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General Information

Word Games:  Live trivia at various times and places throughout the week.

#International: We hope to bring together folks from all nations and languages .. come join us for chat, good friends, and if you can volunteer to translate, all the better. Even a smattering of another language is welcome!

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Your BIRTHDAY TREE

August's gemstone is Peridot, the symbol of Friendship, flower is the Gailliarda
September's gemstone is Sapphire, the symbol of Purity, flower is the Aster

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EVENTS

In an attempt to get more of our chatters involved in our newsletter and to make it more interesting, we are adding several new columns.  The recipe column has been very popular!  I hear tell there is a movie critic's corner starting soon.  That's exciting!!  I'd love to see a gardening column if that's an area of expertice for any of you.  Maybe even a book review column would be nice?  Please get together with me if you have other ideas or if you're willing to do a column!

COOKING ON THE WILD SIDE Recipes and more    ...by Wildchild.

Hey Chat Friends,
Hope everyone has had an Awesome Summer. So sorry there wasn't an article for the July Newsletter but your chef here has been busy busy busy this summer.  Thanks to Obiwan from #40something and #30+Kickin`back for this recipe.  School Time is Fast approaching.  How about some handy snacks for the kiddies, be it for their lunch or just after school snacks?   I know my crew comes home starved from school.  Until next time Friends lets remember to keep cookingonthewildside.
wildchild

Cousin Boudreaux's Black Eyed Peas Ingredients: 2 nice lean pork chops (if available, alligator works nice instead of chops!) 2-3 bay leaves 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce 15 oz. can Dice Tomatoes 2-3 toes Garlic, finely chopped 1 bunch (6-8) Green Onions thinly sliced 2 stalks Celery, diced 1 lb.dried black eyed peas 1 lb. cooked salad shrimp (or crawfish tails if available) 2 bunches fresh Spinach (or Polk salad) Tabasco Sauce Cayenne Pepper Salt

Directions: Place pork chops and bay leaves in 5 qt. dutch oven. Cover with water and bring to boil. Continue boiling for 15 minutes or so and then turn off. Don't throw out the water! Remove the chops and dice into small cubes and to return to dutch oven. Add 2-3 more cups water and bring to boil again. Add cayenne pepper to taste, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, green onion, celery, and black eyed peas. Insure they are covered with water, add salt to taste and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. Reduce heat, and boil gently until peas are tender and done.  Stir occasionally. When peas are done, add shrimp and continue to simmer. Wash spinach well and chop coarsely. Add spinach and IMMEDIATELY remove from heat.  Notes:  1. The peas will absorb a lot of water while cooking. Check occasionally and add more water as needed. Ensure that they stay covered with water. 2. Add dash or two of Tabasco sauce as desired. If you don't care for spicy foods, do not add at all.

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MAYBE MABLE KNOWS?     Gossip

Suggestions and comments .. submit them to the newsletter with Mable in the subject line.

Mable didn't know anything this month.

MOVIES                 Movie Reviews - by Zadi of #Lupuschat

Suggestions and comments .. submit them to the newsletter with Movies  in the subject line.

Spider-Man 2 - "This summer a man will face his destiny. A hero will be revealed." Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, and Joan Allen.
This movie is all it's hyped up to be. An action-packed thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. (Was that over the legal limit of hype?) Spider-Man faces an identity crisis of sorts while the world needs saving and the words of the day are "sacrifice" and "choice." NOT a movie for small children. Many of the special effects and action scenes are downright frightening, even for older children and adults. It may have been a comic book, but this movie is not for the faint of heart. Spider-Man 2 rises to the challenge of sequelhood and surpasses the first film. The animations are seamless and give "eye-candy" it's name.
The choices and dependent morals illustrated are valuable, along with resulting consequences from errant decisions. I highly recommend Spider-Man 2 for mature audiences.

The Notebook - "Behind Every Great Love is a Great Story." Starring Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, James Marsden, Sam Shephard. The Notebook follows a young couple's first great love which develops during the time of World War II. The couple is separated by the girl's parents, who believe the boy is not good enough for their daughter. The story reintroduces the two years later, by which time the girl is engaged to a soldier who loves her, and she is torn by her feelings. What will she do? It reads like every other young-love story, but this one takes you much further than the others and will have you very emotionally invested in the welfare of all the players very quickly.
The Notebook is written by Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote "Message in a Bottle" and "A Walk to Remember." Both Britney Spears and Ashley Judd were considered for the lead role of the character Allie, but Rachel McAdams was chosen to play the young girl. This movie was filmed in South Carolina, and the landscape and scenery is breathtaking. There is a bit of nudity and pre/post-sexual scenes. Again, I recommend this movie for mature audiences.

THE BOOK NOOK         Book Nook by Lorellei

Suggestions and comments .. submit them to the newsletter with Book Nook in the subject line.


This book has been on the New York Times Best Sellers List for weeks. It was, as of July 31, #1.
You would have to be living in a cave not to have at least heard of The Da Vinci Code. Frankly, when a book gets so much publicity, I figure it’s a waste of time to read it. I think the masses have been hypnotized, kinda like the publicity that comes with high dollar movies. However, finally my curiosity did get the best of me and, since all my friends kept asking my opinion and since so many people online, on TV, and around me were discussing the book, I read it in defense…may as well know what it’s about.
I had read a couple of Dan Brown’s earlier books and, while he writes pretty well, found other books more to my liking.
Frankly, after having read The Da Vinci Code, I plan to go back to some of his earlier books. This one is extremely well written, has a sharp plot with plenty of cliff-hanger chapter ends. The book starts off with a bang and there is no deviation throughout.

Jacques Sauniere is the Curator of the Louvre Museum; he is being stalked in the museum after hours and, fearing for his life, he seeks desperately to pass on a secret that he alone carries. The secret, passed along in cloaked rituals for centuries, could change the course of civilization forever. The secret must be passed to the only person whom he knows can be trusted with the knowledge. In his last moments of life, he manages to leave an intricate clue, simple yet perfect. Then he dies.

American symbologist Robert Langdon enters the picture. Visiting Paris to give a lecture, he was also scheduled to meet with Sauniere that evening. Not having met the Curator, Langdon had agreed simply because Sauniere had the reputation of being a very private person, one who gave few interviews. Further, Langdon and Sauniere shared a mutual interest in goddess art and goddess worship, the concept of female sanctity and associated arts and symbols. Langdon, unknown to anyone, was completing a manuscript on this very subject; his manuscript, however, shot a lot of holes in traditional beliefs and interpretations. Sauniere failed to show up for their meeting and Langdon went on back to his hotel to sleep. His phone rang in the middle of the night and he was summoned by the police to the Louvre. What follows is an intricate maze of excellent and unusual clues, suggestions, ideas and the plot thickens. Sophie Neveau appears, a modified damsel in distress. Teabing, an eccentric rich British Knight Historian adds enjoyable color to the strength of the book, Dan Brown’s religious conspiracy theory. His total formula is one rarely used in thrillers and offers on one level, an enjoyable read and on the next level, a thriller with plenty of codes, puzzles and a labyrinth of potential solutions. The albino, self-mutilating monk adds another dimension.

I’ve always enjoyed a book that involves the reader in solving puzzles along with the characters. This one has it all: anagrams, numerical ciphers, secret scripts and riddles. At one point, one of the characters points out that at least 62 words can be made using the letters in the word, PLANET. I currently have a yellow pad filling up with words as I think of them! The book also includes a lot of historical information, interwoven expertly into the plot. Brown makes sure that readers have more than enough information to understand the religious iconography and ciphers and he does this cleverly, without making the reader feel bored or patronized.

The book is written clearly, clean, precise and apparently detached, presenting information efficiently. The story, (remember, it’s sold as fiction), is full of twists, turn and cliff-hanging action with an extremely satisfying resolution. Character development is kept to a minimum so as not to distract from the mystery. This book is fast-paced, has few bog-down points and is an intelligent thriller. It will stimulate your mind if you’re ready to turn your powers of deduction loose.

My only caution, and remember this is fiction, is that The Da Vinci Code suggests some alternative interpretations of religious history involving paganism. Ultra-conservative Christians, or those who may be insecure in their beliefs, may want to avoid this book. Personally, I prefer the input of new ideas and theories but not everyone feels that way.
Personally, I recommend the book  it is perhaps one of the most exciting reads of the century.

PETS AND PESTS         Critters   by Momma

If you have questions, interesting facts or suggestions, other notable news concerning pets and pests, please submit them to the newsletter with Pets and Pests in the subject line.

In many areas of North America it has been a wet summer. And with unseasonably wet conditions comes the ever unpopular increased population of certain pests!This year in my area at least we have an over-abundance of Earwigs. *shudder*
Earwigs in general can be considered an ally in the garden as they will eat aphids and other pests at night as they are nocturnal. One truly good function of the insect is they eat the eggs of the codling moth which is a serious problem with apple trees. They also use the pincers on their hind-ends to capture ants. When you have an over population of earwigs they can become a nuisance and generally feed on your marigolds and they really go for clematis vines, dahlias, delphiniums, pansies and chrysanthemums. They cause the most trouble June through October. Here are a few suggestions to control these pesky critters without using harmful insecticides, or using them in limited amounts

• One possible control in dealing with earwigs is to mix insecticide soap with isopropyl alcohol and spray the infested area every two to three days for two weeks. To make this spray add 1 tablespoon of the alcohol to each quart of insecticide soap.
• Another method is to trap earwigs in pieces of old hose or rolled up newspapers. Check these during day and shake the insects into a bucket of soapy water.
• A very successful method to get rid of earwigs is to take a shallow, straight-sided container and fill it half full with vegetable oil. Clean out the bodies every day and you may reuse the oil as often as you like. I have heard from local farmers that this works particularly well in a greenhouse situation.

Another problem in warm and humid conditions are Aphids. Here is some information I dug up on this problem, once again using less harmful methods for our environment to combat these unwelcomed intruders. Ants are known to "farm" aphids, often keeping them in their nest during winter, then bringing them out in spring and placing them on the host plant. The ants eat the honeydew the aphids produce and move them from plant to plant spreading any diseases that are present.The honeydew favors formation of a black fungus known as "sooty mold." Control of the ants may often solve the aphid problem. Aphids abound in warm moist environments and will attack almost anything, favoring succulent new growth.

Predators: Green lacewings, ladybugs and their respective larvae have a voracious appetite for aphids. Larvae from the syrphid fly also consume aphids. Hover flies and praying mantis feed on aphids.
Repellent plants: Anise, chives, coriander (cilantro), garlic, onions, petunias and radish. Nasturtiums act as a trap crop. Aphids definitely prefer yellow flowers.

• Squashing a few aphids around the infested plants releases a chemical signal that makes the other aphids drop from the plants and leave.
• To foil aphids: flatten a square of aluminum foil around the base of plants to bounce light on the undersides of leaves. This also helps the plants in giving them more light.
• Try a barrier of powdered charcoal, calcium dust or bonemeal to keep them away from your plants.
• Stinging Nettle Spray: Aphids & Thrips - Cover 1 quart nettles with water, cover and ferment for 3 weeks. Mix 1 part nettle tea with 7 parts water. Spray.
• Spread out a barrier of tansy around the base of the plant to stop those ants.
• Use a spray made from a tea of tomato or potato leaves and water.
• Chop 12 or so tomato leaves and 1 chopped onion in 1/2 cup of of 70% isopropyl alcohol for a few minutes. Apply the mixture directly on aphids with a cue tip or paintbrush.
• A forceful spray of water is often enough to knock the aphids off the plant and may discourage the ants, well sometimes.
• Put a bright yellow plastic pan in a strategic spot in the garden. Fill it a third of the way full with water. Aphids are drawn to the yellow color, land on the water, sink and drown.
• A soap spray can be used to strip them of their protective wax coating, dehydrating them. Mix 1 tablespoon of Castile soap to 1 gallon of water, spray.
• Garlic oil spray can kill aphids and other soft bodied pests.
• Teas made from elderberry or rhubarb leaves can act as a deterrent. Oxalic acid is the compound present in these plants that makes a spray effective. It is poisonous.
• Place banana peels at the base of infested plant. The peels give them a shot of potassium too!
• For wooly aphids on apple trees: grow the trailing type nasturtiums training them to wrap up and around the tree trunk to ward off these pests. Very attractive too! Note: nasturtiums will specifically attract the black aphid while repelling others.

FACT: If you have alot of mosquitoes in your yard you need to attract bats. Bats can be very helpful in keeping the mosquito population down, as one single bat can eat up to 1,000 bugs in a night. Build a bat-house! This is easily done by making a birdhouse type box, with many small compartments, each having it's own opening. Make sure to include a small perch in each compartment, near the top, so that the bat is able to hang comfortably as he sleeps through the daylight hours.
Bats will NOT attack you! If the bats appear to be dive-bombing you, it is only that they really don't see well. Their built in radar will keep them from actually hitting you if you dont panic and run into their path.
They are beautiful and graceful to watch as dusk leads to darkness.

FREECYCLE NETWORK

Whether it's lighthearted, serious, poignant, or just plain silly, send your contributios to the newsletter with LIBRARY in the subject line.


He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of  the  road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help.  So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried.  No one  had stopped to help for the last hour or so ..  was he going to hurt her?  He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold.  He knew how she felt.  It was that chill which only  fear can put in you.

He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am.  Why don't you wait  in the car where it's warm?  By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson." Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that  was bad enough.  Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two.  Soon he was able to change the tire.  But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was  tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him.  She told him that she was  from St. Louis and was only just passing through.  She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk.  The lady asked  how much she owed him.  Any amount would have been all right with her.  She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.  Bryan never thought twice about being paid.

This was not a job to him.  This was helping
someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past.  He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."
He waited until she started her car and drove off.  It had  been  a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe.  She  went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home.  It was a dingy looking restaurant.  Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.  The

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back.  The waitress wondered where the lady could be.  Then she noticed something written on the napkin.  There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything.  I  have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you.  If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills. Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the  money and what the lady had written.  How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it?  With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard..
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her,she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be all right.  I love you, Bryan Anderson."

There is an old saying "What goes around comes around."

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From Last Month
Good-Bye Card

Good-Bye  Name--
Wherever you go, you will NEVER
find anyone quite like us!

Inside Verse

Which is probably why
you're going there.
Good-Bye!
Best of Luck!
    From -- Names