best friend: February 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Sunderland Secret

Riverside Cemetery

Hey folks, not much time to blog today but I wanted to show you this place I found today in Sunderland. It's the Riverside Cemetery and the earliest graves date back to 1714.

The road leading to it is obscure and not always safe. That's Mount Sugarloaf looming in the background.

The cemetery itself was a glassy sheet of ice, making it impossible to really explore as much as I wanted to.

However, I did manage to get over to the back where the cemetery looks out over the mighty Connecticut River. This is a view of the river impossible to see in warmer weather because of all the leaves.

The combination of this gnarled tree and faded tombstone make this a scene right out of Stephen King novel.

I won't tell you the exact location of Riverside cemetery, lest too many flock to it, but those who know the hilltowns will recognise how to get there from my photos.

Obama vs. Jindal in 2012?

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's TV response after President Obama's speech Tuesday so upset some Democrats that they forgot their political correctness and stooped to making fun of his accent. But President Obama seems to regard Jindel as his likely 2012 opponent according to Yahoo:

As far as the current Oval Office occupant is concerned, Obama thinks Jindal's spoiling for a contest. During his Monday press conference following the meeting with governors, the president chided stimulus package naysayers for politics as usual and "looked at" Jindal when he said, "There's going to be ample time for campaigns down the road."

Whatever their differences, Obama and Jindall have this in common - both have foreign sounding birth names that they tried to disguise. Barack used to go by the name of "Barry" and Jindall, born with the name Piyush, demanded at the age of four to be called Bobby after the Brady Bunch character (above) of the same name.

Fine Art

Wow, I can't believe the jean shorts in this photo are painted on! (click to enlarge)

Now that's what I call inspiring art!

Believe nothing because a wise person said it.
Believe nothing because it is generally held.
Believe nothing because it is written.
Believe nothing because it is said to be divine.
Believe nothing because someone else believes it.
But believe only what you yourself judge to be true.

-Buddha

Friday, February 27, 2009

Project 365 09 ~ Week 8

After many errands and explorations, Justin and I had a seat in the cozy neighbourhood fish & chips place, Len Duckworth's. Comfort food, to be sure.

We trekked out to IKEA to continue our comparison shopping as we get ready for our kitchen reno. It is happening. We've signed a contract and put our money down. Things are moving. We are wildly in love with this quartz tile called "Tiffany Grey." It's a favourite option for our countertop.

Monday morning and the sun decided to visit. I think Jinx has missed him.

I've been pretty tired and extremely busy these days. Remembering to take some quiet time helps.

Wednesday it was such a treat to get out and have lunch with Shannon and my mom.

How cool is it that after lunch my mom asked me to come with her and do a photo shoot of ice sculptures.

Thursday was coffee date time. I had a great meet-up with Tara. It's so great to chat with a fellow innerpreneur!

And every week ends with hanging out with Shannon! We had a cozy and yummy time out for dinner. A great start to the weekend!

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Lesson Plan- Good Samaritan (1st grade on up)

The Good Samaritan

Objectives: The students will be able to
-retell the parable of the Good Samaritan
- explain the message of the parable of the Good Samaritan
- name different ways to show love for others
- identify others as neighbors and describe ways to help
- explain that God commands us to love one another and to help anyone in need

Review:
Prayer, Take Home Sheet, and vocabulary from last week’s lesson and also Objects Used as Mass cards: (show picture cards that we have done thus far)

Vocabulary Words: (Write words on the board and discuss with class)

Jerusalem- the capital of Israel and holy city of the Jews (show students this on a map or have one of the students find it on a map).
Jericho- town in the Jordan Valley. Known as the world’s oldest town (show students this on a map or have one of the students find it on a map).
Robbers- people who steal things
Inn- like a hotel where you can sleep and eat

Plan:

Read story: "The Good Samaritan" and ask questions from Take Home Sheet that will be sent home today.

Activities:

Introduce activities: What does loving your neighbor really mean?

sermons4kids.com- A Neighbor’s a Neighbor object lesson with coloring page and puzzles

sermons4kids.com- Won’t You Be My Neighbor? object lesson with activities, coloring, puzzles, etc.

sermons4kids.com- Group Activities (Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) crafts, games, songs, etc.

dltk-bible.com- The Good Samaritan lesson with memory verse, teacher's guide, puzzles, take home sheet, coloring pages, crafts, etc.

childrensermons.com- Samaritan Neighbor object lesson

children.calvarychapel.com- The Good Samaritan lesson with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, and color sheets.

kidsclubs4jesus.com- The Good Samaritan lesson with puzzles, coloring sheet, Bible readings, questions, memory verses, key points, object lesson, drama, puppets, etc. (These files are set up and formatted so that they can be easily made into weekly booklets for your children's ministry, youth ministry, etc., with 4 sheets of legal paper and two staples).

Movie:

Movie- Veggie Tales: Accepting and Helping- Are You My Neighbor? The Story of Flibber-o-loo (The Good Samaritan) 15 min) and ask questions:

1. What does loving your neighbor really mean? Help others when ever they need help even when you don’t feel like it.
2. Why wouldn’t the mayor and the doctor stop and help Larry? They said that they were too busy.
3. What should the mayor and doctor do? Help Larry.
4. Who helped Larry? A fellow from the other town.
5. Should we help people in need? Yes.
6. How can we help others?

Crafts:

Introduce craft: How well do you know the story of The Good Samaritan? Let’s find out!

The Good Samaritan Story Wheel:

This craft is free, however it can only to be used for classroom and personal use. It may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit.

Directions: Print the top and bottom wheels out on cardstock. Cut out wheels. Cut out circle shape on the inside line edge of the top wheel. Have children color wheels. Attach a brass fastener through the center of both wheels. On the back of the bottom wheel attach a strip of cardstock (at least 1 inch wide and 6 inches long) leaving half extended over the side (so you can turn the wheel). You can also draw an arrow on the top side of the strip on the end to indicate which way to turn the bottom wheel.

The Good Samaritan Story Wheel (top)

The Good Samaritan Story Wheel (bottom)

Introduce craft: What are some things that people have done for you that were nice? What can we make to help remind us of the many kindnesses you have received from others? Let’s find out!

Gratitude Jar-God's gifts sometimes come through other people. (Crafts For Christian Values by Kathy Ross, page 26 & 27). Have the children write down on small slips of paper the kind things others have done for them and put them inside the jar. If the child cannot write, they can color pictures of kind things people have done for them and put them into the jar.

Or make a Gratitude Jar by honesters.blogspot.com- like this one: Every time the children say something positive or showed gratitude they get to put in a bean (or a Spanish peanut) into the jar.

mssscrafts.com- Sharing/Helping Hands
This craft involves making a small booklet which will illustrate how we can share or help others. It can be adapted for both preschool or primary (elementary) aged children by changing expectations for the inside content.

crayola.com- Kindness Calendar Quilt Craft
You plan vacations. You schedule school work. Why not set a date for doing good deeds? Fill your colorful calendar quilt with acts of kindness!

crayola.com- Circle of Kindness Craft
Spin this Circle of Kindness for kids can be inspired to do good deeds. (Although it is suggested to make this craft for Rosh Hashanah, it can be used any time to encourage kindness.)

Loving others demands respect, consideration, cooperation, care, etc. Love is about giving. Fill these chore charts out or have the students come up with their own chores to do and color. These can be given to parents or friends/family etc. to show they are serious about their respect for them, care, etc. They are to bring the chore charts back signed next week and receive a small gift as a reward for their good deeds.

christianpreschoolprintables.com- Custom Chore Chart Generator

alenkasprintables.com- Editable Chore Charts

dltk-cards.com- Custom Chore Chart

successfulfamilychores.com- Several chore charts here to choose from for all ages.

Introduce craft: Who should we be kind to? Everyone. Let’s make a craft to remind us to “Love Others”. (Love Bug Lady Bug)

familycorner.com- Love Bug Lady Bug
Paint the paper plates or use red and white paper plates to make this craft. On the back of the lady bug where the wings open up write “Love Others”.

dltk-kids.com- Lady Bug Invite
Or make the lady bug with poster board or card stock.

Games:

Introduce game: Being a good Samaritan means doing something for someone else without wondering what that person will do for you in return. Can you think of nice things to do for another person?

home.howsstuffworks.com- Backyard Bingo
For a 'green' spin on a great game, we recommend a round of backyard bingo. This good Samaritan activity isn't just helpful, it's a lot of fun, too. Kids can become bingo winners and expert recyclers at the same time.

home.howstuffworks.com- Ice Water Welcome
The Ice Water Welcome is a good Samaritan activity that gives back to a group of people that don't often get much gratitude: construction workers.

Introduce game- How are we to treat others?

childrenministry.com- The Good Samaritan Game
Use this game to illustrate how Jesus wants us to take care of each other

“Win or Lose by How You Choose” by Judge Judy Sheindlin

Directions- Show the children the picture and read the situation. With each situation there are a series of answers for the children to choose from. Ask the children what they would do. Do not tell the children the right answer. Explore and evaluate the different choices together with the children.

sundayschoolresources.com- What Do I Do?
The teacher can read the situations and ask the children what they can do to show the special love Jesus says we should have. (Scroll down to Bible Story Activities.)

Introduce game: How well do you know the story “The Good Samaritan”? Let’s find out.

painsley.org- Good Samaritan Board Game
Students make their own board game based on the parable “The Good Samaritan”.

These games are free, however they are only to be used for classroom and personal use. They may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit.

The Good Samaritan: Work your way around the board and the first player to FINISH is the winner.

Directions- Print out Directions, cut it out, and glue on front of file folder.

Game Board- Print out Game Board, trim, and glue on the inside of the file folder. Make sure the directions are on the front of the file folder. Laminate or cover file folder with clear contact paper to make it last.

What Would Jesus Do? Making the right decisions in life is hard to do, but if you let Jesus be your guide and think, “What Would Jesus Do?” it will make it a lot easier.

Directions- Print out Directions, cut it out, and glue on front of file folder.

Game Board- Print out Game Board, trim, and glue on the inside of the file folder. Make sure the directions are on the front of the file folder. Laminate or cover file folder with clear contact paper to make it last.

Game Cards-Use these or make your own. Print Game Cards out on card stock. Cut out Game Cards. Laminate or cover with clear contact paper to make them last.

Spinner- Make spinner according to directions.

Random Acts of Kindness: Children identify Random Acts of Kindness as they move around the board.)

Directions- Print out Directions, cut it out, and glue on front of file folder.

Game Board- Print out Game Board, trim, and glue on the inside of the file folder. Make sure the directions are on the front of the file folder. Laminate or cover file folder with clear contact paper to make it last.

Tokens- Use these tokens or make your own. Print out several pages of tokens out on card stock. Cut out and laminate or cover with clear contact paper to make them last.

Snacks:

Introduce snack: How can we be kind to others?

Have students wash their hands and make an easy snack for another class. (Make arrangements with the other classroom prior to the lesson so you have permission from that teacher and they know that a snack is being brought to them).

(Example: popcorn, trail mix, cheese whiz on a cracker, etc.)

After they have delivered their treat, they may have some as well.

Puzzles, Mazes, Worksheets:

lambsongs.co.nz- “The Kind Man From Samaria” by Jill Kemp (booklet for the children to color)

Cover

Booklet

A Good Helper maze- Amazing Bible Mazes by Anita Reith Stohs

More 365 Activities for Kids (do any of the Good Samaritan puzzles, mazes, dot-to-dot, spot the difference, etc. from October 4 - 9).

The Merciful Samaritan (find the hidden pictures)- Hidden Pictures Explore Hidden Treasures in God’s Word (Grade 1 – 3) by Linda Standke, page 24.

biblewise.com- Help Him Out (maze)

misslink.org- Jig-saw puzzle to print out and cut out.

dltk-bible.com- Good Samaritan Activity Sheets (anagrams, crossword, cryptogram, mazes, word-mining sheets, word searches, etc.)

clcoc.org- Good Samaritan (word search)

sermons4kids.com- (word search)

sermons4kids.com- (crossword)

sermons4kids.com- (decoder puzzle)

sermons4kids.com- (fill in the blanks)

Homework: Prayers and Take Home Sheet (It is in MS Word and can be changed any way you like according to your student’s abilities.)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Going Up!

And a Hospital Visit

I'm sorry to see that the Springfield Newspapers have raised their prices. It's not that I don't want to pay the small increases, it's just that the whole notion of price increases in the newspaper business seems self-destructive. At a time when the main competition to print media is online content available for free, newspapers should be moving toward making themselves also available for no cost. The Springfield Newspapers, to both preserve and grow their brand name, should decide on an affordable amount of copies they can publish and give away at carefully chosen location like coffeeshops or other spots where people want free reading material. Then they need to put everything they've got into their online presence on Masslive.com.

The most important thing they need to do is to educate their advertisers about the total superiority of online ads over print ones. Print ads are very much hit or miss. In order to reach the minority of readers who are interested in what you're selling you have to pay for ads in every single copy of the paper. So to reach five thousand potential customers you have to pay for 100,000 ads, or whatever the publication's circulation is. In other words, 95% of your print ads are not seen, or the customers are not interested in them, yet you must pay full price for this extremely inefficient and ineffective way of communicating with your customers.

Online ads however, are only seen by those who are interested in topics relating to your product. What Adsense, for example, does is use its search technology to match ads with article related to the product. So if you are selling fishing poles, your ads appear only next to fishing related articles. No more wasting your advertising dollars on print ads that go to people that don't even fish! Instead of the ineffective scattershot method of print advertising, online ads zero in like a laser beam on exactly the customers you want to reach.

As if this was not fantastic enough, online advertising is superior to print in many other ways. For one thing its cheaper, and in color at no extra charge. You also get stats with it that let you know where people are coming from when they see your ads, and how long they spend reading them. This priceless information is just the gravy that comes along when you stop wasting your money advertising in print and move online where the real value per buck is found.

However the newspaper industry, in its typical suicidal fashion, has always downplayed the superiority of online advertising because they have printing presses to protect. They treated online ads as a minor sideline, often throwing in online ads for free with print ad purchases like it was just a novel frill to the real purchase. Now they complain that online ads won't pay the bills, but that's their own fault if they won't educate their customers on why online ads are better than print in every way.

Of course it's tough to do that when you've just made a major investment, as the Springfield Newspapers did in their clueless past, to buy a super expensive state of the art press. What a drag it must be to have made that kind of outlay just as the bottom was falling out of the printing industry! But at least the Springfield Newspapers have a credible online presence in their above average online offshoot Masslive.com. There they at least have the sense to give the content of their paper away for free, unlike the dinosaurs at The Daily Hampshire Gazette who charge $99 dollars a year for online access. The Gazette too bought a fancy new press just as print circulation began to nosedive, but they also make the terrible mistake of charging for their online content, which is something the Springfield Newspapers were never foolish enough to try. As the always insightful Jeff Jarvis explains:

First, as soon as knowledge is known, it’s a commodity—and not a scarce one that can be controlled. Second, there is no end of competition online. As countless publishers have observed about their nemesis, Craigslist, it’s impossible to compete with free.

Charging for content reduces audience, which in turn reduces advertising revenue. And putting a wall around content keeps it out of the conversation and devalues brands (this is why New York Times columnists were said to hate their paper’s aborted effort to charge pennies for their thoughts).

But here’s the killer: When content is hidden, it cannot be found via search (not to mention bloggers’ and aggregators’ links). In a link and search economy, content gains value only through these recommendations; an article without links has no readers and thus no value. The real cost of charging for content—and it’s a cost born by the content owner—is a loss of Googlejuice.

In the complete P&L of news online, keep in mind as well that costs decline when a newspaper need no longer be all things to all people (it can, in the words of my favorite PowerPoint line, specialize: “Do what it does best and link to the rest”). Costs also fall when the paper can jettison the expense of printing and distributing its words.

It is this complete business model that we should be focusing on as we try to bring news into its next generation, not desperate efforts to shoehorn old models into a new world.

In other words, it's time for both The Republican and The Gazette to write off the new presses as a business loss, redefine themselves as totally free online products that also print a small number of free print copies primarily for promotional purposes, and educate their print ad buyers that they need to start transferring their spending online.

Of course the local mainstream media never listens to what I say, even though I was always ahead of the curve and never gave them any advice that was proven wrong. Yet they accuse me of being egotistical for daring to offer them suggestions. Well, there's ego involved, but it ain't mine, and the only place their false pride will get them is in bankruptcy court and on the unemployment line.

Oh Mercy!

Another industry that is facing extinction if it doesn't lower its cost is the post office. Soon we'll be paying all our bills online and email has already killed the personal letter market. Let's face it, hiring someone to walk around on foot hand delivering you pieces of paper is a badly outdated information distribution system that is soon to be extinct. Yesterday I was in Springfield at the downtown post office where this banner hangs showing a 2002 stamp honoring Massachusetts. It also shows how quickly stamp prices are rising to help kill this antique institution, since the more expensive non-electronic mail becomes, the less of it will end up being sent creating an economically fatal downward spiral.

I also visited Mercy Hospital, where my sister was getting an x-ray. Here is the old hospital building, which is now used for offices.

This is the modern hospital complex.

While waiting for my sister I visited this snackbar.

What did people do in waiting rooms before there were laptops?

Mercy is owned by the Catholic church, and is filled with religious icons like the one below, which looks old enough to have been in the original building. Notice how one hand is broken off. Dropped by a careless nun?
(click to enlarge)

Afterwards we went to Main Street's Red Rose for some of their award winning pizza.

Who says there are no good restaurants left in downtown Springfield?

Today's Video

Deep in the woods of Leverett, weird musical shit goes on.

Farm Rescue

I'd like to show you one of my favorite pieces that I have in my home. It's an old Fairbanks grain elevator scale that came from my parents' farm. When my dad decided it was time for the leaning, sagging elevator to come down, my mom was savvy enough to see that there were some windows and possibly a few other treasures that could be salvaged. When I spotted this scale mechanism, full of oily, rusty old chains and nails and bolts, the memories of playing in that grain elevator as a child came flooding back! When I mentioned to my dad that I wanted this piece out before the building came down, he gave me what we refer to in our family as the "Buff look" which was his way of saying "Are you nuts? Not gonna happen!" He couldn't quite see the potential in it that I did, nor was he too interested in wrestling it out of it's spot...guess it weighs a few pounds. I was thrilled when he finally conceded (and discovered that the heavy iron scale mechanism could be removed) until I got a good look at how seriously saturated it was with old machine oil! Not one to shy away from getting my hands dirty, I took to it with some Dawn dishsoap and a steel brush and gently removed as much of the "antique" oil as I could. I think I did a pretty good job! You can see the distress marks and even some old carvings in the wood, which really lends to its character. I found the old church arch piece in an antique store and it fits nicely on top. Below the scale, I store my music cd's, which you don't really see until you're close up to it...and a really cute old wheel just for fun!

It's definately one of the most primitive pieces in my home, and I wondered if it would fit with the decor, since my house is a newer construction. I decided that I would find a spot for it regardless and it now sits in my kitchen. And....my dad was pretty impressed with how it looks as well. It pays to trust a junker's vision....thanks Dad!

Hookin' up to FJI's SNS here.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I love finding pictures I forgot I had

I was going though all my pictures and getting rid of ones I no longer needed. I came across a couple I had really forgotten about but am glad that I found. The orange flower not really sure what it is was growing in the shaded part of my yard last summer so grabbed the camera and took pictures. It had recently rained and I was able to capture the water droplets on the unknown flower. If you know what it is please post a comment. I would like to know

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ Feb 25, 2009

Who do you wish to send some love?

Be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It’s easy. Answer the wish prompt above on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below. Support wishes by visiting other participants, leaving a comment saying “As (insert name) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” It’s that simple. There is great power in wishing together.

A Junk Fest treasure found!

Hey, how CUTE is this?! The other night as I was looking through my old pictures, I got to thinking...I wonder what ever happened to that adorable wine labeled drawer I sold at Junk Fest a couple years ago? And, more importantly, why the heck didn't I take a picture of it?

As good luck would have it, at a recent Culinary Club dinner it dawned on me that maybe one of the other club members had bought it. After some discussion she verified

that yes, she had purchased it! I made a quick stop to her beautiful, cozy home and just sighed with delight when seeing the cute drawer again! (Yes, I've been down this road before and sound like a broken record, but: WHY

did I sell it?) Then, even more fun was seeing it sitting on top of the cute wine crate sold the same year. Even though I just recently posted the wine crate, I knew I wanted to show all you junk lovers just how great it looks in her home. Plus, how adorable are the two pieces stacked on each other - HELLO - great idea! She's an awesome decorator with wonderful taste (wink, wink) and I am so delighted she is enjoying her Junk Fest purchases!