Newsletter September 28, 2014

Boy, it seems like the month of September has flown by! For me that is due to the fact that this month has brought a huge load of projects. It's part of that feast or famine phenomenon that seems common in the freelance world. I wish I could get some of these folks to wait until different parts of the year--the parts where there's not much work going on and I struggle to keep the bills paid. So it's been busy busy busy here!

Occasionally I have poked my head up to look at the news, but it seems it is all bad. So I guess I'll just keep my head down. Pretty scary with that volcano going off in Japan. And now even Mt. St. Helens is making some noise here! I keep saying that if St. Helens ever goes off in a big way, I want to take a drive up and see it. So far it is just showing some puffs from the small cinder cone that lies inside of the main caldera.

Of course, we have been keeping an eye on the King Fire in the Sierras. Luckily, we got some huge help from mother nature last week--in the way of rain. In the middle of the week, California got a much needed storm that really helped the firefighters. They went from about 25% containment to 85% in just a couple of days. It poured so hard down here in the valley that Fairfield had some flash flooding! (That's about ten miles from me.)

I had a little fun diversion yesterday--I had to drive down to the Bay Area to check my mail, and hopefully get some photos for the upcoming week's photo assignment in the photo club. The assignment is to try to photograph some things where they don't belong. Like my idea was to put a beach ball onto a plain of dried and cracked mud. Well, this rainstorm wiped out all the places I knew there would be such mud, so I had to abandon that idea. So I decided to go down to Urban Ore in Berkeley. This is a really cool place--equal parts junkyard and thrift shop. You can find just about anything there...except what I was looking for. I was trying to find an old microphone casing like you would find in the radio stations back in the 40s. I guess those are more in demand than I figured. However, I spent about an hour wander around that place, and it is pretty amazing. Almost like a museum of mid-twentieth century detritus. If I ever won the lottery, I think I would just go and buy everything in that place!

Well, I need to get back to the work projects. Next week is looking to be every bit as busy as the previous, if not more so.

Enjoy your week, everyone!! (Unless something drastic happens work-wise, I will be broadcasting next Sunday, the 5th of October.)

			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 and her hubby visited Orlando Wetlands Park and took lots of pictures. The first of those are featured today. We look forward to many more over the upcoming weeks.

	ChatterChopz	CC had a great birthday this week. As she continues through the rest of her Birthday Season, she celebrates the Kansas City Royals making it into the playoffs. (As she says, "SuhWeeeet!") She has also 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 attended a BIG reception honoring library volunteers this afternoon. Now she is busy planning her annual party for all the special little ones in her life. This year she is taking them to the zoo. We hope to have many pictures to share.

	*Elsalynda*	Elsalynda's latest column entitled Nature in the City: End of Summer Musings, is available online here: http://waltham.wickedlocal.com/article/20140916/NEWS/140918784

	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.)

	*KSBorn*	KSBorn was in regression for lymphoma and breast cancer. It has since returned and she's going for Chemo now. She and her doctors are attacking it vigorously and she needs our prayers. She needs our prayers for healing, for the Lord to guide her doctors, and for the peace and strength as she undergoes the treatment.

	*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*	BugGirl is recovering well. She's still not allowed to drive, though.

	*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*	UPDATE: The latest news from Littleguys: Quick recap - I had a big to do list I wanted to work through this summer since I was going to be out of work, and it all when by the wayside when my mammogram, now done digitally, was the basis for a diagnosis of Stage Zero Breast Cancer. After over a dozen medical appointments, tests, biopsy, consultations, etc. The first lumpectdomy was done July 21. Then the surgeon decided to take a bit more out, which was done Sept 5th and he told me everything came back clean, non=thing had spread, the one lymph node taken ut for study showed no cancer. No chemotherapy is called for. Next step, and I believe I am up to appointment 20 by now, was consulting with an oncologist who is deciding on a course of radiation. He said the type of cancer I had has a 5 percent chance of coming back if I have radiation, and 30-50% if I do not.

	*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. Here is the latest update from her: Dad: My sister has taken him out of the assistive living complex she had put him in. He is now in her home receiving hospice care. My sister is not contacting us or answering my mother's calls so we are only receiving second-hand updates from an aunt. As of last weekend, August 23rd - 25th, my father had a urinary tract infection. There was problems with his medication. They did not get his depression medication ordered before the weekend so he was without his medication the weekend of the 23rd - 25th. Also, since he left the assistive living home, he has been overdosed on his seizure medication. As of last week he still had the UTI & was not lucid. My aunt could not get him to understand who she was on the phone & he kept referring to my sister has his wife. My mother does not know this yet. Mom: She has been doing better with her medication with the latest change of a reduction in her blood pressure medication. Her cardiologist has recommended water aerobics which we are looking into. The lack of communication with my father has her very upset & depressed. Me: I've had some health issues since last Wednesday. My doctor is away until after the Labor day holiday. I'm still experiencing a good bit of pain as well. I'm trying to take care of mom, birds, bunnies & all of the various issues with my father/sister situation. It is so sad that my sister now has complete control over my father & everything in his name. My mother nor I have been able to speak to my father in over two weeks now. I'm concerned that if the lawyer does not get moving that we may not get to spend any time with him or give him our love before he passes. I do not know his medical condition, other than what is told second-hand to me or my mother! Friday, AT&T cut off my mother's phone service. We were told it was an order that the phone service was moving out of the area. I spent several hours Friday evening trying to get it straightened out with AT&T & was told it would be back on within 2 to 4 hours at 8 PM. Saturday morning still no service, called again spent from 9:30 am until after 12:30 PM when we were cut off without it being resolved. Called back & got another customer service person who was no help & could not get a supervisor. Had to rest for a bit & did not get anyone before AT&T was closed for the long Labor day weekend. My phone service has also gotten messed up with AT&T. I had my phone service moved to my mother's since I am now staying with her for now. They installed the Uverse internet & phone service but did not disconnect my home line at my house. Still haven't found out about what is happening with my AT&T cell phone. I may totally stop my AT&T phone services if I can't get this straightened out. Please keep my family in prayer especially that things can be resolved so that my mother & I can have contact with my dad as well as the other issues over my dad's POA (my father put my mother as the person on his POA but somehow my sister has taken over), my mother's health, & me with my health issues, surgery may be in the near future. My big prayer request is that my mother & I get to spend time with my father before we lose him, mentally or physically. Hope to see everyone in chat.

	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, October 5 3:00 PM PDT/6:00 PM EDT

	*Title*	*Tauntz and the Intruders!*

	*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,
	Boy, it seems like the month of September has flown by! For me that is due to the fact that this month has brought a huge load of projects. It's part of that feast or famine phenomenon that seems common in the freelance world. I wish I could get some of these folks to wait until different parts of the year--the parts where there's not much work going on and I struggle to keep the bills paid. So it's been busy busy busy here! Occasionally I have poked my head up to look at the news, but it seems it is all bad. So I guess I'll just keep my head down. Pretty scary with that volcano going off in Japan. And now even Mt. St. Helens is making some noise here! I keep saying that if St. Helens ever goes off in a big way, I want to take a drive up and see it. So far it is just showing some puffs from the small cinder cone that lies inside of the main caldera. Of course, we have been keeping an eye on the King Fire in the Sierras. Luckily, we got some huge help from mother nature last week--in the way of rain. In the middle of the week, California got a much needed storm that really helped the firefighters. They went from about 25% containment to 85% in just a couple of days. It poured so hard down here in the valley that Fairfield had some flash flooding! (That's about ten miles from me.) I had a little fun diversion yesterday--I had to drive down to the Bay Area to check my mail, and hopefully get some photos for the upcoming week's photo assignment in the photo club. The assignment is to try to photograph some things where they don't belong. Like my idea was to put a beach ball onto a plain of dried and cracked mud. Well, this rainstorm wiped out all the places I knew there would be such mud, so I had to abandon that idea. So I decided to go down to Urban Ore in Berkeley. This is a really cool place--equal parts junkyard and thrift shop. You can find just about anything there...except what I was looking for. I was trying to find an old microphone casing like you would find in the radio stations back in the 40s. I guess those are more in demand than I figured. However, I spent about an hour wander around that place, and it is pretty amazing. Almost like a museum of mid-twentieth century detritus. If I ever won the lottery, I think I would just go and buy everything in that place! Well, I need to get back to the work projects. Next week is looking to be every bit as busy as the previous, if not more so. Enjoy your week, everyone!! (Unless something drastic happens work-wise, I will be broadcasting next Sunday, the 5th of October.) Until then--cheers!
	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!
	It is Zorro here. I think the Dude mentioned that place he went to yesterday--I am rather disappointed he did not take me with him! I am not a pack-rat, but I am cousins to some. I guess I share some of that DNA, because I too like to look through old stuff! I wonder if I can manage to get the Dude's credit card away from him. I wonder if that place accepts credit cards? It sounds like the kind of place that might accept chickens as payment. Where can I get some compliant chickens? Well, the baseball season seems to be winding down, and we are heading into the playoffs. And our beloved Giants have made it in as a wildcard contender--yay! Of course, one of the big surprises has been the Kansas City Royals. They are into the playoffs for the first time in a mighty long time! Good for them--go Royals!! Next time you see me, I may have to put on my Giants uniform. :D Speaking of which, I guess that will be next weekend--it is coming right up! We hope to see you then!
	Yours Most Whiskerly, Zorro

	Beef Stroganoff
	Ingredients
	1½ pounds beef (bottom round, chuck roast, etc.) 1½ quarts beef broth (low sodium) 1-2 medium onions ½ cup butter 3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 can cream soup* (celery or mushroom recommended) 1 cup evaporated milk 1 small can sliced mushrooms (optional) 8 ounces sour cream Home style egg noodles (like Reames frozen) Fresh or dried dill weed *We prefer our own, homemade cream soup mix. Recipe follows.

	Directions
	Cut beef into small, bite-sized cubes. Place beef in large pot and add broth. Bring to a boil and then lower heat until you have a low simmer. Simmer for one hour or longer, until meat is very tender. While beef is cooking, dice one or two onions (amount depends on your own taste). Sauté onion in butter until translucent. Add flour and stir until you achieve a smooth roux. Cook for one to two minutes until flour loses its starchiness. Add some of the broth from the meat the onion/flour mixture. Stir until smooth. Add all of the onion/flour mixture to the pot of meat and broth. Stir well. Add cream soup and evaporated milk. Add mushrooms, if using. Cook until thickened and creamy. While the sauce is cooking, boil the noodles. Drain well. Add sour cream to sauce and mix well. Heat again, just until warm. Spoon over noodles and sprinkle with dill.


	Homemade Cream of Celery Soup Mix
	Ingredients
	4 cups powdered non-fat dry milk 1½ cup cornstarch ½ cup instant chicken bouillon (regular or low sodium) ¼ cup dried onion flakes ½ cup dried celery 1 teaspoon celery seed
	Directions
	Mix all ingredients well. Store in an air-tight container in a cool dry place. Mix ⅓ cup mix with 1¼ cups of cold water. Whisk until well blended. Cook and stir on stove top or in microwave until thickened. Add thickened mixture to casseroles as you would a can of soup. We also have recipes for Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Cheddar and Creamy Tomato Soup mixes, if anyone wants them.

	Maple Roasted Acorn Squash
	Ingredients:
	2 acorn squash (cut in half and scooped clean) 4 tablespoons maple syrup 2 tablespoons butter
	Directions:
	Place the acorn squash halves in a baking pan with the cut sides up. Place 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and ½ tablespoon butter into each acorn squash half. Cover with aluminum foil and roast in a reheated 400°F oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast until tender, about 30-45 minutes.

	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
	Golden Paw-Prints Classic Golden Retrievers Oshkosh, Wisconsin		http://www.ustream.tv/channel/golden-retriever-puppy-cam EIGHT beautiful puppies!

	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						Kyle's Jokes of the Week

	Kyle's well known among his friends for his "triple groaner" riddles and jokes. Now he shares them with VacaFamily. Enjoy!


	What do you call a Sith who won't fight? A Sithy.

	How do you make a Venetian blind? Stick a finger in his eye

	Genetic engineering had modified so many animals and plants that the public was pretty much immune to such on-going breakthroughs. Yet when it was announced that a prominent scientist had modified the humble sweet potato to the level of human intelligence, skepticism reigned. But at the press conference, all doubts were erased when a microphone was placed next to the tuber and the world heard those immortal words, "I think, therefore I yam."

	How do you catch a rabbit? Paint yourself orange, hide in a meadow and make carrot noises!

Burned Glue Owl