Abandoned at Walmart

This is one of the funniest videos I’ve ever seen.  The reactions are priceless.

Smile – It’s Sunday

I found this picture over at Living and Writing in China.  Hope it makes you smile.

Hooray! We’re Done…

…with the first step toward new floors.  For the last few weeks, MWH and I have been spending a portion of our weekend pulling up carpet, pad, tack strips, and staples.  Then lots of sweeping.  But we finally have all the carpet (except the basement which we’ll keep) pulled up.  Now our floors look like this.

I still need to vacuum.  Then I’ll need to scrub the subfloor and paint it with Kilz.  There are also a few place that will need a little leveling.   I’m actually looking forward to the installation.  We have a friend who lives nearby who has installed laminate floors before.  With advice from him I plan to do the installation myself. 

Flag Friday - Chile

Chile's flag is a red, white and blue banner with a white star. The blue square in the canton region of the flag represents the sky, the white stripe represents the snow of the Andes mountains, and the red symbolizes the blood that was spilled fighting for freedom. The single star represents the powers of the government. The height of the flag is two-thirds the width.
This flag was adopted on October 18, 1817, just before Chile won its independence from Spain (in 1818).

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.

  
Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche Indians were completely subjugated. After a series of elected governments, a three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.

Population:

16,601,707 (July 2009 est.)

 Languages:

Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English

Government type:

republic

Capital:

Santiago

Independence:

18 September 1810 (from Spain)
Currency (code):
Chilean pesos (CLP)

 
Technorati Tags: Flag Friday

Wednesday Hero

Wednesday Hero has never been issued a warning before but I felt it necessary for this one. This post contains graphic descriptions of torture and brutality that some may find it difficult to read.






This weeks Wednesday Hero is dedicated to thousands of men who lost their lives in April of 1942 in what has become known as the Bataan Death March.


On April 9, 1942 Major General Edward P. King, Jr. surrendered 75,000+ men (Filipinos, Chinese Filipinos, and Americans) who had been fighting the Japanese since January of that year when they launched a full scale invasion of The Philippines. They were starving and wracked with disease. Upon their surrender the men were robbed of their possessions and forced into a 61 mile, 5-12 day, march to Camp O'Donnell. Along the way men were brutally beaten, staved of food and water, some had their throats cut, some were beheaded, some died to disease or exposure or untreated wounds and others were simply executed. In all the death tally is unknown but it's estimated that between 6,000 to as many as 20,000 men didn't survive the march.

Maj. Richard Gordon: "I didn't come down with a surrender group. They caught me actually two days after the surrender took place. First thing I did was receive a good beating. And everything I had in my wallet, in my pockets was taken from me. And as I was marched down that road, where they captured me, I passed my battalion commander, Major James Ivy, and he had been tied to a tree and he was stripped to the waist and he was just covered with bayonet holes. He was dead obviously. And he had bled profusely. He had been bayonetted by many, many bayonets. And that's when I knew we had some troubles on our hands. We were in for deep trouble. And they brought us down into a staging area and put me in with the rest of the thousands that were assembled on the side of the road, and that's where I spent my first night."

Here's a great link with more information and interviews with survivors.

The sacrifice and Hell that these men went through will not be forgotten. I don't know about anyone else, but I never learned about this while in school. If you're children aren't being taught this piece of history make sure that you do it for them. These men must be remembered and honored.

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.

Erie’s Land Lighthouse

This is the most oddly located light I’ve ever visited.  It’s not on a point or a pier.  As you can see by the power lights and street signs it’s located in the city of Erie, PA.  The light is in its original location.  It’s on a bluff above the port.

This is the view from the edge of the bluff just a few yards from the lighthouse.  There’s another light out on the pier that is not accessible.

You can see by the sidewalk how steep the bluff is.  And that is not all the steps.  They wouldn’t all fit in the frame.
What’s the strangest lighthouse you’ve seen?

I Love lolcats…

… and Monopoly.  One of my favorite games as a kid.  And, trust me, it’s not in the rules.

Flag Friday - Brunei

The national flag of Brunei was adopted on September 29, 1959 when the country was a British protectorate, and was retained when the country gained full independence on January 1, 1984, as Brunei Darussalam (State of Brunei, Abode of Peace). The flag has the Coat of Arms of Brunei in the center, on a yellow field. The field is cut by black and white diagonal stripes.

The coat of arms is as follows: a crescent (symbolising Islam) joined with a parasol (symbolising monarchy), and two gloves, one on each sides. Below the crescent is a ribbon. On the crescent and ribbon are Arabic inscriptions translating as "State of Brunei, Abode of peace" and Brunei's motto, "Always in service with God's guidance"

Black and white stripes represent Brunei's chief ministers, and yellow represents the Sultan of Brunei. The national emblem was placed in the center in 1959. A similar version of this flag, without the coat of arms, was first used in 1906. The coat of arms bears a crescent symbolic of the Islamic faith, and the central mast is a symbol of the state. The flag and umbrella are symbols of royalty, and the upturned hands signify the benevolence of the government. The Arabic motto on the crescent translates as, Always render service by God's guidance. Below it, a scroll bears the inscription Brunei Darussalam, the country's official title, meaning City of Peace.

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 Sultanate of Brunei's influence peaked between the 15th and 17th centuries when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by internal strife over royal succession, colonial expansion of European powers, and piracy. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate; independence was achieved in 1984. The same family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in Asia.

 

Population:

388,190 (July 2009 est.)

 Languages:

Malay (official), English, Chinese

Government type:

constitutional sultanate

Capital:

Bandar Seri Begawan

Independence:

1 January 1984 (from the UK)

Currency (code):

Bruneian dollars (BND)

 
Technorati Tags: Flag Friday

Marblehead

As part of our vacation this year we visited some of the lights on the southern shore of Lake Erie.  The first light we visited was Marblehead. 

The lighthouse was in a large park.  There was a museum in the keeper’s house, but it was not open while we were there, but there was plenty to see outside.  The entire shoreline is rock.  Not the relatively small rocks you see lining the walkway, but a rough sheet of rock.

I panned the camera to my right and got quite a surprise.

For those of you who don’t recognize the “Roller Coast”, that’s Cedar Point across the bay.  They sure have a lot of roller coasters! 

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Mike Golch




Sgt. David "Mad Dog" Dolby
May 14, 1946 – August 6, 2010


Mike has posted a piece on his blog about the Medal Of Honor awarded Sgt. Dolby which is a big help to me.

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.

More Quilts From Coopersville

I loved the look of this autumn maple leaf quilt.  My sister really loves leaf quilts so it caught my attention.  Then I looked closer.

It’s an amazingly simple pattern.  You sew the little points into the seams and then stitch them down.  Ta-Da!! Maple leaves!  And I love the 3D texture.

 

I only have a close-up of this quilt.  I looks like jars of canned goods on wooden shelves.  What a clever use of novelty prints!

 

This is a gorgeous quilt.  The appliqué is beautifully done.  I also liked the themed squares.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of the quilt show at the Coopersville Farm Museum.  There were many, many more beautiful quilts.  If you’re in the area, you can still see the show for $2 until the end of September.

A 3d Quilt?

Saturday MWH (Most Wonderful Husband) and I went to Coopersville, MI, for the Del Shannon Memorial Car Show.  It ended up that he looked at the cars and I went to the Farm Museum for the quilt show. 

There were approximately 200 quilts on display.  I saw some really beautiful work and quite a few really caught my attention.  The one pictured above was, hands down, my favorite.  Can you see the 3d effect?  The simple white background and the solid shadows really make the batiks seem to float above the surface.  I made sure to get up close so I could see how they put it together.  I may have to make a quilt like this for myself.

I’ll show you a few more quilts from the show tomorrow.

Decreasing is Good!!

I’ve been making some life changes over the last few months.  I apologize for not posting regularly.  I hope to change that.

Several things have been decreasing in my life due to some changes I’ve made.  So what have I been changing?  The biggest thing is my diet.  I’ve decided to go vegan for my health.  I’m not an animal rights advocate and that was not a consideration for this change.  What prompted the change?  This book.

There is no heart disease in my family, but this quote from the book is what really sold me on the idea of eating vegan.

If you eat to save your heart, you eat to save yourself from other diseases of nutritional extravagance:  from strokes, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis, adult onset diabetes, and possibly senile mental impairment as well.  You gain protection from a host of other ailments that have been linked to dietary factors, including impotence and cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, rectum, uterus, and ovaries.

I’ve had some amazing decreases in the few months that I’ve been working toward a fat-free vegan diet.

• When I gave up dairy (my first step toward vegan) the dizziness, foggy brain, and inability to think clearly all disappeared.  Hallelujah!!
• I’ve lost nearly 20 pounds without even trying.  I don’t count calories at all.
• My A1C went from 7.7 to 6.0 in just 3 months!  For those of you who don’t know what A1C is, it’s an indicator of what your blood sugar has been over the previous 3 months.  4.0-6.0 is considered normal.  The highest mine has ever been is 7.7.   The doctor wanted to increase my medication to bring this down, but I stuck with the smaller amount.  I even dropped it altogether about a week before this latest test.
• That leads to this wonderful statement.  I no longer take diabetes medication!!!
• My overall cholesterol dropped from 200 to 182.  I expect this will continue to go down as I work toward eliminating added fats in my diet.
• Here’s one that I’m really ready to celebrate.  My triglycerides were 287.  The recommended maximum is 150.  My latest result:  160.  Is that awesome or what?!!

If you have heart disease yourself or in your family I really recommend Dr. Esselstyn’s book.  I really don’t miss eating meat.  I’m quite surprised by that, but it’s true.

One last comment about going vegan.  I talked to my doctor about it first and you should too if you decide to make a change this big.

Have you made any big changes this summer?

Amazing Train

This is the most amazing train I've ever seen.  It tears up the old track and builds a new one all at the same time.  It's fascinating.  I love seeing how things work and this is a doozy!