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Vivian Arce Ramirez

Today is my birthday!
Hoy es mi cumpleaños!
Grateful! Agradecida!
Complete! Completa!
Dios ha sido bueno!
God has been good!

Today is my birthday!
Today is my birthday!
Greatful! Grateful!
Complete! Complete!
God has been good!
God has been good! (Translated by Bing)

The boy and the red flower with green stem

Well meaning teachers everywhere stifle children's creativity.  This is a long story written by a teacher.  Please take time to read it. But this is what Picasso said about the whole situation.

Pablo Picasso: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

Once a little boy went to school,  He was quite a little boy. And it was quite a big school. But when the little boy found he could go right to his room by walking right in through the door from the outside, he was happy.

And, the school did not seem quite so big any more.

Once morning when the little boy had been in school a while, the teacher said, "Today, we are going to make a picture."

"Oh, Good,"  thought the little boy.  He liked to make pictures. He could make all kinds: lions and tigers, chickens and cows. He took out his crayons and began to draw.  But the teacher said, "Wait! I will show you how." When everyone was ready, she said, "Now we will make flowers.

"Good," thought the little boy, "I love flowers."

He made beautiful ones with his pink and orange and blue crayon.

The teacher said, "Wait, I will show you how. See the flower is red with a green stem." The little boy looked at his flower and he liked it better than the teacher's, but being a polite child he said nothing.

On another day, the teacher said, "Today we are going to make something with clay."  "Oh good, thought the little boy, I know how to make all kinds of things with clay. I'm going to make a snake and an elephant."  He began to tug on his ball of clay.  The teacher said, "Wait we must wait 'til everyone is ready.  Today, we will make a dish.  "I like dishes," thought the little boy and he made dishes in all sizes and shapes.

"Wait," said the teacher, "I will show you how."  And she did.  Everyone's dish looked just like hers.

Pretty soon the little boy learned to wait and to watch. And, to make things just like the teacher.  He didn't make things of his own any more.

Soon the little boy moved with his family and he went to a different school.

On his very first day in the new school, the teacher said, "Today, we are going to make a picture."  "Oh good," he thought.  And he waited for the teacher to tell him what to do. But she didn't do anything.  She just walked around the room watching the children make pictures.

When she came to the little boy, she said, "Don't you want to make a picture?"  "Yes," said the little boy, "What are we going to make?"

"I don't know until you make it." said the teacher. "How shall I make it," said the little boy. "Why any way you like," said the teacher.  "What colors should I use?" Asked the little boy. "Any color," she said, "If everyone made the same picture, and used the same colors, How would I know who made what and which was which?"

"I don't know," said the  little boy,

AND HE BEGAN TO MAKE A RED FLOWER WITH A GREEN STEM.

                              -----------Helen E. Buckley

Use of Swear Words

 There was a recent post on Facebook extolling the virtue of honesty on those who use swear words. This was Queenosabe's response.

 

 The comment extolling the virtue of swearing must have been made at least fifty years ago. Nowadays, I firmly believe that people who use a lot of swear words have limited vocabulary. They use the same words beginning with the same consonant over and over. Swearing used to involve some creativity even to the point of including the ancestors of the recipient. Good creative swearing is beginning to be a lost art form. There is no longer even shock value.

Like · Reply · about a minute ago

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you meant what you promised. Silly me.

THIS IS AN ACTUAL CUSTOMER REVIEW FROM A MAN ON AMAZON.CO.UK AFTER USING VEET HAIR REMOVAL CREAM FOR MEN. I ACTUALLY HAD TEARS ROLLING DOWN MY FACE WHILE READING IT!!!!!!!!!!!! SOOOO FUNNY!!!:

After having been told my danglies looked like an elderly Rastafarian I decided to take the plunge and buy some of this as pre...vious shaving attempts had only been mildly successful and I nearly put my back out trying to reach the more difficult bits. Being a bit of a romantic I thought I would do the deed on the missus's birthday as a bit if a treat.

I ordered it well in advance and working in the North Sea I considered myself a bit above some of the characters writing the previous reviews and wrote them off as soft office types...Oh my fellow sufferers how wrong I was. I waited until the other half was tucked up in bed and after giving some vague hints about a special surprise I went down to the bathroom. Initially all went well and I applied the gel and stood waiting for something to happen. I didn’t have long to wait.

At first there was a gentle warmth which in a matter of seconds was replaced by an intense burning and a feeling I can only describe as like being given a barbed wire wedgie by two people intent on hitting the ceiling with my head. Religion hadn't featured much in my life until that night but I suddenly became willing to convert to any religion to stop the violent burning around the turd tunnel and what seemed like the the destruction of the meat and two veg. Struggling not to bite through my bottom lip I tried to wash the gel off in the sink and only succeeded in blocking the plughole with a mat of hair. Through the haze of tears I struggled out of the bathroom across the hall into the kitchen, by this time walking was not really possible and I crawled the final yard to the fridge in the hope of some form of cold relief. I yanked the freezer drawer out and found a tub of ice cream, toe the lid off and positioned it under me. The relief was fantastic but only temporary as it melted fairly quickly and the fiery stabbing returned. Due to the shape of the ice cream tub I hadn’t managed to give the starfish any treatment and I groped around in the draw for something else as I was sure my vision was going to fail fairly soon. I grabbed a bag of what I later found out was frozen sprouts and tore it open trying to be quiet as I did so. I took a handful of them and an tried in vain to clench some between the cheeks of my arse. This was not doing the trick as some of the gel had found its way up the chutney channel and it felt like the space shuttle was running its engines behind me.

This was probably and hopefully the only time in my life I was going to wish there was a gay snowman in the kitchen which should give you some idea of the depths I was willing to sink to in order to ease the pain. The only solution my pain crazed mind could come up with was to gently ease one of the sprouts where no veg had gone before.

Unfortunately, alerted by the strange grunts coming from the kitchen the other half chose that moment to come and investigate and was greeted by the sight of me, arse in the air, strawberry ice cream dripping from my bell end pushing a sprout up my arse while muttering “ooooohhh that feels good” Understandably this was a shock to her and she let out a scream and as I hadn’t heard her come in it caused an involuntary spasm of shock in myself which resulted in the sprout being ejected at quite some speed in her direction. I can understand that having a sprout fired against your leg at 11 at night in the kitchen probably wasn’t the special surprise she was expecting and having to explain to the kids the next day what the strange hollow in the ice cream was didn’t improve my status…so to sum it up, VEET removes hair, dignity and self-respect

This joke and many more shared on:

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you meant what you promised. Silly me.

 

Very funny! Enjoy, fellow boomers. :)

Leland Sklar

You're too old to play gigs when:
1. It becomes more important to find a place on stage for your fan than your amp.
2. Your gig clothes make you look like George Burns out for a round of golf or Dolly Parton with no bosom.
3. All your fans leave by 9:30 p.m.
4. All you want from groupies is a foot massage an...d back rub.
5. You love taking the elevator because you can sing along with most of your set-list.
6. Instead of a fifth member, your band wants to spring for a roadie.
7. You lost the directions to the gig.
8. You need your glasses to see the amp settings.
9. You've thrown out your back jumping off the stage.
10. You feel like heck before the gig even starts.
11. The waitress is your daughter!
12. You stop the set because your ibuprofen fell behind the speakers.
13. Most of your crowd just sways in their seats.
14. You find your drink tokens from last month's gig in your guitar case.
15. You refuse to play without earplugs.
16. You ask the club owner if you can start at 8:30 instead of 9:30.
17. You check the TV schedule before booking a gig.
18. Your gig stool has a back.
19. You're related to at least one member in the band.
20. You don't let anyone sit in.
21. You need a nap before the gig.
22. After the third set, you bug the club owner to let you quit early.
23. During the breaks, you now go to the van to lie down.
24. You prefer a music stand with a light.
25. You don't recover until Tuesday afternoon.
26. You hope the host's speech lasts forever
27. You buy amps considering their weight and not their tone or "cool" factor.
28. Feeling guilty looking at hot women at the audience, 'cause they're younger than your daughter.
29. You can remember seven different club names for the same location.
30. You have a hazy memory of the days when you could work 10 gigs in 7 days and could physically do it!
31. Your date couldn't make it because she couldn't find a babysitter for the grandkids.
32. The set list has to be in 20 point type..
33. Your drug of choice is now coffee…
34. It seems impossible to find stage shoes with decent arch support.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOMETHING TO PONDER: George Carlin

George Carlin's wife died early in 2008 and George followed her, dying in July 2008. It is ironic George Carlin - comedian o...f the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent and so very appropriate. An observation by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

 

“‘Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs,” he wrote, at the end of his memoir, “Life Itself.” “No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”--------Roger Ebert

There will always be those who hate you and insist on defining you by your past. Do not be discouraged. There will always be others who love you and insist on seeing the you you're trying to become.........Tim Roe

DESTINY

When shall we meet
          again and where?
Destiny is a boat
                  on the waves
Borne to and fro
        beyond our will.
         -------Wei Yingwie

Jeff Foxworthy said this about Indiana:

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you may live in Indiana. If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't even work there, you may live in Indiana. If you've worn shorts and a jacket at the same time, you may live in Indiana. I...f you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Indiana. If "vacation" means going anywhere south of Fort Wayne for the weekend, you may live in Indiana. If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Indiana. If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Indiana. If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you may live in Indiana. If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you may live in Indiana. If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave bot...h doors unlocked, you may live in Indiana. If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Indiana. If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you may live in Indiana. If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you may live in Indiana. If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you may live in Indiana. If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you may live in Indiana. If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you may live in Indiana. If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you may live in Indiana.
If you actually understand these jokes, repost this so all of your Indiana friends and others can see,you definitely do live - or have lived - in Indiana

                                                      BLESSING
                                                              BY
                                               The Emperor Wu of Lang

                                               
                                                    Water lilies bloom,

                                          brilliant red on the green water.

                                               Their color is the same as our hearts.

                                                     Their roots branch off.

                                                  Ours cannot be separated.


This poem was chosen for the month of February.  Queenosabe hopes you like it.

A Dog's Purpose?
(from a 6-year-old).

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, hi...s wife Lisa , and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The Six-year-old continued,

''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.




There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So, love the people who treat you right. Think good thoughts for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of LIFE...Getting back up is LIVING...


Have a great life.See More

The true Spirit of Christmas resides just two houses away!  Our neighbor is a ninety plus year old man who lives by himself and still drives his car to run errands.  He has told us many times that he enjoys our photo Christmas cards.

 Today, he told Hamilton to meet him by the mail box, he had something for us.  You can see from the picture that he used our card to make the adorable clock.  What a lovely gift from a lovely man.  If that isn’t the true Spirit of Christmas I don’t know what is.

Kingosabe sent this to me and I liked it a lot.

From a Facebook post.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

In Tenebris  by Ford Madox Ford   All within is warm,    Here without it's very cold,    Now the year is grown so old And the dead leaves swarm. In your heart is light,    Here without it's very dark,    When shall I hear the lark? When see aright? Oh, for a moment's space!    Draw the clinging curtains wide    Whilst I wait and yearn outside Let the light fall on my face.

I took the bright red tablecloth off the shelf and gave it a giant snapping foof to unfold it.  On our table it went,.in preparation for Christmas dinner.  Of course, I had to stop to admire the tiny stitches in the hem.  I could never do that; but my mother could.  And every year as I perform this ritual, she is there telling me what to do next and to please get on with it.

While I am in the kitchen, Ham is in the living room carefully taking out the tiny tree that was his mother’s.  When all the children had left home, this is the tree that we continue to use each and every year.  We welcome this old friend knowing that his mom is overseeing it’s placement.

These two women have been gone over twenty five years.  But every year they remind us of  the continuity and importance of family and the rituals that bind each member together.

The Lakota (Sioux) knew how to express it best. “I shall see you again in the eye of my heart. All my relatives----every one of us.” And, they remind us, Le arjpet’u was,te! Or “Today’s a good day to live.!’

Wow- very interesting....Everyone should read :)

ONIONS! I had never heard this!!!
PLEASE READ TO THE END: IMPORTANT

... In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu...
Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser. She said that several years ago, many of her employees were coming down with the flu, and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar, and place the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note. Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of mayonnaise. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.

Ed, who was our tour guide, is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.

"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the summer picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that, when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

He explained onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!). Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

Please pass this on to all you love and care about.

God's World by Edna St. Vincent Millay O world, I cannot hold thee close enough! Thy winds, thy wide grey skies! Thy mists that roll and rise! Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff! World, World, I cannot get thee close enough! Long have I known a glory in it all, But never knew I this; Here such a passion is As stretcheth me apart. Lord, I do fear Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year. My soul is all but out of me, let fall No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

HAPPY MOON FESTIVAL

Let me share a piece of moon cake with you.  Ymmm! Isn't it delicious?  I have this to share with you because our dear friend, Grace gave us our delicious moon cake.  So here you are.  Please enjoy this work of art with us. A special treat from a special friend.  I don't know how to say thank you in Chinese, but not another day is going to go by without my learning to do so. When I learn, I'll share my knew found linguistic ability with you too.

The Harvest Moon

This is the delicious moon cake.  I don't know if the characters are right side up, upside down, or backwards.  It doesn't matter.  The little cake is a work of art.  Thank you, Grace.