International Fame

Brian has been corresponding with a Belarussian brother in Christ, Alexander Z. In his last email he attached these photos of two supermarkets in Minsk. Funny! We can now add this to our collection of estates. Thanks Alexander!

Brassia

This is the new addition to my windowsill garden. What a beauty!




















My phal has bloomed again too! It has eleven buds, four of which have opened.

Battery Operated Plane

OKEGAWA, Japan (AFP) July 16, 2006- The world's first manned plane powered by conventional dry-cell batteries soared five meters (16 feet) above the ground in a demonstration flight. The glider-like plane with a single-seat gondola and a 31 meter (102 feet) wingspan was powered by 160 AA "Oxyride" batteries which have been produced by Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. since April 2004. It soared as high as 5.2 meters, stayed in the air for 59 seconds and covered a distance of 391 meters (428 yards) at a private airport owned by Honda Motor Co. Kamiya weighs 53 kilograms (117 pounds), almost as much as the plane itself. Sunday's flight was the first in the presence of officials from the Japan Aeronautic Association. "This was officially the world's first manned flight powered by dry-cell batteries," Zushi said. The Oxyride battery is a long-lasting battery said to be 1.5 times as powerful as a regular alkaline battery.

Cave Hill Cemetery

We drove through Cave Hill Cemetery this morning after church. We were surprised when we came upon this grave site; supposedly Sander's daughter created this sculpture of the Colonel. I will try to go back and take more pictures from this cemetery, the stones are quite elaborate.

It Is Finished

Brian finished his Greek class today with a thumbs up from his professor! He is so glad it is over. Below is a picture of his class. The guy to Brian's right is our new neighbor across the hall, Chad. The writing on the board says 'It is Finished' in Greek.

World Cup

I didn't watch any of the world cup - but lots of other people did. Italy's Materazzi must have said something seriously disturbing to France's Zidane in order for him to react the way he did. Watch the clip below to see why France lost the World Cup.

Mr Grass Head

VBS starts next Monday, I am looking forward to it. The theme of our week is 'Things Hidden'. Each lesson will be from one of the parables - with a corresponding craft. I am responsible for creating the craft for the Sower and the Seed lesson (Luke 8:4-15, Mark 4:3-9 or Matthew 13:3-9). We are going to make grass heads, and I sure hope they grow. Here are a couple of pictures of what they should/might look like.












Here is mine, undecorated. I am hoping it will sprout a little by mid-next week.














Here are a couple of impressive grass heads in England.

Real Simple Ideas

These are all ideas from my favorite magazine Real Simple.

New Uses for Mismatched Dishware: Transform neglected dinnerware from useless to useful in a few easy steps

Steel This Idea
Turn a baking sheet into a magnetic task board by setting it inside a 16-inch plate hanger mounted to the wall. Make sure the sheet is magnetic — so good ideas will stick.














Au Bon Pan
Let them eat cake…then use the covered sheet pan to store stationery or other items that might get crumpled in a drawer.














Toast of the Room
If you find yourself with a mismatched collection or without bubbly, flip thick-walled Champagne flutes upside down to create a beautiful grouping of candle stands for a shelf or a mantel. Use heavy wineglasses for table centerpieces, as the wider mouths will provide more stability to withstand bumping.