you. There is on much more to life than computers and cell phones. Look for the positive in everything. Take time to enjoy life’s little treasures.

From death comes life May 17, 2007

Stacy Rajas was a 34 year old teacher who was expecting her first child. Six months into her pregnancy she suffered a brain aneurysm, and went into a coma. She was declared brain dead the next day. The doctors kept her alive to carry the baby she wanted. On May 11, 2007, 3pound 3 ounce Zoe Sofia was born by ceacarean. Her mom was taken off life support 48 hours later, and her vital organs donated.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=3179755&page=1

more on Stacy

http://www.stacyfosterrojas.com/

My sympathies to her husband Marcus as well as my blessings on the birth of his new baby daughter.

Laundry Daze May 12, 2007

I have never been accused of being “Suzie Homemaker”. My mile high piles of laundry will attest to this. It’s amazing how much laundry a family of five can make. Sometimes a person has to give in, so with laundry soap in one hand and baskets in the other, I set out on my perilous journey of doing laundry. As I sorted out my clothing I began to wonder why I insisted on keeping some of these clothes.  A pack rat doesn’t keep as much stuff as I do. Some of these clothes just didn’t fit  any one. So I finally decided with much effort to bag up what didn’t fit. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was for me to let go of some of these clothes. I started this quest two days ago and my washing machine and dryer have hardly stopped.  I see an end to it probably about 5 more loads………now if I can get the 3 year old to not dump out the clean loads while I fold…………

Alien Life Form? May 7, 2007

If any of you are parents of teenagers, I am sure you have asked yourself at one time or another, is this alien being really mine? 

You look at them. Study them. Try your best to decipher what they are saying as they storm off to their room, speaking some kind of foreign language, that even god, or what ever entity you believe in, can’t figure out.

I have found that the best way to save my sanity on these days is just to agree with them. I am not saying go ahead and hand them what they want. Just agree with them. Yes, you should be able to do that, absolutely… get back with me on that in… oh about 4 years…………

Oh where, Oh where has the honeybee gone? May 3, 2007

Lately there has been a lot of talk about the honeybee. To many it’s just an annoying pest, but without them our food supply as we know it could drastically change.

Honeybees are one of the few pollinators that are synchronized and managed with the growing of crops. Without them there would be 1/3 less crops in the world then there is now. There are no other pollinators that can be moved from crop to crop. They are the biggest producer of consumer honey. Other pollinators such as yellow jackets, wasps, hornets, butterflies, bats and birds  are solitary pollinators and just can’t do the job.

Some plants rely on the wind or are self pollinateing but for  most fruits and vegetables they rely on the honeybee. Many grasses also need pollination, if the grasses  don’t reproduce then the grazing animals will starve and we lose another source of food.

So what’s killing them? Well pesticides for one thing. People are killing off the good with the bad. Another problem is fungus and mites that are feeding off the larva and the adult. There is also a fast-spreading malady called “colony collapse syndrome”. Whole colonies are disappearing with only the queen, worker drones and larva remaining.

One theory is that with the increase use of cell phones, the radiation is messing with their homing instincts. But what about the ones they found dead. Bees are extremely sensitive to the environment. Air pollution, water pollution, and global warming have not helped the situation much.

With the increasing use of geneticly altered plants, could it be killing off the bee?  I think everyone who has the space for a hive should get one. New equipment should be used to not contaminate the new bees with whatever may have been in old equipment.

There is so much going on in the world we don’t need to add massive starvation to it.

Some websites that talk about honeybees are:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-05-02-honeybee-die-off_N.htm?csp=34

http://www.pmac.net/birdbee.htm 

Pass a Square April 25, 2007

It’s pretty sad when the news of the day focuses on toilet paper. Sheryl Crow’s comment about using one square per visit has gotten all kind of media attention. Come on people she said it as a sarcastic joke. Perhaps in poor taste but look at how many countries around the world consider TP a luxury since it simple doesn’t exist.  Apparently not many of you visit public restrooms. Those dispensers only give you about 3 squares at a time.  The fact the people took her serious just shows how narrow minded thinking people are. If you really thought about it doesn’t fixing the big picture really start with the little things.