Holiday & Solstice Greetings

Happy Winter Solstice

Mapping Thanksgiving

Here's what your part of America eats on Thanksgiving.

Who eats what where? This Survey  about Thanksgiving traditions had 1,058 respondents.

Some things like chicken, pork and roast beef got cursory shout-outs as main Thanksgiving dishes, but turkey rules, with 82 percent of respondents saying the other, other white meat is the centerpiece of their meal. When you get past the poultry and check out the side dishes, though, the regional distinctions really come out.

Here’s the most disproportionately consumed side dish in each region:

Full Article

Happy New Year

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Now more than ever, it's helpful to count blessings and look at the good things in the world.  Doing so provides energy and inspiration for the days ahead.

The following is from the folks over at Popular Science.

"Every Thanksgiving, Americans gather to celebrate family, give thanks, and stuff our faces until we all feel sick. Tragically, filling up too fast on a good holiday meal means you won’t manage to grab seconds or thirds of all the best dishes on the table. You need to maximize your food intake—here’s how.

Note: This advice is not conducive to a healthy everyday diet. But then again, neither is Thanksgiving.

1. Prepare

Getting ready for the big meal is a matter of balance. To consume as much as possible, you’ll need to start on an empty stomach. But if you’re starving, you’ll eat too quickly instead of pacing yourself.
“Fasting is typically not a good idea,” says registered dietician Leslie Bonci. Instead, she recommends that you follow your regular meal schedule, but stop eating four to six hours before the main event.
Exercising earlier in the day is also a good idea. Physical exertion can stimulate the appetite. And a brisk walk or run helps move food through your digestive system and empty out your stomach in preparation.
Finally, it’s easier to eat a lot if you’re relaxed. So immediately before the meal, take some deep breaths, think calm thoughts, and avoid confronting your ornery uncle (you can argue with him after you’ve defeated your turkey).

2. Choose wisely

Once you’ve girded your loins for the overeating challenge, there’s nothing to do but begin. The choices you make now will determine whether you fill your stomach to maximum capacity, or give up long before dessert. That’s because certain types of food make you feel more full than others.
An over-full feeling isn’t just caused by a stretched-to-capacity stomach. Your body also triggers feelings of fullness by releasing hormones and enzymes as you eat. For example, the more you chew, the fuller you will feel. (That said, do not chew less in an attempt to reduce fullness. It will increase your odds of choking, and death by asphyxiation is not a fun way to end a Thanksgiving meal.)
Because of this, certain substances, such as the fats and proteins in turkey, will make you feel full sooner than others. “Once you start eating protein, the secretion of enzymes and hormones starts that satiety cascade,” Bondi says, “and having fat as part of the meal triggers satiety. If you’re trying not to over-consume, front-load with protein.”
And if you are trying to over-consume?
“Potatoes, stuffing, rolls require minimal effort,” Bonci says. “You can do maximal damage with those things because they layer nicely—you can pack in more without feeling too full.”
So you start with the carbs, and only then load the turkey onto your plate. While you’re at it, you should also delay your consumption of fiber-rich foods like veggies and whole grains. They fill you up faster because that fiber soaks up water and takes up more room.
Liquids also occupy precious stomach real estate, so don’t consume a large glass of juice or bowl of soup right away. That said, fluids will help food move through your stomach as you eat, so sip some water or other liquids throughout the meal.

3. Take a break

The human stomach is stretchy. If you cram food and drink into it, it will expand to a maximum volume of two to four liters—the equivalent of one or two 2-liter bottles of soda. Once you’ve filled your gut to capacity, the meal is over—right?
Not so. As fast as you put food into it, your stomach processes that content and starts moving it into the intestines. So when you feel like you can’t eat another bite, press pause. If you’ve been loading up on simple carbohydrates, you’re in luck: The stomach can empty itself of low-fiber carbs in a mere 30 to 90 minutes.
But veggies and whole grains will throw a wrench into the process. “Something with fiber takes longer to leave the stomach because the fiber holds fluids,” Bonci says. Thirsty fiber not only makes you feel fuller faster, but also moves more slowly through your system, making that feeling of fullness last longer.
And protein like turkey sticks to your ribs for much longer: It will take closer to four hours to pass through your stomach.
Luckily, you don’t have to wait for your stomach to empty out entirely before you go back to the buffet. Even a little reduction in food volume can help. Give yourself half an hour to recover, and you might find that you’re ready to pack in more chow.

4. Recovery

At this point, you probably feel bloated and sick. All you want is to curl up on the sofa, holding your stomach and groaning. Ignore that instinct and get to your feet.
If you take yourself from a sitting to a standing position, you’re going to move food more quickly.
“Part of the digestion of food is movement,” Bonci says. “If you take yourself from a sitting to a standing position, you’re going to move food more quickly and feel less uncomfortable sooner than if you just sit down.”
You don’t have to start running laps around the living room, but even a slow walk can make you feel better. The nerves around your stomach are the ones that complain to the brain about how full you are. Once your body pushes that food from your stomach into your intestines, the uncomfortably full feeling should ease up.
Adding liquid will also speed up this process. “Drinking will help to move things down,” Bonci says, “instead of everything sitting there going nowhere like a traffic jam.”

5. Dessert

Sweet foods don’t make you feel full as quickly as savory ones do. So after the meal, dig in to some pumpkin pie—after all your hard eating, you’ve earned it."

Veterans Day

Honoring and remembering all the brave veterans who fought..to give us a safe and peaceful place to live in.

Fourth of July

Memorial Day 2016

“It is the Soldier, not the minister

Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter

Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet

Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer

Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,

Who serves beneath the flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the flag,

Who allows the protester to burn the flag.”

― Charles M. Province

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day world! We only have one so let's look after it!

The 10 most surreal landscapes in the world

While some may believe the perfect travel destination consists only of sun, sea and sand, for those with a more adventurous streak, here is a collection of the most surreal and mysterious landscapes on earth. These are places that have intrigued visitors, baffled scientists and captured the imagination of local people for centuries.
Lake Hillier, Australia




This violently pink saline lake can be found on Middle Island in the Recherché Archipelago, off the coast of Western Australia. While only 600 metres long, the startlingly-coloured lake resembles a piece of Pop Art on the otherwise uniformly green island. The cause of its pink hue continues to baffle scientists. Some experts think it is caused by the low nutrient concentrations and different types of bacteria and algae, while others suggest the pink colouration comes from a sea salt and nahcolite deposit reaction.
Dallol, Ethiopia




Resembling the scenery of a video game or sci-fi film, Dallol’s volcanic landscape in the Danakil Depression is a geological phenomenon. Its luminous, otherworldly appearance is a result of acidic hot springs, sulphur, gas geysers and spectacular salt formations. However, a note of caution to those planning a visit to this extraordinary crater: the climate in Dallol registers the hottest temperatures of any inhabited area on earth, with average summer highs of 46C. The colourful lakes are, in many cases, toxic and the sulphurous vapours make it difficult to breathe.
Lake Natron, Tanzania




This salt and soda lake in the Arusha Region of northern Tanzania evaporates completely in the summer, leaving an astonishingly blood-red lake floor, thriving with salt-loving organisms and algae. On top of the dramatic scenery, the dry lake is an important breeding area for more than a million flamingos. However, when full, the highly caustic lake is deadly to any animals not adapted to it. One of the most inhospitable environments on earth, Lake Natron is best viewed from the air.
Zhangye Danxia Landform, China




This landscape of surreal, psychedelic colours and shapes has to be seen to be believed. Known as the “eye candy” of Zhangye, the 400 square kilometre geological park can be found in the Gansu Province in central north China. Danxia landform, a type of geomorphology unique to China, is formed of coloured sandstones and conglomerates largely from the Cretaceous age 66 million years ago. Geologists believe it is a result of movement in the Earth’s crust, which makes rock layers appear in different colours, sizes and patterns.
Atchafalaya Swamp, US




This captivatingly eerie swamp in Louisiana stretches across 5,700 square kilometres, making it the largest in the United States. The vast expanse of wetlands, bayous and marshes is home to beavers, bears, alligators and dozens of endangered bird species. Humans have also inhabited the swamp for hundreds of years, from Native Americans, to fleeing French colonists to present-day Cajuns. Boats can snake through aisles of haunting, moss-draped cypress trees that tower above the water.
Joshua National Tree Park, US




This national park is a gem in south-eastern California that attracts more than a million visitors ever year. Comprising two very distinct desert systems, the Colorado and the Mojave, the park flaunts a variation of vast, parched wilderness to the east and sandy plains adorned by the otherworldly, giant branching yuccas – Joshua Trees – to the west. They are the largest type of yucca and are endemic to the Mojave desert. Numerous visitors come to the park for its fantastic rock piles, formed more than 100 million years ago, which offer many opportunities for climbing and hiking.
Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar




A labyrinth of towering limestone needles, Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Situated in the Melaky Region on the western coast of this spectacular Indian Ocean island, the park comprises 1,575 square kilometres of dramatic canyons, gorges, and largely untouched forests. Its abnormal topography of vertically steep monoliths makes the Tsingy de Bemaraha site home to an exceptionally high number of endemic plant and animal species.
Socotra, Yemen




A hub of biodiversity in the Indian Ocean, Socotra is an archipelago of four islands located some 200 miles south of the Arab peninsula. Its geological isolation and fierce heat has left it with some of the highest numbers of unique species of anywhere in the world. Nearly 40 per cent of all plant species on the islands are found nowhere else on Earth. Among the most famous and distinctive of these is the dragon blood tree, which bears the remarkable appearance of a giant green mushroom. The tree’s resin, called dragon blood, is highly prized by locals and used as medicine to treat almost all ailments. However, with Yemen currently on the Foreign Office’s no-go list, it’s best to appreciate Socotra’s strange beauty on screen only.
Cappadocia, Turkey




The phantasmagorical landscape of the Göreme National Park in Cappadocia, is a product of both natural phenomena and human intervention. Volcanic eruptions and erosion have contributed to the formation of the fairy-tale-like rock cones, pillars and mushrooms stretching up to 40 metres high. Meanwhile, human hands developed a network of extraordinary caves and tunnels under the rocks some 3,500 years ago. These underground settlements cover over 100 square miles, and while most of the cave dwellings are currently unoccupied, some still serve as homes and others as hotels.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia




The Earth’s largest salt flat, situated near the crest of the Andes in southwest Bolivia, may give the visitor the illusion of being able to walk on air. This breath-taking expanse of salt crust covers more than 10,000 square kilometres, essentially resembling a giant mirror. According to the legend of the Aymara people of the Andes, the Salar is formed of the tears of the mountain goddess Tunupa after she was abandoned by her husband Kusku.

Hip Hopin' Down The Bunny Trail

Joy & Peace for 2016

From one of my favorite comics Bill Hicks. May this ride through 2016 bring you all Joy and Peace.

Autumnal Equinox

Photos courtesy of The Guardian

Happy Mother's Day

For all the mothers, past, present and future. You are the heart of every family.