Earthquake, Lolcats and Books.

On Good Morning America they were talking about donations towards the relief of Haiti and stressed one must be careful not to donate to unknown and fly-by-nighy charities but to make sure they are established charities whom you know will direct your money to the cause for which you donated. They have a list of such charities on their website at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ConsumerNews/haiti-earthquake-relief-effort-avoid-scams/story?id=9555419 plus other advice. A question was asked about people who might have supplies and cannot afford a donation, it was suggested such people should sell their 'supplies' and then donate the money as the charities need money for shipping although they like to buy as much as they can in the affected country in order to help jump start their economy.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will appreciate this LOLCAT - OK its not a cat, but its funny. Mike you should enjoy this one. see more Lolcats and funny pictures I have found myself a new author, Suzanne Collins. I have just read The Hunger Games, I mentioned it the other day, and found it a very good book. It is the first of a series and the second book is already available so I am going to read that soon and I gather the third book is due out this year. The background of The Hunger Games is a land of the future where they take children from various districts and set them down in an arena to kill one another, the winner being much feted. A horrible concept but and excellent story. It really is a book I can highly recommend and I am sorry to have finished it. I am also going to try some of her other books, there is another series the first one of which is Gregor the Overlander which I have ordered from the library. The treadmill is erected but the last bit, adding silicone to the machine, defeats us as to what exactly they are asking us to do, maybe we are being a bit dumb, but... I placed a call to the manufacturer for service and they say they are unusually busy with calls, maybe lots of people were taking the opportunity to by at half price or less. So I guess I must possess my soul in patience, something I am not that good at doing. I have subsequently read some more directions and - maybe - understand it a little more, so keep your fingers crossed. Eating Well have some recipes for Grab and Go breakfasts (not that I basically approve of that, much healthier to sit down and have breakfast - so get up a bit earlier and if necessary, go to bed a bit earlier. Almond-Honey Power Bar From EatingWell: January/February 2010

Great for breakfast on the go! Golden roasted nuts, seeds and oats are nveloped by flavorful almond butter in these delectably chewy, no-fuss energy bars. Unrefined turbinado sugar adds a deep caramelly undertone. Feel free to use light brown sugar instead. Bars stored at room temperature will be softer than those that are refrigerated. 8 bars

Ingredients •1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats •1/4 cup slivered almonds •1/4 cup sunflower seeds •1 tablespoon flaxseeds, preferably golden •1 tablespoon sesame seeds •1 cup unsweetened whole-grain puffed cereal (see Note) •1/3 cup currants •1/3 cup chopped dried apricots •1/3 cup chopped golden raisins •1/4 cup creamy almond butter (see Note) •1/4 cup turbinado sugar (see Note) •1/4 cup honey •1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract •1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation 1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square pan with cooking spray. 2.Spread oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and sesame seeds on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are fragrant, shaking the pan halfway through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cereal, currants, apricots and raisins; toss to combine. 3.Combine almond butter, sugar, honey, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly, 2 to 5 minutes. 4.Immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until no dry spots remain. Transfer to the prepared pan. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray and press the mixture down firmly to make an even layer (wait until the mixture cools slightly if necessary). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes; cut into 8 bars.

Nutrition Per serving : 244 Calories; 10 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 5 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 74 mg Sodium; 313 mg Potassium 2 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 1/2 other carbohydrate, 2 fat Tips & Notes •Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month; thaw at room temperature. •Ingredient notes: For this recipe, we like unsweetened puffed multi-grain cereal, such as Kashi’s 7 Whole Grain Puffs. •Almond butter can be found at natural-foods stores and large supermarkets, near the peanut butter. •Turbinado sugar is steam-cleaned raw cane sugar. It’s coarse-grained and light brown in color, with a slight molasses flavor. Find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets or at natural-foods stores. (According to another source, the steam cleaning defeats the purpose of eating raw sugar in the first place however he also stated raw sugar wasn't very clean anyway.)

Have a great day