Christmas giving that keeps on giving

Christmas is fast approaching and I know lots of busy people are looking for that perfect last-minute gift or Secret Santa present.

How about a gift that's something more than just another fancy soap, box of candy, or plastic whatnot? How about a gift that really means something?

My favorite gifts for my online friends the last couple of years have been a Gift of Trees, a Share in a Knitting Basket, or a Flock of Ducks, given to a family in poverty in the name of the recipient through Heifer International.

The cool thing about Heifer is that part of the deal of receiving animals through them is that the recipients have to pass the gift along to another needy family. A Heifer gift is truly a gift that keeps on giving!

I'm baaack...

This unannounced hiatus was due to getting totally busy writing my dissertation and taking up a new job, as well as all the paperwork involved in taking a new job, being a grad student, etc. etc.

It's finally Christmas break, the dissertation is this close to being finished, and I have some time to myself once again.

Of course in all this busy-ness, the garden has been neglected. There are still leaves to rake and shrubs to trim, weeds to pull -- and it's raining, raining, raining. Bleah.