Change I'm Believing In...

I don't think George did anything like this. Take a look at this slideshow for "candid" photos of BO's early days in office. Clever pics, family and a sense of life in the White House. Some are dignified, some artsy, some funny enough you wish you could submit a caption.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/28/Delivering-on-Change-an-Inside-Look/

Share the Love....

Check these websites/videos out - way cool:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PlayingForChange and for the whole scoop and more videos go to...... http://playingforchange.com/. (Thanks Ali.)

And to make yourself smile and maybe give hugs a little more freely check out: http://www.freehugscampaign.org/ .

What If Love Knocked At Your Door?

Would you be ready?
What if love knocked at your door?
Would you let it in?

I happened upon Romancing the Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach and opened it to a entry that asked "What if Love Walked in Your Door". It was delightful. I mused over it though several walks on the beach and lulled myself to sleep several evenings.

The premise was: what if ____ unexpectedly was at your front door...your mother, your neighbor, a high school sweetheart, Barack Obama...would you be ready to put meaning in the moment? Would you still be in your pajamas? Would you be joyful? Would your house be in order? What could you whip up for tea? What would you do to build a lasting memory?

We are not talking romantic love (though I suppose we could be...) but of agape love, of building memories, touching lives, finding beauty in the moment.

It entertained me to think of an array unexpected visitors and what would make those moments memorable.

Yes, I would answer the door.

This Years Eggs

This year we nixed Paas and aimed for more artful eggs. Our successful potions included red onion skins, turmeric, blueberries and spinach leaves. The turmeric is especially spectacular. We used two months (about a cup) of dried red onion skids and 2 Tbsp turmeric - each with 2 tbsp of vinegar and 4 cups of water in separate metal pans and simmered them for 15 minutes. We then added uncooked eggs and boiled 15 minutes. The lighter eggs in the photo were hard boiled ahead and soaked overnight in the onion skins, turmeric and mashed berries. We also tried spinach with ho-hum results. Online there were other suggestions:


Blue/purple
Canned Blueberries
Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled)
Purple Grape Juice


Brown or Beige
Strong Coffee
Instant Coffee
Black Walnut Shells (boiled)
Black Tea


Brown Gold
Dill Seeds


Brown Orange
Chili Powder


Green
Spinach Leaves (boiled)
Liquid Chlorophyll


Greenish Yellow
Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)


Grey
Purple or red grape juice or beet juice


Lavender
Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice
Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice
Red Zinger Tea


Orange
Yellow Onion Skins (boiled)
Carrots
Paprika


Pink
Beets
Cranberries or Juice
Raspberries
Red Grape Juice
Juice from Pickled Beets


Red
Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
Pomegranate juice
Canned Cherries (with syrup)
Raspberries


Violet or Purple
Violet Blossoms
Hibiscus tea
Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
Red Wine


Yellow
Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled)
Carrot Tops (boiled)
Chamomile Tea
Celery Seed (boiled)
Green tea
Ground Cumin (boiled)
Ground Turmeric (boiled) or Saffron

Artful Bra's

Thanks to Sue S for sharing this link to thoughfulness and fun. Click here to see some amazing unmentionables from the Artful Bra Project.

Leave It To Trader Joe's

Jill, Eric, Nancy and Mom at Trader Jones in Oceanside (photo by sissy Kathy)

My siblings and I were in California last week to celebrate my sister Jill's fiftieth birthday. It just so happened we flew out on my birthday. We had to wait until four to check in, so we stopped by the Oceanside Trader Joe's.

The greeter - Eric, somehow caught that we were from out-of-town. Do Midwesterner's stand out that much??? When he learned that we had two birthdays he presented bouquets to my mom, Jill and I. He asked us to stand in front of the store and invited everyone in the store to wheel their carts up to sing us happy birthday over the store loudspeaker. Wheel they did, and in chorus showed their "warm California love" in song.

What a hoot! Thank you Eric!