GREAT FLICKR FEATURES!At my online friend Dawn's suggestion,

GREAT FLICKR FEATURES!

At my online friend Dawn's suggestion, I went to the chili dog picture I had posted on Flickr that had been labeled by some unkind soul there as looking "NASTY" and I was able to delete the comment he/she had made. In the process, I was given the option to block that person and I did so. There is a whole list of things in relation to my pictures that this person can no longer do. It was most gratifying!

Then I went to my spaghetti picture and did the same thing. As I went through that process and reread the comments from this person (RealityFood or some such name), I was once again struck by how rude and mean the comments were. It was my pleasure to block this person, as well.

I was thus able to move both of these food pictures from being viewed only by Friends and Family to being viewed by everyone again.

As a result, I think I will go ahead and post my picture of the Black Bean Salsa I made the other day to my Flickr site. I hope it doesn't result in anyone saying how ugly the salsa looks but at least now I know the Flickr weapons I have with which to fight back!

TODAY, AUSSIE TIME, IS

TODAY, AUSSIE TIME, IS LYNNE'S DAY!

It is my privilege to know and to write here about another remarkable woman, Lynne, who is an Aussie who has touched my life in very special ways. I have referred to her before because she sends me the fun Ziggy cartoons, and I well know her enjoyable sense of humor. Today I am devoting much of my blog entry to her, because since it is the 29th there, she will be getting up in a while and then readying herself for a ceremony that symbolizes a great accomplishment: graduating with her Bachelor's Degree in Theology. She talks about this in a blog entry that is eloquent and beautiful, which I could never paraphrase, so I would hope you will go to the link at the beginning of this sentence to read what she has said about attaining this honor and what has motivated her to do so.

Have a wonderful day, Lynne!

*****

The Ziggy is funny to me because it has seemed like there was a Starbucks on almost every other corner in the big cities. Even in my small town, there is a Starbucks store in a strip mall and then just across the parking lot from it, there is a Starbucks bar in the Fred Meyers superstore so you can get a latte while you shop, if you so desire. I have heard that Starbucks was having some trouble but I'm not sure exactly what that is. Perhaps over-expansion?

*****

I heard the funniest line on CNN last night, and I wish I knew exactly who to attribute it to, but it was from one of several panel members who were, I believe, on Anderson Cooper 360, although Larry King had a similar discussion. Because I have to be so vague about it, I will just paraphrase the person, who said -- in essence -- that Hillary Clinton's comment about Barack Obama where she said you couldn't pick your grandmother but you could choose your pastor (referring to the retired Rev. Jeremiah White) could also be turned back to her, saying that, yes, you couldn't pick your grandmother but you could your pastor and your husband. The person making this comment elaborated that Clinton chose to stay with her husband despite the obvious problems he has had, while Obama chose to be loyal in some ways to his former pastor.

*****

I want to get this posted before too much more time elapses and then go downstairs to see if my sleepiness will produce much of a nap today, which hasn't happened in the last couple of days.

MY LITTLE SISTER'S 50THIt's difficult for me

MY LITTLE SISTER'S 50TH

It's difficult for me to believe it, but my youngest sister, Kathy, turns 50 today. You would never know she's that age by looking at her, as the picture below, taken near the first of January with my Uncle Lincoln and Kathy's and my niece, Sarah, shows. (She is on the left.)

















I was almost 10 years old when Kathy was born. My mother became terribly ill with an initially-undiagnosed bleeding stomach ulcer and almost died not long after that. We had help from church people at first as Mom recovered slowly but people get on with their lives and so I was pretty much left to take care of this infant at a young age. I loved her very much and I felt very nurturing towards her. I remember stroking the side of her face when she was crying to try to help her go to sleep, and that generally worked. As she grew, we became fairly close. That has continued.

Here are pictures of her when she was young:


















We do not live very near each other, as she is in San Francisco and I am in northwestern Oregon. We did see each other at Mom's funeral in Idaho and northern Utah near the first of January, as I have related here at that time. She was a good support to me as I know now that I was basically in shock at that time.

She was able to go back home and pass her nursing boards, and now she is looking for work. She has the compassion and understanding of people to make an excellent nurse.

I will likely send this to her, so I will just add to the wishes I have already sent, a big Happy Birthday, Sis!

BLACK BEAN SALSAI'm

BLACK BEAN SALSA

I'm going to switch gears here today and have my entry be about food, and particularly the black bean salsa recipe I am typing in and that is pictured below. I received the recipe from Shannon on my Genchat newsgroup. It is delicious!

BLACK BEAN SALSA

Makes 8 1/2-cup servings

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Mix above ingredients and boil 2 minutes, then pour over the vegetables listed below.

1 cup whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped tomatoes or red bell pepper (I used cherry tomatoes)
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

Enjoy salsa with tortilla chips (I am using Fritos scoops) or serve on top of a green salad with 2 Tablespoons low-fat sour cream.

--Holly Marsh via Shannon

I haven't had this salsa with the chips for my afternoon snack yet but I plan to do so in a little while. Shannon says it gets better as it sits in the fridge.

















I didn't put this photo and recipe on my Flickr site because I've gotten kind of tired of people commenting that my food doesn't look good. I think that the darkness of some of the photos I have posted has something to do with the Corel Paint Shop Pro X program that I have to use to upload my pictures. So it is just being put here for you, my friends and readers.

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION IN

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION IN GENERAL

I hope you all have had a chance to read Gattina's comment on my last post. It is very funny! And also, presents a good point, that Europeans have a hard time understanding the fuss about religion here in the U.S.

Religion is indeed a big deal throughout this country. It has become a very big political football during this presidential campaign, and I'm sure we haven't seen the end of that.

As far as I feel about religion, I have friends and loved ones of many different religions and I accept them as they are, although there are various beliefs -- such as transubstantiation or strict pacifism -- that I could not accept for myself. I am glad we have freedom of religion in this country, so that individuals are able to believe what they wish.

Where I draw the line is when a religion is dishonest about what it believes, especially if there are secret ceremonies that the person coming into that church is not told about, as I believe they should be, from the very beginning. It's like the analogy of cooking a frog -- if you put a frog into a pot of hot water, it will jump right out, but if you put the frog into a pot of lukewarm water and gradually increase the heat, you will succeed in cooking it.

So straightforward religion, I can accept. Truthful religion, I can accept. I may not feel that such churches are exactly right for me, but I can respect those who belong to and attend them. I recognize that strong beliefs are often a buffer against times of trouble.

I think this is pretty much my viewpoint in a nutshell. Perhaps I will think of more to write about religion in general in the future. But I think this describes how I feel for now. To paraphrase a saying that I believe comes from Star Trek's Spock: May you believe long and prosper.

*****

Today is my oldest son J.D.'s 39th birthday! I know he and his wife Kris were planning to travel to San Francisco this week and I don't know if he will have his laptop with him or even time to check in on blogs, but I want to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and maybe he will see this wish when he gets back.

J.D. was my only normal delivery, after a pretty reasonable time of labor (13 hours). Steve wasn't allowed in the delivery room so the doctor took J.D. out to see him after he was born. Steve said the doctor "flipped" J.D.'s lower lip and that J.D. gave him a rather resentful look. He seemed to be more alert to what was going on around him than a lot of newborns.

It's hard to believe it was that long ago. Time certainly flies! I'm grateful for J.D. and his thoughtfulness and consideration as a son. May you have a wonderful birthday and many, many more ahead, J.D.

*****

It is also my tags list owner Connie's birthday today, and my friend from the tags list, Jeneane's, as well. I haven't heard how Connie is doing for a while and I miss hearing from her. I will definitely be posting a birthday wish for her to the list today, in case she might see it. And sending a greeting to Jeneane (also known as JR).

*****

It is clear and cold today. I will make the trip to Costco for the business and myself in a little while. I'm pretty much glad that it isn't raining today, although there was frost on the ground when I got up. So much for weather forecasts, eh? LOL!

NO RESERVATIONSI was really looking forward

NO RESERVATIONS

I was really looking forward to watching "No Reservations", as I like Catherine Zeta-Jones a lot, so I was happy to settle down with a bag of smart-pop popcorn Saturday evening and start watching it. I had seen previews but they didn't prepare me for the sadness at the beginning of the movie. It hit a bit close to home and so I had to take a break from watching it after a while before I could get back to it.

I was glad I continued viewing the film after my time away from it as the character of Nick, played by Aaron Eckhart, was a very enjoyable one and played very nicely off of Zeta-Jones' well-acted character, Kate. And Abigail Breslin was great as Kate's young niece, Zoe.

Kate was a chef who became confronted with a close family tragedy as well as her own feelings and actions in the restaurant where she worked, especially after her boss hired Nick to work there as well.

It ultimately was a rewarding movie and I enjoyed it very much. I recommend it highly.

*****

There has been a lot of fuss about Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and some very controversial comments he has made in sermons in the past 6 or so years. I have been debating whether to write about my own opinions regarding what Rev. Wright said and Obama's response. For some reason, I feel too tired today to get into it. Maybe tomorrow, or next week, or -- if it remains an issue -- next month. I still support Obama, and that is, I suppose, the bottom line at this point.

*****

Many years ago, when I was a Mormon, I attended temple ceremonies where I took death oaths, agreeing by my affirmation and acting out, various ways in which I would suffer my life to be taken if I ever revealed what I had experienced there. (In my own defense, I had no clue before I got into that situation what was going to take place.) I left the Mormon church in 1984 with my late husband, who had also gone through these ceremonies with me, and my children, who didn't go through the ceremonies -- thankfully, the endowment ceremonies were only for adults.

I had basically forgotten about the ceremonies, especially as my mother wrote me in 1990 and I also learned from an ex-Mormon newsgroup I was on that the death oaths had been removed. This was a great relief to me, mainly as far as what my Mormon relatives were now experiencing in the temple endowment ceremonies, as by then I had no desire to go back to the Mormon church, even though that change had been made.

At the time we left the church, there was a family in Salem, Oregon, who also left, and they were interviewed and a large story about them was published in the Salem newspaper. In it, the husband said that he was afraid for his life, due to having taken the death oaths in the temple. He was worried that a fanatical Mormon might want to make him pay for breaking that oath. I thought he was probably being quite paranoid, although I could see why he might have those thoughts and feelings. (He worked as a prison guard, BTW, so he was not generally a fearful guy.)

Fast forward to the other day, when I took my mail out to the mailbox and a man with a tightly-tied hood was walking up the road not far from me. I looked at him briefly and smiled slightly, but his responding look was one that made me feel that he held nothing but ill will towards me. I looked away and got my newspaper and hurried back into the house. It had been hard to tell who he was, but I thought he looked like a Mormon neighbor from down the way. I felt quite scared and actually totally creeped out. Paranoid? Maybe. But I felt my aloneness here at home more keenly.

I have started locking my doors during the day, rather than only at night. That probably is just good sense, anyway. Most likely, if it was that neighbor, he was harmless. However, there are some nuts out there and I have wondered if a fanatical Mormon who was a bit off his rocker and who had taken those death oaths and knew that I had, as this man would have known about me, might not take it upon himself to make me live up to the oaths that I had taken in the temple those many years ago.

I know this probably sounds like a story fit for a Dan Brown novel, but if this guy was trying to scare me, he succeeded. I will likely not be writing so much about Mormonism, at least by name, although I might still allude to experiences I have had without naming the church.

(It's kind of interesting -- I was feeling sleepy, but in writing about this, I must have gotten my adrenalin going, as I am not feeling tired now at all.)

I was wondering, too, if the new LDS church president inherited a Nixon-like enemies' list from the one who just passed away. I am just kidding about that, though. Likely no one in the Mormon hierarchy knows or cares about my little blog. Still, I am going to act prudently and try not to give a reason for anyone to hate me because of what I am saying about a religion.

*****

Socks is up on the monitor right now. She has been a lot better since that one episode of scratching and biting the other day. I am going to be getting off here and taking her downstairs with me in a little while, so she doesn't have a chance to start getting aggressive like she does sometimes due to causes unknown. (Perhaps she can't resist my flying fingers as I type on the keyboard?)

HAPPY EASTERI love the Easter

HAPPY EASTER


I love the Easter story in the Bible. It is precious and beautiful and gives me hope for a life after this one.

I grew up with not so much always hearing the story of Jesus and his resurrection on Easter Sunday, but at almost any time of the year. On Easter, we mostly got Easter baskets when we were kids at home, and I envied my friends who got clothes as gifts on Easter. However, as best I can recall, Mom made us girls Easter dresses. Some of them I liked; maybe even most of them. There was an occasional dress that I disliked -- Mom's taste was quite a bit different than mine. (When we would look at patterns in the pattern books, I always wanted dresses with lots of ruffles, while Mom's conclusion was invariably: "Too much work.")

I followed the family pattern and got Easter baskets for my kids, filled with fake grass and lots of candy. And then I wondered why J.D. was having extensive dental work done at the age of 5.

I think I ordered Harry and David baskets for the grandkids last year, but this year I sent cards. With the economy as it is, I couldn't justify spending so much money on Easter goodies and besides, there's that dental thing still.

I didn't grow up experiencing a big family Easter dinner, and my late husband Steve apparently didn't either, because we never had one in our home. I think it's a nice tradition for people who do have one. Certainly, Jesus' resurrection is something to celebrate.

My Easter today is quiet. There is a lot of list conversation about it online, and I received an e-mail from my neighbor across the street, wishing me a happy Easter and telling me that she and her husband had hosted an Easter egg hunt for their grandkids there yesterday. I hadn't noticed so they were apparently fairly quiet about it. What a nice thing to do, and it was also sweet of her to also write and tell me about what they had done.

I have been in the mood to celebrate my Easter with fried ham steaks and buttermilk pancakes with unsweetened blackberry jam this weekend. (The blackberry jam is yummy -- better than the maple syrup that sends my blood sugar skyrocketing -- and I was rewarded this morning with lower blood sugar than I've had in a while.)

This morning may have been a bit wet for those in the area holding Easter sunrise services. It is raining just lightly; I don't know how it was when the sun came up. One place that used to have sunrise Easter services was the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm east of Woodburn, Oregon. I had never attended their service, although I had heard about it from a young friend from church, who said her family always went to it. I didn't notice anything about a service at their site this morning, so maybe that has been discontinued.

I need to catch up on my Easter-oriented e-mail, on my various lists, so I will head on back to my Yahoo account and do that, praying in the meantime that Yahoo will cooperate today, where it seemed to have a few little glitches yesterday.