I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

lassie11

No worries about me picking up sticks in the back yard - sometime before the first time for mowing the lawn in the spring is a good plan. And a driving trip to see my ancient father may be cancelled. It wouldn't do much good for me to get in an accident rather than waiting.

kayfh

I received concerned telephone calls from two of my sisters. One in Fort McMurray the other in Canmore Alberta. Because Ontario has the largest population we receive the lions share of the news coverage, especially for weather events.  We did not lose power, for quite a while we couldn't see out the window because of the sheet of ice.  I decided everything I had to do could wait.  Rather than be practical and make food in case we lose power I decided to make cookies.  I guess I come from the "let them eat cake" school of disaster planning.

QuinnCat

Our local US Post Office has "Merry Christmas" painted on it's windows for the season.  My friend, a local public school teacher, sent out xmas gifts to her students.  There's no there there. 

California (maybe the whole West Coast) is heading into it's 3rd year of drought.  Remember - we, the bread basket of the world.  The largest dam that feeds the Central Valley is almost bare and there is barely a pittance of snow in the mountains around me that would feed that dam - our biggest snowfalls come mid-December to mid-January.  I am still hiking in the woods that should be under a few feet of snow by now.  Our local ski area will not be open, thus far, for xmas vacation.  To warm to even make snow.

I've been through several 2 year droughts in California, and we seem to manage, but not sure if we are prepared for a 3 year drought.  Feinstein is urging Jerry Brown to declare us a federal disaster, but he's not ready yet (there is still hope, I guess).  Today it is in the 50's and normally, it would be 30's, if not 20's.

IllinoisLady

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas,  Honkin' New Year.....does any of it matter so much.  You would just like the person you are speaking with to know that you care about them.  Who gives a flying fork what you say........My gosh....whatever you say that gives me a deep impression that you have a feelings for others will cut the mustard just fine.  Said it before, but for anyone new, or who may have missed it........I am spiritual, and not very religious and that just means.....that all roads will get you there.......A Jewish Road, Catholic Road, Methodist Road,  -- just be happy along your road and don't worry about anyone else's.  There are lots of routes to anywhere you wish to go......the great beyond is no different. 

Jackie

Anonymous

c4c - betting yours was the BEST SERMON of the day.  Loved it.

We're experiencing Spring, that's the only way to describe 60 degrees and raining, foggle.  All the snow is gone, and we had more than a foot on the ground, and the temp will drop to 25 by Tuesday.  I wonder about all the wildlife during a time like this.  Will the bears wake up?

Still smiling at c4c's Sermon. Really appreciated it.

suzieq60

It seems my use of the word barbaric might have upset some elsewhere. What people need to know is what the impression other countries have of the US. It is not a good one. Yes, we have a few shootings here - mostly by criminal bikie gangs. But no one goes around killing school children and my neighbours don't go off firing guns in the night.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas

Anonymous

Forgot to say:  Merry Christmas.  For all who wonder, the "history" of Christmas as a holiday:

http://www.livescience.com/25779-christmas-traditi...

Reminds me a little of c4c's wonderful sermon. Stay warm all.  Pagans.  Joy, joy, joy.....the "history" of bringing greens indoors during the winter...smiling...smiling...smiling...

IllinoisLady

E J Dionne...if memory serves ( sometimes yes, just as many times no ) usually always cuts to the chase and clears things up.  I like listening to him and the grins he sometimes gets at what he knows borders on the ridiculous or in defenseless.   http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/22/obamacare-complicated-chose-gop/ I did not get to watch MTP today and did not know who was on.....so only got to read just now.

Jackie

QuinnCat

I'm quietly saying Jerry Brown for President 2016.  He is fixing things here.

IllinoisLady

Sunny -- definitely enjoyed your live science/Christmas traditions piece.  Interest in the fact that a date was 'chosen' for Christmas as well as the known and not known  presented as factual and most people not realizing or caring.  Maybe picking fights is as they say a part of the paganism .  Sigh !!!!  Glad I read it.

Jackie

Kam.....I think one of the graphics here some pages ago referenced how so often when Repugs are in office things become broken ( as in the Swartznegger governorship period ) and the Democrats come in and fix it....as in the Jerry Brown governorship.   I wonder if he could do the same thing here.  I think there are a number who could, but easier in one state I'm sure. 

Jackie 

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

Anonymous

Jackie - yes, date DEFINITELY chosen, to correspond with the Pagan winter solstice festivities, bringing in the green into the home, I think it was Crossin, in one of his books, who spoke of the probable date being in the late Spring, "tax" season, why the people were moving to pay their "taxes."  Also, the people they were trying to subdue in western Europe, already celebrated at that time of year so they kind of "adopted" their native celebrations.

Kam  - I too could support your Gov!

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

This article may have been here before.  I know I myself have read something like it before.   http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/12/22/georgia-gop-calls-republican-elected-officials-liars-obamacare/ Lies have a limited shelf life --- truth is forever.

Jackie

pupmom

Wishing all my "strange" sisters a Very Merry Holiday! 

bluedahlia

Some ornaments for your tree!  Merry Happy Christmas Holidays!...from the frozen tundra...

bluedahlia

Before anyone questions my religious beliefs, well keep your comments to yourself.  I believe in Jesus' philosophy and before you start thumping your bible, learn to read and understand what Jesus really wanted from the people of this earth.  The new Pope sure does!  Unblock your ears.

crazy4carrots

Blue -- The mere fact that there is a Conservative Bible tells us all we need to know.....the King James version having too much of a "liberal bias", I guess......

Anonymous

Blue, NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE with an ounce of sense or compassion would DARE to question your religious beliefs.  If anyone is, please, please reserve your energy ( for those GORGEOUS GRANDSONS) and remember the source of what ever you are referring to.  I suspect, it's a garbage disposal of wasted words, but then, what do I know?  :-))))))  So appreciative of being here and not there, where ever there is...I expect it's a cesspool of cynicism too.

Cynicism being the last resort, IMHO, of someone who has nothing, NADA, of value to contribute to the world.

Merry Christmas, and remember the wise words of Tiny Tim ;-)))

lassie11

A book I got many years ago is called "The Woman's Bible" which is not a rewrite, but an analysis of some sections of the bible prepared by a committee called the "Coalition Task Force on Women and Religion".  It was done in the mid to late 1800s begun by Elizabeth Cady Stanton who said "When those who are opposed to all reforms can find no other argument, their last resort is the Bible. It has been interpreted to favor intemperance, slavery, capital punishment and the subjugation of women".  If only Stanton could have seen into the future, she would be alarmed to learn that the Bible has been used to argue against several more social issues such as gay rights, abortion rights and other things that were not issues in her time. And that's before the conservatives try to rewrite the thing!  I guess if you take a book that was written hundreds of years after the reported stories by many many people who are repeating oral history and when the collection has been translated from several languages, there is the potential to cherry pick lines that support any notion.

bluedahlia

There are so many "books" that were deemed unfavourable and therefore left out.  

bluedahlia

Thug Kitchen

Last
minute holiday shopping? FUCK ALL THAT NOISE. Why don’t you stay home
and celebrate in style with some of these spicy sweet bastards? The
sugar will keep you awake in case some son of a bitch tries sliding down
your chimney in the middle of the night to pilfer your baked goods. NOT
THIS YEAR, MOTHERFUCKER.


FROSTED GINGERBREAD BITES

1 ½ cups flour (unbleached white, whole wheat, or a blend will work)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup canned coconut milk

½ cup blackstrap molasses


FROSTING DRIZZLE (optional)

1 tablespoon coconut milk

¾ teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup powder sugar, sifted


Warm the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 x 8 baking pan and
put a square of parchment paper at the bottom so this motherfucker won’t
stick. Grab a medium bowl and dump in the flour, spices, baking powder,
baking soda, sugar, and salt. Whisk all that shit around to get out any
brown sugar clumps.

In a small saucepan mix together the
coconut milk and the molasses. Put it over a medium low heat until the
mixture just starts to bubble on the edges. Slowly whisk the coconut
milk mixture into the dry ingredients until there aren’t any more dry
spots. The batter is going to be thick like a brownie batter but a
little spongy. Calm the fuck down before you email me and just trust
that shit is correct. Pour the batter into the baking pan and gently
move it around so that it is mostly even. Bake for 25-30 minutes. An
easy way to check if it’s done is to poke the middle of that
motherfucker with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, it’s done.


Once you see that shit is done, pull it out of the oven and let it cool
for 10 minutes. Be sure to turn the oven off. Go check that shit right
now, since we’re talking about it. Now you should be able to gently
slide the cake out of the pan and let it finish cooling on a wire rack
or plate or whateverthefuck you got. When it’s cool enough, cut it up
into two-inch squares. If you want to frost that shit, I recommend doing
it the day you serve the bites.

FROSTING:
Grab a small
saucepan and gently warm the coconut milk at a low-medium heat for just
about 15-30 seconds. You don’t want that shit boiling, just hot. Turn
off the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and lemon juice. If the
frosting looks too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Before it
starts to harden, take a spoon and drizzle it over the cake. Crisscross
the drizzle and make it look all fancy or just pour that shit on if you
don’t give a fuck.

Makes 16 cake bites

bluedahlia

bluedahlia

Sunny, my comments were preemptive on my part because...well just because!

bluedahlia

bluedahlia

Why Do Conservatives Hate Pope Francis So Much? Just Read These 20 Quotes

Here are 20 Pope Francis quotes that conservatives hate.

1. “In ideologies there is not Jesus: in his
tenderness, his love, his meekness. And ideologies are rigid, always. Of
every sign: rigid. And when a Christian becomes a disciple of the
ideology, he has lost the faith: he is no longer a disciple of Jesus, he
is a disciple of this attitude of thought… For this reason Jesus said
to them: ‘You have taken away the key of knowledge.’ The knowledge of
Jesus is transformed into an ideological and also moralistic knowledge,
because these close the door with many requirements. The faith becomes
ideology and ideology frightens, ideology chases away the people,
distances, distances the people and distances of the Church of the
people. But it is a serious illness, this of ideological Christians. It
is an illness, but it is not new, eh?”

~Pope Francis, taking aim at ideologically obsessed Christians, October 2013

2. “We don’t want this globalised economic system which does
us so much harm. Men and women have to be at the centre (of an economic
system) as God wants, not money… The world has become an idolator of
this god called money… To defend this economic culture, a throwaway
culture has been installed. We throw away grandparents, and we throw
away young people. We have to say no to his throwaway culture. We want a
just system that helps everyone.”

~Pope Francis, criticizing “savage capitalism,” September 2013

3.
“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and
the use of contraceptive methods … It is not necessary to talk about
these issues all the time. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the
church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be
obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to
be imposed insistently.”

~Pope Francis, criticizing obsessed focus on abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception, September 2013

4. “We have become used to the suffering of others. Has any
one of us wept for these persons who were on the boat? For the young
mothers carrying their babies? For these men who were looking for a
means of supporting their families? We are a society which has forgotten
how to weep, how to experience compassion… the church is with you in
the search for a more dignified life for you and your families.”

~Pope Francis, taking up the plight of immigrants and the poor, July 2013

5. “A way has to be found to enable everyone to benefit from
the fruits of the earth, and not simply to close the gap between the
affluent and those who must be satisfied with the crumbs falling from
the table, but above all to satisfy the demands of justice, fairness and
respect for every human being.”

~Pope Francis, calling for social justice, Address to the Food and Agricultural Organization, June 2013

6. “The popes have spoken of human ecology, closely linked to environmental ecology. We are living in a time of crisis: we see this in the environment, but above all
we see this in mankind … Man is not in charge today, money is in
charge, money rules. God our Father did not give the task of caring for
the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task!
Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and
consumption: it is the ‘culture of waste.’”

~Pope Francis, standing up for the poor and the environment, June 2013

7. “We human beings are not only the beneficiaries but also
the stewards of other creatures. Thanks to our bodies, God has joined us
so closely to the world around us that we can feel the desertification
of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a
species as a painful disfigurement. Let us not leave in our wake a
swatch of destruction and death which will affect our own lives and
those of future generations.”

~Pope Francis, calling for protecting the environment, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

8. “As long as the problems of the poor are not radically
resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial
speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no
solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to
any problems. I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are
genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of
the poor! It is vital that government leaders and financial leaders take
heed and broaden their horizons, working to ensure that all citizens
have dignified work, education and healthcare.”

~Pope Francis, blasting “unfettered capitalism,” November 2013

9. “Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories
which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will
inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness
in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts,
expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding
economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic
system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a
lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that
selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost
without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling
compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain,
and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s
responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we
are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase; and in
the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere
spectacle; they fail to move us.”

~Pope Francis, attacking trickle-down economics, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

10. “While the earnings of a minority are growing
exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the
prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of
ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and
financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states,
charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of
control. A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which
unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. Debt and
the accumulation of interest also make it difficult for countries to
realize the potential of their own economies and keep citizens from
enjoying their real purchasing power. To all this we can add widespread
corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which have taken on worldwide
dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In
this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of
increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is
defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the
only rule.”

~Pope Francis, attacking tax evasion by the wealthy, raw
capitalism, and the interests of the rich over the environment,
Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

11. “The Church acknowledges the indispensable contribution
which women make to society through the sensitivity, intuition and other
distinctive skill sets which they, more than men, tend to possess. I
think, for example, of the special concern which women show to others,
which finds a particular, even if not exclusive, expression in
motherhood. I readily acknowledge that many women share pastoral
responsibilities with priests, helping to guide people, families and
groups and offering new contributions to theological reflection. But we
need to create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female
presence in the Church. Because the feminine genius is needed in all
expressions in the life of society, the presence of women must also be
guaranteed in the workplace and in the various other settings where
important decisions are made, both in the Church and in social
structures. Demands that the legitimate rights of women be respected,
based on the firm conviction that men and women are equal in dignity,
present the Church with profound and challenging questions which cannot
be lightly evaded.”

~Pope Francis, speaking on women’s rights and women’s role in the workplace, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

12. “We Christians should embrace with affection and respect
Muslim immigrants to our countries in the same way that we hope and ask
to be received and respected in countries of Islamic tradition. I ask
and I humbly entreat those countries to grant Christians freedom to
worship and to practice their faith, in light of the freedom which
followers of Islam enjoy in Western countries! Faced with disconcerting
episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of
Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic
Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of
violence.”

~Pope Francis, telling Christians to stop hating Muslims, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

13. “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the
Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the
atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”.. We must meet one another
doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good:
we will meet one another there.”

~Pope Francis, reaching out to atheists, May 2013

14. “… We have done little to adequately accompany women in
very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to
their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them
is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain
unmoved before such painful situations?”

~Pope Francis, calling for having sympathy and compassion for
women who choose abortion because of extreme poverty and rape, Evangelii
Gaudium, November 2013

15. “When we talk about the environment, about creation, my
thoughts turn to the first pages of the Bible, the Book of Genesis,
which states that God placed man and woman on earth to cultivate and
care for it. And the question comes to my mind: What does cultivating
and caring for the earth mean? Are we truly cultivating and caring for
creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it?”

~Pope Francis, advocating for taking care of the environment, June 2013

16. “Fighting poverty, both material and spiritual, building
peace and constructing bridges: these, as it were, are the reference
points for a journey that I want to invite each of the countries here
represented to take up. But it is a difficult journey, if we do not
learn to grow in love for this world of ours. Here too, it helps me to
think of the name of Francis, who teaches us profound respect for the
whole of creation and the protection of our environment, which all too
often, instead of using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one
another’s detriment.”

~Pope Francis, on poverty and the environment, Address, March 2013

17. “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I
approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me:
when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this
person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always
consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being.
In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting
from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When
that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right
thing.”

~Pope Francis, saying we should love people even if they are gay,

18. “This is happening today. If investments in banks fall,
it is a tragedy and people say ‘what are we going to do?’ but if people
die of hunger, have nothing to eat or suffer from poor health, that’s
nothing. This is our crisis today. A Church that is poor and for the
poor has to fight this mentality.”

~Pope Francis, condemning hunger, inaccessible health care, and poverty,

19. “The times talk to us of so much poverty in the world
and this is a scandal. Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world
where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is
unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so
many children without an education, so many poor persons. Poverty today
is a cry.”

~Pope Francis, decrying poverty and hunger at a time of great world wealth during a meeting with students of Jesuit Schools, June 2013

20. “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who
am I to judge him? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this
very well. It says they should not be marginalized because of this
(orientation) but that they must be integrated into society. The problem
is not having this orientation. We must be brothers.”

~Pope Francis, putting the brakes on hating gay people, July 2013

Pope Francis is everything that conservatives hate.

Pope Francis is a different pontiff than his predecessors, and that’s
a good thing that the world has badly been in need of. While not an
absolute liberal, Pope Francis does hold many views in opposition to
many conservative policies. Conservatives are largely prejudice,
anti-poor, anti-women, anti-education, anti-healthcare, anti-peace,
anti-gay, anti-immigrant, and against other religious beliefs. Pope
Francis is none of these things. And that’s why conservatives hate him.
He doesn’t fit the extreme mold that the right-wing demands. In other
words, he’s not a cold-hearted lunatic. He’s the compassionate and
inclusive pontiff that a majority of the people have been waiting for.

gardengumby

Hi ladies - I just wanted to drop in and say Hi.  I've had lots of computer/posting problems for a couple days, so last night spent some time cleaning up my computer.  I HIGHLY recommend that y'all do so, as well.  I found a plethora of problems on my PC, and now it runs like a champ.  I got the free version of SuperANTI-Spyware and the free version of Avast and used them both.  It might help out with some of your issues, too.

Anonymous

For Blue, Merry Christmas

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/22/what-jesus-says-about-homosexuality-_n_4489452.html

thought you'd like this one, especially.

IllinoisLady

There is a breaking news alert......Federal judge ruled that same sex marriages can continue in Utah  Fantastic.

Jackie