Silly Cat

This just cracks me up when I see Cosmo doing this!! At first glance he seems to have been a bad boy!!

Looks like he is pouting in the corner of the window.
But really........

I am running the clothes dryer and he is sucking up the heat from the exhaust!! When I turn it on I can just watch in the window and almost every time Cosmo will be there pretty quickly. He just has this look of ooooh!! Phoebe is totally unimpressed with him or the vent! Silly girl!
You might remember from a previous post that Cosmo was the one who got caught in the live trap we had up on the roof. It was set up for a raccoon. For the whole story check out the post back somewhere around June 2010.

Know Your Farmer and Know Your Food

Came across this article this morning. Not surprising to me personally but may be shocking to some. Consider buying local and ask questions. You should really have a desire to know just what you are putting in your bodies unless of course you really enjoy your Kool-Aid .

 

Forget Grass Fed Beef – You are eating GRAS Ground Beef

March 6, 2011 by Lynn Swearingen

Lynn Swearingen  (c)copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved
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I read with interest this morning a little article (1). It might be hard to miss this little gem, but not for me apparently. My inbox overflowith with the link. Queries, questions, and disbelief. After re-reading the article, a curious question crossed my mind. What exactly is the process of introducing ammonia going to do to me? So of course I started looking…..
The first tinge of alarm came from a 2004 article discussing Mr. Roth’s receipt of the FoodQuality award (2):

“….and the patented method became a federally deemed “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS) process.”

Oh my. That sounds, uhm – tasty. What exactly is “generally recognized as safe” and who decides that? (3):

“A GRAS designation typically exists in one of three forms:

1.Self-affirmed. The manufacturer of this chemical or substance had performed all necessary research, including the formation of an expert panel to review safety concerns, and is prepared to use these findings to defend its product’s GRAS status.

2.FDA-pending. The manufacturer has performed all the aforementioned due diligence, and submitted to the Food & Drug Administration for GRAS approval.

3.No comment. The FDA has reviewed a product’s GRAS claim and responded with “no comment”; i.e., no further challenges on the product’s GRAS status.“

According to the New York Times, ground meat treated with a paint-peeling GRAS process falls under the first heading “Self-Affirmed”. That is what Americans are consuming at the majority of Fast Food restaurants , personally purchased ground beef products and some school lunches.

“In July, school lunch officials temporarily banned their hamburger makers from using meat from a Beef Products facility in Kansas because of salmonella — the third suspension in three years, records show. Yet the facility remained approved by the U.S.D.A. for other customers.”

I wonder if that is because the consumer bears the cost of illness from private purchase in many cases while the School would be responsible for their charges having consumed a “little something extra” with their ground beef.

In this interesting 114 page Thesis from Kansas State University (4) dated August 7, 2009, I especially like this comment:
“Humans suffer ammonia toxicity by inhalation, dermal contact, and ingestion. In the food industry, oral ingestion of ammonia is a major concern. One ammonia contamination occurred in Wisconsin in 1985, the second incident occurred in Illinois in 2002. In the first incident, children suffered from mouth/throat burn and nausea when children consumed contaminated milk with ammonia (530 to 1,524 ppm; normal 1.4 ppm), while vomiting, nausea,headache, and stomachache were the symptoms among the children who consumed contaminated chicken tenders (138 to 2,468 ppm; normal 75 to 95 ppm) in the second incident.The symptoms in the Illinois incident were more severe because of the high levels of ammonia in the tenders. The literature supplies little information about ammonia oral toxicity; more research is needed in this topic.“
Excuse me – here I sit and if I can find this data, surely the USDA or FDA can.
Here is another little question. How can it be determined that the symptoms produced after consuming the products (meat or milk) are from E-Coli or ammonia oral toxicity?
The problem with the “Food Safety System” is not the little farmer or producer. It is the System. No amount of additional Regulation, Rules, or processes will make our food safer. What will make our food safer is the American public standing up and demanding in no uncertain terms that the corrupt corporations and government entities get off our plates. (emphasis mine)
At this point I have decided to abandon the search of the chemical effects on my body and drink some more government supplied Kool-Aid.
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(1) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html
(2) http://www.foodquality.com/mag/12012004/fq_12012004_FE1.html
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe
(4) http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/2097/1646/1/FarisHussain2009.pdf

Soggy days

By now I am beginning to wonder if the sounds of squish, squish will ever fade as I head out to do chores?! While we are not bothered too much by a lot of water lying around the house, the bottom ground just north of our house contains the beginnings of the Killbuck Creek. As you can imagine, it looks like a lake down there from time to time and this past week was not an exception.

If you look closely you can see standing water behind the tree line. These are fields that we farm along the Killbuck Creek. This area is currently a duck/goose haven till things dry up a bit!

This is the back end of our neighbor's property. There is not supposed to be any water there and it is halfway to his house!

This is looking a little further beyond to the next neighbor's back forty. This is a field we also farm and it is pretty much all under water currently.
I am a little concerned as to what the predicted 8-12 inches of snow will do if we truly get that much overnight.
On the bright side of things though....I was able to uncover my garlic a couple of days ago and it is growing very well! I am thankful for that and to see the green growth there. Spring really is just around the corner.
If I get on the ball, I hope to take some pics of any snow we do get and post again soon.
Blessings to all.
Numbers 6:24-26

Lettuce Muncher

So everyone by now knows that we have cats. Well, how many of you have a cat or know of one who lurks about waiting for you to get out the salad fixins? When I get out green stuff in our house, Oscar is never far away. He seems to hear the subtle rustle of the greens bag and shows up promptly. I have a few pictures this time to show you that our lettuce muncher is for real.

Anyways....you get the picture. Oscar really likes greens and actually eats a pretty fair amount of them. And for those of you who are thinking about what usually happens when cats eat grass......doesn't seem to happen with the greens!
Just had to share this as I'm sure you find it as odd as I do that I am stalked by a cat wanting salad!!!
Till next time...Oscar bids you farewell.

Love and lessons

This is a tale of a cat and a lesson that God taught me through his death.
His name was Furball (aka Geezer) and he was 20 years old. One of the few cats I actually planned to get as a kitten around 8 weeks old. He was with me for all of his years. Here are a few pictures of him....

These were taken almost 4 years ago. This next pic is one of Furball sleeping on my husband. He would balance up there for quite awhile.

He was getting pretty thin over the last year or two but always had lots of energy and practically ate us out of house and home!! His kidneys were getting weaker though and one day during the week of Thanksgiving this past year-he started becoming disinterested in food. In about two days he just stopped eating altogether. He would just look at me as if to say...I want to eat but I just cannot and walk away. This was pretty painful for me because I knew there was nothing further I could do for him and that his death would not be far away. Here are two pictures of him two days before he died....

He had gone deaf some years ago but I talked to him a lot and told him that it was okay to stop fighting. I even told him how much I loved him and told God how thankful I was for all the years He allowed this creature of his to be with us.That night I awoke to hearing Furball retching loudly. I got up to go comfort him as best I could. The retching just knocked him over and he just wanted to walk around. I ended up on my face on the floor sobbing my heart out and asking God to please end this and just allow Furball to die now.

God came to me in the midst of my pain and reminded me that it really was in his control and when the time was that Furball should die-God would do that-not me. God reassured me that He was with me and that He certainly knew about this small creature of his after all-He has put the breath of life in him and that breath would return to God. My task was to see my old guy through this and allow God his work. That was Thanksgiving night (Thursday) and Furball died the following Saturday morning. He knew he was loved till the end and it was a peaceful ending.
He is buried in a spot where I intend to plant a bunch of catnip this spring in his memory.
God gave me great peace that night when He came and spoke softly to me. I had never been able to accept my pets dying in the past-I have mourned for weeks on end. This time was different and God brought me to a place of better understanding of all He does and how little I really can do except to trust and obey Him.
God used one, old, tired kitty to teach me more of Himself and I find myself grateful even in the midst of the pain. I have lots of happy memories to make me smile.

Warmth in the winter

Recently we were blessed with a very bright and sunshiny day. I took a few pics of our feline friends and how they spend these wintry days.

Makes me wish for a BIG window and a spot for me to lounge in the sun!!
Soon enough, spring will be here and I can simply go outdoors to be in the sun.

Friendship

This is something that has been on my heart to write about. It has been a long time since I had a true friend I think. My lot in life has been always contacting others first, broken promises and just not being kept in the loop so to speak. Maybe my expectations are just to high and maybe I am just kicking against the goads. Just seems like a true friend should be more than this sooooo....

First I went to Webster to look up "friend" I found this...Someone whom one knows and likes. That's pretty basic. I know not just a few people that I would put in this category and a lot of these would be people whom I see only on Sundays. My next place to search out "friend" is the scriptures.

We find David and Jonathon where it says in 1Sam 18:1 that Jonathon became one in spirit with David and he loved him as himself. What a grand design of friend this is! We go further to 1Sam 23:15-18. Jonathon goes out to David (Saul is seeking David's life) to encourage him to find strength in God. It seems the two of them shared some deep thoughts and fears and encouraged one another. Proverbs has a lot to say about the fact that who your friends are says a lot about who you are. I don't get the idea that true friends abandon each other either--for any reason.
Jesus seems to be a friend to many. We find the characteristics present as he interacts with different people. He says that there is no greater friend than this...that a man would lay down his life for a friend.
I know that friendship is both a giving as well as a receiving. I think this comes together as true love.

The world doesn't know anything about true love. Friendships there are bought and sold at the drop of a hat!

That (true love) takes a relationship with God first before you can love others. We are called to love others as Christ loves us and that is a picture of what friendship looks like for me. A genuine love will show itself in many ways like....a phone call just to chat..a random card to say-I'm thinking of you, being aware of needs and letting others know of your needs, just listening, doing something for someone just because it is the right thing to do, a self-less attention to others, offering to take someone shopping or to a medical appointment, cooking a meal or cleaning a house. Just a few examples of how friendship might look.
We are supposed to show our love towards others and after all, actions are louder than words.
Again I believe that it all goes back to your personal relationship with the Heavenly Father. How much time do you spend with Him and in His word so you know what love looks like?

God has a place and a plan for each of us and for us to trust this is best would be called contentment. Ah, contentment, now that is something to hold on to. Are we just kicking against the goads when we are discontent with other people in our lives? If nothing happens by chance then perhaps things are the way God intends them and it is time for me to just be content and grateful in whatever and whomever God has for me. And by the way, nothing is by chance, God is the author of all things--nothing happens that He does not know about. Perhaps my lot in life has been discontent and God is teaching me contentment.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Phil 4: 10-13