In this issue ...

• The Argentine Chapter
• Australian Report
• Bigsis Pat Journal
• Bragging Rights
• Planet Kryzys
• Book Reviews
• Canadian 'Eh
• Coffee & Chat
• Common Expressions
• Craft Corner
• Did You Know?
• Fun
• Gardening
• Geek's Corner
• Helpful Hints
• History Files
• Meeting People on the Internet
• Messages from Members
• In The News
• The Sky is the Limit
  
• Pet of the Week
• Prayer Requests
• Planet Kryzys
• Recipes
• Something to Think About
• Street Art
• WWWCOF Aimoo Communication Centre

If you are looking for a gentle charming library book, (no bedroom scenes) this one will suit you.
Review
What was initially a lovely little romance set on the rural Scots border is now a fascinating view into the just-post-WWII culture and mores of a Scotland that feels more like the 19th century than the 20th in many ways.
Rationing was still in force, and very strict, so that "petrol" is extremely scarce and even in hilly Scotland people walk and ride bicycles. Even on the best-run farm in the area they're mostly eating fish and rabbits they catch. It is illegal to kill and eat one of your own sheep, or to use grain to feed chickens, and difficult-to-obtain government permission is required for any home improvements. But ife is gracious, with servants, music, and great beauty all around them. There are many words and expressions I'd never heard, like hirsel and byre. The social mores also seem more to reflect a time when women's education was still a bit random, and chaperonage moderately important. The book is beautifully and simply written, the characters charming, and the window into a distinct and now disappeared time is fascinating.

Hi Everyone: We have our very own private and special chat room on Aimoo. I look forward to chatting with you on there. It is available 24/7 but you must be a member of the WWWCOF Forum on Aimoo to access it.

Daily scheduled chats have been set up for the following time each day.

• 4:00 pm Eastern Standard time
• 1:00 pm Pacific Standard
• 5:00 pm Argentina
• 9:00 pm in Great Britain.
• 7:00 am NSW, Australia. DST (the next day)

Remember to log in to access the chat room!

Coffee & Chat
World Current Times & Time Zones

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.
As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio.
I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.
They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful.
But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten.
And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.
How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car?
But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.
A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.
So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive.
You care less about what other people think.
I don't question myself anymore.
I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old.
It has set me free.
I like the person I have become.
I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

Charla, from Florida, USA.

Geek's Corner

The Circle's Computer help site has many useful tips and advise on getting the most from your computer:
Alphalist There are an incredible number of useful articles there to help you get the best from your computer or put things right that aren't working too well. Perhaps you also know of some trick we could all use, so send it in and get it added.

How your computer keyboard can leave you with a Qwerty tummy. Computer keyboards can harbour more bacteria than a lavatory seat, due to which many users are at risk of becoming ill with stomach bugs, especially in work places and offices. One keyboard tested in a London office had 150 times the acceptable limit for bacteria and 5 times as filthy as a typical lavatory seat.
Anyone who eats a sandwich or piece of fruit after tapping on such a keyboard can pick up a bacteria that could lead to a qwerty stomach upset� named after the first 6 letters on a keyboard. Most people don't think much of the grime that builds up on their PC, and often eat lunch or snacks while working on it, though they would never do that from a lavatory seat.
It is recommended that users give their keyboard and mouse a regular clean by unplugging them and wipe with a damp soft lint-free cloth, and turned up side down and shaken. Just try that a see what you get in crumbs and dust!!

I wish all of you a VERY HAPPY WEEK and I would love to hear from you with your comments and suggestions about the WWWCOF sites that I manage for the group. Daphne from Argentina

Our Furry / Feathery Friends in the Spotlight

Get your pet stories in as soon as possible as we can't wait to read them.

Hoping you have a Great week and weekend. Miz Jami from Maryland, USA

Common Expressions - Origin & Meaning

Hobson's choice

Meaning

No real choice at all - the only options being to either accept or refuse the offer that is given to you.

Origin

There is a story that 'Hobson's choice' comes from a Mr. Hobson who hired out horses and gave his customers no choice as to which horse they could take. This has all the credentials of a 'folk etymology' myth but, in this case, the derivation is correct.

A search of Google will return several thousand hits for 'Hobbesian choice'. The mistaken uses of that phrase, in place of the correct 'Hobson's choice', originate from a confusion between the celebrated philosopher Thomas Hobbes and the obscure Thomas Hobson, to whom the phrase refers.

Thomas Hobson (1545–1631) ran a thriving carrier and horse rental business in Cambridge, England, around the turn of the 17th century. Hobson rented out horses, mainly to Cambridge University students, but refused to hire them out other than in the order he chose. The choice his customers were given was 'this or none'; quite literally, Hobson's choice.

The phrase was already being described as proverbial less than thirty years after Hobson's death. The Quaker scholar Samuel Fisher referred to the phrase in his religious text, The Rustick's Alarm to the Rabbies, 1660:

"If in this Case there be no other (as the Proverb is) then Hobson's choice ... which is, chuse whether you will have this or none."

The Spectator, No. 509, 1712, explains how Hobson did business, which shows clearly how the phrase came into being:

"He lived in Cambridge, and observing that the Scholars rid hard, his manner was to keep a large Stable of Horses, ... when a Man came for a Horse, he was led into the Stable, where there was great Choice, but he obliged him to take the Horse which stood next to the Stable-Door; so that every Customer was alike well served according."

After his death in 1631, Hobson was remembered in verse by no less a figure than John Milton, saying "He had bin an immortall Carrier". That seems rather a strange thing to say just after he had died. Eighty-six was a very good innings in the 17th century, but hardly immortality.

The phrase was still well enough known in the 20th century for 'hobsons' to be adopted then as Cockney rhyming slang for 'voice'.

The most celebrated application of Hobson's choice in the 20th century was Henry Ford's offer of the Model-T Ford in 'any colour you like, so long as it's black'.

Trivia Quiz Game

Have you started playing our Trivia Quiz Game yet which is hosted by Aussie Jeanette. Go on try it ... it is fun!

Fresh recipes and Recipe links are continually being added to our Circle's very own unique cookbook World Recipes where I have just added some 50 more recipes sent in by members of WWWCOF. There are several "cookbooks" in there, General, Regional/seasonal, Mexican, Oriental, and within those, recipes set out in many categories. If your recipe isn't in there I will be happy to add it for you. It has its very own search engine, so you can find things according to ingredient, origin, category etc.

THIS WEEK I CONTINUE WITH OUR EASTER RECIPES. We have several in our cookbook, and there is room for many more, if anyone has any for us to add.
As always, the selection comes from different parts of the world, this one is from Spain
WWWCOF Seasonal Regional Favourites
Lamb With Dried Fruits
Yield: 6 Servings Preparation Time: 2:00
An Easter dish from Spain. presented by Romina

• 2 Kg Tender Lamb, Deboned
• 2 Onions, Medium, Chopped
• 500grs Prunes
• 200grs Almonds
• 150 Grs Olive Oil
• 1 Stick Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon powder
• 2 Teaspoon Sesame Seeds
• 4 Tablespoon Money
• Salt & Pepper, To Taste

• 1 lb (450g) strong white bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon SALT
• 2 oz (50g) butter
• 1 sachet fast action yeast
• 2 oz (50g) caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 oz (75g) sultanas
• 2 oz (50g) currants
• 1 egg, beaten with enough milk to make 1/4 pint
• 1/2 pint (150ml) warm water
• For The Glace
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Water

This chocolate Know how comes from Australia:
This week: Chocolate

Chocolate know-how from BH&G-Australia

Store all unopened chocolate in a cool dry place. In summer store in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before using. A radical change in temperature or a change in sugar chemistry may produce a white 'bloom' on the surface, but this does not affect the chocolate, only the look of it.

Wrapped in foil or cling wrap, most chocolate keeps for several months even opened. You can freeze it for six months (but remember to label it with a date). Stale chocolate is dry and may have a bloom, so taste test it before using.

To assist chocolate in staying smooth and shiny, stir in solid vegetable shortening as directed in the recipe. Do not stir in butter, margarine, vegetable oil spreads or oil. Butter, margarine and spreads all contain water that will cause chocolate to tighten and become stiff and grainy. Do not use oil because this may prevent the chocolate mixture from setting up, or becoming firm again. This is especially important if the mixture is being used for a glaze.

• If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.
• Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
• The problem:
  How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in hot car.
  The solution:
• Diet tip:
  Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.
• A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?
• If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer.
  But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?
• If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge.
  Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.
• If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet?
  Don't they actually counteract each other?
• Money talks. Chocolate sings.
• Chocolate has many preserves.
  Preserves make you look younger.
• Q. Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous?
  A. Because no one wants to quit.
• If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated.
• I'd give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter!!! Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

Daphne

Everyone can use a prayer! Please click on the image above to see the brand new Prayer Requests Page

Please email Charla, from Florida, USA with any Praises, Requests and/or UPDATES Thank you. May God Bless Each One and Have a Great Week!

Jeanette from the Land Down Under's roses.

Looking for your gardening stories!

Have you tried a new craft lately? Tell us about it!

Aussie Jan. who is our Manager of the craft site so do be sure to send any ideas or projects her way.

Planet Kryzys

Our planet awareness site, Planet Kryzys has many interesting stories of different aspects of a planet under Crisis. Do please take a moment to visit it and maybe it will remind you that YOUR area has something interesting to offer the rest of the world.

Last week we spoke about trees in general and their benefits to man in many ways . This week we are going to start looking at some unusual trees around the world
Scientists are baffled by sudden decline of Aspen in the Rockies. There is something doleful about the whispering of the white barked Aspen trees that carpet the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. It is a sound of sickness and death. Scientists believe that up and down the mountain chain, the Aspen trees are beginning to vanish. As many as 10% have died or are ailing in parts of Arizona, Colorado and Utah according to the surveys. In parts of Alberta Canada, about 30% of the trees have died in 5 years. The greatest problem is that they are not sure what is affecting the trees. Researchers are focusing on the unusual reproductive system of the Aspen. Instead of distributing seeds, the trees sit upon hugely complex root systems. As older trees die, the roots send up shoots which become saplings, and these shoots are not appearing in the areas where the trees are in trouble.
One possibility could be the presence of a previously undetected fungus. Recent periods of drought in the American west, could be to blame, as well as the eating of the shoots by herds of elk, or human interference from forest fires. Caterpillars are also thought to be responsible.

This article sent in by Sylvia from Dorset, UK

There are several stories in there about trees from different parts of the world. Do send in your stories , please!!!
I would also like some information on National/State/ or Provincial Parks members have visited or have within visiting distance from their home, to add to the parks section of the site
Daphne from Argentina

Have a wonderful Easter weekend. I hope to be chatting with you on Aimoo soon and I would like to leave you with a Happy Easter Greeting from my home to yours!