Much has been taken in so far.
We visited a Psychiatric Hospital yesterday. We handed out bread and apples to over 400 people yesterday. If you find you have nothing to pray for, pray for the people there. WOW.
The trip is going by quickly. Much to think about.
Blessings.

our first dinner in country

I am here in country.
Our flights went well, but our luggage did not arrive yet.
But that is the small stuff..
More details later..
Juct checking in.

I am traveling for 8 days. Two of them will be in airports.

These will be stuffed in my carry-on and baggage.

Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrirgues
Three Little Words - Memoir - Ashley Rhodes-Courter
My Start-Up Life - Ben Casnocha Casnocha
Compost - Ken Thompson

Green Greek Goddess

The name asparagus comes from the Greek language and means "sprout" or "shoot."
Asparagus is a member of the Lily family.

Asparagus is related to onions, leeks, and garlic.

One of the most popular varieties of green asparagus is named after Martha Washington, the wife of George Washington.

California grows about 70% of all the asparagus grown in the United States.

More than 50,000 tons of asparagus are grown in California every year.

It is on sale at Safeway and King Sooper this week for a great price.

But it makes your pee stink....
Here are a few thoughts on why.
Discovery.com

Just in case you were wondering

National Ag Day - March 20, 2008National Ag Week - March 16-22, 2008
National Agriculture Day occurs every year on the first day of Spring. Join us in 2008 on, or around, March 20th, as we honor agriculture for providing safe, abundant and affordable products, a strong economy, a source of renewable energy, and a world of job opportunities.
Check out the 2008 Ag Day Essay Contest Winners Now!

Facts

Popcorn pops because water is stored in a small circle of soft starch in each kernel. As the kernel is heated, the water heats, the droplet of moisture turns to steam and the steam builds up pressure until the kernel finally explodes to many times its original volume.
Americans today consume 17.3 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year! The average American eats about 68 quarts!
While the first breakfast cereal was made by adding sugar and milk to popped popcorn, a shortage of baking flours after World War II forced breadmakers to substitute up to 25% of wheat flour with ground popped popcorn. Over the years, popcorn also has been used as an ingredient in pudding, candy, soup, salad and entrees.
Popcorn’s nutritional value comes from the fact that, like other cereal grains, its primary function is to provide the body with heat and energy.
Microwave popcorn is the same as other popcorn except the kernels are usually larger and the packaging is designed for maximum popability.

Alzbeta Chmelarova, 90, from the village of Vnorovy in southeastern Moravia in Czech Republic, decorates Easter eggs with traditional design March 18, 2008. Vnorovy's Easter eggs are famed for their geometrical designs which are applied to cleaned egg shells with the use of wax. Picture taken on March 18, 2008. REUTERS/Petr Josek (CZECH REPUBLIC)

The last few weeks have been busy.
I was out for two weeks tdy and this weekend we had a huge surprise and I kept my nephew all weekend.
My brother in law had a baby last week. No one in the entire family knew that the mother of his other two children was pregnant once again. This is a very complicated relationship, but at this point everyone is getting a little frustrated.
So, now the mom is in jail and my brother in law has custody of three small children under three. Please pray for this situation and that grace and mercy fall on all involved. Baby Andrew has not spent more than one hour with his mom. I know this may seem like I am putting too much on the street for all to read, but seriously I know some of those that read this blog pray, and prayer is much needed.
This weekend I am going to head out to the thrift store and pick up some baby things and clip coupons for wipes and diapers.
The daughter has broken up with her boyfriend and put in her two weeks notice for Burger King, so things are changing for her. It is painful to watch her suffer and carry a broken heart, but I do know this too shall pass and over a course of a life time hearts are broken. So, she will begin a new chapter. I am sure it will be filled with drama, but such is life in teenage land.
I am preparing to head out for my trip in a few weeks and I am getting excited. I cannot wait to share the stories.

I did have a very strange experience and I wondering if I should address it or ignore it.
While in Washington I contacted my first cousin that I have not seen in almost 20 years. Now, we have a very informal Christmas Card relationship. Her parents are my godparents and her father is my mother's brother. The last living connection I have to my mom, so I cherish this. I sent an email saying that I would be in town with my cell number. By the third day I had not heard anything so I called and left a message. Two more days pass, nothing. Finally, I call again and she answers. She tells me that her entire family has the flu and cannot visit. I was a bit taken back and told her that I was still in town for the rest of the week and I could meet her sometime if she wanted. No further contact.
Now, part of me wants to react in a few ways. First, I want to send her mom an email and let her know the status and let her know I was not able to connect (almost like tattling on her) and the second part of me wants to buy a get well card and send it to the house and mention the fact that I was a bit stunned by the her response and hope that her house was healing well. OR should I just forget about it and contact her next Christmas?

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).


2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

eye candy - sorta

A few a weeks ago I grabbed Cowgirl Cuisine from the library. It was in the new section and the cover was really cute. Admittedly I do judge a book by it's cover especially one that highlights food and cooking.
I was not disappointed. The recipes, the food, the stories and recipes were all delicious.
This is for pure leisure and enjoyment.
Amazon link
Taste of Texas
recipes

someone you should know, Michael M Phillips

Michael M Phillips is a first rate journalist in my book.
I read about his recent article from Blackfive. It is very moving.
The Last Letter Home was published this week in the Wall Street Journal. This article details the aching duty of writing letters home to families that lose soldiers in combat.


Philips also wrote the book The Gift of Valor.
Cpl. Jason Dunham’s parents were given his Medal of Honor in January of 2007.
Dunham died in 2004, days after throwing his helmet and his body on a grenade in Iraq to shield the Marines around him from the blast. The book The Gift of Valor, by Michael M. Phillips, is about Cpl. Dunham’s life and military actions.

After reading his book I sent an email to thank him for his telling CPL Dunham's story. He took the time to thank me in an email in return. For me. it is the small things that matter and his character impressed me.


Also, on the front page of the Denver Post there was an article about the Post Commader at Fort Carson.
He lost a son in Iraq and a son committed suicide.
Fort Carson— On the underside of the two stars that rest on each shoulder of Fort Carson's top general, the names "Kevin" and "Jeff" are engraved.
This is one way Maj. Gen. Mark Graham honors his sons, two young men who did not live long enough to see their father pin on those stars.
Second Lt. Jeff Graham, 23, died Feb. 19, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded in Kalidiyah, Iraq, while the young leader protected his platoon.
Kevin Graham, 21, a top ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky, hanged himself June 21, 2003, from a ceiling fan in his apartment. No one saw the lethality of his depression.
"They both fought different enemies," Graham said during a recent interview.

MT Ranier

Well, the local news continues to get a bit more disturbing.

Investigators search for clues in luxury home fires
By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE
Associated Press Writer
Federal investigators said Tuesday they had uncovered no clear leads on how arsonists lit the fires that destroyed three luxury homes and damaged two others in a suburb outside Seattle.
The only definitive clue was a spray-painted sheet found at the scene of the Monday's pre-dawn fires bearing the initials of the Earth Liberation Front, Kelvin Crenshaw, special agent in charge of the Seattle office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told a news conference near the crime scene north of Woodinville, about 15 miles northeast of Seattle.
ELF is a loose collection of radical environmentalists that has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks since the 1990s.
"The only thing that is consistent to this point with what we know as an ELF fire is the banner," Crenshaw said, adding that it had been sent to an FBI lab for testing.
The banner mocked the claims made by the homes' builders that the 4,000-plus-square-foot houses were environmentally friendly. It read: "Built Green? Nope black. McMansions and RCDs r not green," a reference to rural cluster developments.
An alleged ELF activist is on trial in Tacoma for the 2001 firebombing of the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture.
The FBI has no evidence linking the first to the trial of Briana Waters, a 32-year-old violin teacher from Oakland, Calif., who is accused of serving as a lookout while her friends planted the firebomb.
A federal jury resumed deliberations in the Waters case Tuesday. She could face at least 35 years if convicted.
The Snohomish County sheriff's office estimated that the fires did $7 million in damage to the "Street of Dreams," a row of unoccupied, furnished luxury model homes where tens of thousands of visitors last summer eyed the latest in high-end housing, interior design and landscaping. The homes were between 4,200 and 4,750 square feet, and on sale at prices up to nearly $2 million.
Crenshaw said investigators had found no evidence that incendiary devices were used to set the fires, contrary to a report from a local fire chief the day before.
"There were no devices recovered," Crenshaw said, noting that investigators had yet to go into two homes that were spared.
"It would appear the motive and possibly the way these fires were set were with available combustibles" such as paper or wood, he said.

FYI - I am Leaving Friday.....

disturbing local news

Ft. Lewis Soldier Accused Of Murder, Abduction

TACOMA, Wash. - A 22-year-old Fort Lewis soldier is under investigation in the killing of two other soldiers and the abduction of the couple's 7-month-old girl.
Department spokesman Ed Troyer says the female soldier will be booked into the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma.

Troyer says deputies, acting on information from the U.S. Army, went to a home in the county on Sunday and found two people, a man and a woman, dead. The couple was believed to have been married. They were described medics at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis.
The victims are believed to be in their early- to mid-20s and appeared to have died from gunshot wounds, thought to have been inflicted on Saturday. They have not been identified.
The infant girl belonging to the couple was missing from the home and was found with the Fort Lewis soldier. The baby was not harmed and is in the care of the state's Child Protective Services agency.

Troyer says investigators are not sure of the relationship between the woman soldier who is in custody and the dead couple.
3/3/2008

One Mississippi: A Novel by Mark Childress

The main character is a teenage boy and takes you through the struggles and his family drama.