Today is National Arbor Day. I am and always have been a lover of trees, oaks are my favorites.
At www.arborday.org they have a motto, "We inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees."
I became aware of this organization when I was looking for a sympathy card and through them I found the perfect card. For every card they plant a tree and my heart leaped for joy. What better way to send your feelings. To say to the person who lost a loved one, "we have planted a tree in honor of your lost loved one."
We have sent these cards for over 14 years and my heart always feels a burst of sunshine. There are other organizations that do the same thing. I love each and every one of them for planting a tree.
I am an old soul that loves trees, maybe I was an Ent in a former life :)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The History of Hemp
Our country used to use Hemp for a number of things. Our founding fathers grew hemp. Here are a few other things about hemp:
Schoolbooks were made from hemp and flax paper until the 1880's
It was legal to pay your taxes with hemp from 1631 till the early 1800's
Refusing to grew hemp was against the law in the 17th and 18th centuries
For thousands of years 90% of all ship sails and ropes were made from hemp
80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes and bedsheets were made from hemp till the 1820's with the intro of the cotton gin
The first bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross flag, 1st draft of Declaration of Independence and Constitution were made from hemp
Oldest records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China
Early canvas paintings were painted on hemp linen
In 1916 the US Govt predicted that by the 1940's all paper would come from hemp and no more trees would need to be cut down (1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees)
Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil till 1937
There is much more that hemp is used for but I think you get the picture. But, the BIG point is that the govt had a chance to save mother earth and her trees but they didn't. They gave in to greedy business men who would lose money if hemp was used and by giving in we all lose.
Schoolbooks were made from hemp and flax paper until the 1880's
It was legal to pay your taxes with hemp from 1631 till the early 1800's
Refusing to grew hemp was against the law in the 17th and 18th centuries
For thousands of years 90% of all ship sails and ropes were made from hemp
80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes and bedsheets were made from hemp till the 1820's with the intro of the cotton gin
The first bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross flag, 1st draft of Declaration of Independence and Constitution were made from hemp
Oldest records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China
Early canvas paintings were painted on hemp linen
In 1916 the US Govt predicted that by the 1940's all paper would come from hemp and no more trees would need to be cut down (1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees)
Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil till 1937
There is much more that hemp is used for but I think you get the picture. But, the BIG point is that the govt had a chance to save mother earth and her trees but they didn't. They gave in to greedy business men who would lose money if hemp was used and by giving in we all lose.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A Little Bit Of History
My in laws shared this with us in an email and I thought I would share it with all of you.
In Marble Arch, London there is an old Hotel/Pub which used to have gallows adjacent to it. A prisoner, who was to be hung, was taken in a horse drawn dray, accompanied by a guard, who would stop the dray outside the pub. The guard would ask the prisoner if he would like "ONE LAST DRINK".
If the prisoner said yes it was referred to as, "ONE FOR THE ROAD" and if he declined that prisoner was "ON THE WAGON"
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They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery.
If you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor". Worse then that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot they "Didn't have a pot to piss in" and they were the lowest of the low.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Hairy Plotter and Other Going Ons
Well, Hairy is still on the loose but his tracks were spotted by the Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo trackers behind a King Soopers close to the Broadmoor golf course. So, he's staying close to home but is still enjoying his freedom :)
We had a terrible windstorm a couple of days ago and it blew the Internet dish OFF the roof. This Internet service is not the one I use, it is the one my husband uses and is for our business. It is HUGHES.NET and we are not happy campers!
We have had this Internet for 10 years, 6 months ago HUGHES.NET said we had to update our dish. So, we did. They sent 2 teen agers, who take 4 hrs to set this up. The old dish, which was bolted to the side of the house had to come down and it was our responsibility to get rid of it (we paid $1,000 for this dish thru HUGHES.NET, now it was garbage) The new dish, according to the teen agers could not be put on the side of the house, it had to be put on the roof.
We told them we had high winds here and they said that the dish WOULD NEVER blow off the roof. That was a lie!!!!!!!
So, 2 weeks ago we had to have a tech come out because the Internet was not working. He came out and re-aligned the signal. The teen age boys had done it wrong and he was amazed we had a signal at all. He was here for 3 hours. I had to pay $100 for that call because the warranty on the new dish had expired ( it was only for 3 months but NO ONE told us). So we got signed up for a new warranty.
Now, the dish has blown OFF the roof and people, you do not know what a nightmare it has been to get someone out here. We are on day 3 and I have yelled and screamed at the call center, which is in India, to get it fixed. My husband took over and was calmer with them but we still have no one coming to fix it. My husband had to go to bed early last nite because his system rebelled from the stress and it started to shut down.
I got up early this morning and called again to the service center located in India. They finally after 4 calls gave me the phone # of the head company, here in the US, that handles service calls. They understood that we are a business and need the Internet up, they have put in calls to the person in Denver, Colo (an hour away from us) that does the service calls for HUGHES.NET. He has not answered them yet. So, we are still waiting.
The company we work for is very understanding (we are to start a new job, courthouse in Las Vegas) and they know we will get our Internet up and going.
I wish we could get rid of HUGHES.NET but they are the only Internet that can handle the arch. drawings. So, we are stuck and not happy about it.
What kills me, is that we had this service for 10 years and hardly a problem. We update and we have had nothing but problems. Plus, we have to pay for this service call because they say its a natural disaster and the warranty doesn't cover it. That's a real pisser!
We had a terrible windstorm a couple of days ago and it blew the Internet dish OFF the roof. This Internet service is not the one I use, it is the one my husband uses and is for our business. It is HUGHES.NET and we are not happy campers!
We have had this Internet for 10 years, 6 months ago HUGHES.NET said we had to update our dish. So, we did. They sent 2 teen agers, who take 4 hrs to set this up. The old dish, which was bolted to the side of the house had to come down and it was our responsibility to get rid of it (we paid $1,000 for this dish thru HUGHES.NET, now it was garbage) The new dish, according to the teen agers could not be put on the side of the house, it had to be put on the roof.
We told them we had high winds here and they said that the dish WOULD NEVER blow off the roof. That was a lie!!!!!!!
So, 2 weeks ago we had to have a tech come out because the Internet was not working. He came out and re-aligned the signal. The teen age boys had done it wrong and he was amazed we had a signal at all. He was here for 3 hours. I had to pay $100 for that call because the warranty on the new dish had expired ( it was only for 3 months but NO ONE told us). So we got signed up for a new warranty.
Now, the dish has blown OFF the roof and people, you do not know what a nightmare it has been to get someone out here. We are on day 3 and I have yelled and screamed at the call center, which is in India, to get it fixed. My husband took over and was calmer with them but we still have no one coming to fix it. My husband had to go to bed early last nite because his system rebelled from the stress and it started to shut down.
I got up early this morning and called again to the service center located in India. They finally after 4 calls gave me the phone # of the head company, here in the US, that handles service calls. They understood that we are a business and need the Internet up, they have put in calls to the person in Denver, Colo (an hour away from us) that does the service calls for HUGHES.NET. He has not answered them yet. So, we are still waiting.
The company we work for is very understanding (we are to start a new job, courthouse in Las Vegas) and they know we will get our Internet up and going.
I wish we could get rid of HUGHES.NET but they are the only Internet that can handle the arch. drawings. So, we are stuck and not happy about it.
What kills me, is that we had this service for 10 years and hardly a problem. We update and we have had nothing but problems. Plus, we have to pay for this service call because they say its a natural disaster and the warranty doesn't cover it. That's a real pisser!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Hairy Plotter, Still On The Loose
Well, its been a week and the otter is still on the loose.
He paid a visit to the Broadmoor Hotel golf course in which the hotel employees, Broadmoor Fire and Rescue, Colorado Springs Fire Dept and the Colorado Springs Utilities tried to capture him.
He eluded them all and is still romping around. The paper here did a funny spoof of him taking in the sights. It was very cute. They have gotten a lot of calls of people seeing him but none have pan out.
Maybe he'll get homesick for his otter family in the zoo and return on his own, I doubt it but it is a comforting thought.
We will see if he ever returns home :)
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