Hand Massage at Desert Hot Springs

The instruction we got in neck and shoulder and hand and foot massage was helpful. I have been practicing on Linn. He likes it. I intend to get some almond oil today.

Chef Nigel

Here's a recipe for mango, avocado and jicama salsa: Dice these ingredients and add lime juice with some cayenne pepper and that herb I can't think of the name of at the moment but it's the one that is always in salsa. Someone please remind me.

Jane and friend in lobby of the resort

Our hotel room should have been in this resort but we were next door in a not so nice room. We had to walk back and forth across a very big parking lot for our classes and activities. Nobody took responsibility for changing our arrangements and we still want to get to the bottom of that decision. We have evaluation sheets to fill out and Elderhostel will hear about it from a lot of old complainers---not Jane, she is young, the youngest one here---a young protester.

The pool at Miracle Springs Resort

The pool and hot soaking pools are lovely at this resort, however, our Elderhostel group was shunted over to the hotel next door and we were not happy about it. The hotel management and the elderhostel managers here have apoligized to us for the mixup in scheduling. Our rooms seem to have been given to a church group. They want to make it up to us by giving us champagne before dinner every night but we are not appeased and will continue to make complaints. We are enjoying the people in our group, the program in massage and other wellness topics.

Dan and Jamalle in Burbank

It was great to visit with Dan and Jamalle. They met my plane that was a few hours late because of the rain in San Francisco. Jane's plane didn't get into Burbank until about 9:20 pm. She was diverted from Portland to Seattle because her scheduled flight was canceled. She didn't arrive at our hotel in Burbank until around 10 pm, tired from her long day. We stayed at a beautiful hotel, The Graciela, which is walking distance to Dan's house and the next morning we all went to breakfast at the Hugo Restaurant where the food was excellent. Our adventure now continues in Desert Hot Springs.

How to de-clutter your house

Oprah was inspiring yesterday. I want to de-clutter.

Waiting

For what? or whom?

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

A good man, my hero. We'll see what happens in the Libby trial next week. Rove, Cheney and even Bush seem to have broken the law. Perhaps they think they are above it.

I found a good sale

I can dress up sometime.

Piano Concert

Linn's notes on the music

More Poetry

BREAD
The soft warm dough
is kneaded in rhythm
on the countertop
one turn swoosh-on-flour
two turn give us this bread this
wheat soy rye oat French &
English muffin
fold and press push & turn
big elastic basketball
bounce it bounce it one
swoosh two swoosh smell the salt
smell the yeast
There's some flour on your nose
not sin
but sustenance
give us this day
deliver it to us
fold it press it turn it
rest it in the bowl & cover
It rises like a living thing
punch it down punch it down
cut it shape it
shove it in the oven
Make it bake it give us this
Our day
Deliver it to us
-----I.S.

Some Poetry

On the refrigerator

Happy Birthday to me!

Chris, Nick and Sarah took me to dinner in a great Boulder restaurant on Friday. The delicious piece of birthday cake was a nice surprise.

The Rocky Mountains at Boulder

I spent three days in Boulder enjoying the scenery and my family there.

What we need is a

of reason, good sense and understanding.

Snowflakes

In two days I'm going to Colorado where there is snow.

A beautiful world

The Web is wonderful

FREE High Resolution Photos!

Free photos for commercial and personal use. 2048x1536px and more.

Space image from Hubble telescope

Amazing photo

Icey rain and then snow this morning

Linn runs in all weather. He felt very exhilerated when he got back home. He is training for a 10K.

Snow in Eugene

Lovely large flakes floated down this morning.

No sense and no heart

"Commanders believe the new approach will make U.S. forces better positioned to combat sectarian violence, but they acknowledge the new approach is riskier and will likely mean more U.S. casualties in the short-run." It's a lame duck sending in sitting ducks. To save his ego he will let our young men and women be killed in a war that was based on deceit. For shame.

Amy Goodman

On our public access TV station the news program 'Democracy Now' covers some news the other stations don't touch. It is important to get balanced news and this program is valuable. Amy Goodman is not the typical newscaster. She is really smart.

What next?

President Bush has lost majority support on Iraq from residents of the reddest state in the nation.

Celeste and Peter

Two great friends.

He's not listening

What's to be done?

Oh Happy Day!

A woman is the speaker of the house for the first time! She raised 5 children of her own and at the opening of the 110th congress yesterday she surrounded herself with children. This is a good sign for our country. Women are needed to bring good balance to the workings of government in my humble opinion.

Mark your calendar

January 11 is the International Day to Shut Down Guantanamo. There will be protests all over the world, including England, Australia and Holland. In the US major protests will take place in Washington DC and New York City, plus dozens of cities throughout the country, including outside the US Southern Command in Miami.

The biggest may be this:

On January 9-13, a first-ever international delegation of former prisoners, families of current prisoners, US lawyers and human rights activists will travel to Guantanamo, Cuba to hold a conference on prison abuses and march to the Cuban-side security gate of the US Naval Base to call for the closure of the illegal prison. The protest in Cuba is part of the January 11 International Day to Shut Down Guantanamo, the day that marks the 5-year anniversary of the first prisoners being sent to Guantanamo.

SUNRISE

On a new year

Can you find the heron?

May the New Year be a better one that finds our country able to shift from war to peace.

Breakfast with Poets, Artists and Writers

This was a stimulating, delicious event for us.

In the Public Interest

Top 10 Corrupt Politicians for 2006
December 23, 2006 02:00 PM EST


Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2006 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.” The list, in alphabetical order, includes:
1. Jack Abramoff, Former Lobbyist – Abramoff is at the center of a massive public corruption investigation by the Department of Justice that, in the end, could involve as many as a dozen members of Congress. Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and a host of other charges on January 3, 2006, and was sent to prison in November to serve a five-year, 10-month sentence for defrauding banks of $23 million in Florida in 2000.
2. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) – In January 2006, Hillary Clinton’s fundraising operation was fined $35,000 by the Federal Election Commission for failing to accurately report more than $700,000 in contributions to Clinton’s Senate 2000 campaign. New information also surfaced in 2006 raising more questions about Hillary and her brother Anthony Rodham’s connection to the Clinton Pardongate scandal, where presidential pardons were allegedly traded in exchange for cash and other favors.
3. Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) – In November 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. He was sentenced to 8 years, four months in prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution in March 2006.
4. Former Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) – Tom DeLay, who was forced to step down from his position as House Majority Leader and then resign from Congress, decided in 2006 not to run for re-election. Congressman DeLay has been embroiled in a series of scandals from bribery to influence peddling, and was indicted twice by grand juries in Texas.
5. Former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) – Foley left the House in disgrace after news broke that he had been sending predatory homosexual emails to a House page. A recent House Ethics Committee report indicated that Republican leaders knew about Foley’s dangerous behavior, but failed to take action. Democrats, meanwhile, shopped the story to the press to influence the elections. Outrageously, the Committee recommended no punishment for those involved.
6. Rep. Denny Hastert (R-IL) – In addition to mishandling the Foley scandal, outgoing House Speaker Dennis Hastert allowed House ethics process to ground to a halt on his watch. Gary Condit, Cynthia McKinney, William Jefferson, John Conyers, Tom Delay, Duke Cunningham, Jim McDermott, Patrick Kennedy are examples of alleged wrongdoers who faced little-to-no ethics enforcement in the House.
7. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) – Hastings is one of only six federal judges to be removed from office through impeachment and has accumulated staggering liabilities ranging from $2,130,006 to $7,350,000. Hastings was “next in line” for Chairmanship of the House Select Committee on Intelligence until a wave of protest forced Nancy Pelosi to select another candidate. Nonetheless, Hastings is expected to continue to serve on the Intelligence Committee.
8. Rep. William “Dollar Bill” Jefferson (D-LA) – Jefferson is alleged to have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to help broker high-tech business deals in Nigeria. According to press reports, he was also caught on tape discussing the deals, while an FBI search of his home uncovered $90,000 in cash stuffed in his freezer.
9. Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) – Ohio Republican Congressman Bob Ney resigned in early November 2006, three weeks after pleading guilty for accepting bribes from an Indian casino in exchange for legislative favors. Ney was the first congressman to be convicted of a crime in the web of scandals involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and is expected to serve a jail sentence.
10. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) – Senator Reid came under fire in 2006 for failing to properly report to Congress a $700,000 land deal. Reid also accepted more than $30,000 of Abramoff-tainted money allegedly in return for his ''cooperation'' in matters related Nevada Indian gaming.

Christmas Dinner at the Hilton

With about 680 other senior citizens and some good music

Happy Holidaze!

Mascot at the 5th St. Market

His name is Bach and he seems to enjoy being admired by people.

Kaia at Theo's

The oatmeal is famous here.

Viki's party at Ocean Sky

There were nine of us for Viki's Solstice Celebration. There was lots of laughing and fun.

Ummmh!

Something seems to be peventing my posting a photo this morning. And yesterday's has disappeared.

Hail to the lowly turnip

LONDON, SUNDAY 17.12.06
VEGETARIANS ARE MORE INTELLIGENT, SAYS STUDY
15.12.06

 Frequently dismissed as cranks, their fussy eating habits tend to make them unpopular with dinner party hosts and guests alike.
But now it seems they may have the last laugh, with research showing vegetarians are more intelligent than their meat-eating friends.


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23378331-details/Vegetarians+are+more+intelligent,+says+study/article.do

Here's Sarah

Two Brothers and the Christmas Tree

We had dinner at the Club last night. What a Christmas treat to see Sarah for a few hours and to have Robert join us at the Club!

My next life

I'll surf and snowboard.