Your Kids Want a Pet, You Dont Want To Pet Anything
August 31, 2007
"Mom, can we get a puppy?" Who hasn’t heard that line before? The kids think it’s time for an addition to the family, but you know you don’t have time for a family pet.
We’ve got the perfect solution to make everyone happy!! Hermit Crabs!!
Now before you start to panic because you just heard the word "crab", just listen! They’re not that bad. Trust me, I’ve had a few and after a while they were definitely part of our family.
Let me tell you why you should be convincing your kids to get a hermit crab:
1. They don’t bark, chirp or meow
2. They won’t pee on your carpeting
3. You don’t have to train them
4. They won’t climb up your screens or run away
5. They’re very easy to care for
6. Your kids will love them more than a puppy!!
Hermit crabs do not need attention every day or even need to be feed everyday?.that’s the best reason already! Hermit crabs live in smaller cages and stay in side of a shell. They eat hermit crab pellets and drink water from a sponge.
Write Strategy: Think, Believe, Attack
August 31, 2007
Think of writing like karate…it’s about DISCIPLINE.
Writing, like other forms of art, work or talent, requires discipline. It won’t ever be enough that you say to yourself that you are a writer. Only when you write and write with discipline can you call yourself one. Before you can earn a black belt in karate, you have to dedicate yourself, practice and instill discipline in yourself to learn the moves and techniques.
The same goes for writing. Don’t just read books. Devour them. Ray Bradbury, author of Zen in the Art of Writing, suggests books of essays, poetry, short stories, novels and even comic strips. Not only does he suggest that you read authors who write the way you hope to write, but “also read those who do not think as you think or write as you want to write, and so be stimulated in directions you might not take for many years.” He continues, “don’t let the snobbery of others prevent you from reading Kipling, say, while no one else is reading him.”
When to Plant Vegetaibles
August 31, 2007
Planting times for vegetables and other annual plants vary from species to species. In much of the United States the prime consideration is the date of the last spring frost/freeze. Many vegetables can be planted up to four weeks before the last frost, while others need to wait until a couple of weeks after the frost.
Another consideration is the date of the first fall frost/freeze. In northern latitudes, where summers can be short, the length of time some vegetable species take to reach maturity (most notably tomatoes and peppers) make it necessary to plant vegetable seeds indoors and then transplant the seedlings outside at the appropriate time.
Other vegetables and fruits, such as winter squashes and some melon varieties, seem to do better when planted as seeds directly where they are going to stay. With maturation times up to twelve weeks, it may be critical to get vegetable seeds planted as early as it is safe to do. If you have a short growing season, and wish to grow these crops, choose vegetable varieties that will reach maturity within a safe time period for your area.
No, No, No! Drop It, Drop It! Give It To Me Now!
August 31, 2007
Puppies can be so exasperating! They know what we want, and what we don’t want, yet they continue to push our buttons. Wait a minute! Maybe we can rewire our buttons and bring them out of reach of Puppy! Use the following tips to help prevent Puppy Theft and other hiccups in Puppy’s road to adulthood.
SUPERVISE, SUPERVISE, SUPERVISE.
The more that you can supervise rather than confine, the happier Puppy will be. Additionally, he will learn his lessons that much quicker. If you must wrap a leash around your waist to keep Puppy with you while you move about your home, do so. If all members of the family must take turns leaving the room or taking the puppy with them, do so. However, when you CANNOT keep him supervised, CONFINE him. He doesn’t care that you just left the room “for a minute.” That absence gave him a minute to fill–possibly with your favorite sandal.
SCAN THE ROOM, REMOVE THE BAIT.
Amish Quilts ? A Dying American Art
August 30, 2007
Amish quilting has been a tradition for more than a century here in rural Pennsylvania. Amish women create quilts, often in groups called quilting bees. This "bee" affords them the opportunity to gather in a social setting as well as give a rare opportunity to be creative and expressive in a community that frowns on pride and fanciful possessions. Because the quilts are a functional creation for use in the home, the women are permitted to create these amazing pieces of art. They boldly experiment with contrasting colors, exquisite designs, and a variety of geometric shapes to create wonders that please the eye and bring delight to those who appreciate the complexity of the construction.
Since the Amish do not have electricity much of the stitching is done by hand or with the aid of a treadle machine. The designs of the quilt are pieced together from pieces of fabric cut into various shapes and then sewn into what will become the top of the quilt. When the top of the quilt is complete, the bottom fabric and batting are added and then quilted together with intricate stitching that form infinite numbers are patterns themselves. The quilt is then bound at the edges. This process can take weeks or even months depending on how many quilters are working on the quilt and how much time is afforded to the project, depending on the season in which it is being created. During harvest time, in addition to their busy household schedules of cooking three large meals, cleaning, raising the children, making the family’s clothing, these women are often involved in working along the men to help in the harvest.
8 Tell-Tale Signs That Forecast Writing Success!
August 30, 2007
‘Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." -Stephen King
Ever wonder what the hands of fate will deal you in the way of success as a writer? Or why some individuals reap the rewards of literary recognition, while others fail and fade into anonymity?
Just as highway signs alert travelers of their impending destination, there are give-away indicators that point to "the road to success" for writers.
Here are checkpoints that reveal you’re in the literary fast lane!
- You’re Playing the Field- The more genres of writing you apply your talents to, the greater the odds of continued publication and pay. I began my journalistic journey over a decade ago, writing poetry and greeting card verse.
What I discovered was that poetry (although my first love), was not very marketable. As a result, these efforts alone met with very little success until I decided to try feature writing for magazines. This change in strategy not only allowed me to establish publishing credits and an impressive portfolio, but also financed the self-publication of 3 volumes of poetry chapbooks and opened avenues for paid performances and open mike competitions as well.
Is Cooked Food Really All That Good For Us?
August 30, 2007
In nature all animals eat living foods as yielded up by Nature. Only humans cook their foods and only humans suffer widespread sicknesses and ailments. Those humans who eat mostly living foods are more alert, think clearer, sharper and more logically and become more active. Best of all, live food eaters become virtually sickness-free!
Cooking is a process of food destruction from the moment heat is applied to the foodstuff. Long before dry ashes results, food values are totally destroyed.
If you put your hand just for a moment into boiling water or on a hot stove, which should forever persuade you just how destructive heat is. Food is usually subjected to these destructive temperatures for perhaps half an hour or more. What was living substance becomes totally dead very rapidly with exposure to heat!
Cooking renders food toxic! The toxicity of the deranged debris of cooking is confirmed by the doubling and tripling of white blood cells after eating a cooked food meal. The white blood cells are the first line of defense and are, collectively, popularly called “the immune system.” As confirmed by hundreds of researches cited in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences National Research Council’s book, “Diet, Nutrition and Cancer,” all cooking quickly generates mutagens and carcinogens in foods.
Why Should I Adopt A Pet
August 30, 2007
Over the past couple of years, animal rescues have been gaining popularity and support from all sorts of pet lovers. Basically what rescues do is take in animals and adopt them out to loving homes. Local animal shelters can only provide minimal support for pets needing homes. As a result euthanasia is a unfortunate reality of overpopulated shelters. With the over population of shelters such as the SPCA, rescue organizations are many pets only and last chance at a new beginning.
All volunteer based rescues such as Boxer Rescue Ontario even go as far as fostering, transporting and placing boxers in selected homes. Organizations like this run solely on the support of their communities, operating on donations and fund-raising. Without extremely dedicated and loving volunteers, rescues such as Boxer Rescue Ontario would never exist.
Most good rescue organizations place their pets in homes that will suit both the pet and his new family. Factors such as temperament, medical history and age are all taken into consideration when placing pets in their new homes. So too should the new home match the pet.
12 Reasons You Should Learn to Play the Piano
August 29, 2007
All right, folks, here you go: My 12 reasons why you should start learning how to play the piano. Immediately. As in today. This very minute.
Okay, fine, finish this article first, THEN get started. And yes, I know that there are more than just 12 reasons to play the piano. But I happen to like the number 12. 
1) Everyone should play at least one instrument. I truly believe that. Every person on Earth should be able to sit at SOME instrument and be capable of making beautiful music.
2) Playing the piano makes you feel (and look) sophisticated. Truly. No matter who you are or how many warts you have, you’ll just exude class the second you begin tickling those ivories.
3) Piano playing keeps your brain active. It’s very hard for your brain to rot when you consistently throw it the musical language to interpret.
4) You won’t run out of things to do when you’re bored. There’s always a new way to play, always a new approach to playing, and always, always, ALWAYS a new song to learn. (See number 8.)
A Land Divided - A World United - The Panama Canal
August 29, 2007
It has been called "the big ditch", "the bridge between two continents" and "the greatest shortcut in the world". One look at the immensity of the Canal, and you will understand why a French company with a labor force of 10,000 men went bankrupt trying to excavate it. The project, while conceived in 1534 by Charles I of Spain, began in 1882 and ended seven years later in disaster with over 22,000 people dead from disease and pestilence. The United States took over the assets of a French company in 1902 and began the process of finishing the canal.
It is a epic story, appreciated best by transiting the canal by ship, viewing what many historians say changed the face of the industrial world. This 51 mile water tollway shaved over 7,900 nautical miles off the distance between New York and San Francisco.
Sailing the Panama Canal not only offers a rich detailed and fascinating history narrated by an on-board Canal historian; it is the natural beauty that surprises most of all - an ever changing panorama of jungle clad hills, shimmering Lake Gatun, the high arched span of the America’s Bridge, and of course the intricate workings of the locks and gates themselves.
