Merry Christmas!

Postmarked Providence, RI  Dec. 22, 1910

To Miss Laura Osborn, San Diego, Calif.

Dear Cousin,  This will be a little late for Christmas greetings but I will wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year as well.  Your Cousin, Herbert

Countdown to the Holidays!

34 days until Halloween!

Summer is coming to an end.

It's been a challenging summer for us here at the cottage.  I won't go into too many details yet, but I feel I have turned a corner and I am very grateful for it.  I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer and will continue to grow and change as needed.    We did get to the coast 2 weeks ago, but just for the afternoon.  (We were in the middle of a large wildfire in the area which I am sure you heard about, the Rocky fire in Lake County, California.  It was 20 miles away so we were not in any danger, only lots of smoke on most days and worry about our fellow citizens and animals friends in the area.   And of course the firefighters safety too.)  The smoke was all the way to the coast, but at least you could smell the freshness of the ocean air.  It was a glorious day, 75 degrees with no cold breezes...warm and comfortable to sit in the sun with your toes in the sand. 

One of our lovely views on the beach in Fort Bragg.  After a couple of hours we headed to Mendocino for a bite to eat and to wander around the village.  One of my favorite things to do!  (Click on photos to enlarge)

Our view during dinner on the outside deck.  Again, the weather was warm and calm at 5 pm, which doesn't happen very often.

A couple of gorgeous plants you will find on your visit to Mendocino Village.

One of the many fabulous hydrangeas on our walk.   And look at this fabulous succulent wreath!  It was almost 2 feet in diameter. 

After our stroll around the village we headed out to the Headlands for a quick walk along the cliffs.  

Isn't this a lovely tidal pool? 

Lovely sunset off the Mendocino Coast. 

August 16, 2015

We didn't stay to watch the sun go down completely, but as we were heading home the sun was a bright red because of the smoke.  I wish I had gotten a photo...it was very mysterious looking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.

--- Sir John Lubbock

Summertime fun!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.....

Summertime and the liv'in is easy, fish are jumpin' and the cotton

 is high......

George Gershwin

Happy Independence Day !

Hope everyone had a fun and safe celebration !

You were in on the planning of your life.

This seems to make things easier.

HAPPY EASTER !

Postmarked Nova Scotia March 13 1911

To Miss Mae Newcombe

Everything all OK, Lovingly, Dee

May you stone be rolled away.

12 ways to stop GMO's

A 12-point agenda for driving GMOs off the market by Organic Consumers Association.

The anti-GMO and organic Movement has come a long way in the past two decades. But given the dangers posed by GMOs and Roundup, it’s time to move aggressively forward. Here are a dozen crucial steps we need to take in 2015 to drive GMOs and Roundup off the market.

1.    Stop Congress from passing the Pompeo bill (HR #4432) in 2015, which would take away states rights to pass mandatory GMO food labeling bills, and make it legal for unscrupulous food and beverage companies to continue mislabeling  GMO-tainted foods as “natural” or “all natural.”

2.    Stop Congress from “fast-tracking” and passing secretly negotiated “Free Trade” agreements (the TPP-Trans-Pacific Partnership, and TTIP-Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) that would weaken consumer and states rights to label and safety test GMO and factory-farmed foods.

3.    Pass more state laws requiring mandatory labels on GMOs.

4.    Pass more bans on GMOs, neonicotinoids and pesticides at the township, city, and county levels.

5.    Support Vermont, Maui (Hawaii), Jackson and Josephine counties (Oregon) in their federal and state legal battles to uphold their laws requiring labels and/or bans on GMOs.

6.    Educate the public on the dangers and cruelty of GMO-fed, factory-farmed meat, dairy and egg products, and organize a “Great Boycott” of all factory-farmed foods.

7.    Support mandatory state legislation to label dairy products and chain restaurant food coming from factory farms or CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations).

8.    Pressure retail natural food stores and coops to follow the lead of Whole Foods Market and the Natural Grocer to label and/or ban all GMO-derived foods, including meat and animal products and deli foods, from their stores.

9.    Pressure restaurants to follow the lead of organic/grass fed restaurants and ban, or at least label, all GMO ingredients.

10.    Support consumer efforts to test for Roundup/glyphosate contamination in drinking water, human urine, breast milk, and in non-GMO food products such as wheat, potatoes, oats, peas, lentils and dry beans that are currently sprayed with Roundup before harvest.

11.    Educate the public on the positive health, environmental, ethical and climate-friendly (greenhouse gas sequestering) attributes of organic, grass-fed, and pasture-raised food and farming.

12.    Boycott the “Traitor Brand” products of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, International Dairy Foods Association, and the Snack Food Association.

Click HERE for more info.

Economic advance is not the same thing as human progress.
--- John Clapham 1957

Falling asleep .... 4-7-8

Isn't this a pretty bedroom?

I saved this photo last year, but I don't remember where I found it.  I love it!

The past 2 years I have had a difficult time falling asleep.  I usually count (one time to 500!) or repeat a short sentence...one of my favorites is "I am relaxed and at peace", yet I still have a hard time going to sleep.

About 3 weeks ago, Dr. Andrew Weil shared a technique on his facebook page called the 4-7-8 breathing technique.  I tried it that night and was amazed how I felt like I was being drugged!  It actually scared me and I didn't continue.  LOL  A friend shared the info today so I will try again and see how I feel.  Click HERE to learn the method.

In a nutshell, you inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds.  It gave me a lightheaded feeling which as you read the brief instructions Dr. Weil mentions this, but I missed it.   Give it a try and let me know if it works for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A day well spent brings

happy sleep.

--- Leonardo da Vinci