The Bowling Green, Kentucky area is hoping for lots of clouds - go figure!

Hi, all! I guess since everyone else in Kentucky is talking about the weather, I will, too.

I didn't believe it either - that sunny skies could be a bad thing. But then I thought about it and it made perfect sense. Chris Allen, the WBKO weather expert, said today that if the sky remains cloudy, we should be okay. BUT if the weather clears up and starts to HEAT up, watch out. Because there is another set of storms coming our way along with COLD air that might tornado up or at least be worse if that happens.

Watching for tornado weather*

So he said they (at WBKO TV) will be watching.

I guess so! I mean, they certainly WILL be watching. The only entertainment yesterday afternoon and night on our local channel WBKO Cable 9 consisted of zooming in and out of weather maps. Ack!

I also could not believe all the little tornadoes on the weather map from yesterday. There were SO MANY. Wowie zowie! We had some pretty close, but so far (crossing fingers) we have missed the worst where I live in South Central Kentucky.

Some people on the news today were showing pictures of BIG hail and damage to their homes, mostly from the hail. Another picture near the WKU campus showed a car HAMMERED by lots of pieces of a big tree that fell right on it.

I was going to go out with Rickey this morning, but the flooding all around is stopping that for today.

So.... go clouds and dreary sky... because that is what this area wants today. :-)

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* The original of this really neat sky watching photo is by Oakley Originals on Flickr.

News from the FB and online Blogo-talkosphere

Hi all! 
Here is some news for today, plus some random funny pictures.

Funny Fingers from Zhouxuan12345678 on Flickr.

So many things are happening this week. And many of them are kind of funny... maybe very funny - - haha and strange-type of funny? Some I can't even classify.

For instance, one of my Facebook friends is growing out her Afro hairstyle and her friend has called her a different kind of Chia Pet.

A rabble-rousing friend who likes Unions for Actors is thinking of quitting Facebook because of some very rude comments. You can imagine.

 Another is thinking of switching to Bebo.

 While typing out some travel tips for a friend, I found out about a Class Reunion I probably won't be able to attend unless I win the lottery. Darn. It's about time I won that. (haha).

Meadowsweet and Myrrh, a Druid blog, has found a new home.

I am starting to do my blogs at least twice a week. (!) (see below).

A local pet shelter, RePets, is having a Puppy Poo Bingo event. You choose a square marked out in chalk and if the first puppy of the day poops on it in the puppy yard, you win a $100.00 Visa gas card. Useful. Each square is $5.00. You can even use your PayPal account to pay for it if you live out of town.

Funny Faces from jaaron on Flickr.

As usual, it has rained today. Again.

But so far here it's such a great and peaceful day. I hope it is a really good day for you too.

The funny photos are from Flickr's Creative Commons area.

Later!

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The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton - - what channels will we watch?

The Royal Wedding China.

I'm so excited about the Royal Wedding.

The word is out. The Royal Wedding will be streamed live to the U.S. on Friday, April 29th (and everywhere - I am not forgetting many other countries will be interested in seeing it.)

Like many others, I watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. What a beautiful wedding! And what a dress! I think I watched it AFTER it happened, but still I watched it.

This year, I will be lucky enough to be able to watch THIS royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William as it is happening.

Also, there are many specials about it, including the recent Barbara Walters show, which revealed that the Queen has somebody who actually squeezes out her toothpaste for her.

I am interested in every detail. Who is invited, what everyone is wearing, the preparations... (did you know they are washing the cobblestones outside of Westminster Abbey? I sure didn't.) And, of course, THE DRESS. Everyone wants everything to be perfect.

But what channel to watch the wedding on? I will list the front-runners and bold the people I know. No doubt people that aren't as famous have the chance the BECOME famous next week. I have the feeling I will be channel surfing often...

ABC News - they have fabulous reporters Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer. Here is the ABC blog with all sorts of fun stories on it: The The ABC Royal Wedding Diary Blog. I already saw the 20/20 show, ’20/20: William & Catherine: A Modern Fairytale.’ It was great.

Not sure this is authentic...

I had better get watching these ABC shows too, because they are in LONDON and have lots of news in them. They are Good Morning America, World News with Diane Sawyer, and Nightline. (which I watch anyway.) This coverage starts at 3 a.m. (probably 4 Central time). India Hicks will give insider information for ABC. She was a bridesmaid of Princess Diana's for her wedding.

FOX has "Countdown to the Royal Wedding" on April 24th. They have teamed up with UK's Sky News, which should make their coverage pretty great, with insider information added. Their live coverage starts at 1 a.m. (could be 2 Central) Friday morning on the 29th. Joan Lunden will be FOX's Special Correspondent there, along with Shepard Smith and Martha MacCallum.

CNN will also be covering the wedding by sending 400 reporters to the event, including host Piers Morgan and local Cat Deeley. Other reporters include Richard Quest, Anderson Cooper, and Kiran Chetry.

Take the poll!

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (also NBC) will also be there and will feature Billy Bush.

a Royal Wedding flag

CBS News has the popular Katie Couric plus lots of others, including Ben Tracy, Michelle Miller, Troy Roberts, and Elizabeth Palmer. Katie will then host a one-hour program that evening AFTER the wedding too. Victoria Arbiter, "Royals Expert", will be there as well.

NBC is said to have 30 hours of coverage, featuring 50 people, including Martin Bashir, who is a "royals expert". He will be helped by Chris Jansing. A show about the Royal Wedding will air the night AFTER the wedding, with hosts Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer. Other famous reporters sent there are Al Roker and Ann Curry. Brian Williams will be doing the Nightly News from London. Morning Joe (Joe Scarborough) will also be covering the wedding.

ET and the Insider have a double-decker bus in London, as well as famous stars Hugh Jackman and Jane Seymour.

Other stars who may be reporting from London are Tori Spelling, Perez Hilton, Stephen Colbert, and Kathy Griffin (who will be on the TV Guide Network).

The Disney Channel is featuring "A Modern Fairytale: the Royal Wedding Week" too.

It's an exciting week, getting ready for the wedding. And I will probably be up early that day too. How fun!

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Sources and more information: Business Insider article - Here's Your Guide To The American TV Reporters Covering The Royal Wedding
More about media coverage at the Q104 site. 
ET and the Insider.com Present the Royal Wedding
Royal Wedding gives News Organizations a chance to woo viewers (via the Kansas City Star)
The LA Times: TV networks go all out to cover royal wedding
Where and when to watch the royal wedding on TV (via MarketWatch)
Via the Daily Caller: CNN sends 400 reporters to royal wedding
The Business Insider (more about the royal wedding)

Photo attributions: 
The picture of the Royal Wedding China is by americanistadechiapa s on Flickr.
The invitation photo is by shannonpatrick17 on Flickr. 
The window photo of the wedding flag is by Sally Butcher/SallyB2 on Flickr.

More Animal Tweets from Twitter - #3C

Animal tweets and twitters on Twitter! - Version #3C

There are many owners and pets who have a Twitter account. I think these can be really funny, and cute.

Check them out - and add your favorite animal Tweets to the end as comments. Thanks!

Here are some animal tweets I really like. The quotes and descriptions are straight from Twitter and their postings. New animals on the list (or with new information added) have a star before their name.

Dogs on Twitter

Karma the dog 

http://twitter.com/TruckindogKarma
    *  Name Karma
    * Location All around the USA
    * Web http://truckerdesiree.com/ (Her owner's site)
    * Bio Lovely blond Texas girl, living at a truck terminal, Animal control picked me up, but I found my way back, & into the heart and front seat of @truckerdesiree.

Poppy from Poppy's Corner Shop
Hi! Poppy is on Twitter too! Her nick name is poppyscorner. http://www.twitter.com/poppyscorner. See you around!

* Giz the Terrier lives in Missouri, USA. His bio: "I'm a Real Dog, I wear SunGlasses and a Baseball cap. My Mission is to Make people smile :) My Doggy Daddy is into photography.:)"

* Mulligan - another rescue dog "Hi. I'm a tweeting rescue dog named Mulligan. My goal is to make humans smile and to help other mutts like me find their forever home! www.twitter.com/mulliganstews"

Alvar the Terrier

Hi! Alvar from Philly, nickname @terrierlogic , is also on Twitter!

Puppy Jones - via Puppy Jones: Hi! Hampton, ZuZu and Starbuck (in spirit) tweet @puppyjones
My pups also have their own comic and blog at www.puppyjones.com
We love the anipal twitter community and have made many new friends from around the world!

  

*BaileyPearl 

Bailey is a 2-year-old English bulldog. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama. He loves to "run and jump and eat". 

*Norman

Via Nick: Check out twitter.com/AskMyDogNorman He specializes in dog-friendly real estate and living in Boston, MA!

KatieBichon - a therapy dog
http://twitter.com/KatieBichon
    *  Name Katie Bichon
    * Location Winter Park
    * Web http://www.facebook.com/KatieBichon?ref=profile (Katie Bichon's Facebook page)
    * Bio I'm a Therapy Dog and I love to help people feel better - If You Follow Me I Will Follow You!

*Sadie Shih Tzu  http://twitter.com/sadieshihtzu "I am a social media puppy. Mostly Shih Tzu but a little bit Bichon. Naughty, always in trouble but super cutes and very soft. Currently covered in snow."

*Contessa the Pit Bull OldPetsLoveMore Contessa lives in Los Angeles, California. Her bio: "I am 13, my owner wants me to live forever, help me please her by talking and sharing information about caring for pets, especially more “mature” ones like me."

*Hussi the Dog lives in Richmond, Virginia. http://twitter.com/hussithedog. Just a Bouvier living in #RVA! My mom's site: http://is.gd/duLh This is a Bouvier breeder.  @1NaDaMtn's dog.

*StevieBear
I'm Stevie! I'm a blind shih tzu/lhasa who loves to cuddle, play tug and ride in the StevieMobile (my stroller).
http://twitter.com/steviebear07

  

*WhippetSnippets Ribsy the Whippet. I am a handsome and surly whippet. I pee on my own leg sometimes, but really, that's my only flaw. I have a fondness for body heat & a roller skate fetish.

*twittinSuki "Hi, I'm Suki Bouvier. I AM a *PRINCESS*, and I live with my Brofur, Teddy. I also live with a bunch of Tonkinese Cats, I Luvs them ~ they fun to herd! *giggles*"

*Miss May Z "cutest dog ever..." "I'm super cute & love socks and squeaky toys. My day job is being @TheRoxy's unofficial Mascot. The rest of the time? Pawty Animal!! ps I love my Uncle Macho."

  

*JohannTheDog "Bio Agility dog, herder, marrow bone lover, green dog, blogger, news hound and Chief Dog at JohannTheDog.com, where 10% of our profits go to dog rescues/shelters!"

*Mishka Puppy lives in Oz.  "I'm the smallest dog I know cause I'm a puppy. I like to chew. I'm a member of www.dogs4geese.com because I want to grow up & help rescue geese & other animals."

BichonBolognese

Hi there! I am a little dog from a snowy Sweden who is twittering at www.twitter.com/bichonbolognese

*DogFromBeyond/Doozle
 http://twitter.com/DogFromBeyond
    *  Name Doozle
    * Location Crossedover, Texas
    * Bio After I died, my Ape roommate became able to channel, translate and speak for me! Yeah, I never used to believe that crap, either.

CassieSheltie
@CassieSheltie is on Twitter, too. She says, "I'm in Moosic City, USA".

GuinnessTheDog

Jason said...
http://twitter.com/guinnessthedog

Horses on Twitter

FizztheHorse
http://twitter.com/fizzthehorse

Fizz is an American Saddlebred breed. 

Bunnies on Twitter

@BunnyJeanCook: "i luvs to help mai furends raise money fur anipals all over da world! u can find mai mom @vscook"

Cats on Twitter

Au the Cat
Au the cat tweets at http://twitter.com/KatzTalesTweets. Great post, we're visiting you next and meeting new dogs, horses and other pals! Our blog: http://blog.lepak.com

Daisy the Curly Cat  https://twitter.com/DaisyCurlyCat Her bio: "Welcome to my Curly World!" Her blog is here: Daisy the Curly Cat blog. http://daisythecurlycat.blogspot.com/.
*RepubliCat

Via Jill @jillosopher @RepubliCat is a cute but misguided political animal. Think female cat version of Stephen Colbert, but way less crafty. Inspired by my real cat, who really does have Republican qualities.

*Romeo the Cat "Proud two-time rescue cat now raising $ to help other animals! $50K since 2/2009. Are u a rescue needing help? Visit http://www.romeothecat.com XO!"

*Catpostrophe
TOO MANY DOGS ON THIS LIST. Hi. I'm IJ. I go by the Twitter handle @catpostrophe. I live on the Upper East Side in New York City, but I'm black, so I'm culturally confused. I like to eat bugs.

*SpaCat Glamourpuss extraordinaire with a penchant for gourmet cuisine, massage, pampering & travel. Cats need spa time too! Spaw4Diabetes spokescat. (Feline Diabetes).

Human Pet Lovers on Twitter!

And for human pet lovers, there are these Twitter pages: http://www.twitter.com/coolcatsites
    *  Name coolcatsites
    * Location the litter box
    * Web http://www.coolcatsites.net/
    * Bio cool stuff for cool cat lovers. gifts, shopping, resources, all cat all the time. meow

And here is a curio shop with an owl for its logo: http://twitter.com/MysticOwlCurio
    *  Name Mystic Owl Curio
    * Location Denver Metro
    * Web http://www.mysticowlcurio.com/
    * Bio Herbs - Incense - Candles - Books and Magic

Funny Fidos tweets from Tonawanda, New York. Their bio: "Dog lover, blogger, owner of a spunky little Terrier named Bailey who is the inspiration for Funny Fidos. Arf! she said..."

The Pet Expert is on Twitter too. He lives in Manhattan.  His bio "Owner & Veterinarian @ Manhattan Cat Specialists, a cats-only veterinary medicine hospital in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, NYC. Board Certified Cat Man." 

@LuckyGlider is an exotic sugar glider rescue.

New - Frank Indiviglio, a biologist for the Bronx Zoo, is now on Twitter too. 

His bio: "Bio Bronx Zoo biologist, blog writer for http://www.thatpetplace.com, zoo consultant, author. Full bio at http://bit.ly/6EpZkP., which is a blog called That Pet Place.

Other Fun stuff 

Some more to explore are Animal Planet, (@animalplanet), @earthwatch.org, @nwf, 

, 9 Top Animal Charities on Twitter by the Amazon Cares blog, @cattoure features cat clothing, and BlogPaws on Twitter (a Twibes group), also online at http://blogpaws.com.

More links to explore:

Animals Unleashed: Cats, Dogs, Rodents Join Twittering Masses (via ABC News)

Animal Tweets and groups on the WeFollow site

Leave your favorite animal Tweeters here in your comments. Thanks!

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The cute and colorful animals used on the artwork at the top of this blog are from the Microsoft Clipart pages.

I really like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show

Just saying. :-)

I really like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution TV show. I have watched it twice now. The first time he went to a school system he met with the parents, then got to go to the actual kitchens and help make some healthy lunches.

The problems he faces are administrators who don't want to change anything, even if the status quo is unhealthy for the kids.



But he is continuing to try to change the way things are, sugary, fatty foods in the schools are making obese kids! And I think he is making a difference.

Jamie's last demonstration in California tried to show how much extra sugar is in chocolate, or flavored milk. The school system he is trying to work with won't budge on serving these, although the extra sugar is not good for the kids. He took a bus and showed how much extra sugar the students were getting in a week. The bus just overflowed with it!

Jamie Oliver in Union Square with reporters.

 It turns out Jamie Oliver has been an activist for healthy food changes and more in England, too. Now he is turning his talents towards the U.S. to make some needed changes. And I was not surprised to find out that he was a famous chef too.

A Jamie Oliver book present. She likes it!

You can see the picture here of the school bus with sugar in it: http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/school-food plus you have a chance to sign a petition to support him.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution shows onTuesdays on ABC at 8/7 Central.

And here is his YouTube page. http://www.youtube.com/jamieoliver.

Yay, Jamie Oliver!

PS Here is his TV show page: http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution.

The photo of Jamie Oliver in Union Square is by really short on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/people/thebeav/.
The photo of getting a new Jamie Oliver cookbook as a present is by Shimelle Lane on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/people/shimelle/.

And FYI:

Here are some more of my websites and blogs:

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Some Facebook discoveries and links to check out too

To me, Facebook is all about discoveries - discovering what my friends are doing, discovering news that is not on the News at 6 and 10, and discovering new art, music, and takes on what is going on in the world.

Many people on Facebook like this. For me, I like discovering what my friends and acquaintances like, and also finding out about new art, news, links, photos, and lots more.

I repost some of the discoveries I find there by using the "share" button, and that re-circulates other people's stories and finds.

One example: Today I found out that the .ly suffix is owned by Libya/Ghadafi, so I pledged to use another free url shortening service, Google URL Shortener. I then shared this on Facebook so others can do it too.

Are you on Facebook? Do you have family, friends and acquaintances on your Facebook page? Do you have a fan page where you share some of your finds and ideas?

If you are not on Facebook, you could miss some discoveries - like these:


The Sewing Machine Orchestra
Louise's Apple and Cranberry Crumble Squidoo Recipe lens
A new Mashable article: How Baby Boomers are Embracing Social Media
A photo of a soldier and how he feels about  possible government shutdown
Low-Tech Tunnels: Tech solutions to Spring Fever
AP Newsbreak: the IRS awards 4.5M to Whistleblower
Indian activist ends hunger strike

I would not have heard about these stories anywhere else.

Just saying!

-Betsyanne

PS Join me at my "Like" Facebook page here: Betsyanne's FB page.

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FYI: the picture of a Mars Rover is from the free clipart and art site, Clker.com.

The Flying Festooned Tankman Truck

The truck that reminded me of a parade

I saw this truck about a month ago. The plastic tied around the tanks just streamed into the wind, and made quite a fanciful sight. These new tanks were festooned with clear wrapped pieces that each were caught separately by the wind.

I loved it!

We tried to catch up to it again to get more pictures, but it quickly vanished ahead. I think taking a movie of it would have caught the movement a lot better, but you can get a semi-idea here of how fun this was to see.

I have never seen a machine that had such beautiful decoration.

 The effect of the streaming plastic was like a celebration.

I was thrilled by the beautiful waves the plastic made in the wind.

Finally, this fanciful sight faded away. I looked "Zander" (the tank company) up online, but there were quite a few different ones, so I wasn't quite sure which to list here.

This one was taken from inside the car, so it's got a screen pattern on it.

I was sorry to see this tanker cargo leave and go up the road.

I hope to see another truck with cargo like this, including plastic streamers, someday. This whole idea could be made into other things too, like long heads with streamer hair, or a sculpture with waving wires. The top photo captures the moment best.

All for now,

-Betsyanne

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A semi-perfect cup of coffee - my recipe using instant coffee

I thought I'd share my personal coffee mixture today. It can really hit the spot, and you don't have to make a whole pot of coffee to have it. It uses instant coffee as its base.

Of course, a really ideal cup of coffee may well be some delicious variety of Fair Trade Coffee that you grind yourself, and place into your electric coffeemaker... but I digress.

My Coffee Recipe Ingredients: 

100% Columbian Trader Joe's Instant Coffee - 1 tsp to 1 tbsp. (to taste) Of course, you can use your personal favorite here too.
Spreadable or pourable honey - around 1/2 tsp. or more if you have a sweet tooth.
Several shakes of Stevia extract (natural sweetener)
1 tsp. of pure vanilla (or more, to taste)
1/2 tsp. of cocoa or carob (optional)
milk or cream to taste

I usually heat up the water first (filtered water is the best option) and then add all the ingredients. Then back to the microwave my coffee goes until it's nice and hot.

There you have it. I hope you like it! I am still experimenting with this recipe, but so far I like it. I think maybe a teensy bit of cinnamon might be a fun thing to try with it too.

What is YOUR favorite cup of coffee recipe? You can share it below, or leave a comment. Thanks!

-Betsyanne

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The Tamarind Indian Bistro in Nashville, Tennessee

What a great buffet the Tamarind Indian Bistro had on Friday.

They had vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, samosas, a good selection of curries, papadums, nan bread cut into little triangles, and two kinds of desserts right next to the regular buffet. We really enjoyed it.

The Tamarind changes their buffet menu every day. I liked the nice white napkins folded into a hat at each place, and fun Indian music playing too. I saw people from all over eating there. Note to new customers: when you get the buffet, you just walk over to the little counter when you are through and pay.

I took a few other photos the same day. One is of Rickey and a big rooster. Notice the chain on the big rooster's leg. This statue is right down the street from the Tamarind.

We also went into two other stores here, Flavour Women and Men are both really the same store, but men's clothing and hats are on one side, and women's clothing and accessories are on the other. I saw some interesting things.

The women's jewelry featured the new bracelet style, which is are more like big long armbands. They had several kinds of these. To me they seem like many bracelets glued together. But it was a fun store, with friendly shopkeepers.

I tried to get Rickey to try on a hat. Maybe next time!

So... this lunch was definitely a great success. I think we will for sure be going back there! I think I would like to try some of the items on the regular menu also someday. I enjoyed the Chicken Tikka, one of my Mom's favorites, along with Sag and the Gulab Jamun dessert (yummy honey sweet dessert balls sometimes made with rosewater).

Here is the Tamarind Bistro website. They have coupons there for $1.00 off the buffet and one for dinner and  carry-out orders too. They also have a PDF file of their menu.

Betsyanne

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It's garden time! Another BIG list of seed and garden catalogs

 It's time for a garden!

A beautiful flowery garden fence.

It is that time again. time for planning your garden, and actually working on it too.

What will you plant this year? Some tomatoes? Peppers? Tons of different vegetables? Here is the BIG list of catalogs and companies to order your plants from.

Personally, I will be ordering or planting (hopefully) some heritage seeds and saved flower seeds this year. I also will be pruning the apple tree and putting in at LEAST a couple of tomato plants.

I live in Kentucky, and most things have a long-ish growing season. A trend I like is towards natural seeds, seeds that are good for your own area of the country, and seeds you can collect from the garden and then re-use (heritage seeds.)

I have found some great listings in some fun magazines this year too, Natural Awakenings, Countryside, BackHome, Body & Soul (now Whole Living Magazine), and Mother Earth News.

Here is my updated list of fun sites to explore:

ORGANIC AND HEIRLOOM SEEDS

Grandma’s Gardens catalog and endangered species seeds
http://underwoodgardens.com/index1.php

Hudson Seeds, California
http://www.JLHudsonseeds.net

The International Seed Saving Institute
http://www.seedsave.org/

Seeds Trust for high altitude gardens
http://www.seedstrust.com/

Flowers from nursery sources
by the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/plants/handbooks/flowers/9.html 

Redwood City Seed Company
California
http://www.ecoseeds.com

Redwood City Seed (California) #2 site
This features pepper varieties
http://www.lovepeppers.com/catalog.welcome.html

Baker Creek Heirloom seeds
This company is famous and one of the very best!!
http://www.rareseeds.com/

Heirloom tomato seeds – These have letter codes indicating resistance
to different diseases – and includes Seed Swap 101, how to swap seeds.
http://www.vegetableseedwarehouse.com/heirtom/html

Fantastic Findings lists of seeds
http://www.fantasticfindings.com/results.aspx?cat=seeds

Heirloom Acres, Missouri
http://www.heirloomacresseeds.com/
Takes PayPal.

Whatcom rare seeds
http://seedrack.com/

Sources for organic and heirloom seeds by mail:
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/organic.html

Heirloom flower bulbs
http://www.oldhousegardens.com/

Heirloom seeds on Ebay
http://stores.ebay.com/Blue-Ribbon-Tomatoes_seeds_W0QQfsubZ2QQstorecachemissZblueribbontomatoesQ5fseedsQQtZkm

The Heirloom Sampler site – this site shows pictures of heirloom varieties and explains about each one. "The Heirloom Vegetable Gardener's Assistant".
http://www.halcyon.com/tmend/sampler.htm

Amishland Heirloom Seeds
http://www.amishlandseeds.com/index.htm

Thomas Jefferson’s seeds
from Monticello
http://monticellostore.stores.yahoo.net/plants---seeds-seeds.html

Bill Best’s article from Appalachian Heritage magazine
http://www.heirlooms.org/beans.html - this article features descriptions of heritage beans from Kentucky. You pick out the kinds you want and then send them a check.
http://www.heirlooms.org/catalog.html

Local Harvest Seeds
http://www.localharvest.org/store/seeds.jsp
also: herbs, honey products, soaps, more

Rutgers University tomatoes - these include the Ramapo tomato:
http://www.njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/JerseyTomato.html

Grow Shitake mushrooms
http://www.mushroompeople.com/

REGIONAL SEED EXCHANGES
Saving, storing, and growing seeds
http://www.freetechsupport.com/csr/seeds.htm

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
http://www.southernexposure.com/index.html

Seed exchanges for each state
http://www.blossomswap.com/exchanges

FARMERS PRODUCE SHARE CO-OPS
AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE SITES

Local Harvest – buy foods grown close to your location
http://www.localharvest.org/

The Farm Eco-Village Training Center
offers classes and apprenticeships
2008 Calendar
http://www.thefarm.org/general/calendar.html

INTERNSHIPS

Sustainable farming internships
http://www.attrainternships.ncat.org/

ORGANIC FOOD STORES
Goodness Greeness
http://www.goodnessgreeness.com/

INTERNATIONAL GROUPS

Equal Exchange
Massachusetts
A Fair Trade site – coffee a specialty
http://www.equalexchange.com




Global Exchange
includes Fair Trade items, too
http://www.globalexchange.org/

NATURAL MAKEUP, HEALING REMEDIES, MORE
Marsha Mason's company, River Herbs
http://restingintheriver.com/

Herbal Healer Company
http://www.herbalhealer.com

INTERESTING ONLINE STORES 
Hoegger Supply Company
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/home.php

Raven's Nest Herbals
http://www.ravensnestherbals.com
They have a downloadable catalog.

(A neat Chicken Coop for sale)
Horizon Structures
http://www.HorizonStructures.com/coop.asp

My Amish Goods
More Chicken Coops, more
http://www.myamishgoods.com

Cosmic Connections, 1701 Portland Avenue, Nashville, TN
615-463-7677
http://www.YourCosmicConnections.com


HOLISTIC and ALTERNATIVE/COMBO DOCTORS and CLINICS
See listings at http://www.NANashville.com

LOCAL – KENTUCKY
Kentucky only
Farmers Market Directory
http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/farmmarket/directory.htm

Agriculture links
http://www.kyagr.com/forms/aglinks.htm

HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN SEEDS FROM YOUR GARDEN
From Natural Life Magazine
http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/9504/seeds.htm

I hope you enjoy these. Please add your favorites as a comment below here, or just leave your comment, a short one is A-OK. Thank you!

-Betsyanne at The Garden Spot

The photo of the beautiful flowery garden fence is by cwwycoff1 on Flickr.


Here are some of my pages and sites:
My Personal Page and blog
The Nontrads site and blog
My Squidoo pages
Join me on Twitter as @betsyanne or @nontrads

Too much stuff!

Not my mess - but you get the idea!

I have way too much stuff to fit in my house.

Do you also have too much stuff? Do you glom on to more when it is "good" stuff that maybe you collect?

I watched the TV show about packrats, Hoarders, last month. It was so sad to see how awful living conditions can get when you simply can't keep up with stuff. So much of the things people kept weren't even good things.

I did like that people were trying to help them, though. This show made me feel better about myself, because some of the people there didn't want to try any more or even do dishes. (yuck!)

Back to the subject. There is a website I like called FlyLady that helps people get rid of things they don't need in their home. I like it.

One of my biggest weaknesses are books. I am a big reader and love to look at them too. I need to get rid of many books I have already read. But mostly, I need to neaten up the storage and decide which ones to give away or sell.

Do you have collections or junk you need to get rid of? What things do you collect that you know you need to organize or change?

Oh - I almost forgot. I got some more books today. (!) But I am not worried too much about it. I WILL get organized. One of these days....

Leave a comment if you are in my boat - - too much stuff, and not enough space!

-Betsyanne 

The photo at the top here is by sideshowmom on Morguefile.



Here is the Hoarders Episode Guide online. (The videos start up automatically in case you need to turn down your computer volume).


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Historic Thomas Drug Store, Cross Plains, Tennessee

My visit to Thomas Drug Store in Cross Plains

 This is my second visit to Thomas Drug in Cross Plains, Tennessee. What a charming store! It is both modern drug store plus turn of the century (LAST century) store.

You can see wonderful old things here, including vintage wallpaper and wooden booths. We had lunch at Thomas Drug Store, and it was really really fantastically good. I ordered a Club Sandwich, and Rickey had a Grilled Cheese with Bacon sandwich. I think mine tasted like a BLT, only better. It had lunchmeat, lettuce, bacon, tomatoes, and toasted bread. Rickey liked his, but mine was a lot bigger.

We also had homemade ice cream shakes. We are talking REALLY homemade. It took awhile to make these and you had to drink them FAST. It was like getting 2-3 shakes instead of just one. I used a lot of the napkins they had at the table. Next to us was a family with a new baby. Everyone in the store knew them, and ooohed and aaahed at the really cute baby, who didn't cry (much).

The atmosphere at Thomas Drug is marvelous. It's a small town place, and everyone smiles and speaks to one another, a la Mayberry. And I kid you not. They have real parts of the old brick cobble type streets there too. And some really pretty antique stores and boutiques.

I will definitely be back to check out the fun stuff for sale, which includes stationery, dolls, handmade wooden building decor, postcards (I got two), and ceramic drink coasters.

I am putting all the photos on Flickr and Facebook too.

-Betsyanne 

Here are some more photos are from Cross Plains' Citywide Yard Sale in June 2010 and are on Flickr also. There are some more photos of the inside of Thomas Drug here too.

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A new ray of hope for Alzheimer's and dementia - plus two Alzheimer's blogs

An easy future cure for Alzheimer's and Dementia? This is definitely worth a look.

I ran across a great, interesting article today in one of my favorite blogs, The Alzheimer's Reading Room. The author, Bob DeMarco, is himself a caregiver for his mother, Dotty.

He writes about his experiences, and also posts new information that is of interest to other caregivers. Often, he writes about new possibilities for treatment, what works, and news about Alzheimer's too.

The posting in question is about a possible new treatment for Alzheimer's. It sounds so hopeful. Plus, it does sound like exciting research. The post is called Alzheimer's vaccine in a Nasal Spray.

I hope that this research pans out and turns out to be useful for patients and their families.

Another great new blog about Alzheimer's caregiving happens to be written by a former high school friend, Tinky Weisblat. She is the caregiver for her Mom, Jan (Taffy) too. You will also love her quirky, fun sense of humor. Here is her blog: Pulling Taffy. I know you will enjoy it.

She has also written a book, The Pudding Hollow Cookbook. Here is that page.

All for now,
Betsyanne

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Computer and scanner glitches - - and neat jewelry from Laura Reynolds!

Just scroll down for the upbeat stuff. :-)

It's been awhile since I've had to grapple with glitches. One such glitch is my not-working driver for my scanner. Ouch!

I have tried several times to get it working again with downloads of new drivers. So maybe it's time for another scanner?

I got my trusty Microtek 4800 a long time ago, and really like it. It works for me. At least it used to! Now to search for other kinds OR try to get the driver working. Last time this happened, I spent about two days getting it to work again, which is a major waste of time.

Onward and upward!

I did have another posting to put here today before I was interrupted by scanner drama.

I have photos of some wonderful handmade jewelry I got at Concave last weekend. They are both necklaces, the bottom part (no chains). One is of a dragon with an eye in it, and the other looks like some kind of round steampunk machine switch with a bit push button and lights on the side.

Here are pictures of them...

Both pendants.

A beautiful steampunk pendant with faux lights.

A dragon with a dragon eye.

These are molded somehow, and very light. I like the attention to detail, the shading, and the bright additions.

They are made by Laura Reynolds, who also makes beautiful models and other art. Here is her website: Prism Studios. Thanks, Laura!

And here is an article about her: Laura Reynolds: Enchanting Animals. 

-Betsyanne

My Personal Page and blog
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Too many blogs? I wonder.

 Hi everyone!

Today I am doing my blogs. Of course, each one is different, so I am finding something (hopefully interesting!) to put on all of them.

My new proposal to myself is to write something here and on the other blogs at least every other day. That way, they have good continuity, which is a great thing on a blog.

Here are some of my other blogs:
The Nontraditional Student blog - this blog was set up to help other nontraditional students. I hope to put this on the Nontrad website this year so it adds to the freshness of the first page OR has its own page.
The BGAMUG blog (for now!) - announcing club events for the Bowling Green Computer Club. I am thinking of broadening this blog to include other members doing guest postings or getting some good computer tips to post here too.
Squidoo Liz - continuing my Squidoo journey of building lenses towards my first 50.
Cheap and Free Stuff in and around Bowling Green, Kentucky. This list has proven handy for some of my readers, who use it to check out what they plan for the week. Plus it helps keep me apprised of events.
Find Scholarships and Grants - this blog helps students of all ages find free help and links to get scholarships, grants, and more.

This does not count the Nontrad discussion group, My Squidoo pages, or my websites, which all need an update. PLUS I have a monthly newsletter I need to do. So I think I will still aim for quality postings on my blogs, but won't mind as much if they are shorter. And nothing says I must always find a good photo for them... but I do like clip art, photos, or other decorations on my blogs.

Do you have a blog or blogs, readers? How do you decide whether or not to keep a blog you have invested in? Or do you just abbreviate it? I would be curious to know.

My Personal Page and blog
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Selling on Ebay: