I remember a frozen February evening,
much like this one tonight,
where the thermometer read below zero
and snow crystals blew
and whistled in the wind.

It was a quiet evening until the phone rang. 
My neighbor called to report
a cat howling on her porch.

I was still hunting for my kitty
who had vanished some months before. 

Hopeful,
I trudged through the crisp piles of snow
that separated our homes,
when I spied the shadow of
a hunched and howling cat. 



I called softly,

"kitty - kitty - kitty".

To my great surprise and delight,
she ran directly into my arms !

I  promptly tucked her in my jacket 
where she 
instantly
went
limp.

Only an occasional shiver let me know she was still alive.

Alas,
In the light of my foyer
I discovered
she was
NOT
my returned beloved.

Still, she was in dire need of safe haven,
infested with fleas,
worms crawling out of her nose and mouth,
and starved beyond emaciation.

Obviously that evening would have been her last.

The local country Veterinarian,
whose expertise saved her life,
recognized her as being one of his patients
and phoned the family that owned her. 

His face dropped as he handed the receiver to me. 

The woman declared,
"We had hoped she was dead ! 
We put her in a cardboard box and
tossed her in the woods several months ago !
If you want that mean vicious miserable biter
that peed and pooped all over my house,
you can
keep her !"

Yes... I did just exactly that !
It cost me several hundred dollars in Vet bills.
Yes...it did !

I renamed this ten year old
"Katie"

to

FATIMA

and she never stopped
purrrrrrrrrrrring
for 
ALL 
the rest of her very happy years with me.

She especially loved whenever I sang to her
and
sat up with pride when I sing-songed:
 
FAH-TEE

MAH-TEE

TOE-MAH-TOW

KAH-TEE

She sat and admired her food bowl for hours
with those lovely green eyes
and I teased her for becoming a little plump.

She patiently and lovingly helped my husband and I
raise a rambunctious puppy.

She meowed with concern whenever she heard a baby cry on TV.

She was super sweet,
incredibly kind,
hysterically funny,
and clean as a whistle...

and
never ever,
never,
NO ,
NOT EVEN ONCE
did she ever display
what she had been accused of.

Fatima was eighteen
the day she had her final visit at the Vet.


Dear  Reader:

I  would  LOVE  to  read
your own animal rescue stories

!!!   YOU  COULD  POST  THEM  HERE  !!! 

and  respond  to 
your  input  and  comments !

Just  CLICK  on 
the  word  "Comments"  on the top right of this page
to  get  started.

YOU  WILL  BE  ASKED  TO  INSERT  A  NAME

BUTT

YOU  DO  NOT  HAVE  TO  LEAVE  A  REAL  NAME

AND

YOU  DO  NOT  HAVE  TO  FILL  IN  AN   E-MAIL  ADDRESS,

UNLESS  YOU  WANT  TO !

THANK  YOU  !

Every  adult  in  the  USA
should  be made  aware  of

HIPAA Privacy Rules,
{ click highlighted text to learn details },

and how they affect
one's personal health care.  

It would be a lie to claim
that these lengthy and complicated laws
were only created to protect
an individual's medical information
from becoming public.  

There's a great deal more to it
than meets the immediate eye.

There is a very real danger
to every adult US Citizen,


of  being  victimized  by
Medical  decisions  made  by  strangers, 
some based  on  Federal Law,
as  opposed  to  personal  medical  choices.

The HIPAA Privacy Rules
make  it  impossible  for
even  your  nearest  and  dearest
to  know  anything  about  your  Medical  condition
and  certainly  prevents  anyone,
except  those  in  the  Medical  Community,
from  making  decisions  regarding  your  medical  treatment,
should  it  be  determined  that  you  are  incapable !

It's  simple  and  inexpensive to
protect  yourself  against  becoming  vulnerable  to  this  danger.

You'll need
  a  few  sheets  of  paper  and
a  dollar  as  payment  to  a  Notary,
{ easily found at most Banks },
to  create  a  legal  document
that  will  name  one,  { or  more }, 
of  your chosen  trusted  individuals
who can act as  a  Health  Care  Agent  on  your  behalf,
to carry out your health care decisions,
in the event you become incapable of doing so yourself.

This legal document is called a
HEALTH  CARE  PROXY 
or 
HEALTH  CARE  DIRECTIVE. 

Each State has it's own
HEALTH CARE PROXY or  DIRECTIVE FORM requirements,
but, mostly they are the same. 
I suggest you GOOGLE SEARCH your particular State.

New Yorkers  can  copy, paste and print  the  following  form:

Fill in the form as you desire,
BUTT,
SIGN  IT  ONLY  WHEN  THE  NOTARY  IS  READY  !!!

Keep your original document 
safe at home and
carry a copy in your wallet or handbag. 

Be certain to have all your Doctors,
{ including the Dentist !!! },
make a copy
and
request to have it
stapled to the inside cover of
your personal folder. 

Supply your chosen Health Care Agents with a few copies too.

The following
real life situation
could have been avoided with this simple
one page document:

Susan and James Smith have
been happily married for ten years.  One unfortunate morning,
Susan was in a car accident
on the way to work.  
Unconscious, but still alive, 
the ambulance takes her to a local Hospital for emergency treatment.

Lucky for Susan,
a neighbor witnesses the accident
and tells her husband. 



James rushes to the Hospital and identifies himself at the Emergency Room Reception Window
where he  learns that the HIPAA Privacy Rules prevent the staff from
divulging ANY information regarding the medical treatment of his beloved wife, Susan !!!

THE  NIGHTMARE  HAS  JUST  BEGUN !
It has now been determined that Susan Smith has suffered irreversible brain and body trauma. 
She is in horrible pain and incoherent. 
The medical staff injects her with morphine and,
because of Federal Law,
they place Susan on Life Support. 

Every  three hours the morphine wears off
and Susan writhes in horrible pain for fifteen minutes
as nurses run to hold her down and administer another dose of morphine. 

There is no hope for Susan's recovery,
but Life Support can keep her in this state for several months...
perhaps several years.

James is distraught
and has absolutely NO legal right
to make any decision regarding the Medical care of his beloved wife. 

He knows she was against having her life prolonged with
artificial respiration, feeding and hydration tubes and
is, himself, traumatized  by  the  fact 
that  he  has  no  ability  to  honour  her  health  care  wishes 
and  alleviate  her  unnecessary  suffering. 

Will  he  be  able  to  find  a  Lawyer  who  can  help  them ?


Dear  Reader:

I  would  love  to  read 
and  respond  to 
your  input  and  comments !

Just  CLICK  on  the  word  "Comments"  to  get  started.

YOU  WILL  BE  ASKED  TO  INSERT  A  NAME

BUTT

YOU  DO  NOT  HAVE  TO  LEAVE  A  REAL  NAME

AND

YOU  DO  NOT  HAVE  TO  FILL  IN  AN   E-MAIL  ADDRESS,

UNLESS  YOU  WANT  TO !

THANK  YOU  !

" I paused to listen
to the silence.

My breath,
crystallized as it passed my cheeks, drifted on a breeze
gentler than a whisper. 

The wind vane pointed
toward the South Pole. 
Presently the wind cups
ceased their gentle turning
as the cold killed the breeze. 

My frozen breath hung
like a cloud overhead.

The day was dying,
the night was being born,
but with great peace. 

Here were the imponderable processes and forces
of the cosmos,
harmonious and soundless. 


HARMONY,
that was it ! 

That was what came out of the silence -
a gentle rhythm,
the strain of a perfect chord,
the music of the spheres,
perhaps.

It was enough to catch that rhythm,
momentarily to be myself a part of it. 

In that instant I could feel no doubt of man's oneness with the universe. 

The conviction came that
that rhythm
was too orderly,
too harmonious,
too perfect to be a product of blind chance -
that,
therefore,
there must be purpose
in the whole
and that man was part of that whole
and
NOT
an accidental offshoot.

It was a feeling that transcended reason;
that went to the heart of man's despair
and found it groundless. 

The universe is a cosmos,

NOT  a  chaos;

man is as rightfully a part of that cosmos

as are the day and night."

Admiral Richard E. Byrd
{ finding peace and God in the frigid twilight }

In a mere five days, most of us
will be here
to experience
the most publicized  potential world wide cataclysmic event of the century.

We've been inundated
with trepidation
from various media sources for about
ten years now.

There are at least seven separate theories by
those who claim
to have studied an array of ancient cultures,


as well as those who claim
to have been visited by
aliens and/or spirits,

those who claim they understand  astronomical events,
and those who claim to be Bible scholars.

More than 10 million people have watched YouTube videos on this topic.

What about you ?

Have you stocked your house with extra provisions ?

Have you made out your lottery tickets to reflect the numbers ?

Will you witness the sky falling ?
or
experience a 4D hologram and think it's real ?

Will  you  die  of  fright ?

Or will you stand ?

Personally, I believe these doomsayers represent
a  collection of the  misinformed,  incorrect, charlatans,
egomaniacs and  the  insane.


While I don't doubt that some of these authors had visitations
I question their state of mind and the true motives of their mentors.

THE   FACTS  ARE:

1.    A  GREAT  deal of money has been made on this topic

2.    HOPE  is the very  WORST  thing that can be removed from a human,

and

3.    fear is  ALWAYS   the  ONLY   thing to fear.

Although, I'm fairly certain to be celebrating next week's Christmas,

I  intend to live every day as if it's my last.

One day,  I'll be right.

In the meantime,
I'm going to enjoy a chocolate bar
and
thank  God  for it.

How 'bout you ?

At the
Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary
in Summit, New Jersey,
there are 17 Dominican Nuns
working  very  hard  to  make  ends  meet
by  running  a  Mail  Order  Gift Shop
called
THE  CLOISTER  SHOPPE

These  industrious  women  are
SOLELY
responsible  for  their  financial  support,
relying  completely  on  Divine  Providence.

The Roman Catholic Church, The Vatican,
The Holy See, The Bishop, etc...
DOES   NOT -  DOES  NOT
financially assist them in any way
AT  ALL !!!

That means that your last minute gift
can have dual purpose
and double strength in what it will do for others.

They  offer  beautiful  hand made,  natural soaps
in  bar,  as  well as  refillable  8 oz   liquid bottles
in  many  various  scents  and sets 
that  customers simply  rave  about !

One of their most popular sellers is a
citrus basil soap that is simply divine.

They've also created  NATURAL  scented room sprays
that won't poison your children and pets
at  a  fraction  of  Walmart  prices
in  environmentally  conscious  pump  spray  bottles

 If you're looking for natural body creams and lotions,
they have made them as well.

What I like the very best is the ability to
CREATE   YOUR  OWN  GIFT BASKET,
which they will fill with your exact specifications.

There are  many  plusses  and  more  choices
at the
CLOISTER  SHOPPE.

They offer books, dvds, religious statues and rosaries.

You can pay safely and securely with
PAY PAL
and they boast of
FAST  REASONABLE  SHIPPING !

Have a look and
GET  YOUR  ORDER  IN  VERY  SOON
as  all  production  CEASES
on  DECEMBER  17 th   !

know it or not...

believe it or not...

you are taking part in ancient rituals
that celebrate the same basic thing.

That mutual celebration is
the celebration of

MIRACLES

orchestrated by

the One and Only,

Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient


GOD !

At  this  time  of  year,  it's  customary  to  enjoy

Potato Pancakes

{ aka  LATKES  }

They are delicious, nutritious,
home inspiring soul food,
ridiculously easy to throw together
with readily available and inexpensive ingredients.
Here's what you'll need
to  serve  SIX  people:

• 6  MEDIUM  POTATOES

• 2  EGGS
  
  • 1  MEDIUM  FINELY  GRATED  ONION
• 
  1/3  to  1/2  CUP  FLOUR
• 
  1  TEASPOON  SALT
  
• 
  1  TEASPOON   DILL  WEED,
  { OPTIONAL }
• 
  SOME  CHOPPED  PARSLEY,
  { OPTIONAL }
• 
  A  SPLASH  OF  LEMON  JUICE, 
  { OPTIONAL }
  

WHAT  TO  DO  WITH  WHAT  YOU  HAVE:

Peel  the  potatoes and drop them in icy cold water,
which will help prevent them from turning brown as you work.

*   Some folks prefer to leave skin on the tater.   *
That's where most vitamins are. 
If that's what you decide to do,
the pancakes will not be as "pretty". 
But, who cares !
Right ? 
Just be certain to clean them
very well before proceeding !

Into a large bowl
grate the potatoes as finely as you can,
and splash them with some lemon juice,
which will also prevent them from turning brown as you work.

Sprinkle the potatoes with salt
and allow them to rest at room temp
for about 10 to 15 minutes.

WASH  YOUR  HANDS  VERY  VERY  WELL

Using your hands, grab a large wad of potatoes and
S Q U E E Z E 
them so that most liquid oozes back into your bowl.

Place the squeezed taters into a new bowl.

When all taters have been squeezed,
you will notice a
WHITE  RESIDUE
on the bottom of the original bowl.
THIS  STUFF  IS  POTATO  STARCH !
It's what helps make the LATKES  crunchy !

Carefully pour off the water
and use a spatula to add this potato starch
back into your taters !

Add remaining ingredients,
being especially mindful when adding the flour.

You may not need as much flour as you think.

The goal is to use as little flour as possible;
just enough to hold the mass together.

Mix all together and form into
small 4 or 5 inch circular pancakes.

FRY  in  MEDIUM  HIGH  HOT  OIL . . .

NOT  SMOKING HOT

. . . first one side til golden
and flip !

It's a  MUST  to serve these with
SOUR  CREAM
and/or
APPLE  SAUCE !!!

It's also traditional to serve them with a Mushroom Gravy...
but that's a recipe for another time.

SIMPLY  DELIGHTFUL !!!

Does a Non Toxic Whistling Tea Kettle exist ?

Is your tea kettle or coffee maker
poisoning your water ?

In a society deeply concerned about going "green",
and the purchase of bottled
and filters for water at their height,
the answer may surprise you !

There are hundreds
of tea kettles available on Amazon,
that range in price from $ 5.00  to  $ 475.00.

I wonder who would spend
$ 475.00 on a tea kettle ?

All it's supposed to do is boil water.

Should a non toxic whistling tea kettle
be so difficult to find in the year 2012 ?

Apparently, it is !

And  it  also  is  certain

TEA  KETTLE  MADNESS !

Available  stainless steel  tea  kettles,
{ be they $ 50 or $ 150.00 },
are seamed together with materials that
rust within a few months.

  How much rust and unknown substances from the seam
are being boiled into the water from the very first use ?

Suppliers  like  Cuisinart,
{ $ 120.00 for their kettle }
recommend that consumers wipe the inside dry
after every use
to avoid this issue !

Aw c'mon !
Who has time for that ?
It's a water pot !
Does this make any sense at all ?

Available enameled tea kettles,
{ such as Paula Deen's @ $ 50.00 },
apparently fail  as well.

Consumers  complain
when  the  interior  is  wiped  with  a  paper towel,
a  dark  residue  from  the  enamel  comes  out !

UGH !

What's  in  that   enamel ?
What's it  doing to the water ?
Has it been rendered "SAFE" by USA standards ?

There are kettles lined with non stick coatings,
just like the stuff they put on fry pans and other cookware.

Have you ever inspected a used "teflon" coated pot after use ?  
The coating wears away...into the food and water !

Common sense tells us
 
THIS  CAN'T  BE

NON  TOXIC  !
 
Literally look into the available
electric water kettles
that automatically shut themselves off when the water has boiled.

EVERY  SINGLE  ONE  
has a toxic seam or immersed plastic piece.

We all  KNOW  that boiled plastic releases toxins into the water.

It made me think of all the coffee makers people use
where the water is heated in plastic or unseen areas
and the consumer simply
doesn't consider
what's being absorbed into the water !

The available glass tea kettles
come with whistling toxic plastic lids
as well as warnings
in case the glass shatters !

For  $ 190.00,
the Brits boast a tea kettle made of copper.

Apparently,  the copper gets boiled into the water.

An overabundance of copper in the human body
causes a list of maladies.

NOT AT ALL A GOOD IDEA !

The ONE and ONLY

NON  TOXIC  TEA  KETTLE

I have found is

ONLY

being offered by

The  Vermont  Country  Store.


Click on their highlighted name to view their product.

They claim  stainless steel tea kettles,
in three sizes,

with ONE  HUGE drawback;

NO WHISTLE !!!

It's astounding, frustrating and disgusting that there is only ONE supplier,
therefore only ONE choice !

In search for the
NON  TOXIC  WHISTLING  TEA  KETTLE,
I simply conclude that a fortune can be made
by creating and marketing one.

If you can shed some light on this topic,
I sure would like to know !

In 1943, Norman Rockwell rendered
this  heartfelt  image
of  a  WW2  refugee
thanking  God  for  her  meal. 

The  painting  was  used
as  the  cover  for
The Saturday Evening Post.

It  shows  evidence  of
an unseen generous US Soldier
who has loaned the young woman
his  large  coat
to  stay  warm.

Although seventy years have passed
since  that  insane  era,
the  image  can  very  easily  be
believed  in  our  own  time,
for  we  still  haven't  solved
the  problem  of  people
suffering  in  similar  situations.

The madness of war continues
under  a  new  name
and  the  innocent
continue  to  be
the  greatest  victims.

As the Roman Empire,
founded on military might,
fell apart,
so we live
in a similar period of decay.

The Founder of Harvard University's
Sociology Department,
Pitirim  Sorokin,
observed  that  our  culture  is
oriented  towards  the  physical  senses;
has  exhausted  itself
and  is
d i s s o l v i n g;
proving  that  the  future
MUST
reform itself around
other ideas and purposes.


Let's hope we are able to form around
the idea and purpose of

L O V E

which brings with it many spiritual fruits,
such as

JOY  -   WISDOM  -  UNDERSTANDING  -  COUNSEL 

KINDNESS  -  GOODNESS  -  PATIENCE 

FAITHFULNESS  -  GENTLENESS  -  SELF  CONTROL  

FORTITUDE  -  KNOWLEDGE  -  PEACE 

{ to name a few }

as opposed to egomania, greed
and other hate filled havoc wreaking ideologies
before  we  all  perish !

For those of you who have
a tremendous amount to be grateful for,
and will be concerned about roasting the finest Turkey ever,
I share the following reliable and successful technique:

PERFECT   TURKEY  or  TURKEY  BREAST 

EVERY  TIME  !

Done in almost half the time of most recipes,
this no fail method will bring you the result.  

The  only  requirements  for
the  success  of  this  procedure  is
knowing  the  total  weight  of
your  oven  ready  bird,

{ which includes the weight of the stuffing, if any },

and Aluminum Foil or tight fitting cover for the roasting pan. 

You'll need to do a bit of math,
so get your pencil and paper ready.

CLEAN, SEASON,
{Bell's Seasoning is as good as it gets,
or create your own mixture.
Some folks swear that the enzymes in dried Apricots
added around the bird,
help in making it even juicier,
giving a different unexpected flavour,
despite the sulphites. 
Some criss cross the breast with bacon
for yet another dimension of flavour. 
This bacon is removed before the last half hour of roasting.},
STUFF,   {if desired- but REMEMBER to know the approximate weight of your stuffing},
AND  TRUSS  THE  BIRD.


COOKING  TIME  FORMULA  FOR  TWELVE  POUNDS  OR  LESS  OF  TURKEY:

15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES  PER  POUND  PLUS  AN  ADDITIONAL  15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES.

EXAMPLE:   TEN  POUND  TURKEY  PLUS  ONE  POUND  STUFFING  IN  BIRD 
EQUALS  ELEVEN  POUNDS  OVEN  READY  BIRD.    

{11  pounds oven ready bird }  X  { 15  minutes } =  165 minutes  +  15  minutes  =    180 MINUTES 

or  3 HOURS  COMPLETE  START  TO  FINISH  ROASTING  TIME.

 
COOKING  TIME  FORMULA  FOR  OVEN  READY  TURKEYS 

WEIGHING  MORE  THAN  TWELVE  POUNDS:

15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES  PER  POUND  FOR  THE  FIRST  TWELVE  POUNDS, 
PLUS  12,{ TWELVE }, MINUTES  PER  POUND  FOR  EACH  POUND 
OVER  THE  ORIGINAL  TWELVE  POUNDS,
PLUS  AN  ADDITIONAL  15,{ FIFTEEN }, MINUTES.

EXAMPLE:   FOURTEEN  POUND  TURKEY  PLUS  TWO  POUNDS  STUFFING  IN  BIRD 
EQUALS  SIXTEEN  POUNDS  OVEN  READY  BIRD. 

{ 12 pounds }  X  { 15 minutes }  =  180 minutes 
PLUS  { 4 pounds } X { 12 minutes } = 48 minutes 
PLUS  an additional  15 minutes. 

FULL  ROASTING  TIME  CONSEQUENTLY  EQUALS  243  MINUTES 
or  4 HOURS and  FIVE  MINUTES  !!!

Now that you know what your roasting time will be,
this is the procedure:

PREHEAT  OVEN  TO  400 DEGREES !

PLACE  BIRD  IN  ROASTING  PAN  AND  SEAL WELL  WITH  ALUMINUM  FOIL 
LEAVING A BIT OF SPACE  BETWEEN THE FOIL AND THE BREAST
SO THE SKIN WON'T STICK TO THE FOIL.

PLACE  BIRD  IN  OVEN. 
SET  TIMER  FOR  FIFTEEN  MINUTES  !!! 
WHEN  TIMER  RINGS, TURN DIAL ON OVEN TO  375 DEGREES. 
DO  NOT  OPEN  OVEN  DOOR  !!!

NOW  CALCULATE  WHAT  TIME  IT  WILL BE  WHEN 
THERE  IS  A  HALF  HOUR  REMAINING  OF  YOUR  FULL  ROASTING  TIME. 

WHEN  THAT  TIME  COMES, 
OPEN  OVEN  DOOR  AND  REMOVE  ENTIRE  ROASTING PAN FROM OVEN. 
CLOSE  OVEN  DOOR  AS  SOON  AS  POSSIBLE  TO  KEEP  HEAT  IN. 

CAREFULLY,
{ and I mean carefully as steam will wildly escape at this point },
REMOVE  FOIL,
{ and bacon if you used it }. 
REPLACE  BIRD  INTO  OVEN  AND  ROAST  FOR THE FINAL  HALF  HOUR.

YOUR  BIRD  IS  NOW  PERFECTLY  ROASTED  AND  GOLDEN  ! 
REMEMBER  TO  ALLOW  IT  TO  REST  FOR  TWENTY  MINUTES  BEFORE  CARVING  !

!!!   HAPPY  THANKSGIVING  !!!