There is a program in California titled, "Every Woman Counts" wherein low-income women can receive free breast exams, pelvic exams, mammograms and pap smears. When you call the 800 number (below) they'll ask you a series of questions to determine whether or not you qualify. Once they've determined eligibility they give you the name of local providers who accept patients under this program. You can then call one of the numbers and make an appointment. The doctor will give you a breast and pelvic exam and then refer you to a provider for a mammogram and pap smear. This is all FREE. Here's the phone #:

1-800-511-2300

LTH

Stationary clotheslines take up a lot of room in a yard and when yours is the size of a postage stamp, as mine is, you don't have the room to spare. I happened to be at my locally-owned hardware store shopping for something else and came across a retractable, 5-line clothesline and bought it. Took about 20 minutes to set up but it's just THE coolest thing! And if you're wondering, no, I don't own stock in the company I just wanted to share this with others who might not know this option is out there.

I'm graphically-challenged and all I could manage to muster is this link on Amazon as to what it looks like and how it works. Anyway, someone out there may find the information useful.

http://www.amazon.com/Household-Essentials-Retractable-Outdoor-Clothes/dp/B0000BYDEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340714943&sr=8-1&keywords=retractable+clothes+lines

LTH

I've dipped my toe in the water once or twice at a couple of consignment shops and at one craft fair in which I shared a booth with someone else. Neither was very lucrative (consignment shop sold nothing in 6 months).

I micro-macrame and I've been doing it for about 40 years. People have bought things from me (mostly jewelry) as I have pieces displayed in my family room and I've received excellent feedback. I place First at our County Fair nearly every year. Unfortunately, when people think macrame they think of the owls and other clunky stuff made back in the '70's. My stuff isn't anything like that. I've studied knots and knot-tying from all over the world and incorporate them into my work. I don't use a lot of beads as I think the focus should be on the knots and not the bead work (different art medium). But I digress.

I'd like to know how other artists sell their stuff. I looked at Etsy but there are hundreds of pages under the heading "macrame" which makes me wonder if I'll be on page 439 which means no one will ever see it. If you've had experience with Etsy I'd sure appreciate your insights.

I've looked into Craft Fairs and found that some are better than others. The problem is the up-front cost in the pagoda, the display cases, the sight fee plus the cost of travel. I have virtually zero money to work with. It's only because I've purchased so much stuff over the years that I've been able to produce works with just the materials I have. Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated.

The only other thing I've been considering is placing things on consignment but the stores want 50% and that seems REALLY steep. I appreciate that they are lending me counter/wall space for no cost but it's disheartening when a $20.00 pair of earrings earns me only $10.00 it's a little disheartening.

Anyway, I sure would appreciate your feedback. Perhaps others are wondering the same thing and we can all learn together.

Thanks,

LTH

WASHINGTON -- The White House on Wednesday named Del Rey farmer and writer David Mas Masumoto to the National Council on the Arts, a prestigious position that combines high honors with some good, honest work.

Author of "Epitaph for a Peach," Masumoto will be joining other top authors, musicians and visual artists in advising the National Endowment for the Arts. Among other things, he'll have the ear of the agency that until now has only rarely focused on the San Joaquin Valley.

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Masumoto, 58, grows peaches, nectarines, grapes and raisins. During the off-seasons, he has authored multiple books, written columns for The Bee and garnered awards from the likes of the Commonwealth Club and the University of California at Davis. He has also served as chair of the California Council for the Humanities.

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http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/06/20/2881275/david-mas-masumoto-named-to-national.html


Glad to see another Central Valley resident gain national attention. Our own Audra McDonald recently won 5 Tony Awards as well.

He's baaaaaaack.

Cruz Bustamante's exploration of a political comeback, it seems, caught just about everyone in the central San Joaquin Valley -- even longtime friends and political supporters -- by surprise.

<snip>

There are also some political realities in the region that may give a well-known politician such as Bustamante a competitive edge -- even though he's been out of politics for six years and turned off many influential Democrats when he sought the Governor's Office in the 2003 recall election.

<snip>

On Tuesday, Bustamante confirmed that he is considering a run for the newly created district, which includes rural parts of southern and western Fresno County, all of Kings County, and parts of Tulare and Kern counties.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/02/24/2735648/bustamante-plans-for-policital.html#storylink=misearch

For background, he's got some pretty solid support among Hispanics in the Central Valley; however, the local Democrats remember how he helped win the election for Ahnie in 2003 and will not forgive him. Having said that, in that the Democrats aren't running anyone (so far) for the 21st, at least there would be an alternative for those who choose to forgive and forget.

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Did you know that most libraries now have e-books that you can check out? It's a good alternative for those who don't want to/can't afford to buy books. Granted, only a small part of their inventory will be available as e-books but a lot of the new books are included in that list. I just finished reading "The Help" as an e-book from the library. Additioally, most older classics are available for free download via Project Gutenberg.

Anyway, just an FYI post.

I was preparing a recipe that required Evaporated Milk (which I didn't have) and found this substitue. It worked great!

2/3 cups nonfat dry milk
¾ cups water

Mix together. Makes 1 cup