South African Crane Flower

Officially this plant is called, Strelitzia. In its homeland it is also called crane flower but I prefer the US common name: Bird of Paradise. 

A native plant in South Africa, the long stemmed flowering plant that typically grows from two to three feet in height and thrives in the warmer climates of the United States. 

The Bird of Paradise always manages to make me smile. This photo was taken last week at the public garden.  

For more information about plants from South Africa 
http://www.plantzafrica.com/frames/plantsfram.htm

Review: The Adventures of Elf Abba Vol 5: One Bad Day

The Adventures of Elf Abba: Volume 5

One Bad Day

By Evelyn & Bill Wilbur

2013

Pages: 34

Elf Abba continues to delight parents and children alike with her adventures. One Bad Day isn’t just a bad day for Abba. The bad day could ruin Christmas.

In this installment of the adventure series, Abba assumes, as do we that the famous Twelve Days of Christmas is not only popular but accurate in its depiction. But when the partridge comes up missing, Abba finds that it’s not only the featured player in the Christmas standard that’s missing.

Abba’s world is full of magical creatures from around the globe. Jubal, Percy and Azuwish accompany Abba helping her find clues to the missing partridge.

 Jubal the official with the sparkly ranger suit tries to lead the expedition by giving orders. Percy the giant bear helps everyone see things clearly, in more than one way. Azuwish looks like an elf but is actually from Atlantis. Azuwish’s mixed lineage comes in handy when the villain tries to befuddle everyone but becomes frustrated instead.

Everyone knows the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Would you be surprised to find that there is more to it that just twelve days? Did you know that if the Partridge in the Pear tree is missing there is no song? One Bad Day turns out alright when Abba and her friends discover the true Christmas song and find more than just the missing Partridge. And they do it all, just in time for Christmas!

One Bad Day is the fifth story in The Adventures of Elf Abba. It is a wonderful addition to traditional Christmas stories. Recommended for children of all ages. 

Moving to Town

Just before the sun went down over the hill one fine spring day, there came to town a large moving van, which drove from one side of town all the way through to the far end of town, to the house where no one had lived for many years. The townspeople stopped and starred because it wasn’t everyday that a moving van drove through town and it wasn’t every day that someone moved to town, even if it was at the far end. But on this day it happened and it was a day that people would remember.

The moving van parked at the house and just as the door opened, the last of the sun went over the hill and it was dusk. The moving men got out of the van and began moving boxes into the house and then it was dark. By the middle of the night, the moving van left the town by the same way it had come, leaving all the contents of the van and one person behind.

The town was buzzing in the morning with stories about the new resident. No one had really seen anything.  No one had seen anyone but a few shadows of people at dusk. So, all the news was gossip. Of course, they all thought it was true.

The important people in the town gathered at the general store, as they did every morning.  Mayor Smith, Sheriff Jones, Mr. Stucker, who owned the store and Mrs. Primly the librarian, who knew everything about everyone, and she’d tell you so too, stood at the counter talking about the moving van and all that they really didn’t know but had heard, when suddenly, she walked in. The important people could not believe their eyes....

Don't Resell a Lemon

This could also be titled how to pass on a lemon and create bad karma.

You hear it in coffee shops and at the water cooler at work, someone got a lemon and their so pleased when they sell it to someone else. The lemon is someone else’s problem. But is it really?

Selling a lemon is ethically wrong. Granted no one wants to bite that bullet paying a fair price for a vehicle that turns out to be nearly worthless but inevitably what happens is that if you’re passing bad vehicles on to others, it’s only a matter of time until you or your friends and family end up with one.

The right thing is to get the lemon off the road.

Here are some guidelines:

 I) If you sell a used vehicle, be completely honest with the buyer. 

 II) Tell them that you know it needs x, y, z repair and you’ve decided to sell it rather than fix it. 

 III) They may be into fixing the car then the transaction is a win-win in business and ethically.

When to just call the junk man:

1     It won’t start (and it’s not the starter that’s broken).

2     If your driveway is soaked with oil.

3     It needs more than $1,500 in work.

4     Or it goes from one repair to another for three months in a row.

Getting the junk car off the road benefits everyone.

1     Good will makes society a better place.

2     Good cars don’t stall on the highways creating traffic and accidents

3     Good ethic makes the economy grow strong.

On a personal note: a family member bought a lemon from a mechanic who said he had fixed everything and promised a 90 day warranty. When things started going wrong in 30 days he wanted thousands to fix it. Rather than pass the junk along, we took the loss and called the junk man.

Good Karma: We now have a reliable car

Bad Karma: The mechanic, we heard through the grapevine, is having multiple business and personal problems.