Newsletter 08/31/2014

Wow, I haven't seen this keyboard in a while. I like it because each key is about as big as my paws, so everything is easier to reach. But I swear, I did nothing to cause harm to that other keyboard. That was all the Dude's doing.

Last week was fun, what with the Storytime and all. And we get to do it again next week! Although I have to admit I am feeling a little skeered. The Dude came back home a few days ago with a bag from Jo-Ann's fabrics. Sometimes that means some kind of silly costume I have to wear. Maybe he will go easy on me this time.

Ah, the Labor Day weekend. I always like it because the Dude gets his barbeque thingie out and makes yummy things to eat. This will be Zale's first Labor Day with us (he's my new buddy that Sharoot sent up to stay with us. I've been having fun showing the little guy around. So far there is no conflict of interest, because he doesn't eat anywhere near as much as I do. Plus he likes to nibble on kale. He is welcome to all that leafy stuff he wants. I'll take my calcium and protein, thankyaverrymush.

Well, it is on to all the pressing and super important things that I do--gotta get to them. Barring that, a nap is always a good work substitute.

			Chatter News
	A Note from the Dude		Chatter News		Prayer Requests		Vaca Blog

	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!" Sharoot's Caboose today features a photo of a surprise visitor

	Jes63	Jes has been trying for quite some time to get a glimpse of the International Space Station as it crosses the sky above her home. This week we got this message from her: *I actually timed it right, working with two web sites, to see the International Space Station pass over.It does go really fast and even at 9:20 pm the sun was still hitting it to view though it was dark here.* Took me forever to time it right. About a month.**

	TwoClubs	Twoclubs shares with us the story of a little guy she has rescued twice recently. She writes: I think his girl friend lives across the street. My guess is that he weighs about 50-60 lbs and yes, I picked him up, Very Carefully! He was thrashing and snapping and not easy to hold but I was able to move him onto the grass only to have him turn around and head back out towards the street. I asked a woman to call Animal Control and when Frank showed up (swooning here!) we got TurtleWax into a bin and moved him to the retention pond behind our houses. Off he went, swimming away, no wave of thanks. Just like a turtle. The other day I was driving along and there he was again. This snapping turtle sure has a big territory and a hunger for his girl friend. This time I got some yard workers to pick him up and move him to a nearby stream. Bye Bye TurtleWax...til we meet again!


		Twoclubs also sends us a picture of a street obviously named after Vobble's Dutch Cousin. :)


	ChatterChopz	CC has celebrated her one year anniversary at the library. She's still loving volunteering there. They really seem to appreciate her help (and her cheerful spirit). She's been invited to a BIG reception honoring library volunteers.

	*Elsalynda*	Elsalynda's latest column entitled Nature in the City: Family Life in Nature , is available online here: http://waltham.wickedlocal.com/article/20140820/NEWS/140829966

	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.)

	*Jes63*	Rest in peace Miss Jonesy. November 29, 1997 to August 29,2014 Jes is, of course, hurting and grieving. Please keep her in your prayers.

	*VacaDude and his cousin, Kevin*	Keep VacaDude's cousin, Kevin in your prayers as he battles cancer.

	*BugGirl*	We received this message from BugGirl: I have quite a story to tell! On was 7/24 I set off to visit my daughter in N. Carolina. I started having terrible headaches the night I got there, and a couple nights later I was in the hospital. But they couldn't figure out what was wrong (I've never had a migraine), so they sent me back to my daughter's house. A few hours later, I was unconscious, my daughter was distraught, and the paramedics were picking me up for the 2nd time. I was out for about 36 hours, while the Neurology Dept. at Duke University Hospital plugged me into everything they had and ran every test they could think of on me. When I returned to the world of the living, the language part of my brain wasn't working - I could understand very little and could speak only gibberish. My son from Seattle was also there by then, and in the course of the afternoon and evening, he had me talking again - not perfectly, but I could understand and make myself understood, and answer some of the doctors' questions. I still don't know how he did it. Anyway, I was in the hospital for 3 more days and then released. The worst thing is that the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me! They did determine that I had had a stroke at some time that I didn't know about (maybe last November, but not necessarily), but that wasn't what happened this time. They said it appeared to be some kind of seizure, so that's all I have to go on. So I was due to go home on Saturday, [8/2] but I just got out of the hospital on Friday, and my kids are not allowing me to be home alone, so I stayed there until Sunday evening and then flew to Seattle with my son to stay until my older son that lives with me gets back from Sweden in a couple weeks. And I'm not legally allowed to drive for 6 mos, which is going to be very inconvenient and drive me crazy. Otherwise all I know of to do is not drive myself to exhaustion like I did before leaving home. I guess I'm older than I thought I was. Sometimes life seems surprisingly fragile. I thought I'd be able to join in chat last Sunday, but as it turned out, I was off exploring Mt. Rainier with my son until too late. But I'm doing fine and expect to chat tonight. See you then!

	*Marilyn Crabb*	We received this message this week from a long-time Molly watcher: I don't join the online chats but I read the newsletter and was a Molly watcher from the beginning. Last week, I was diagnosed with stage 2B (or greater) breast cancer and am undergoing lots of further tests and will begin chemotherapy on Tuesday. Please add me to the prayer list. UPDATE: Thank you for your prayers. I'm doing really well after my first chemotherapy treatment. One week down - nineteen to go. Then surgery and radiation. I have more tests scheduled to see if the cancer has spread beyond my armpit but so far it does not look like it has. My screen name was/is MarilynLA on UStream. (Marilyn from Los Angeles)

	*Littleguys*	LittleGuys had a lumpectomy on Thursday, July 17 and had another procedure performed on July 28. She is still requesting prayers. Her doctor says she will probably do six weeks of radiation. She wants all to know that even when she can't make it to chat, she's thinking of everyone.

	*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*	We got this message from elsa last week: Hi all, Thanks for all your prayers. This computer is so hard to type on. I dislike it but will have to use it for now. I saw the MGH sleep specialist today for consult and got some scary news. My apnea is severe and REM behavior disorder is rare and correlated with parkinson's disease. There is not much treatment available for the REM but I will try what there is. Please pray for me again. I am worried. Your elsalynda

	*GentleDoe*	It was great to see GentleDoe in chat last week. Although things are still difficult, she is hanging in there. She promises us a full update soon.

	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."
	Shari in Memphis


	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.

	A Message from Zorro		StoryTime News		StoryTime Archives
							Recipe of the Week


	*Next StoryTime*	Sunday, Sepberber 7 3:00 PM PDT/6:00 PM EDT

	*Title*	*Zorro and the Teacher*

	*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.
	*Invitation*

	Hello Vriends,
	Hopefully my keyboard will hold up here, after I just spilled coffee on it a little while ago. :( Happy Labor Day Weekend! I guess we are roughly at the halfway point. I am having to do some drawing this weekend, which is kind of fun. Some of it is work, some of it is personal. It's nice to have the ink flowing again. Now that I have this nice little box for my pen nibs and ink, and this last week I managed to get my Rapidographs going again...it's just like old times! (For those of you unfamiliar with the Rapidograph, they are the Harley-Davidsons of the technical pen industry. When they work, they are smooth and powerful! However, they are very high maintenance.) I like to use the tech pens for cross-hatching and stuff, but the last time I used them was in 1997 when I was working on my cartoon strip "Toaster Tales." Then I stored them away, but I didn't empty them first. So it took several soakings and swabbings with cleaning solution to get them going again. Last night, Mary and I went out to dinner and a movie, thanks to you lovely people. I wish to thank you again for all the birthday cardz and little "inclusions." I did as you all suggested, and took the wife out to Outback Steakhouse for food and drinks, then went to the nearby movie to see "Lucy." Man, that was a strange film...but I think I liked it. It certainly has made me think, and it yielded some pretty crazy stress dreams last night! But for dinner I had a barbeque platter that was amazing. We hadn't realized it, but it had been a very long time since we hd been ble to go out, so we relly pprecite the gifts. Oh, drts. I seem to hve just lost the use of the letter ''. (First letter of the lphbet.) I guess I my be going to hve to get new keybord tody. Dmn. Okay, let's try this. Ah, that seems to work. I'm using the old wireless chicklet keyboard that I NEVER USE, BUT THAT SHOULD LET ME GET BY. Oops--now I remember why I don't use this one--the caps lock is ridiculously close to the 'a' key. This is a VERY tiny keyboard. It also has no numeric keypad, so it is useless for all my Adobe apps that live and die by the numeric keys. Anyway, that's my weekend--presiding over the various, dying technologies littered about my office. :D Oh well, I have nobody to blame for this one but myself--I never should have placed my coffee cup on the same shelf with the keyboard. Well, I have a zillion things I want to try to get done this weekend, so I had better get back to it. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll catch y'all on the next broadcast, which will be next week (the 7th). Until then, cheerio!
	Cheers, VacaDude

	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!
	http://vacadude.wordpress.com/

	Hello there, Everbuddy!
	Wow, I haven't seen this keyboard in a while. I like it because each key is about as big as my paws, so everything is easier to reach. But I swear, I did nothing to cause harm to that other keyboard. That was all the Dude's doing. Last week was fun, what with the Storytime and all. And we get to do it again next week! Although I have to admit I am feeling a little skeered. The Dude came back home a few days ago with a bag from Jo-Ann's fabrics. Sometimes that means some kind of silly costume I have to wear. Maybe he will go easy on me this time. Ah, the Labor Day weekend. I always like it because the Dude gets his barbeque thingie out and makes yummy things to eat. This will be Zale's first Labor Day with us (he's my new buddy that Sharoot sent up to stay with us. I've been having fun showing the little guy around. So far there is no conflict of interest, because he doesn't eat anywhere near as much as I do. Plus he likes to nibble on kale. He is welcome to all that leafy stuff he wants. I'll take my calcium and protein, thankyaverrymush. Well, it is on to all the pressing and super important things that I do--gotta get to them. Barring that, a nap is always a good work substitute.
	Yours Most Whiskerly, Zorro

	Chocolate (Peanut Butter Brownie) Puppy Chow
	Ingredients
	12 cups assorted Chex cereals* 2 cup milk chocolate melts or chips 1 cup chunky peanut butter 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups brownie mix, from the box Optional: Peanut Butter Brownies, Reese's Pieces, or Peanut butter cups (chopped) *Recipe can be halved
	Directions
	Place cereal in a large bowl and set aside. In a microwave proof bowl, melt chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Pour over cereal and fold until covered. Dump into a large plastic bag and add brownie mix, seal and shake until coated. (If you don't have a large plastic bag, pour brownie mix over cereal and stir well. Or you can use a pot with a lid to shake it in.) Dump onto a cookie sheet and toss with optional ingredients, if desired.


	Lemon Puppy Chow
	Ingredients
	9 cups Chex cereals 1¼ cups white vanilla baking chips ¼ cup butter or margarine 4 teaspoons grated lemon peel 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 cups powdered sugar
	Directions
	Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. In 1-quart microwaveable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.


	Cinnamon (Snickerdoodle) Puppy Chow
	Ingredients
	6 cups assorted Chex cereals* 1½ cups white chocolate chips ¾ cup powdered sugar ¼ cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon *You can also substitute some Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal for some of the Chex
	Directions
	Measure out cereals and place into a large bowl. Combine powdered sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon in large plastic bag. Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave or using a double boiler. Be careful, white chocolate can burn easily. Pour over Chex and stir until coated. Dump into your large plastic bag with the cinnamon/sugar mixture, seal and shake until coated. Pour onto a cookie sheet to let cool.


	Rainbow Puppy Chow
	Ingredients
	12 cups assorted chex cereal 2 large packages white chocolate chips Food coloring Jell-O gelatin mix (or unsweetened Kool-aid) in colors/flavors to match food colors used 3½ cups powdered sugar
	Directions
	Divide cereals among 6-7 bowls, depending on how many colors you use. I use 7—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and leave one white (for clouds) Divide white chocolate chips among 6-7 microwave safe dishes. Melt in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, heat an additional 30 seconds until creamy. Mix in a few drops of food coloring in each bowl, until desired color is reached. Mix each color together with one bowl of the cereal. Stir until completely coated. In 6-7 plastic bags, mix ½ cup powdered sugar and Jell-O or Kool-aid powder (about 1-2 teaspoons—Kool-aid cuts the sweetness so you might add more sugar, or less Kool-aid) Place coated cereals into the bag with matching color. Shake well to coat. Pour each onto a large baking sheet with foil, until set. Mix all colors together. Store in covered container up to two weeks.


	Bird's Nest Candy
	Ingredients
	1 (12 ounce) package butterscotch morsels 1 cup chunky peanut butter 1-2 (12 ounce) package chow mein noodles Jelly beans or Cadbury mini eggs
	Directions
	Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin well Melt peanut butter and butterscotch morsels together. Stir in one package of noodles; mix until noodles are coated. (Add additional noodles, if needed, to make them stick together.) Butter your hands and place in muffin tin and indent with fingers into a nest-like shape. Transfer them to parchment paper to harden. Add jelly beans or mini eggs (If not sticking well, dip the tip of jelly bean or mini eggs in a bit of melted butterscotch morsels before adding to nest.)

	Owl Cams				Other Nature Cams		Video Picks of the Week		Inspiration
			Other Bird Cams

Barn Owls
	Nicassio Owl Box Salt and Pepper	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nicasio-owl

	HOP - MAGC Barn Owls	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/magc-owls

	Owlceanside Mel and Sydney	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlceanside

	Felix Neck Owl Cam Martha’s Vineyard	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/felix-neck-owl-cam

	The Owl Cam	http://www.ustream.tv/owlchannel

	Barn Owls in Minden, Nevada	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/barn-owls-in-minden-nevada

	Port of Stockton Barn Owl Cams	http://www.portofstockton.com/owl-cams

	Hosted by Cornell Lab of Ornithology Located in Texas	http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/42/Barn_Owls/

Other Owls


	The Caring Owl in South Africa	http://www.thecaringowl.co.za/

	PPO (Potted Plant Owl) in South Africa	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pot-Plant-Owl/148721154229

	Alessondra’s Owl Cam in Oklahoma City	http://ustream.tv/okcowlcam The three owlets have fledged.

	Rusty and Iris in Houston, Minnesota	http://www.internationalowlcenter.org/ourowls/rustyandiris/livecams

	Burrowing Owls Tri-Cities, Washington	http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/owlcam/video_burrowing2.html

	Project Snow Storm	http://www.projectsnowstorm.org/

Puffins
	Shetland Islands Puffins	http://www.shetland.org/puffincam/

	Sea Island, Maine Puffin Burrow	http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-burrow-cam

	Sea Island, Maine Puffin Loafing Ledge	http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-loafing-ledge-cam These pages also contain links to numerous other nature cams.

Eagles
	Black Eagle South Africa		http://www.africam.com/wildlife/black_eagle_webcam The first egg hatched on June 6!.

	Decorah Eagles Decorah, Iowa	http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

	Berry College Eagle Cam Mt. Berry, Georgia	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/berry-eagle-cam

		http://www.pixcontroller.com/eagles/index.htm

Peregrine Falcons
	PA Falcon Cam Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	http://www.pacast.com/players/falcon.asp

	Commerce Tower Peregrines Kansas City, Missouri	http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/wildlife-cameras/peregrine-falcon-web-camera Cam not live now but should be returning soon.

	Pitt Peregrine Falcon Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam1

	Gulf Tower Peregrine Falcon Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam2

	Emily Falcon Cam Caloundra, Australia	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/emily-falcon-cam

	RFalconCam Rochester, New York	http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/

Talking Birds
	Watch the Birdie Bibi, the African Gray	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Watch-the-Birdie

	Disco Talking Parakeet	https://www.youtube.com/user/MsJumpinJude/videos

Other Birds

	California Condor San Diego Zoo Safari Park San Diego, California	http://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/condor-cam

	KC Zoo Penguin Cam Kansas City, MO	http://www.kansascityzoo.org/penguincam

	Whidbey Island Back Porch Whidbey Island, WA Rufous hummingbirds and other assorted birds	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/katersch

	Hellgate Ospreys Missoula, Montana Sponsored by Cornell	http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/27/Hellgate_Ospreys/

	Ostrich Chicks (Live Again! New Chicks!)		http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ostrich-egg-cam-live

	Streaming Bird Cams List of many cams	http://www.beakspeak.com/

Pandas
	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/

	Twin Pandas at Zoo Atlanta	http://www.zooatlanta.org/1212/panda_cam#ff_s=aDIEl

	Giant Panda Cam National Zoo Washington, DC	http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm

Bears
	Kansas City Polar Bears Nikita and Berlin	http://www.kctv5.com/category/244581/nikita-berlin-polar-bear-cam

	Brown Bears and Salmon Katmai National Park Alaska (off season- will return)	http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls (lots of other cams at this site, as well)

	Black Bears Ely, Minnesota	http://www.bear.org/website/live-cameras/live-cameras/holly-bears-den-cam-live.html

Other Animal and Nature Sites
	San Diego Zoo and Safari Park	http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/

	The Pet Collective (many live cams)	http://www.thepetcollective.tv/livestreams/

	Critter Chat Cams Multi-Critter Site with Chat	http://critterchatcams.org/

	Friends of Felines Rescue Center Defiance, Ohio	www.ustream.tv/ffrc

	Little House Prairie Village, Kansas	http://www.tomnliz.com/Livecam/

	CC's Page of Links (scheduled for updating)	http://chatterchopz.com/links/camslinks.htm

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

A San Francisco Owl
Molly chatter, Owlsome, shares with us this photo taken by Bill Carey via San Francisco Street Photography on FaceBook. This is Post Street in San Francisco.

			Fun Animations and Pictures		Photos of the Week		Zorro's Word of the Week
	Just for the Fun of It