Friday, February 29, 2008

HELP WITH FREE MAMMOGRAMS

It is Spring in my garden, a time of new beginnings. The sight of the crocus brought to mind a new season is upon us bringing changes, not only in the weather, but in the lives of many.
Breast cancer kills many women who do not have insurance, so do not go and get the mammograms they should have.
MrC was sent an email by a friend telling us about the site below. We both think it is a worthy cause and if we can help to make it possible for many more underprivileged women to go and have their mammograms, then we are all for it.


The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors /advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Go Here and Click on the big pink button.


Bloggers: If you can help get the word out on this, it would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Five (5) lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

I have been busy this past week so have not had the energy to put anything together for Keewee's Corner. Thank goodness for friends who send me jokes or stories I can use.


1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

'Absolutely,' said the professor. 'In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello.'

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:3 0 p.m., an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had
broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..

It read:
'Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.'

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

'How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked.

'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.


4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, 'Yes, I'll do it if it will save her.' As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, 'Will I start to die right away?'

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Sure makes you stop and think, doesn't it?


Friday, February 22, 2008

ODE TO PLURALS.........


We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those, Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends
and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?


thanks to Judy P

Monday, February 18, 2008

Spring is just around the corner.

Yesterday it was 50 something degrees outside, warm enough to wander around the yard to see what was growing.

There are Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths, and Crocus all well up out of the ground, and I also noticed a couple of Anenomes are almost in flower.
I am so eager to see the colors of all the tulips I planted last fall.



Sunday, February 17, 2008

A little advice

Sometimes when you are angry with someone,
it helps to sit down and think about the problem

Friday, February 15, 2008

APPLESAUCE BREAD

Why on earth I thought buying a huge jar of apple sauce, which was on sale, a bargain, i'll never know. I knew I had better find a way to use some of the applesauce before it grew green fuzz.
Yay! for the internet, I found this recipe for Applesauce bread. A nice large slice and a cup of tea is just the ticket for morning or afternoon tea.

The recipe calls for butter and whole eggs, but if you are concerned about fats, then substitute margarine and Eggbeaters or similar product.

1/2 cup butter (1stick)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda.
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup applesauce
2 large eggs
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 x4 x 3" loaf pan.
Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the remaining ingredients except the nuts and raisins. Mix well until blended. Stir in the nuts and raisins. Pour into the loaf pan.
Bake for 60-65 minutes.



Thursday, February 14, 2008

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Irish Ghost Story

This story happened some time ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a storm. The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stopped. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door. only to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on!!

The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the wheel. John, paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand repeatedly came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.

Shortly thereafter John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road, so, gathering strength, he jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had. A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying and...wasn't drunk.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two other people walked in from the stormy night. They, like John, were also soaked and out of breathe. Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other..."Look Paddy...there's that bloomin' idiot that got in the car while we were pushing it." !!!!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Weekly report

Let me see, what have I been doing all week? Oh Yes! I have been working, for 5 days. So much for thinking I would just work a FEW hours each week in this new job, it has been 40 hours per week so far.
If I really take the time to think about it, I will be able to draw social security next January, so the extra hours will help boost the check, miserable as it will be anyway.

Our weather has warmed to a balmy 40 degrees and I see signs of growth in the garden, in the form of daffodil leaves poking up about three inches. Perhaps we will have an early spring. Well, one can dream, can't they?

I have spent most of today going through my kitchen cupboards doing a little tidying and re-organizing, I think I have a house elf who takes great delight in messing up the cupboards and drawers, and puts things where I can't find them.

I have a 40 hour week coming up so I may not get to do much in the way of blogging, but I will at least post a joke or two.

You all have a wonderful week.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

CHOW MEIN

During my visit to New Zealand last November, I came across an old recipe book in a thrift store. In the book were quite a few recipes similar to the ones my Mother used to bake. This Chow Mein is one of them, although I have substituted snow peas for the green beans in the original recipe.


1tbs butter.
1 med. onion.
1/2lb lean hamburger or you could use chicken.
1 pkt chicken noodle soup.
11/4 cups of water, I found I had to add more.
1tsp soy sauce.
1/2 tbs. sugar.
1/4 lb green beans.
1/4 cabbage. I like savoy cabbage.
1tbs. rice.
salt & pepper to taste.
1/2 tbs. curry powder.
Brown the hamburger and onion in the butter.
Add all the other ingredients except the cabbage. If you use snow peas also leave these out until later.
Simmer 25 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add cabbage (and snow peas if substituted) and simmer for about 5 more minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. I prefer my vegetables to be still a little on the crisp side.

Notes: After making the Chow Mein and tasting it, I think I would make a couple of changes. I found the chicken soup mix to be rather salty, so I would use egg noodles and a good quality chicken broth instead. I would use a little more soy sauce and curry powder for a fuller flavor. Also 3 tbs. rice. It is all a matter of what you like.