our lantana

(And we expect to get even more flower clusters in a few days...)

amazing conceptualization

(photographer unknown)

Donovan: Lalena

Sad but beautiful...

remember to smile

our newest Kiva loan

We just made a loan to someone in the developing world using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

We just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Mamadou Ndiaye in Senegal. They still need another $625.00 to complete their loan request of $1,375.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help us get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Mamadou Ndiaye too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=60453

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva we know exactly who our money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, we know that we're helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after our loan is paid back.

Join us in changing the world - one loan at a time.

Thanks!

Dostoy and all the Barnsies over here

so true...

our begonia

Really, we're not that good at growing things, but our plants seem to love the environment here at our new condo...

(Click on the image to see it full size...much better that way!)

beaver and starlings

(photographer unkown)

(Well, we think it's a beaver but we can't see its tail.)

hmmm....

Leo the lion head rabbit

Our friend Cher sent us a photo of her new rabbit. Isn't he a total cutie? We just love the color of his fur.

His name is Leo, and he's a two-month-old lion head rabbit.

Now we want to get a rabbit of our own. Of course we won't...too many places here for him to get into trouble and/or hurt himself...and we're sure Satoru would not look kindly on any other animal encroaching on his space. Still, it's nice to dream about...

leopard and jaguar illustration

The Great American Yard Sale

Someone You Should Know

By Harry Porterfield

For two decades, Bette and Rudy Krueger have helped people clear the clutter from their garages and closets and help those less fortunate at the same time.

They are the founders of "The Great American Yard Sale" in Aurora. It's an annual event that has grown from a one-tent rummage sale into a major fundraiser for the needy. ABC7's Harry Porterfield thinks the Kruegers are a couple you should know.

If you put all the yard sales you ever heard about in one place this is what you might get, the Great American Yard Sale, this Saturday and Sunday at the Fox Valley Center in Aurora. Bette and Rudy Krueger launched it 20 years ago.

"We just kind of plodded through the first year and then it just grew from there. Every year we got bigger, and here it is," said Bette Krueger.

[click HERE for more]

We think this is a wonderful idea for THREE reasons:

1) The homeless in DuPage County are helped. The profits go to six agencies that help those less fortunate. We would support it for this reason alone.

2) As an added benefit, it means that lots of goods that would have ended up in a landfill somewhere are being recycled and re-used. That's important, too.

3) People can get some good deals. And in these economic times, that's nothing to make light of.

bear warning (hehehe...)

(click on image to enlarge to read it more easily...)

Thanks, BETH!

until...

Until one has loved an animal,

part of their soul remains unawakened.

--anonymous

our African violet

The first time we tried to grow an African violet we must have done everything wrong. The plant lived for about a year, but it never put out any flowers and only a few new leaves, at most, ever sprouted from it. Well, we tried to learn from our mistakes, and THIS time we must be doing something right because our current African violet is thriving. It is now blossoming and looks very healthy. We are so pleased.

The National Wildlife Federation just obtained a leaked document revealing the Bush administration's plans to gut the Endangered Species Act during its last few months in office.

Please click on the link below to send an urgent message to the Secretary of the Interior, asking him to put a stop to the attack on the Endangered Species Act. To take action on this issue, click on the link below:


http://online.nwf.org/protectESA

should be a word

Jenny and Percy

Theo got together with Jenny and Percy yesterday. He took some pictures--which didn't turn out very well since they were taken with a cell phone camera--but we wanted to share them anyway.

native Illinois plants

At Lake Michigan, next to Pratt Pier, is a protected area designated for the native plants that once flourished along the shore. Re-introducing native species is a great idea for many reasons, not the least of which is that it provides a food source for the birds (also native to the region) who migrate through our fair city...


We think it is a wonderful idea and we want to promote it, as well as thank all of those involved in its establishment and all of the volunteers who work to keep invasive species out.


Anyway, below is a photo Theo took yesterday. (And, unfortunately, he only had his cell phone camera with him...not his real camera.)

Cher by LaChapelle

"Cher and Pretty Pony," New York
© David LaChapelle, 1996

Ronaldson: Leslie in the Studio

"Leslie In The Studio," 1923
Thomas Martine Ronaldson

a puppy lullabye

These active little guys fall right asleep when their owner sings them a lullabye. So cute.

(Thanks Jenny!)