Reviewing old images in the middle of the night.

It's strange, after sleeping three and a half hours, I awakened at three thirty in the morning, showered, and got to work on puling in old images from Webshots taken with a film camera.  What poor quality images they were.  What's even more complicated is the processing from Seattle Film Works, which did the film processing, also provided the images on a floppy disk.  Which I now have to sort out getting read by my laptop using an external A Drive.  One of the albums of our first trip to Hawaii on the island of Kauai.
The lovely Waimea Canyon, which is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  We were excited to drive around the island, then later, fly over the canyon by helicopter.

Here is a link to the album on Webshots:




Kauai in March 9-16 in 2008

Time to go back to sleep.... It will keep for another day....
What do you do when you awake in the middle of the night?

No Further Treatment Is Necessary

It's been six weeks now since cancer surgery.  I'm still healing, although i feel great!
I have been eating a plant-based diet based on the directives in a very informative DVD titled:
HEALING CANCER From the inside.  Other DVD's titled: Forks Over Knives, taught me more about the importance of giving one's body the types of foods which rev up one's Immune System.  The key is eating only foods which are natural whole Fruits and Vegetables, Whole Grain foods, and nothing processed.
I juice in the morning and some times late in the afternoon.  Making certain only fresh (ideally, Organic) foods are used.  The difference was very evident.  A lightness, more energy, a softening of excess fat.
I slept better, I had more energy, I felt like my metabolism was zooming along.  Diverticulosis was not a problem at all.  Even eating raw nuts did not cause digestion problems.  The swelling in my feet and legs were slowly returning to normal.  I am in my sixth month now, and I was three months into the plan when I had my surgery.  The pathology report confirmed Cancer, stage 1-A.  All the cancer was contained within the organs removed in tact.  No further treatment is necessary.

Although you know the types of foods I continue to eat daily, there are other types of foods to be avoided like the plague.  These are processed foods, (anything that comes in a box, canned foods, confections, junk foods.)  The actual plan is based on the R.A.V.E. Plan.

R =No Refined Foods
A = No animal products, this includes all meats, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy foods.
V = No Vegetable Oils, including virgin olive oil (because of the processing)
E = No Exceptions, and Plenty of exercise

Does it sound scary?  It was the key to beating cancer at its game.
I started to research other DVD's that were offering more substantiation of the principles taught.
This was a new way of eating, and I wanted to get the best preparation I could for my body to undergo major surgery

Some folks say Merry Christmas"

I recently received a forwarded email message paraphrasing the well known poem, "A Visit from Saint Nick".
It was meant to express their opposition with saying anything but MERRY CHRISTMAS.
I guess this struck a note inside me, because I stopped what I was doing, to write a response to the person I know who forwarded the message to me.  And, for what its worth,  here is what I wrote:

I always use the term MERRY CHRISTMAS when greeting other CHRISTIANS.  It is almost Dickensian in its existence.  Although in Dickens 'A Christmas Carol', people said, 'A Happy Christmas!'  

Now, I am going to need to share a little story of How I came to Understand the point of view I hold true today.  And it is fine with me to share this with our friend who sent it to you as well, because I know you all.

As I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, it didn't seem like Christmas without snow, and Santa on the corner ringing his bell.  And all the Christmas Lights on the streets, and in the shops with their store windows done up in a cornucopia of toys.  And on the houses, families hung their displays with big lights and reindeer, and Santa on their rooftop.  A White Christmas in New England, with fresh snow and crisp air was the ultimate blessing.

And getting together for a Christmas Feast, inviting the Grandparents to the house for the day, and the presents.

I said Merry Christmas to everyone I came in contact with in those days. 

Of course, I never saw people of different color or nationality.  I never gave a thought to other cultures or faiths from other countries.  I just assumed that all people and families were just like my own, where ever they lived, experiencing no difference at all.  And as a child and teenager, that was my world view.  

My first church experience memory was when I was four years old, until the age of twelve.  (That was the year my father's Mother died.)  We attended the very affluent First Baptist Church on Park Avenue & Salisbury Streets in Worcester, Massachusetts.  (it was so rich, there was two bowling lanes for the youth, too!)  On Christmas every family received a huge poinsettia plant.  And at Easter, each family received a huge Easter Lily plant.  I would marvel at the beauty of 'Big Church' on those special occasions.  Seeing hundreds of poinsettias up at the business end of church, they were flowing like a red river.

Throughout those years, I learned all the verses, and scripture by memory.  At twelve years old, I received a bible with edges gilded in gold, and my name in engraved in gold on the front cover.  Yet, even after attending for most of my childhood, I still did not have a personal knowledge of Christ as my Saviour. 

Even after I was a wife and mother, caring for my own children in California, I knew Hispanic and African American people as being Christians. To me the whole world was Christian.  Until I met a neighbor of mine, who became a friend, and later on, my first husband.   He was born in Egypt, and became very earnest in his Jewish faith, after we were married. His faith required that I convert to Judaism, so I attended the University of Judaism for a six month course, and received an education in Jewish History, Dietary Laws, and a bit of Jewish Philosophy, leading to a  conservative Judaism  conversion.  

It was then I experienced what it was like to be treated with disdain, because people defined ME by my Jewishness.  (That was a brain tilt!)  Then later on, after a painful, broken and troubled six year marriage, I divorced my husband, and soon came to true personal faith in Christ as a result of watching a television program.  It was the ministry of Jim Baker, of  the P.T.L. "Praise the Lord" program.  The Holy Spirit worked the unmistakable transforming Power of God in a moment, and brought me to my knees, and to personal trust and faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.  

As a result, my daughter and I  moved back to Massachusetts to live with my relatively recent widower Father, in the house where I grew up.  And once again, I experienced Christmas.  But this time it was in a much more REAL way, celebrating the birth of my Saviour.  My father was the one who suggested I attend a little Baptist church in Cherry Valley, and we attended there for the next seventeen years,   My son and daughter met their helpmates, and were married there.  And in His time, I met my husband Clair, and he attended church with me there, when ever he was visiting me from Michigan.  Those were good years indeed.  

And even then, I didn't think much about other cultures or faiths.  I was focused only on the work of being a Mother, sister, friend, woman in Christ, and a soon-to-be wife.

However now, having traveled, and learning more about other cultures and faiths, I do feel that other cultures and faiths have been marginalized by government, business, and those of us who have had all the attention on our Christian faith in terms of holidays.  The simple truth is the world populations are changing.  Caucasian is soon going to be a minority, in America and elsewhere.  The cultural equation is changing.   Despite a persons contribution to society, and the cultural differences between us; many people have problems with those of other faiths wanting equal consideration and respect.  

I think the key is not just big business and government. The key is in demonstrating Christian Love toward others, especially in view of our differences.  Instead of being inclusive, some folks adopt an 'all or nothing' attitude toward religious celebrations.  And sadly, they have chosen 'nothing' in the case of folks who do not share or understand our faith in Christ.  America was founded on Christian principles.  To this day, local American government is challenged on issues such as posting the Ten Commandments at the county courthouses, and sometimes we win.  Other times, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) win cases which show bias exists toward other faiths and ethnicity.  It is a struggle which will go on and on and on, just like the Palestinian and Israeli conflicts do.

So, as I see things now, I wish those I know to be Christians a "Merry Christmas"  And to those I am unsure of what they honor in their life;  I say "Good to see you, have a good day".

I choose LOVE as the language Christ honors in a Christian heart.  The only way to learn more about sensitivity, is to follow and to live in Christ's example.

Merry Christmas! with love to you all!

Then and Now.... 2008 to 2012

This picture was snapped in September 2012, two months after Cancer Surgery.
I am feeling terrific now.   No further treatment is advocated.  Simply follow-up exams.
At the moment Clair is in America, enjoying time with his family members, especially his two grandsons, Benton and Sawyer.  And of course, I miss the one who is the Principle Person in my Life.

On our Fourteen Anniversary, 

we traveled to the Central Coast for the first time

This was near The Entrance.

It will be good to see him again, he returns on Tuesday the 23rd of October, 2012 and I am eager to put my arms around him again.  

Since 29 March 2012, I learned I had uterine cancer.  After being referred to a Oncologist\Surgeon, a date for surgery was set for 5 July, 2012 (just four weeks from the time of the consult)  A dear frend of mine gave me a DVD titled:  HEALING CANCER from the inside.  That was 29 March, and I took to heart the fact that I must adopt this lifestyle, eating along the guidelines of the 

Thanksgiving with our friends

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Fab Four set to Explore!: A month on the road

Thank you Keith for the explanation of how the process of deciding what will be posted and written about the day's events. It sounds like a goos system. I imagine however that the days get very long in that process. No doubt some times it is necessary t play catch-up the next day.

Fab Four set to Explore!: A month on the road: "I should add a little to the report on the Cinque Terre. Beautiful as it was it also afforded us some people viewing that we had not expecte..."

Fab Four set to Explore!: Bweeh at anytime of the day!

Hello All!

Not boring in the least.... as Important as a title is, I think you came up with a good one. Felt like I was catching up with you on the day. So, how was your lunch? What did you select? Fab Four set to Explore!: Bweeh at anytime of the day!: "We are having a large discussion on the heading for this post. I wanted Beautiful Buis but Glenn and Keith said it was too boring and people..."