U.K. Office Installs Giant Slide to Shoot Workers Down Three Floors

Thursday February 25th 2009

A British office building has installed a giant slide to whisk employees from the third floor to the first in just seven seconds, the Daily Mail reported.

A company called Electric Works in Sheffield, England, built the spiral slide inside an office complex to draw in companies attracted to the unique design.

The first businesses move in next week and their workers will have exclusive use of the new three-story joyride.

Toby Hyam, who helped design Electric Works, told the Mail the slide was a "statement about risk-taking."

"We know that it will be a novelty at first, and we don't know whether it will that novelty will wear off," he told the Mail. "But if you are having a meeting with a client and people are whizzing past, it will be memorable."

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,500986,00.html


Britain's first indoor office helter skelter sees staff slide down three floors in just seven seconds
By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 9:04 PM on 26th February 2009

The economy may be on a downward spiral.

But designers of a new office development have come up with a novel way of lifting morale during the downturn.

They have installed a see-through helter-skelter to take staff from the third to the ground floor reception area in an exhilarating seven seconds.


Going down? The new Electric Works in Sheffield with the UK's first office helter skelter for workers

Catering for media-related businesses, the Electric Works office complex in Sheffield opens on Monday, complete with the novel descent.

Made of steel and plastic, it is 87ft long with a 40ft drop.

It will inevitably give the health and safety police palpitations, but that's all for the better according to designer Toby Hyam, who says it is intended as a 'statement about risk-taking'.


Business with pleasure: Building managers insist the slide is not a gimmick, but a way of making the block unique

He said: 'We have put quite a lot of thought into what this is all about and we wanted to make a big effort to make this place special. We won't be putting another helter skelter in anywhere else.

'We know that it will be a novelty at first, and we don't know whether it will wear off, but if you are having a meeting with a client and people are whizzing past, it will be memorable.'

Office manager Deborah Walsh said: 'I think the helter-skelter is a brilliant idea and we will constantly have people moving in and moving out, so there will always be somebody new to try it.'

For the less adventurous, the options of using the stairs or a lift remain.


Thrills: Deborah Walsh, centre manager, tries out the slide

The project is the result of a public private partnership between landowner Yorkshire Forward, developers Scarborough Development Group and Sheffield Council which has bought the building.

It stands on land between the city's railway and bus stations and is aimed at people working in the creative industries and media, from freelancers who work alone to companies of up to 75 people.

The centre of the building will be known as the 'club area' and will be available on a subscription basis costing £50 a month. For this, members will get access to all communal areas and meeting spaces.


The centre of the building will be known as the 'club area' and will be available on a subscription basis costing £50 a month

Other services, such as the hire of lockers which include mobile phone and laptop chargers, the provision of a business address and a reception service, will also be available at an extra charge.

A conference room, which seats 150 people in a theatre-style environment, is also available, and offices on the upper floors of the building are up for rent with prices starting at £16,000 a year.

The building will be run by Mr Hyam's company Creative Space Management which also runs Round Foundry media centre in Leeds and is working on several other Yorkshire projects.

More Bank Bonuses? Nah, this guy did it right.

Bank pays lavish bonuses to ... all employees
Miami businessman mentioned in Obama speech split $60 million 471 ways







Image: Leonard Abess
For his generosity and humility, Leonard Abess Jr. was singled out for praise by President Barack Obama in his congressional address Tuesday. Abess attended as Obama's guest.

Associated Press updated 7:22 p.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 25, 2009

MIAMI - At a time when bankers are being pilloried on Capitol Hill as heartless and greedy, Leonard Abess Jr. stands apart.

After selling his bank for a fortune last fall, he quietly handed out $60 million in bonuses from his own pocket — and not just to top executives. In all, 471 employees and retirees, including tellers, clerks and secretaries, were rewarded, receiving an average of about $127,000 each.

"I think everybody was surprised. But knowing Leonard, the type of person he is, I can believe him giving it away," said retiree William Perry, who spent 43 years at City National Bank of Florida, rising from janitor to vice president. Perry, 78, got $50,000, which he is using to help his son pay for law school.

For his generosity and humility, Abess was singled out for praise by President Barack Obama in his congressional address Tuesday. Abess attended as Obama's guest.

"He's a brilliant banker, which I think is obvious because of how well the bank has done all these years. And, obviously, a very generous man," said Ginger Nunn, a managing senior vice president. "He can not only set an example for other bankers but for any businessperson."

Abess, 60, did not return several calls for comment Wednesday. He never wanted to make a big deal out of his largesse; he didn't even show up at the bank when the envelopes were distributed in November. It wasn't until he mentioned the bonuses in a recent interview with The Miami Herald that they became publicly known.

Abess' father founded the bank in 1946 and he began his career in the print shop, working his way up the corporate ladder. His family sold the bank in the early 1980s to an investment group, which in turn sold it to a Colombian coffee magnate. When the magnate was convicted of fraud, Abess bought a majority stake out of bankruptcy in 1985 for $21 million, all of it borrowed, and then acquired the rest for $6 million.

The bank, under his ownership, grew from $400 million in assets and seven offices to $2.75 billion in assets and 18 offices.

While other bank CEOs passed out million-dollar bonuses to their cronies as their institutions failed, Abess kept City National profitable and received no money from the federal bank bailout. When he sold an 83 percent stake to a Spanish bank for $927 million, he decided to share the bounty with his 399 employees and 72 retirees.

"Those people who joined me and stayed with me at the bank with no promise of equity, I always thought someday I'm going to surprise them," he told the Herald. "I sure as heck don't need" the money.

But others persuaded him that dropping such large checks on the employees without warning wasn't a good idea.

Abess, who remains the bank's chairman and chief executive, made a video telling the employees a bonus would be coming with the sale and assuring them it wasn't severance. A vice president, Linda Naughton, contacted some retirees and told them they would be getting a letter from Abess and should "sit down before they opened it."

Joyce Andrews, who has spent 57 years at City National, including a stint working as a secretary for Abess' father, has known Abess since he was a toddler. On Tuesday night, the 75-year-old woman said, she was so proud she felt like his mother.

Andrews would not say how big her bonus was, but she said she invested it for her retirement.

"It's so unbelievable. I think it has to be the best feel-good story of the year. Don't you? When a man shares that much, $60 million. The fact that he could even do it or thought about it," she said. "There are people that get money that don't do a thing. It's theirs, you know? I think it was a wonderful thing."

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29396039/

Random Thoughts & Pictures - From My Life

Here is a cute gif I have used on occasion on myspace and what a great way to start sharing some of my pictures with you. Been married since January 1999, which mean we just passed our 10th wedding anniversary last month, Yeah for us!

Now with posting different pictures at both the left and right sides of the page I am going to be inserting random thoughts and blurbs in here to just keep the thoughts and pix and thoughts of pictures separate from the others.

My kids love Veggie Tales and here is a cute picture of the 2 main characters. Bob the tomato and Larry the cucumber! My little guy Jude just walked by the PC and started hooting about Bob & Larry! :o)
Makes ya smile that the little ones are happy and smiling.

So here we go again with that lovely space in between pictures that is filling up with words and spaces that mean nothing.
Does anyone remember the show from the 70's -"Smile you're on candid camera"?
I don't remember much, but I do remember the 'Gong Show', you had to do some trick or talent and hope not to get gonged off by the judge or judges before you were done. Sounds to me kinda like the 'America's Got Talent' show from this last decade.

This is my lovely niece Ashley, all of 17 and taken!
Her awesome boyfriend Stephen treated her to a wonderful Valentine's Day and she was treated like a queen. Check out her blog on imfreekinrad.blogspot.com

Way to go Stevie boy, hope you two keep making one another happy for a long time to come!
Nuff Said!
Now, I am thinking about how cold it has gotten this winter here in Ohio and the amount of snowfall and rain [in recent weeks the rain] we have been blessed with is pretty much a blessing. We had it soo dry last year the yard was always so dry to the point of cracking and I am hoping that the weather and the precipitation will just keep on keeping on from Spring right into Summer.

*Now is that a random thought or what?*

Pumpernickel Bread!
Also called Dark Rye, Dark Jewish Rye, etc. Awesome toasted, for turkey sandwiches, egg sandwiches and my Hubby's personal favorite Reuben's. I make my own sandwiches home-made, and everyone raves when they get them. I have this pic in my online photo album, so you got to hear my lovely rant all about....Waaah! :o)

So a random quote here might be nice. 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'.
My kids and hubby all love home-made lemonade and of course it's way to tart for Mr Breeze, so he gets almost double the sugar to stomach all the lemon juice. Hardly seems like a healthy drink but it is an alternative to soda and liquor, right? :o)
I could almost have posted a picture of ice cold lemonade in a tall glass here but what's the point I am using this thought to go between two pictures anyways! Oh Well.

Now these two boogers...or I should say this pic with these two things [M&M's and my Blackberry] were just to cute sitting on the table together, so I truly had to get a random shot of them and upload to share with everyone.
There is of course one M&M that is small and round, stamped with the signature M and made it thru inspection, so I had to get it in the picture.
Now the Blackberry is a piece of work,and while I have had PDA's the last few years, I never seen a reason to get one of these bad boys. Now I have my laptop at home and it serves me well, so with the PDA being my phone, why in the world would anyone need one of these? Well, I soon found out when our Verizon Wireless rep talked me into trying it for 30 days and if not satisfied I could it return for another style phone/pda.
Oh, well of course she knew I was going to fall head over heels for it, and that's exactly what happened. I am enjoying all the functions and features to the max and well, while there is more I could say here......why? Anyone who has one knows and anyone who doesn't will be bored to tears to hear me rant on and on, right?

This is a picture of 'My Girl', she is a beauty and she has been round the mill with us and we love her. I am sooooo glad that petrol prices have come down and I can now fill her up for around $40 instead of the dreaded $120 mark. We love to take family trips with her and the kids enjoy being able to watch DVD's while we are en-route, whether to the grocery store or out of town.
Hopefully she will be running healthy and strong until I decide and am able to get another one....maybe even paid off one day! haha :o)


This picture is a Kalahari Sunset and it is really beautiful. My husband is from South Africa and we still talk to a bunch of his friends and this is a picture we borrowed from Corne, Thanks Gurly!
I suppose if we ever stop having children, we can travel the 20 something hours to go across the ocean and visit his family and friends. But...until then we have to enjoy the lovely phodies from their photo albums and wait until the kids get old enough to where we feel comfortable traveling so far and and for so long with them.

Much Love and Affection to everyone who takes the time in life to share a piece of your life with others and to all my family and friends I will share this quote with you.

'Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.'
Eleanor Roosevelt


Winding down for the day and thanks for reading more of my stuff.

Have a Wonderful Sunday, or what's left of it anyways.
Take Care,
~Breeze

My Weekend Experience Related to My Sink

This weekend has been soo busy with things, and yet it hadn't been busy in the full sense of the word and it's meaning.

Valentine's Day...spent chilling at home with husband and kids. Selling Dogs, collecting money and filing paperwork, not to bad.

Nursing my wounds from the fall on Monday...prayer and therapeutic exercise have really helped. Chatting with my sis and niece and catching up with some old friends.
Found out one of my girlfriends was diagnosed with breast cancer, and enjoyed some catch up time with her talking life and all.

Smiles and tears thinking about mom and the why's and the where's about death again.
Bills, budgeting, weather, work, pets, house work and goals and planning all came into play for me again this weekend. :o) I am so glad to be ‘normal’ in so many ways, even though others might argue that fact. *sticks out tongue*

I shall recall some of it here, as I feel the need to kind of empty my head, and many times when I do that it's like my own brainstorming session, and I get some new thoughts or ideas from seeing it written down.

First thing to talk about here in the forefront of my mind.
My brother, Jimmy; he is an exceptionally talented man who can do anything!
It makes me smile and sad at the same time to say that.
First because I am happy and proud for him and his abilities and also for his strong resolve to overcome barriers in his life, for this I am happy and smiling.
Second, I am saddened by my own statement, as this is something my mom always said about her 'Bozie'.
She always pushed him and encouraged him and in some ways she was his biggest cheerleader.
Funny, how I can take the time to blog feelings and thoughts about everything else lately, and I still haven’t gotten around to emptying out about my mom's death and how I feel about it all. I suppose it's a process and when the time is right it will just happen. But for now, I will get back on track to my brother Big J!

He came over to help my DH [Dear Hubby] change out the water heater last week, and for anyone who has changed out plumbing you know that it can ultimately lead to clogged lines and a drop in water pressure due to sediment passing through the lines and becoming lodged and clogging it all up.
Well, of course this is what happened in my lovely kitchen sink and while we did our best to clear out the sediment, it only got worse. Aaaaargh!
Low water pressure is better than no pressure and I didn’t seemed to get the clue until I had my bro unhook the water set up and leave it un-done until we got it cleared up.

& While this picture has nothing to do with my brother, he was doing plumbing work and this is the picture that came up when I googled and I liked it for my post.


Now this could have happened in a number of ways….the clearing up part that is.
1. We get a new sink set-up, setting us back $250-$400 *Uh Yeah Right Whatever!*
2. We magically find the block, blow out the sediment, and all he has to do is hook it up.
3. We decipher magically [I think we are in dire need of magic here] what part is clogged.
4. We call the manufacturer and get them to send us the correct part that is clogged.
5. Ditch it all and go back to the old way of collecting rain water and washing things by hand out back in the yard in a bucket! *OOOOh Riiiigght!-Sarcasm and amusement all in one*
6. We hook it back up clogged and use it with slow pressure. This is what I should have done.
Now mind you I had gone many days without a kitchen sink and the use of water, and I thank God that I have a dish washer at least to get the dishes clean daily.
Soooooo, as I need to complete my thoughts on this, my brother really was a life saver.

He deciphered where the block was, and said we were screwed and these things always get trashed when the sediment comes rushing through like it did, and we should prolly go get another faucet set-up for my sink.


I went to the Hardware store, picked out a lovely sink for under $300 and was begrudgingly walking out when I asked the sales lady a question.
Do you have just the main faucet portion of these set-ups only for kitchen sinks, because that’s all I really need?
Now she smiled looked at me like, “Well lady, you’ve seen the display and NO we don’t only sell the faucet by itself, CAPISH??!!”
-But she continues on and tells me they do sell individual working parts to the mechanisms in the other isle if I know which model and all.

I frown.

She says the manufacturers do have limited lifetime warranties on their stuff if you know all that.

I FROWN bigger this time.

I go to the aisle, with my dad and we look at all the replacement parts. I start to feel some sunshine over me; I am feeling optimistic about the outcome as I see parts I recognize and think maybe I can spend only $20 instead of taking this $300 box home with me today.

Looooooonger story shorter, I tell DH, he goes online and finds a diagram, gets the part number, calls said Manufacturer (Moen) and they tell him they will replace it for nothing and send it to us.
DH tells them if they expedite the shipping he will pay the difference, $12!
YIPEEEE!! I feel like a child who met his hero and I am all warm and fuzzy at the thought of saving all that money!

My bro worked wonders, after hooking it up and going through 3 different scenarios as to why it was still not working, he got it.
I paid him the $20 I told him in the beginning and DH gave him the tool box he was eyeing and I think he was happy all around for the 3 times he had to come out to finally get it all worked out.

So many other things happened this weekend, but I will blog ‘em later!

Until the pen meets the paper again.
~Breeze

New Blog ~ Baking with Breeze

Hey All

I have started a New Blog called Baking with Breeze; because I do not feel my love for cooking/baking can be contained into one blog along side politics, sweet sentiments and what not.



I won't go into too much detail here, just click on the photo above and stop in for a visit.

I do plan on adding a section for each course of meals and adding more recipes by category.

Hope your weekend is all you hope for and that you and yours enjoy Valentine's Day together.

See you on the main line!

~Breeze

This guy looks more like a yellow M&M than a Smiley!

Music Lovers ~ Search Engine for Lyrics and Videos

Here is a website to check out. It might be a reminder to some of you, but to others it is going to be a place to visit for fun now and again.
ENJOY & Have Fun,
~Breeze


A Search Engine for Music Lyrics and Videos
ChizMax is a specialized search engine for music lyrics and videos.

To find the lyrics for a track, enter a song name, artist, or a combination of the two to bring up a listing of tracks that are covered by the ChizMax search engine.

Each track has its own separate page with its full lyrics and a music video from YouTube if it's available. Thumbnail images from the video also add a splash of color to the otherwise spartan interface.

Of course, now that Yahoo has launched an officially licensed music lyrics service, user-transcribed lyrics sites are in danger of becoming irrelevant, but ChizMax has nicely integrated text and video into a lightweight page that music lovers who don't mind the occasional typo may prefer.


Enjoy!
~Breeze

Newsweek Cover: "We're All Socialists Now"

Posted by my DH on a forum, I am copying his post for you to see.
~Breeze

Newsweek, left wing hack magazine that it is, cannot contain itself by proclaiming that American's might as well get used to it because "We're all socialists now..."

source - http://www.newsweek.com/id/183663


So liberals of the world......are you lot going to come out of the closet finally and admit what we've known all along or are you going to continue to hid behind the b/s that Obama and the highway robbers that infest his cabinet, Senate and Congress aren't socialists?

Does it make you all warm and fuzzy inside to know that you've handed the Soviets the one thing they've been drooling over for the last 50 years?????

My deepest apologies to the Founding Fathers.....your Great Experiment is about to go down in flames......it's been one hell of a ride. -WAA

What is America's True Form of Government?

Some are able to bypass internet bans, but for how long?

Bypass Censorship:

Access Flickr in Iran, China, UAE, and Saudi Arabia Banned


Not everyone loves Flickr. The photo sharing site has recently been banned in China (reported earlier). This move follows similar censorship by the governments of Iran, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

However, it turns out that they aren't being too sophisticated about the ban on Flickr. If you have Firefox, you can install an extension called Access Flickr that lets you bypass the filter.

To be technical, the extension substitutes some parameters in the HTTP header that the government firewalls haven't been programmed to recognize and block. There isn't any need for proxies or more exotic measures like VPNs.

What say all of you? Does anyone have anything to relate as to how and why this is going on?

I'm sure they [power monkeys] think they have legitimate reasons, and maybe in their little corner of the world it all makes sense; but to the rest of us....let's hope we never have to worry about that.

Just passing this along, as I have spoken with a few folks that are actually dealing with something similar to this in their daily lives.

Have a Good Night All.
~Breeze
source: http://www.digitalalchemy.tv/2007/06/censorship-access-flickr-in-iran-china.html

New Stimulus Bill - Helpful or Hurtful?

We need something soo very bad, and just when you think you can't and shouldn't be fighting the politicians soo much, they surprise you and show their true colors.

I mean I can only imagine the 'riders' going in on this bill and we will only begin to feel, see and know about it when it's too late.

I want something to believe in that is going to make a positive difference.

I suppose when you hear folks shouting -'Look at all the spending', you realize that I guess you need to spend to save things, but man we're talking in the trillions of dollars, that's a whole lot of money. Once it's spent, it's spent people.

*Shakes head*

Lord only knows how many pages and paragraphs make up this bill, and for the little people like us to go through it and be able to make head or tail or legal jargon come on.

I've heard a few things they have been trying to push through with it and my mind is boggled by the way they force feed us by hiding these things that are supposed to be for our own good?!!

I mean they want to spend millions on contraception, limit and control what types of building can and cannot be built on university property based on religion and belief?

Maybe I don't have all the facts straight just yet but I will.

I am going to be looking more in depth into all that I can; and may remark more on specifics as I rummage through it all.

Hate to argue but wow the whole world is going to come crashing down and the greed is impossible and may not allow it to work.

Socialism - Big Government - Universal Health Care - Diminishing Rights - Crashing Economies - Similar News from ALL over the Globe

Are we as American citizens ready to let our country and all we have stood for, fought for, dreamed and believed in go? -& then trade it in for something we have only read in books about other countries and never thought through for our lives?

I don't know if I am ready to let go of all the things I hold near and dear to my heart, as to what I think this country is and what I WANT it to be.

All my hopes for the future for my kids I pray do not get replaced with fears.

I hope it's not going to take too many years to fix, so they never get to enjoy this wonderful land and all it has stood for.

Not matter where others may find themselves I am seriously thinking this might be a mistake we can do nothing about.

Are there just too many of the people in power that are for this?
Ask yourselves what can be done once it's in place if it is shown to be a mistake?




Frustrated in The States,
~Breeze

Saturday Night

Wings - Steak Fries - Coleslaw -We out-did ourselves once again!

Beer - Punch - Soda

Good Conversation -Sharing Stories

Goofy Kids [Actually getting along]

Scattegories [some of the players were drinking too!]

Cheesecake [topped w/Strawberries]

There was even music.....at least I think there was at some point.

Kids Getting Along even as the night went on......this is soo important to a night that runs long; ask any parent trying to focus on something besides the kid(s) and they'll tell you so.


It seemed like no matter what we did yesterday it was turning into a pretty phenomenal evening.

While it did get loud and everyone starting getting a little obnoxious, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle.

Somehow though I did end up with a bit of a headache at about midnight thirty when I went to bed [& no I wasn't drinking] and I think it was more of the obvious atmosphere of silliness for soo many hours than anything else.

Then again when I woke up it sure did feel like the crazy hung over feeling.....I am beginning to think it was an osmosis kind of connection between dear hubby and I.

Yes he did have a few beers last night and besides the loud snoring coming from the room when I followed him upstairs [30 minutes later] to go to bed; he woke up in tip-top shape today * and I was like -NO FAIR!!

He did get called into work this morning, so it will be 8 nice hours of overtime for the start of next week already. Since he welds for the railroad he doesn't mind so much getting called out for overtime. Now make it slugging in a sewer somewhere...well, then he might bitch a bit about it but I am sure for the pay he would go either way.

Soooooo back to last night, as I ramble all over the globe about stuff and then make a feeble attempt to put some coherency to it all. HAHA

Ash was over from Friday night, she stayed after we went out for Coffee at Panera and shopped until Target closed.

Yesterday was a hang out kind of day, we made some sugar cookies, which I will post the recipe for.....they were very much like a butter cookie or a shortbread cookie that melt in your mouth when you take a bite. I suppose had I left them in there maybe 2 minutes less [I do have more dough too] they may have been a bit chewy.
I will try that out with a batch today, before I make some muffins with my SD starter.
I also made some Choco Chip Cinnamon Scones yesterday morn, as my sweet brother came over to help Big T change out the hot water tank and I thought it would be nice and it sounded good. I haven't really baked at all this winter and I just think that I hadn't felt like doing much of that since mom passed away. It was quite nice and I even got some good shots of the dough and finished product to share on here later.

Back to last night my sister Maggie and her hubby Big D came over with their 2 little ones, as their oldest was already here from the night before.

Ashley's boyfriend Stephen stopped by as well and hung out with us all and even stayed a little longer than planned.

I am pretty sure we all enjoyed the game a bit too much and maybe with less noise we will enjoy it again sometime.

Since we have had PC's and Laptops and PDA's it seems like whenever people come over it soooo impersonal and I thought if we bought a game or two a month and started playing them, we might enjoy our time shared together a bit more.

Over All the verdict in -I think we had a pretty damn good night.

May all your gatherings and parties be as sweet and memorable and all you want them to be. Make the best of the time you have with those you love and remember....

'Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get' ['til you eat it'....I always say]


The weather is gonna be beautiful this next week and I hope Punxatawny Phil the best at his new job as I hope we have SPRING right around the corner!!

Much Love and Affection.
~Breeze

Love ~ Is there only one definition of it?

Hardly!


Love is soo many things to just one person.
And soo much more to many, make sense?
Read on.

What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
~ by Ralph Waldo Emerson ~


You love/ I Love.....
Your parents
Your siblings
Your Pet
Your favorite socks/jeans/hoodie......you get the picture
Your mom's pasta salad, chocolate chip cookies, her meatloaf
Your boyfriend, girlfriend
Your bestie/BFF
Your job
Your kids
Your hubby/wife

Shopping
Reading
Going to the beach


All you need is love,........Love is all you need.
~ The Beatles ~

~~~~~

If Anyone has got anymore to add, please feel free!
Leave a pic to go with your comment if you can.
More thoughts on Love, pictures, stories; we would love to share them with you.




How do you spell love?... when you reach the point where the happiness, security, and development of another person is as much of a driving force to you as your own happiness, security, and development, then you have a mature love. True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not based on what you can get, but rooted in what you can give to the other person.
--Josh McDowell

Cheers,
~Breeze
--<--<@

Bible Facts

Bible Facts – The Books of the Bible
The Old Testament has 17 Historical, 5 Poetical, and 17 Prophetic books in it.

* The 17 Historical Books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
* The 5 Poetical Books are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon,
* The 17 Prophetic Books are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The New Testament has 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, and Revelation in it.

* The 4 Gospels are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
* The 21 Epistles are: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

Bible Facts – Miscellaneous Facts
The Bible contains 1189 chapters.
The Old Testament has 929 chapters and the New Testament has 260 chapters.
The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119, and the shortest is Psalm 117.
The longest verse is Esther 8:9, and the shortest is John 11:35.

The Bible was written:

* over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to A.D. 100)
* over 40 generations
* over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. - kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars)
* in different places (i.e. - wilderness, dungeon, palaces)
* at different times (i.e. - war, peace)
* in different moods (i.e. - heights of joy, depths of despair)
* on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)
* in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)

Bible Facts – Miscellaneous Facts
Various passages which speak of Jesus Christ as God – John 1:1, John 20:28, Romans 9:5, Philippians 2:11, and Colossians 1:16.

Various passages which speak of Jesus Christ's humanity – John 1:14, Luke 2:7, Luke 2:40, Luke 8:23, John 4:6 and Hebrews 4:15.

Types of biblical prayers:

* Confession (Psalm 51; Luke 18:10-24)
* Praise (1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Luke 1:46-55)
* Thanksgiving (Psalm 105:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
* Petition (Genesis 24:12-14; Acts 1:24-26)
* Intercession (Exodus 32:11-13; Philippians 1:9-11)
* Commitment (1 Kings 8:56-61; Acts 4:24-30)
* Forgiveness (Daniel 9:4-19; Acts 7:60)
* Confidence (Psalm 23; Luke 2:29-32)
* Benediction (Numbers 6:24-26; Jude 24)

Sourdough Starter

I am going to be using my starter for some pretty awesome looking recipes I found online, as well as some of the Breaking Bread with Father Dominic books I have.

I intend on posting recipes that I make with the starter, and pics when I make them. Everyone in my family loves fresh baked bread and the smell is just the icing on the cake [besides eating] for me.


Here is the recipe for the starter itself, I personally made the one with Yeast, as I don't have the ability to leave the wild yeast starter on a window sill to feed itself, as it is middle of winter in Ohio. I used my crock pot insert without the glass lid, I covered with cheese cloth.

Below, a yeast starter and a starter without added yeast.


Ingredients:

* Yeast Starter:
* 1 pkg. active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup warm water
* 2 cups warm water
* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 1 tbs. granulated sugar or honey

Preparation:
Sprinkle the yeast over the first amount of warm water and sugar, stir and let set 10 mins. Add second amount of warm water and flour, beat until smooth, cover with a cheesecloth and let set in a warm place for several days ,stirring several times per day. When ready the starter should have a sour smell with small bubbles gently rising to the surface. The whole precess will take from 5 to 10 days depending to some extent on the time of year. Place in a jar and refrigerate.

TO REPLENISH
For each cup of starter used, add 3/4 cup of warm water , 3/4 cup of flour , 1 tsp. of sugar or honey and stir well. Cover loosely and allow to set at room temp. for AT LEAST one day. Refrigerate.

FEEDING: If starter is not used regularly stir in a tsp. of honey or sugar about every 10 days.



Non Yeast (Wild Yeast)

* 2 cups whole milk
* 2 cups flour

Let the milk set in a warm place such as sunny window uncovered to sour. Add the sour milk to the flour (instant potato flakes can be used) preferably in a crock or clay bowl. It is OK to mix the fresh milk and flour but it might take a day or so longer to get a good starter. Cover with cheesecloth and let stand in a warm place stirring occasionally and the rest is similar to the yeast type.

To replenish, add 1 cup of milk and one cup of flour, cover with cloth and let stand until bubbly. Refrigerate if not to be used for some time.

A bit of honey can be added to "feed" it and give a slightly less sour starter but it really is not required for the effectiveness if the starter.

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Hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying life to it's fullest.
So go get a nice hot cup of tea, cuddle up with a good book and pamper yourself for an hour, you'll thank yourself!

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Cheers,
~Breeze

The Invisible Shelf