Weep for Iowa

Another entry into the Spider Black-White Photography competition. This one is from an amateur Jason Robinette USA. It is such an anomaly in contrasts, the expected tilted back head so common to one who is arising from beneath the water of a pool, the hand placements so very odd. It other worldly in some sense, alien. I wonder if it was spontaneous or staged?

Horrors continue in Iowa. We learn that a boy scout camp was hit by a tornado last night with a loss of life of 4 and upwards of near 50 injured. It is almost beyond comprehension that so much misery is visiting our state. Cedar Rapids has no power, and the 500 year flood plain has been evacuated while the downtown begins to flood. Cresting has not yet even occurred. One can only wait in dejection as things just get worse and worse.

Our friend has has plenty of time to remove all his valuables and appliances from his home. At last check yesterday the waters from the Wapsi were about 40 feet from the house. The Wapsi has I believe crested in Independence which is the last stop before it hits us. Things look bleak. Well water must be boiled in our county if you live on a flood plain. We do not.

Our major concern now is power. It flicked off once yesterday and then went off for about 10 minutes. No sump is worth a dime if the power goes out. At this point, our basement would begin flooding I believe within a hour. That is simply nothing we can do anything about. As power fails on other parts of the grid, more stress is placed upon those still operating.  It has rained fairly steadily since about 6 am. We are now in a lull, and hope that perhaps we have now had the worst of it. Time will tell, but we are told that after today, things will be quite a bit better except for Sunday where rain is still highly likely.

Oh, the Chipotle Chocolate Flourless  Cake is well, HOT. If you make it, I would definitely not add the dash of cayenne suggested. I added a couple of scoops of ice cream and that tempered the heat enough that I could enjoy it, but I’m doubtful I’ll try this little number again. It would be okay I guess for something rather fancy, small pieces with ice cream or whipped with maybe some fresh raspberries for garnish. It definitely is a dish that would cause a good amount of chatter when served.

Let’s see what we can find that takes our minds off the sad state of affairs in my state.

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

A lovely owl filet crochet  is offered by Sandi’s Crochet Blog. As always it comes with complete instructions and variations so that you can even cross-stitch it if you wish.

Iowa Public TV has been running a series on the American Presidents. We just finished watching the one on Harry Truman. I didn’t think much of the man after watching it frankly, and even less of his self-centered wife Bess. His adoration for her was slightly disgusting, given that she treated him rather badly in my opinion. American President’s blog  has a nice piece on his courtship of the woman. He was strange and they were a strange couple.

American Revolution Blog  looks again at religion, especially that of Unitarianism in our early colonial period. I believe that John Adams changed from his Puritan roots to the Unitarian church. It’s an excellent read and you shouldn’t miss it.

Okay, so we have been flirting with some recipes that are a bit out there. This one features that chipotle again, this time with blackberries. I thought it made an interesting possibility for summer barbecue. It’s called Chipotle-Blackberry Pulled Pork, and comes to us from Coconut & Lime. It’s a slow cooker recipe, with a long list of ingredients but oh it could be a huge winner!

Free Sample Forager  has Pantene hair product samples available. Vaseline samples as well.

Garrison Keillor  has a piece over at the Salon. This week he weighs in on Barack Obama and the challenges faced by a black man running for the country’s highest office.

Family Style Food  offers a recipe that is anything but Family Style. This is a lovely update of an old favorite. I can assure you that at the moment we actually have a wonderful beautiful ripe tomato of sufficient size, BLT’s are thfirst thing we consider. We gorge on them for a month, at least once a week, until the time has past. Take a look at BLT’s with aoili sauce and on Flatbread.Recipes for all including the flatbread. Oh I am definitely trying this one.

Maggie brings us another of her marvelous bio’s. This time the featured woman is Rebecca Towne Nurse. She arrived with her family in Salem, MA in 1640 and later married a man named Nurse. She was arrested as an elderly woman of 71 as a witch, and even though she had an impeccable history in the town, accusers (who may have had other personal reasons to get her out of the way) prevailed. Although the initial verdict was Not Guilty, the jurors were urged to return and rethink things which they did, and finally provided the Guilty verdict that was desired by some. Read about this sad story at History of American Women.

Niki’s Ventures  has a link to a big bunch of new quilting patterns. This is worth bookmarking if you are a quilter. She lists a very long list of sites which offer free patterns and then gives you a separate list for specific quilt types. An excellent resource. In fact there are several lists, and in total more than 2500 patterns. So this is the best of the best. I’ll add this site to my blogroll for crafts for sure.

The Hubble space telescope continues to show us new parts of our universe in all its splendor. The Coma Cluster contains thousands of Galaxies. Can you imagine what you are viewing here? Millions upon millions of stars and planets. I believe most  are older galaxies, no longer producing much in the way of new stars. It is an impressive wonder.

Did I tell you that I adore ice cream? And I adore cherries especially. They are so expensive here in Iowa. I remember as a kid stopping at a roadside stand on the way up to the lake and buying a quart for 50cents. Now it’s like $3 bucks for a quart. But oh so good to combine the two as Simply Recipes has done for Cherry Ice Cream. Oh did I say it also has chocolate chips? BONUS! And I bet that changes your mind!

Secret Recipe Blog  has a wonderful Olive Garden  entry today. Tortelloni Bologneseis available for the copying. Italian dishes are my super favorite ethnic food with Tex-Mex a close second. Try your hand at this crowd and family pleaser.

A wonderful fabric decoupage nightstands  for you from J Caroline Creative. I picked this up through Tip Junkie  and thank her alot. I can’t vouch for the colors chosen here, which are a little glaring to me, but I this tutorial is worth that and more. If you have a cheap piece of furniture that you would like to redo, this is great! Take a look and save this tutorial as the process can be used on anything I think. I’m now thinking of buying a really cheap chest of drawers just to try this.

If anyone is a Civil War buff or a military history buff, I found a nice site courtesy of World History Blog entitled Wig-Wags. It’s run by a graduate student in the subject so you will get some great information and as I perused it, some really good reviews of books on the subject. Stop by if so inclined.

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

 HA!

 

 

 

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

“I’m not against half-naked girls – not as often as I’d like to be…” Benny Hill

“TV has brought murder back into the home where it belongs.” – Alfred Hitchcock

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” –Mark Twain

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. –Gandhi

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. – Wayne Gretzky

“Happiness isn’t getting what you want, it’s wanting what you got”. – Garth Brooks

“I’m an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house”. – Zsa Zsa Gabor

“Charlie Brown is the one person I identify with. C.B. is such a loser. He wasn’t even the star of his own Halloween special.” — Chris Rock

 

Finding the Spiritual in H2O

This was an entry in the 2007 Spider Awards for black and white photography. It is by Matthew Septimus and is entitled “Ganges Bathing.”

It struck me that we are not making anything spiritual of this experience with water. Perhaps that is our failing. Another night of rain, punctuated by sump duty, laying in bed listening to it stop and then just when you felt relief that the storm had passed, the splats upon the skylights began again. This must have happened six or more times, as my grief grew deeper with each teasing interlude interrupted but again with the awful sound. The Contrarian is distressed, and he is the one who usually maintains an optimism that I cannot hold on to. I on the other hand, have made my peace in some respects, surrendering to that which I cannot change.

I think that I composed a very long essay on this experience in my head last night, but truth be told, I have no desire to set it to type today. The effort seems too much, and what hasn’t already been said after all? I remind myself that we are in our home, we have lost little but perhaps the garden, and there is no clear assurance of that. We endure because that is our humanity. Looking back, we will undoubtedly wonder how we did, but during the doing, one simply puts one foot before the other, does the next task at hand, and hopes. Hope is our eternal protection.

I made a pretty little holder for my knitting needles the other day. I guess I should try to figure out how to download and upload pictures and show you. LOL. It’s too insignificant for all that trouble. I made some chicken enchiladas for dinner. I kind of redid a recipe I found, eliminating the canned soup and replacing it with a thickened chicken broth, that I made after poaching the chicken in it. I’ll let you know how it turned out. Alas my cilantro had turned to yuck, so I saw no point in making any fresh salsa. Cilantro is the key I believe. So bottled will do.

Let’s see what crafts and recipes we can find today to brighten up the world.

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

Martin’s American History Blog  gives us a nice piece on the Mayflower Compact which influenced to some degree our efforts in constructing our Constitution. Follow the link off his main page and read a most interesting story on the this most important document.

Sandi’s Crochet Blog  has a lot of new entries, so I’m sending you to the from page and you can scroll down. She offers some new patterns, a father’s day tote, a lacy edging, and directions on how to weave in the ends from all those granny squares  when you assemble the pieces. There are only 2 blog entries allowed apparently on these “about” blog platforms so go to the bottom and click on more blogs entries and I think the rest will pop up.

We all know that Thomas Jefferson  was talented as a writer and thinker. He was also an accomplished architect and designed Monticello and the University of Virginia. Read about his contribution to our architectural heritage at American Presidents Blog.

More American history and this focus is on Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Islandas a tolerant haven from the religious intolerance of Plymouth Settlement. That is the common story about Mr. Williams. American Revolution Blog has the story you might not have heard about.

Baking Delights  has her loving Saturday surfing so you can scoot over there and find lots of recipes. I saw  cupcakes, and Asparagus and Cashew Chicken, curries and Thai food, and more. I am definitely returning to check out a couple of these.

Gardening Tips ‘n Ideas  has a cute little post about what kind of gardener you are. A starter, maintainer, or finisher? I’m definitely a starter. I love to plant the darn thing, hate to weed and find it so hot when harvest time comes around because that means lots of work in a hot kitchen. Slip over and read this fun post.

History of American Women  takes a look at the Native Peoples who inhabited the area now known as New Hampshire. It was a surprise to me when I moved to Connecticut several years ago to discover such strange names for the Native American tribes. So much different to me than those I was familiar with from Michigan. And of course their dress and livelihood and housing was also different. We tend I think to think all Native people are the same, the ones we see in our old cowboy and Indian movies. Enjoy her fine post. These are simply wonderful posts and so informative.

I mean, if you want to see what a serious quilter’s stash looks like, go over to  Inspired by Antique Quilts  and be shocked! I mean wow, I have like one small shelf of hers and that’s my entire stash. I don’t know whether to feel economical or sadly behind! It’s an impressive array. One of these days, I’m gonna start a new one, I just can’t decide what! I want to do an applique, a friendship quilt, and a old fashioned nine patch. I can’t do all three at once!

First we got to figure out what kind of gardener we are, now its what kind of crafter we are. Yarn Harlot has a new book out, and Knitting dragonflies got a copy and concluded from reading that there are basically two types of crafters. Depending on which kind you are, will determine what you do I think. I’m not sure which one I am, but I think product. I think the more I think about it, it might explain a lot about me as a crafter.

Okay, quiz onwoolly mamoths! No not really, but I sure didn’t know that there were two distinct groups of them. I thought they were all the same. Live Science  has the story for you.  DNA research has uncovered a lot of new information about these cute creatures. It was long thought that humans were the cause of their demise, but it now seems that one group died out well before humans came on the scene.

I just got interrupted by the Contrarian. He’s feeling a bit more up since the garden, miraculously seems to be doing okay for the most part. He’s putting up the humming bird feeder and I of course forgot the recipe for the sugar water. So, I’m doing a google for the answer. For your information its: a 4:1 ratio 1/4 cup sugar for every cup of water. Boil the water first, and don’t add coloring.

Niki’s Ventures has a baby bib  for you to make and a link to the free pattern. Or try a bird mobile  for a crib or frankly a lot of little nooks. It’s quite inventive I thought.

On Faith has a most interesting topic this week. What does health have to do with faith? Do religions which have an integral health element in their tradition have real benefits to their followers? Mental health results? A provocative idea, with lots of panelist essays and tons of comments. I’ve joined in these discussions a couple of times, and they really are fun.

Another Pasta roundup  at Once upon a Feast. If pasta is your thing, and it sure is mine, there are quite a few entries this week. Salmon, pestos, and one I am going back for, a new Pastitsio. Having eaten in a Greek town setting for years in Detroit, I know my Greek food. The pictures are luscious too, which really is a great incentive to try some of these. There are much more than a dozen here, and they range into all the great cuisines, Asian, Italian, Greek, you name it.

I was utterly taken aback by this next post. It seems a Church has been found in modern day Jordan which may be the earliest Christian church yet found.It dates, unbelievably to the time of between 33CE and 70CE. It is said that 70 followers of Jesus took refuge there from the persecutions in Jerusalem. It sits below the Church of St. Georgeous, reputed until then to be the oldest, at the age of around 230 CE. What is not clear is whether this was a unique occurrence, or a general rule around the various preaching geography. I suspect it is the former. Rogueclassicism brings the story to you.

Well folks, I don’t exactly know what to make of this one. And before you ask, it’s not from The Onion. It’s a legitimate report from Science Daily. It simply reports that golf cart accidents are on the rise. I guess a number of comics could have a lot of fun with this. I’m not one of them alas. Okay, there are some reasonable explanations, but I’m not sharing. Read for yourself! LOL.

The Contrarian does not like curry, and frankly I adore it. My favorite is chicken salad with crunchy veggies, sunflower seeds, grapes and yes curry. Simply Recipes  has another recipe, and it is definitely going on my to-try list. Take a look at Chicken Curry Salad and see what you think.

Threads of Desire  catches us up on her latest work in cross stitch. She just inspires the heck out of me with her beautiful work. Just looking at what she’s working on gives me a lift.

Women of History  posts a look at women and rights. Focusing on Saudi Arabia in 2003 and comparing it to what is happening in Australia is most interesting. Comparing them both the American women and their rights is even more so. I doubt seriously that any gains have occurred in Saudi Arabia in the past five years. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if things have regressed.

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

Some silly quotes for you:

Crazy is a relative term in my family!

Procrastinate now, don’t put it off.

“No BLOOD no foul.”

I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Borrow money from pessimists – they don’t expect it back.

The sooner you fall behind the more time you’ll have to catch up.

OK, so what’s the speed of dark?

Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

I intend to live forever — so far, so good.

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

I Can Clean Rings around Rings!

The photograph was done by David Octavius Hill and is called “Newhaven Fishwives.” I don’t know if this refers to Connecticut or not, but I see no fish and I would think it difficult to clean fish in these clothes. You can view it at MMA.

Sorry about yesterday. The kitchen assignment was a good deal more involved than I had planned for and I did want to finish it once I started. It was just cleaning the counters. I neglected to take into consideration that I have a couple of big crocks that I use for utensils around the stove, and all the things I don’t use often had a fine sheen of that sticky grease coating it. So the cleaning was both slow and tedious. Today I zoomed through cleaning the stove and hood and spice rack. We took off the railing on the rack and decided it was much better off. Still, I had that greasy sheen on all my spice jars to clean off. But it went surprisingly fast. The kitchen is really starting to show its sparkle now; I just have under the sink, one narrow cabinet that will go very quickly and the windows to do. The floor will take another day, as I have to scoot around and work on the corners and along the baseboards that the mop consistently misses.

Let’s get on with the news:

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

Abby Sweets opens the day with cupcakes, orange-cocoa cupcakes to be exact. I don’t know why, but they sounded good, so take a look at the recipe and see if you agree.

I probably wouldn’t include this kind of post given that Bush is halfway out the door, but it’s by Adrianne Huffington, and her take is worth reading. It has to do with the appalling state of the GOP and why it is so very necessary we throw the bastards out in November. It’s from her latest book, Right is Wrong.

Blue Girl Red State has a nice expose’ on our continuing issue of torture in the name of protecting us all. If you saw Boston Legallast night, you got a nice little rant about the whole issue as well. I love that show for exactly that reason, the impassioned plea to America that it stand up and be counted as this horrid administration does it level best to remove every political right we have.

I admit that I watch the triple crown races, but I also take a very dim view of racing in general. I believe that the horses are bred to be fast, and much like certain breeds of dogs, it compromises them physically. It seems to me that more horses are breaking down then ever before. I recall watching the Breeder’s Cup years ago and three horses broke down during that series of races. Read the post from Britannica Blog and see what you think.

Catholic Anarchy has a interesting post on sin and the Church. I’m referring to the Catholic Church and not anyone elses. Of course some claim that God directs the Catholic Church in every respect so the Church presumably can not be sinful. According to this theory it cannot err in any respect either. Since I learned yesterday that the Church some years ago declared that capybara, a rodent of South America, was actually a fish, I’m somewhat doubtful of this claim. Anyway, the post is in two parts and so I’ve linked you to the main site. This relates to the theology of Karl Rahner, one of the most important Catholic theologians of the 20th century. It’s the second and third post.

Wow, today’s Civil War Women features a woman from Iowa, Melcenia Elliot. Although born in Indiana, she was raised in Iowa and went to college here as well. She traveled to hospitals and cared for the wounded. Several of her brothers also served as soldiers during the war. Her service was extensive and she traveled around the country, always working for the care of the soldiers.

This recipe sounds about right for a hot summer evening. Pizza is always good. This classy one is Tuna Mozzarella and Basil and sounds so fresh and tasty.Epicurious gives us this lovely one. It has some interesting twists so be sure to take a look.

I must say that overall I’m quite impressed bythe Democratic led Iowa response to the Postville raids. Uniformly Democrats from the Governor on down have responded with concern for immigrant rights and compassion and concern. Essential Estrogen has more on the subject.

Garrison Keillor has blessed us with another post. Just a pleasant break in the day to read his delightful musings. This one is about the upcoming Memorial Day. It’s an especially biting and good one today folks. Don’t miss it.

History of American Women has a lovely historical look at the colonial world of Pennsylvania. Included is a profile of William Penn and Quakerism and general life in this fascinating colony of early America.

Inside-Out the Beltway continues to impress with its witty posts. This one is a great little ditty about the ever changing metamorphosing John McCain. What we said yesterday, we may change today, depending on whom we are pandering to. And so it goes. This time he’s flipped on Cuba, since he is speaking to mostly Cubans! Read it and giggle along.

I always find a drop by at inspired by antique quilts to be well, inspiring. If I ever get this housecleaning done, and the redecorating done, and the gardening done, well then maybe just maybe I can get to quilting. She does push me forward you can bet your quilt on that! She shows three great border options on her medallion quilt. Which one do you like?

No doubt you think of this often. I know I do. What are the ten greatest mysteries in science? Come on, guess one at least! Live Science has the story for you. Who are you? Betcha didn’t know that that one was on the list. Each has a link to the “answer” such as it is, or isn’t.

Niki’s Ventures sends us to another great site for free patterns. Called Amy Butler Design, you can download all her patterns for free. They range from quilting patterns, to business card holders, and all kinds of other fabric related items. Take a look, I’m sure you will see something that catches your eye.

Notice how the war in Iraq has seemingly disappeared again from the airways? The wonderful media, ever ignoring what the Bushites seem to want it to, have well ignored it plain and simple. They have remained quiet as pictures of returning coffins was banned, they have remained silent as suicide rates among returning veterans skyrockets. Just when are we going to see the awful truth. Read Timothy Egan’s piece in the NYTimes today.

The Interfaith Alliance president has a take on the recent decision of the California Supreme Court to strike down a ban on gay marriage. He argues that it was a step in protecting religious freedom. I agree. Do you? This article is from the On Faith section of the Washington Post.

Finally the media has decided to actually call Mac on his closeness to Ron Parsleyand continue reporting on the sewage spewing from Hagee’s mouth. Mac is so far quiet on it all, though he has continued to welcome Hagee’s endorsement. Now we find that the Holocaust is the result of the Jews not working hard and fast enough to reclaim Jerusalem. God’s vengeance and all. How sickening.  Parsley, whom Mac has called “my spiritual advisor,” meanwhile is busy revising history. Did you know America’s goal in life, given by God is to eradicate Muslims? And Mac calls him a “moral compass?” Oh I can’t wait for this one to continue heating up. Thanks to Political Animaland the Contrarian who both alerted me to the news.

I have to admit it, I am concerned about McCain’s psychiatric history. While we seem to wait interminably, and that makes you wonder itself, for his medical records to be given up, he apparently is refusing to show us his psychiatric records. From someone who spend six years as a POW amid torture of various kinds, I do think its a very legitimate concern of Americans. The Contrarian says I make too much of this, but I don’t think so. Read the Salon‘s report and see what you think. Folks this is a very very good post, detailed and I think everyone should take a look. There are a lot of things in it I certainly was unaware of.

Science Daily has a fascinating look at stem cells and how they determine to become what they become. It turns out that several genes work together to turn them on when conditions are right. As this subject is so important in medical science research today, I thought you might like to keep up on what is being learned.

OOPS!. Since we didn’t post yesterday (oh God I’m doing the Royal We again), you missed your Fundamentalist fix. Scoot on over to the American Prospectand catch up. Susan Posner will not be pleased if you miss it.

Well, Nike has done it again. Always the first on the block to sign the next great superstar to a contract. Word is that they have signed Big Brown to a contract for those flashy horseshoes. Be the first at the watercooler tomorrow with this one! Air Brown’s will be what every horse in your paddock is demanding for sure!

I rather think that Republicans are drinking something in their Kool-aid these days. How else explain Lindsay Graham’s urging his fellow GOP’ers to nix the Webb New GI Bill, promising that a vote no will find them “rewarded” in the next election. Rewarded with a huge defeat you wingnut. If you bothered to  check the polls, then you would see that 81% of the American people favor the measure. Or do we still not count for anything? Oh I do believe some Repubs have a death wish, which we are happily going to grant them. Course, Dubya says he will veto, but the margins seem at this point veto proof.

Not all things in Iran are about nukes and Aminawhateverhisnameis. It seems that archaeology is still rolling along and members of an ancient royal family have been uncovered in Ramhormoz. Women of Historyhas an interesting post about it, and some nice research about the Elamites.

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

“Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories.” John Wilmot

“Never give a party if you will be the most interesting person there.” Mickey Friedman

“To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there’s no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.”  Jack Handey

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.” Elbert Hubbard

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

Celebrity Quotes:

“Some people say that I must be a terrible person, but it’s not true. I have the heart of a young boy in a jar on my desk” -Stephen King

“Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle.” – Bob Hope

“A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane and smells like Cheetah.” – Ronald Reagan

“I’ve had a wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” – Groucho Marx

“I’ve been on a calendar, but I’ve never been on time.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Husbands are like fires – they go out when unattended.” – Zsa Zsa Gabor

“My one regret in life is that I’m not somebody else.” – Woody Allen

“You’re not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.” – Dean Martin

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

You know, on the news earlier tonight, they showed Barack Obama back in Iowa. And I got scared. I went, “Oh, no. We’re starting all over again!” Jay Leno

This week, Barack Obama, true story, campaigned on an Indian reservation and the tribal chief adopted him. Yeah, the Indians actually prefer Obama to John McCain, because they still remember when McCain took their land. Conan O’Brien

The Indy 500 is this weekend. To most Americans, the pit is a surreal environment. Mechanics finishing service and repairs all in one day.

Scientists have successfully planted the DNA of an extinct tiger into a mouse. The results have been startling to the lab. When he wants a piece of cheese, he’d better get a piece of cheese. – Alan Ray, Stockton, Calif.