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I wish I could say I loved every second of the ride and that the thought of all the wonderful people who donated money to the worthy cause gave me strength in every turn of the pedal.
That may have been the case for some of the seconds during the ride, unfortunately there are many, many seconds in twenty four hours. At least three hundred. For the majority of those seconds I did not love cycling, the generous people who donated, the worthy charity, my fellow riders, tiny puppies or jelly (I usually love jelly). In my lucid moments I cursed everyone and everything that ever existed or ever would exist.
But time heals all wounds, and I now look back on the twenty fours with a warm nostalgia.
The ride started well, the torrential downpours that had been thrashing London seemed to cease just as we departed Marble Arch and with a belly full of pasta and high hopes we set off strong. The traffic in London was a pain, we kept getting split up but as soon as we got into the 'burbs and were able to pick up the pace and things were fine. We started cruising at around 18mph on the second leg of the England stage to make the earlier ferry and I felt good. The cats eyes of the A2 were oddly serene, guiding us like a runway into the darkness and to Dover where the ferry would bring some rest, warmth and a chance to carb load.
After eating what seemed like my own body weight in pasta on the ferry I put my head down to get some rest. What seemed like an instant later and the lady on the tannoy was telling us that we were making our final preparations before we docked in Calais. Getting back on the bike wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't horrible. After some dilly dallying in the port it felt good to get moving and get warm, the elements seeming to be holding off.
The elements didn't hold off. First came the rain, then the wind. It was fair to say I was fairly les miserables.
A welcome break came around 8am, when we stopped for a coffee. I was quite sleepy, but the caffeine helped as we set back off.
The next twelve hours seemed to last twice as long as the first twelve, but I seem to have half as many memories. The wind and the rain got worse, it hailed, the it rained some more. It was sunny for at least ten minutes in between the rain. It was always windy.
It soon became abundantly clear that the stomach bug that I had two days prior to the ride combined with the lack of a good rest the night before were taking their toll. My mental state really started to deteriorate. At some point mid-afternoon I started to lose it a little bit – apparently I tried to rest my elbows on my handlebars and nap whilst cycling, and I distinctly remember being in the living room of my parent's house at one point (I was actually cycling onto a roundabout with my eyes closed). It all seems quite funny now, at the time I wasn't overly amused and I think my team mates were more than a bit concerned by my well being.
Luckily Roy (the man in the van) gave me a can of relentless on the last but one stage. This was both a terrible and brilliant idea. Terrible in that downing a can of gut-rotting, fizzy rocket fuel caused my already fragile stomach incredible stomach cramps, brilliant in that the stomach cramps kept me awake and alert. At least I wouldn't cycle into a car thinking it was my parents sofa.
After that, Paris drew ever closer, but it wasn't until about 45 minutes before we finished that I thought we would actually make it. At this point a discussion started as to if we should take a 3 mile detour to go up the cobbled cyclist destroyer that is otherwise known as the Champs-Élysées.
We didn't take the detour, I was deeply glad of this.
After some sneaky navigation down some one way streets we turned on to the wide avenue leading up to the Arc de Triomphe. Writing this I wish I could say I felt jubilant at the sight of it, but in truth I think I was too physically and emotionally drained to feel anything except a slight sense of terror trying to negotiate my way across the crazy roundabout.
It wasn't until much later on, when I was fed, showered and had endured several bouts of cramp, lying in bed it fully dawned on me what we had done. It felt good and I fell asleep almost instantly.
I have to accept that this account portrays me as a whiny little girl, and to be fair for around 23 and a half of the 24 hours that would be fair estimation. But I finished it, and now I never again have to ride more than the four or so miles to work each day…
…until the next time one of us has a bright idea.


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Liberian President Charles Taylor's record reads like a rap sheet: U.S. jail escapee, diamond smuggler, arms trafficker. But it was last month's indictment by a United Nations-backed court that makes him cringe the most.
Wanting to avoid the label "war criminal," Taylor said he would reject any peace agreement with rebels closing in on his capital, Monrovia, until the indictment was quashed.
Analysts say the response was typical: He was willing to hold his nation of 3.3 million people hostage because he wanted to be seen as having political legitimacy.
For two decades, international human rights groups say, Taylor and his armies killed hundreds of thousands of people to further his main goals: to seize power and get his hands on Liberia's gold, diamond and timber resources. By running the country as his personal fiefdom, Taylor has become one of the richest men in Africa, amassing billions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts while Liberians remain among the poorest people in the world.

subset: commoncrawl


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I don't want to write too many big goals or resolutions for the coming year. I am thinking that last year I hoped to knit one ornament every month so I would have 12 ready for Christmas gifts. Um. Yeah.
One goal I had last year was to publish a pattern on Ravelry. I published two patterns. I hope to double that this year.
Other than that, I can't think of specific knitting goals, like knit X number of hats. I am too disorganized for that, and I like to be open to whim crafting.
I did a pretty good job of crafting from my stash this fall. This morning, I bought a bunch of yarn from Little Knits for some projects I have planned in January, February and March. And, I need to buy a bunch of acrylic for some afghans I have planned this winter and spring. I don't have the right yarns and colors, and don't really want to make a true stash afghan. I hope to continue knitting socks from my stash, though that will probably fall apart when Sock Madness begins. That's ok. I know if I buy yarn for those socks, it will be for specific projects.
The last thing I need to do to get my yarn stash under control is to bag up all of the yarn that I have from long ago (all acrylic) or that people have given me this year when they stopped knitting (all acrylic, novelty or cotton and not cotton that makes good dish cloths). I will see if Colleen can use it. If she can't, and no one in Eastside Stitchers wants it, I will donate it to charity. I want to have yarns that I am planning on using. Not just have yarn. When I do buy new yarn, I really want to buy for planned projects. This is one area where I have improved this last year.
The last goal that is specific is to spin one skein of plied yarn every month. This will be a hard one, as I still am not in a good habit of spinning every day.
Ok, back to work on Racing Raindrops.
shaping the planet with big goals.


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|Nope, NOT an author portrait!
I've read so many things... our skin does what it needs to do. Yeah OK. If you strip the oils from your skin, it will over-compensate and produce more oil. Yup, sure. Skin naturally will lose elasticity etc. Yes, for certain. Time marches across our faces. Miracle creams abound. All criticize the others for not really working. New ones come out every 2 seconds. (That might be a slight exaggeration. We women all know only mascaras actually come out every 2 seconds. Moisturizers might be every 5 seonds, really.) New, improved, better, this works that doesn't, new technology, new ingredients, better, stronger, gentler, SPACE AGE! I finally stopped to think: almost every other product is full of lies and false promises. Why should I believe the anti-wrinkle people above everyone else I have put to the side?
Hmm. Good question. I have openly embraced my grey hair. In fact, it's not turning white fast enough for me. I've never worn a ton of make-up so I'm OK with keeping to a minimum. So why the continued obsession with moisturizers? Why the worry that if I skip it, I'll burst out into severe wrinkles immediately? I use a very natural soap that doesn't strip the skin of its oils TOO badly... still feels a little dry right after the shower, but all in all, I've discovered that if I skip the stuff, I'm actually still OK - the same - all fine - by the end of the day. I feel no different. It's only been a short time now, and I'm not yet convinced I'm in the clear, but all in all I... cautiously... think I might be just fine. I have not exploded into crow's feet. I don't notice any difference at all. But really, should I care? I'm all for looking as good as I can. For sure, I am blessed with my naturally oily Italian skin that keeps some aging at bay... but really, have I held on to this last social hang-up for no good reason? Do I really care how wrinkled I get? Do I care who knows my age or guesses it or even cares?
I'm trying to get in better shape, I'm eating better, I'm exercising more... I do want to look good. I have sun damage/age spots that I know betray me, and I would like to fade them. They do bug me. I try fade creams. They seem to work. I try to not obsess too much. It is what it is, ya know? I know there are natural products out there, I saw most of them as I wandered through the Natural Products Expo. But I was still left to wondering, do I really NEED this? Might my skin be fine on its own? Unfortunately, only time will tell, and by then it will be too late. But I really am tempted to just STOP. Yeah, again, sure, I may be lucky with my skin type that still grants me zits at an age I thought I would be long past them, but, I really think I can plain old stop. Or cut back, at least. Because, yes, those wonderful all-natural (all EXPENSIVE) products out there may be the tits (and I'm thinking some of my etsy friends out there do have GREAT natural products and not crazy-pricey! You know who you are!! Pipe up in the comment section!), they still lots of them come in plastic containers that I prefer to not have to use in the first place. I want to simplify. I want to STOP.
Can I? Should I? Would you, could you? Meanwhile, I have a lot of soul-searching to do to figure out why I could continue to fall for this one last great lie...


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crossroads food bank
Open Thursdays & Fridays from 9:00 a.m. - Noon
Oregon is near the top of the list of state populations that are in need of food assistance, and we want to be intentional about helping meet that need through the Crossroads Food Bank. The food bank is an outreach to the community to feed hungry people.
It was launched over 25 years ago in a small closet of the church. This ministry has grown significantly ever since to the point that approximately 20,000 pounds of food is distributed monthly including produce, meat, frozen food and baked goods. People from all backgrounds and walks of life are welcomed in an effort to show God's love in practical ways.
This front-line ministry is staffed by over 40 volunteers but is always in need of more help! Here's a great opportunity to serve those who need it most. We're looking for volunteers who can help with packing, stocking shelves, helping assess peoples' needs, food pick up and facility cleanup. Your efforts will make a direct and significant difference in the lives of others. If you are interested in volunteering with the food bank please email Carol Whittington at email@example.com
Full Circle Mobile Outreach
We are now partnering with Full Circle Mobile Outreach to provide additional items to the people who come to the food bank (blankets, shoes and hygiene items etc.). The Full Circle bus will be at the Food Bank once a month. The current needs that they have are socks, blankets and dog and cat food. If you would like to donate items please bring them to the collection box at the welcome center in the lobby on Sundays.


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So far I have had a relaxful weekend and it has been nice. I have gotten a lot of sleep so far and its helped cure my cold, and I am feeling much better!!! We went to my father's house yesterday and enjoyed a great meal for the 4th. Since they live in the country we got to shoot of fireworks, and that's always a good time. Mike likes to make fun of my fountains I buy to shoot of, but they make me happy..ha! Jude has been very active the past two days. I am thinking he needed the rest as well. Next weekend is his shower and I am very excited. I am beginning to realize he is going to be here very soon. Mike got to feel his little foot trying to escape yesterday and was amazed. Jude began the same gymnastics the afternoon and Emily got to feel. She just stared at me and said. "WOW!" So all in all it's been a good weekend. I did call into my works voice mail just to make sure no one had a claims emergency they didn't call into the claims number. I got a bit of a laugh after I heard the voice mails. There were only 3 and all 3 were people that were very late on their payments, and they were angry we were not open on the 4th. Um they were off and it is a national holiday?!?! I was confused.
On another note and very off the topic, but insight into me. Most everyone knows that I love movies.. in fact am rather passionate about them, and I also like to read. So what better thing for me then to read than an article written by Stephen King. He is a profound writer and has had excellent movies made after his work. The article was featured in Entertainment Weekly and he was discussing what he thinks makes a good scary movie. I loved loved the article, and found great interest in it because people always ask me if I have seen a particular horror film which many times I reply "no". Why? Because it is not realistic and therefore to me is not scary....at all. Freddy Krueger? PLEASE! Who can fall asleep and be terrorized in their dreams by some burnt crazy man...ridiculous plot. I have always believed that the smaller low budget films seem to be better, and in his article he stated just that. Some of my top horror movies? Blair Witch Project, Night of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho (scared the bejesus out of me when I was little), Scream, The Shining, etc. My hubby loves horror movies, but unless it is one that really works I just don't like them. He did have me watch Hostile and that's a scary plot. They also don't have to be scary, but just have a great subject like "The Sixth Sense" (loved it). Anyway, the point of my rambling is I loved the article and the fact he said less is much more and it's so true. I like all aspects of movies and the fact he points out that the crowd is not dumb and knows when special effects or blue screens are being used is perfect! There are some days I could just say give me a great drama like Gone with the wind, or Steel Magnolias vs a stupid demon chasing Betty Lou and her copied scream for the 100th time. Give me the good old movies with a great plot and less blue screen!
On another note there is a huge UFC fight tonight. My cousins family and mine normally watch them together, but she is in Memphis. So if she is reading this we will record it for ya!! :)


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Government refusing to show business case for fast-tracking Hobsonville build but let's hope it's just the start.
Well, knock me down with a feather - Housing Minister Nick Smith and his Cabinet colleagues have finally decided to lead from the front in dealing with Auckland's housing crisis.
They are to fast-track the purchase of 16.5ha at Hobsonville Pt, two years ahead of schedule, so 500 new houses can be built earlier than planned.
The $31 million purchase price will go to the New Zealand Defence Force as landowner and will be recouped, with interest, when the houses go on the open market.
In a statement, Dr Smith says the original plan was that the Hobsonville Land Company, a subsidiary of Housing New Zealand, "would not purchase this area until 2015 and would fund it from house sales proceeds. The company presented a business case, approved by Cabinet, showing it was better for the taxpayer and for housing supply to bring forward this purchase and development."
The minister refuses to reveal the business case that went to the Cabinet, but pushing through 500 houses two years earlier than planned will obviously help to ease - if only a little - Auckland's housing supply crisis.
As for being advantageous for the taxpayer, I guess the quicker the 3000-house Hobsonville project is completed, the sooner the profits can be added up.
And all going well, there will be quite handsome profits.
In the Hobsonville Pt Development project summary just over a year ago, the company's strategic goal was to complete the development by June 30, 2017, within the budget set by shareholders' provided funds of $30.7 million.
In return, there was to be a capital return to the Crown of $184.5 million.
Dr Smith will now front up with a further $31 million, but will get that, plus the earlier projected capital return, back earlier than expected.
A month ago, Rod Chadwick of AVJennings, one of the private house-building partners with the Government in this project, said "the market demand is insatiable at the right point".
It's been something of a saga to reach this point, but after four years, 150 houses are finished and a further 240 will be completed next year.
In the original plans drawn up by the previous Labour Government, state rental properties were to be pepper-potted throughout the development. But local MP John Key campaigned against that in the 2006 general election, saying it was "economic vandalism".
The compromise is that 10 per cent of the houses will sell at or below $400,000, 5 per cent between $400,000 and $450,000 and 5 per cent between $450,000 and $485,000.
With Mayor Len Brown and the minister talking of the need to build 10,000 to 13,000 new houses a year to meet Auckland's burgeoning growth, the quicker houses rise the better. Even if it means Dr Smith having to bend the party line a little.
He tries to have a bob each way. On the one hand he sticks to his old line that "the big gains in housing will come from private housing developments off the back of Government reforms to free up land supply, increase competition in building materials, and constrain council development and compliance costs".
In the same breath, he says the Government's decision to sink more cash into the project "highlights the Government's pragmatic approach ... where it makes sense".
For many observers, the only chance of building anything like the 10,000 new houses a year Auckland is said to need is for the Government to follow the hugely successful Hobsonville template. Take the lead by aggregating land, underwriting the initial development, assembling the alliance of private developers needed to do that job and, as at Hobsonville, working with Auckland Council to smooth the regulatory hurdles.
A year ago, the Productivity Commission failed to come up with any easy solutions to the housing-affordability crisis but it did suggest working as a team might just work. Auckland Council should, it said, "look to collaborative models for the process of identifying, assembling and releasing large tracts of land".
The problem with that recipe is that Auckland Council is neither funded nor programmed to engage in land-banking or large-scale housing development. But the Government is, and Hobsonville Pt proves how successful a publicly led partnership with private builders can be.
Dr Smith sees it as a marriage between pragmatism and dogma. Let's hope he gets a taste for this special blend and takes his pragmatism further afield, and with the help of the Hobsonville team, spearheads similar house-building partnerships all around the isthmus.


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This scenic spot of Fujian in Longyan was one of the many places which my relative in China took us to visit during our visit to Xiamen in September 2015.
The Longkong Cave is the main scenic spot of Longyan National Forest Park, is located in Yanshi Town, Xinlou District, Longyan [龙岩市] , 48 km away from the downtown of Longyan. It enjoys a reputation as "The Number One Cave in east China". It covers an area of 10 sq km and its core attraction is Longkong Cave, which is one of China's especially large proven lava caves. Its formation can be dated back 300 million years.
The total area in the Cave is 54000 msq and the tourist distance is over 3 km long. There are 8 big halls and 16 branch cavities in up, middle, and down layers of the cave. If you are there, you can feel like walking in a labyrinth.
In Longkong Cave, there are strange and colourful stalactite, stalagmite, stone columns and other limestone of various shapes. Some are like mushrooms, some are like snakes, some are like frogs, and some are like escargots. Stone curtains, cave flowers and stone pots are here and there. Under the illumination of the light, they look more amazing.
What's more, there is an underground river. Visitors may also take a boat in the cave which can add more interests for exploring this ancient cave discovered in the Tang Dynasty.
Outside the cave, there are also beautiful natural sceneries. Longjing Well龙井, Longxu Waterfall, Dakeng Mountain, Longtan Lake and much more.
Longjing Well is a mystery. The water in the well is clean and clear, and has never had water added. The distance between the water surface and the ground is more than 10 meters. It is said there was a tall tree that fell into the well and disappeared. No one knows the depth of the well. My camera wasn't good enough to catch a proper picture of it.
How To Get There:
1. Private car
2. Take a coach to Longyan City at Hubinnan Bus Station; then take bus to Longkong Cave
3. Use a travel agent
Admission fee includes a tour guide to show you the way into the scenic spot
Admission Fee - RMB55
Admission Fee - RMB55


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Canterbury = Old
You cannot move in the city before being hit over the head quite forcefully with a bit of history - a church here, a cobbled street there, medieval architecture cluttering up the place and the entire city framed by the ancient wall.
However there is one place that is older than many of the rest of the city's buildings. Just a smidegeon older.
Tucked away off the main routes down picturesque Northgate is a wonderful little place called The Parrot.
food is also fantastic; in the summertime there is nothing quite like relaxing on the oversized furniture in their courtyard garden, debating whether to go for the Kobe Burger, Shredded Duck Platter or the Grill Stone Rump Steak and deciding if you have the energy to indulge in a game of chess. The fire pit means you don't need to go inside if the weather turns a bit nippy. In the winter the pub is warm and cozy with blazing fires and sizzling skillets of roasted vegetables and halloumi or prawns, Kentish pork belly or sea bass to warm you up. I think you can always judge the skill of a resturant by their chips. Just check these out - so good!
Sadly the parrot is no longer present. Legend has it that he was too foul mouthed for the customers and would regularly abuse them as they waited for their drinks at the bar.
The Parrot is a beautiful pub - well worth a visit for lunch or dinner at any time of year if you are in Canterbury. If you are planning to eat dinner here I would strongly advise booking in advance - this place has a well-deserved reputation and it fills up quickly!
Thursday, 21 February 2013
The Parrot
I love hearing from people! Feel free to comment Miscriant Becky at 10:36
Labels: Canterbury, Food, Lifestyle, Parrot, Theatre
1 comment:
I've been going to the pub now known as the Parrot for as long as I've been a resident of Canterbury - it was Simple Simon's, a folk friendly Pie pub when I started. Some of my favourite nights (and days) at Uni started with going for a quick one there before 'moving on', only to find several hours, a few pies, some pints later, we were at the same table. I love the Parrot and the food (I think they do stone cooking for steaks, or used to) , and I think I shall have to reintroduce those days to my life!ReplyDelete
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Photos from two historic days in the life of this hockey fan. April 8 is one of the photos I snapped at the game. The October 14 photo was taken by someone else. Both days I was firmly ensconsed in the American Airlines Center to watch my Dallas Stars play.
April 8th, the last day I would see Mike Modano playing for the Stars in the AAC. For most of us fans, we thought we were looking at our star on the verge of retirement. The #1 American born hockey player, every record with the Stars. Northstars, Dallas Stars, it doesn't matter it was the Stars. 21 years with all incarnations of the team. He is, was, and will always be THE face of hockey in Texas.
But like all good things, they must come to an end. At that last home game, I, along with 18,000 fans cheered him until we were hoarse. Cried when he cried and felt our hearts break just a little knowing that he would no longer be flying down the ice with his sweater flying out behind him.
I was okay knowing that he was going to retire. Or so I thought.
I guess leaving the sport that is as much a part of your physiology as breathing is difficult at best, and excruciating at worse. I can imagine it would be like losing a limb. I guess Mike couldn't leave hockey any more than he could sever his own arm.
But never in a million years did I think he would don the sweater of the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings, like the New York Yankees, are a much hated and loved team. Personally, I hate them. So for my Mike to give up retirement from the Stars and sign with Detroit was a dagger in my heart. I was crushed...and ANGRY.
Mike giving voice to retirement and signing with someone else is like Emmitt Smith going to the Cardinals or Brett Favre saying he was retiring. It's just not right.
So after spending 6 months angry, I had to wait for my hockey therapy. Who would have thought that the home opener this year would be one for the hockey storybooks? It couldn't have been scripted any better. Dallas opened at home against Mike Modano and the Red Wings in front of a sold out arena.
You couldn't miss Mike when he stepped out on the ice for the skate around or walking out from the visitor's tunnel at the start of the game. It was surreal. My Mike wearing red and white. My Mike playing on another team. I was prepared to cry. I did tear up when the Stars flashed "Thank You, Mike" on the jumbotron and the camera panned to him. Huge cheers as he stood and acknowledged the crowd. I could have sworn he was teary eyed.
And as quickly as the tribute started it was over. And that's the way it should have been. 60 minutes of great hockey. The Stars dominated the Wings, and in the midst of it all, I forgot to watch Detroit's Mike.
So my dear Mikey Mo, you're free. My heart belongs to the Dallas Stars and while I have your rookie card and an autographed picture...while your jersey hangs in my closet and above all hockey players I will forever adore and love you; I set you free.
Enjoy the blip of time you spend with Detroit. Even if you don't know it, I do; Dallas will always have your heart and you will always be in ours.


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Since the election is looming I just have to get a few political thoughts off my chest. I sure hope that people out there realize the kind of candidate we have in Mitt Romney. Do not believe the media! It is so exciting to have a candidate of Mitt's caliber. He is not too good to be true people – he is exactly as he seems! It drives me crazy to have political pundits say that he's too wooden, his hair is too perfect, he's too rich, he's wishy washy and other such nonsense. If we had all gotten together and created the perfect candidate from scratch, I don't think we could have gotten much closer than Mitt. He's an independently wealthy, highly educated, hard-working, God fearing, family man. Christians everywhere should be jumping for joy! This is our guy!!
I have a feeling that many of you out there are like me when it comes to politics… I don't understand half of what they are talking about most of the time! I freely admit that!! I stay somewhat informed but mostly I am busy raising a family and training dancers. I am doing my best to be a good citizen and make a difference in my community. I look for a candidate who has similar interests to mine, someone who I believe would make wise decisions on my behalf when faced with difficult situations both at home and abroad. It's awesome when a candidate comes with expertise in at least one area (like Mitt with his financial background) but I still believe the most important trait is character. I want a president who is intelligent, wise and sensible and has no other agenda other than to do what is best to protect our country and improve it. Reagan was an actor by profession yet he was a successful and beloved president. I don't think that any president has all of the knowledge and expertise to solve this country's problems on their own (though Mitt probably could!) and we don't expect that. A president is only as good as the people he surrounds himself with and good people naturally attract other good people. I look for the candidate who is most likely to put the smartest people possible on their team who have no hidden agendas. Let's face it, career politicians make deals and arrangements – how else do you think they fund their campaigns? Most are not independently wealthy before they are elected president! Why in the world does this country have so much mistrust for the man who wants the job (Mitt) but not the man who needs the job (Obama)? With Mitt we get a man of great character and a financial genius! Seriously people – what more do you want???
I want to make it clear that I am not one of those who believe that Obama is a terrorist, or his degrees are fake, or he is the devil incarnate, etc. From what I know of him which is based on nothing more than reading his book, The Audacity of Hope, and seeing him on Oprah, and years of mentally sifting through all of the information that has been presented to me through the media… I like the guy! He seems like a good person. His wife seems awesome. He has a beautiful family. I would have to say that one of the biggest problems I always had with Obama was the fact that he smoked. I'm sorry if this offends people, but what intelligent person smokes these days? To me, it shows a personal weakness which could be just a simple addiction to nicotine or, more often, a habit that is masking a deeper inner struggle. To me, his smoking was a red flag that indicated weakness. His wife hated the fact that he smoked yet he continued to smoke. I just find that habit to be at odds with the person he claims to be. The golden question is would he have quit if he wasn't running for reelection? He supposedly quit in 2010. Hmmm… So, bottom line is, I like Obama as a person but I am not at all impressed with the state of our country and I'd like to try something different.
Being a Mormon, I have no problem with Mitt's religious affiliation – I know, big surprise! For me, a candidate's religious affiliation is something to be taken into consideration – not necessarily a deal breaker - but should be considered. Anyone who knows anything about Mormonism or who knows more than a few Mormons knows that there is nothing to fear! I'll bet you anything that if you have Mormons in your community, they are people that are well liked and well respected. The reason I am certain of this is because that is the kind of people that our church teaches us to be! Yes, there are a few weirdos and extremists among us but, let's be honest, all religions have their fair share of weirdos – most of them well intentioned.
What I find so hypocritical in regards to religion is that the media puts Mormonism under the microscope and wants to judge every one of it tenets and make a ruling, yet Obama does not have a religion that has any doctrine that can be pinpointed so he's okay. Does anyone else see the hypocrisy there? The same goes for Catholic and Jewish candidates. The media gets to judge them because their beliefs are well documented and have been for centuries, yet these evangelicals and born again candidates come along and they don't really profess anything other than being a Christian and that's okay! If you can define your religion, we will judge you and even persecute you for it, but if you can't define what you believe then you get a free pass and are presumed to be a good upstanding Christian even without any supporting evidence. It's so unfair! Does anyone else see that?
It says in Matthew, Chapter 7, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit… Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." There may be many who disagree with one or more tenets of Mormon doctrine (although many are misinformed) but no one can make a claim that the Mormon church is anything other than a good church based on the fruits (actions) of the majority of its members (we don't deserve to be judged by our weirdos any more than you do!) So if you know nothing else about the Mormon church, know that you have absolutely nothing to fear about a Mormon president. If he is living his religion, he won't smoke (Obama), he won't cheat on his wife (Clinton, Kennedy, …), he won't drink alcohol (which usually precedes the aforementioned turpitudes, et al) and he will need nothing more to wake him up in the morning than a good shower! Mormons aren't perfect but the code of conduct that we are taught to follow is!
One thing everyone needs to understand is that if there was any dirt on Mitt Romney you would know about it. You need to realize that they are saying that his hair is too perfect because that's the worst thing they can say about him! Some say he's been wishy washy on some issues and I say – you try to run as a conservative Christian and see how far you can get telling the absolute truth about how you really feel about each issue. You don't think Mitt has to give in here and there for the greater good? Every time he even hits close to the truth on issues, he gets crucified for it yet we all know that he's right. The 47%? Come on people, we all know it's true. There is a big percentage of people that are either government employees who enjoy job security in spite of poor performance or lack of need for their job description and also people living on government assistance who are fully able to work who are living a fairly good life and do not want that to change. No one is saying these are bad people - just saying they probably aren't looking for a change so those of us who are need to be sure and get out there and vote! I believe Mitt is as honest as a politician can possibly be and the reason he gets in trouble for little things he says here and there is because he is a real person living in the real world like the rest of us. He is not a career politician who has a masters in Rhetoric and a minor in Don't Say Anything That Will Offend. He had a career! He is a family man. He is just like you and me only better looking and wealthier!
I'd like to say one more thing about Mitt and about his wife, Ann. If anyone out there thinks that raising 5 boys without any scandals is not a herculean accomplishment these days then you aren't paying attention. Add to that mix extreme wealth. I defy anyone to find an extremely wealthy family that has not had any problems with their kids. Wealth is often more of a curse than a blessing – just ask the Kennedys, the Windsors, the Kardashians! And I will remind you that if there was dirt out there on the kids or the grandkids, we would know about it too! Add in again that Ann has battled breast cancer and lives with Multiple Sclerosis. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things just like you and me. They have a proven track record of success. Who would you rather trust your future with?
I truly believe that the majority of people in our country are fine upstanding Christians who cross all party lines. We are allowing the liberal minority to run our country and it's time for a change. For the most part, the liberals are the ones who are filling our air waves and telling us what to think. They are the ones who are giving us their version of the news and telling us how we should feel about it. They are the ones who are telling us that we are bigots if we don't think marriage should be redefined. Just because you hear it on the news doesn't make it true and it certainly doesn't make it right! It's time for the quiet majority to be heard. The majority who doesn't have time to protest or be in front of the camera because they are busy making the world a better place one job at a time, one family at a time, one home at a time, one yard at a time.
I, for one, truly appreciate the sacrifice that Mitt Romney is making for us. He has a great life. He does not need us – we need him! Why in the world is he putting himself and his family through this torture that is called campaigning? It's because he knows he has gifts and talents that can be utilized for the greater good of our country. He is doing what we were all supposed to learn how to do in Kindergarten… he is sharing! America you are crazy if you pass up an opportunity for someone like Mitt to lead our country. We should not only be voting for him, we should also be thanking him for stepping up and doing this for us when he could easily be enjoying retirement on a sunny beach in Florida… or the Hamptons… or the south of France (not sure where really rich people go? I only go where frequent flier miles go!) I am happily voting for Mitt but, unfortunately, my vote probably won't count in Washington (too many Westside liberals and stupid electoral college) so we need everyone whose votes will count to vote for Mitt!!


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I don't know about you but its been a hot and crazy summer here. Not a fun thing to only have a little window unit air conditioner... but the baking goes on. Here is what I have been up too!
I had a customer who has the vacation tradition of giving her kids a sweet something on day one of their family vacation and this year she decided to do some of Deb's Sweet Treat Cookies!
Something else that I tried for the first time was high heel cupcakes.
Everything on the heels were edible. I hope to have the chance to try these again and let me tell you.. I already have a few ideas on how I am going to do them differently.
Friday night I had this Boot Cake for a bridal shower.
When the customer called, I was surprised to find out it was for a Bride whose wedding cake I am suppose to be doing in September!
Last.... I had the opportunity to do a BIG order for a wedding rehearsal. There was over 80 cookies to do.
These were very time consuming but it was all worth it to see the customer's reaction!
I have loved my summer of baking but unfortunately business hasn't picked up enough for me to quit my part-time job. I just have to keep trying to get my name out there and hope that maybe things will pick up and I will be able to quit next year...
A girl can hope, right???
Hope your all keeping cool!
Debbie :)


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"Going Green" and "Living Blue"
At the beginning of October, we celebrate St. Francis Day at the Quincy Point Congregational Church. This beloved saint is with us every Sunday, for he is pictured in the stained glass windows. As stewards of God's creation, Francis saw our role more as "caretakers" than "landlords." And so those who currently speak for our care and responsibility for God's creation, challenging the over-use and abuse of God's gifts, can claim Francis as a spiritual ancestor. As we became aware of the importance of trees to our environment we collaborated with the Housing Authority in Germantown and with grant money from the Mass Re leaf UCC/DCR project we helped to plant dozens of trees at the Riverview Family Housing Project site.
In recent years we raised money to support the work of rehabilitating endangered sea turtles at the Quincy facility associated with the New England Aquarium.
As we can, we are installing new storm windows in our building and water-saving measures are next on the list. A number of our young people have suggestions about how we can use new "green materials" and about practical ways to conserve energy and water. Surely, even our simple efforts to tend our gardens wisely, to share, rather than hoard the earth's bounty, to find innovative ways to re-use, rather than discard resources must be pleasing to the Creator of heaven and earth.


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By Emilie Rodriguez
The national leadership team of AB GIRLS (NLT), a ministry of American Baptist Women's Ministries, had decided that for the national gathering of AB GIRLS for the year of 2015, we would focus on developing and strengthening leadership skills. While we were hoping to reach that goal, what came out of the GIRLS Leadership Academy (GLA) in June was much more than any of us could have dreamed.
I had been in Kansas City already for four days before the GLA started, participating in the national board meetings of AB Women's Ministries. In those four days, the theme of relationships and their power and worth emerged without being planned. And it carried on to the girls' gathering without intention. We wanted these girl to realize their potential and become the leaders that God wanted them to be. But God wanted us to take it a step further. Throughout our time together, the other members of the NLT and I realized that these girls needed to be affirmed, assured that what they think makes them weird and odd is what God wants them to embrace, what God wants them to use in their own journey as leaders. So we tried to show them that.
Through our worship, "funshops" ("fun workshops"), and participation in both the American Baptist Mission Summit and AB Women's Ministries Women's Day, the relationships that we built with these girls proved to have a more powerful effect than we thought. We hoped to send these girls in their own leadership paths, trying to illuminate God's plan for each and everyone of them. And while I feel we accomplished that, I think we accomplished something even greater: we showed them that they are worthy of being used as God's servants, as conduits for God's Word.
I believe that this is the foundation of AB GIRLS ministry. That age range from twelve to eighteen isn't easy, but hearing the love and support of those around you, telling you to be strong in who you are, help develop the building blocks that these girls need to become leaders in the first place. So in your own girls group, make sure that each girl knows that they are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that although they are young, God has something planned for each and every one of them.
(For more information about ministry with girls, visit www.abwministries.org/girls. For information about the national leadership team of AB GIRLS, visit www.abwministries.org/nlt. To help support AB Women's Ministries ministry with girls, visit www.abwministries.org/wgmf.)
Emilie Rodriguez served on the national leadership team of AB GIRLS from 2013-2015, including serving as convenor for the NLT in 2014-2015. This summer Emilie starts her freshman year of college.


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Hello, my dear readers! My darling, lovely, unfathomably patient readers! I am very happy and more than a little surprised to see both of you still here.
You may wonder where I have gotten myself off to, lo, these many months I allowed this blog to gather virtual dust, and I have an answer for you! The answer is: I was job-hunting.
I mean, I've been job-hunting since before I graduated almost a year ago, in a sort of my-this-is-unpleasant-maybe-I-should-just-go-play-some-Rock-Band kind of way, but right around the time my student loan payments started coming due, I decided to really buckle down. And after several months of aggressive, soul-sucking, mind-numbing, exuberance-repressing, swear-swallowing job-searching, I am very pleased to announce that I am employed! Or I will be, come early January. I'll be copy editing and writing for a couple of specialty magazines that I will decline to name for the sake of both my own anonymity and their ability to not be associated with that crazy ball-buster lady on the internet.
Which brings me to what I really want to talk about: navigating the job market as a big ol' scary feminist. I remain pseudonymous here primarily to preserve my hireability—not because anything I write here is so outrageous that it should cost me a job, by any reasonable measure, but because employers, especially media employers, can get skittish about people maintaining non-work-related blogs. And I'm just not willing to give this up, despite my occasional prolonged and unannounced absences. I need a place to vent, where I can say, "Just hearing the name 'Stupak' makes me want to emigrate," or, "Has anyone else noticed that most of the ads scheduled to run on that Funniest Ads of 2009 special on TBS aren't so much 'very funny' as 'over-the-top sexist'?" without apology or qualification. While I am perfectly happy to accept that the office is not the place for these conversations, I'm not willing to stop having them, or to stop having them with the widest audience I can reach. The easiest way to prevent a company from seeing a personal blog as conflicting with its corporate image is to simply never connect your blogging and professional identities.
But keeping the two separate on job interviews made me feel like I was in the feminism closet, like I was hiding myself and failing to perform the kind of quotidian activism that is often both the hardest and most immediately effective. Not that anyone said anything blatantly sexist in an interview and I let it slide, of course, just that, well, I could have put my blog on my resume. Maintaining a website, writing coherently, commenting incisively—these are skills media employers find useful. But I worried—what if they think I can't play nice at the office? What if the blog helps get me the job, but then they monitor it and later tell me, you can't say that, please delete this, would you consider not swearing so damn much? So I left it off.
And at interviews I asked questions like, "Can you describe your ideal employee for this position?" and "What's a typical day here like?" instead of things I really wanted to know, like, Can I take a half day to go to a rally? Who is That Guy here—the one who will always treat me like a child, because every office has one—and how closely will I have to work with him? Will people take suggestions about changing sexist, racist, ableist, heteronormative, etc. langauge in stride, or will it be a huge fight every time? Can I just tell people that I'm an atheist feminist with socialist leanings, too liberal for even Massachusetts' Democratic party, and expect acceptance, or will those parts of my identity be relegated to the internet and weekends?
I still don't have the answers to those questions, but I suspect that when I get them, they'll be ones I can live with. Although the process hasn't been without compromise, I've been extremely lucky, and extremely privileged, in my pursuit of the dream of steady paychecks and decent health benefits. Now that I seem to have attained it, it's time for Phase II: sneaking activism into the workplace. Oh, and buying office-friendly pants.


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Ohne Titel Autumn / Fall 2010
Recurring themes of leather and mesh cycle through intriguing portable Ohne Titel Fall 2010 collection. Although used in some sports teams, of course, most stand-out use of mesh fabrics were in leggings with mesh panels. Try and tell me (with a straight face) that do not want a pair. I thought so.
The leathers took on many wearable forms too - from figure-hugging jackets to draped and deconstructed dresses.
I wouldn't want to run out and buy everything in Ohne Titel's latest range, but that's mostly because some of it (like the modern jodhpur-cum-harem pant or the wide-leg pant suit) have limited ability to flatter. But the military greens, soft greys and super-cool mesh pieces? Yes please.


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Compass Plebiscite
Compass has reported the outcome of its massaged ballot on the Deputy Leadership - sent out with a recommendation to vote Cruddas:
Hilary Benn – 18.75%
Jon Cruddas – 53%
Peter Hain – 7.5%
Harriet Harman – 12%
Alan Johnson – 3.89%
Not Supporting Any Candidate – 2.7%
Spoils – 2.16%
Turnout = 29.9% of about 2,000 members
So we now know Cruddas has a guaranteed 320 votes. I make that 0.0012% of Labour's electoral college (1/3 of the electoral college X 320/178,000 X 2 if we assumed a 50% turnout). A highly significant marker...
Will they re-run the ballot now there is a sixth candidate - Hazel - who they didn't even put on the ballot paper? (or was that a political decision rather than an accident of timing?)
And why did AJ do so badly? I would have thought his stance on constitutional issues like PR was popular with Compassites.
I'm holding my breath for more dramatic and unpredictable headlines such as CLPD backs McDonnell, Jack Dromey backs Harriet Harman, Wales Labour Party backs Peter Hain, etc.


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Watch video How to Convert Audio Files Using Switch (3:45)
…then pick one of the following audio editing programs to master:
Garage Band (Mac)
Watch video overview Garage Band Basics for Journalists (8:50)
Then read though GarageBand Podcast Setup and Overview for detailed instructions.
Audacity (PC and Mac)
Watch video overview Audacity Basics for Journalists (11:24)
Then read through Setting up preferences in Audacity (pdf) – these preferences must be set BEFORE you open your first audio file in Audacity
Superfast Guide to Audio Editing (pdf) – includes instructions for installing Audacity on your home computer. (Mindy McAdams)
Editing Audio with Audacity (Part 2) (pdf) – more detailed instructions (Mindy McAdams)
How to Use Audacity (Knight Digital Media Center)


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Woman, 20, fatally shot in Little Village; killer sought
CHICAGO — A woman was shot to death in the city's Little Village neighborhood.
Tykina Ali, 20, was a passenger in a car at 26th and Kedzie when someone from another car shot her in the head shortly after 6pm Tuesday.
She died at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.
It's not clear whether Ali was the shooter's intended target.
No one has been arrested.
41.845816 -87.705823


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Dear Mr ……………,
Apologies for this being so long, but all these points mentioned are so inextricably entwined it is difficult to disentangle them to make this shorter.
I have just received this email from from the council official ………… to you below.
She seems to be making no sense at all to me and I cannot understand why she is making problems where none would normally exist. The only reasonable explanation is that it appears she is oblivious to the facts surrounding this matter. Viz:
– She smugly announces in her email to you below that the Council has… 'so far paid a lot of public money to store…………. belongings and he has made no attempt to arrange to pay this money back or to sort through the containers and dispose of what he will not be able to take to a 2 bed property'.
She is utterly disregarding the immense extra expenditure of public money which she has been unnecessarily responsible for in behaving in the manner she has done. So far well in excess of £10 000 of public money has been unnecessarily spent when a mere fraction of that amount could have been applied to sort the problem out differently.
– This Council official is suddenly and suspiciously stung into life by your contact with her today and on being informed the indications are that I might well be moving into settled accommodation within just seven days or so, she suddenly says, "I will confirm with the removal company tomorrow when they can make the containers available for collection and I will let you know. If they have not been collected or payment taken over by that date, they will be disposed of the next day'. I think you will agree that the Council has been very patient in this case and allowed far more time for storage than the statutory requirement at a significant cost to the public purse.'
She seems quite unaware that not paying a mere £63 for the final seven days of storage prior to my imminent move, measured against the existing investment in storage is an expression of pure, mindless, bureaucratic spite which I cannot help but think is quite, quite deliberate.
This Council official is also displaying incredible and obviously deliberate unpleasant inconsideration by explaining that the storage containers 'must be collected by a certain date otherwise the goods will be disposed of the next day'.
She is consciously and deliberately inventing hurdles which she must know are insurmountable so that there can be a guarantee that she can dispose of my possessions without me having the slightest prospect of retrieving them . This is venal, dishonest and nasty.
The containers in which the goods are stored are specially designed to be carried around by the Removal company's lorries and remain on those lorries while they are loaded up with items to be stored.
The lorry then returns to the removal company's warehouse where the large sealed containers are lifted off the lorries by large machinery and placed in permanent, storage where they cannot be accessed without reversing the process and using specially designed heavy machinery to move the containers back onto lorries to drive to the location where the contents will be removed from the containers while they remain on the lorry.
These containers are likely to never be available for collection at all as they belong to the removal company and they cannot be moved without special equipment and specifically designed lorries specially designed to carry them for delivery and unpacking at the final destination.
It is not practicable or feasible to unpack the containers at the removal company's premises and re-pack the goods in some other vehicle for delivery elsewhere, even if the removal company would allow it – which I doubt.
The only sensible option is to pay the removal company their fee for delivering the goods to their end destination.
– I currently have no means whatever of paying £2000 plus.
– I have had no means of 'sorting through these containers' until I am properly accommodated.
– All of the household goods stored came out of what was effectively a two bedroomed property as the third bedroom in that property was so microscopic it merely contained one single bed and one small pinewood storage box doubling as a bedside table and absolutely no other items at all.
As a quid pro quo to compensate for the cubic volume of that bed & box, I left behind quite a significant volume of items when I was forced out of the house at 24 hours notice with no time to pack etc. Included were a very large, bulky double futon style sofa and or double bed, at least one large & bulky armchair and sundry other items which escape me at present.
This meant that the third and very small bedroom contents of the house I vacated could be ignored as being irrelevant. It therefore follows that with just the contents of a very small kitchen, two not very big bedrooms and one lounge in my previous house, that the contents of those rooms could, should and would fit into a two bedroomed property with a kitchen & lounge.
Whether it might be desirable or not for me to root through everything I own and chuck some of my possessions out is entirely a matter for me, without the necessity of council officials interfering and becoming involved in micro-managing my personal domestic life on my behalf. That is quite ridiculous.
It is therefore the case that the Council official is entirely misinformed on this point she raises.
– The Council led me to believe that I was eligible to be housed by the Council by virtue of priority housing need and that this included the storage of my household possessions by the Council. The Council housing officer and other council officials told me unequivocally on more than one occasion that this was the case and I was never, at any stage, warned that the Council were seeking to avoid their legal duty as proscribed by Parliament. There was also an absolute and clear statement by the housing official to me that the Council would bear the cost of household goods storage and she specifically told me to make a list of all my possessions with this in mind.
Her precise words were 'the Council will pay for the removal and storage of your possessions, but only an amount which will be able to fit into a two bedroomed property, as that is all you will get. So you will have to get rid of some of your things as you have far too much and it will not all fit into a small two bedroomed flat'.
When I asked her for clarification of this as she, as far as I am aware, had never visited my house, and could not possible know anything at all about the contents, she repeated that I should make a list of everything I owned and intended to take to another two bedroomed property and forward it to herself for her approval and determination that, in her opinion, there were not too many items for a two bedroomed property. She made a categoric statement that she needed to approve my list of possessions and tell me exactly what I could and could not take.
I was unable to make a list of everything I owned and this request had the effect of exacerbating the state of stress I was already experiencing to produce a state of mental and physical paralysis which could only be dealt with by completely blotting out such mindlessly destructive bureaucratic nonsense and doing something more useful, while taking great care not to even think about such ludicrousness because if I did allow myself to think about it, it immediately had a very damaging effect on me.
– Having completely misled me (as I only now realise for the first time) as to my position in terms of being housed and the storage of my household goods and who would be paying for them, it is the case that nobody at the Council ever informed me at any stage of anything concerning the correct procedures or lawful rights etc that might be relevant, and should be taken into account by me in terms of whether I might or might not have to pay for my household effects, and whether the Council might seek to weasil out of accepting any legal liability for priority housing need by virtue of mis-applying previous case law surrounding other cases of Councils turning to the courts in seeking ways of carrying out Central Government instructions to turn away people in otherwise legitimate 'priority housing need' to leave them to fend for themselves with a blatant disregard of the obvious intentions of the Housing Act.
Specifically, for instance, that absolutely no explanation was given to me about the fact I might be refused housing by the Council on spurious legal grounds or that the Council would refuse to pay for the storage of household goods, having already expressly told me they they would, in fact pay for that storage, and that I was being told I was obviously in 'priority housing need' by virtue of having a child to look after.
With hindsight, I can now see it would be normal human decency for a council housing official to point out that although I was on the face of it guaranteed housing by virtue of priority need, there was a minefield of legal hurdles I knew nothing about, specifically conjured up by many Councils seeking to avoid housing people in manifestly obvious 'priority housing need' as defined by the Housing Act, because they had been told by Central Government to reduce housing costs by arbitrarily refusing to house various categories of people previously granted priority need council housing accommodation.
And that also, common human decency would dictate that council housing officials would advise people as to the true nature of what may happen in terms of paying for the removal and storage of household goods and not mislead them in the outrageous manner I was misled.
There was at no time any statement to me of what the law or council rules might have applied about what might or might not happen to domestic house contents in situations like this. In fact I was even further misled by many people I talked to who had experienced similar situations of priority housing need and subsequent re-housing by the Council, who told me all their storage and removal costs were paid for by the council, even including the costs of kenneling dogs or cats.
I was at some point also informed by the housing charity that the Council had a legal obligation to remove and store all domestic possessions, and that also included pets such as dogs.
This issue of kenneling dogs seemed to be confirmed when the Council at first produced a wide variety of excuses and difficulties to not provide any assistance whatever to kennel my large dog, but without ever making any clear statement of outright refusal to assist. And then subsequently, appearing to accept their liability to house my dog when the housing charity made vigorous representations to them.
The Council continued to fail to do anything about paying for the kenneling of the dog by claiming they required a vaccination certificate – although the dog was already placed in kennels by me and the kennels had already inspected a vaccination certificate to their satisfaction which was still valid for at least the next six months.
Even when the Council were given a copy of a current duplicate vaccination certificate they still claimed not to have seen a vaccination certificate (which they did not require anyway) as a spurious, purely imaginary, bureaucratic excuse not to pay for the kenneling.
When the housing charity advised me the Council did, in fact have a legal duty to keep safe all of my domestic possessions, and this included pets as indicated by the very large number of cases whereby Councils do take on this obligation to house pets without trying to avoid it, I never for one moment imagined the Council would become increasingly truculent and determined to refuse to accept any of their legal obligations as set out by statute.
– Furthermore I also have several previous money claims against the Council which have not yet been resolved. These claims exceed by a large margin the amount that the Council have spent and are spending on the storage of my domestic goods.
– It is also the case that I am challenging the unlawful decision of 'intentional homelessness' dreamed up by this Council in the courts and if it this matter is found in my favour the Council will be asked to both pay compensation and damages for their behaviour as well as the costs of storage.
– That it is a deliberately and immensely spiteful and a breathtakingly monstrous decision of the Council that, after taking these domestic household effects and storing them for seven months, misleading me into believing they would store them until I was properly accommodated, to then wilfully and maliciously deprive me of all my Worldly domestic possessions by giving them away to a charity shop just a few days before I can move into settled accommodation is a gross abuse of their power and obviously malicious and must therefore be actionable in law under the circumstances.
– It would also appear to me to be an obvious abuse of the Human Rights Act in terms of both proportionality and the concept of a respect for a right to unfettered domestic and family life which the Council seem to be going out of their way to unnecessarily destroy, which has been amply demonstrated in every aspect of my housing application to the Council.
This final declaration by the Council Housing Department in the shape of this housing official, for it is her that makes these decisions and issues these diktats, really takes the biscuit for it's wicked spite and deliberately constructed awkwardness designed to do nothing but obstruct, obfusticate and deliberately leave me entirely destitute by the brazen wickedness of stealing all my possessions; as well as thwart my moving into the unfurnished accommodation which has been arranged.
This will, of course, ensure I will become street homeless and my son will be obliged to move into Council care at a vast cost to the State, which this spiteful, braindead woman will have deliberately engineered with a pious whine that she was 'just doing her job' and just obeying the rules' etc etc.
Idiots like this deserve to be shot, at least metaphorically so, for the immense harm they do to society as this horrible and nasty person will be doing to me and my son – destroying his family life in it's entirety and forcing lifelong disadvantages upon him which will colour his whole existence and dog him for his entire life.
What a thoroughly miserable, nasty person this Council Housing official is.
Dear Mr…….
I confirm that the Council is not prepared to further fund storage or removals for Mr…….
We have so far paid a lot of public money to store Mr …..'s belongings and he has made no attempt to arrange to pay this money back or to sort through the containers and dispose of what he will not be able to take to a 2 bed property.
To date, the Council has not acted on the Section 41 notice served on Mr …… stating that his goods would vest in the interest of the local authority on August 1st as the outcome of the review had not been determined. This authority can no longer justify paying £63 per week storage for Mr…………'s belongings.
Given that the Council is not prepared to pay any more money to fund Mr…………., the options as I see them are:
• Mr …….. pays for himself
• Social Services pay
• The housing charity pays
• Combination of the 3 options above
I will confirm with the removal company tomorrow when they can make the containers available for collection and I will let you know. If they have not been collected or payment taken over by that date, they will be disposed of the next day. I think you will agree that the council has been very patient in this case and allowed far more time for storage than the statutory requirement at a significant cost to the public purse.
A miserably, mean minded and destructive Council Housing official


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With 2009 behind me, I plan on making the most of 2010! I will take nothing for granted and enjoy the little moments that make up everyday life! So often we get wrapped up in the humdrum of everyday life that we don't really see what is before our own eyes. The warmth of a child's smile and the sparkle in their eyes when they ask if we can play a board game with them or ask to build a house of cards. Instead of saying, "I am sorry honey, I have to get the house cleaned" or " I have work to do" I will put aside the chores and work, and play with the kids. They don't stay little forever and the time goes by faster than you realize when you are in the moment.
My wish for you all is to take the time and cherish each moment that you spend with the ones you care about! That is all that we really have, is the here and now. Nothing in life is really guaranteed and if we get caught up in the hum drum we could lose moments that we can never-ever get back, time spent and memories made with those we love and care about!
So I raise a toast to you all and wish nothing but Health and Happiness for the New Year!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Happy New Year!!!
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A movie about the find and excavation is included in the tour and is quite fascinating. Following the film, one of the actual discoverers, David Hawley, was available to answer questions. So cool! He, his brother, and father still run a local refrigeration business – it pays the bills!
Prior to the museum, we played soccer at a local park and I had the distinct pleasure of breaking my only pair of flip flops! The soccer game was fun, but walking through downtown KC with only one shoe was quite challenging – and shoe shops don't seem to be a specialty in that area. We had lunch in the power and light district where David Cook performed his American Idol hometown visit concert- we'd seen it on TV, so that was pretty cool to recognize it and realize it was what we thought it was.


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"Running isn't a sport for pretty boys…It's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for." http://tcat.tc/1bfRGQT
Follow my training and dramatic buildup to my annual run (usually in May. Aiming to raise as many funds as possible for The Rutger Hauer Starfish Association which is a non-profit organisation raising awareness of AIDS and is involved in various projects around the globe helping HIV+ women and children. 100% of the proceeds from my venture will be used to help others. Thank you for reading, take care.
Saturday, 14 December 2013
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19th century painting of Christ
A 19th century oil painting of christ on an unframed canvas. A great looking painting with a clear bright face fading out to darker tones. There are no visible signatures to the piece. There is some were and a couple of small tears to the painting.
76cm x 63.5cm
£450.00Shipping & International Shipping Info
We offer Free shipping to customers in Bristol, and for customers wishing to collect items from our Bristol store.
If you're outside the UK, please get in touch to discuss specific shipping prices.
Call us on +44 (0) 7789145175
or email email@example.com


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Nell is sailing!! She will be 3 days looking for a loving home on Ebay
Her number is 181024380943
Look for her auction here
Thank you so very much for the warm welcome she has received! I hope she will find a great home like the rest of her Nomad sisters, where she will be loved.
Thank you SO VERY MUCH to all of you!


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Here's a sneek peek for Joy! This arrived on my doorstep today from Emma as part of our Round Robin. There's a few squares, a few triangles, a few strips and a few animals thrown in. Its very nice, blues and greens, looking foward to adding my bit to this one!
And here is where I am up to with my latest Dissappearing 9 Patch. Have sewn a 2.5 inch sashing to each block and then a 2.5 inch strip to each row. Its going to be a lap quilt for a small lap!
Monday, May 05, 2008
6 comments:
- AJ said...
Oh Yeah....Joy's does look like fun...Hope I can do it justice!!
- May 05, 2008 6:39 PM
- Andrea said...
Helen I just love your D9P, can't wait to see it all done. I would love to make a little lap quilt for myself.
- May 05, 2008 6:39 PM
- Jody said...
I love your disappearing nine patch and can't wait to see the finished product. Your choices in fabrics are so fun!
- May 05, 2008 9:11 PM
- Sequana said...
I love seeing what you're doing with those strawberry lemonade scraps. It's so different than my jelly roll quilt I made with them.
Another great job by you. *S*
- May 05, 2008 9:49 PM
- Amy said...
Your D9P is looking great!!
- May 05, 2008 10:14 PM
- susan said...
such a wonderful selection of fabrics on your little quilt. so pretty. this will be so beautiful when finished
- May 06, 2008 9:40 AM
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Infrastructure Improvements
In the early 2000s, the City of San Diego was hit with a rash of water main breaks and sewer spills. This was due in large part because the City's aging water and sewer infrastructure was in need of replacement, repair and upgrades. Some pipelines had been in operation for a hundred years.
Beginning in 2007, the City increased water rates by 6.5% per year for three years to replace and improve water system infrastructure. In addition, sewer rates were increased by 8.75% in 2007 and 2008, and 7% in 2009 and 2010 to operate, maintain, repair and upgrade the City's wastewater system. These rate increases are paying for more than $585,200,000 of needed water system improvements and $585,385,000 of necessary sewer system upgrades. These projects include replacement of water and sewer mains, water treatment plants upgrades, sewer pipeline rehabilitation, and water and sewer pump station improvements.
Water System Improvement and Sewer System Improvement projects are funded by the rate increases.


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House of Representatives Passes Charitable Tax Incentives, With 0 Comments, Category: Advocacy, Latest News, News,
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 644, the America Gives More Act of 2015, by a vote of 279-137 on February 12, 2015. The legislation expands and makes permanent three expired charitable tax incentives, including our food donation tax deduction. H.R. 644 was introduced February 2 by Representative Tom Reed (R-NY).
We are thrilled that this important legislation was passed by the House of Representatives, but disappointed that House Democrats chose to oppose the bill for a third time. Many of the arguements used by House Democrats and the White House in explaining their opposition to the legislation focus on the fact that the bill is not paid for. Yet similar legislation to renew a large group of expired tax extenders in December 2014 was not paid for either. In a year when true bipartisan legislative opportunities are limited, we hope that as H.R. 644 moves forward in the Senate that both Republicans and Democrats can come together in support of the legislation.
This is an important legislative priority for our network, and we know that we would not have the support needed if not for your calls and emails to your Members of Congress. Take that as proof that your messaging and advocacy on the merits of this legislation is making a difference. Not one Member of Congress today spoke in opposition of the policies to expand and improve food donation tax incentives.
If you took action as part of our recent advocacy action alert sent out through email, our website and our social media accounts, thank you. If you weren't included on this recent action but you'd like to be an advocate for the Food Bank in the future, please email email@example.com


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I have so much to say about the end of my trip. Mainly about how I made really good friends with two great girls, and we drank two liters of gin and tonic and then two liters of rum and coke in one night, and I feel like right about now I might be missing them. Also about how my mom had a wonderful time in Ireland and Scotland. I think I might have enjoyed Scotland the most, and wasn't the biggest fan of Dublin, and found out the O'Neill clan was Ulster (N. Ireland- Union Jack) and that kind of bummed me out, but I think I need to devote some time over telling some of those stories on my blog in the next few weeks before school starts. (Blegh- school, so not excited)
This last week has been particularly complicated in the area of my relationship with D, which has been very difficult. I actually fled to Mexico for several days to be with Jare who is my best friend and a wonderful one at that, who supported me and just listened to me and sat with me when I was having a really big emotional hardship.
I am back in the States now. D and I have resolved to try and work things out once more, but with major changes this time. Most of them seem really daunting, but also extremely necessary, and I can honestly say that I am excited to address issues that have been holding me back in life. I cannot say for certain that I know that things will work out for D and I, but I can say that I do know that any growth that I can experiece within or out of the relationship is going to help me learn to be an emotionally healthier adult, which is a pretty exciting thing in the wrong one.
I wish that things didn't sometimes have to hit rockbottom before they get better, but I feel like maybe this is one of those instances. I guess only time will tell.
All I know is that I feel like I need to put away things from three different trips at this point, and I am thinking of renting the other room in my house when my roommate moves out in a few months, rather than having to clean or organize this one. I am only kidding, but I kind of wish that I could move in the other room to get away from this jumble of collections from different places.
Friday, August 28, 2009
I'm Home from Europe, and Also Mexico- and My Life is Complicated, but Okay
2 comments:
- Moore Musings said...
who is moving out? I miss that place!
- September 2, 2009 at 12:35 PM
- alana bird said...
i love you, bonnie. hope to see you soon!
- October 19, 2009 at 11:23 AM
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Technology is the core of competency at present and if you are looking forward to make sure that your business excels, in that case, you must rejig the technological advancements in such a way that making the maximum out of it is never a tough job altogether. Most of the times, it always happen that big corporates are hooking up to pro technology support services for meeting up with their diverse needs. Well, to no exception it should be understood that pro technology support is important for business since downtime, loss of data and other technical failures are leading to colossal losses. The loss of application services, tech support failure and data wastage has cost innumerable businesses plenty of dollars, the loss stands at a colossal $26.5 billion. So, such an amount itself tells a story and due to IT downtime, on an average, every business is losing $1, 50,000. So, this amount of money is decisive enough to either make or break the business; however, these are few things that you cannot avert in the first place. Most of the businesses that were surveyed witnessed an IT downtime of somewhat around 14 hours. So, it is important that you have pro technology support services to help streamline everything in the best possible way. In the presence of pro technology support solutions, you can definitely bring innumerable benefits for the businesses rightaway. So, take a look at why you should avail pro technology support and how your business can make the most from it.
Benefits of PRO Technology Support
If you are availing a pro technology support service, you can make certain of one thing that you will be having the quality that is demanded in the first place; however, the same is not possible with in house support. When you are going for expert techs, they would always want to deliver the best that matters to you in real time. So, make sure that you are having the best for availing the best service experience.
When it comes to getting served by experts, in that case, you are always getting the best service that you are looking for and at a reduced price. Since the support techs provide the service in bulk, they are always getting the advantage that matters to them in real time. So, if you have your own IT team, to figure out the problem, plan out a resolve and then fix it rightaway would be difficult; however, the scenario would be altogether different when you have an expert to serve you in the best possible way. So, make sure that you are able to get the best that matters to you in real time.
Your pro technology support service provider would bear majority of the risks that arise in day-to-day business and make the most from it. A managed IT support can help dramatically improvise upon the prospects and bring tangible results for you in real time. So, if you are able to do that, you can bring majority of the benefits for your business.
In the presence of pro tech support, you can make one thing certain that you will be getting the value that matters for you in real time. So, these days the payments by these tech support companies are accepted through diverse methods, thereby you can definitely make the most happen when you are going for their service.
Date: October 1, 2015


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Hello, hope you are all well on this last day of the year ☺ Enjoy it whatever you may be doing!! Just popping in to share my Top 10 creations from this past year and am linking it up to Kellie's blog. A great way to reflect over the past year - I have had a blast creating over this past year, being in a few wonderful design teams as well as creating for The Scrapbook Store - so thankful for these opportunities ☺
I've picked a page from each month; so instead of 10 I have 12!!
I'm going to use some of these pages as my inspiration board for the start of the year - to get me back into the scrappin' groove. We are having some very hot weather at the moment and are going to enjoy some camping time away. So I will be back after that to share my new creations for 2013. Happy new year to one and all and God bless. xx
Monday, 31 December 2012
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
this letter
Hello - I have one more page to share which will finish off my collection of Then & Now by Teresa Collins - I have totally LOVED working with these papers and embellishments ☺
I've used the 12x12 chevron pattern paper for the base and have done some subtle stamping using ink and also Silks Glaze. I've gone with a banner style design - you will know it's my favourite by now. I've added in a few hand-made embellishments and some paper lace doilies. Here are some close-up's:
My journalling is a bible text which goes well with this letter c!
Product used:
12x12 pattern paper - chevron - Teresa Collins
12x12 pattern paper - words - Teresa Collins
paper lace doilies
wooden pegs
die-cut accessory sheet - Teresa Collins
decorative brads - Teresa Collins
handmade crochet flower
resin blossoms
white & grey ink
cotton thread
Glitz Design Teeny Alphas
Some of this collection is still available at The Scrapbook Store - you can check it out here.
The monthly sketch for December has now been extended until the end of January - so you still have plenty of time to get your entries in for this beautiful sketch ☺
The school holidays are now upon us ☺ So I'm hoping for lots of relaxing and fun days with my family and hopefully some touches of scrap booking in between.
As the year is fast closing in - I would love to say a big thank you to all my readers - I enjoy reading your comments and appreciate you popping by. I love sharing my work and hope you have been inspired in some way ☺
Posted by Chantelle at 21:21 11 comments:
Monday, 17 December 2012
same same
Hello - I had my turn this month to create a step-by-step for The Scrapbook Store - it's now up on the blog if you want to check it out ☺ I really wanted to show my process of making this page and how easy it came together using the Now & Then collection by Teresa Collins - there are many die-cut embellishments in this collection which making the process fun, easy and quick and very coordinated. You can check out the entire collection on-line here!!
Posted by Chantelle at 14:26 5 comments:
Labels: Teresa Collins Designs, The Scrapbook Shop, Tutorial
Thursday, 13 December 2012
a moment shared
Hello - back to share another page using product from my DT kit from The Scrapbook Store - I've been working with the Now and Then collection by Teresa Collins - loving these papers and embellishments very much. And I've been enjoying working with some photo's of my younger years too ☺
Here are some close-up's:
Product used:
White cardstock base
die-cut accessory sheet - Teresa Collins
Prima blooms
glimmer mist
cotton thread - grey
decorative brads - Teresa Collins
paper lace doily
typewriter journalling
Glitz design teeny alphas
I still have another page to share from this collection - which includes a step-by-step to show how I created the page - that will be shared soon ☺ Well the days are rushing by so fast, everything seems to be so fast past at the moment. So I hope you can take the time to slow down and appreciate this very special time of year.
Posted by Chantelle at 14:38 11 comments:
Friday, 7 December 2012
this is me
Hello - I have my first page to share using my December kit from The Scrapbook Store - I've been given the fabulous collection - Then & Now by Teresa Collins - this paper is just gorgeous ☺ So happy to be working with this lovely collection!
Here is my page:
There is also some of the WOW chipboard which I've painted with Silks Acrylic Glaze in Silver Bells - this is gorgeous stuff to work with.
So here are some close-up's:
Products used:
Decorative Brads - Teresa Collins
Kaisercraft blooms
Scallop punch
You can check out the entire collection in the store - Teresa Collins - Then & Now ☺
Don't forget about the 3rd birthday celebrations for The Scrapbook Store - 20% off storewide (some exclusions) - ends 24th December.
Have a lovely weekend - we are off to see family who have had some sweet additions to their families - hope to snap some pictures while we are there ☺ Happy times ♥
Posted by Chantelle at 11:42 10 comments:
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
all dressed up ...
Hello - hope your week is going well ☺ I'm here to share my inspiration for the challenge at ARTastic.
The requirements for the challenge are to have large, bold pattern paper or paint and below is the inspiration picture - by Emma Hack
Here is my page:
Pop over to the ARTastic blog to see more inspiration for this fantastic challenge - we hope you will join us this month - great prizes up for the winner ☺
And sadly, this is my last post for ARTastic - I've been with this challenge blog for about 18 months and have really enjoyed the challenges each month. So thank you Jane and the rest of the team - I hope to play along from the other side ☺
Posted by Chantelle at 21:08 7 comments:
Labels: Artastic challenge, Scrapbooking
Monday, 3 December 2012
our christmas
Hello - White with One have recently announced their new Design Team for the next six months and I'm thrilled to be staying on - I love their challenges!! So I'm here to share my page for the White with One - December challenge:
White & Red & Christmas - a fitting theme for this time of year and here's what I've created:
So there is plenty of white, dashes of red and a description of what our Christmas is all about!
Here are some close-up's:
We hope you will have time to play along during this busy month - there are lots of great prizes including a voucher from one of our sponsors - The Scrapbook Store. We look forward to seeing your pages ☺
Posted by Chantelle at 13:54 5 comments:
Labels: Christmas, White with 1
Sunday, 2 December 2012
this is you
December is here - and it's officially Summer ☺ The beginning of the month means all the new challenges are out. I have my page to share for The Scrapbook Store
monthly sketch - check out this beautiful sketch:
I've used papers by Glitz Design - Cashmere Dame and Core'dinations - Leapfrog Chevrons.
Here are some close-up's:
Memory Box die-cut - Tilth Floral - I LOVE it - here I've used both pieces to create a more 3D look and added a button to the centre ...
Poppy Stamps called Simple Banner ... I've cut out two and added some faux flair buttons in-between ... lots of computer journalling - just random thoughts about my boy ♥ ... as part of the sketch element - I've done some outlining in black pen and machine stitching ...
We hope you will find some time in this busy month to complete the sketch - there is a $40.00 voucher from The Scrapbook Store for the winner ☺ And it's also the 3rd birthday for the store - so there will be 20% off Storewide until Christmas eve (some exclusions apply) - WOW - what a great time to go shopping ☺
Thanks for coming by and I'll be back over the next few days to share more new challenges ☺
Posted by Chantelle at 21:47 3 comments:
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I hope you are all keeping well and managing to get some crafting done. I can't believe it is April already, it is so true that the older you get the years just fly by. Change of plan this week, working at home instead of working in Leeds.
Today I am a guest designer for Christine's Digi Showcase Adventure and I chose the floral corner. You can visit Christine's Blog to see what her design team have created.


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Can you afford to buy here? If you like, we can get one of our mortgage experts to tell you exactly how much you can borrow, which is the best mortgage for you or how much they could save you right now if you have an existing mortgage. Click here to get help choosing the best mortgage rate
The $232,200 price tag on the median Saint-Alexis home means that it is about average price.
Across Quebec Saint-Alexis has the 572th most properties on offer with 1047.
When we look at the data we have, it can help with trying to establish whether or not Saint-Alexis is a good investment target.
If you are looking at investment properties in Saint-Alexis, then there are fewer homes for sale than there were three months ago. This would indicate that house prices will be influencing it towards being a sellers market.
When it comes to the size of the properties currently available to property investors in this neighbourhood, they tend to have the average number of bedrooms than the most commonly available across the nation.
There are a number of important pieces of research you should do before deciding where to buy an investment property – this data for Saint-Alexis will hopefully provide an indicator to help you where to research in-depth
It's always hard to tell what property prices will do over the coming months, but over the last three months the properties available for purchase in Saint-Alexis have stayed pretty much the same which would tend to indicate that demand is steady.
Corresponding census subdivisions are provided for the following place names where data is not available.
Just fill in a few details, and we'll arrange for a Mortgage adviser to help you find the best mortgage for your needs


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She was only 18 years old, and I, twenty-three.
I had worked my way up to become one of the youngest journalists in the country.
But I have to say that all I wanted to do was hide my face when she told me her story.
"So why are you here?" I asked.
"My mother sold me. We didn't have enough money," she whispered back.
"Are you angry at her for doing that?"
She shook her head. "No."
In that moment, everything I had ever stood for, everything I thought I knew, had come crashing down.
I picked up my pen.


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From 'Five Go To Smuggler's Top' by Enid Blyton:
"Why are you telling me all this?" said Uncle Quentin scornfully. "It's of no interest to me. I'm only interested in a plan for draining the marshes, not smuggling goods across them."
"Exactly, my dear fellow!" said Mr Barling [the smuggler], amiably. "I have even seen your plans and read about your experiments and Mr Lenoir's.
"But the draining of the marsh means the end of my own business! Once the marsh is drained, once houses are built there, and roads made, once the mists have gone, my business goes too! A harbour may be built out there, at the edge of the marshes - my ships can no longer creep in unseen, bringing valuable cargoes!
"Not only will my money go, but all the excitement, which is more than life to me, will go too!"
"How do I come into this" [Uncle Quentin] asked. "Why have you kidnapped me?"
"I know that Mr Lenoir is going to buy your plans from you," said Mr Barling. "I know he is going to drain the marsh by using your very excellent idea. You see, I know all about them!
"I know too that Mr Lenoir hopes to make a lot of money by selling the land once it is drained. It is all his, that misty marsh - and no use to anyone now except to me! But that marsh is not going to be drained - I am going to buy your plans, not Mr Lenoir!"
Monday, 8 September 2014
The Famous Five and rent seeking
From 'Five Go To Smuggler's Top' by Enid Blyton:
My latest blogpost: The Famous Five and rent seekingTweet this! Posted by Mark Wadsworth at 08:39
Labels: Rent seeking
2 comments:
- JohnM said...
That's only true of the old edition. More recent editions show that evil Uncle Quentin's threat to the rare crested marsh snail's habitat was safely averted after the protest camp persuaded the environmental agency to fine him. Remorseful, he then goes on to build windmills on the marsh which unfortunately decimate the rare birds, but hey, if you want omelette you should use only the best eggs.
- 8 September 2014 at 17:58
- Mark Wadsworth said...
JohnM, nice one.
- 8 September 2014 at 18:27


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Welcome to the Medical Maniacs homepage!!
Our doctors are:
Dr. Matilda: Gastroenterologist
Dr. Katie: Neurologist
Dr. Arfan: Cardiologist
Dr. Thomas: Orthopedic Surgeon
Dr. Michael: Pulmonologist
Dr. Leah Mae: Immunologist
Dr. Thomas's Biogaraphy
Hello I'm a very young doctor called Dr. Thomas (skeletal muscle man.) I'm 22 years old and when I was 4 years old I had 3 diplomas for medical school. So as I grew up I became a better doctor and now I have more than 500 diplomas all for excellent work. I'm the Orthopedic Surgeon in the clinic I work in. The clinic is called "Medical Maniacs." Don't worry about the Maniac part because we care for you with a lot of respect. So don't be scared to visit us once. You will come out perfectly normal. I have an IQ of 1000 just like my friend Dr. Arfan, the cardiologist in the clinic. I hope you come to the clinic someday because we are the best in the universe. So come on down to the Medical Maniacs clinic.
Yours truly,
Dr. Thomas
Dr. Arfan's Biography
Hello, My name is Dr. Arfan. I am from California, America I am the finest cardiologist in the planet. I work at the Medical Maniacs the best clinic in the world. I think the staff in this clinic is the best. Don't worry about the "Maniac" part, my stupendous staff in the clinic will give you respect like gold. I studied in Oxford University studying all the human body system for 1 year then I went to Harvard and studied the cardiovascular system. In Harvard, I graduated there when I was 14. I have a Masters degree, a PhD, and an IQ of 134,830 so I am very intelligent. I am currently living in Rome, Italy. On behalf of my staff and me we all give the best hospitality in our clinic. Our clinics are in every country in the world so make sure to go to our clinic anywhere anytime.
Best regards,
Dr. Arfan
Medical Dr. Michael's Biography
Hello, my name is Doctor Michael. I am specialized in pulmonology which is the study of the lungs. My IQ is 1 followed by a trillion zeroes. I have won the novel prize from 1980 to 2006. I am born in 1960 so I am 46 years old. I have studied pulmonology for 40 years. I have been in medical school when I was 6 years old. I have a 5-storey mansion in Beverly Hills, America and I work in Rome, Italy. I have a Master degree on pulmonology and a PhD. For my free time, I teach young students in the University of Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford. I love to travel and cook. I am a member of the MENSA community and a graduate of Yale University. I am the most trustable surgeon for respiratory disorders. I am also famous for finding the cure for SARS and asthma. Thank You~!
Best Regards,
Medical Doctor Michael L.
Dr. Katie's Biography
Hello I'm Dr. Katie!!! I am 26 years old. I was born in Paris, France February 7, 1980. I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers (a very large family!!!) named Lisa, Tyla, Piper, Calum and Lee. I can fluently speak (but not read) French, German, Swedish, Canadian, Spanish, Mandarin, Norwegian, and Bahasa. I went to Cambridge University and became best friends with Dr. Tilly. I currently live and work in Rome and work at Medical Mania clinic with Dr. Tilly, Dr. Arfan, Dr. Thomas, Dr. Leah Mae, and Dr. Michael.
Dr. Leah Mae's Biography
My name is (Dr.) Leah Mae. I am an immunologist from Jakarta. I now work for the Medical Maniacs Clinic. Don't let the name fool you because we are very experienced doctors. I graduated from Oxford university in 1983 when I was just 18. I then joined a medical school and graduated top of the class. I have now been a doctor for almost 10 years. I can speak 8 different languages (English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, Danish, Japanese, French, Italian, and Spanish) so there will be no communication problems. Our clinic is located in Rome.
Dr. Matilda's Biography
I am Dr. Matilda (Tilly).
I was born in Norway on the 14th of September 1980.
I was brought up with 3 sisters and 2 brothers named:
We were all born in Norway and attended Georgia Everson Private School. I no how to speak Norwegian, Spanish, French, Mandarin and Bahasa. After that, I went to Cambridge University and I studied the Digestive System. After three years of studying I was selected into Cambridge Medical School. I then became a Gastroenterologist.
I am now working in Rome at the Medical Maniac clinic.