Gardening Tools for October . . .

After I finished working on the lower 40 yesterday, I dropped everything in the hall. I am still working on those giant weeds that are blocking my view of the surrounding woods in the way back. For the past week I have been pulling them up by hand and have a HUGE pile. I am using the hand tools for the ones that are too stubborn or too deep rooted.

Maybe you remember a previous post about these insidious weeds called Giant Ragweed. I don't ever remember seeing them until very recently. I think they must have something to do with global warming. I am determined to get rid of them so I am killing myself. Thank goodness for leather work gloves.

I actually don't mind hard outside work. Especially when the end result is so rewarding.

Enjoy yourself whatever you do!

Guinea Pig Olympics . . . Fun Fotos . . .

Go out and have some fun this weekend!

Pop Tarts Recipe for Columbus Day Weekend . . .

Purchase toaster. Bring home and plug it in. Open a box of highly nutritious Pop Tarts and throw wrapper away in an environmentally correct manner. Insert Pop Tart into slot at top of toaster. Turn on toaster according to the manufacturer's instructions. Enjoy the incomparable aroma of a culinary masterpiece as it browns to your exact specifications. When toasting cycle is complete, remove Pop Tart from slot of toaster and insert into your face's bottom slot. Chew thoroughly, swallow, and pat tummy. Repeat until full.

Seems like the perfect breakfast to kick off a long holiday weekend. Enjoy!

This made me smile . . .

Alice Waters of Chez Panisse ~ Obama Supporter . . .

Heroes of the Environment by Joel Stein ~ It has been a slow 30 years of progress for all environmentalists, but Alice Waters has more right than most to be frustrated. She wasn't asking anyone to install solar panels or convert their engines to run on biofuels — she just wanted people to eat stuff that tastes better. And it wasn't like she was simply making claims that local, organic food tastes great. She was proving it every day at Chez Panisse, the Berkeley, California, restaurant she opened in 1971 — a restaurant so good (the James Beard Foundation named Waters America's best chef in 1992 and Gourmet named Chez Panisse America's best restaurant in 2001) that it doesn't even have a menu. You eat what Waters found at the markets that day, and you like it. You really like it.

Waters says she's thrilled that her cooking theories — fresh, local ingredients, simply prepared — have gone mainstream, thanks to health studies and the farmers' market movement. It's much easier to grasp this philosophy of food when you're at the farmers' market, she says. "When people become real and you learn about your compost and how easy it is to make, you feel like you're empowered to do an everyday act that's good for your family and friends and the environment."

While Waters' restaurant and cook-books are credited with launching the locavore movement in the U.S., her Edible Schoolyard project goes one step further. Started in 1994, it encourages students in Berkeley to help grow and shop for their lunches, and it has shown results not just in environmental awareness, but in tackling obesity. Now it's being tried in other cities. "Remember when Kennedy put physical fitness in schools?" Waters asks. "We had to exercise four times a week, and we all went for it. We need that kind of passion. Going into public schools and teaching [children] about the consequences of the food that they eat can have remarkable results."

Waters, 64, is generally hopeful, especially about Barack Obama. "We need a President to speak about the issues of food, nourishment and stewardship," she says, "and I have great hope that will happen." She is also optimistic about the Slow Food movement, which she says is banding nations together to find the best heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables to plant for sustainability and nutrition — and, of course, taste. Because that's how Waters wins any debate about the environment.
Source: Time Magazine (article and photograph)

When is this bailout going to kick in?

OK guys...I am really getting scared now. Ever since this thing was voted in the economy has continued to dive big time. We are going into a long holiday weekend that will further delay any chance for green arrows pointing up. Hopefully things will improve or at least stabilize today (Friday) and there will be an upward swing on Tuesday. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

We all really need some good news! And I need to get back to taking pretty pictures.

Illustrated Garden Quote

Poppy or Pansies?

I couldn't decide which one I liked better so I decided to print them both. Which one is your favorite?




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John McCain and the making of a financial crisis ~ Keating Economics . . .

"Keating Economics: the Making of a Financial Crisis" is a documentary that shows why John McCain's failed philosophy and poor judgment are a recipe for deepening the economic crisis.

If you are still on the fence, you won't be if you will take 13 minutes to watch this informative documentary.

Please watch and share with your friends. Thanks!

Knowledge is power.

Interesting chart to review while watching the presidential debates tonight . . .

The first image is a very interesting chart that you can enlarge for better viewing with just one click. It shows the winning presidential candidates from the past based on height and weight. It is not at all scientific...just very interesting.

You know I will be watching the debates tonight and hopefully you will be too.

It has never been more important to be informed! Election Day is exactly 4 weeks from today!

Elephant Stew Recipe . . .

ELEPHANT STEW

1 elephant (medium size)
2 rabbits
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Cut the elephant into bite-size pieces. This will take about 2 months. Add enough brown gravy to cover. Cook over an open fire for about 4 weeks at 465 degrees. This will serve about 3,800 people. If more are expected, 2 rabbits may be added, but do this only in an emergency, as some people do not like to find a hare in their stew.

Henri, the Parisian cat who opposes everything . . .

My thumbs are not opposable, yet I oppose everything! A film by Will Braden. 'A hilarious parody of European existentialism, on a budget probably no pricier than a week's supply of cat food.' LA Weekly 'Will Braden gives voice to Henri pondering the ennui of his pampered life. 'Seattle Times' If you liked the film, you must be a cat lover. Proceed to this post by Will Braden.

Little known fact . . .

I was quite surprised to learn this. How about you?

Free Download ~ Political Candidates Finger Puppets.

You can make finger puppets for both Presidential Candidates, their wives, and the Vice Presidential candidates too. You will need one sheet of card stock for each puppet. There is a video on the download sheet with instructions...they are really easy to understand without watching it.

Free download from folduscandidate.com


Make all 6 and have some fun. Have your own debates, take some pictures, make a YouTube film, entertain your family and friends. Print lots and share. Have fun.

Enjoy your weekend.

Look what a Kentucky Lawyer did with $10 worth of Sharpie pens . . .

I just had to post about this. Look what Charlie Kratzer of Lexington, Kentucky did to his basement recreation room using $10 worth of sharpie pens and magic markers. Before he started on this project the walls were painted a classic cream. Ten dollars later the place was black and cream and drawn all over.

There are fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, Winston Churchill lounging with George Bernard Shaw, and the TV squirrel Rocky and his moose pal Bullwinkle. Some of the places of interest include Blenheim Palace and the Cornell Law School (the homeowner/artist is the associate general counsel for Lexmark).

Read the entire article from the Lexington Herald-Leader and see the 360-degree scrolling movie of the whole room instead of the stills I am picturing above.

I am so impressed! This project takes tromp l'oeil to a whole new level.

Thanks, Tim.

A fat cat with a sense of humor . . .

Now here's an image to make you smile and get your day off to a good start!

Ready money . . .

Need I say more?

Oliver Airedale ~ Financial Dog and Industrial Leader . . .

A timely page from:

The Ordeal of Oliver Airedale
or
To the Dogs and Back
A Satire with Teeth in It

Written and illustrated by D. T. Carlisle
New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1941

Oliver Airedale was not the only financial and industrial leader in Caninia who disapproved the government's major policies, including those for social relief. At the same time he was acutely aware of the great need for a betterment of conditions, particularly in his city of New Airedale. He gave unstintedly of his time and means in the emergency and invented such slogans as "Keep New Airedale Out of the Dog Pound" and "No Pariahs in New Airedale". Oliver Airedale always believed in helping a lame dog over a stile and served many years as president of the Animal Rescue League.

There are always lessons to be learned from old books!

As always, you can enlarge either of the photographs.