Emily Bloss

My brother sent this to me and I thought I would share… very cool. Thanks, Michael!

The Washington Post’s Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the 2009 winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus : A person who’s both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.

9. Inoculatte : To take coffee 0intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon : It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido : All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.) : Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you’re eating.

This message is from the president of the NRDC, Frances Beinecke. Warning… unpleasant facts are revealed below.

It’s a dirty little secret: government agents spread deadly toxic poisons on public lands to kill wildlife at the behest of agribusiness.

Tell the Secretary of Agriculture this shocking slaughter must end: http://www.savebiogems.org/wolves/poisonaction

Most Americans don’t even know it’s happening. But wolves, bears, bobcats and foxes are being senselessly poisoned. So are dogs. And their painful deaths and needless suffering are almost indescribable.

Compound 1080, one of the killer toxins the government is using, can take up to 15 excruciating hours to kill.  Sodium Cyanide is another poison used in powerful spring-loaded devices known as M-44s that are baited to attract animals. M-44s are distributed throughout our public forests and kill literally thousands of mammals every year. Many animals, including dogs, are unintended victims of this poison device.

America’s public forests and lands exist for our enjoyment and for the preservation of nature. They should be safe places for wildlife, our pets and our families.   That’s why NRDC is launching a massive national campaign to tell Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack that our public lands and forests are NO place for such deadly poisons. We need the Secretary to hear from millions of Americans! Tell Tom Vilsack you want the poisoning to end — and you want it to end now:  http://www.savebiogems.org/wolves/poisonaction

Secretary Vilsack oversees Wildlife Services, the government agency responsible for the poisoning. They are supposed to work for you and me, but instead they act at the beck and call of agribusiness that sees many wildlife species as predators or pests.

Vilsack has the power to halt this senseless killing on our public lands. Your urgent letter to him will help create a public outcry he can’t ignore!

There are safe and effective alternatives to poisons. There is simply no reason for this slaughter to continue. But it will, unless we take action to stop it.  No more Compound 1080. No more M-44s. And no more wolves, bears, foxes, and bobcats poisoned on our public lands — endangering our pets and families in the process.

Tell Tom Vilsack to get the poisons off our public lands once and for all:
http://www.savebiogems.org/wolves/poisonaction

This little guy showed up this afternoon and stayed for quite a while. He’s just over an inch long (I was able to measure without scaring him away) and according to my Florida field guide, he’s a Squirrel Treefrog. He can turn brown! I wonder why he’s out right now… they’re supposed to be nocturnal. Click the picture for a larger version.

I wonder what that is, above his eye? It looks like a little bit of dirt but I’m not sure.

Her name is Calico, isn’t she cute!?!! She’s very sweet. It’s hard to get a good picture of her, though. She’s almost always on the move.

One of our recent projects was to replace the leaky sliding glass door. Water started coming in and managed to ruin part of the floor. Here’s what was there:

Trav & Terry got the old door ripped out and started repairing the floor (cutting the damaged part out and putting in new plywood).

After the floor was repaired, we got the door in. And then the fun started, trying to get it all level and closing right. The actual fun part was squirting in Great Stuff around the edges, to seal it up. Here’s the final result:

We really like the new door because it’s highly energy-efficient, and the blinds are sandwiched inside the glass, so we never have to dust them! It uses a magnetic system to slide the shades up and down.

Next project: 18′ x 18′ concrete pad – the start of our porch!

Bleys posted this great link on his Facebook page. Thanks, Bleys!

100 Ways to Use a Strip of Bacon

Perhaps I’ll get some ideas for our restaurant (and web site) Bacon in, Delicious out™!

Tonight’s dinner was spectacular! Balsamic Peppered Sirloin, Parisian Roasted Mushrooms and green peas.

Every so often I like to look at the Approver’s Choice WunderPhotos on Weather Underground. Today I happened upon this awesome picture! It’s one of the best photographs I’ve ever seen.

Dew flowers by thebige

What a wonderful way to view the world…

My friend Jane sent this, and I wanted to share… Thanks, Jane!

Written By Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio. Here’s a link to the original posting, and one to Regina Brett’s site. You can also get an archival quality reprint. Neat!

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here’s an update:”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s,we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Jane’s note at the end of the email she sent:
Its estimated 93% won’t forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title ’7%’. I’m in the 7%. Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

This critter was on one of our pineapple plants and it’s in a typical defensive stance… protecting itself from flies, wasps and my camera! It will grow into a moth, according to University of Florida.