Inspirational

Volunteering at the Food Bank

The last while I've been working more in the back at the Food Bank than I was previously.  When I first started doing volunteer work at the Food Bank, I worked exclusively in the kitchen area where we portion out food that comes in large quantities and has to be put into smaller containers to be given out to the needy. After awhile, though I was still portioning, I did some work sorting food items that were donated as this all has to be sorted to be put away where it belongs on the shelves.  This led
helping to put together the food hampers that are given out to people. Eventually, I started working at the front desk answering phones, making appointments, dealing with people that come in, and doing various small jobs on the computers. I also became the 'filing girl', doing all the filing of time sheets and other things that need to be filed.  This latter is something I just do about once a month as it can pile up and still only take me an hour or two to get it all filed alphabetically.  The gal that used to work in the back doing the food hampers isn't there any more, she had some health issues and had to leave. This has left us short handed, leaving Ron to do the hampers all by himself as well as the several other jobs he has to do.  Because of this, I have been working mostly in the back again, doing hampers, sorting when needed, restocking shelves, etc.  I also still do the filing.  For the most part, I drop in whenever I am in town and have a few hours of my time to give, though I do sometimes put my name down on the employee attendance calendar, indicating when I will be there to work.  I like to be free and uncommitted during motorcycle riding season, although now with the summer behind us, I will most likely settle down a bit and commit to a specific day each week when I will be there, as well as drop in for another day if I happen to have to opportunity.  Some of my friends doing see why I work for free, but I really enjoy my time at the Salvation Army Food Bank and I have no plans to stop working there any time in the foreseeable future.  I have formed new and wonderful friendships with people I work with there, we have a lot of fun and do a lot of laughing while working at doing something important.... feeding the needy.

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
― Winston Churchill

 “I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.”
― Kahlil Gibran

 “For it is in giving that we receive.”
― St. Francis of Assisi

“As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

“The only gift I have to give, is the ability to receive. If giving is a gift, and it surely is, then my gift to you is to allow you to give to me. 
”
― Jarod Kintz  

Good for a LAUGH!!

 Some more humor for your enjoyment.

Good for a LAUGH!!

I have been downloading several pictures with short bits of words on them.... these ones are all to give you a bit of a giggle, after all, laughter is the best medicine.

Positive Thoughts

I will Miss Dan

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Albert Camus 

I will miss my long time friend, Dan. We met about 12 or more years ago and became good friends.  We agreed that we would never try to be any more than good friends because that would not work for us, but we have grown to love each other a lot.... just a close friends love. Over the years, Dan has helped me in many ways.  He is a professional dry wall installer with knowledge in many other areas. Some of the things Dan has helped me with:
- I bought a pellet burning stove which he helped me to install.
- he cut a doorway into the wall between the room the pellet stove is in and my bedroom so the warm air can come through.
- I bought laminate flooring and he installed it for me... living room, kitchen, hallway, bedroom and loom room.
- I brought home some old bathtubs to use as raised bed gardens and Dan helped me to set them up.
- Dan has helped me with other yard work too, has helped me to take trailer loads to the garbage dump.
- Since he has lots of knowledge of computers and loves working on them, he has been my pc mechanic.
- When I have wanted to rearrange my home he has helped me to move heavy furniture.
- Dan has set up my Audio/Video system.
- There are many other things to tha Dan has helped me with over the years.

Dan and I have not always seen eye-to-eye on everything and we have had some bad arguments,  but we have always gotten past all that in the end and stayed friends.  We will still remain friends and will talk regularly over the internet and I am happy and grateful for that..... though it won't be the same as actually seeing him, going for drives with him, and he won't be around to help me with all these things I can't do by myself.  This last scares me.  13 years ago I was used to doing things myself, now I have become used to having help.  13 years ago I had physical problems, especially Fibromyalgia, now I still have that and more (deteriorated discs, arthritis, diabetes to name a few). I will very much miss my friend Dan... and I will miss having someone to help with all those things I need help with.

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.
Elbert Hubbard

 

Internet Kudos & Quotes

The internet reaches out to touch us anywhere in the world. No matter where you live or what information you want, you only need to go to your computer and search the internet. For example: If you live somewhere in Canada or even in China and want a recipe for a certain dish you only need to do an internet search and you will find lots of different options. If you live in Virginia perhaps you will want to replace your windows and will find about that online at window replacement newport news va. When vacationing in Newfoundland Canada perhaps you will desire.... well you get the point. The internet can be extremely helpful to us when we want or need information, wherever we happen to be at the time.

When you want a quote you can get loads of them from the internet too!!

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.  ~Author Unknown

National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway.  ~Tim May

Looking at the proliferation of personal web pages on the Net, it looks like very soon everyone on Earth will have 15 megabytes of fame.  ~M.G. Sriram

A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click.  ~Author Unknown

Peace Quote

Random List ...

Some things I've read on the internet today:

- World's Largest Pyramid Discovered, Lost Mayan City Of Mirador Guatemala CNN

- "The Church says the Earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the  moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church." ~ Ferdinand Magellan (148-1521)

- An interesting recipe for making your own First-Aid Antiseptic Ointment

- A web site where they have vestax mixers for sale.  I think I should tell some of my musician friends so they can check this out if they have a need for this kind of equipment. Some of my friends get together on a regular basis and we sing and chant, drum and Chris plays his guitar, even play the didgeridoo! This is a really great group of spiritual people that I so love being a part of!

- The OFFICIAL website for the BC citizens' Initiative Petition to stop smart meters in British Columbia, Canada

- 80 Uses for Coconut Oil and on another web site, 160 Uses for Coconut Oil. This truly is a wonderful, health filled oil

 - The Old Farmer's Almanac, giving Gardening tips 

- The Happy Brain Chemicals: The neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, etc.

There were other things I read online too, but I think this gives you an idea that there are so many different and interesting things for us to read and learn from here on the internet.... in case you didn't already know, lol.

 I am very grateful to have a good computer, internet connection in my home, and hydro to run these things. 

Quotes

"A man's life is what his thoughts make of it."

~ Marcus Aurelius ~

"The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible." 

 
~ Author Unknown ~

Quote

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is always
to try just one more time.


Thomas A. Edison

Veganism Explained

I found a good write up on the internet of what Veganism is about. Put simply, it involves eating only plant based foods and nothing of or from animals. In more detail, here is what I found on the internet site Simple Vegan Recipes:

Veganism

Vegans eat all sorts of plant foods - fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, fungi - and avoid foods made from dead or living animals - meat, eggs, milk, milk derivatives such as cheese and yogurt, or honey. Someone who has not encountered veganism before will ask, ‘Well, what DO you eat?’ The only non-animal foods a meat-eater tends to come across are the vegetables that accompany their meals. However, there is a wide variety of vegan foods with a diversity of flavours and textures. The important point to grasp is that going vegan is not just taking vegetarianism a step further. Going vegetarian tends to involve simply removing meat from the diet and abstaining from products that contain slaughterhouse products. Becoming a vegan, on the other hand, is a very different process where one adopts a whole new cuisine and which touches every area of life.

If you want to find out more about Veganism, visit the Vegan Society. They provide lots of information including the Animal Free Shopper, a comprehensive list of products sold in the UK that are vegan.

One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make the bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying himself with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle.
~ Henry David Thoreau (author of Walden and Civil Disobedience, 1817 - 1862)

A Healthy Choice

About 3 months ago I started to eat Vegan. Oh, I'm not 100% yet, but in the mid 90% I'm sure. Well, less during December, yet still keeping in with it pretty well. Mostly, I eat Vegan though when I eat out at someone else's place or at a restaurant it does become a challenge. Still, I do manage to stick to the Vegan plan, though I am getting a bit tired of Veggie Burgers, haha. I love drinking tea with milk in it and at home I use Soy Beverage instead of cows milk. When I'm not home I end up using milk or cream, depending on where I am and what they have available. My Mom is trying to support me in this life style change for which I am very grateful, though I can see it is hard for her since she doesn't really understand what I can/will eat or not eat. I guess I need to give her some recipes that she can make, and in the meantime, I will take food for us to eat.


"It takes a little work to be a vegan, but now it's really possible to have tasty stuff and it's better for you. I say the best test is go as far as you can and see how you feel. Personally, I feel great."

~ Grace Slick

My Day... Good and not so much

Yesterday I got to stay home for the first time in awhile, and the early part of today as well, then had to go to town to the final fitting of my new upper denture. While in town, I met with Wendy, a former friend, to return 2 movies and a book I had borrowed some time ago and had tried to return but we were unable to connect until today. I also stopped at a dollar store for some TV cable connectors, and candles as part of some gifts I'm putting together, and a grocery store for just a few things like cranberry sauce for tomorrow's pot luck luncheon.

At home, I've checked my emails, read a few posts on Facebook, read a bit about carpet cleaners durham nc, and looked up a few vegan recipes. I also made a nice hot cup of tea and sat down on my couch to drink it... only to spill the entire cupful all over my couch, coffee table and laminate flooring. I cleaned that up and moved furniture around a bit to get the tea that went under the couch and coffee table. Now my living room is all askew and needs to be put back together or finished being re-arranged. I think I'll move everything to different spots and wash the floor.

«There is force in the universe, which, if we permit it, will flow
through us and produce miraculous results.»
— Mahatma Gandhi —

Quote

Our bodies need real, fresh food to maintain health.

~ Louise L. Hay