Spring, 20/20, Earth Hour, Avon Plant a Tree.

For those of us in North America, the clocks go forward tonight. Just another reminder although I am sure the radio and TV will do the job efficiently. Unfortunately, the US changed the time of year they did this and many of my technology gadgets are unaware of that change so they do it again at the time at which they were preset so that I have to reverse it all having already set them by hand earlier. Its a nuisance, but what can you do? Luckily it doesn't make a whole heap of difference to us except when we want to phone the kids, we have to remember the difference is less than usual for a while. Kids, they are in their 40s!!!!

Tonight we have friends coming for dinner and one of them asked me what we were eating and because I wouldn't tell her, she figured she could get the information on here. No way, I know they read my blog and so I keep mum.

Apparently the American courts have decided definitively that vaccinations do NOT cause autism in children. I bet there will be a large amount of people who will not believe this even though scientific research has proved this point. It must be devastating to have autistic children or other problems with your offspring. There was a programme on 20/20 about kids who become really violent through no fault of their own, they are suffering from childhood Schizophrenia and ABC is following the stories of three families with such children. I didn't watch it, too distressing, but Matt did and I saw one scene where the child was begging to be taken to hospital because she feels safer there and knows she won't hurt anyone or anything as in the family dogs. What little I did see was really dreadful for the kids and for the families. They have managed to find medications for some of these children but not yet all of them. It appears different kids react to different drugs. You can read more about this and see videos at http://abcnews.go.com/2020/.

Glenda Larke just announced that her latest book Stormlord Rising has reached No. 4 on the bestsellers list. I haven't read it yet, a friend is sending it to me from Oz, but judging by the first book, it doesn't surprise me at all. Reports say the second book is even better than the first. My nails are bitten up to the elbows with waiting to read this novel. One of the things Glenda is particularly praised for is her world building skills and certainly one can imagine the world of these latest books of hers she paints them so vividly. I was talking to her on Skype the other day and she casually dropped a scene she was working on in the third book involving ziggers. If you don't know what ziggers are, read The Last Stormlord which is the first book in the trilogy.

I have just discovered Avon is launching a campaign to plant trees in rainforest areas - they are donating $1,000,000 to this campaign and are asking their customers to donate $1 as well. Which reminds me, I have been meaning to mention that it is Earth Hour on Saturday March 27 between 8:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. when millions of us will be turning off our lights - I hope you will be amongst these conservationists. Every little bit we can do to raise awareness of the plight of the earth we have been ruining for centuries is worth the effort. I recently saw a comment on TV about oceans, the scientist said the oceans have been managing themselves for thousands of years before we came along, we don't need to manage the oceans, we need to manage ourselves. What a very true statement.

Here is a delicious sounding recipe from the kitchens of Martha Stewart. For cannellini beans, read navy beans or white beans.

Farfalle with Arugula and White Beans Source: Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast - From the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living Yield: Serves 4 Quickly wilted arugula, canned beans, and toasted walnuts add heft to this vegetarian main course. Try spinach in place of arugula and pine nuts instead of walnuts.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 12 ounces farfalle 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 pound baby arugula 1 can (15 1/2 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1/3 cup walnut pieces, toasted for garnish DIRECTIONS Bring a pot of water to a boil; add a generous amount of salt. Cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta. Add 1 tablespoon butter and the garlic to the pot; cook over medium heat, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add arugula; toss just until wilted. Add beans, pasta, and remaining 3 tablespoons butter; season with salt and pepper. Heat, tossing, until butter is melted and beans and pasta are warmed through, about 1 minute. Add enough reserved pasta water to create a thin sauce to coat pasta. To serve, divide among shallow bowls, and garnish with walnuts.

Have a great day