Barb’s Blog » Archive for April 2008
Cooking Class #7
Laura decided for our pasta category on Ravioli. I think I knew it was going to be difficult, but neither Laura nor I knew how involved homemade ravioli could be. First you have to make the sauce, nearly 5 hours it took to cook! Next was the homemade noodles, (the pasta around the filled ravioli). Then to cook the pasta with the filling. It was a stressful meal, but in the end, it was a good dish with a … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Robins
Only a short while ago, mom noticed a birds nest being built on the front porch light of our house… It’s been fun watching how the robins have added to the nest. Now we get to see Mommy Robin sitting on it, both the parents tending to it, keeping watch and fussing at us as we leave through our front door. Here, one of the parents sits on a nearby tree branch, keeping a sharp watch. Stay, little cheerful … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
17 Billion Dollars in Profits
I was behind a lady in a line of cars at BJ’s the other day, we were at the gas pump. I looked at her as she was filling her car, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she looked close to crying. Watching the numbers roll around and accumulate was obviously adding to her stress level. I didn’t even have to TRY to imagine what had her so upset. I wondered what she couldn’t buy, so she could fuel her car with gas. I tell this story as I read the headlines: BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s two biggest oil producers, posted forecast-busting first-quarter earnings on Tuesday thanks to record crude oil prices that are expected to bolster profits across the industry. Revenue at BP jumped 44 percent to $89.2 billion (57.1 … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
I Get Bullied a Lot
This excerpt from Britain’s version of American Idol really touched me. A young boy with an exceptional voice even left Simon speechless. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Dress Up Hitler
I for one, can’t fathom why there would be a market for an Adolph Hitler Doll, but indeed they go on sale in the Ukraine, the very place where his regime killed around 3 million people. The 16 inch doll will have clothes to change him in, with several outfits, including an “early-days Adolf,” and a “wartime Adolf.” “It is like Barbie. Kids can undress führer, pin on medals, and there’s a spare head in the kit to give him a kinder expression on his face. He has glasses that are round, in the manner of pacifist John Lennon.” According to the saleswoman, this may be only the beginning. The Hitler’s chancellery, toy concentration camps with barbed wire, barracks and even models of gas chambers and crematoriums will go on sale if the Hitler dolls … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Food or Fuel?
If you read the news headlines at all, between the economy, housing crisis, and food issues, it’s all starting to sound like the Black horse of the Apocalypse. Consumer Confidence Falls to a 26 year low Many States Appear to be in a Recession UN secretary-general calls food price rise global crisis… Oil Prices Jump Oil shortage in UK ahead of strike: ‘Stations running dry’… STUDY: Oil prices to double in next 4 years… But it’s this headline that I thought was a no-brainer even when this started: PAPER: Gore Ducks, as Backlash Builds Against Biofuels… When they started to grow corn for the sole purpose of fuel, and even though I am no rocket scientist, I saw that as trouble. Forgetting for a moment that not all environmentalists are even sure that growing corn for fuel doesn’t consume … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Mom’s Birthday
Today is my mom’s birthday, so we filled the house with flowers… Happy Birthday Mom! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
All Talk Pelosi
Apparently, “Nanny” Pelosi made a promise to reduce gas prices: In a press release dated April 24, 2006, Pelosi said, “Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging, rolling back the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies, and increasing production of alternative fuels.” I think it’s time that someone pointed out that the price of gasoline has spiked $1.18 since Democrats took over in January and stands at $3.51. Indeed someone has. House Republicans. House Republican leaders on Tuesday challenged Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to release a plan to lower gas prices that they say Democrats touted when they were in the minority. “Two years ago this week, you stated that House Democrats … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Sim City Has Stopped Working
I thought I would share a few of my views of the new SimCity Societies. Where the graphics and detail are amazing, there have been a few setbacks in my new Sim Journey. But first the graphics. Here are a few screen shots: (you can click on the images for a larger view) As you can see, it has day and night like SimCity 4 Deluxe, but also clouds…and rain! Your rolling hills can even have morning fog. It’s adorable. Some … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
8 Million Millionaires
It’s nice to know in these difficult economic times, not everyone is suffering. Did you know that in the whole world there are 8 million millionaires? The ranks of the world’s rich swelled to 8m during 2007 as the wealthy proved immune to the strains across global economies in the latter half of the year. There was a 4.5 per cent increase last year in so-called “high net worth individuals”, those with investable assets of more than $1m excluding primary residence, according to the 2008 wealth report compiled by Citi Private Bank and Knight Frank, published on Monday. No wonder the price of gas isn’t coming down, there are quite a few who can afford it. FT Article HERE … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Only You
Today is my mom and dad’s wedding anniversary. Since I love looking at their old courtship and early marriage photos, I thought to make a slide show for this occasion. I miss seeing them together now that dad is gone, but he sure is in our hearts in a big way. I know he is in mom’s. Click here to see the movie, “Julian and Juanita” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
New Toy
My desktop PC is 5 years old. It’s not running 100%, but it has been very good to me and I still love it. However, since a lot of what I do with running my sites, web & graphic design, homeschooling, photography, communications involves my computer, I felt it was time to get a new one before the old one potentially dies on me. Since these days they make laptops as powerful as desktops, I decided to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Obama vs. Clinton
I sure had to, for once, appreciate Hillary’s break from “misstatements” when she reacted to Obama’s latest blunder. He spoke recently to a people in Pennsylvania, whose unemployment rate is around what the national average is (4.9%) and tried to tell them how unhappy they are: Obama touched off the controversy with his remarks at a closed San Francisco fundraiser earlier in the week. The remarks became public on Friday. “You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,” Obama said. “And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Seeing Double
It was brought to my attention that posts and comment boxes are appearing twice on my WordPress blog. I have made no changes personally that I know of that would have caused this. However, my host did make some upgrades to my MySQL that might explain it, at the moment there doesn’t seem to be a fix for the issue of the duplicate posts. I have tried deactivating all the plug-ins (as per Wordpress Forums) as well as changing the theme, but so far none have worked. However, the blog IS working and so are the comment forms. If you have an understanding of why this would happen and how to fix it, please let me know! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Outsiders View
Having friends all around the world, it’s often interesting to hear how they view things about what goes on here. Namely, the topic of some discussion has been our elections. I had to chuckle when Petra (from Holland) sat down at the dinner table recently and stated, “If Hillary or Obama wins to be president, this country is in deep trouble.” Well she got a lot of nods of agreement. But we all agreed, Petra included, that the funniest statement … Read entire article »
Silas Growing Up!
Miranda is so thoughtful…and clever! She thought of a cute way to show how Silas is growing by taking his photo each month next to a pillow in their green living room chair. Has it been a half of a year already? Here is our little Silas, now 6 months old and 20 pounds! For larger image Click HERE … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Granite Girls Soccer
Laura’s soccer is back in full force, this past week with a game each day! She is having a great time! Full size HERE Now if we could only do something about these games in the cold and the rain! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
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