2012, the end?

We have discussed lately, how we get hints from the Universe about what we should do or not do. Some of us try to pay attention. I mentioned that I thought that those hints keep getting rougher until we do pay attention? I think the entire world has been getting some really big, rough hints lately, hints that we all need to wake up and smell the coffee, before it's too late. Oh, that wasn't a good metaphor this morning since I can't have any and it's one of the reasons that I have put off having my blood drawn for that lab work.

Most of the hints we have been getting lately have involved making us pay attention to all the greed/gluttony that is going on in the world and just how destructive that is. The other hint seems to be pointing to the need to find safer energy sources. I think that even the most inattentive of us should be seeing the light by now.

If 2012 isn't going to be the end of the world, it certainly must be the end of our old way of thinking and doing business. If we don't make any changes, after seeing and experiencing all these huge hints we are getting, we just very well might self-destruct. No shit!

Art in the park

I see a need for a new post so thought I would post a picture from our trip to Mexico last December. This picture is from Puerta Vallarta of some artwork displayed in the park. There is something about art that touches us spiritually. While driving back from Pagosa Springs this past Wednesday, we stopped at Ghost Ranch in NM. Georgia O'Keefe bought 7 acres of the Ghost Ranch property and lived there the last 25 or years of her life. There is one mountain there called the Pedernales that she painted several times and she once said that God told her that "...if she would paint it often enough it would be hers." I would not swear to the accuracy of those words but you get the "picture." I love Ms. OKeefe's paintings and always visit her art museum when I am in Santa Fe. She was a woman ahead of her time.

Oh Happy Day all you Mothers!

Once a year it is your day to get some of that well deserved recognition but the other 364 you got the responsibility and the blame. I'm not going to write a disssertation on motherhood but I do want to tell you all that I think that being a mother is one of the most important and the toughest jobs that anyone can ever have and one that you can never retire from and sorry, there's no pention.

Hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day and that your kids visit....or call....or write.....

Happy Mother's Day

PS. If someone does want to write a dissertation, feel free to bump this post off. I was just warming a place.

"A Lady Always Knows When It Is Time To Leave"

We all want to say farewell and see ya later to our friend Lobie. She was a fine friend and companion to our friends Jan and John and thier family.










I’m Still Here


Friend, please don't mourn for me,

I'm still here, though you don't see.

I'm right by your side each night and day,

And within your heart I long to stay.


My body is gone but I'm always near,

I'm everything you feel, see or hear.

My spirit is free, but I'll never depart,

As long as you keep me alive in your heart.



I'll never wander out of your sight.

I'm the brightest star on a summer night.

I'll never be beyond your reach.

I'm the warm moist sand when you're at the beach.



I'm the colorful leaves when fall comes around,

And the pure white snow that blankets the ground.

I'm the beautiful flowers of which you're so fond,

The clear cool water in a quiet pond.



I'm the first bright blossom you'll see in the spring,

The first warm raindrop that April will bring.

I'm the first ray of light when the sun starts to shine,

And you'll see that the face in the moon is mine.


When you start thinking there's no one to love you,

You can talk to me through the Lord above you.

I'll whisper my answer through the leaves on the trees,

And you'll feel my presence in the soft summer breeze.



I'm the hot salty tears that flow when you weep,

And the beautiful dreams that come while you sleep.

I'm the smile you see on a baby's face.

Just look for me, friend, I'm everyplace!


Author Unknown

Go Dylan, go!

Go Dylan, go. We wanna know. Set a fire below. Go Dylan, go.

I have learned more from watching the Dylan Ratigan Show about this financial mess than I ever have before. I, for one, want to thank him for working so hard to help inform the American taxpayer.

Dylan, yesterday, was talking about the worthless crap that the Fed has bought in the past. He named a few things but most of it almost no one knows about. We don't have a clue. We won't be happy when we do find out.

Also I saw a brief headline on Huff Post that stated that the Senate leadership may support breaking up the banks and auditing the Fed. Could this be true???? Is someone growing some gonads?? Are people like Dylan helping to get these things going??

Melanoma Not Caused by Early Ultraviolet (UVA) Light Exposure, New Fish Experiments Show

(I'm posting this article until someone else has a post they want to put up. Please feel free to replace it.)

"UVA exposure is unlikely to have contributed to the rise in the incidence of melanoma over the past 30 years, the researchers conclude, because the fish model had been the only animal model to indicate a connection between exposure to UVA at a young age and later development of melanoma". (The 1993 experiment could not be replicated in mammalian models of melanoma)

Our data refute the only direct evidence that UVA causes melanoma, which is not to say that UVA is harmless....... UVA is just not as dangerous as we thought because it doesn't cause melanoma....

UVA is a carcinogen responsible for squamous cell carcinomas that also causes premature aging of the skin and suppresses the immune system. It's also possible, the authors note, that long-term chronic exposure to UVA can hasten the progression to malignancy of melanocytes in the skin that are already on the path to becoming melanoma.

The thought was that people who used sunscreen stayed out in the sun longer, absorbing a higher dose of UVA, causing a higher risk for melanoma" Mitchell said. Most sunscreens now protect against UVA. However, the increase in the incidence of melanoma has been thought to be partly attributable to childhood exposure to UVA back when sunscreens blocked only UVB. That's unlikely, given the new results...

UVB exposure damages DNA directly, while UVA is thought to inflict its damage indirectly by inducing melanin free radicals that react with DNA to form oxidative damage that leads to melanoma. Previous studies had shown a correlation between melanin radical formation and melanoma in the UVA range of the solar spectrum. Since Mitchell and colleagues found no connection between UVA and melanoma, they note that the role of melanin free radicals in this disease is brought into question." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100504155419.htm

'Green' exercise quickly 'boosts mental health'

Carol! Found out why you feel so much better living in your tree house on the river (and me near my forest):



Just five minutes of exercise in a "green space" such as a park can boost mental health.....


"There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being.

In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem

The research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.

Green and blue
A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water - such as a lake or river.

Study leader Jules Pretty, a researcher at the University of Essex, said those who were generally inactive, or stressed ........... would probably benefit the most from "green exercise". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8654350.stm