"Awwwww" news for today

A Chinese mutt named Huani nurses her own puppy and three newborn tigers at the Jinan Paomaling Wild Animal World in Eastern China. The baby tigers were rejected by their mother. Huani will nurse the cubs for about a month.

Full story here

Two for Tuesday - the old and the new

The old: over 100 year old peonies taken from my brother's 5 acres and transplanted last fall. They made it through the winter, can't wait to see if they bloom.



















The new: plantings from brand spankin new seeds. So far there is green in all of the pots.











Gardening makes me think of "What you sow, so shall you reap". (Galatians 6.7)
Let's sow good things daily.

Gone fishin!

and swimming, and sunbathing, and boating, and kibitzing, and sleeping, and reading.....

Have a great memorial day weekend!

Yogi (Berra)-Isms

Yogi Berra, baseball hall of famer, turned 82 a few weeks ago.

He is famous for his convoluted and garbled quotes that somehow make perfect sense.

I love em.

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
"The future ain't what it used to be."
"It gets late early out there."
"If you come to a fork in the road, take it."

"If you ask me a question I don't know, I'm not going to answer."

" It's deja-vu all over again."

" You should always go to other people's funerals. Otherwise they won't come to yours."

" 90% of the game is half mental. "

"It's not too far, it just seems like it is."

" We have a good time together, even when we're not together."

"90% of short putts don't go in"

8 Random Facts

I've been tagged by Kate to post 8 random facts/habits about myself.

I did the 5 weird things about me awhile back so here are 8 random facts/habits to add to it:

1. I've kissed the blarney stone.

2. I hate public speaking, yet for every job I've ever had, I've had to do it. (except now)














3. I unconciously mimic the voice intonations of others when I am around them. Eg: when I am around my canadian cousins, I speak with a canadian accent. It drives my brother nuts.

4. I was barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen for a total of 3 years and 3 months of my life.

5. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue.

6. I hate mushrooms and bleu cheese. I tried to overcome my hate for these and I ate a grilled portabello mushroom with bleu cheese recently. I threw up.

7. I can play chopsticks, heart and soul, and the theme from Love Story on the piano.

8. I used to take bubble baths with my cat Snickers. She would meow by the side of the tub until I plopped her in the water. Then she would purr. (She wouldn't wash my back though.) Now we have a dog and I can't get him near a tub without a fight.

There you have it.

I have seen so many of my blogging buddies tagged recently I am going to give the tagging a rest for a bit. If you'd like to play, post your 8 random things/habits to your blog and let me know!

Two for Tuesday - a porch challenge

My good friend Richard (rzdesign) has been challenged by his neighbor as to who has the best porch plantings.

The two porches are below.
Click on the link under the porch plantings you like best and vote under the comments section of that post.

You may vote anonymously if you'd like.

Porch 1













click HERE to vote for porch 1.


Porch 2


















click HERE to vote for porch 2

A mom moment ......

David and Chase had their last regatta yesterday.
It was a biggie.
Both their boats made it to finals.
Both their boats took a silver medal.















and Chase had his Jr. Prom last night.
He and Jordanne had a great time.

Things that make you go hmmmm.....

EVER WONDER ...

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

A little peace please.

It's been one of those days.

I am need of a peaceful moment.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Ahhhhhhh.

This peaceful moment brought to you by the St. Lawrence River.

Taken Sat. May 12, 2007 from Dillon Island.

Ronald McDonald House

Two pooped to post two for Tuesday!

I just got home from Ronald McDonald House with two of the boys. This was our 3rd night painting a porch and porch furniture. A good deed for a good charity.

Ronald McDonald House provides a warm and caring "home away from home" for parents when their child is seriously ill and in a hospital away from their home town. There are currently 255 Ronald McDonald Houses in 28 countries.

The Ronald McDonald House in our town has 16 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms and is located in close proximity to 3 hospitals. Two of these are specialized children's hospitals.

So far, we have been blessed with healthy children and have not needed this service. It's nice to know it's there for those that do.

Manic Monday Green

You say green, I say Irish.

We have a great Irish community in our city.

The Irish section on the west end of town is called Tipperary Hill.

We boast such pubs as Rosie O'Grady's, Nibsy's Pub, McNamara's Pub, Coleman's Pub and The Blarney Stone.

This light sits on Tipperary Hill.

Green on top

Red on the bottom.

Here's the scoop on how the light came to be.

When the city first started to install traffic lights in the 1920's they put one at a major intersection on Tipperary Hill, on the corner of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. Some Irish youths, incensed that anyone would dare to put the "British" red above the "Irish" green, broke the light. The city replaced it but the Irish broke the replacement. After a few rounds of this the city decided that if they wanted a light at that intersection, they had better put the signal up inverted, and so they did, and so it stayed.

Now raise that glass of green beer and say "Sláinte"! (to your health)

and go visit Mo at it's a blog eat blog world to see how everyone else interpreted the word "green".

no five fun facts for friday

eight amazing anagrams instead

dormitory become......... dirty room
eleven plus two becomes ..........twelve plus one
conversation becomes.............voices rant on
slot machines become ...........cash lost in 'em
a gentleman becomes ............elegant man
western union becomes .........no wire unsent
evangelist becomes ..........evil's agent
debit card becomes .........bad credit

Have a great weekend!

(cartoon borrowed from davezilla.com - and he's got more.)

What number do you get?

Add the following numbers aloud.

1000
20
30
1000
1030
1000
20
______
? ? ? ?

What number did you get?
Most people get it wrong.

Try it with a group of people.

Click HERE for answer

Two for Tuesday Play

It has been a crazy day
but
I am loving this day.
because
It feels like summer!
Let's go play.


"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair". Khahil Gibran

“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” Mark Twain

(but.... never play cat and mouse if you are a mouse)

Manic Monday Survive

Mo over at It's a blog eat blog world chose survive for today's word.

This was the hardest word for me to post about so far! When I hear the word survive, I think of cancer. Having a brother who did not survive cancer at age 23 was very tough. He had a rare, incurable kind of cancer.

But, on a more uplifting note, I have 3 good friends who have all survived breast cancer (5 years plus) and know others who are in remission. All survivors.

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. For we women, surviving breast cancer is all about early detection. Self exams are the easiest and best form of early detection. Ladies, give yourself a monthly self breast exam. Guys, remind your lady friends to do a self exam once a month. Hey, you could even offer to help, as Cam here does!

5 fun (gardening) facts for friday

1. Ladybugs are the most commonly used form of biological pest control because one adult ladybug can eat as many as 50 aphids (tiny soft bodied bugs that eat garden plants) a day!

2. The onion is a lily, botanically. Asparagus is also a member of the lily family. The name "asparagus" comes from a Greek word meaning "sprout".

3. Cool as a cucumber? It's true ... the inside of a cucumber on the vine measures as much as 20 degrees cooler than the outside air on a warm day.

4. The Daisy got its name because the yellow center resembled the sun. It was commonly known as the "day's eye" and over time, was eventually called daisy.

5. A hummingbird will feed at over 1,500 flowers in an average day.

and p.s. If a spider dismantles her web, that means a bad storm is near.

Camp vs. Crew

Camp 0 - Crew 1

What I won't be doing this weekend.....
Relaxing and drinking my morning tea at Camp Ryan.

What I will be doing this weekend.....
cheering the boys on at their crew meet.

hip, hip, hooray! go team!

Wednesday's Weird News

Woman swallowed lover's false teeth

A Romanian woman needed medical help after she swallowed her lover's false teeth during a moment of passion.

The 38-year-old woman, from Galati, went to hospital with stomach pains claiming she had swallowed a foreign object but without saying what it was.

Doctors were surprised when the x-ray showed false teeth in her stomach.

Eventually she admitted she gulped down the denture while experimenting a 'special type of passionate kiss' with her boyfriend. After spending two days in hospital, the foreign object left the woman's body the natural way.

So do you think it was a partial or full set? yikes!