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July 13, 2014
More graphics and buttons, courtesy of VacaDude, coming soon!
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| Broadcast Schedule |
Channel Links |
Important News |
| Broadcast Schedule |
| Today!!! Sunday, July 13, 2014 |
| 3 PM PST/6 PM PST |
| No Story Writing. We’ll write again on July 20. |
| 6 PM PST/9 PM EDT |
| No VacaChat Broadcast.
The chat room will be open at 6:00 PDT (9:00 EDT—8:00 CDT). |
| Upcoming!!! Sunday, July 20, 2014 |
| 3 PM PST/6 PM PST |
| Story Writing Title A Midsummer's Night Dream (with apologies to Mr. Shakespeare) |
| 6 PM PST/9 PM EDT |
| VacaChat Broadcast Join us for the fun and hilarity |
| Channel Links |
| Channel Links |
| VacaChannel |
| http://www.ustream.tv/channel/vacadude |
| Pop-Out |
| If you want to view the chat or video in pop-out screens, use the links below. Some find that this places less stress on their computer and/or its memory. |
| Video: http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/vacadude |
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| If you use the pop-out links, it is recommended that you open two browser windows. That way, if one needs to be refreshed, the other is not affected. |
| Important News |
| VacaChat Broadcast Changes |
| Changes in the upcoming broadcast may be necessary. Check back to this site for more information later in the week. If changes are necessary, a "Breaking News" email will be sent, as well. |
| VacaVideo DVD |
| The DVD's have been sent. If you haven't received it already, please let us know. If you want one and did not order it yet, contact VacaDude soon. |
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Chatter News |
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| A Note from the Dude | Chatter News |
Prayer Requests |
Vaca Blog |
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| Hello Vriends, | ||
| A very happy
Sunday to you all! I guess today is the big soccer match between German
and Argentina. I guess I am kind of pulling for the Germans only because
that is my second language, and I've been there a couple of times. I am pleased to report that my technical woes are improving, but disappointed to have to say that I'm not quite back to normal yet. My iMac has a new hard drive and a new SSD drive, and is back up and running under the latest operating system. Unfortunately, that only just got done yesterday afternoon. And it did not go smoothly. In fact, this time yesterday I did not know if my computer would ever function again. It makes for a very entertaining story, which I will relate to you next weekend! I've only just gotten the Adobe software re-installed (so that I can get some work projects done), so I've a long way to go before I can get this thing broadcasting again. This is why I have a tendency to put-off operating system upgrades...I'm usually looking at about two weeks of down time. This time I had it forced on me. And speaking of down time, I have heard from several of you that your e-mails to john@vacadude.com have bounced back. I looked into it, and apparently I have a situation with GoDaddy...my autorenewal on the site was rejected because of the credit card used, and the whole site has gone dark. I hope that it's not permanent--I need to spend some time (probably several hours) with their customer support to find out the fate of the domain. I will keep you posted. So it's good news on some fronts, and not so good on others. That seems to be exactly how 2014 seems to be going for me! Anyway, I hope you all have a great week coming up here, and we'll talk with you next week! |
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| Cheers, VacaDude | ||
| Chatter News |
| Sharoot | Sharoot's featured pictures can be found at the end of each newsletter, under Photos of the Week. She says that since they are located at the end, then "Sharoot's the Caboose!" | ||
| Elsalynda | Elsalynda's latest column entitled Nature in the
City: On a Backyard Safari in Waltham, is available online here: http://waltham.wickedlocal.com/article/20140708/NEWS/140708575 |
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| Elsa shares this with us: "Hi, all. I am about
to give back this short-term loaner laptop to my friend. I miss story
time so much! And all of you and our fun and zany creativity together.
It is not a technical issue, it is a health concern. Even a much older
netbook was bothering me healthwise with my environmental illness. I am
going to 'meet' a desktop soon, to borrow and then purchase if I feel
healthy using it. I am also considering a rather pricey alternative
treatment for this illness, developed and presented in Canada, called
Dynamic Neural Retraining. I'm still mulling that one over. (I may look
into a notebook or whatever you call it.) Thank you all for your communications, cards, bday wishes, and staying in touch. My birthday was on June 10!! EEK! Another decade. And a journal has accepted a poem of mine for online publication and possibly in a print version too! I've swum a few times, so far, at Walden pond. The water was chilly with only one little girl and me in the water. She said, 'Hi, how old are you?' LOL I said, '70,' and she said she was 7. I was only 10 times her age. I had my voice recital which went great despite a bad dress rehearsal one hour before. Hmm…let's see…I have a TINY bunny in my yard and so far it is doing well. I adore it. I am sure there is more news but this is enuf for now. I love you all to PIECES!" |
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| We'd love to include more news of VacaChatters. If you have something you'd like to share (something about you or your family) or if you know of exciting news about another chatter that they're just too shy to share, please send it to us! (We won’t run it without that chatter’s permission, however.) | |||
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| Littleguys | Now it is Littleguys' turn to be included in our
prayers. She has a couple of medical issues going on and is supposed to
consult with a surgeon on Monday. The two issues are not related, so it
is pure luck of timing that she can talk to the surgeon about both at
the same time. If you want details, she said go ahead and email her. samwisebaggins@yahoo.com She isn't bashful, just thought that maybe these details are not appropriate for a newsletter or chat. |
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| Caboval | Caboval is in need of our prayers for her dog, Joey. You can read more about Joey and his struggles here: http://gfwd.at/1n8NU0h. | ||
| UPDATE on Joey! Caboval writes: “Joey is in remission but the chemo almost killed him. He was in liver failure and the Dr gave him a 50/50 chance to live. He made it through that and we have had 3 really good weeks. He was so happy and acting like a puppy, but now he is starting to not eat again and he vomited today so I don't know… It's a rollercoaster. I have a feeling he is having liver issues again. I do really need those prayers!!!” | |||
| Elsalynda | Elsalynda is also in need of prayers. She is asking for prayers for good care and caring from her primary care physician. Elsa reports that at her last visit, her physician "was at least civil and apologetic." She also reports that her back issues are improving and thanks everyone for their prayers and support. Continue to keep Elsa and her doctor in your prayers. | ||
| GentleDoe | A brief update and again a request for prayers. She's still going back and forth between her house and her mother's, trying to care for her own pets and her mother. Her mother has heart problems and has had a difficult time since her father's stroke. Her father is still in Assisted Living and he longs to come home. He cries every time they talk to him. Due to transportation problems Doe and her mom have not been able to visit with him but a few times. A family member is adding to these difficulties. Doe is requesting prayers for her and her parents and for relief from the interference of this family member. She's struggling with Social Security issues and the daily transportation problems to her home to care for her birds. She does not want to have to give up the birds. Tory just turned 18! They have been together since he was 4 months old. She request that we please keep her and her family in prayer. She wants to thank all of the Vaca/Molly family for their love, support and prayers during this very difficult time. If you want to contact her, you can do so at faith.bun.2012@gmail.com | ||
| Jes and Miss Jonesy | Both Jes, and her furkid, Miss Jonesy, are battling health issues and undergoing various tests and procedures. Let's keep both of them in our prayers. | ||
| Shari in Memphis | UPDATE!!! Just received this from Shari: "So kind of you to keep prayers going for me. I was hospitalized in November for an event (that just yesterday my doc said was severe enough that it could have killed me) and have pretty much been sick ever since. I'm trying to be patient as doc said it would take 6 months to a year, to fully recover." | ||
| Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts for owl our wonderful VacaFamily members! If you have any prayer requests, updates or news of answered prayers, please let us know. Email us with the information so it can be included in the next newsletter. | |||
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Check out VacaDude's blog! Don't forget to send VacaDude your comments to let him know how much you appreciate him, his time & his talent! |
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| http://vacadude.wordpress.com/ |
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| A
Message from Zorro |
StoryTime News |
StoryTime Archives |
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| Recipe of the Week |
| A Message from Zorro |
| Hello there, Everbuddy! | ||
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Zorro here, from warm and smoky Vacaville! Actually, it has been
very nice outside for the last few days, and the fires are mostly
out now, so the smoke has cleared. Lately there has been more smoke
on the inside of the house than outside. The Dude has been doing
lots of soldering with his electronics thingies. Actually, it is a
good thing that he has been doing that lately, because yesterday he
was having to do soldering inside his main computer (aka "my
teleprompter"). Because of all the electronics fiddling, he was well
practiced in the soldering enough to do a pretty tricky fix inside
the 'puter. I try to get in there and help as best I can, but he
always freaks out because he says he finds a lot of my fur on the
inside of his machine. (And he never returns it to me!!!) So now the smoke has cleared, and now he's loading software. I can help him there, because I go through all his shelves and find the serial numbers for the software that gets installed. These humans really love their numbers! Numbers, numbers EVERYWHERE. I sure hope we can get up and running by next weekend, because we have LOTS of pictures to show, and all that stuff. I think it is looking pretty good for next weekend. But I guess I should get back up there and find some more serial numbers! (Frankly, I love serial numbers--I put some fresh strawberries on them, then pour the milk over it. Yum! I love serial.) Have a great week! |
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| Yours Most Whiskerly, Zorro |
| StoryTime News |
| Next StoryTime | Sunday, July 20, 2014 3:00 PM PDT/6:00 PM EDT |
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| Title | A Midsummer's Night Dream (with apologies to Mr. Shakespeare) | ||
| Invitation | We need story writers! Please consider dropping in and checking out the fun we have writing the stories. Honestly, it's not at all difficult to join in and you'll surely be glad you did. | ||
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| Beef Barley Soup | ||||||
| Ingredients | ||||||
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1 round steak, diced 2 tablespoons oil 2 tablespoons butter 2 quarts beef broth 1 tablespoon beef base (or two beef bouillon cubes) 2 onions, diced 2-3 carrots, diced 2-3 stalks celery, diced 1 bag frozen peas 1 can diced tomatoes 1 bag barley
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| Directions | ||||||
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Brown steak in oil and butter. Remove from pan with
slotted spoon and place in soup pot. (Save butter and oil in skillet.)
Add 2 quarts beef broth and 1 spoonful of beef base to the soup pot.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until meat is tender. Add carrots to skillet with oil and butter. Sauté
until almost tender. Add onions and celery. Sauté until onions are
translucent. Add to soup pot. Add tomatoes and peas. Bring to a boil. Stir in barley and cook until barley and vegetables are tender. Add more broth, if needed. |
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East African Chicken Curry This recipe was given to me by a dear lady who served for several decades as a missionary in Kenya. |
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| Ingredients | ||||||
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Spice Mixture |
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Directions |
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Mix all spices together. Label and seal in jar or
Ziploc bag. |
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| Owl Cams |
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Other Nature Cams | Video Picks of the Week | Inspiration | ||||||
| Other Bird Cams |
| Owl Cams |
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| Puffins | |||||
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Shetland Islands Puffins | http://www.shetland.org/puffincam/ | |||
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Sea Island, Maine |
http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-burrow-cam | |||
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Sea Island, Maine |
http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-loafing-ledge-cam These pages also contain links to numerous other nature cams. |
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| Eagles | |||||
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Black Eagle |
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http://www.africam.com/wildlife/black_eagle_webcam The first egg hatched on June 6!. |
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Decorah Eagles |
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles | |||
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Berry College Eagle Cam |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/berry-eagle-cam | |||
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http://www.pixcontroller.com/eagles/index.htm | ||||
| Peregrine Falcons | |||||
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PA Falcon Cam |
http://www.pacast.com/players/falcon.asp | |||
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Commerce Tower Peregrines |
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/wildlife-cameras/peregrine-falcon-web-camera Cam not live now but should be returning soon. |
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Pitt Peregrine Falcon |
http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam1 | |||
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Gulf Tower Peregrine Falcon |
http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam2 | |||
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Emily
Falcon Cam |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/emily-falcon-cam | |||
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RFalconCam |
http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/ | |||
| Talking Birds | |||||
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Watch the Birdie |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Watch-the-Birdie | |||
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Disco |
https://www.youtube.com/user/MsJumpinJude/videos | |||
| Other Birds | |||||
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California Condor San Diego Zoo Safari Park San Diego, California |
http://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/condor-cam | |||
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KC Zoo Penguin Cam |
http://www.kansascityzoo.org/penguincam |
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Whidbey Island Back Porch other assorted birds |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/katersch | |||
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Hellgate Ospreys |
http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/27/Hellgate_Ospreys/ | |||
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Ostrich Chicks |
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Streaming Bird Cams |
http://www.beakspeak.com/ | |||
| Other Nature Cams |
| Pandas | ||||
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San Diego Zoo Pandas |
www.sandiegozoo.org (click
on live cams)
or
http://www.ustream.tv/sandiegozoo. Zoo's
blogs: http://blognew.sandiegozoo.org/category/animals-and-plants/giant-pandas/ |
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Twin Pandas at |
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Giant Panda Cam |
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm | ||
| Bears | ||||
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Kansas City Polar Bears |
http://www.kctv5.com/category/244581/nikita-berlin-polar-bear-cam | ||
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Brown Bears and Salmon |
http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls (lots of other cams at this site, as well) |
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Black Bears |
http://www.bear.org/website/live-cameras/live-cameras/holly-bears-den-cam-live.html | ||
| Other Animal and Nature Sites | ||||
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San Diego Zoo and Safari Park |
http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/ | ||
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The Pet Collective |
http://www.thepetcollective.tv/livestreams/ | ||
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Critter Chat Cams |
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Friends of Felines Rescue
Center |
www.ustream.tv/ffrc | ||
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Little House |
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CC's Page of Links (scheduled for updating) |
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| Other Sites of Interest | ||||
| International Space Station Links | ||||
| During a recent
broadcast the Dude talked about the websites where one can view the
spacestation and the view that the astronauts have. Here are the links: This one has the map, but no chat. http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/ This site has a chat room. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/iss-hdev-payload |
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| Trees | ||||
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Jes shares with us this wonderful page of photos
illustrating nature's wonders. Trees | Dusky's Wonders |
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| Intricately Carved Bench | ||||
| Jes also shared with us this photo of an
intricately carved bench. Can you imagine how many hours of labor went
into this creation? Hundon informs us that the sculptor works in the UK and if you follow this link you can see the bench from all sides. You can also see many more of his works. They are all incredible. http://www.treesculpting.co.uk/g_oakowlbench.html |
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| Video Picks of the Week |
Beautiful Nature - Deep Sea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssutK1Gei4A
Bird Does NOT Like a Short Tail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIUNNssSVg
PLEASE Go To Sleep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLErNXIYjMg
Dancing Bats
1. Film bats hanging upside down.
2. Flip footage.
3. Add music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce_v8l4ie0Y&app=desktop
This Audience Was Taught A Lesson They'll Never Forget
A brilliant way to communicate how dangerous mobile phone use while driving can be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHixeIr_6BM
Beethoven Argument
Classic Comedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QSvGnDd4m4
| Inspiration or Things to Make You Think |
First Fish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD5OJeLeunc
Incredible!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxTznDRixpw
Aug(De)Mented Reality
Using a unique animation technique that
combines traditional animation and special transparent cells,
Hombre McSteez turns everyday life into an odd cartoon universe full of crazy, hilarious characters.
A joy to watch and I must say: kudos
to this man's imagination!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpum4nK2wOM
World's largest tuba
http://www.classicfm.com/music-news/latest-news/worlds-largest-tuba/
Who Invented the Internet? And Why?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21eFwbb48sE
Extraordinary Farmer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=H9S3n_tILKohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22X43stOr3g
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Fun Animations and Pictures |
Photos of the Week |
Zorro's Word of the Week | |||||
| Just for the Fun of It |
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Owl Pumpkin
http://www.favecrafts.com/Halloween-Crafts/Owl-Painted-Halloween-Pumpkin/ct/1
Felt Owls
http://charlottesfancy.com/2009/09/18/family-friday-owl-licious-crafts/
Bird Nest Ornament
http://www.favecrafts.com/Ornaments/Bird-Nest-Clay-Pot-Christmas-Ornaments/ct/1
Owl Gift Bag
http://jennicanknit.blogspot.com/2012/09/owl-gift-bag.html
A Textured Owl
http://www.iheartcraftythings.com/2012/05/textured-owl-craft.html
Hootie Owl
http://www.lbrummer68739.net/2nd-grade/hootie-owl/
| Fun Animations and Pictures |
Socially Awkward Penguin
Where's Air Traffic Control When You Need 'Em?
Why? Why Did I Have So Many Kids?
Out For a Stroll
PingPong
Gimme Back My Blankie!
| Photos of the Week |
From the Dude
A nice fireworks photo. It's one I took from Pizza Puck's
Sharoot's Caboose
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly at Brick Pond Park, SC
Horace's Duskywing Butterfly checking out the coreopsis in Sharoot's yard
| Zorro's Word of the Week |
Coming Soon!
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VacaShopping for Summer
Time to prepare for summer! T-Shirts, BBQ Aprons and Mugs await you!
VacaDude’s creations are sure to be treasured gifts for those special people in your lives.
Check them all out at VacaDude's CafePress store! Support our beloved
artist/broadcaster/friend!
http://www.cafepress.com/vacadude
MollyTheOwlBooks
Eric has discontinued the sales of all his books and merchandise.
of that and want one, let DotRot know
and she'll do what she can to make it available to you.
