Unconscious Mutterings and Entrecard

1. Nursery :: Babies
2. Side effect :: Fatigue
3. Heart to heart :: Intimate talk
4. Try :: And try again
5. Hog :: Yum!  Bacon, Ham, Pork Chops!
6. Symptom :: Drowsiness – can you tell I’ve encountered this one a few times?
7. Collide :: Head On
8. Fury :: Anger
9. Incorporated :: Business
10. Summer :: Heat and Mosquitoes

More mutterings can be found here.

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I’m back on Entrecard!

         

I’ve missed all my Entrecard visitors and I’ve started a new blog, too.  So I took the leap and came back to Entrecard.  I probably will not be aiming for 300 drops for each blog this time around.   But If you drop on me, I’ll come drop on you.  And I’ll stay to read what you’ve written.

I want to thank my first advertiser, Secondary Roads.  If you haven’t been over to visit, please go there now.  He’s not just a great brother, he’s a great blogger.

Flag Friday - Australia

      

Symbolism and Colors:

The Australian flag is composed of three parts:

• The Union Jack (British flag) in the top left corner,
• The 'Star of Federation' in the bottom left corner, and
• The Southern Cross, taking up the right half of the flag.

The Union Jack shows that the first colonisation by Europeans was by Britain. In case you didn't know, Australia started as a penal colony. The Star of Federation is a seven pointed star. They came to the number seven, by giving each state (six in all) a point on the star, and having one more point for Australia's territories (of which there are several). There are two mainland territories, and several overseas, including two in Antarctica. The Southern Cross is a constellation that can be seen from all of Australia's states and territories.

The above information is from this site.

The following information comes from the Flag Counter widget in my sidebar.  There is much more to be found there about geography, government, population, economy, and military.

 

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequent droughts, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.

 

World's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world.

Population:
21,262,641 (July 2009 est.)

Languages:
English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)

Government type:
federal parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Canberra

Independence:
1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

Currency (code):
Australian dollar (AUD)

Technorati Tags: Flag Friday

Thursday Thirteen – Things That Begin With I

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day.  I was away for a long weekend and I missed posting last week.  No high speed internet at the lake.

1. Ice Cream – Nature’s most perfect food!
2. Igloo – I would need lots of quilts to live there.
3. Icon – All those cute little bitty pix on the computer.
4. Inner Ear – It not only helps us hear, but helps us keep our balance as well.  If you click on the image, you can see all the parts are labeled.
5. Iron – Of course there’s the metal, but that’s not what was on my mind when I put this on the list.  I was thinking of my wonderful Rowenta.
6. Indigo – A beautiful deep blue natural dye.
7. Ink – Why is it so expensive?
8. Itty Bitty Book Light – The joys of being able to read in the car after dark.  As long as you aren’t driving!
9. IT (Information Technology) – My former profession.  Some called me a dinosaur because I programmed in COBOL on a mainframe.  I say choose the tool best suited for the job.
10. Incubator – They’ve saved the lives of millions of human babies and chicks.
11. Infant – All infants are beautiful! 
12. Icicle – Hey, it’s no myth.  Don’t stand under them.  If they break loose, they could stab you as effectively as a sharp knife.
13. Infinity – I’ll be none of you are old enough to remember Ben Casey.  It was a doctor drama on TV in the early 1960s.  It started out with a hand drawing symbols on a chalk board as each was named.  Man.  Woman.  Birth.  Death.  Infinity.  That was the first place I ever heard the word. 

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Technorati Tags: Thursday 13

My Second Favorite Bulldog

My first favorite bulldog is, of course, my grand-dog Daisy.  But Tillman is awesome!  How can you not love such a talented athlete?


Random Hilarity: Tillman The Skateboarding Dog Does LA

Wednesday Hero

USS George H.W. Bush


Sailors assigned to the Air Department of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) are silhouetted against the setting sun at the conclusion of flight operations. George H.W. is underway in the Atlantic Ocean conducting flight deck certifications.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

I Did It! Monday #2

Most of this past week was spent vacationing at my In-laws’ cottage in Northern Michigan.  But I did get something done before I left.  I pulled all the big ugly weeds out of my myrtle in the back yard.  That’s a huge thing for me.  I have to get all doused with bug repellant to even go out there. 

MWH came along to help dig up as much of the poke weed as we could find.  I think we’re finally getting it under control.   I don’t really know where it came from, but 3 or 4 years ago after we had some dead trees taken out we suddenly had a huge swath of these really big plants with cool berries on them.  After they were about 3 feet tall, I found out they were poke week and very invasive.  We’ve been digging ever since!  At least the  ground was soft from lots of rain which made it much easier to dig up the root pieces we’d missed before.  Each of them had 2 or 3 plants sprouting from them.

Head on over to My Meme Mania and let everyone know what YOU did this week.  We’d love to throw confetti and celebrate with you!

Technorati Tags: I Did It! Monday

Silly Songs With Larry - Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

I know I should have posted this on September 19th.  For those of you who don’t know, that is Talk Like a Pirate Day.  ARGH!!

 

Technorati Tags: Veggie Tales

Wednesday Hero

Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos
25 years old from Paterson, New Jersey
3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade
May 11, 2009


On Mother’s Day, Eugenia Gardos made a tabletop shrine to her recently deceased mother — surrounding her photograph with silk roses, a small white rosary cross, two votive candles and a prayer card of Senor de los Milagros, the patron saint of Peru.

The next day, May 11, she added her son's picture to the shrine for the dead.

Sgt. Gardos was killed along with five fellow servicemen; Army Spc. Jacob D. Barton, Army Maj. Matthew P. Houseal, Navy Cmdr. Charles K. Springle and Army Pfc. Michael E. Yates Jr. in the attack on Camp Liberty.

"The first time he left for Iraq, when they would read the lists of the dead on the news, we used to hold our breath, praying he wasn't on it," his mother said. "I don't understand how he could have died this way. I just don't understand it."

Sgt. Galdos had emigrated with his family from Mollendo, Peru, as a child and had been a U.S. citizen since high school. His mother, two older brothers and older sister recalled how he used to hand out candy to children in Iraq the same way he always did in Paterson — never making a trip to the corner bodega without a group of neighborhood children tailing behind, knowing he would buy them candy or a soda.

"We were all here at home," Carlos Bueno, Sgt. Galdos's father, said. "I was getting ready to go to bed when I heard screaming downstairs. I ran downstairs and everyone had thrown themselves to the floor, thrashing around, screaming."

Bueno said he does not feel bitterness toward the man accused in the shootings, whom he described as "mentally ill."

"We want people to know we're proud of our son's Army, but if my son had died in war we would be able to handle that," he said. "But not to die in this manner."

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

My World – North Coast of Trinidad

In 2006, MWH and I visited Trinidad and Tobago with friends.  She is a native of Trinidad and her brother hosted us while we were there.  One of the excursions we took was to go over the northern mountains to a beach that has the best shark and bake on the island.  At least that’s what we were told.  As good as it tasted, I readily believed them.  It was my favorite of many delicious meals. 

Today I want to share with you some of the views on our trip over the mountains.

 

You can see glimpses from around the world at MyWorld.  Go visit!

Technorati Tags: My World

I Did It! Monday #1

I Did It!  I created a new meme!

This is a brand new meme that I started on my new blog My Meme Mania.  If you’re a regular reader of Coming Back to Life! you know that I like to celebrate accomplishments.  And I’m a terrible procrastinator.  Actually, I’m a really, really good procrastinator.  It’s the procrastination that’s terrible.

Anyway….  I decided that we need a meme to celebrate the things we accomplish in our lives.  It doesn’t have to be the completion of a giant project.  Just a baby step in the right direction and I’ll set off the fireworks and jump up and down with you.

Please head on over to My Meme Mania and join in!

Technorati Tags: I Did It! Monday

Silly Songs With Larry – The Hairbrush Song

Once again we have a Silly Song for Sunday.  MWH and I sing this one whenever we’re looking for something not quickly found.

 

Technorati Tags: Veggie Tales

Flag Friday - Indonesia

      

Symbolism and Colors:

The red stands for courage, while the white stands for purity. The red represents human's body or physical life, while white represents human's soul or spiritual life. Together they stand for a complete human being.

Traditionally, most Indonesians have used red and white as their sacred colors, mixing the color of sugar (the red color comes from palm-sugar or gula aren) and rice (white in color). Inarguably, until today, both of these are the major components of daily Indonesian cuisine or cooking.

The above information is from this site.

The following information comes from the Flag Counter widget in my sidebar.  There is much more to be found there about geography, government, population, economy, and military.

 

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949. Indonesia's first free parliamentary election after decades of repressive rule took place in 1999. Indonesia is now the world's third-largest democracy, the world's largest archipelagic state, and home to the world's largest Muslim population. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, improving education, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing economic and financial reforms, stemming corruption, holding the military and police accountable for past human rights violations, addressing climate change, and controlling avian influenza. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, which led to democratic elections in December 2006. Indonesia continues to face a low intensity separatist movement in Papua.

Population:
240,271,522 (July 2009 est.)

Languages:
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Jakarta

Independence:
17 August 1945 (declared)
note: recognized by the Netherlands on 27 December 1949; in August 2005, the Netherlands announced it recognized de facto Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945

Currency (code):
Indonesian rupiah (IDR)

Technorati Tags: Flag Friday

Thursday Thirteen - Things That Begin With H

1. Heroes - You can click on the Wednesday Hero tab at the top of the page to see posts about true heroes.

2. Horses - I worked with a woman once who raised Tennessee walking horses.  They loved her as a dog loves a good person or a child its mother.  She put my 6 year old daughter on the horse's back and handed her the reins.  Then she walked around the paddock talking sweetly to the gentle giant who walked with his head over her shoulder all the way around.  What a beautiful gift that was for Mikki.

3. Home - For me home is represented by so many things.  Home is not a house, it's my family.

4. Husband - I have the Most Wonderful Husband (MWH) in the entire world.  Now, before you start sputtering or chewing me out, I think every woman should believe that about her own husband.

5. Honey - Isn't it amazing that a tiny bee who can sting you and put you in the hospital also produces such a sweet and perfect food?  Check out the pollen on his legs!

6. Humor - I have a little bit of a twisted sense of humor.  Kind of runs in the family.  But there are some things that are not at all funny.  It's not funny when someone is hurt, or drunk, or using drugs.  Pretty much everything else is up for grabs, though.

7. Hose - The squirt gun of choice in a water fight as long as you don't have to move around a lot.

8. Himalayas - Amazing mountains.  But I still don't understand why people feel the need to climb them.

9. Hydrangea - I have a pink one in the front yard and a blue one (at least it was blue last summer) in the backyard.

10. Head - There are just so many things that could be put here.  Your head holds your brain and the organs used for 4 of the 5 senses.  Then there's the head of a company or institution.  What about the header for your blog?  Or a thunderhead?  We're having storms as I write this so that one is on my mind.  Which is in my head.

11. Heaven - Jesus told his disciples, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.  If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”  I look forward to to going there someday.  How about you?

12. Huckleberries - Yummy berries for jam or syrup or pies or, in one Traverse City restaurant, a wonderful sauce to put on salmon.

13. Handshake - Phil Wilson  has written a great article about the importance of the handshake.  How you shake hands says a lot more than you think and is a big part of a first impression.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Robert Hamilton


Spc. Robert Hamilton, from Corpus Christi, Texas, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, prepares to bandage the thumb of an Iraqi boy in Ula Market in Sadr City, April 19. The boy cut his thumb while preparing meat at a local butcher shop.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

My World - My Own Backyard

This week I've decided to show you my backyard.  It's really quite small, but full of plants and trees.  When we first moved here nearly 6 years ago, the backyard was totally wild.  The poison ivy was so large that most people would not have recognized it.  The individual leaves were 12 or more inches long.  It did have the perfect growing environment.  There is a wooded strip between our street and the one behind us.  There were trees so close that you could actually reach out from the deck at grab one or two small branches.  The leaves were never raked so the poison ivy was mulched every year.  No wonder it was so huge!  Some of the vines climbing the trees are 2-3 inches thick.  We're working hard to kill it off.

This is a picture of our backyard as it looks now.  The picture was taken from our deck.  It's quite bare compared to the neighboring yards.  We took out the dead trees and the tiny spindly ones and my sister raked all the leaves last fall.  Our property line is not back as far as the leaf piles.

I went down from the deck to show you some of the life we've been adding.  Here's Snow on the Mountain.  This is it's third summer and it's starting to spread beautifully.

This little fern was chosen because it's pretty with the pink edges and it was on sale.  I have no idea what it's called.

My friend L gave me quite a few Lily of the Valley two years ago.  This is the first year for blooms.  When I was growing up we had a very large bed of Lily of the Valley on the north side of our house.  I always loved the tiny blossoms and I'm very excited to have these flowers in my backyard.

Another gift from L is this lovely Bleeding Heart bush.

The Myrtle was in the front flower beds and was taking over.  We moved it two years ago as another ground cover in the backyard.  It's spreading like, well, like myrtle.

Last, but unfortunately not least, we have lots of dandelions.

I hope you've enjoyed the tour of my backyard.  You can see more glimpses of the world at MyWorld.  Go visit!

Technorati Tags: My World

Silly Songs With Larry - The Song of the Cebu

This is one of the first silly songs produced.  It was the first that I saw.  For weeks I went around singing, "Cebuuuuuuuu", and laughing like an idiot. 

 

Technorati Tags: Veggie Tales

Flag Friday - Germany

      


Symbolism and Colors:
The flag of Germany was re-adopted on May 23, 1949; it had been Germany's flag beginning in 1848 (when the German feudal states united) until 1871 (when Bismarck came into power). In 1919, Germany became a republic and the black, red and gold flag was reinstated - until the Nazis took power in 1933. In 1949 (after World War 2), the flag was again adopted as the flag of West Germany (Germany was split into East and West Germany after the war); in 1990, Germany was reunited.
The German flag is a horizontal tricolor, with black, red, and yellow stripes. The colors of the flag were the colors of the German soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars.
The above information is from this site.

The following information comes from the Flag Counter widget in my sidebar.  There is much more to be found there about geography, government, population, economy, and military.










As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards.
Population:
82,329,758 (July 2009 est.)
Languages:
German
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
Berlin
Independence:
18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991

Technorati Tags: Flag Friday

Thursday Thirteen - Things That Start With G

1. Green Tea - A delicious and healthy drink.  I've been enjoying it recently.

2. Gate -  Gates can be inviting, or scary, or forbidding, even menacing.  One thing for sure they lead to new places.  Are we willing to walk through the gate to an exciting new reality?  Are we willing to pass by the gate and avoid fear and disaster?  And how do we know what lies beyond the gate?

3. Garnet - According to Wikipedia the garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.

4. Grandmother's Flower Garden -  A very simple yet complex quilt pattern.  This one pretty much has to be done by hand instead of machine.

5. Grandparents - It's so much fun being a grandparent.  You get to hand them off to Mom and Dad when they get cranky.

6. Grandchildren - The most beautiful children in the world.  Except maybe for their parents.

7. Grace - Often defined as unmerited favor.  Here's an example of grace applied.  "Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving." (Ephesians 2:7-9 The Message)

8. Goat - I used to tell a story about a goat named Herbert.  I had to place my tongue over my lower teeth and behind my lip so it sounded like Huhbuht.  I don't think you really want to read more.  You have to hear it to think it's funny.  You try saying "I once had a goat named Herbert" without laughing when you have your tongue that way.

9. Grater - Turns cheese into a wonderful pizza topping.  Or carrots into a marvelous salad with pineapple and raisins.

10. Gardener - I'm great at this in FarmTown on FaceBook.  But put me in a real garden and I'm only so-so.

11. Giraffe - My sister's favorite animal.  We saw a baby giraffe at Busch Gardens in Florida once.  It was rubbing up against her and wanting her to pet it.  Since it was only about 6 1/2 feet tall it wasn't more than a few days old.  Just adorable.

12. Ginger - A yummy root.  Also red hair used to be called ginger.  And of course there's ginger ale.  And Vernor's.  You may not know about Vernor's ginger ale if you aren't from the Michigan area.  My dad and my DSIL Sylvia (wife of Secondary Roads) used to make Vernor's ice cream floats.  But to me it always meant I was sick.  I got warm Vernor's for an upset stomach when I was a kid.

13. Graft - Navel oranges can only propagate thru grafting as they have no seeds.  All navel oranges can trace their origins back to a single tree.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wednesday Hero

1st Lt. Michael A. Cerrone
24 years old from Clarksville, Tennessee
2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
November 12, 2006


Cerrone's men said in written statements of remembrance that he put their safety and welfare first. He lead from the front and all of the paratroopers would "unquestionably" follow him into battle.

His platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald H. Berryhill, said Cerrone was more than a leader, but a friend and "little brother."

He remembers the first day Cerrone got to the unit. At the time, he was shy and quiet. But after a few months, he became more outspoken.

"I am truly blessed to have known him and to serve under his leadership," Berryhill wrote. "He will never be forgotten. I will carry him with me always and I will always watch over his platoon. We will make him proud of his boys."

Sgt. Cerrone was killed when a suicide bomber detonated the bomb he had strapped to himself in Samarra, Iraq. Also killed in the attack was Specialist Harry "Buck" Winkler. You can read more at BLACKFIVE.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.