posted January 20, 2005 09:42 AM         

By the time that email goes around the world - it's probably always National Friendship Week, but hey, it's how it should be! I'm not sure if these are true facts, but would be cool if it was!

Here it is;

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools

and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

It's National Friendship Week. Send this to
everyone you consider A FRIEND.

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

posted January 20, 2005 10:03 AM         

Thanks for sharing, Sheaa!!!

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill

My only sketch, profile, of Heaven is a large blue sky... larger than the biggest I have seen in June- and in it are my friends- every one of them. Emily Dickinson

A true friend is one who hears and understands when you share your deepest feelings. He supports you when you are struggling; he corrects you, gently and with love, when you err; and he forgives you when you fail. A true friend prods you to personal growth, stretches you to your full potential. And most amazing of all, he celebrates your successes as if they were his own. Richard Exley

In friendship we find nothing false or insincere; everything is straightforward, and springs from the heart. Cicero

And the song, from beginning to end, I found in the heart of an old friend. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

posted January 20, 2005 10:21 AM         

Sun_Scorp - I've popped in to look at your zodiac pics BTW - very cool, purdy pictures!!

Quotes! I love quotes Ghani! I had an allergic reaction to penicillin once ~ I hope it was just a one off because it's so handy!!!

I'll be you're friend too Philly!

I haven't had a chance to look at the pics - hop - skippin and jumpin over there to have a look-see

------------------------------------
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

posted January 20, 2005 10:25 AM         

i love crystals and get a sense of serenity just looking at your photo.

posted January 20, 2005 10:34 AM         

It's outstanding!! I'd love that in my room.

I adore your slices of life it looks heavenly!

With the fish - I can't spot the crystal!!! Seriously though, which one do you have in the tank?

NOW the banana plant just brings back hilarious memories...

and ..

(Gotta go - back in an hour for the rest......)

posted January 20, 2005 11:59 AM         

Those aquafemina ones are adorable aren't they??

posted January 20, 2005 12:05 PM         

I showed this picture to a fellow bird lover at work who has an African Grey, an Amazon, and a Greater Sulpher Crested Cockatoo! (hope I spelt it right) and she loves your pics - she'd never heard of Goudian's before!

She asks -
1. are they Amazonian?
2. are they of different sex because of the different coloured heads?
3. and do they talk?

The crystals! Wow, what can I say? That photo is art within itself. It looks so very serene I can't wait to have a beautiful collection.

OH - guess what???

Someone told me my 'CITRINE' bracelet was reconstituted amber!!!? Apparently they can even mimick rutilated lines!

I hope it's not true - I'd be so annoyed. Maybe she's just jealous! haha

posted January 20, 2005 01:07 PM         

quote:

---

"Owwww! What's the matter with you, naughty."

---

I've sent Debs an email, so she'll get it when she's back in the office first thing tomorrow She's gonna show me some pics of her flock so I'll see if I can show upload them of they're electronic.

I hope the braclet's the real thing also! I will find out.

I'm off to the place I just moved out of to clean it with the guys before the landlord moves back in this weekend. Joy!

posted January 20, 2005 07:42 PM         

Amber, known and valued as a gemstone since at least Neolithic times, remains popular for jewellry to the present. Amber is a fossilized resin from various sorts of trees, mainly a species of pine or a legume. Amber is a soft, light stone, which as a poor heat conductor feels warm to the touch. It comes in a variety of colours, from pale yellow through orange to an almost opaque dark red, and can be clear, cloudy or opaque depending on bubbles, inclusions and flow planes. It can be dull or sparkly, depending on ploish or planes, and the surface can be dull, polished or iridescent depending on polish and impurities. Most if not all amber fluoresces under a black-light. It can be polished easily, because it is so soft; but it also wears easily for the same reason.

To scientists, amber is of particular interest because of inclusions. Amber is well known for preserving a variety of small creatures, ranging from micro-organisms to small lizards and frogs. Most often found are small flies, midges, gnats and the like, but beetles, spiders, moths and similar creatures are not uncommon. Plant debris is even more frequently found; one sort of debris characteristic of Baltic (See pictures) and related ambers is a sort of “hair” from male oak flowers, not often found in other varieties. Some of the fossils are of particular interest; the oldest known ants, for example, are found in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey and the Lebanon.

Amber is found in many places, and is constantly turning up in new areas. The two most common types are Baltic, from the shores of the Baltic Sea, and Dominican, (See pictures) from mines in the northern parts of the Dominican Republic. Other varieties, less frequently met with, are from Mexico (Chiapas province), (See pictures) Burma (Kachin State) (See pictures), Canada (Alberta), and the USA (Arkansas, New Jersey). Most other amber-producing sites are of no commercial importance, as their output is so small that such amber appears very rarely.

Amber varies widely in age. The newest is the semi-fossilzed resins known as “copal”, some of which is barely hardened; the oldest known amber is Carboniferous. The following table gives a few examples:

Many types of imitations have flooded the market since Roman times. Nowadays they fall into four categories: plastic, glass, semi-fossil resins (“copals”), and reconstituted amber. Glass is easy to detect, as it feels cold, is very hard, and is heavy. Copal is fairly easy to tell as it feels slightly sticky to the touch, and it is usually much paler than fossil amber. Plastics can be tricky; some of the books listed below describe the differences. Reconstituted amber is the most difficult, sometimes fooling experts; it is, after all, noting more than amber chips made into a large piece with a “filler”, usually melted copal or something similar. Like any other “collectible”, experience allows the collector to tell quickly what the novice can only determine “by the book”.

Amber nowadays is cheaper than it has ever been, and information regarding it has never been more available. We sell examples to fit all interests and budgets.
http://www.davesdowntoearthrockshop.com/images/amberdragon.jpg

posted January 22, 2006 12:19 PM         

Hey where is Philbird?! Philly sorry I missed your 'amber' post last year, I got it now, thank you

To friendship!!

*clinks glasses*