Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Dill Potatoes and Broccoli Salad
2 Medium red potatoes, cut in 1” chunks
1/2 Cup fresh dill sprigs
1/2 Pound broccoli (about 1 1/4 cup)
3 scallions, minced
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Teaspoon fresh dill, minced
black pepper
Steam potatoes over boiling water containing the dill sprigs for about 5 min. Add broccoli and steam until vegetables are tender, about another 5 min. Place potatoes and broccoli in large bowl and add scallions, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper. Toss well. Serve warm as a side dish, or chill for about 1 hr and serve as a salad. Makes 4 servings.
Sourc: 1980-1990 BBS Boards
Source: http://www.abbyskitchen.co.uk
UNDIAGNOSED DIE-OFF, APIS - UK: PESTICIDES SUSPECTED
****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
[1]
Date: 1 Oct 2008
Source: Organic in Form [edited]
http://www.organicinform.org/newsitem.aspx?id=3D588
Call to DEFRA to save bees
The Soil Association has today written to Hilary Benn, DEFRA
Secretary of State, urging him to ban the products in the UK with
immediate effect. There is worldwide concern at widespread,
unexplained and devastating deaths of honey bees over the last 2
years. Bee keepers have reported potentially catastrophic loss of
bees from their hives ranging anywhere from 30-90 percent. Britain’s
beekeepers have reported that close to one in 3 hives have failed to
make it through last winter. This “Colony Collapse Disorder” (CCD) is
not just a problem for beekeepers and farmers, but for consumers as
well, since bee pollination is essential for crop production.
The products implicated in bee deaths, clothianidin, imidacloprid,
fipronil and thiamethoxam, are approved to kill insects on a wide
range of crops in the UK including very widely grown oilseed rape,
barley, and sugar beet. They are also cleared for use in ornamental
plant and hop production.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association Policy Director, says, “It is
typical of the lax approach to pesticide regulation in the UK that we
look like being one of the last of the major farming countries in the
EU to wake up to the threat to our honey bees and ban these nasty
sprays. We want the Government to act today to remove this threat to
Britain’s honey bees.”
Since their introduction by Bayer CropScience in the USA in 2003,
these neonicotinoid products have been linked to the devastating loss
of millions of honey bees in a number of countries. Germany banned
the pesticides after beekeepers in the Baden-Wurttenberg region
reported that two thirds of their bees died in May [2008] following
the application of clothianidin (Poncho Pro). In 1995 beekeepers in
North Dakota took Bayer to court when a third of their bees were
killed by imacloprid. In France, a third of the honey bee population
was killed after widespread use of imidacloprid.
Organic farming relies on a number of techniques to avoid the use of
sprays that kill insects, including not growing the same or similar
crops every year, and encouraging natural predators of insect pests
(like wild birds, ladybirds and lacewings).
—
Communicated by
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
******
[2]
Date: Tue 30 Sep 2008
Source: Getwokingham - The Wokingham Times [edited]
http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/lifestyle/food_and_drink/s/2036346_bees_disaster_threatens_the_honey_harvest
Bees disaster threatens the honey harvest
In the UK, Stuart Bailey, chairman of Rowse Honey, said recently: “By
Christmas [2008] there will be no English honey in the supermarkets. I’m
absolutely sure, because we’re just not getting the honey in from the
beekeepers. So we will have to import more in from abroad. That’s
tragic. Imagine if that were a permanent scenario: if there are no
British honey-bees, there’ll be no British honey on the shelves.”
Concerned what the dying bees mean for our planet, online discussion
boards warn: “The bees are showing us something here, it is a clear warning.”
Another says: “For many fruit crops, bee loss is a big, big deal.
Gardeners and those with backyard landscapes, please grow bee habitat,
and do it without pesticides, both for honeybees and for native bees.”
Should we be worried? No, says Jon Davey, chairman of Reading and
District Beekeepers’ Association, but the situation is serious. In
his view, the decline of the nation’s — not to mention the world’s —
bee population is something Mother Nature can rectify, with a little
help from her faithful servant, the apiarist. “Bees go back to the
age of the dinosaur. We don’t know why some things happen,” he says.
For example, there are a lot of bumble-bees around this year. We don’t
know why. “Why honeybees are disappearing, who knows? It’s not good
but I should think the bees will survive providing there are
beekeepers to help them.”
Problem is, wild bees producing hives of amber nectar in the woods
are long gone in the UK, rather dating AA Milne’s honey-scoffing bear
Winnie the Pooh [published in the 1930s], says Davey.
Which means we are reliant on beekeepers because not only do bees
supply us with nutritious honey, they form an integral link in the
ecosystem.
Crops such as wheat are pollinated by the wind but apples, pears,
raspberries, cherries, strawberries, blackcurrants, broad and runner
beans and oilseed rape need bees for survival.
The largest threat to bees are varroa mites, a parasite introduced to
Europe and the USA when docile bees were imported from Thailand 15 years ago.
Beekeepers, along with providing secure housing, help bees deal with
the mite “with varying success,” says Davey, and make sure they are
healthy. But add to this 2 dismal summers, meaning bees have not
produced enough honey to keep them going over the winter, and the
situation becomes more serious.
Berkshire beekeepers — most of who are amateur or semi-professional
— do their bit by attending seminars such as the disease recognition
and varroa management day held by regional bee inspector Ian Homer.
Thankfully, most members are dedicated to what is seen in this
country as a left-field hobby.
Davey is committed more than most, for it’s his number that gets handed
out by Reading Borough Council when people call in to report errant
beehives in roofs and such like.
But to solve the problem of our depleted bee population, more
research is needed, says Davey. There is no doubting bee-keepers’
passion for providence (Davey started to keep bees as a solution to
runner beans which refused to germinate), but without more knowledge,
they are limited in what they can do.
There is no doubt British honey will be in short supply by Christmas
[2008], but Davey, who used to work in the trade, says it is highly
unlikely shops will have none at all, because Rowse, Hartley’s and
Gale’s — the big 3 British suppliers — import it from all over the
world, then blend and package it for supermarkets.
However, the world’s big producers of honey, the USA and Argentina,
have also suffered large losses. The former dropped its yield by 36
percent on last year due to colony collapse disorder (CCD), a
mysterious disappearance linked to the blood-sucking varroa mite,
lethal viruses, malnutrition, pesticides, and a lack of genetic
diversity. And in Argentina there was a 27 percent decrease in the
harvest, boosting the price of honey by up to 60 percent.
You can expect to pay around GBP 3 [USD 5.30] for a jar of Berkshire
honey, a creeping-up in price partly the result of the bee crisis but
largely due to the European ban on the import of Chinese honey in 2002.
In the UK, a survey by the British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA)
revealed that nearly one in 3 of the 240 000 honey-bee hives did not
survive this winter and spring.
BBKA president Tim Lovett says: “Average winter bee losses due to
poor weather and disease vary from between 5 and 10 percent, so a 30
percent loss is deeply worrying. This spells serious trouble for
pollination services and honey producers.”
BBKA is calling on the Government to pour GBP 8 million [USD 14 145
647] over 5 years into researching honey-bee losses and improving bee
health, small change if you consider the value of bees to pollination
— the boost in crop production — was GBP 165m [USD 291 753 971] in
the UK. Currently, GBP 200 000 [USD 353 641] a year is spent on
research and Defra [UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs] allocates GBP 1.3 million [USD 2 298 667] for bee health. The
only response to those calls has come from Rowse, which earlier this
month committed GBP 100 000 [USD 176 820] for honey-bee health
research over the next 3 years.
[Byline: Alison Hepworth]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Susan Baekeland
[The decline in bees, whether from colony collapse disorder, any of a
number of chemicals, or from mites, is taking a serious toll on
pollination and may affect a variety of food crops. - Mod.TG]
[A map of the United Kingdom is available at:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/cia08/united_kingdom_sm_2008.gif
- CopyEd.EJP]
[see also:
Colony collapse disorder, apis - Germany: chemical ban 20080613.1868
2007
>>>A group of insect-killing agrochemicals known as neonicotinoids...
OMG, so I was right???
Look:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1832852/posts?page=5#5
“Effects of sub-lethal imidacloprid doses on the
homing rate and foraging activity of honey bees...”
Of the neonicotinoids, imidacloprid is the most toxic to birds and fish. Both imidacloprid and thiamethoxam are highly toxic to honey bees.
LOL, one of my favorite crafts, had a ball making the bowls.
granny........
http://web.mac.com/jwesolek/iWeb/cre8it/Blog/2CFC1CE2-9A64-4F42-AA6C-F35BFFE5BDA1.html
Handmade Paper Bowls
Make elegant, gallery quality gifts for your whole holiday list for $5 to $20 (total) and stuff you already have in your studio!!
21 Comments Manage Comments for this Entry
Yes, I would say you were right and almost 18 months ago!!!
Thanks for the link to the bee article.
I have heard that some of these investigations are not ever finished, as if the cure is found, then the grants would stop.
Invent something and get a patent on it, who cares if it upsets the world, as long as the money keeps coming in.
And I get told that I am old fashioned, because I refuse to use some of the new ‘inventions’.
Take a look at the post above this one, it should have had your name on it and I goofed.
I made the paper bowls 40 years ago, used the big one for popcorn for years.
The one with the ragged edge, looks like one that I made of porcelain and fired, during my ceramics era, a white, with a bright blue edge.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2099191/posts?page=11#11
A Will and a Way for Allen (MacArthur Grant for Urban Farmer)
JSOnline ^ | Octover 5, 2008 | Karen Herzog
Posted on Monday, October 06, 2008 6:28:47 PM by Diana in Wisconsin
Will Allen was cutting heads of lettuce in a farm field when his cell phone rang.
The caller told him to put down his knife. He had good news:
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, known for its annual award of “genius” grants, was giving Allen $500,000 — no strings attached.
Thanks to Gabz for this link, it is very interesting.
[good photo at link]
6 Kids Severely Blistered By Back Yard Plant
POSTED: 6:59 am MDT October 8, 2008
UPDATED: 12:44 pm MDT October 8, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A toxic backyard plant blistered six young girls in Colorado Springs, KKTV reported Tuesday.
Plant experts say Myrtle Spurge can blister skin on contact.
One of the girls told the TV station that they were re-enacting Pilgrims, gathering plants for a feast. They “milked” the Myrtle Spurge into a cup and then tried to drink it.
continued...........
The bowls look really cool! Might have to try that! I am a sucker for any new craft! LOL
Ran errands yest. Mostly a waste of time—blech—but I did get some gorgeous flannel to make my baby sister’s baby—due next month!!!—some blankets and matching burp pads.
Baked Apples-Crockpot
6 large cooking apples
3/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1 teaspoon lemon rind grated
3/4 cup rose wine
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
whipped cream, optional
Remove core from apples and place in crockpot.
Mix together all other ingredients except whipped
cream. Pour over apples. Cover pot and cook on low
for about 3 1/2 hours or until apples are
tender. Cool and serve with whipped cream.
Yields 6 servings.
LOL, the bowls become an addiction, think of all the forms, anything from a large balloon to the milk bucket.
Sewing baby clothes is a good idea, will you crochet the border on them?
My friend Mary also used a light seersucker cotton for the summer baby smocks that she made and they proved to be better than most things available for a baby in the heat...
== Homemade Baby Wipes ==
A simple idea for those of us who have young
children still in
diapers, and an inexpensive way to make “wet
wipes.” You’ll
need, good quality paper towel, liquid baby body
wash soap,
baby oil, a one litre ice cream container and
some water. Cut
the paper towel roll in half and place it in the
ice cream container.
In 2 cups of water, mix in 2Tbs of baby wash and
2Tbs of baby
oil. Pour over paper towel and remove centre.
Pull the wipes out
from the centre. Voila! Also very good for travel
... just fold a few
in the already purchased travel container.
SLOW COOKER PINEAPPLE-PEAR MARMALADE
Equal amounts:
1 part Pineapple, {either canned or fresh
cleaned), cut small or crushed
1 part Pears, cored and cut into small pieces
(They do not need to be peeled if skin is not too
tough. If skin is tough, grind pears.)
1 part White sugar
Place equal measurments of the 3 ingredients in
slow cooker on high.
When heated enough that it simmers around edge,
turn down to low and tilt the lid so moisture
escapes. Stir once an hour.
When reduced and thicker, turn off slow cooker
and let cool uncovered. Put into small 1 1/2 cups
size freezer containers. Freeze. This size makes
thawing quick and it is used up without waste.
Refrigerate between use.
Author: Jean Cowell, Toledo, OHIO, USA
Source: RecipeLink.com
I was already mentally cataloging my bowls and different things! LOL
I prob won’t blanketstitch the edges—don’t think my hands/wrists would go for that any more. At one time I would have. :) Prob jsut do decorative trim with the machine. I’m the oldest of five and I married young. Baby sister was only 4 when I moved out. She’s the youngest and married late. My youngest is almost 19, and I’ve got a gbaby that’s almost 2. I haven’t sewed much for a baby in a while! LOL
Yeah, seersucker is great.
This is great! I’ll pass it on to my daughter and my sis!
[If you have ever wanted to make your own soaps and lotions, this is the best place to start, Rita shares her knowledge and has written a book.
Her Yahoo group is made up of the finest people that you will find in one group, LOL, bet if the truth were known, there is more than one Freeper in it.
Rita has fought cancer and I ask all of you with a spare prayer, to use it for her.
Breast cancer has hit several of the women in her family, this is Rita’s second [or more] bouts with it.
Granny]
God Bless your life’s walk
Rita...Homeschooling Mom in Georgia
May the ~A~ngels up ~A~bove Guide
you with Love ~A~
http://www.tlcsoaps.com/soapmaking.htm
http://www.tlcsoaps.com/book.htm
Please visit the cancer website to help provide free mammograms for women!
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
**************Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/1TLCSoaps/
Prob jsut do decorative trim with the machine.<<<
That will turn out pretty.
LOL, I learned to crochet doing a single crochet on the baby clothes, when I was expecting.
It still makes me smile, as when she was born, many of the gowns were all finished, except the ball of crochet thread was still attached to it........
No one could show me how to stop, crocheting was not done in my family.
I finally asked a neighbor, who said she didn’t know, but here is a crochet book, maybe it will tell you how to stop.
It didn’t, but it had a baby sweater, hat and booties pattern, and I started on it, had to finish it the morning after she was born.
Never did really learn how to stop and so tie it off and pray it is tied tight enough that it will not unravel.
And I crocheted for almost 50 years, lots of things and every thing that I could.
Today, I could not see or use my arms that long.
Hummingbird Cake
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350°.Grease and flour bundt pan..
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I use 1 and 1/3..think 1/4 will work)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract I spilled a bit more ..LOL
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained ( I don’t drain mine)
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped firm ripe banana
Cream Cheese Frosting:
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans
Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into
mixing bowl several times. ( I sift once and use my spatula
to throughly mix dry ingredients)
Add eggs,vanilla, and vegetable oil to the dry ingredients.
Stir and fold with a wooden spoon until ingredients are
moistened..
Fold in bananas, pineapple,nuts.
BAKE in 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes..I bake mine about
55 minutes.
Let cool on rack for 20 minutes before taking it out of pan.
Let the cake cool completely before covering.
Do not beat batter! I don’t frost this cake to cut down on calories as I bake it often and use it like coffee cake as well as dessert..
My thanks to Meg33 for sharing her recipe .....
;o)
I need to add..this cake is better the second day. I usually manage to eat a slice while it is still warm nevertheless..
NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2008
Release #09-003
Firm’s Recall Hotline: (800) 934-4497
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Children’s Necklaces, CD and MP3 Players Sold at Limited Too and Justice Stores Recalled by Tween Brands Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Products: Children’s Ball and Heart Necklaces, Portable CD and MP3 Players
Units: About 12,000
Importer: Tween Brands Inc., of New Albany, Ohio
Hazard: Surface coatings on these products could contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: This recall involves a Ball and Heart Necklace with pink beads of varying sizes and a pink heart located in the center; a Portable CD Player with flowers and dots available in blue and pink; a pink MP3 Player with purple, green, blue, yellow, and red hearts; and a light blue MP3 Player with a picture of a monkey’s face on the front.
Sold at: Limited Too and Justice retail stores nationwide, the Limited Too catazine (catalog), and on www.limitedtoo.com from May 2007 through August 2008. The Ball and Heart Necklace sold for about $8, the Portable CD Players sold for about $25, and the MP3 Players sold for about $55.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately take these recalled products away from children and return them to any Limited Too or Justice store for a full refund and a coupon for a 15% discount off a future purchase.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Tween Brands at (800) 934-4497 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web sites at www.limitedtoo.com and www.shopjustice.com
********************************************************
********************************************************
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $800 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC’s web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
http://web.mac.com/jwesolek/iWeb/cre8it/Blog/FB7A3924-8E5A-4420-B050-F08E6ED84922.html
Photos of finished bowls, beautiful.
Did I tell you that I changed to Elmer’s white glue and dilute it with water, half or more, for cloth and paper mache?
It has been a while, but the last time I bought a gallon of it from the office supply store, it was about $10.00.
LOL, that is a lot of glue.
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