Your Neck of the Woods part5 11/122013

Terri, WOOOHOOO on your vision!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I am sooo glad to hear that it's all clear again for you, that is wonderful news!!!

I didn't get the info from a site... aeons and aeons ago my sister and I used to babysit a brother and sister, and the girl's name was Noel, and their Mom was "into" name meanings, and I remember she used to talk about Noel's name meaning "wanderer" and "comforter" (they used to move around a LOT, and being the oldest of the 2 kids, Noel was a BIG comfort to her Mom, helping to take care of Joey, the little boy). For some reason, that's just stuck in my head all these years, so thinking of "Bec_Noel" (Bec_No_Al), made me think of "Noel" and the meaning of that name... etc etc.

Now, as for Susan meaning "Graceful Lily"... GRACEFUL!?!??! HAAAA!!!!!!!! Whoever said THAT has never seen me walk!! < =D

Robin, "Bright and Shining"... I'm SURE they're talking about the sun sparkling off your halo!! 0 =)

Haha of course it's my halo! Why didn't I think of that?? :-D

Three cheers for Terri! Holly was bad and now, Wow what a difference. She was having real problems at night. My dad's were so bad he had trouble sorting out blues and greens due to the yellowing of the cataracts.

I had cataract surgery on both eyes in Dec. 2011.
When I got home--and looked in the mirror--I almost freaked out....

There, staring back at me, was my face clear as glass--every wrinkle and
every gray hair in sharp focus...Egads!!!!!

I still wear glasses..... G.

Gita, you have a MAGNIFICENTLY BEAUTIFUL face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And THAT is THAT.

Period.

Speedie, when I first read your Bec_No_Al as Bec Noel I thought of the way our wandering Becky finds and is surrounded by comforters in her life...human, critter and plant! She either brings it with her or draws it to her, a bit of both I suspect!

I'm sure you're right Judy, absolutely! =)

So glad to be reading all the posts here. I am praying for good weather & no falls, in Frederick in February because we're going to attend the seed swap this year. My craft shows are done for the year but I have some jewelry on consignment in the Carlisle Hospital gift shop and am going to start posting jewelry on Etsy. Right now, some of it is on facebook. I'm still making my seashell gardens. Just wanted to wish ou all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. Buttoneer & Bobbin.

wow those are beautiful Buttoneeer!

Judy--

Near 60* predicted this weekend here....but it will be just a fleeting respite.
Still--nice to get outside and putter around a bit...

Gita

Guess who has a BDay today
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1344735/

Gita, I agree on the beauty that is you, both inside and out!

So here is the latest project. I had worked on it for a couple of years getting it out for a few weeks and then putting it away till the next year. I finished the X stitch up a couple of years ago but just couldn't decide how to finish it. Put it on a pillow, frame it or a wall hanging. I finally made up my mine and put it all together yesterday. It is a gift for my daughter Jules. She always loved the Night before Christmas book.

OH my GOODNESS Holly, that is GORGEOUS!!!!!! So richly done!!!!! Aaaah man, she is gonna treasure this for always and forever!!!!!!!!

Thanks Speedie, I was very pleased with it. Jules received the book Night before Christmas from her Grandmother when she was just a baby and it was always read on Christmas Eve and a real treasure to her as she grew up. She found her version a few years ago and gave it to all her nieces and nephews. So this particular piece will have real meaning to her.

the meaning of Gita is totally wrong - unless it includes Generosity. Gita is one of the most generous people I know! And as Forrest Gump says, Beauty is as beauty does. Wrinkles? what wrinkles? We never saw them.

Holly, that is wonderful. A truly special gift.

Forrest Gump has to be one of my all time favorites, I don't think I ever laughed so hard and cried so much for any other film. Sometimes just the word But-Tocks can make me giggle.

You all have humbled me.....to the point of slight embarrassment....

I need to pay more attention to how OTHERS see me--and then try
to see myself more along the same lines.
Somehow, it means more to hear it from other people--as I myself
kind of agree INSIDE--but usually minimize it on the outside.

Tomorrow is the first day of winter! HA! we've already had winter for over a month..
Great way to start winter--Sunday here may get as high as mid 60's.
What a day for the ball game! As last week's game was played in falling snow
and temps in high 20's.

Thanks all, Gita

Here you all go! My face from 2006. At least the glasses have changed!

Always a smile.

WOW, Holly, what a treasure that project turned out to be!! Very lovely

My van said 63 when I left the library at 4 pm today. I am sitting on the deck. I could stay out here all evening if I had a chiminea.

Darned pesky Sally, making me look up words I don't know! < =P heeheeheee If I had one of those I'd probably burn the deck down!

Gita, what a great picture of you! I tell ya, you've got one of those sweetest, most beautiful smiles EVER!!!!!!!!!! When I see your smiling face, I feel all "Studda Bubba" and just want to take that pretty little face of yours in my hands and just SMOOSH it, all Grandma-like!!! < =D

Our town is getting ready for a fight against some farm land lords that are getting ready to dump sludge as fertilizer onto their rented out farmlands. Lots of input needed here as we go thru this. Anyone interested google "Upper Mount Bethel Sludge". Some of the towns did pass the "Citizens' Rights Amendment" without a challenge. This enables true democracy by allowing all citizens to vote on some issues. The lunatic that's doing this here (Angle) will spend all his millions just to win. Has no real interest in much else except flexing his muscle whenever he can. We're not going to have an easy time of it. Lots of energy and money will come from all of us who think this is a TERRIBLE idea. Any thoughts?

Teri we have farms here that use a great deal of the stuff to their advantage, greatly reducing the use of fertilizer and essentially performing a public service. As long as the waste stream is monitored for metals and toxins the finished product is useful. The farms that use the waste are not used to grow food crops, their produce is for agricultural and industrial (feed and fuel) use only. Here the sludge is not spread like manure, but injected subsurface by a special tractor that has a plow system much like the ones used to pull underground cable without trenching. I'm not trying trying to sway your opinion, just telling what I've seen.

Hmmmm, seems to me that there is more of an issue here other than metals and toxins in the waste stream, according the the first article I've read...:

"...Layne Baroldi, the director of regulatory and legislative affairs for Synagro, said the biosolids in dispute in Upper Mount Bethel Township are classified as Class B biosolids, which are treated to eliminate pathogens but still contain detectible levels of pathogens.

There is a 30-day buffer requirement for public access and crop harvesting restriction for the use of the biosolids to ensure the protection of public health and the environment, Baroldi said.

“The restriction ensures that the risk of disease transmission from biosolids is less than that of animal manures,” Baroldi said."


And, uuhh... yeah, at least some of the land is used to grow edible crops.

Here's another nice quote from earlier on in that same article:
"Angle said he isn’t concerned about the negative impact of the biosolids."

Isn't that nice!?

OH BOY am I on this bandwagon!!! What can I do to help? Meanwhile, I have more reading to do...

I am reading so much about what is really found in the sludge. The composition is not always the same either. One of our neighboring towns got it stopped. Another one didn't and the stink is awful all summer besides not knowing how much of the metals and other stuff is going into the wells.

Just one of the scary reports besides the ones from several university findings.

http://www.usludgefree.org/action.html

Very difficult to ignore.

Thanks so much, Speedie. We cross posted but had the same message. What we really need is to get the "Citizens Rights" bill passed so that the residents can nix the "legality" of the law, in the same way that States get to nix whether they want some of the Federal legalities in their state. "Legal" doesn't mean it necessarily needs to happen.

I'll keep you posted on any help that I might need.

Thank you, yes please do.

A bit of interesting reading I've found so far (and then I REALLY need to go make that Cinnamon Apple Cake that Mr. Rodman told us about in his Cinnamon article the other day)...

http://www.water.siemens.com/en/applications/water_and_wastewater_library/Pages/biosolids_class_b_technologies.aspx

Describes the process of treating the biosolids for class B sludge. Note the word "CAN"... as in "It CAN treat and reduce..."... Doesn't mean that it DOES reduce or treat, but that it CAN... looks too iffy to me for MY drinking well water!

The one farm in particular I'm referring to does not raise any food crops. They also have an excellent record with the Chesapeake Water Shed Initiative. When they are injecting the waste into the soil there is very little odor. There are only so many ways to dispose of the stuff. If it can be safely used, and the source is not an industrialized area, why not. The one consideration I haven't looked into is pharmaceutical contaminates. That can be a real conservation problem. I believe with proper controls there can be a safe way. The points made RRR's link are valid and should be SOP.
Sewage sludge, should be more difficult to land apply by:

" Increasing the monitoring of sludge at the waste water treatment plant
Restrict the quantity of sludge that can be applied
Increase the setback regulation from water, wells and neighbors
Continually test all wells and waterways located near fields that are sludged
Require incorporation of sludge into the soil instead of spraying and top dressing"

Modern sanitary wells are sealed to the aquifer. If they were subject to surface contamination, then they'd get any and every dead bug/ animal waste etc on the surface of the ground.

I'm not taking a side. I haven't read the details.

And I'd only read 1 1/2 articles at the time I'd posted my thoughts, so clearly I have a LOT to learn... then again, that's what I'm going to school for. (but that's another topic entirely).

Ric, the methods and ... "method-users" you refer to sound like very responsible people who've done all their homework and really care not to make a bit mess of things. KUDOS to them!! It sounds like maybe they could be teaching others a thing or three.

I know pharmaceutical contaminates are already a concern to many herpetologist and ichthyologist, especially in the areas of hormones and steroids. This group of drugs are effecting the fertility of some species. Measurable levels of estrogen has been found in many waterways where treated waste water is released.While there is a long standing concern among biologist and microbiologist over what super bugs the wanton use of antibiotics may cause. The misuse of antibiotics is speeding up the process of natural selection, allowing the resistant strains to be more prevalent by removing the competition that helps keep them in check. Many of you probably know of someone who has had to endure a coarse of Ciprofloxacin. It's truly a cure that can kill. Since it is used to treat the more difficult infections, like bone or prostate, it may be needed for as much as 30 days. As an example of misuse...
I know of doctor's ordering Cipro for men with an elevated PSAs. The first steps should be ultrasound and biopsy. Those diagnostics would reveal an infection or cancer without seeing if it may be an infection that will respond and subjecting a usually older man to the dangers of extreme abdominal stress, dehydration, or worse. Most older men with prostate cancer would be better off keeping it as most are so slow to progress that they are likely to die from other causes before the cancer gets them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE WHO CELEBRATES AND HAPPY DAY OFF TO EVERYONE ELSE! And Happy Festivus for the Rest of Us!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Ric, special wishes for a *healing* holiday!

thanks, SSG! Happy Festivus to you as well! :-)

Happy merry everything to all!

Ho-Ho-Hoooo, Merrrry Christmas everyone!!! ... well, almost.

Has everyone been a good boy or girl!? * < =)

Merry Christmas, ALL!! Oh yes, Speedie, I've been very good. Only problem is that I'm the only one that thinks so.

Peace to all creatures on earth! Except to the stinkbug that was just crawling up my sweater…

Here is a historian's summation of the Christmas Truce between soldiers in 1914 WW I
http://old.nationalreview.com/weekend/history/history-weintraub122201.shtml

Not a particularly sentimental account but the event is well documented. Silent Night is my favorite.