Paraphernalia: March 2011

beef

America is the land of beef : Steaks, burgers, ribs etc... How do they produce so much meat ?

The answer is : Feedlots are the key to the American system: one source says 30 million cattle annually are finished for slaughter in this way.

Those lagoons in the aerial photo are sewage. The big feedlots produce more effluent than many large towns, creating a significant environmental problem. The South Lot of the Monfort Beef operation in Greeley, Colorado, has been claimed to be the world's largest feedlot, holding 120,000 head integrated with a feed mill and a meat packing plant. Nebraska is the state claiming the most head and the most feedlots.

Well at least they are outside and not inside a huge shed all their lives...

guess who .....

dream houses.........

Wooden house (Rhode Island) Beach house - California

Floating ECO house

House in the Forest - Japan (hope it's still there !)

hunger

"There is more hunger for love and
appreciation in this world than for bread."
- Mother Teresa

Physical hunger:
A healthy, well-nourished individual can survive for weeks without food intake, the sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant.

Hunger for love and affection : is something completely different

are you gruntled ?

Disgruntled.

How may you be disgruntled if you are not already gruntled?

The 1st sense of gruntle was a repeated grunt, especially the noise that pigs make in.

It is rarely used of humans, but an example occurs in a 1922 book, The Covered Wagon, by Emerson Hough, “They dismounted. The two Indians, short, deep-chested, bow-legged men, went to the packs. They gruntled as they unloaded the two larger mules.”

Gruntle appeared in the fifteenth century; by the end of the next century it had begun to be used to mean grumbling or complaining. I imagine it as old-retainer mumble, the noise that someone fed up with their condition will make under their breath all the time.

disgruntled has its current meaning, which the Oxford English Dictionary describes as a state of “moody discontent, sulky dissatisfaction or ill-humour”.

human reflections

sign of the times....

There are calls for the deforestation of extraneous signage from modern life. It's supposed to help - but ends up causing confusion.

It’s the time of the signs
It’s a dead end street
A no through road
A cul-de-sac
A no-way
Give-way
One-way
It’s a no-go driver nagging from the back seat
on the local by-pass You will not get past go
You will buy up time or pay the fine
on restrictive double lines
No turning to the right
No veering to the left
No argument
Stay central
Avoid the reservation
when taking observations
Live a mini-island life
in mounting strife and
curb all feelings of distress
or mounting pavements
when under duress
There’s a no-loading

window for retail
A no-unloading opportunity
for wholesale as highways
plant another

urban by-way’s
sustainable forest
of signage
with little illumination
and little point

except for growing
seeds of condemnation
for a spoon-fed nation
where chicanery

drives you completely
round the bend

mindfulness

What is Mindfulness ??

The art of concentrating
on the NOW

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha

Four tips on how to....

count your blessings.......

"When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what
other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate."

oost indies doof

Here in the NL, they call a person "Oost-Indies doof" (East-Indies deaf)

i.e. pretend not to hear things they don't want to hear.

The origin probably lies back in the time of the Dutch colonies in Indonesia.

Indonesians, and Eastern folks in general try to avoid saying no if asked a question

that they would rather not answer. So they pretend not to have heard what is asked.

We don't really have a special saying for it in English

the best translation is 'selective hearing'

bottoms up

Go .....Here....... from photo nr 27 for an explanation

Delia's kitchen hints.............

Delia Maxine

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.	Buy Smash mashed potato mix. Keeps in the cupboard for up to a year.
When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking tin, use a bit of dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.	Go to the bakery! Hell, they'll even decorate it for you!
Wrap celery in aluminium foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.	Celery? Never heard of it!
Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.	Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away!
Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.	Leftover wine??????? *HELLO!!!!!!*

friends

"You are the average of the five people
you spend the most time with."

swimwear

I'm going swimming today in the weight lose campaign, and have been trying on my swimsuits..

But there is swimwear and swimwear............

Speedo to Borat

Bikini's are OK if you have the perfect body, but most of us are shaped more like the lady on the right!

And people of a certain age will remember the
Itsy Bitsy Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

And if you're even older you might remember bathing huts :~))