Monday, May 31, 2010

Obituary for J Renee Wilson

I saw this obituary in the May 30, 2010 edition of The Seattle Times and I thought it was worth sharing: "J Renee Wilson March 16, 1952- May 16, 2010. From a note in Renee Wilson's kitchen: Spend ten minutes a day doing nothing. Identify the one thing that will make the most difference. Do it. Strengthen my presence. Be present now. Talk to strangers. Listen more. Speak less. Run my own race. Renee Wilson wore many hats: realtor, broker, film producer, director, fishing boat cook, forest fire fighter, sailor, geologist, welder; extraordinary chef and raconteur, magnanimous hostess "The Goddess of Conversation,"TED participant and sponsor; inquisitive traveler, hiker, horsewoman, naturalist; sculptor, painter, photographer, ballroom dancer. She was an eager intellectual, a passionate artist, an ever curious student, and an enthusiastic cheerleader for everything beautiful, true, fun, or delicious.

As for those hats, well, she wore a different one each day. With flair.

Alongside 'wisdoms' in her kitchen, adventure in her spirit, and a lively and compassionate interest in her fellow humans, Renee Wilson was admired in L A as the realtor who "took the fear away." Founder of Vision Realty, she was tireless, curious, industrious. She had s sixth sense for a good house. While her work didn't define her, she saw it as a calling, an opportunity to help others. As Communications VP of Verytag LLC, Renee's will was to use their technology in addition to medical products to improve the quality of life of people in Africa and India. Her signature was: "Comfort the frightened, coach the clueless, and teach the uninformed."

A Los Angeles resident of 25 years, Renee was born in Seattle and raised on Camano island, Wash. She was an alumna of The Bush school and the University of Washington. She leaves behind a wonderfully varied collection of friends. In lieu of commemorative gifts, please say a blessing for someone you love."

1 TRILLION for IRAG/AFGHANISTAN WARS REACHED - Care2 News Network

1 TRILLION for IRAG/AFGHANISTAN WARS REACHED - Care2 News Network

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Public Policy | NACCRRA - The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies

Public Policy NACCRRA - The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies

Book Review -Home For A hero by Mary Anne Wison

I am currently reading the "romance" novel "Home for a Hero" by Mary Anne Wilson. I am not a big fan of romance novels because the plots are usually fairly predictable: Boy meets girl, boy and girl apparently dislike each other, but are secretly in love, boy and girl spar back and forth for a time, and finally boy and girl give in to their desire and make passionate love.

In Home for a Hero, A marine biologist named Shay Donovan falls off her boat in the Puget Sound of Washington state and is rescued on an island beach by a tall, mysterious man. I am enjoying what little of the novel that I have read so far. Home for a Hero is one of a series of novels called "Shelter Island Stories".

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Vegan Hamburger

http://www.gardenburger.com For the past several months, I have been gradually moving away from having meat for dinner and other meals. My reasons for going-semi-vegan are environmental, a love of animals, and the health benefits of less meat. I love hamburgers, and I wasn't sure I could give them up, but I found a pretty good vegan substitute. "Gardenburger" is made mostly with Soy. The taste is a little like spicy, baked nuts. I personally like the taste as much as I would a hamburger made from beef.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Lost TV

I heard on the news that a TV show called "Lost" was ending. I have never watched a single episiode of "Lost" but that is not unusual for me anymore. When I was a kid, I had probably watched most of the shows that were on the the 3 or 4 channels of the time. Now there are long running shows like "Law and Order" that I have not watched a single complete episode of. I have also not seen popular shows like "Survivor" and "American Idol". As I get older, the staged violence and forced laughs of most TV shows has become more annoying than entertaining.

No Chemicals needed

I usually ignore TV ads, but I have began to notice a series of ads that are selling weed killer and insecticides. The ads feature an attractive young couple happily spraying toxic chemicals on their lawn to kill weeds and inside their house to kill bugs. When I had a lawn to care for, I would use the low-tech solution to weed control: I would pick them. As for bugs, I live in the country now and I get my share of critters. The best thing to do is to put the insect, spider or unidentified crawler into a container and put them outside.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Ant Attack


I was riding my bike through the woods today and I stopped to

take a break in a clearing. Apparently I was too close to an

ant colony and one of the colonies defenders attached his jaws
to my hand. It didn't really hurt, but the ant wouldn't let go.

I finally got it off and hit the road. I believe the picture is the

species that I encountered.


10 Truly Shocking Stats On STDs and College Students - Care2 News Network

10 Truly Shocking Stats On STDs and College Students - Care2 News Network

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Tree hit by Lightning


This tree was struck by lightning several months ago. The lightning bolt went through the tree trunk and eventually exited into the ground. The tree lived for a while, but I guess the lightning strike did too much damage.

Book Review, Under the Hawthorn Tree

Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-Mckenna is a childrens novel set during the Irish Potato Famine of the mid -1800s. Eily, Michael, and Peggy O'Driscoll are sepearated from their parents and are forced to go on a desperate journey to find distant relatives when they are forced by landowners to go to the Workhouse.

A Workhouse was a very grim place where those who could not pay their bills were often sent during the Victorian age. Eily, Michael, and Peggy are rightfully terrified of going to the Workhouse and decide to flee in the slim hope of finding two elderly Aunts that they have not seen in years.

The three children find thousands of their fellow Irish wandering the roads looking for food. The Irish potato famine began when a fungus attacked the potato crop which at that time was a staple food for most of Ireland. Most Irish were already very poor before the Potato fungus struck, but the loss of such an important crop was devastating. The cruelty of British rule also contributed greatly to the famine.

Under the Hawthorne Tree, only touches on the causes of the famine, but it is still a good read for older children. Younger children might be disturbed by descriptions of sickness and starvation.