10 Things I Miss About Arkansas1. Stores being open 24/7 so I can miss the rush and go out at 2 AM to buy groceries and go Christmas shopping
2. Cheetos – France has a peanut version and some decent cheese puff things but nothing like Cheetos puffs.
3. Cheap peanut butter!  There are walls and walls [...]

Where To Find It In FranceIf you’re an American used to shopping at Wal-mart, like me, trying to find what you’re looking for in Europe can be like looking for a possum in the backseat of a Mercedes.
If you’re looking for household chemicals, baking supplies, good deals, or American cravings, you’ve come to the right [...]

Cool Gadget on My Wishlist – Easy Bloom Plant SensorMy husband is a member of the North American Gardening Club and they sent him info about this nifty little thing.  It’s pretty high tech, yet at the same time, simple.  We all want to know what the best plants are for our houses and gardens.  [...]

What books do you recommend for increasing financial intelligence?I’ve just read Rich Dad Poor Dad and Rich Dads Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. In these books Robert talks about the
importance of financial intelligence. Which books do you recommmend which can help me increase my financial inteligence
as prescribed by R. Kiyosaki. I’m not really good with [...]

The Red Tent by Anita DiamantI was drawn first to this book by its beautiful cover illustration.   It’s in the style of  a classical oil painting, and shows a woman in a Biblical landscape who is obviously suffering from a great tragedy.  I looked at the description, and found that it was about Dinah, a [...]

Get Thousands of MySpace Friends FREE!My friends over at URLChef.com asked me to mention their free program to get lots and lots of Myspace friends.  Personally, I don’t know why you’d want that, but some people want lots and lots of “friends”.  I guess it’s for advertising and so on (and it’s a great way [...]

‘m not saying mentally disturbed people should go without therapy and medication when necessary, but it’s interesting to look at artists (Van Gogh for instance), writers, and public figures in the past who would today be forced to assimilate from their uniqueness into bland submission to the ordinary. Maybe we should search for a way to keep the extraordinary while seeking to heal.

Food is, of course, the most basic of our needs beyond water and air (and toilet paper!). Isn’t it funny how we take these simple things for granted? You breathe in and out, you pull on the roll, you turn on the tap, you pop a Lean Cuisine into the microwave, or answer, “Yes”, to “Fries with that?” Easy, automatic, instant. But of course, it’s not. All of these things, with the exception of air, require a complicated combination of infrastructure and workforce to get to us. We only think about it when the system breaks down (imagine a toilet paper factory worker’s strike!), or when we pay our bills.

A Million Little Pieces by James FreyI found this book at the free store and almost didn’t take it. It looked kind of cool, a hand with candy sprinkles all over it. But the description, about a man with an addiction who goes through rehab didn’t sound that exciting. I’ve read a few of those, [...]

Midwives by Chris BohjalianI’m always interested when I see an “Oprah’s Book Club” seal on a novel, and I’ve never yet been disappointed. They are always haunting, thought-provoking, realistic stories. Once again, I was not disappointed.
The story is from the point of view of the 14 year old daughter (Connie) of a Vermont midwife [...]