Friday, May 30, 2008

american organic



Friday at the Riddle Homestead



Went to work(mandi)


Joey stayed home and built another garden box,


came home just in time for our 10 TONS of dirt being delivered


shoveled, shoveled and shoveled


hoe, hoe , hoed


and planted big tall tomato plants that Bruce and Kathy gave us. 2 brandywines, 2 borghese,

1 pineapple, and 1 lady bug. That should make for alot of perserving this fall. Joey picked up these tomato plants yesterday and got some strange looks riding through town.




We purchaced 10 tons of topsoil today from someone here in Elkins. We are going to build a few more garden boxes, our goal is to produce as much food from our yard that it will allow.



Grow your own!



oh yeah and I couldn't forget my buddies Karl and Lenny. Karl spent part of the afternoon bathing and lovin on Lenny.


Peace,

Mandi

Thursday, May 29, 2008

MTV's Aimee Allen, Ron Paul Anthem Music Video MUST SEE!!

Ron Paul truly is the last hope.

Ron Paul for the Long Haul

I don't care if you don't like hip hop the artist who has produced this song has definitly done his homework. Listen to the lyrics he is right on. All the canidates are pro war globalists who have sold there soles to the corporations. Theer is one exception though, RON PAUL.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

CRAZY JJ

Joey and I received this email today from JJ Ford:




Since I'm not riding my bike as much I thought I would pick up on my reading!

JJ
He also gave us an update yesterday on the prognosis for his wrist. He will going under the knife next week for surgery. Should take about six weeks and he will be all better. Sounds good.

Growing Your Own Food with David Wolfe

Flobots - Handlebars

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Food Matters Trailer

http://foodmatters.tv/trailer.html

take control of your own health! you don't have to be sick

peace,
mandi

Monday, May 26, 2008

Stay Strong Sammy


As most of you know fellow racer Benji Klimas' son Sammy was recently diagnosed with cancer. Please send the family your prayers and healing energy.
I'm lost for words. What a heart wrenching story. Please support the Klimas family in their time of need. A benefit dinner will be held at Black Bear Burritos. Even if you can't attend please buy a ticket just to support them.
Sammy progress can be found here. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sammyklimas
If you read their journal be prepared with a tissue, I know I needed one!
peace,
mandi

Happy Graduation JJ!



After the White Oak challenge this weekend, Joey and I headed over to JJ Ford's graduation party. He seemed to be in good spirits despite his injury's. He will be visiting a doc on Tuesday to hear the extent of his injuries.
peace,
mandi

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Rider down...

JJ Ford Circa 2001

Local junior expert single speed bike racing freak JJ Ford had a nasty crash Thursday evening. He went down on the road at 40+mph after inadvertently colliding with John Weber. John stayed upright JJ didn't. He hit the pavement hard rolled few times and slid to a stop. He suffered loads of road rash and he broke his wrist. To be exact he fractured his scaphoid bone a very slow healing bone that is located on top of the hand were it joins the wrist. It is the same bone I broke back in September on my left wrist.


Needless to say JJ is pretty bummed. He is a Senior in high school and this is his graduation weekend. He could defiantly use some well wishes. He can be reached at: jfsugar4@aol.com
Send him some words of encouragement and let him know his world his just beginning and he has plenty of years ahead of him.

peace, JOEY and Mandi

Where have we been...



The Crazy "Kids" playing on there "tree". Willy is now a two eyed kitty.

Sorry for the lack of real blogging lately we have been a little busy. We have been doing lots of gardening, building big wooden garden boxes which will be filled with dirt than filled with plants(food). We are going to have several tons of good nutrient rich dirt dumped in the backyard next week, I think it was like 13 tons. I am sick of mowing grass, if we are going to have a big yard I am going to use it for something useful. I bet you are asking yourself "I thought they were moving". Not any more. Nobody wants to by are dump and Mandi and I both want to stay in Elkins. So what am I going to do for work? I am going to open up a bike shop in my garage. Actually its already underway and taking shape nicely. At first it will just be a repair and accessories shop but I hope to later in the summer pick up a bike line and do some rentals. Joey's Bike Shop! Hows that sound. Pretty simple, I am JOEY and its my bike shop. There is defiantly a need for a shop here in Elkins at least a few months out of the year. Not sure what I will do in the winter but I am confident it will all work out.



In other news Tour-d-Lake went well. I finished third which was good enough for me. It wasn't the result that really made me feel good but the way raced. I rode strong from start to finish and the left side of my body didn't go numb like it had at Big Bear, that's a super good thing. Mandi finished second and also felt like she rode strong. Heading to the White Oak Challenge tomorrow. One of my favorite courses. Never finished worse than third there and that was the year my pedal fell off! Finally some nice racing weather, supposed to be 77 Sunday. Hot!!!



peace, JOEY.

Monday, May 19, 2008

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

Albert Einstein

Thursday, May 15, 2008





Peace

Armies do not bring peace or democracy or liberty. They only bring death, destruction and suffering. Please watch this video, shed a tear and then speak out to all your friends and families about the atrocites that are taking place all over the world.

May showers bring mud...


MOO...


Wow its been raining a lot lately. Trails that are never muddy around these parts are sloppy and boggy. Mandi and I both hate riding in rain so we don't. There is enough pretty days in a year to not have to ride in the rain. The last couple days we finally got in some good solid rides in between the showers. I believe we are going to participate in the Tour-de-Lake race this weekend in Spencer. The Charles Fork Lake course is definitely one of our favorites. Lots of singletrack there with plenty of climbing. Lets hope we have some racing legs this weekend or this may be our last race of the year.



peace, JOEY.

Lennys Dad?

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Supplement Awareness

I found this posted on raw cuisine and I just had to post it here.

From my friend Jane Slater:

‘Did you know that Monsanto own Solgar, and have done for the last 10 years? I knew something really weird was going on with vitamins and mineral supplements given all the terrible crap in them if they can’t poison you with the food then they will do it with supplements. It is is widespread.

For the first time I am beginning to feel really alarmed at the depth of it. Not only are all or 99% supplements I have found in shops in the UK synthetic which god knows what that does to you but there is evidence of some synthetic vitamins causing cancer ie b 12 and ascorbic acid blocking uptake of real vitamin C, but then there are the flowing agents of which there are many are all added such as magnesium stearate which destroys t cells (primary immune function), there is research somewhere if needed, I’m sure small amounts won’t harm but it is in all supplements and if you are doing a lot it is not good.

The two bigger companies whose supplements I know to be natural are Quantum RX and pure synergy ie vita synergy also harmonic innerprizes do some natural supplements, there is one other I can think of too but is not really a company very small supplement I haven’t got it to hand.’




Just because solgar vitamins are sold at your local health food store, don't think they are any different.

peace
mandi

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Grow your own...



With the rising cost of food and all the food shortages rumored to be happening all over the world it seemed like a good year to grow as much of our own food as possible. Besides you do not know what you are getting in the grocery store these days anyway. We try to buy as much organic as possible but living in a small town that's not always an option. Putting in even a small garden is lot of work. We have so far planted: several varieties of lettuce, squash, 56 green bean plants, potatoes, carrots, radishes, watermelons, a couple different types of peas, onions, more garlic, turnips, jalapeno peppers, broccoli and roma tomatoes. We started all the crops from organic heirloom seeds. The majority of the veggies are planted in a small garden in our backyard. We used some large flower boxes in our front yard for the green beans and the broccoli. We also have several red raspberry bushes we transplanted last year and a couple dozen strawberry plants. Mandi and I both really enjoy growing our own food. Hopefully all the hard work goes along way to sustaining us later in the summer.
Peace, JOEY.

Naomi Wolf Celebrated Author of

Please watch this interview with Naomi Wolf. Then pop on over to amazon.com and buy the book "The End of America". It should be manditory reading material for every American.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

We have been doing a little bit of riding and here are the pictures to prove it.






Introducing Willy...




Meet Willy the one eyed wonder cat. He found us the other day. He just kind of showed up on our doorstep and claimed our house as his home. We took him to the vet to make sure it was safe to introduce him to our stable of thoroughbred felines. His eye will be fixed soon and he will just be known as Willy. So where should we draw line? How many cats is to many? When our are neighbors going to start referring to us as the crazy cat people?

Sieze the Day - United States.

This is a very moving song. The USA needs a change and needs to go in a new direction. Not the direction the three stooges (Billary, Obama and Mc"insane") are wanting to take us in but a fresh new course. If you seriously want change google Ron Paul I think you will like his message and yes he is still running.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Corporate Fascism...

Does anyone else out there think that the following story is messed up. If you can't trust your preacher man who going to trust. I guarantee you that the pastors who are ratting on there parishioners are preachers at 501c3 churches. They are probably being paid for there info by the goverment.



New city program urges clergy to help turn in lawbreakers
By DANA DiFILIPPO
Philadelphia Daily News

difilid@phillynews.com 215-854-5934

Sorry sinners looking for forgiveness can now get more than just words of wisdom from their pastors, rabbis or imams.
They can get a ride to the police station to turn themselves in.

City officials launched the "Peaceful Surrender" program yesterday, in which they exhorted city clergy members to help authorities bring in nearly 68,000 people who have outstanding warrants.

"We want you to utilize the respect that you have in the community and your powers of persuasion to allow us to access folks in a different way," Mayor Nutter told about 150 clergy members who gathered at a breakfast in West Philadelphia to learn about the initiative.

Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison suggested that their goal during the next year should be "a tithe" - 10 percent, or about 6,800, of those wanted.

Some clergy worried that the initiative might interfere with their role as spiritual advisers and their responsibility to guard their confessors' privacy.

But most applauded the initiative's intent. Many warmed to an "amnesty period" suggested by Judge Ronald B. Merriweather, a speaker at the breakfast. A majority - 38,000 - of warrants are for misdemeanor offenses.

"I got a van parked right outside; I can bring you 15 or 20 [wanted people] today," said the Rev. Jeffrey Pennington, of Bethyah Ministries, in Germantown. "But a great number of men in our ministry and homeless shelters are trying to turn their lives around, and they are afraid [of the criminal-justice system]."

Nutter and Gillison agreed to look into the amnesty suggestion. Still, they emphasized that the program's goal is not incarceration, especially in a city with woefully overcrowded prisons. Rather, some offenders can be better helped through job training and other rehabilitation services, Nutter said.

And the amnesty idea seemed at odds with one of Nutter's primary goals: Getting repeat offenders off the street.

"The recidivism rate in Philadelphia is 72 percent - it's the same small population committing the majority of the crimes," Nutter said. "Philadelphia must be a safer city. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, but we're going to do this."

Supporters praised the initiative as a surefire way to reduce violence for all involved.

"This will eliminate a potentially dangerous situation, not only for the suspect but for the suspect's family, the neighborhood and the police," said Paul Conway of the Defenders Association. "The clergy sometimes are the first responders when it comes to people in trouble, and when you're charged with a serious crime, you're in trouble."

Judges, police officials and representatives from the District Attorney's Office and the Defenders' Association also attended the breakfast.

The clergy presented former Daily News columnist Chuck Stone, to whom 74 thugs turned themselves in in the 1970s, with an award to thank him for being a "catalyst" and the inspiration for the "Peaceful Surrender" program.

Nutter and Police Commissioner Ramsey are expected today to announce details of a back-to-basics crime-fighting plan that will reassign more of the city's 6,600 officers from specialized units to general policing. *

Bet you didn't here about this on the news...

Stoppage anticipated, so few major disruptions reported
By Ronald W. Powell
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 2, 2008

Dole Fresh Fruit Co.'s San Diego operation reported a loss of $316,000 because of a work stoppage yesterday by West Coast dockworkers protesting the Iraq war.

PAUL CHINN / San Francisco Chronicle
Port workers took to the streets yesterday after blocking several entrances to the Port of Oakland. Dole's report of losses, mostly in bananas, was the only one disclosed by local companies in the daylong protest, which involved thousands of workers at 29 ports from San Diego to Seattle.

The work stoppage had a larger effect on ports in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland and Seattle, which are the primary gateways for container shipments from the Far East and other foreign ports.

While the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle about 40 percent of the nation's maritime cargo, San Diego is a niche port that offloads few goods shipped by boxcarlike containers.
In Seattle and San Francisco, dockworkers picketed and joined anti-war protests. Workers from San Diego, like their Port of Long Beach counterparts, did not picket or hold protests but were gathered in a meeting of International Longshore and Warehouse Union members.
The National Retail Federation and other large businesses said the May Day stoppage was anticipated and caused few major disruptions.

For Dole, the protest by 40 workers from the union's Local 29 idled trucks that usually make 75 to 80 trips transporting fruit from the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal in downtown San Diego.
A barge carrying lumber was not unloaded during the day at the 24th Street Marine Terminal in National City, but a port spokesman said dockworkers returned to the job at 6 p.m. and began unloading the lumber.

The two cargo terminals are operated by the San Diego Unified Port District, and port officials said they did not anticipate additional labor problems today.
The protest occurred as contract negotiations between the union and the Pacific Maritime Association are reaching a crucial point. The association saw the protest as a warning shot that more job actions could occur if a new contract is not signed before the current six-year pact expires July 1.

The association said the union defied the ruling of an independent arbitrator, who said last week that the union should fulfill its contract and report to work on May Day. Union heads said workers had the right to skip work to protest the war.
“Shutting down the ports in defiance of the contract and the arbitrator's order in no way benefits an already fragile U.S. economy,” said association spokesman Steve Getzug. “We have a lot of serious issues to resolve at the bargaining table, and the nation cannot afford uncertainty about the reliability of the West Coast ports.”

William Silva, president of Local 29 in San Diego, said the job action was about stopping the war – not getting a new contract.

“Today's action is not about leveraging negotiations at all,” Silva said. “We're supporting our soldiers in the Iraq war – period.”

Silva said that he does not believe the job action will strain relations with the Pacific Maritime Association and that he is optimistic a new contract will be signed before the current one expires.

Ninety fully registered union members unload cars, lumber, produce, newsprint and other goods at the San Diego Port District's two marine cargo terminals.
They also service ships at the port's cruise facility on San Diego's Embarcadero, but none docked yesterday.

The union's total work force of about 500 people also includes about 80 workers who are in the process of becoming fully registered, along with part-timers and others.
None worked the 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift yesterday. Work resumed when the second shift began at 6 p.m.

Hector Estrada, local supervisor for Long Beach-based RWA Trucking Co., said he had 10 drivers who could not pick up fruit and other produce from the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal.
“They don't work today, so I'm not working either,” Estrada said. “We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens.”

Vons, which has 279 stores in California and 21 in the Las Vegas area, relies heavily on ports for goods and merchandise. “We've had no notable impact,” said Daymond Rice, a company spokesman.

Popham said relations between the Port District and Local 29 have been good, and he believes that will not change because of the protest. In 2002, when longshore workers along the West Coast were locked out for 10 days during a contract dispute, local dockworkers stayed on the job, Popham said.

“They came under tremendous pressure and probably would have been forced to stop work had the lockout gone another day,” he said. “Our guys here have been tremendous.”