I am going to make this short and sweet.

Why are sandbags only along 150 ft of shore instead of the 30 miles that are threatened? Why are there no responders in some areas where the crude oil has hit?

Why do the officials tell the local bp and others when they are coming to inspect instead of surprise visits? Why does the EPA say everything is fine and not demand the evacuation of coastal cities that have a bad air haze, when they demand oil drums to be immediately evacuated from a homeowners yard, at their cost? What makes BP special and the people along the gulf, not so special?

Why does her daughter have upper respiratory problems and a rash that goes away everytime she leaves the area?

Why are the BP officials saying Cut costs, instead of Spare no cost, because we caused the problem and we are going to solve it because we care about you?

Why are fish bumping into the sides of boats? Isn’t that fish poisoning in reverse?

Wake up folks! If something is not done and soon, the fresh water supply of southern Florida is threatened as well as their energy supply, since it uses water to cool its power plants.

Thank you so much Kindra for keeping your cool –so you can tell us what is going on with pinpoint accuracy.

Yes, Wake up!

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I had hoped to include only the segment concerning Tepako, New Zealand, but now I find that to be impossible.

So hunker down for a little bit and eventually you will get to to see Tepako, New Zealand.

Cold and miserable alone in my thoughts,that appeared to be a wonderful title for a post, but I digress….

Let me tell you a story. I sell or help sell mulch for a local garden club through the month of May for the most part. Mainly, we sell at one location, but sometimes the local arboretum asks us to sell there as an additional feature to spruce up or round out their plant sale.

Here at that local arboretum I was today. Since we are selling at two locations today we were spread out a little thin. Normally there are at least 4 people to help load the customer’s cars with the bags of mulch. Today only 2, Ted and I. I arrived in my pickup about 10 minutes late and saw Ted go into the building. He didn’t see me. I unloaded my gear- foldup chair, garden magazine, lunch “pail”, blanket, and something to sip on. I waited to find out if we are selling within the arboretum at another location and then loading at this location or just at this locaton. I waited 5 minutes… 10 minutes, it felt like 15 minutes.

Just before he came out a gentleman approached me asking questions–how long was I going to park there? When was I going to move my pickup? etc. I said I was waiting for Ron and was going to sell mulch here. Then I pointed Ron out and this man was still asking questions. When I left to re-park the truck since I found out we were selling in one location today, I overheard the man telling Ron to not leave the truck there, but move it forward a bit. If I had done this it would have been even more in the way. I became so annoyed to have someone not listen to me or not care enough to make sure he understood what I was telling him.

After I came back, Ted took off into the building again- to get warm- I thought. Fine. As soon as he would come back then I could get warm. 5 – 10 – 15 – 20 – 25 – probably 30 minutes went by. By this time, I had the indoor blanket around my winter coat and I finally felt somewhat warm.

If truth be told the temperature was only 45 degrees, not even close to freezing. However, I believe our body slowly adapts to lowered temperatures, and 70 degrees last week did not help a bit.

That annoying man came by pushing a dolly. He asked how much the mulch was and said, “.. nice big bags”. I quickly turned around and got out the money box and log sheet to take his money. But when I turned back around, he had disappeared. This made me even more annoyed. I thought he was going to buy. However, he was just talking..maybe he asked to be able to tell others the cost, but this I will never know.

Ted came back and suggested I go in to get warm, so I went inside and toured the plant sale. It truly felt warm and toasty inside. I was probably in there about 10 minutes, just enough to get warm. I came out to find him sitting in his pickup and then he told me he had sold 6 bags of mulch. That felt puny to my paltry 2 bags when he was in the plant sale building. Shortly, after that he went inside again.

I was puzzled. I started thinking maybe he hadn’t dressed warm enough or maybe he was in pain from the cold, but wasn’t telling me.

I sold another 2 bags and the director came by and saw me huddled with the blanket around my coat. She told me we could have coffee or anything we like inside. I told her thanks. So after 30 minutes or so, I decided enough was enough and I would see if they had some tea to warm myself up. I did see Ted talking and he did go outside after getting a cup of coffee. I mentioned something to a helper and she said, no, she was observing that Ted had been talking with a bunch of people. Oh, so that’s it.

I came out and Ted said I sold 12 bags. I believed him because our pile of mulch was down by half. We talked for about 10 to 15 minutes about different horticultural things. Then he went inside. This time I headed straight for the vehicle to keep warm and was and enjoyed reading my garden magazines. Ultimately, I sold 2 more and later when he went inside again, I sold 2 more. He beat me by 2 times with less than half the time.

To be fair, the very last time I went in, to return my mug, and he was still inside I overheard him giving gardening advice to another helper. Also when he almost bumped into a little girl and asked if he had, they said it was Okay. He said it was not okay, and I’m sure he apologized.

So, was he caring of me, his partner for the morning and then some?, no, not really- he gets a D. Was he caring of others in giving garden advice and being helpful?-he gets an A+. If we were situated further from the center hub of the people gathering, he probably would have gotten an A in caring for his mulch partner.

I though of myself and my hubby. He does the cooking and sometimes I have “my head in the PC” and forget to help in the kitchen or something. Here I would get a D or F in caring.

So was Ted caring? It depends who you talked to. His friends and members of the community would have said Yes. I who was freezing outside would have said No. There is really no right or wrong answer here, just a reminder that we need to review our “Caring” from time to time to make sure we are still on track. We can all lose sight of the goal to be a caring person.

Once you are on the board of a club or organization there are a few things you need to know. First choose your battles or crusades that you are willing to take up or champion. Ask yourself, in the face of opposition, are you proposing this as a nice thing that we as a club or organization aught to do or is there a request that we do this? Has a board member been unduly harsh in speaking with a member or continuing member, even though they may have spoken the truth? Is there any way you can smooth things over and keep that member a part of the club? In other words could you be a go between and keep that member a part of the club by you speaking with the individual, even though it is not your particular job or auspice? If so, by all means do it and if the board member gets offended, tough. If it gets the job done, do it.

Secondly, if you are going to propose a solution to a problem or potential problem don’t just bring it up a fresh at the board meeting. Take the time to call each board member individually to tell them that you are going to bring this question up and to get their thinking caps on. Chances are that they have an idea(s) of possible solutions. Jot these down letting them know you are still going to bring it up perhaps to discuss the implementation of their idea. As you continue calling and continue to write down the ideas, don’t make the mistake of telling what the others had said. This is not a gossip session. Good intentions do not count when you start talking about others. Just continue to let them know that you will bring them up for ideas of implementation at the board meeting.

Listening and being attentive to the needs and feelings of others are imperative when you are dealing with a group of people who need to work together for a common goal or solution. Make sure that you contribute immensely to that goal or solution and are not a part of the problem.

When I was a teenager I heard people talk about the weather-especially grownups. I was interested in exchanging knowledge and this seemed to me pointless. When it was raining, like duh all could see it was raining and all experienced how hard or soft the rain fell. When the sun was shining, duh, the sun beat down mercilessly on us all. Pointless.

Of course, I was one of those who answered, How are you doing? truthfully. To me all those who scurried away from me after I told them what I was into, was another example of people who had no desire to obtain knowledge.

Back then relationships held little meaning. Weren’t we here to acquire knowledge and he who had the most would come away with the spoils, isn’t that right? Problem is when we all get educated and go to college, we are all on the same playing field. Kinda hard to tell who is better, just on the basis of knowledge.

Take two people who greet each other. One likes birds, the other likes plants and gardens. One likes parrots, the other likes to bike. One loves dogs, but the other loves cats. Yet there is something within these two people that attracts each other. Maybe they are both raising a family, maybe they belong to the same garden club, or maybe they sense a caring person in the other.

So what do they do? After greeting each other they seek to find something to continue the conversation. What they stumble upon is the weather. The sun and wind or clouds and rain this they both experience. This they can talk about. The rain or lack of it would affect one’s garden while it might affect the amount of biking the other could do. They have settled upon common ground and it feels good.

Whether they continue the conversation or not doesn’t matter, but what does is that they have found something they can talk about to build upon. Who knows in the future they may actually develop a relationship which may turn into a friendship. But it has to start somewhere and yes relationships and caring is where it’s at.

The younger generation has developed a disturbing greeting of “Hey”. The other person replies with “Hey” and they go on their merry way. Perhaps it is their way of getting real–of saying why should I say “How are you?” if I don’t really mean it or don’t want to hear it? But how do you build a relationship on “Hey”. At least some of us will answer “What?” and wait for the other to either tell us something or ask a question. There is some meaning in that. But just to chase one down with a “Hey” is really pointless toward building relationships and that begins another story…

When I looked up from my spring cleanup this morning, I saw two girls side-by-side walking up the hill to the bus stop. They were either in middle school or maybe even freshmen in high school. It was apparent that their minds were on guys with the sleek way they kept their long hair and their clothes. Their thoughts were probably about whether the guys would accept them as cool girlfriends.

Yes, they are in their prime – their whole life is in front of them. But will they make the right choices? Since I don’t know them personally, I can’t answer that question. This I do know that without clear-cut goals they may be headed for failure. So why do I even suggest this?

What is there to do in the city? Movies, clubs, malls….you get the drift. In the past there were 4-H and Christian clubs even in the city or schools where young adults could learn to sew, knit, crochet, bake cakes and cookies, and even go on outings in the country. Most city youths, today, think these activities to be uncool. I have even heard it said that “I don’t do manual labor”–which included shoveling the snow or working in the dirt in a garden.

In the past I recommended taking kids to the country to learn how to farm or even tend a vegetable garden. I still think this is great. But what percentage of the city kids will actually do this or be willing to go to learn to work in the country? Instead, bring the country into the city.

My good friend Pat introduced me to a spotless gardening method. It’s called aquaponics where you grow plants in a barrel or trough. I suppose you could get as fancy as you wanted to make it even look chic. The basic premise is that there are 3 water containers that feed one into the other creating a huge circle. One barrel holds the fish. Ever hear of fish emulsions? Well, these fish provide that and it gets siphoned into the 2nd or nutrient barrel. Lastly the nutrient barrel feeds into the gravel barrel which also holds a series of upright pvc pipes where the plants grow. These plants are fed with the fish emulsions and the gravel serves to purify the water. This purified water siphons back into the first fish tank. This is why it’s called a spotless system, there is no soil involved.

Once this catches on, imagine that all those unclaimed city lots may just disappear. Where gray encrusted packed-down soil existed, it may just turn into green and more green. So… where do goals come in?

Once a child or youth has some responsibilities, it puts them in a more responsible mindset and they start thinking clearly. Either they realize that there is more to life than just movies, clubs, and malls, or they get deeper into their aquaponics hobby and an entire new world opens up that they didn’t know existed.

My husband keeps on having these dreams that show what our Family Ranch or rather City of Truth is going to look like. He is actually even seeing it at different stages of development. It started with him seeing what our first house will look like. Next came night visions of what the main Ranch house that is a log cabin prototype looks like. The last dream showed an octagon with rooms on both walls all surrounding a glassed-in indoor swimming pool. He even saw behind the pool with plants at one end, nonetheless!! Clearly this is an advanced stage of our Family Ranch.

My first response is that our Internet Marketing business is still in the foundation stage where little money is coming in. So why is he not having dreams, or myself for that matter, about the internet marketing strategies that we should be attempting and the strategies to carry them out??

Then I am brought up short to the motivation issue. I was always motivated to study so that I would be seen as knowledgeable, given recognition and get a good paying job. Somehow that good paying job has eluded me, but the other two have been achieved at times. However, since I have done a variety of jobs, I feel like I have been given a vast array of education and experience on people and life in general. This should all come in handy at the ranch, since I will be dealing with all types of people.

My husband never saw the value of book learning, as he is a hands-on person. You should see this big man’s wooden chair that he built out of two by fours. I feel like a wee person in a king’s chair when I attempt to sit in it. It makes a great herb drier during the summer months!

Hence, my husband, like many men I would surmise, needs to see the goal ahead to keep on working toward it even when it is not physically apparent. And, yes, I did actually see him get online yesterday and start working again at our Internet Marketing business. It is truly amazing that what motivates one, may not motivate the other.

Thanks for being patient. You can contact your Congressmen
and your Senators . The Alliance for Natural Health USA has so graciously provided us with the text of our appeal to Do Not Co-sponsor Senator McCain’s Attack on Dietary Supplements

When you are at the congressman site, you can leave your 4 digit postal zip extension blank.

When you are at the Senate site, click on Senators and select your state in the first drop down box. Immediately your 2 senators should appear. After selecting the first one, click on the web form to enter your name and address and your all important message. I picked nutrition and dietary supplements, respectively, from the drop down boxes for topic/subject areas.

Please note there is some talk of adding portions of the DSSA to other bills as a way of getting around the huge outpouring against this bill. So continue to let congress hear your voices, especially that portions of the bill are not to attached to other bills. Just kill this bill and banish all portions of this bill. Bury it please!

To the text that the ANH USA provided, I added the above portion. With all the links I have supplied you with, it now should take mere minutes to contact your congressmen to let them know how you feel.

What exactly is this all about? Read on below.

Occasionally I bring you important news!! This is one of those times. Although I have not spoken much about herbs, this is a right we all must protect. The right to choose which dietary and herbal supplements we wish to buy.

Your rights to supplements are under attack! Should DSSA Bill pass, the federal government will take over the dietary supplement industry!

The misleadingly named Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) will limit which supplements you can buy and reduce what can be sold!!!

HEALTH FOOD STORES NATIONWIDE ARE IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY. IF SENATE BILL S.3002 PASSES Contact your congressmen Tell them to vote NO to Mccain

Despite supplements safe record, the DSSA Bill would allow the federal government to take over the dietary supplement industry!!! Vote No to DSSA Bill

If FDA takes over dietary supplement industry the prices are going to drastically increase!! Health enthusiasts need to speak out!!!

Senate Bill S.3002 will limit which supplements you can buy, while substantially restricting the number of acceptable ingredients. Vote NO!!

Tomorrow I will add a link to your congressman, unless you know it already. If you do know it, then by all means Now is the time to contact your congressman and tell him to vote no!! Tell him you want to choose the dietary supplements that you wish to take. Tell him that this is your constitutional right!!!

Some additional thoughts are: do not become locked in your generation.  Interpretation:  do not seek out only those of the same age as you.  Cross those generational boundaries. Live a little.  Enjoy life.  Two of my suggestions do just that: selling door-to-door and biannual family camps.

For some reason, once a sibling becomes a preteen we allow them to live only in their generation.  They want to hang out with their friends all the time —we let them.   They have to have a cell phone- an ipod, a nintendo, etc –we let them, no questions asked nor any restrictions put on the use. 

How are their grades?  Good? Then moderate use of the game toys. Not good?  Take them away until Good is reinstalled.  Why moderate, because these are tools not our life.  Our–their life revolves around relationships whether we like it or not.   Who says?  Jesus does. 

I challenge you to find where Jesus mentioned heaven as such and not in terms of relationships to others.  “I go to be with my Father.” or “I go to prepare a place for you”    Relationships rule.    Do not let the younger generation have their way of living in the vacuum of only their age group. 

Did you know that in the Jewish households of years ago, that the grandfather taught or educated the children?  How or why so?  Well, the father was busy working, and the mother was busy preparing the daily meals and keeping the house.  So it was the grandfather that educated the children.  This is way cross generational.  Tell me about it. 

Why the stories that that grandfather had to tell the children. I am sure they were spellbound and I am sure they had respect for their elders.  I’m also thinking it went beyond respect to comradeship, another term for friendship.  Wow! Think about it.

I’ve put forth a lot of problems. What about solutions? They are as varied as the trees in a forest. All arriving at one end. We must teach our children about Jesus in our/their lives and that we have a responsibility to live out the life God has called us to. We were bought with a price. So let the Holy Spirit guide you here.
Some possible suggestions are twice per year take your children away to family camps where you can share responsibilities in a more primitive way of life. No couch potatoes here!!! LOL

Or…you could encourage them to be paper delivery boys. Or, they could earn money doing chores around the yard, like mowing the lawn and weeding the garden. Already doing that? Then step it up a notch and get them to become door-to-door salesmen and they get to keep the profits. Take time to teach them how to make simple dishes. No cheating—only good wholesome food–no Kraft macaroni and cheese. That is easy enough to learn without assistance. Teach them how to make bread. Use the breadmaker. I have been given a refrigerator bread recipe that if I get permission to share I will.
Remember the goal is as parents to make responsible adults out of our children or to get them on the right path. This is not an easy task, but with the assistance of the Holy Spirit you will make it. The entire next generation depends on it. Whatever the Holy Spirit tells you to do, Do It. (Sound familiar?)
I will think upon this as a dog worries a bone and come up with other suggestions.  Please do comment and include your own suggestions. The easiest one is that we all move to the country or live on a farm.  LOL But for most of you, that is not an option, at least, not at the moment. Again, tell me or others what you are doing or plan to do as an entire generation depends on it.