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Well, I’m not dead yet.

I really should be posting something about my job and current experiences thus far, but this is more fun.

So far, there are only a few minor mistakes I’ve made in my time here in India.  The first is that I may or may not have been eating street food the entire time I’ve been working.  Why?  Because we usually eat in the office, and someone else orders from who knows where.  Ok, they know where, and it’s someplace they’re comfortable with, but of course my immune/digestive system is not accustomed to it.  But judging from my bosses’ reaction to what I’d been eating – frog eyes and “Seriously?!?” – maybe it’s something I should’ve been more careful about.  And then there was that time he put his foot down about me eating bhelpuri.  Evidently our ‘of council’ got typhoid and all his hair turned white from eating it someplace on the street, and he’s probably got more of an iron stomach than I have.  So no more of that for me, even though it’s delicious.  Of course I didn’t get smarmy about how I took the live typhoid vaccine so I’d be inoculated for the next five years, thanks very much – because why take a risk?  I could get e coli instead.

I have been careful not to drink the water.  I’ve been doing all the right things as far as brushing my teeth with the bottled stuff and not eating raw things unless they are fruits with a thick peel, like bananas.  But then there’s the chutneys, which I didn’t really think much about until recently.  I should probably have been more careful of those, since I’m not sure quite what is in them – or how much, if any, fresh stuff (especially herbs) they contain.  Coriander is delicious, but it might be a bit of a risk. However, despite all this, I haven’t gotten myself sick yet, at least as far as digestion goes.

What I have done is had the worst allergy attack in quite some time merely due to the change in climates.  For a single day, I went through a box and a half of tissues, which is bad, even for me.  I took antihistamines up to the hilt, which didn’t really help much.  And I didn’t epi pen myself, as I could breathe just fine – I was just sneezing up a storm.  Thankfully, for that eventuality I came prepared – three boxes worth of tissues, family size, stuffed into separate ziplocks.  And they ended up having plenty of tissues for sale here, in this very metropolitan city.  Even have toilet paper!

Additionally, tonight, I may have gotten my co-worker drunk.  I’ve been craving just a sit-down someplace with people to hang out, and I finally convinced at least a few people to go with me tonight.  Of course, this meant me advocating for it for half the week, the girls in the office being excited in the office and seemingly willing to join me, another bunch saying they ‘don’t drink’ and me convincing them that my company and appreciation are worth a slightly pricy lime juice, and then half the cast dropping out last minute.  But, there were two other girls still willing to go – after a suitable amount of time hanging around, waiting – and then some shopping on the way, because who doesn’t need more chapatas? – and then some serious confusion and walking around dazedly when we got separated.

But my one drinker and my one non drinker eventually crowded into the only available table at the back of a small restaurant/bar on the main strip.  And it was lovely – cool, dimly lit, and only just a little loud.  My drinking buddy decided she didn’t know what she wanted, and I was the resource as the oh-so-cultured foreigner.  So.  I suggested something with rum.  She thought maybe she wanted to try tequila – a shot of it in fact.  I counter suggested getting some food into her stomach first, and explained the concept of a shot.  Eventually we decided on some strawberry soda concoction with tequila in it.  Very fruit, very sweet, and possibly too much for her, even with a mound of noodles, a fact of which I was only aware when we stood to leave and she started traipsing off through the crowd, a mad cackle on her lips.  Luckily, I was able to leave her in the care of my non drinking buddy as far as making sure she got on the right train.

As far as my usual habits, I haven’t fallen into anything obnoxious, I haven’t broken myself too badly, and I haven’t had any negative interactions with glass or fire.  One evening in particular the snails were out in force and I may or may not have stepped on one and crushed it to death in the dark, but I continue to hope it was just a crunchy leaf or something.  Oh yeah – I did explode my water heater.  Turns out you aren’t supposed to leave this particular type turned on without the water running – the connecting fittings get to hot and can snap off.  I think you can even rupture the tank eventually with the pressure that builds up, but thankfully I didn’t get that far.  Thankfully it also popped off while both me and my landlord were home, so he was able to shut off the water almost instantly when I came banging on the door.

Lastly, I discovered today that honey in India has a high concentration of lead.  Not sure how high, but you can bet I’m going to be checking out the symptoms of lead poisoning online and will be finding something else to go with my pb in the mornings.

Arson in the Sierra Madres?

I briefly mentioned the wildfire blaze going on in California this morning, of note for trapping a wedding party.  Yes, the peacefully slumbering couple were awakened to calls for evacuation – they eventually had to be helicoptered out of their mountain celebration area, along with around 48 guests.  But then again, maybe they were only faking.  maybe the bride is a secret pyro, and she set the thing herself.  Authorities say the blaze was manmade.  That includes the possibility of arson.  While pure carelessness could also be to blame, and I do subscribe to the people are dumb theorem, I prefer to see a maniacal cackling bride on the mountainside, lighting things up.  Ahh.  Drink in the warmth with me!

While it’s also possible that some natural cause (lighting, spontaneous combustion, human or otherwise) will eventually be found to have started the fire, details of the article lay ultimate blame firmly at our feet.  Recently the area has been known for a lack of fires, probably due to human containment and a reduction of natural causes.  Brush and other dead plant materials have built up.  In a dry region like this one, the natural process for eliminating that buildup is fire, rather than the speedy decomposition of more humid areas.  While even a preventative-measure burnoff can be dangerous, wouldn’t it be safer to do some kind of brush clearing or other control in the area?  I know it’s remote, and that the mountains are a big place.  Still, it seems like something should be done to keep our meddling from ultimately causing damage.  But maybe that’s just me.  Conservation, ho!


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Call of Duty: WWII Release Details & Trailer

The latest edition to the renowned Call of Duty franchise is set to be released on the 03rd November 2017 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The game is developed by Sledgehammer Games, who have prompted the game as being an authentic and gritty view on the Second World War, and is expectedly going to give us a fresh experience from the previously modern and futuristic warfare content produced over the past years.

Call of Duty: WWII follows the United States 1st Infantry Division campaigning through the European theatre of war, where you will experience the story through the eyes of Private Daniels. Missions include the D-Day invasion of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge. There will be a Nazi Zombie cooperative campaign, a multiplayer Axis vs. Allies game mode, and possibly other content that has yet to be confirmed.

Additionally, Activision have confirmed that a beta is available in advance to the release date for those that have pre-purchased the game, but dates for the beta launch have yet to be confirmed.

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I Am Not Defined by My Decision to (Not) Procreate

Kate Spicer, you wrote an article a few years ago, ‘Any woman who says she’s happy to be childless is a liar or a fool’: Take it from a woman who’s given up her dreams of motherhood at 44. The article might as well have been, “Anyone Who Doesn’t Validate My Personal Anguish Is Full of Crap.”


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Web Laundry, Smart Cards, Python and OS X Smorgasbord

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes, the author shall not be held liable for any actions taken on the basis of the information presented. I do not condone fraud, theft, or other malfeasance. In September 2010, Hans Viksler posted an article about the insecurity of the stored-value smart card system used by Web Laundry (now […]

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You surely know this song…

Our man in black, Mr Paco de Lucía, died last night from a heart attack.
Enjoy his talent.

Video | This entry was posted in English. Bookmark the permalink.

6 Responses to Mourning

  1. Marianne says:

    Brilliant musician, he will be remembered!

  2. Annette says:

    I love that you made your own ham! I’ve now have a dress maker’s ham and I am planning on making either seam roll or a tailor’s ham. My husband and Middle Son are into wood working and I managed to get them to save some cedar shavings before they threw them away.

    • cristina says:

      Thanks Annette! I have a friend who works with wood as well, and I have him make me a clapper and a point presser out of oak or beech.

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14. Theme 167 ~Laundry~

Finally! I knew these washboards would come in handy one day if I waited long enough!  For some odd reason that escapes me now, I collected washboards.  I know,  washboards???  Well it seemed like a good idea at the time!   Those and a few other things which will probably find their way to the “Blogmonster”.  So I decided to decorate the walls of my laundry room with them.  They come from estate sales, flea markets & yard sales. The toy wringer washing machine sitting on top of the dryer was an estate sale find and fit in so well with the theme I couldn’t resist!   Now, after all that……anyone want to buy a washboard?Laundry

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20 CommentsLeave a comment

  1. I’d be doing laundry every day in a beautifully decorated room like that! Lovely photo and wonderful collection you have…I really like all the different sizes and your toy wringer too!

  2. That’s abotu the coolest wash room decoration I’ve ever seen. Great photo, too!

  3. I love this!!

  4. This is really fun – both as a decorating concept and a photo! Looks like an “After” shot from an HGTV show. 😀

  5. Super composition in this photo – and I love the toy washer! What a neat collection…

  6. Love the composition here with the large and small sizes.

  7. Thanks so much for your positive comments. I just want to say that the room is messy (cropped it out) LOL &
    it’s small. Amazing thing photography!

  8. What a fun collection! They make an excellent pattern on the wall.

  9. ok that is a great collection I am still in awe at the organization of the room – mine is wall to wall clothes and then the clothes spill outside the room! beautiful shot

  10. What a beautiful laundry room. Ours is so small and cluttered. Nice image.

  11. Gosh, that brings back memories. I spent a lot of time at my Grandmother’s when I was a small child and I remember her using a washboard!

  12. Great collection. Perfect for the theme.

  13. Great collection! Your arrangement of them on the wall makes for a great photo for the theme.

  14. Nice collection!! Great match for the theme.

  15. Yeah I have abs that look like that.
    What a fantastic treatment of this theme, Are they all yours and well used? Hee Hee

  16. This is a super photo for the theme! I love your decor!!!

  17. Wow so creative, I only have one, and its prob a repro, but I love your collection. Great shot.

  18. What a great collection! Good photo also!

  19. I love your collection. The arrangement ( and in the laundry room!) is attractive and clever. Creative!

  20. This makes for a really neat laundry room – creative idea! I love seeing what others do to decorate (part of the reason I got into real estate many moons ago)…Unique picture for the theme, nice Madelaine!

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Counting Gifts

Oftentimes, I am prone to wander from the truth.

The truth that this life I live; it is a gift.

A gift I often take for granted.

A gift for which I often feel a sense of entitlement.

Instead of treasuring this gift, I often squander it.

I am oftentimes numb.

In a world of gifts given.

Today I am remind that this life is full of gifts.

That this life itself is a gift.

Juliet reminds me of that.

She is most thankful for life.

That she is still alive.

Counting gifts…

I count the first.

That both I and my dear Juliet will breathe the deep sweet breath given freely from a God who loves us deeply and sweetly.

Originally published 2/1/11

I will not plug my ears, close my eyes, and sing “Jesus Loves Me”.

Sometimes, I go to the movies.  I love movies, and I especially love to make it in time for the previews.  But, every so often, a preview comes along that is completely inappropriate, and, if given the opportunity to invade my brain, will leave me with nightmares for weeks.  So I plug my ears, close my eyes, and sing “Jesus Loves Me”.  Quietly, of course.  My daughter does the exact same thing.  But she’s more liberal with this policy…in fact, she used to do it every time a commercial for LOST would come on.  She is easily scared.  It’s a smart plan, if it’s something that I don’t want to have invade my mind and imprinted on my heart.

But lately, I’ve been smacked over the head with some truth.

I do this with reality, too.  A bit of news flashes on my TV screen that makes me uncomfortable, I flip the channel.  I skim over news on my phone that is sad.  Because the needs of others in this world seem so overwhelming, I choose sometimes to plug my ears, close my eyes, and sing “Jesus Loves Me”.

But wait.  Doesn’t Jesus love them, too?  If we believe what the Bible says is truly true, He loves.  Not just the people we love either. Jesus loves the orphans dying for lack of medical treatment.   Jesus loves the sex trafficked 12 year old.  Jesus loves her pimp.

Uh oh.  Did I just go there?  Yes, I did.  It’s painful to hear it.  It’s horrifying, really.  But it’s the reality.  It’s happening right under our noses.  But I’m guessing most of you are like me.  You plug your ears, you close your eyes, and sing about how Jesus loves you.  Because it’s painful.  It’s beyond uncomfortable.  It makes you squirm in your seat with a sickness in your belly.  It’s overwhelming.  It’s not something we want to see.

But if we never acknowledge it, it will NEVER stop.   We are HIS hands and feet.  We are the way He chooses to show LOVE to the world.  He came and made MUCH of us, so that we could MAKE MUCH of HIM in this world.  It’s not just about getting into heaven.  It’s about a living, amazing relationship with HIM that spills out on this world.

So I’m done.  No more plugging my ears, closing my eyes, and singing about how He loves me.  At the exclusion of the hurting and dying masses.

I’m praying fervently that God will continue to break my heart into a million little pieces.  That He will pour out His love and provision for the nations.   And that He’ll use me as His funnel to do that very thing.

I’m praying the exact same thing for you, too.

Here am I, Lord.

Originally published 1/28/11

Broken Record

I’m a broken record on repeat. Echoing the same plea today, yesterday, two years, ten years ago. Wondering if I’ll ever quit picking up that old baggage I already laid at your feet a hundred times before. Insecurity could overwhelm my heart, mind, body if I allow it.

What will I do? Will I pick it up? Or will I choose something different? Will I choose to leave my insecurity, my “not good enough”, “not pretty enough”, “not everything enough”…LIES at Your feet?

Will I choose to pick up a NEW thing, a TRUE identity there at YOUR FEET?

Laying down what you’ve believed about yourself for a lifetime is HARD. AND IT SUCKS….

It leaves me feeling vulnerable…not knowing exactly who I am.

Who am I?
Who do YOU say that I am?

I know. Oh how I know. Church for a lifetime gives you all the right answers. But those answers mean nothing if they don’t burrow themselves deep within my “lied to” heart.

Maybe first I need to recognize…remember WHO YOU ARE (Creator) before I can truly know WHO I AM.

Please reveal Yourself to me.

Be near, O God.
Pull me in close.
Hold me. Fill me with identity, security, peace that can only come from You alone.

Breathe on me……………..

What’s really important to you?

This morning…even as I type this…I’m sitting on a beach in Florida. And God is up to something great here. But as is often the case, before we get to the great God has, we first go through the broken, the rock bottom.

I came out here to worship. To sing some songs. Do a little praying. That was MY plan. God had another. He wants more. He wants it ALL. And I haven’t been giving it ALL.

CONFESSION time: I’m sick of being single. I miss sharing life with someone i love (besides my kids). It’s been twelve years. That’s a long time. And even before that I dated barely two men. I’m less experienced than my own daughter. So I joined EHarmony. The world tells us that if we want something we should go after it. Especially at my age (which isn’t that old). We should take matters into our own hands. Put yourself out there on the market. Be proactive. Be aggressive. (I’m sorry but I’m not a new car. I don’t need to be put on the market.)

But is that what God wants? I’m sitting here in the sand hearing HIS whisper. “NO. Trust me. I’ve got you. Trust my plan. Trust and know that it’s much much better than anything you could come up with for yourself. YOU DON’T NEED TO HELP ME. (Yeah, God yelled at me)

So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m gonna wait. I’m gonna let HIM do HIS thing. I’m gonna be patient. I’m gonna get OK with the possibility that HE might have something else in store for me. I’m gonna get on board with what HE wants.

Here’s what I’m not going to do. I’m not gonna pursue any man but JESUS. I’m not gonna take matter into my own hands, because, frankly, I suck at doing HIS job.

If…when HE brings someone into my life, it won’t be because I made it happen. It will be ALL GOD. And HE get all the glory for it.

In the meantime, I’ll just keep in loving Him, worshipping Him, serving Him, and living this beautiful life that He’s given me.

Another little note: EHarmony just sent me an email. As I was typing this on my phone. The title: What’s really important to you?

Thanks, EHarmony for just confirming what God is speaking. Deleting that profile now. 🙂

20 by 40

Back in 2011, I create this list of goals that I would like to complete or see happen before my 40th birthday. Some of these make me laugh, but, for the most part, they’re all things that I want to do. So here I am posting it for all 5 of you who actually read this blog to read. You can ask me/hold me accountable on all of them except #8.

DISCLAIMER: Above all, I want to want what God wants for my life. So all of this is subject to change based on what HE wants. Because if I know nothing else, I know that what He has planned for me is infinitely more fantastical than anything I could come up with.

Here it goes:

1. Read the entire Bible. (It’s gonna happen this time.) DONE.

2. Complete a full marathon. (Not 2 half- marathons…a FULL marathon.)

3. Go to Africa at least once. Preferably more than once. DONE.

4. Take the kids to DisneyWorld. (Surely I can make this happen in the next 6 years.) DONE.

5. Publish something. (Not a blog post.)

6. Graduate from college. DONE.

7. See Grace graduate from high school.

8. Marry an amazing Godly man. (Yes, I said it.)

9. Take Grace to LONDON.

10. Maintain a DEBT-free status.

11. Volunteer at Passion. DONE.

12. Hug as many Ugandan children as possible. DONE.

13. Write my life story.

14. Drive across America with my best friend.

15. Get at least FOUR stamps in my passport. (Note to self: Get a passport first.) TWO DOWN, TWO TO GO.

16. Set foot in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and/or Haiti.

17. Complete a triathlon (or at least, a dualthon).

18. Adopt, sponsor, and/or foster children. (Could I be any more general?) DONE KIND OF.

19. Find a job that I am PASSIONATE about and work at it with my whole heart. DONE.

20. ??? I didn’t have a 20th thing? Any suggestions?

For when your heart hurts…

I sit in my chair.

I write.

I hit delete.

To post or not to post.

To share or not to share.

When the pain is deep and the hurt seems more than I can bear…

Writing’s a balm to my soul.

In the dark of the night

When all’s quiet

Children slumber

I lie awake

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But in the midst

When all’s pain

Here with me

Here in me

Into His image

Into who I really am

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

A Desperate Prayer

Lord, I love you so much, but I’m horrible at showing it. I want to follow You in everything, but then I allow myself to get distracted from what is truly important. I know that your plan for my life is amazing. I know that once I truly give up control of it all that you will do your thing. I’m trying, Lord. But I’m failing. I can’t seem to bring myself to a place of full surrender. I’m afraid. And I know you’ve not called me to act out of fear. But out of power, love, and a sound mind. Please give me a sound mind. Give me focus. Show me the way to go. I need to learn to trust you completely. I need to learn to love you above all else. More than people’s opinion of me. Lord, I pray that I will not put others on a pedestal. I pray that I will not allow what others think of me to consume my thoughts…my life. I want to be Yours. I want to want what You want for me. Guide me. Mold me. Shape me. Into the thing that will bring You the most glory. I desire You above anything…everything.

You are so good even when I’m not. Give me that peace that goes beyond all understanding. I need your peace right now father.

Give me what you want for me. Less of me and more of you Jesus. That’s what I need. Surprise me with Your best. I will live in expectation of what You are going to do.

Show me the difference between guarding and hardening my heart. Thank You for what You are already teaching me about this. Remove the fear of love from me. Lord, I desire Your best…. not what I think is best.

May I press in to You now more than ever. May I be secure in the fact that I am Yours. That my heart belongs to You and You want full control over it. May I believe that You will take good care of it. That You will guard it from those who might not be right. I trust You. You are so much better at this. You know what I need a million times better than I do. I love You so. I trust You.


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Bravo To The Sony Bravia!

Reviewing: Sony Bravia Kdl 40 S3000  |  Rating:
justjill By justjill on
Badge: Author | Level: 2 | Audio & Visual Expertise:

We purchased a similar Sony Bravia LCD HDTV in the 32" model earlier last year for our bedroom, and decided to get a 40" model for our family room.

We were pretty sure we wanted another Sony as our 32" TV has been wonderful! We looked at the various brands in Best Buy to see if the Sony still impressed us, and it did. The 720p image is clean, sharp, and crisp. Perfect for a 40" TV. We felt like 720p is the way to go for now since shows are not broadcast in 1080p yet nor will be in the near future. The 720p models are substantially less expensive too.

The Sony looks nice with it's black, matte finish. We subscribe to Digital and HD Comcast cable and the picture and sound are wonderful, right out of the box. There is a menu where you can make adjustments easily, if you desire.

We are very pleased with our second Sony Bravia and would not hesitate to recommend them to friends and family.


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Sunday, November 27, 2016

Some of you understand what it's like to be a romance writer during the holidays. Those family get-togethers turn bizarre in a heartbeat, don't they? I know as a child, the weirder and weirder it got, the better I liked it.

My Grandma Fox had trouble swallowing, due to a series of strokes she'd suffered that left half of her body paralyzed. It never failed that for each big family meal, she'd start choking on something, and there were more than a few moments of tension when she'd remove her false teeth, leave them on the side of the plate on the beautiful table my mother always set, with all the finest crystal and china. Grandfather would stand up, and slap her back while she leaned over her dish and expelled whatever had gotten stuck.

She was beet red afterwards, sincerely ashamed for the spectacle. My grandfather never swore, but he could be heard saying something like, "Ah, Shaw," and we filled in the blanks. We were used to her drooling, and she wore a little purse affixed to her wrist with a strap, lovingly made by one of the ladies in the church, which contained a couple pretty hankies she used all day long. In fact, she was always with a hankie in her hand.

My other grandfather would go off on some political tangent, sure that the whole country was going to Hell quickly, and often we'd wake up Christmas morning to find that he'd had such a difficult time sleeping, they'd packed up in the middle of the night and drive the long way home to Fresno, California. Yes. I was born in Fresno. A good place to be from.

The stories were exaggerated, as family stories go. I'd heard them every year. Every year they'd get more and more fantastic, and I didn't care if they came from morphing, or told by people who always instructed me to take the moral high ground and never lie. They were family stories, and as such, were exempt from the normal constraints of reality. It was a kind of better than the truth: it was fiction. Was there something wrong with me for preferring the morphing stories of our family history? And does it really matter anyway?

By candlelight, those tales were told, passed down from the mouths of people now long gone. And I think I must do some of the same.

We always enjoyed visiting my aunt and uncle in San Francisco. My uncle could have made it as a comedian, he was so good with his jokes. Especially during the years when he was drinking. Afterward, he was just as funny, by the way. As an insurance salesman, he had stories of all the creative ways he got past the secretaries who tried to screen him from seeing the execs he wanted to sell to. He called it his Zippo Success Institute.

Between my uncle and my grandfather, the preacher, I learned what it was like to sell. In one case, it was a safety net to cheat death's impact on a family, in the other, redemption and a life everlasting. But trust me, it required a good salesman to do either. I knew long before I married and started having kids that life is one sales job after another. Raising children or being long time married, it's still the same thing to me today.

So I guess the madness of the season isn't really that for me, is it? I can get behind the crowds, though I don't participate in it. I don't mind people selling things, even things I don't need. I get caught up in it just like I did as a child. The stories, the pitch given to inspire change, the way to figure out problems and not get stuck by them, how to alter another's opinion with a smile or the right choice of words. Life is sales.

If it weren't so, we wouldn't take this most sacred of holidays, and turn it into one huge gift giving bonanza in this country. The idea of giving a gift is doing the unexpected. To show to someone what the inside of our heart looks like, to make the act one of love.

I don't remember the gifts, but I remember the love. Yes, sometimes I remember the pain too. I don't remember the words, but I remember the story. I remember what it felt like and how it feels now.

That gift is one I shall cherish forever.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

My SEALs Have A Winery!

Greetings from Frog Haven Winery!

I'm Amy Chambers, your hostess for this Thanksgiving event. Zak and I are so happy you've decided to join us. We've set a table up outside on the porch, so we all have a place to sit together. Zak found some timbers he and Marco Zapparelli salvaged from the winery construction next door. These huge timbers used to hold up part of the tower that fell during the bombing at Zapparelli Winery, and is now being restored. Since they are nearly twenty feet long, we can serve all of our best friends!

Things here are much simpler than over at Marco's winery (and he says hi, by the way). The crush is fermenting and we've had a decent harvest. We've interviewed and are hiring our first real winemaker shortly. Up to now, we've had nothing but research going on and instead of a lab, we have our kitchen. We are getting ready to make our first batch of beer. Zak has been experimenting with fermentations, but without the hops we've grown. I've attached a picture of our harvest.

Marco has brought over his favorite Cabernet Franc blend. Nick and Devon and their little one are coming and they're bringing some of their wines that placed at the LA County Fair as well as the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Sophie's Choice winery has beautiful lavender tee shirts for everyone. Do you like the lavender logo she designed? She's promised to bring some samples of her lavender-infused soaps and salt scrubs, and should have a whole line of bath products available next year.

Next year, some of our first Frog Piss and Punish Yourself Beer will be available in the tasting room, and soon to be in your local store. So, here's the menu:

Main Course & Soup

Willie Bird Turkey (we have three: 1 brined and baked, one stuffed and baked and one deep fried).
Mashed potatoes from Nick and Devon's garden
Giblets Gravy (Amy's specialty)
Sweet potato mash with sugared sour cherries garnish
Zucchini torte with cranberry garnish
String Beans with bacon (Zak's mother's recipe)
Fresh Acorn Squash Soup
Stuffed red, yellow and orange bell peppers with wild rice and cheese
Amy's famous whole wheat biscuits
Grandma Chamber's cranberry sauce
Pineapple/kiwi/tangelo and apple fruit salad with nutmeg and Cointreau garnish
Romaine lettuce salad with Caesar dressing
Marco Zapparelli's homemade linguini pasta with Mama Zapparelli's famous 100-year old meat ball sauce

Lime Meringue Pie
Marco Zappareli's tiramisu
Hand cranked Coconut ice cream
Raspberry and blueberry sorbet
Pumpkin Pie and whipped cream

Hope you come with a big appetite. And come to our table with a thankful heart. Each of us will tell our table what we are most thankful for this year.

Many blessings.

Share this blog post with someone else, or on your FB page, share the link in the comments, and one commenter will win all 4 labels (yes, these are real labels). They are suitable for putting on your own bottle of wine or beer!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 6, 2016

I recently ran across an article on Stephenie Meyer and her new book, The Chemist, which comes out shortly. I'd not been following her career and haven't read any of her work except the Twilight series, and did not follow her to the alternative POVs on the saga she wrote afterwards. Now she's tackling more the thriller genre, while still keeping a love story prominent in the work. I cheer for her (that's the sound me me clapping).

In searching her books, I also saw a book I won't even mention, with a title disparaging her name and her writing. And this was allowed on Amazon, in fact, shows up on her Amazon search page as an "also buy."

I've about had it with some of the things allowed under the guise of free speech. The great Zon in the sky allows a title like that with a four-letter word front and center, demeaning an author, but has a problem with a naked man's chest (or God forbid, nipples showing under his shirt), in their advertising. None of my book covers, for instance, are allowed to be advertised in paid ads. They either contain a man's torso, or a couple looking lustily at each other, or a feather with a little dangerous blood on it in my angel series, starting with Heavenly Lover.

I certainly approve of controls to protect young children from reading or seeing adult content or themes. But children see far worse on the television and in movies every day. They hear rap music with disgusting lyrics and somehow we are taught that this is "mainstream" while writing about sex or a couple enjoying sex, that's a bad thing.

So is degrading an author for being successful supposed to be okay too? So are phony reviews and hurtful things said and done by small-minded people intent on wielding their two seconds of fame on the internet. We are so PC about some things, and not on others. Being a romance writer, or someone who writes happily ever after tales, we develop a thick skin, and endure all sorts of things most people have no idea actually happen to writers.

Conflict cannot survive without your participation - Wayne Dyer. I once got to spend an afternoon with a small group gathered to hear Mr. Dyer speak to us, and got to speak to him over lunch. I found his message hopeful, and uplifting. He had detractors in his career. Horrible things said about him and his writing or his speeches. And he didn't participate in any of that.

I have things all around me that remind me of the good things in my life, not to fool myself, but to remind myself that I've decided to participate in a different game. I've decided to follow my heart's desire and passion for the things I do with meaning. I've also had to make tough choices to protect that creative and willful streak in my being. Sometimes saying No is better than saying Yes. Just like sometimes being kind is better than mouthing off under the guise of "being free."

Because being unbeatable means remembering that when life is full of passion and hope, all things are possible, no matter what anybody else says or does. We write, edit, put it out there, be awesome and then do it all over again. That's the game I want to play.


text:
I Am Not Privileged To Be White!

not privileged to be white 1

I am not privileged to be white.
Nor can I claim my own heritage
since I was stolen by the privileged
and forced into a life of bondage.

There is no escape for me
though I struggle to be free.
My only release from slavery
is a grave so cold and lonely.

How would I have lived my life
had I not been a slave?
I’ll take with me that question
down into my lonely grave.

The plantations of the privileged
are awash in my blood and tears,
I can feel the lash of the whip
and smell the stench of the overseers.

They’ll break me any day now,
it’s just a matter of time
before I won’t know my name
“Oh Lawd, what is my crime?

My children, as well, are slaves;
each and every one.
They have nowhere to go.
There is no place to run.

These privileged landed whites
Call us ‘nigger’ while raping us too.
But if to them we are not human
 why would they rape what’s in their zoo?

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2016 Shelby I. Courtland

They Hide Behind Their god!

white death

Screams during the day;
rioting at night.
A president that’s indifferent
as he caters to the right.

Pulled over for no reason,
dragged out onto the street.
Hanged in a Texas cell
by those that wear a sheet.

Torn from his mother’s arms
by a cop that shot him dead.
A child was twelve years old;
to the grave, his coffin’s led.

They broke his neck and lied
just like they always do.
And then they called us thugs,
but that ain’t nothing new.

The white man simply laughs.
He’s got us by the balls.
We’re either dead on any street
or we’re behind his prison walls.

The white folks look at us.
And then they turn away.
They are all one and the same.
And yet, they have the nerve to pray.

They hide behind their god
as they sing Amazing Grace.
It was written by a slaver.
But isn’t slavery still in place?

You are fooled by all their smiles
and you sing a slavers hymn.
Forgiving, yes you are
 as they hang you from a limb.

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2015 Shelby I. Courtland

I don’t know what is wrong with Black people. We are getting fucked up daily and yet, we are THE most forgiving group of people. Why is that? What makes us so damn accepting and forgiving? Why do we simply bend over and continue taking a heaping helping of ass whooping? One thing I can say about me, I never knew how to dance. Never did. I always wondered about the fact that I am Black and yet, when I got up to dance, it was assumed that I had found a dozen roaches and was attempting to stomp ’em. I think that that is the main reason why I refuse to jive down the goddamn street to the white man’s tune, I can’t fucking dance anyway. And even if I could, by now, with all the shit that’s been going down, bullshit jiving would be the last thing that I would be doing right about now. When will we ever learn? Put those goddamn protest signs down and ask yourself, how many years have we been doing the same damn thing over and over again and expecting different results? What is the definition of insanity? Yeah! You know! Doing the same goddamn thing over and over again and expecting a different result. You tell yourself, “It’s gonna be different THIS time,” but it never is. #BlackLivesMatter is gonna save the day. Don’t kid yourself. That group is as powerless as you are. The next time you see a raging inferno, take a cup of water to it and see what it does to that inferno.

The laws in this murderous hellhole called AmeriKKKa weren’t made to protect us. That is why we don’t stand a chance when we are confronted by the white man’s law. The law that they apply to us does not apply to them. They don’t do any wrong. Just ask that Uncle Tom sell-out in the White House and that piece of shit, Eric Holder that just showed us the back of his heels after leaving the ‘Justice Department’. Which Wall Street banker went to jail on corruption charges? Money laundering? Fraud? Nada! Non! None! Not one! And yet Eric Garner was attempting to add to his coffers by engaging in a bit of selling of loose, untaxed cigarettes and he is now in a coffin. You see, he wanted to be a businessman, but he couldn’t play by the white man’s rules because you have to be white in order to do that. To be a businessman, you’ve got to have the proper credentials; you’ve got to have the proper pedigree; you’ve got to be a white, lying, cheating, conniving, worm. And Eric Garner could never aspire to that.

Now, Black folks, try to go to the bank and take out a small business loan and see what you get. First, they’re going to do a criminal background check, and if you’ve been pulled over and weed was smelled inside your vehicle; well, there goes the loan. If you somehow pass the criminal background check, they’re going to check your credit score. Now, if you’ve missed one goddamn electric bill payment, no loan for you. But I’ll stop you from even wasting your time, YOU AIN”T GONNA GET A LOAN! Simple as that! Why? Because you ain’t white! Why do you think credit scores and background checks were put into play? Think! Who do they adversely affect? Look in the mirror. There you go! And that is why, there you go, right out the goddamn door of the bank, just as empty-handed as when you went in. And of course, you’re thinking that it’s all your fault. It’s not. But they do their damndest to try and make you believe that somehow, you’re not worth a penny. Don’t buy it! It’s not you that’s worth nothing. It’s them because you see, they’ve put a price on everything and according to them, your life ain’t worth spit, but the reality is, if you could pull the face off a white man, beneath it, you’d find death. That is why it is so easy for them to kill. It is because they are already dead inside. They have no heart. They have no soul and therefore, cannot have compassion or any other feelings for that matter. That is why they can pull you out of a vehicle for nothing and hang you. That is why they can shoot you in the back and plant evidence against you. That is why they can shoot a twelve-year old boy and not blink. That is why they can beat a Black woman to death. That is why they promote perversion, homosexuality, sex changes, war, human experimentation; because when they look in the mirror, they see what you don’t see. They see exactly what I’ve told you they see. They see death and that is what they promote; your death and everybody else’s because if you look around, who is doing the dying and who is doing the killing? And who started it ALL? You better wake the fuck up to what you are dealing with because death stalks this earth in the form of the white man, killing everything in his path!

Still not sold? Who built nuclear weapons and used them? Who killed the Indians for their land? Who went to Africa, stole her people and enslaved them? Who initiated a war in Iraq over a lie? Who is behind the poppy production in Afghanistan that has found its way onto every street in this shithole called AmeriKKKa? Who infested Black communities with crack? Who is sending Black bodies to the morgue by the thousands? Who is putting poisons in your food, your water and in your medicines? Who is jailing you for crimes you did not commit? Who is making up laws just to send you into For Profit prisons? Who is dismantling the public education system? Who put Jim Crow laws into effect? Who decided that two men and two women could get married? Who decided that sodomy was not a crime? Who legalized alcohol; a mind altering drug, but puts you in jail for possession of weed, a plant? Who is gentrifying your neighborhoods? Who is throwing you the fuck out by making it too expensive for you to live where you’ve always lived? Who is turning off your human right to water? Who is pretending to be benevolent by operating a charity and then stealing the donations? Who is screaming the loudest about taxes while paying none? Who is accepting bribes and kickbacks for working against your interest? Who denied you the right to vote? Who told you that you were three-fifths of a person? Who bought and sold you like cattle? Who lynched you? Who should you fear the most? The answer to every one of these questions, that’s who! And yet, you continue to march right up to the door of this shit and expect relief! Get real and prepare your ass for what’s to come!

No One Gives A Damn About His Dream!

the dream

Yes, let us celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day when we don’t give a damn about his dream. His children don’t even give a damn about his dream since they are too busy fighting over his Bible and his Nobel Peace Prize. So when did they ever listen to any one of their father’s speeches? When did they ever take just one to heart? It is quite obvious that they never did and neither do we. Oh we dutifully put his image up for all to see as if we are actually doing something and the truth is, we’re not doing a damn thing about realizing the dream that this man had. And quite frankly, he is not the only one to have a dream. Many, many Black people have been dreaming of a society where they will not be “judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” and is that the case? If you are Black, you will forever be judged by the color of your skin because as far as whites are concerned, you have no ‘content of character’.

Just recently we marched and protested that #BlackLivesMatter and for all I know, some are still protesting, but do Black lives matter? Answer this. How many world leaders came to America and stood front and center in front of a million people to say “#Je suis Black?” How many world leaders went to Nigeria when Boko Haram killed over 2,000 Nigerians and said “#Je suis Nigeria?” Did Netanyahu? Did Angela Merkel? Did Francois Hollande? Of course they didn’t.

“French President Francois Hollande is surrounded by Heads of state including (LtoR) Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Switzerland’s President Simonetta Sommaruga” ‘to protest the murders of Charlie Hebdo employees, employees of a piece of filth rag claimed as a satirical political weekly that produced racist and blasphemous filth. But still, some white folks got killed over their ‘freedom of expression’ and so solidarity was called for’.

To those people, Black and Brown lives don’t matter. White lives do. It doesn’t matter how vile whites are and how much corruption they spread and how greedy they are. Their lives are the only lives that matter. It has always been this way and it will always be this way. These are the ‘people’ that you march and protest to and who you want to correct wrongs. Think about it. Why should they? They don’t care about you. Michael Jackson told you that but you believed all the lies put out on him by the whites. They tore that man’s reputation to shreds because he had a message and through his talent, he spoke. But he got silenced. Whitney Houston had the most beautiful voice that I have ever heard and yet, where is she? Dead and buried and some filthy slut named Beyoncé is strutting around in nothing, sounding like shit. And if it’s not her crooning to her piece of filth pimp, it’s Nicki Minaj doing much of the same. And what are the Black men of today doing besides rapping about bling and hoes or getting their bodies mucked up playing sports? Yes, we are realizing the dream, aren’t we?

Today we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King’s accomplishments; the success of the Civil Rights Movement when in fact, the movement was not a success. It was an unmitigated failure. What has changed since Martin Luther King marched along with all the others who peacefully gathered to have their grievances heard? Not a goddamn thing. The same issues and problems that Dr. King’s marchers faced, we face today; only our tormenters have upped the ante. We’re now shot with rubber bullets and tear gassed, but we are still jailed. That’s a given and never will it be any different. And why are we still marching? We were marching in the 1960s and here we are in 2015, still marching for the same damn things. What’s the point? Who needs to become aware of what we are marching for? They already know. It’s not going to change, that’s what those of you who are still marching need to know. If you haven’t figured out that since the same shit is stil in play 50 years after the Selma to Montgomery march, then your marching ain’t gonna change a damn thing because since when have Black lives mattered?

The people that you want to change things are not going to change them. They like things just the way they are and that is why the police force has been militarized, that is why Black bodies are lying in morgues all across this shithole called America, that is why inner city schools have become a pipeline to prison for little Black children, that is why slavery in the form of the prison industrial complex is necessary, to house the slaves who ‘slave’ away for corporations, producing goods at a fraction of the cost. And those of us on the outside, head right inside a store and purchase what slaves have made. We are slaving away at stupid jobs to purchase what other slaves have produced. But we will continue to march and we will continue to protest and dream and hope and wish and pray and maybe someday, someday, someday, those who we want to see our marches will realize that this is all so wrong and they will then right the wrongs. Stop lying to yourself and stop dreaming. Dreams are for people who are asleep and don’t want to wake up because reality sucks. It stinks. No one is going to realize your dream for you but you.

The powerful that control all of us are not going to loosen their grip. They are not going to stop being corrupt, greedy, deceitful and instead are going to recognize that they should share in the wealth that they have acquired by the fact of your making it possible by your willingness to work for peanuts, by your willingness to indebt yourselves to them to purchase what slaves are producing, including you. We are all slaves. We are all enclosed in our own little cages. We have the illusion of freedom, some of us, but not many. We pretend that we have rights and freedom and that our lives are lived how we choose. No, it’s not. What you do with your life has been chosen for you. You are doing exactly what the powerful choose for you to do, no more and no less. Step out of line and see how fast you find your ass handed to you. You don’t think that all of this surveillance is for your own good, do you? It is to keep tabs on you. You need a passport to go anywhere. You need an ID to show everybody. You need a number assigned to you. You have a FICO score. Your medical records are digital. That means that every government agency knows where you shop, what you drive, where you go, who you talk to, what your medical conditions are and how much money you make, where you spend it and on what. Does that sound like freedom to you? Are you marching against that? If so, why? What do you hope to accomplish? I’ll tell you what you are going to accomplish by marching. Not a damn thing. You are owned. We all are. This is all an illusion. We are in the matrix, but the matrix that we are in, there is no Oracle and no savior. You’re on your own, just as all the rest of us are. We are here until we’re dead. Accept it.

So, remember Dr. King today. Thank him for all his sacrifices because you are where you are today because of Dr. King and all the others who marched and protested to get you where you are. And where would that be? You’ve just finished college and started a job. Good! Now, pay back that student loan. You are flipping burgers and you are sick and tired of it. Too bad! What else are you going to do? You are filing endless forms in an office and thinking about a vacation you’ll probably never get to take because you’ve got mouths to feed. I’m sorry. Keep dreaming. Dream on, fellow matrix dwellers, dream on!

Oh and Je suis Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.! Je suis Charlie got pretend solidarity from the world’s leaders in France, but damn it if they even bothered to pretend solidarity with the murdered Nigerians or the murdered young Black men in America, murdered by racist ass cops, or the drone-struck and bombed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Ukraine, Gaza ……” Never forget, it’s white bodies that matter and Dr. King’s dream will never be realized because Dr. King could not say “Je suis white!”

No Hint Of Peace!

warmongers and killers

Will you look upon the faces of evil and turn away?
Or will you pick up a weapon and go after their prey?

When will you learn that their enemy is not yours?
Why must you take it upon yourself to settle their scores?

Who is threatening you and your way of life?
Why are greed, hypocrisy and corruption so rife?

Can’t you see that you fucking need a clue?
Do you think they actually care what happens to you?

How do you sleep at night, knowing what you’ve done?
You’ve just shot someone that you don’t even know with their gun!

One day, it will hit you hard and you’ll have nowhere to turn.
Your heart will race and your stomach will churn.

The innocent dead that you killed will prey on your mind.
And no hint of peace, even in your dreams, will you find.

Now you fucking think on that!

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2014 Shelby I. Courtland

She Wants The Parasites OUT!

When the earth gets to shaking, she wants the parasites out.
She’ll heave and fuck us up; she knows what she’s about.

She’s tired of our nukes and fed up with fracking shit.
We just take and take and take, never knowing when to quit.

She gets torn all to pieces as we’ve got to dig so deep.
We’ll soon be a’ wailing or be dying in our sleep.

Oh, they say this ain’t the big one; she’ll calm down for sure.
Don’t worry unless they tell you to, your fright is premature.

When you’re feeling all secure, she’s gonna send your ass to hell.
If you think that she’s not had it, when she does, it’ll be farewell.

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2014 Shelby I. Courtland

….and by all means, keep fracking(hydraulic fracturing), ’cause it’s good for the earth see!

Ohio is setting new permitting conditions in earthquake-sensitive areas and has halted drilling indefinitely at the site of the March quakes.

COLUMBUS — State geologists in Ohio have for the first time linked earthquake activity in the Marcellus Shale basin to hydraulic fracturing, confirming the suspicions of activists pushing for drilling limits in the interest of public health.

State Oil & Gas Chief Rick Simmers told The Associated Press on Friday that a state investigation of five small tremors in the Youngstown area last month has found a probable link.

He said Ohio is setting new permitting conditions in earthquake-sensitive areas and has halted drilling indefinitely at the site of the March quakes.

Don’t stop now! Frack, baby frack!!!

Enough With The Hypocrisy, Already!

climate change

So, we’re dealing with climate change, are we? Yes? No? The climate change bloggers and doomsayers are out in full force with warnings of dire consequences if we don’t somehow put an end to everything that we are doing to enable climate change and get with the program that we’re all going to die if we don’t accept the fact of climate change and do something about it.

Now, with that having been said, “What do you want me to do about it?” “What do you want my neighbor to do about it?” “What are YOU doing about it besides telling me, over and over again that we need to do something about climate change?” How about you storm the corporate boardrooms of the oil companies and demand that they stop with their “drill baby, drill, already!” How about you chain yourself to a tree at a fracking site, get hauled off to jail, get bailed out and go right back out and chain yourself to another tree? Too much trouble for you? Is it more important for you to sit at a keyboard and preach to us about the horrifying shit that’s coming down the climate change pike? Eh? And by the way, what are YOU driving, climate change doomsayers? Are you flicking a whip over a horse as you drive your buggy to the grocery store? Are you hand cranking your computer because you’re off the grid? How are you heating your home? How are you cooling your home? Are you about to spontaneously combust because you have been holding in your farts for years? Have you sold your house and built a lean-to in the forest because if not, then you are contributing to climate change to an extreme degree(no pun intended), you know, that which you’re going on and on and on about? So I guess you’re not leaving a carbon footprint? No? Yes? Indeed you are! And don’t get all holier-than-thou and say, “Well, somebody’s got to man the store and let you guys know that we’re in for some serious shit. We get it! The oceans are rising. The earth’s people are in deep poo poo. And? What? How much have you changed what YOU are doing?

Here’s an idea. Gather your forces together and storm British Petroleum, Exxon Mobile, Saudi Aramco, National Iranian Oil Co., PetroChina and Royal Dutch Shell among many others that are into both natural gas and oil and don’t forget the fracking industry. Climate change doomsayers, you really need to get off your duff and get cracking ‘cause according to you guys, we ain’t got a lot of time. So, make like Superman, Wonder Woman, Bat Man, Spiderman and go out there and get those oil company executives in line with the understanding that we are all doomed if they don’t reconsider and realize that their greed and our lust for oil and gas and electricity and fast cars and SUVs and all things electronic is just gonna get us into some serious trouble. We’re all fucking hypocrites and the climate change ship has sailed. It has sailed because if you think for one damn minute that some greedy ass oil barons are going to fuck up their bottom line by listening to some hypocrites who are themselves, contributing to climate change, then you all need your head examined and you need to take a look in the mirror and repeat after me, “I am a goddamn hypocrite because I want everyone to stop driving, get off the grid, live in the woods and go back to the basics before it’s too late, but I need to continue driving, stay on the grid, live in my house with all of my creature comforts so that I can continue to tell you guys how fucked you’re all going to be if you don’t DO something about climate change.” There, now that’s telling us!

Get out there and start practicing what you preach and you can’t hardly do that while still pumping gas into your vehicle. You can’t hardly do that while still connected to the grid. You can’t hardly do that if you intend to survive next winter by turning the thermostat up. You can’t hardly do that while cranking the AC up. You can’t hardly do that because you’re a hypocrite. So, I suggest that you sit back, smoke a blunt, if that’s your thing and if not, try a nice chilled glass of wine. And don’t forget, scotch and soda is great on the rocks and you need that icemaker to get that done and to get that done, you’ve got to stay ON the grid, hypocrite! You either go all gung ho about this climate change shit or you just keep pissing in the wind.

The Stars And Stripes Are Diseased!

diseased flag

The stars and the stripes are diseased.
There is danger throughout your land.
They’re there to shove their bold lies
and cash into out stretched hands.

Don’t believe a word they say.
As they speak with guns ablaze.
And when they leave your home,
what’s left is a bomb strewn maze.

Democracy, they do not seek.
Freedom’s a dangerous word.
They will kill it before it takes hold,
and dissent will never be heard.

The world is in danger from them.
They’re a beacon for corruption and greed.
They smile when they raise their sword,
and then poke at the world ‘til it bleeds!

No country is safe from their spies.
Afghanistan and Iraq, they know.
And Somalia and Yemen weren’t spared.
Their scars from the drone strikes still show.

America is shrouded in darkness.
And no ray of light can shine through.
Its people are hopelessly crushed.
Any rights that they had are taboo.

They never once put up a fight.
They gave up and took not to the street.
No protest was made; only anger expressed,
but they never resisted defeat.

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2014 Shelby I. Courtland

The U.S. will not stop in its grand scheme to ‘scheme’ and rid the world of democratically elected governments that do not kowtow to its demands. The majority of these countries have a Black and Brown population. Is that by accident? Hell no! Lies, lies and damn lies have been used as excuses to get away with war crimes, torture, deposing leaders and the U.S. government’s own spy programs are doing their damndest to bring this about. The only real terrorists in this world are from the U.S. government and its backers, the warmongers, the war profiteers.

And those in other countries, if you are wondering why America is not concentrating on its own citizens and infrastructure problems, it is because the American citizens are of no consequence because America’s citizens are comatose and if not actually comatose then we are shivering in fright in case the goon squad called America’s cops and military could soon be pointed in our direction. America is a nation of cowards, for the most part. Because an 84 year old nun, a 58 year old man and another 64 year old man showed the world just how easy it was to get inside a high security U.S. nuclear weapons complex and with some crude tools, cut through three fences, gained entrance to the complex and then proceeded to:

They hung banners, strung up crime-scene tape and hammered off a small chunk of the fortress-like storage facility for uranium material, inside the most secure part of complex. They painted messages such as “The fruit of justice is peace” and splashed small bottles of human blood on the bunker wall.

Although the protesters set off alarms, they were able to spend more than two hours inside the restricted area before they were caught.”

See, this just goes to show you that the so-called 9/11’foreign terrorists’ didn’t need to go through all of the trouble that they supposedly did in attempting to learn how to fly airplanes and learn how to coordinate flights and head the airplanes right into buildings(undetected by the most up-to-date satellite technology in the world North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)and(STARS) Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System is a fully digital system capable of displaying all aircraft using FAA). They could have just infiltrated Sister Megan Rice’s activist group and went along for the ride and wreaked havoc once they got there instead of doing the little harmless bit of religious messaging that Sister Rice’s group did.

Now, this little 84 year old nun is going to spend the next three years in prison and she is actually glad because now she intends to bring attention to the plight of prisoners who are fucked up on a daily basis for no reason. And get this, Sister Megan has already seen the inside of bars and she actually had the audacity to state that those people who are touted as being the dregs of humanity, are indeed, wonderful people.

And so I hang my goddamn head in shame because a nun, Sister Megan and her posse did what myself and millions of other Americans absolutely refuse to do, she went out and made this government look like a stupid pile of shit and since she had the audacity to do that, she must pay a three year penalty.

Sister Megan ,Greg Boertje-Obed, and Michael Walli, I am not a religious person, but I must say, “May God bless you all as you had to go and show US how it’s done!”

Now, let’s ALL get back to posting and tweeting about how FUCKED we are and all ’cause that’s ALL we’re good for!

A Planet Dies!

Demonic possession
Phallic obsession
Occult inference
Dark deference
Masters over slaves
Crooks and knaves
Rituals of sacrifice
lust and avarice.

The powerful wield
Upon a fertile field
Swords and scythes
As freedom writhes
when humanity cries
A planet dies.

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2014 Shelby I. Courtland

This just came to me as I was discussing so-called ‘secret societies’ that are hell bent on using their massive wealth and power to destroy humanity as they crave more and more wealth and power. There has been talk of their Satanic rituals as apparently ‘Satan’ has been perceived as their ‘god’. Their ‘god’ is wealth/power.

One thing that they don’t have that many of us do is empathy. If we can but channel that empathetic nature that we share and spread it and continue to ignite it, we may stand a chance. But we are fast running out of time and there are those who cannot lift a weakened finger as they are far too weary. Call me a fool, but I believe that there are those of you out there who cannot stand what is going on. You give a damn that people are homeless and hungry and jobless and you know that the evil motherfuckers of this world will never give a goddamn about their plight.

I have written on this to the point where my fingers have actually developed a cramp and I have had to pry them apart, but I will NOT give up! There are emerging signs that people are getting fed up, everywhere! Let us hope that we ALL get fed up to the point where we form our own society and it will be no ‘secret’ that we are HUMAN and that our society is called ‘humanity’!

Calm These Troubled Waters!

Where is Moses when we need him?
If he could but part the sea again
and calm these troubled waters,
thus freeing the tortured soul of man.

Oh, mine eyes have seen the pain
and felt the suffering of the poor.
No Promised Land for them,
just an endless, barren shore.

Oh Lord, look upon your servant
and give sustenance tonight.
Heal the sick and feed the hungry.
Set the many wrongs to right.

Throw the moneychangers out.
And give the widow back her mite.
Judge the wicked and the heathens,
may they never see your light.

Not a religious being am I,
And though I sin and come up short,
The devil owns the rich,
So let Hell be their resort.

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2014 Shelby I. Courtland

I don’t even want to hear it PEOPLE!! I have tried everything!

So, I call upon the Lord to hear my plea! Intervene and deliver us from the evils of capitalism, greed, vice, corruption, fracking, filthy water, Monsanto, politicians, disease and a world in chaos! Amen!

Fuck It Up!

Fuck IT up like you mean it!!!!

Fuck IT up like you mean it!!!!

I want to thank Tales From The Lou for posting this because I am now going to take it and run with it, after having given credit where credit is due, of course.

There are many examples of just how fed up, people the world over are and they are not just sitting around holding a smartphone and sexting like the Americans are. It is good to know that there are some people who are not willing to just keep taking it up the ass without any lube at all, unlike the Americans. Since there are so many perverts in America, it is not hard to see why Americans have no problem taking it up the ass without lube.

The people of other countries are fiercely protesting and they are not just having one day events and marches, they are in it for the long haul because they know what Americans refuse to acknowledge and that is that if they continue to let their leaders get away with stomping their rights into the dust, that matters will only get worse. Unlike the Americans who have Justin Beiber to save them and the ‘stars’ at the Grammys and the Kardashians, you know! Kimye and crew? So, while the rest of the world is fucking it up, the Americans are sucking it up and getting fucked up the ass without the lube and loving life because Americans know what is important, Hollywood! The Super Bowl! Fake nails! Models! Fake hair! Fake lips! Fake ass! Fake like you know that you ain’t got it so low! You see, Americans are a bunch of fake ass nut cases. Americans are busy running around spending money that they don’t have and getting hacked to pieces and wondering why this is happening. Sigh! Yes, Americans ARE that clueless!

You would have thought that when the big hacking event that occurred at Target was finally exposed to the stupid Americans, that they would have realized that it was not only Target that was hacked. Oh no! You see, the Americans aren’t very smart. Even after they found out that Neiman Marcus was hacked, even THAT wasn’t a big enough wake-up call. They went shopping at Michael’s and slid that credit/debit card across the counter and wouldn’t you know, they got hacked again. Now, would you call that smart? In my book, that is just asking for trouble. And guess what? Americans keep getting what they ask for, more and more trouble. And they never learn. They are out right now busy getting hacked and next month, there’ll be another report from yet ANOTHER big box store releasing a statement that Americans credit/debit card information got hacked. You see, Americans have not realized in all this time that corporations hide shit for as long as they can possibly hide it because they believe that once the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, that the Americans will react like sane people would. But even the retailers don’t get it because what they fail to realize is that Americans are so stupid that an employee could tell them to their face that hacking is going on and they will still hand over that credit/debit card thinking to themselves that they are protected and that there are limits placed on their cards that limit their liability if fraud occurs. Such trust, can you believe it in this day and age? Yep, that’s Americans for you. Dumb, trusting, stupid idiots who have been dumbed down to the point that many could not even count out correct change if a computer wasn’t doing it for them.

I, for one am so glad that the people of other countries are not looking for Americans to lead the world in attempting to right wrongs and overthrow oppressors and despots. America’s entire political machine is made up entirely of despots. Corruption, Vice, Greed, Kickbacks, Bribes, those are the names of the Americans political leaders. And yes, I do know that there are 535 pieces of filth that make up the American political machine, but they are all named Corruption, Vice, Greed, Kickbacks and Bribes and the names are interchangeable. So, don’t worry if you call Vice and Vice tells you that you have called Greed, you’ll still be speaking to one and the same. But why bother? Because unless you have a brief case filled with greenbacks, call Ghostbusters, you’ll get the same response. Nothing.

Those of you in other countries, I thank YOU for pushing back against the motherfuckers whose sole aim it is to oppress you and to keep you down and steal your pensions and shove austerity down your throats when you’ve done nothing to deserve it. The so-called leaders are corrupt and expect you to pay the price for their corruption and you’re having none of it. Unlike America’s cities that are going bankrupt. Read up on Detroit, the once great Motor City and also renowned for Motown, is bankrupt and the vultures have descended and are cleaning that carcass down to the bone and those who thought that their pensions were safe, not so fast. Read it and weep:
..and here’s a little excerpt.

Judge Rhodes ruled that Detroit’s pensions would be treated the same as any other contract in bankruptcy, meaning that benefits could be cut.
The judge said he would not decide Tuesday on the size of the city’s unfunded pension liability, which has been estimated at between $3.5 billion and $8 billion. The city’s debts are estimated at $18 billion.

Is it the pensioner’s fault? No, but who cares? Somebody or some bodies mismanaged or misappropriated or just flat out fucked up Detroit’s ability to pay its bills and so now that is going to have to fall on the shoulders of those who have worked, retired and who now may find themselves looking for work when there is none. I just hope they didn’t shop at Target, Neiman Marcus, Michael’s and insert retail stores here–>________________.

And I should not forget that Stockton, California also went belly up!
Here’s another little excerpt:

More than a year after filing for Chapter 9 protection, the California city is struggling with protracted court battles and stripped city services — and that’s exactly what the Motor City might be in for.

At night, Stockton, Calif., becomes a ghost town. Streets lined with boarded-up buildings and rubbish-strewn parks are mostly empty except for drug dealers and their customers, says Dave Macedo, president of the local firefighters’ union. Even in daylight, shootings break out with regularity, and the city of 300,000 was ranked the 10th most dangerous in the country in 2012. “It’s the wild, wild West out there,” says Macedo. Or rather, the wild, bankrupt West.

Read more: The Wages of Bankruptcy: Stockton’s Cautionary Tale for Detroit | TIME.com http://nation.time.com/2013/07/25/the-wages-of-bankruptcy-stocktons-cautionary-tale-for-detroit/#ixzz2rW29IgiB

Just devastating isn’t it? Not really because if it was, it wouldn’t be business as usual or should I say, bankruptcy as usual. But that’s how Americans play it. Remember the Wall Street debacle and how the criminals of Wall Street brought business as usual to its knees and had to get bailed out by, you guessed it, those good old stupid Americans? Well, the Wall Street players are back at it and they’ve upped the ante and it ain’t looking so good for Main Street Americans these days, but you couldn’t tell if you’re looking from afar. But close up, it’s a different story, just ask the people of Stockton, California and Detroit, Michigan and don’t forget to check the bridges and underpasses. You’ll find plenty of homeless people and if you like to gamble as apparently so did the managers of the funds of both Stockton, CA and Detroit, MI, head on over to Las Vegas, NV, you’ll step over a lot of homeless folk there too. Don’t forget Atlantic City, they’re knee deep in homelessness also.

But to those of you in other countries who are trying to fight back, more power to you! And if you should by chance look towards the West and think that you see that Rome is burning because Americans woke the fuck up and fought back, think again. That will just be another California forest fire. It’s ALL good!


text:
woah, a mountain biker.

There is almost certainly no community like the one which exists atop two wheels and a frame of steel. Those who cycle their way through life, see it differently at every turn. Those who grasp tightly at the handlebars and trust the machine as it pulls them forward, will breathe the fresh air of new experiences. Seek out the new trails and trust the wheel in front of you.

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It was Sunday. It was hot. It was time for a hotdog. We drank a beer and waited in the shade. Rested our legs before another climb. Saddle up, move forward. We reach the halfway point on White’s Hill where the entrance to Tamarancho Extension is. We lock the bikes, and start our hike. Up a little ways and up a little more. Sun is a bit stronger here.

Mountain bikers are a different breed all together. Defining characteristics include: manly arms, wide-set shoulders, hair everywhere, and the ability to ride downhill. It was interesting to say the least, to sit and watch these strange creatures take to the hill climb known as the Dead Heifer. Huffing and puffing, sweating and digging deep.

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They make their way up and down the killer hills of Tamarancho Park, including a couple gnarly climbs and a flow track. We saw the pros. We saw the non-pros. We saw the badass motherfuckers riding single-speed. John and Cubby showed up, and showed ’em up in t-shirts on steel frames. They were the only ones to hit the flow track properly. How does one aim a bike? I wonder as I watch them race down the hill.

I want another beer. We hike down the mountain, unlock our bikes and ride. We ride down first and then climb another huge ascent to a grassy meadow where we find the pack of wild mountain bikers. They sit under tents sipping Gatorade. We sit in the shade of another generous tree and wait a while as the last finishers make their way through. After getting the race recap from John and Cubby, we saddle up once again, and fly down the fire road into Fairfax. I white knuckle the entire descent, and the others jump potholes and wheelie corners. Exhilarating, and suicidal.

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Fill up on a burger, some Pepsicola and a Corona and try your best to survive the trip home. Walk through the front door and collapse on the ground. Mission success.

shitbike rides with some makers

I was sick, hungover and should have been working on finals but simply could not miss out on the Sacramento edition of Meet Your Maker Tour. shitbike has been out of commission since last week so I loaded up the ‘goose, downed a couple espresso shots and hit the road.

Robert Ives of Blue Collar bikes headed up this round of the tour, and – whoa – what a great job he did. We all met at his unofficial headquarters, a bar named the Hideaway, and prepped for the ride. Within five minutes there were enough people to rival the largest MYM already, by the time we left it was well over the last MYM attendance.

The plan was a quick and easy loop around south Sacramento. 50 miles, no hills and “most of it will be a tailwind”. The huge group rolled out around 10 and we spilt immediately into a a mess of cyclists storming through the neighborhoods. Cars are pretty nice in Sacramento, but I still wanted to get out of the residential areas. After some time taking left and right turns trying to meander out of it, we came to a freeway and some open road. It was a good time to make rounds through the group, meet new people and check out some bikes.

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I rode with a couple builders during the lulls and learned a lot about what it takes to start and maintain a small frame building company. These guys are ridiculously passionate about what they do, and their love for creating always trumps their desire for payment. They work hard to create bicycles that their clients will love a cherish forever. That’s not to say it’s an easy job. Every guy I talked to mentioned a time at which they didn’t know if “the whole bike-making thing” was going to happen for them. Some keep a part-time (or full-time) job while laying the foundation, some still have to supplement income with side jobs. Others are in the shop countless hours pumping out beautiful bikes to we can go ride them while their still in the shop making the next “big thing”. No matter what, each has a smile on their face when they describe their latest project. Each has a prideful grin as their name is called, preceded by the title “Frame Builder” at the start of the ride. These guys are an inspiration, in the creative realm, the business realm and in life.

This is why I go to Meet Your Maker. This is why Meet Your Maker exists. You get a chance, and the builders get a chance to come face to face with the other side. The builders are doing it because they love to make bikes, and you ride their bikes because they make riding more fun. To see these two heads meet makes for a an awesome ride. Everyone is happy to be out there. Its like a flurry of appreciation being spewed out from all angles, that and beer.

IMG_9374 IMG_9376

The ride was mixed terrain, hitting mostly asphalt with the occasional gravel section and even some railroad. I definitely picked the wrong bike for the job but committed and had to suffer it out. The bulky Mongoose made for an extra effort up every levy and through all the “tailwind” we were riding with. Sacramento has a strange feeling to it. One second you are in a nice shaded road with generous vegetation on either side, and the next second you are in the middle of a dry desert praying for water. We made our first beer stop about twenty miles in and I couldn’t be happier. A tallboy in my hand, the sun in my eyes and only 30 miles to go.

IMG_9380 IMG_9382

At about mile 21 is where I lost it. I don’t know if it was the Mongoose, or the sun or the ridiculous headwind, but I was pretty beat and just wanted to get back for some pork and beer. I decided the best way to do this would be to put the hammer down, to cruise in faster so as to eat sooner. After another stop where we fueled up with licorice and beer, I put it in gear. I rode with Mr. Klein on a dirt section and he distracted me with some good conversation. On the next portion of the course I tried to stay with Curtis Inglis, but that badass was on a quick-as-lightning  show bike and I was almost died trying to discuss his recent trip to Sweden. We finally made it to another stop and I stuffed a doughnut in my face before heading into the last leg.

IMG_9393 IMG_9394

Ah, finally the skyline emerged from the trees and I knew we were close. At the last regroup I switched bikes with Darin who had just put together his brand new Blue Collar Cross with all the bells and whistles, and let me test it out. I rode that thing into Sacramento and it made the last five miles so much easier. Rigid as i-beam and light as a feather. We rolled past the capitol and the ATOC setup. We rode back into the neighborhood and down the last stretch to some bbq sandos and beer. At the Hideaway again, we all rack up the bikes and line up for lunch.

After a couple of beers refueled each rider, we all sat inside with little red tickets in hand waiting for Robert to call out the winners of the huge raffle he organized in support of the Chako Pit Bull Rescue. I didn’t win anything but I drank a few more beers, and thats winning for me. In size only, this MYM was one of the most successful. In community and charity, this MYM was far above the rest. We came together with the same intent of all the MYM tours but with the added intent of helping out a part of the builder’s community. We came together to have the same fun we always do, did it better, and even helped a worthy organization. Robert did a great job and I am looking forward to the next time I can get up to Sacramento to drink a beer with him.

a dfl for christmas

shitbike rolled down to the park (go figure) to attend the holiday installment of DFL. some good racing, accidental cross-dressing, and good times unfolded over the half marked course in the woods.
dfl3_04  dfl3_15
dfl3_05 dfl3_09
dfl3_08 dfl3_10
its always a blast to come out to these races, every time is a unique experience. this edition included some serious racers who dominated most of the field and stayed in the pain cave the entire race. a fun course, this one features rutted terrain, sandy-death-trap-esque downhill 90 degree turns , dusty run-ups, giant log barriers, and useless u-turns.
a huge turnout for beautiful bikes. everywhere you looked there was another great looking two-wheeled machine. some for crushing, some for cruising and all for having fun. Someone even had the same idea as I and did some Bay Area Bike Smash.
dfl3_01 20131227-072640.jpg _MG_7812
I am definitely looking forward to the next race, and maybe shitbike will actually get out there and rub elbos with the other guys, we’ll see.

I met some makers…

Sunday I rolled with a bunch of great people out in the hills of Marin. We all survived some gigantic hills, rutted single track and multiple pitchers if mid-ride beer in celebration of awesome bikes. The group included some of the biggest names in custom frame building on the west side of the country and I was lucky enough to chat with a few of them.

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Sean from Soulcraft (educate yourself here) introduced the guests, explaining that this ride was a way to meet face-to-face with the people who are building the many bikes in the crowd. It was time to ride, talk a bit, get to know who these builders are and what they are all about. We slow pedal out of Mill Valley, up the hill and onto some fire roads.
Along the way people started to notice that there was somebody in the pack riding a slick-tire road bike with a basket, and everyone seemed to chuckle a bit as I rode past as though I were on a paper-route. shitbike was one of the least suited bikes for this ride, but there were a couple carbon road bikes and some tandems joining for the challenge.

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There were too many beautiful bikes to take pictures of, and that really goes to show what a large amount of people appreciate the craftsmanship and beauty of custom bike frames. Some other builders on the ride include Sycip, Hunter, Rex, Retrotec, and more. They all have an incredible dedication to their craft that is evident in their bikes. I look forward to learning more about this world and maybe someday owning my own custom frame.

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The ride included fire roads up Mt Tam and a single track down the ridge to muir Woods area and back up over the hill to Mill Valley. The terrain carried from very shitbike-able to questionable shitbike-able and most made it through without any problems. The last stop for beer really got us thinking about how nice more beer would be. A group of us ditched the last leg of the ride and shortcut to beer and burritos in the park. If you’re ever in Mill Valley, stop by a very shitbike-approved shop Grilly’s for your spicy burrito cravings. With our legs shot, our stomachs full and hands cold with bottles of beer, we all started talking about our favorite frames, components and ideas. I learned more about the history and current state of the business while sitting half drunk inside a tree grove than the hours I spent on the internet. Every guy (or lady) who showed up was the nicest guy (or lady) you have ever met and it was such a great experience to just sit and talk after an epic ride.

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riding Sutro with shitbike

Yesterday I cruised on up to Sutro Mountain in San Francisco so see if shitbike could survive it. I learned a lot about a bike’s limitations: they don’t have many. shitbike is about as bad as you can get for “off-road” conditions but it held up perfectly fine over the terrain. Jumping roots, sliding around corners, managing the switchbacks, shitbike held together and did it’s thing. I learned that whenever you are fucking up lines, bottoming out jumps and generally riding poor- that’s you, not the bike.

Meet Your Maker

So I did not make this flyer and I do not support such… weird design, but you need to be there!

Meet Your Maker is an ongoing tour of bike frame and component builders in Northern California, a chance to ride with the big names in custom bikes, and drink beer with them and chit chat about your next frame. shitbike will be out there this Sunday shredding a little and hanging out with the guys, so come check it out and I’ll buy you a beer.


text:
Vegetarian French Lunch with Shizuoka Ingredients at Tetsuya SUGIMOTO (2010/10/28)

Service: Highly professional and friendly
Equipment: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom
Strong points:Freshest produce and ingredients only, mainly from Shizuoka Prefecture. Organic vegetables. Seasonal food only

Map (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

I have to keep regularly to Tetsuya Sugimoto Restaurant as his ingredients are seasonal and nothing else!
As today is practical for a light lunch I visited him a bit late on purpose to have ample time to report. Tetsuya does not mind at all and actually always welcome the chat!

As there was no real local meat around, we kept it purely to vegetables.
He didn’t say he had that many form Shizuoka, only to show a dozen Tupperware to choose from!
Now, the mushrooms above are wild ones from Fujinomiya City’s vicinity at the foot of Mount Fuji!
They are called “Shougenji” mushrooms. And these were bigger than the cultivated variety!

Tetsuya Sugimoto is quickly turning into the Alain Passard of Shizuoka!
So he started “shopping” among the incredible (and he said small!) array of his vegetables.
The above are organic chayottes (hayato uri in Japanese)f from Hamamatsu.

His vegetables and all other ingredients are stored with such great care!

Now, can you guess what this vegetable might be? If you can, you owe my respect as this was a first for me!

Rice stalks or “ine” in Japanese. These are grown that thick on Amagi Plateau in Izu Peninsula!. The thick core is very easy to cook!

Look at these! All from Shizuoka Prefecture and organic to boot!

The other vegetables included:
Lotus root (“renkon” in Japanese, slightly boiled preserved in its own water) from Asabata, Shizuoka City
Winged Bean (“Shikaku Mame”) from Hamamatsu City
White and violet “Mabiki” Daikon, Tsurumurasaki and Carrot (“Ninjin”), all from Matsuki Biofarm at the foot of Mount Fuji!

The vegetables were first slowly fried with some white butter and a minimum of water and covered with a lid to prevent the juices to evaporate.

The vegetables were taken out in order according to their size and softness.
A minimum amount of water was added from time to time to help the larger vegetables to cook properly.

A lttle butter was added to liaise the sauce made up of the vegetables juices only as well as a little salt and a little lemon vinegar. Nothing else!

In front of me!

From another angle!

Testuya told he is going to scour the Izu Peninsula in search for seaweed varieties (Shizuoka has the largest number of varieties in Japan!) to create a vegetarian marine cuisine!

４２０－００３８ Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Umeya,, ２－１３，１Ｆ
Tel./Fax: 054-251-3051
Opening hours：１１：３０～１４：３０，１７：３０～２１：３０
Holidays: undecided
Cedit cards OK

Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope

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About Artisans Education Blog Donate

Wrap Top - Navy

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print for days.

all sale items are final

- Block printed cotton

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All profits fund educational training programs for the women who handcraft our products.

Since partnering with Indego Africa, 89% of our artisan partners have risen above the poverty line. That’s impact.

Each Indego Africa product is made by hand using traditional techniques. Small variation in color & design is part of what makes each piece uniquely beautiful. Please handle with care.

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  • Mini St Tropez Monogram *Pre-Sale*
  • Mini St Tropez Monogram *Pre-Sale*

Mini St Tropez Monogram *Pre-Sale*

$ 84.00

Pink and white

Our Mini St Tropez Tote is made of natural seagrass and features yarn handles and matching raffia poms poms. Perfect for yourself or your mini me.

Measurements: 9" L x 6" W x 6.5" H

Due to the overwhelming response for our Monogramed tote we are offering a Pre-Sale option for this service. PLEASE NOTE BAGS WILL BE SHIPPED BETWEEN JULY 14-21.

Monograms are limited to 2 or 3 characters in one font and are placed at the top and middle of the tote. The pink/white tote is monogrammed in BLUE. All monogrammed items are final sale.

After completing your purchase email us at support@kayudesign.com with your order number and initials

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Lily Park Charcoal Rug

Regular price $99.00

This item is currently out of stock.

  • Overview

    Designed in collaboration with Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines, the Lily Park Collection is actualized in a two-step process: First, the rugs are hand-loomed of 100% wool, and secondly, a screen printed pattern is carefully applied. The result is a timeless rug series rich in craftsmanship and character.

    Learn more about the making of this collection in Joanna's blog post and in the video below.

  • Details and Dimensions

    • Hand Loomed
    • 100% Wool
    • Made in India
    • Pile Height: 1/2"
    • Cotton Canvas Backing

    Care Instructions:

    • Clean spills immediately by blotting with a clean sponge or cloth
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Minnesota Historical Society

Up North Print

$ 18.00

A cabin in the woods, the favorite getaway for many Minnesotans.

  • By: Mark Herman
  • Format: Lithographic print on acid free paper

Framing for the 16" x 20" size print is available in a 1" satin black wooden frame with glass. ready to hang, for an additional charge. Allow 10 business days for framed prints. Add framing to cart.

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Customer Service: 888.855.4994
Home Art Deco Crystal Chandelier

Art Deco Crystal Chandelier

This item is a special order item.

This art deco crystal chandelier was handmade in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. It has been restored and rewired. Measures 25"H x 18"W.

This item is one-of-a-kind and is not guaranteed to be in stock. To ensure availability, please contact our customer support team to obtain freight and delivery information, place item on a 24-hour courtesy hold, or place your order.


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Sunday, March 31, 2013

water monk

i did a gift pictutre for someone on DA:
here is a bit on the process:

1) sketch in photoshop:

2) clean lines in flash. i rarely do this but i always go to flash when i need "clean ink". it's a great help for people with wobbly lines like myself:

 3) back to Photoshop. messing around with colors. i was planning on doing it very detailed and sharp but lost patience at this point and left it soft and simple.

4) color tweaking, light effects and blending modes. every dirty trick in my belt as long as i avoid actual render and polish...:

still, i like how it turned out in the end :)

Saturday, March 30, 2013

some more DH

male, assassin, melee, elf, ice

male, mage, melee, anthro, wind

male, healer, range, vampire, ice (shoots ice syringes with healing potion)

 female, mage, melee, orc, skill (flail master)

male, tank, spirit\ghost, ice

Sunday, March 17, 2013

back from my break with more heroes

after a few months of a creative hiatus im trying to get back on the artistic horse, here are some randomly generated daily heroes i did to get me started:

female, healer, melee, vampire, holy:

female, tank, undead, holy:

male, support, melee, vampire, skill:

male, mage, melee, goblin, lightning:


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Darts are fairly common.

Darts are individuals who have the ability to, well, “dart.” Darting is characterized as a short burst of superhuman speed/athleticism. These short bursts take a lot out of them. Due to this fact, most Darts are very thin, despite the fact that they need to eat large quantities of food to keep going.

Personality-wise, most Darts are either spoiled brats or juvenile delinquents, depending on their economic level. They tend to be reckless and self-centered.

People generally think of Darts of being young people, and there’s some truth to this. Most Darts don’t make it to old age, due to their reckless tendencies and the fact that Darting puts a lot of stress on the human body. The Darts that do make it to old age tend to have chronic heart conditions and joint pain.

All Darts start out with

What else should you buy if you’re making a Dart?

  • More Running
  • Keep in mind, all Dart abilities must have Increased Endurance

Silver City BrodyJekellclan