September

September

Sunday, May 23, 2010

A Thought for the New Week...

I watched a great movie again recently with a great thought I wanted to share with you all. Please excuse any incorrect grammar. I copied it as it was translated in the sub-titles word for word so it is not my fault. Correct or not, it still has a great point to it. This is it:


“At every turn in life, you’ll find two roads, one right and one wrong. The wrong route will be easy, it will draw you. But the right path will be hard, with lots of hazards, a lot of troubles. On the wrong road, initially you will find success and happiness, but in the end, you will lose. Upon the right, initially you may trip at every step. You may face hazards, difficulties, but in the end, you will always win. Now tell me, (are you) on the right or on the wrong path? (From the movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) ).

AWWW the wisdom of Bollywood!  I love this movie!!!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

We All Need Advice From Jane Austen!!

Are you, or do you know someone who is a Jane Austen fan?  Are you, or do you know someone who may be in the middle of the dating game?  Ifso, I have a fun book for you to give to them. It is called, “Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating”, by Lauren Henderson. It is a delightful read. If you aren’t still dating, it makes you remember how much you didn’t like it also.

This book is a humorous way to look at the whole dating trauma, even if you are no longer “on the market”.

***Warning, this is a book that I don’t agree with some of the Moral points mentioned; for example, I believe in no pre-marital sexual relations between couples. This book doesn’t adhere to this same belief. So I would not really give it to a teenager as a REAL guide. If it was a movie, I would rate it a PG-13, so parents beware of whom you let read it.

Some of the chapters are:

Don’t Play Games or Lead People On”, “Don’t Settle—Don’t Marry for Money, or Convenience, or Out of Loneliness”, and my favorite, “Be Prepared to Wait for the Right Person to Come Along.” Some of the advice is VERY practical; the rest is just plain fun!

At the end of each chapter, there is a summary of what that chapter is about in case you need -to go back and refer to the highlights of each chapter for a re-fresher course.

Also at the end of the book there are a couple of tests. One to see which Austen character you are most like, and another, which is for finding out which Austen character you are most compatible with.

***Again a warning to parents, I needed to go through and censor (yes I said censor!) these tests in my copy of the book. Some of the choices of answers were inappropriate for anyone and didn’t need to be put in, so I took a marker to them. ***

Anyway, it is a fun book for light reading that gives a lot of examples from Jane Austen’s actual books. You really do need to be familiar with them to appreciate the context of the examples, but even if you don’t it is still fun to read. Try it out!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

We Can't Live Without This!!!

How long can you live without water???
In case of an emergency, Water is the most important thing we need to have available to us.  Three years ago my friend Kim and I were visiting Oxford, England at the time that the Thames River over ran it's banks and flooded the whole Thames valley.  Many villages were cut off and the first thing to disappear was freash drinking water.  They had to have water brought in on boats in some cases.  It was a crazy week.  We also saw this same thing when Katrina hit in New Orleans.  Water was the most needed commodity.  I still remember the pictures of frustrated Moms and children crying for water or bottles of milk for infants.  It was gut-wrenching! 

If you think you are prepared for an emergency because you have food, but no water, forget it!  You will die in 3-4 days without water, where you can live without food for a few weeks! 


There are several sites that have safe water storage guidlines but I have selected the ones from FEMA to have here.  I have tweeked it somewhat.  For example, FEMA suggests you have a 3 day supply of water which is fine for an immediate emergency but a 2 week supply is much better.  Here are the guidelines from FEMA:

Water Storage Guidelines from FEMA

Commercially bottled water in PETE (or PET) plastic containers may be purchased. Follow the container’s “best if used by” dates as a rotation guideline. Avoid plastic containers that are not PETE plastic.
If you choose to package water yourself, consider the following guidelines:

Containers

• Use only food-grade containers. Smaller containers made of PETE plastic or heavier plastic buckets or drums work well.

• Clean, sanitize, and thoroughly rinse all containers prior to use. A sanitizing solution can be prepared by adding 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to one quart (1 liter) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.

• Do not use plastic milk jugs, because they do not seal well and tend to become brittle over time.

• Do not use containers previously used to store non-food products.

Water Pre-treatment

• Water from a chlorinated municipal water supply does not need further treatment when stored in clean, food-grade containers.

• Non-chlorinated water should be treated with bleach. Add 1/8 of a teaspoon (8 drops) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every gallon (4 liters) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.

Storage

• Containers should be emptied and refilled regularly.

• Store water only where potential leakage would not damage your home or apartment.

• Protect stored water from light and heat. Some containers may also require protection from freezing.

• The taste of stored water can be improved by pouring it back and forth between two containers before use.

Additional Information

               www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/water

               www.redcross.org/services/prepare

Water-How Much Water do I Need?

You should have at least a 2 week supply of water and you should store at least one gallon of water per person per day. A normally active person needs at least one-half gallon of water daily just for drinking.

Additionally, in determining adequate quantities, take the following into account:

• Individual needs vary, depending on age, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate.

• Children, nursing mothers, and ill people need more water.

Very hot temperatures can double the amount of water needed.

• A medical emergency might require additional water.


***Note:  One preparedness site suggests you also want to have a  small amount of cash on hand in small bills so you can buy bottled water.  Otherwise, you may have to pay a lot more for the water if no change is available due to electricity being out. 

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Sweet, Beautiful, Touching..You Will Find All of this in "Le Papillon"


Every once in a while I come across a movie that is so good that I can't believe it was never shown in theaters here. That is my feelings about a wonderful French movie entitled “Le Papillon” from 2002.


I haven’t seen too many French movies but this one is a hidden gem. It stars Michel Serrault as Julien, an elderly man whose only interest in life is to catch and collect butterflies. He is “adopted” by a neglected 8 year old girl named Elsa (Claire Bouanich). She is absolutely adorable.


Elsa has had to learn how to take care of herself out of necessity. She tricks (stows away) Julien into taking her with him on a trip to the Alps where he is in search of a rare butterfly that only appears within a window of a few days a year. While on the trip, Elsa comes to love him as a grandfather figure, and he is able to bury some old ghosts that are in his life by opening his heart to her.

The scenery is of course, breathtaking, the dialogue is touching and sweet, and the love that grows between the two is life lasting. The neglectful mother learns the need to be a better mother to Elsa also and Julien continues to play a part in their lives. It is a very sweet movie. It is only 80 minutes long but it is a beautiful 80 minutes. You will come away with very tender feelings for Elsa and Julien.