Monday, April 13, 2009

The King's garden


Thoughts from Spurgeon.............

See yonder the King's garden which he waters with his own bloody sweat. Gethsemane-whose bitter herbs are far sweeter to renewed souls than even Eden's luscious fruits. There in Gethsemane the mischief of the serpent in the first garden was undone. There the curse was lifted from earth. This is the garden of gardens indeed wherein the soul may see the guilt of sin and the power of love, two sights which surpass all others.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Giving Away the Store


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE HAS BEEN REPEALED

By Dick Morris
04.6.2009

On April 2, 2009, the work of July 4, 1776 was nullified at the meeting of the G-20 in London. The joint communiqué essentially announces a global economic union with uniform regulations and bylaws for all nations, including the United States. Henceforth, our SEC, Commodities Trading Commission, Federal Reserve Board and other regulators will have to march to the beat of drums pounded by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body of central bankers from each of the G-20 states and the European Union.

This “coordination of national agencies” and the “setting” of “standards” is an explicit statement of the mandate the FSB will have over our national regulatory agencies.

Obama, perhaps feeling guilty for the US role in triggering the international crisis, has, indeed, given away the store. Now we may no longer look to presidential appointees, confirmed by the Senate, to make policy for our economy. These decisions will be made internationally.

And Europe will dominate them. The FSF and, presumably, the FSB, is now composed of the central bankers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States plus representatives of the World Bank, the European Union, the IMF, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Europe, in other words, has six of the twelve national members. The G-20 will enlarge the FSB to include all its member nations, but the pro-European bias will be clear. The United States, with a GDP three times that of the next largest G-20 member (Japan), will have one vote. So will Italy.

The Europeans have been trying to get their hands on our financial system for decades. It is essential to them that they rein in American free enterprise so that their socialist heaven will not be polluted by vices such as the profit motive. Now, with President Obama’s approval, they have done it.




Tuesday, April 07, 2009

First and perhaps not the last


JoJo in her "work" uniform!

This past weekend, I accompanied Jo to work at the Coroner's office to experience my first autopsy. I was apprehensive to attend, but since I am very intrigued by the creation of our wonderful bodies, I forced myself to go. Though it was not one of my favorite ways to spend a sunny weekend morning, I am completely glad that I went.
Admittedly, the intrusion upon the human physique during the procedure is rude at best, the valuable experience gained from it far out weighs its lack of polite behavior. The entire procedure was absolutely fascinating. What a marvelous, infinitely fantastic mechanism our bodies are!! Seeing all of it up close and personal was amazing!
I was able to make it through the entire 3 hour procedure with out having to leave at anytime because of queasiness. Beforehand, I was wondering if I would be able to "stomach" the entire ordeal, not knowing what to expect. But, overall it was do-able. I made it through. I even assisted a little bit! At one point, Jo was busy doing something else and the Dr. asked me if I could assist him while he removed the right kidney!
Accepting the concrete, absolute-ness of death helps to accept the fact that this is just tissue. The spirit is gone, the soul is gone. Only the outer shell of carbon and organic matter remains. Thus, the body can be a tool of usefulness for others to learn from. Period. That's all it is after the spirit is gone.
What a unique opportunity it was for me. I treasure these days of exploring, learning, and experiencing new and fascinating things. I am thankful for each and every one of them.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Tracking Trails

Arbiter and I went on a fun adventure with our Mammology class last week. We spent a portion of the morning reviewing Habitats of local ground squirrels and chipmunks, then went out to look for some after lunch break. Here we have found some evidence of a California ground squirrel burrowing in the thatch searching for food.


Arbiter found this pine cone club that he carried around with him. I told him if we found any squirrels, he absolutely could not use it to subdue them!

These are a few of the many nests that we saw in the trees. Without closer observation, we couldn't really determine who the residents were. We suspected that they were squirrel nests.

This one could be a rat, but probably a squirrel
Who says you have to graduate High school before you can go to college?? Oh, and by the way, he (we) got a 94 on his quiz!

Some tracks of some sort in the soft sand. They may be fox tracks.

We are required to keep a field journal that contains narrative, photos, drawings and specimens all of our experiences and our findings. We have learned how to identify skulls and pelts of all different types of NorthCoast Mammals. Knowing all this information makes taking a walk in the forest a whole new experience. I go a lot slower than I used to!

Friday, April 03, 2009

For Want of Sleep


Sleeping upright in a recliner just won't produce the quality of sleep that one needs in order to get through the day. Especially a faux leather recliner with wheels on a laminate floor. I spent most of a long, sleepless night fidgeting and flopping around trying to snuggle into some sort of acceptable position that could garner some sleep. That was of course in between the beeps and drips of the machines that were hooked up to my dear DIL as she battled a high fever and a raging bladder infection. I did, however, find a gentle comfort in listening to the sound of the constant rhythm of the heartbeat of my yet to be born grandchild as "she" was recorded by the various monitors that were hooked up to her mother. Thankfully, though Mom's fever was high and the contractions were coming, baby was fine. After a few hours of I. V. fluids and tylenol, the fever was down and the contractions dissipated.
After a long week of trying to keep pace with 3 college classes and a day of tracking small mammals through the forest, I am ready to find a nice quiet place to rest my weary head!
Thank goodness for a wide open weekend of family time and "chill-axing" ! I find that to be "sweet-acular"!

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Days in the making

Few days ago:
Boy Scout Dinner- Oh, do we need to make deserts?
Practical Exam in Anatomy- 7 chapters of material to master. Lots of studying.
Daughter and son both not feeling well with ear and sinus issues; she with wisdom teeth coming in.
Yesterday:
What am I? The Black Widow of computers?? I killed another one. I don't know what happened... it just happened. One minute it worked, the next minute it didn't. Hmm. Well I was trying to upload some Windows updates, then I decided not to and cancelled it in the middle of it. That was it. Then I couldn't get anything. Since I bought it at Costco I am going to take it back. I have had numerous "mini dumps" already, so I think I will just take it back and get another one. Nice that Costco gives the customer 90 days to return electronics.
Today:
Daughter checks her grades online in Anatomy to find out that she got a low score on her exam. She gushes tears, I offer hugs and encouragement. No coffee yet. Get a call from son #1 second thing this morning. Can you watch the kids today? Wife is 8 1/2 months pregnant, throwing up and has a possible kidney infection. How can I say no? Gotta get some coffee. Finally, brown fluid flows from my Irish Attitude cup (the one that says that since I am Irish, my attitude needs no adjusting).At least I can think a little better now. Kids arrive, hungry and excited to be at Grandma's house! Lots of playing, fort building with the big boys, eating yummy snacks, scurrying around the back yard with little Tykes, then very long naps! :) I finally get a chance to sit down to work on my Algebra assignment when I remember that I am Dog-sitting for Reebs and Cam.
They arrive just as I grit my teeth in mathematics frustration with the Calculator. Rex is staying for the week. Tilly, my large black lab, is overjoyed as they run and run and run. More Algebra, more frustration, sometimes tears. Guess I will be spending extra time in the Math Lab tomorrow.
Dear Gus just walked in the door, so perhaps we can steal away for a much needed brisk walk. We have actually become masters at escaping the family nuthouse. Over the years this behavior has become a necessity in order to keep our sanity and our love alive! Sometimes we get away for a few hours, on other glorious occasions, we get days!!
The way the day is progressing.... I will take minutes if that's all I can get!!
Until then.....
Keep smiling !!!