The Life of Mrs. Miles

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I've created this overlay for blog reader Senati, who wanted a theme using doves, to grace a layout she made of her son's baptism. I hope this works for you – I did it in two versions, one a little funkier than the other.

Well, this will be a short week for North America! Don't you just love the week after a weekend, other than the fact it messes us all up on which day is which? I think that could be because with the removal of the Monday of work, then Wednesday is no longer a “hump” day, so there's no day smack in the middle to get thru before we slide down toward the weekend again. Heavens, since I'm a stay-at-home gal every day blends into one another for me. I get so mixed up with days that my sweet, patient husband has to carefully write his work schedule into a PAPER format as it changes between different work places and towns, sometimes in the same day, and in three sessions. Its not unusual for me to call his workplace and have to ask the secretaries “is he here, or the other center?”

I've decided that today will be a day of Thanks for me. I have so much to be thankful for, and whats the point of waiting till the official Thanksgiving day, when my heart is overflowing right now? I'd like to leave you with some Thankful Thoughts for the day, and I would love to hear yours too!

Have I ever really thanked you, Lord, for the fact that I can see
A clear blue sky, a bird in flight, a child upon my knee,
A sunset's glow at eventide, a cloud so full and white,
In never-ending gratitude – the wonderous gift of sight?

Have I ever really thanked you, Lord, for the fact that I can hear
A bird in song, my children laugh, a spoken word so dear,
A welcome knock upon my door, rain on my window pane?
It means that I am part of things and have so much to gain.

Have I ever really thanked you, Lord, for the fact that I can walk
A country lane, a city street, meet friends and stop to talk,
To climb upon a hillside and marvel at the view?
All these things are blessings, gifts sent down by you.

We walk along life's highway, and seldom stop to say,
Thank you, Lord, for all these gifts so dear to us each day.

By Maralyne I. Fawcett-Smith

Gratitude is born in hearts

that take time to count up past blessings.

“Always give thanks

for everything

to our God and Father

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Ephesians 5:20

I've got some good things happening in the background, so I may not post for a day or two, plus my Mom and Dad-inlaws are arriving for a week's visit on Wednesday. I may get a small post in between though.

download me and make me 'into something!'

DO NOT COPY - copyrighted picture!

My friend's version of what this wood would be!

I saw this wood 'would be' a whale!

I keep forgetting to post a picture that a friend of mine created. She took a photo of a wood pattern, and then she added to it to make it into her own thing. I decided to take her example and make it into my own thing, a whale. This reminds me of an excersize I do now and again when I feel dry, in traditional art. Instead of choosing a subject and then painting, I take whatever's at hand, something abstract, and then make it into something. My friend and I challenge you to take the texture and see what you can make it into!

You know, I was heard this little tidbit on NPR radio the other day, and it made me shake my head. If you live in the USA, and you want to 'botox' your lips (YOU pay), you can get a date to do that within a week. However, if you have a dangerous looking mole and need an appointment, it takes a month! Money talks, I guess. How sad is that?

Along the lines of health, and because I have 'creaky' knees, the following article on NPR will be of interest to you. It appears there is a new 'gender specific' knee replacement being manufactured out there! Remember, your doctor cannot read and know about every single new thing out there, so you may want to make your doctor aware of this new development. Just click here to read or listen to the article.

Here's a quirky bit of news – there was a patient, right here in Vancouver, BC, who bled GREEN (really, like Mr. Spock on Star Trek!) To read more about this phenomenon, click here.

On a totally different track now, I recently read this good idea in a recent Canadian Living magazine, submitted by Teresa Sousa, which I'd like to share with you:

If you're taking your children to an event, and you would like to keep them entertained, pack individual lunch boxes (or a nice sized plastic carry all you can find in the dollar store – make sure it has a carry handle) with games and craft materials. Playing cards, colouring book, a blank journal, crayons and stencils, scrapbooking supplies, puzzles would all be good ideas.

And this is totally unrelated to anything else I've posted today, but I will just mash it up with the rest. It's a neat article from NPR on a company in North Carolina which is making odd-flavor popcicles, like avacado, chili and even a version for doggies which has an edible stick! Just click here to listen to the audio file!

Today in History:

476 - Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor of the West Empire, was deposed.

1609 - English navigator Henry Hudson, working for the Dutch East India Company, arrived at the island of Manhattan, before sailing up the river that now bears his name. In making his trip up the river, Hudson claimed the area for the Dutch and opened the land for the settlers who followed.

1618 - The "Rodi" avalanche destroyed Plurs, Switzerland, killing 1,500.

1781 - Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers and named ``El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles'' (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels).

1833 - After answering an ad in "The New York Sun", Barney Flahery became the first newsboy. Ten-year old Barney really became what we now call a paperboy.

1866 - The first Hawaiian daily newspaper was published.

1882 - Thomas Edison demonstrated the first practical electrical lighting system when he turned on the lights for a one square mile area of New York City.

1885 - The Exchange Buffet, the first self-serve cafeteria in the United States, opened in New York City.

1886 - Legendary Apache leader Geronimo surrendered to Gen. Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, ending the last major United States-Indian conflict. Miles lied to Geronimo, promising him that he would be reunited withhis family and that the US would grant him a pardon for his actions. Instead, he was made a prisoner of war and banned from his homeland, Arizona.

1888 - George Eastman of Rochester, New York, registered the name Kodak. Eastman patented his roll-film camera, United States Patent #388,850.

1921 - The first police broadcast was made by radio station WIL in St. Louis, Missouri.

1951 - Viewers across the United States saw the first coast-to-coast telecast using coaxial cable. This first telecast featured United States President Harry S. Truman speaking to the nation from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco, California.

1957 - Governor of Arkansas Orval Faubus ordered National Guard troops to turn away nine black students trying to enter the formerly whites-only Central High School.

1957 - The Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel.

1971 - On ABC-TV, "The Lawrence Welk Show" was seen for the last time. Reruns allowed the music to continue until 1982 as a weekly favorite. From 1956 to 1961, Welk charted a half-dozen hits on the pop music charts, including 1906's number one song "Calcutta".

1991 - Country music star Dottie West died in Nashville, Tennessee, of liver and heart failure as a result of a one-car crash earlier in the week. The popular singer underwent three operations, but doctors were unable to repair her ruptured liver. West was 58 years old.

Barb's Handy Tip #304

Pre-Paint your Rooms for Fall?

Ah, falls arriving, and if you are thinking of changing your decor and paint to a fall theme, you can now 'try out' painting your own walls, thanks to the following website! You can either upload a photo of your own room, or use one of theirs - so cool and helpful!

Design My Room