I guess it was too good to last. One of those constants you think can't change, and one day you find out that it has. I thought they could add planets, if they discovered more. But I never thought they'd take one away.
I guess some good can come out of it. I've learned quite a lot about Pluto over the past couple of days. Did you know it has 3 moons? I hadn't heard they'd discovered 2 more besides Charon. Though I still don't get this "clearing its own orbit" thing.
Just goes to show us, we don't know everything.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Cooperstown
Yesterday, we took a day trip to Cooperstown, NY -- about and hour and a half's drive from home. We were motivated by my husband's desire to see the baseball hall of fame.
I'm not much into baseball. The website said that a serious baseball fan could spend 2 days in this museum. The less than 3 hours we spent there was more than enough, in my opinion. It was okay, but I can't see spending even a full day there. There were lots of things to see. First, the big hall with a plaque for each hall-of-famer, organized by the year they were inducted. Then you go a half-flight up and there are some exhibits and a bookstore. Then you realize that you can't go up the seemingly open staircase in the atrium outside the bookstore. The stairs are for staff only and lead to offices. In order for a visitor to get to the 2nd or 3rd floor, they must retrace their steps thru the main hall back to the entrance where there is a stairwell.
At the top of that stairwell is a cute little theater made to look like the inside of a baseball stadium. We watched a short movie about the history of baseball. Then we walked around and looked at the exhibits. The museum provides you with a sort of scavenger hunt with 10 questions based on various exhibits. If you get all of the answers right, you get a free set of baseball cards. This motivated my younger son to pay attention to some degree.
My older son was mostly bored, till we came to a TV that was playing Abbott & Costello's Who's on First comedy sketch. Suddenly we couldn't tear him away.
After the museum, we walked around the little town and looked in the shops. Most of them had a baseball theme -- lots of souvenirs and more personalized bats than all the professional baseballs teams in the world could ever use. One shop was called Rivalries and was devoted to Yankees and Red Sox merchandise. A lot of high priced stuff in all the shops, new and old. One shop had old equipments supposedly used by famous players. A bat that belonged to Lou Gerig was listed for $395.
The town itself is very picturesque. Beautiful houses and old buildings, a beautiful lake and beautiful countryside. We parked on the outskirts of town and took a "trolley" into the main business section, and then back again at the end of the day. I'll have pictures in a little while.
I'm not much into baseball. The website said that a serious baseball fan could spend 2 days in this museum. The less than 3 hours we spent there was more than enough, in my opinion. It was okay, but I can't see spending even a full day there. There were lots of things to see. First, the big hall with a plaque for each hall-of-famer, organized by the year they were inducted. Then you go a half-flight up and there are some exhibits and a bookstore. Then you realize that you can't go up the seemingly open staircase in the atrium outside the bookstore. The stairs are for staff only and lead to offices. In order for a visitor to get to the 2nd or 3rd floor, they must retrace their steps thru the main hall back to the entrance where there is a stairwell.
At the top of that stairwell is a cute little theater made to look like the inside of a baseball stadium. We watched a short movie about the history of baseball. Then we walked around and looked at the exhibits. The museum provides you with a sort of scavenger hunt with 10 questions based on various exhibits. If you get all of the answers right, you get a free set of baseball cards. This motivated my younger son to pay attention to some degree.
My older son was mostly bored, till we came to a TV that was playing Abbott & Costello's Who's on First comedy sketch. Suddenly we couldn't tear him away.
After the museum, we walked around the little town and looked in the shops. Most of them had a baseball theme -- lots of souvenirs and more personalized bats than all the professional baseballs teams in the world could ever use. One shop was called Rivalries and was devoted to Yankees and Red Sox merchandise. A lot of high priced stuff in all the shops, new and old. One shop had old equipments supposedly used by famous players. A bat that belonged to Lou Gerig was listed for $395.
The town itself is very picturesque. Beautiful houses and old buildings, a beautiful lake and beautiful countryside. We parked on the outskirts of town and took a "trolley" into the main business section, and then back again at the end of the day. I'll have pictures in a little while.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Low Fat Zucchini Bread
I was given an enormous zucchini, and I decided I wanted to make zucchini bread. My trusty Betty Crocker cookbook only had a recipe that called for shortening. Not having shortening on hand, I turned to the internet for a recipe. Again and again I found recipes that contained 1 cup or more of vegetable oil. Ugh! Probably very tasty but not so good nutritionally. But I finally found this one that contained only 1/3 cup oil and used applesauce to make it still moist and edible. Recipe here
I made this Thursday and it was great. I made it again today. I still have almost enough zucchini to make a 3rd batch. (I said it was a big zucchini.)
I did have one problem -- the recipe called for a smaller loaf pan than mine. But it made 2 loaves -- maybe it would all fit in one? But once I mixed up the batter, I could tell I'd have a mess on my hands if I did that. So I used my large loaf pan and put the rest of the batter in a mini loaf pan I have, one of a set of 4 that I bought a while back. I baked the big one longer than the small one, of course.
I also made some modifications to the recipe:
First, I added half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter. The bread would still be good without that, but this made it really good.
Also, I reduced the oil to 1/4 cup, added about a tablespoon of water and about 4 tablespoons of ground flax seeds. I add ground flax seeds to any recipe I can -- you can substitute 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds for 1 tablespoon of oil and it adds lots of nutrition as well. I bought a big bag of flax seeds and I grind them in my coffee grinder. My local supermarket now sells golden flax seeds in their bulk natural foods section.
I made this Thursday and it was great. I made it again today. I still have almost enough zucchini to make a 3rd batch. (I said it was a big zucchini.)
I did have one problem -- the recipe called for a smaller loaf pan than mine. But it made 2 loaves -- maybe it would all fit in one? But once I mixed up the batter, I could tell I'd have a mess on my hands if I did that. So I used my large loaf pan and put the rest of the batter in a mini loaf pan I have, one of a set of 4 that I bought a while back. I baked the big one longer than the small one, of course.
I also made some modifications to the recipe:
First, I added half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter. The bread would still be good without that, but this made it really good.
Also, I reduced the oil to 1/4 cup, added about a tablespoon of water and about 4 tablespoons of ground flax seeds. I add ground flax seeds to any recipe I can -- you can substitute 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds for 1 tablespoon of oil and it adds lots of nutrition as well. I bought a big bag of flax seeds and I grind them in my coffee grinder. My local supermarket now sells golden flax seeds in their bulk natural foods section.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Unsatisfactory graphics
I am embarrassed about the graphics on this blog. I can't figure out the right color for the text of the heading, nothing is easily readable against the background. So I went in and made the area directly behind the text lighter, but it looks like some kindergartener who just learned to use a computer did it. Then, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, you see something very unintended that I don't know how to fix. That's what I get for trying to modify the template without really knowing what I'm doing!
I'll probably leave it for now and try again when it's Fall and I feel like a change of graphic motif. Maybe I'll get further then and learn from my mistakes.
I long for the "good old days" of computers -- to me, that means: I remember our first computer. When we took it out of the box, we first had to install DOS (remember DOS?). Then we installed Windows -- a whole stack of 3.5" floppy disks, or maybe it was even the old 5-1/4" disks, remember those? We installed a mouse, and later a hard drive. I knew everything about how that computer worked, I edited the config.sys file, I really felt in control of it. Now, computers are so complicated, with more and more features coming along all the time, that I'm starting to feel that I can't keep up. And the web -- the first websites I visited, you could look at the code and read the words of the text among the few snippets of HTML code, and it was even obvious what the codes did. Now, websites are so complicated -- CSS, PHP, RSS, blogging, tagging, web 2.0, social networking -- it's too much for my small brain to be able to remember.
Though, there is one good thing this new technology has brought -- podcasting! Maybe I'll post more about that later.
I'll probably leave it for now and try again when it's Fall and I feel like a change of graphic motif. Maybe I'll get further then and learn from my mistakes.
I long for the "good old days" of computers -- to me, that means: I remember our first computer. When we took it out of the box, we first had to install DOS (remember DOS?). Then we installed Windows -- a whole stack of 3.5" floppy disks, or maybe it was even the old 5-1/4" disks, remember those? We installed a mouse, and later a hard drive. I knew everything about how that computer worked, I edited the config.sys file, I really felt in control of it. Now, computers are so complicated, with more and more features coming along all the time, that I'm starting to feel that I can't keep up. And the web -- the first websites I visited, you could look at the code and read the words of the text among the few snippets of HTML code, and it was even obvious what the codes did. Now, websites are so complicated -- CSS, PHP, RSS, blogging, tagging, web 2.0, social networking -- it's too much for my small brain to be able to remember.
Though, there is one good thing this new technology has brought -- podcasting! Maybe I'll post more about that later.
Friday, July 28, 2006
End of the Spear
I saw the movie on DVD a couple of months ago. Then I rented Beyond the Gates of Splendor, a movie documentary that covers the same incidents, but you get to see the real people instead of actors playing them, and they do a lot of interviews with the people involved.
But I was still interested in learning more about this remarkable story, so I checked out End of the Spear, the book, by Steve Saint, from the library. I just finished reading it last night, and I can't recommend it enough. The book mentions all sorts of things you just can't cover in a movie, and all of it was fascinating. This is truly a story of a family's relationship with the Lord and how that works out in their lives, in small and large ways, in every day situations and large life challenges. I highly recommend this book, whether you've seen the movie or not.
One other comment: the movie briefly showed some sort of supernatural vision right after the 5 missionaries were killed in 1956. This was not really explained fully and I know some critics took issue with its inclusion in the movie. I'd gotten through the whole book and it wasn't mentioned -- that was the one thing I wanted to know more about that I hadn't found out about in the book. But then I flipped the page to the Epilogue, and there it was. Steve Saint explains how the Waodani told him what they saw and why he believes that it really happened. Very fascinating and encouraging book!
But I was still interested in learning more about this remarkable story, so I checked out End of the Spear, the book, by Steve Saint, from the library. I just finished reading it last night, and I can't recommend it enough. The book mentions all sorts of things you just can't cover in a movie, and all of it was fascinating. This is truly a story of a family's relationship with the Lord and how that works out in their lives, in small and large ways, in every day situations and large life challenges. I highly recommend this book, whether you've seen the movie or not.
One other comment: the movie briefly showed some sort of supernatural vision right after the 5 missionaries were killed in 1956. This was not really explained fully and I know some critics took issue with its inclusion in the movie. I'd gotten through the whole book and it wasn't mentioned -- that was the one thing I wanted to know more about that I hadn't found out about in the book. But then I flipped the page to the Epilogue, and there it was. Steve Saint explains how the Waodani told him what they saw and why he believes that it really happened. Very fascinating and encouraging book!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Triumph De Farcy
Or, in other words, beans! I selected this variety of bush bean seeds at my local WalMart (where I buy my seeds, due to their low prices, having nothing to do with the quality -- they've always worked for me, anyway).
So, this variety was represented as "bearing very early and heavily." And, it's true, they do. I planted the seeds in late May (20something) and yesterday, the beans were almost big enough to pick. I had to forcibly restrain myself from doing so. Today or tomorrow they will be ready. Maybe I'll take some pictures.
The pole beans have blossoms, though they look like they will still climb higher on my strange arrangement of PVC pipe they have to climb on. Again, I was unable to get my husband to help, so I just grabbed the pipes and arranged them as best I could. If I'm really brave, I might post a photo of that, too, so anyone who actually reads this might laugh at me.
Off to pick beans before it gets too hot!
So, this variety was represented as "bearing very early and heavily." And, it's true, they do. I planted the seeds in late May (20something) and yesterday, the beans were almost big enough to pick. I had to forcibly restrain myself from doing so. Today or tomorrow they will be ready. Maybe I'll take some pictures.
The pole beans have blossoms, though they look like they will still climb higher on my strange arrangement of PVC pipe they have to climb on. Again, I was unable to get my husband to help, so I just grabbed the pipes and arranged them as best I could. If I'm really brave, I might post a photo of that, too, so anyone who actually reads this might laugh at me.
Off to pick beans before it gets too hot!
Monday, July 17, 2006
the garbage bill
I was looking through the mail after taking it out of the box, and my curious Christopher wanted to know what I was opening.
"The garbage bill," I replied, referring to the bill we receive from the company that picks up our garbage.
Christopher was stumped. "So, you just throw the bill in the garbage?"
Oh, how I wish that's what I was supposed to do with bills! :-)
"The garbage bill," I replied, referring to the bill we receive from the company that picks up our garbage.
Christopher was stumped. "So, you just throw the bill in the garbage?"
Oh, how I wish that's what I was supposed to do with bills! :-)
long hiatus
I just updated the layout, with a photo from my own garden. Now maybe I'll be motivated to post more often.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Narnia #1 movie
The reason I'm so thrilled is twofold:
It's the third weekend the Narnia movie has been out. Or is it the fourth?
And, it's been out a week longer than King Kong, yet it is now more popular than King Kong, and it's also more popular than any of the other new movies that have come out in the past 2 weeks!!!
Now maybe the movie theaters will sit up, take notice, and start making more films like this one. I certainly hope there is now no doubt that Disney will make all 7 movies, and not only 5 or something lame like that!
It's the third weekend the Narnia movie has been out. Or is it the fourth?
And, it's been out a week longer than King Kong, yet it is now more popular than King Kong, and it's also more popular than any of the other new movies that have come out in the past 2 weeks!!!
Now maybe the movie theaters will sit up, take notice, and start making more films like this one. I certainly hope there is now no doubt that Disney will make all 7 movies, and not only 5 or something lame like that!
Podcasting -- not only for men anymore
Click on the title of this post if you want to read an article that says that podcasts are listened to mostly by men. Further, this article indicates that men are the first to adopt all new technology, and then women start using it later. Though it does indicate that women are "adopting" the podcasting technology faster than we have adopted other, less cutting-edge technology.
Somehow I don't think the authors included microwave ovens and dustbusters in their definition of technology.
Anyway, all you women out there, go download a podcast. Don't know how? email me, I'll tell you how. Don't know where to find one you'd like? I can help with that, too.
What's great about this technology? Like email and chat rooms, it's another way to connect with people you share interests with, even if you are separated geographically. Because the audiences of most podcasts start off relatively small, there is the ability for real interaction between those who produce the podcast and those who listen. But beyond that, it's just really nice to be able to choose when you want to listen to something and not be bound by a radio station's schedule. Not only that, but if you get interrupted in the middle, you can pause it, or even rewind it. You can't do that with radio. Several popular national Christian radio shows offer their programs as podcasts, and there are many other less-well-known shows that are available only by internet.
Don't have an mp3 player? They're not that expensive, you don't have to get an iPod. But if you don't have one, you can listen on your computer, though it's not as portable as an mp3 player. There are also devices whereby you can get your mp3 player to play over your car's radio or cassette player.
If you want to know about anything I've mentioned, just go ahead and post a comment, or send me an email.
Somehow I don't think the authors included microwave ovens and dustbusters in their definition of technology.
Anyway, all you women out there, go download a podcast. Don't know how? email me, I'll tell you how. Don't know where to find one you'd like? I can help with that, too.
What's great about this technology? Like email and chat rooms, it's another way to connect with people you share interests with, even if you are separated geographically. Because the audiences of most podcasts start off relatively small, there is the ability for real interaction between those who produce the podcast and those who listen. But beyond that, it's just really nice to be able to choose when you want to listen to something and not be bound by a radio station's schedule. Not only that, but if you get interrupted in the middle, you can pause it, or even rewind it. You can't do that with radio. Several popular national Christian radio shows offer their programs as podcasts, and there are many other less-well-known shows that are available only by internet.
Don't have an mp3 player? They're not that expensive, you don't have to get an iPod. But if you don't have one, you can listen on your computer, though it's not as portable as an mp3 player. There are also devices whereby you can get your mp3 player to play over your car's radio or cassette player.
If you want to know about anything I've mentioned, just go ahead and post a comment, or send me an email.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Kong vs. Narnia, round 2
Well, Narnia didn't re-take the number 1 spot in the box office listing, but it almost did.
King Kong's take for the weekend was $31.4 million, and Narnia's take was 30.1.
Here's an article that talks about how Narnia is "the perfect Christmas movie" and also discusses its success in other countries.
King Kong's take for the weekend was $31.4 million, and Narnia's take was 30.1.
Here's an article that talks about how Narnia is "the perfect Christmas movie" and also discusses its success in other countries.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Christmas celebration
Tonight was the church Christmas "pageant". People of all ages participated, from the little 2 and 3 year old lambs and the 4 year old camels, to Joseph who is in around 4th grade, to young and older adults in the choir. They told the wolderful story of Jesus' birth and how He came to save us from our sins.
We watched the young family seeking a place to stay in a busy and crowded town, and finally finding a stable just in time to lay the Baby in a manger. We watched the shepherds and the angels (lots and lots of angels, a whole heavenly host!), and then the wise men (complete with a camel on wheels, who was pushed to the front of the church and then backed along in front of the front pew because he couldn't go up the steps to the platform) visit the Baby Jesus, and then go off to tell their friends the good news.
What a wonderful message. Let's remember the real reason for this beautiful Season!
We watched the young family seeking a place to stay in a busy and crowded town, and finally finding a stable just in time to lay the Baby in a manger. We watched the shepherds and the angels (lots and lots of angels, a whole heavenly host!), and then the wise men (complete with a camel on wheels, who was pushed to the front of the church and then backed along in front of the front pew because he couldn't go up the steps to the platform) visit the Baby Jesus, and then go off to tell their friends the good news.
What a wonderful message. Let's remember the real reason for this beautiful Season!
Kong vs. Narnia
Ha! King Kong might be marginally king of the box office, but he didn't bring in as much money in his opening weekend as the Narnia movie did last weekend, so that's something anyway. Narnia is number 2. I wonder if it could go back to number one for Christmas weekend. What a movie to see on Christmas with your family! No comparison, the Lion would beat the monkey hands down (capitalization intended!).
I can't wait to see it again (and I don't mean Kong).
I can't wait to see it again (and I don't mean Kong).
Friday, December 16, 2005
in the pink
We're in the pink -- that pink strip on the weather map where the mixed precipitation is falling. First snow, then freezing rain, some sleet mixed in (when that falls, you can hear it on the roof). Now it's snow again. Further south it's rain, they are saying most of our area won't get much snow but we are just high enough in elevation that we will get more snow, with a crust. It won't be as cold, they say, so that will be good.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
ranting about The Apprentice
I have to rant. Okay, it's true, I said that Randal should win. He was clearly the better choice.
However, it was also pretty clear the Mr. Trump had set it up with the idea that he would hire both of them. He had 2 jobs, and they even each chose a different one! So, he says, "Randal, your hired!" and Randall does what he said he would do and starts yelling and screaming. Mr. Trump has to call him back and he sits him back down and asks him, "Do you think I should also hire Rebecca?"
Now, the whole time in the suite, Randal was being so nice to Rebecca. He was nice to all of the other candidates, and he seems like a nice guy, though he didn't pull any punches when it came down to trying to convince Mr. Trump to hire him, and only him.
So Randal, after having been hired, and having nothing to lose, says, "No, it's The Apprentice, not The Apprenti, there should be only one winner."
And Mr. Trump caves! He says, "I could have been convinced" to hire Rebecca as well, but he goes along with Randal's "advice." I think it stinks. He should have hired Rebecca too.
However, it was also pretty clear the Mr. Trump had set it up with the idea that he would hire both of them. He had 2 jobs, and they even each chose a different one! So, he says, "Randal, your hired!" and Randall does what he said he would do and starts yelling and screaming. Mr. Trump has to call him back and he sits him back down and asks him, "Do you think I should also hire Rebecca?"
Now, the whole time in the suite, Randal was being so nice to Rebecca. He was nice to all of the other candidates, and he seems like a nice guy, though he didn't pull any punches when it came down to trying to convince Mr. Trump to hire him, and only him.
So Randal, after having been hired, and having nothing to lose, says, "No, it's The Apprentice, not The Apprenti, there should be only one winner."
And Mr. Trump caves! He says, "I could have been convinced" to hire Rebecca as well, but he goes along with Randal's "advice." I think it stinks. He should have hired Rebecca too.
Cute Website
Okay, now I have this linking thing figured out. Click on the headline above, and it will take you to a blog website that is filled with pictures of cute animals. Or, cute pictures of animals. I mean, the baby snail and the baby lizard weren't really cute, in and of themselves, but they were so small they qualified as cute, IMO.
2nd Narnia Movie
This article talks about unconfirmed reports that Disney has given the go-ahead for the 2nd Narnia movie, Prince Caspian, to be made, with a target release date of Dec. 2007.
I really enjoyed The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie. I can't wait to see it again.
My set of Narnia books is in a different order than Disney is doing the movies. I still haven't read all of the books. I guess I better hurry up and do it. Peter and Susan aren't in all of them. Edmund's in more that Peter is, but still not all of them. A couple of them have new characters and none of the four children that were in the movie that just came out. So they won't have the same problem as the Harry Potter series, worrying that the children will grow up before the movies all get made.
I really enjoyed The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie. I can't wait to see it again.
My set of Narnia books is in a different order than Disney is doing the movies. I still haven't read all of the books. I guess I better hurry up and do it. Peter and Susan aren't in all of them. Edmund's in more that Peter is, but still not all of them. A couple of them have new characters and none of the four children that were in the movie that just came out. So they won't have the same problem as the Harry Potter series, worrying that the children will grow up before the movies all get made.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
My first blog post
Here I am, blogging. This site doesn't have a "mood" option, though I can't see how "caffienated" is a mood, exactly.
It is almost 11 p.m. and Chris and Dan are still awake, and Dan wants me to make popcorn. Dan wants me to take him to WalMart and buy stuff. We'll have to wait till Saturday. On Saturday, Chris has to be at church for the practice of the sunday school pagent, for 2 hours. Plenty of time to go to WalMart.
I'm getting a sore throat and my husband is coughing. I hope we're not all getting sick.
It is almost 11 p.m. and Chris and Dan are still awake, and Dan wants me to make popcorn. Dan wants me to take him to WalMart and buy stuff. We'll have to wait till Saturday. On Saturday, Chris has to be at church for the practice of the sunday school pagent, for 2 hours. Plenty of time to go to WalMart.
I'm getting a sore throat and my husband is coughing. I hope we're not all getting sick.