Current Newsletter

I got so wrapped up in getting things ready for tonight's broadcast, that I forgot to write a note!

Thanks have been quite a whirlwind around here this last week. First there was the announcement of the winner of the 3D Printer contest, so that kicked off a real roller-coaster ride of emotion. First there was disappointment at not winning, then there was the surprise and joy that came from Matthew Clowney's putting an IndieGoGo campaign together--one with the intent of getting a 3D printer into my hands (a goal it nearly accomplished within the first day)! Then came the note from XYZprinting (the sponsors of the contest) telling me they wanted to loan me a printer for several months to see what I could come up with, and then they would send a film crew out to film me at work (for their promotional purposes). So this has been an exhilarating ride!

And then late in the week was the Orion EFT-1 mission. Its launch window began at 4:05 in the morning out here for us west coasters. The first day was a scrubbed attempt, so it went up 24 hours later. Two days of that in a row wa more than enough to really mess up my biological clock! Right now I am still sleepy, despite the fact that I slept in until nearly noon. I just don't seem to be able to bounce back from these things the way I used to.

It was an amazing first flight for the Orion spacecraft, and it left me in a pretty nostalgic mood because of its similarities to the Apollo moon missions. I am looking forward to a lot more fun watching this program!

And speaking of nostalgia, in the course of this IndieGoGo campaign and the creation of "perks" for that, it occurred to me that in a few months it will have been five years since the beginning of the whole Molly & McGee time! Isn't that crazy?? So in the last few days I traded a few e-mails with Carlos, and for a while there it seemed like old times. So out of all that came this idea for a Molly collectible figurine--something I will touch on in tonight's broadcast.

And speaking of which, I need to finish getting ready for that. I do hope you can tune in (or at least catch the recording), because there were some other changes around here last week, and I suspect you may see a little bit of difference! So hope to see you tonight at 6pm PST!

			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!" Today Sharoot shares two birds ready for the holidays.

	Ann Savage	Ann earned two first-place awards at the San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism awards ceremony Oct. 28, 2014! http://ramonajournal.com/journal-writers-win-at-press-club-awards-ceremony-p6406-1.htm

	ChatterChopz	CC attended an Advent Craft night at church and made a beautiful cedar decoration for the front door. She also made a really nice wooden bird feeder. We'll try to get pictures of them this week (after TheDaddyBird gets them hung).

	*Elsalynda*	Elsalynda's latest column entitled Nature In the City: New Waltham Meadow Shows Great ‘Progress’, is available online here: http://waltham.wickedlocal.com/article/20141201/NEWS/141209980?template=printart Elsa also tells us that she has had a poem selected for publication. She says she is very excited to be a part of this book and feels like a poet in good company, with known authors. Her poem on Great Horned Owls has a page with a beautiful photo opposite. Her writing group helped her with this piece. The book should be out in early 2015—it is now in the proof stage.

	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.)


	VacaDude's Brother-in-law, Duke	I would ask for prayers and well-wishes for my brother-in-law Richard "Duke" Paiz, who suffered a stroke last week, and is currently in the hospital in Roseville, CA. He was nearly gone on Friday, but seems to have rallied on Saturday. Duke married my oldest sister Beverly in the late 1950s. Because my parents were at an advanced age when they had me (Mom was 41, dad was 46), and my dad had a massive heart attack when I was three, they made arrangements with Bebe and Duke that they would raise me until I was 18. So Duke was only a couple of heartbeats away from being my dad. As it was, we were very close, and I did a lot of camping and road trips with them. They never did have children of their own.

	*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.

	*VacaDude and his cousin, Kevin*	UPDATE: I also wanted to give an update about my cousin Kevin. He has undergone four sessions of chemo, and according to the latest CT scans, it looks like he is showing excellent response to the treatments. Three of the four tumors have shrunk to near nothingness, and the main one has shrunk from 2.1cm to 7mm in diameter. So I thank you for all of the prayers! The treatments have been a horrible struggle for him, so it is very good to see that the effort has been worth it. Frankly, the hardest part seems to be keeping the spirits up, and the attitude positive. So thank you again!!

	*DotRot, TheDaddyBird, and ChatterChopz*	We've all got nasty colds! We're not "sick" so much as just tired. Tired of coughin', sneezin' and drippin'. We'll all be fine, but a couple o' prayers wouldn't hurt any. TheDaddyBird is also facing hip replacement real soon. We're just waiting for all his various docs to agree on everything (like that's going to happen!) and for the date to be set.

	*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: Have now finished one week, as in five days, of radiation treatment. Wondering if the upset tummy is a side effect or coming down with something. See the oncologist once each week during the radiation so did tell him about it. Do you or anyone in your family sew? Simple project?

	*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.

		*LATEST UPDATE* on Joey! Caboval writes: “Oh Joey isn't doing good and I'm so worried. He made it through cancer and is in remission and survived liver failure but something has happened to his leg. He had X-rays and there's no break but it looked like his neck had a pinched nerve. So, I'm doing cold laser therapy and no improvement. I'm doing chiropractor sessions, no improvement. Then on Friday he had acupuncture and now Joey can't walk at all on his leg and it's now been 4 weeks and no improvement. I had a prayer group for him on Facebook. I think the acupuncture somehow has hit nerves in his leg and he can't walk at all. I don't have any hope that he will be able to walk again and I'm at the point I may have to make a decision this coming week. I'm heartbroken and I'm praying for a miracle. I'm devastated and he is only 6 years old. I wish I had better news. Can you say a prayer for him?”

	*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*	We've had no new updates from GentleDoe in a while. If anyone has any new news on her, please let us know.

	Shari in Memphis	Has anyone gotten any updates from Shari?
	Shari in Memphis	Has anyone gotten any updates from Shari?


	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*	*Today!* Sunday, December 7 3:00 PM PST/6:00 PM EST

	*Title*	*The Owlbox Yule*

	*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*

Simple Yarn and Button Owl Ornament

http://www.linesacross.com/2011/12/simple-yarn-and-button-owl-ornament.html

Howie the (sometimes holiday) Penguin

Wide-Eyed Owl Cupcakes

Owl Eyez Cookiez

Popcorn Owls

Creepy Spiders

	Hello Vriends,
	I got so wrapped up in getting things ready for tonight's broadcast, that I forgot to write a note! Thanks have been quite a whirlwind around here this last week. First there was the announcement of the winner of the 3D Printer contest, so that kicked off a real roller-coaster ride of emotion. First there was disappointment at not winning, then there was the surprise and joy that came from Matthew Clowney's putting an IndieGoGo campaign together--one with the intent of getting a 3D printer into my hands (a goal it nearly accomplished within the first day)! Then came the note from XYZprinting (the sponsors of the contest) telling me they wanted to loan me a printer for several months to see what I could come up with, and then they would send a film crew out to film me at work (for their promotional purposes). So this has been an exhilarating ride! And then late in the week was the Orion EFT-1 mission. Its launch window began at 4:05 in the morning out here for us west coasters. The first day was a scrubbed attempt, so it went up 24 hours later. Two days of that in a row wa more than enough to really mess up my biological clock! Right now I am still sleepy, despite the fact that I slept in until nearly noon. I just don't seem to be able to bounce back from these things the way I used to. It was an amazing first flight for the Orion spacecraft, and it left me in a pretty nostalgic mood because of its similarities to the Apollo moon missions. I am looking forward to a lot more fun watching this program! And speaking of nostalgia, in the course of this IndieGoGo campaign and the creation of "perks" for that, it occurred to me that in a few months it will have been five years since the beginning of the whole Molly & McGee time! Isn't that crazy?? So in the last few days I traded a few e-mails with Carlos, and for a while there it seemed like old times. So out of all that came this idea for a Molly collectible figurine--something I will touch on in tonight's broadcast. And speaking of which, I need to finish getting ready for that. I do hope you can tune in (or at least catch the recording), because there were some other changes around here last week, and I suspect you may see a little bit of difference! So hope to see you tonight at 6pm PST!
	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!
	Zorro the Mouse here--I have been getting primped and coiffed in preparation for tonight's broadcast. It should be quite a whiz-bang event! (I hope my wrinkles don't show to badly!) It was fun getting up early and watching the rocket go up and down. It is a bit different than our Steampunk Rocketship, but I think ours is a lot prettier with all of its gizmos and do-dads. But I am sure that this Onion spaceship thingie. What? Oh. The Dude just informed me that it is the Orion, not the Onion. Probably just as well--onions tend to give my tummy a little heartburn... Anyway, back to the hairdresser I go!
	Yours Most Whiskerly, Zorro

	Easy "Throw Together—Throw Down" Chili

	Ingredients
	2-3 stalks celery 2-3 onions 1 stick butter. 2 pounds ground beef 2 cans crushed tomatoes 1 can Mexican tomatoes 1 can diced chilis and tomatoes 3 cans tomato paste 4 cans beans (mixed—kidney, black, great northern, etc.) 1 or 2 cans Mexican corn (optional) Chili seasoning mix to taste 2-3 quarts beef broth

	Directions
	Chop celery and onions. Sauté in butter. Brown ground beef. Add celery and onions. Add all canned ingredients. Do not drain any of them. Add chili seasoning to taste. Mix well. Add enough beef broth (or beef base) to reach desired consistency. Serve with corn chips, sour cream, cheddar cheese.


	TheDaddyBird's Chili
	Ingredients:
	1-1½ pounds round steak, cubed 1-1½ pounds pork roast or loin, cubed 3 quarts beef broth or base 1½ pounds ground beef 3 onions, chopped 6 garlic cloves, minced 2 large cans crushed tomatoes 2 cans diced tomatoes 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies 3 cans red kidney beans drained and rinsed* 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed* 4 6-ounce cans tomato paste ¾ cup homemade chili seasoning mix** Salt and pepper, to taste Tabasco or hot pepper sauce, to taste Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese Chopped green onions Sour cream Cheez-its, Cheetos or Corn chips	Can be omitted if you're a chili purist *See below
	Directions:
	Cut round steak and pork roast into bite-sized pieces—about ¾-inch. Sauté in butter, bacon grease or oil until well-browned. Place in a large stock pot with beef broth. Cover and boil in broth until tender—about 1 hour. Ladle up about 2 cups of broth and set aside. Leave remaining broth in the pot with the meat. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Chop up fine as it cooks. Drain well. Add to cooked round steak and broth. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and diced tomatoes with chilies. Drain and rinse all beans. Add to pot. Stir reserved beef broth into tomato paste until well blended. Add homemade chili seasoning mix to taste, about ¾ cup or so. Add to big pot. Return to a boil. Turn heat to low or medium low and simmer slowly for a couple of hours, stirring every 10 minutes or so, or as needed to keep from sticking. If it gets too thick, add more beef broth. If it’s too thin, add another can of tomato paste. After the chili has simmered and all the flavors have blended well, taste it. Add salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce to taste. Ladle into BIG soup bowls. Sprinkle chopped onions and cheese on top. Put a BIG dollop of sour cream on top in the middle. Serve with Cheez-its cheese crackers, Cheetos or corn chips.


	Homemade Chili Seasoning
	Ingredients:
	4½ cups flour 1⅓ cups chili powder ½ cup ground cumin ½ cup dry minced garlic ¼ cup sugar 3 cups instant minced onion ½ cup salt ¼ cup hot pepper flakes, crushed
	Directions:
	Combine all well. Store in airtight container in cool, dry place. Use approximately ¼ cup per pound of meat. Add more, as desired, according to taste.

	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


	Athena Eastern Screech Owl Houston, Texas	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-s-owl-cam http://www.facebook.com/groups/AthenaOwlcamFollowers/

	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

	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 All the pups have gone to their forever homes. Camera is shut down until the next litter is born.

	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

Meet Zeus
http://kittensdaily.com/meet-zeus-blind-owl-gorgeous-eyes/

Some Interesting Information About Someone We All Know Well
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1511369/


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 Swimming Owl
This came to us from windbeneathwing. Swimming owl caught on video http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/12/05/swimming-owl-caught-on-video/

			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!


	When should you charge a new battery? When you can't pay cash.

	When is a door not a door ? When it's ajar.

	Why are jazz musicians so sweet? Because they play in jam sessions.

	The summer band class was just getting under way when a large insect flew into the room. The sixth-graders, eager to play their shiny new instruments, tried to ignore the buzzing intruder, but eventually one student, Tommy, could stand it no more. He rolled up his music book and swatted the insect, then he stomped on it to ensure its fate. "Is it a bee?" another student asked. "Nope," Tommy replied. "Bee flat."

	Knock Knock Who's there? Carrot Carrot who? Do you carrot all about me!