Food dehydrator
One of my favorite kitchen appliances is my food dehydrator.
Need a healthy snack? Cut up some fruits and make whole-fruit leather. Apples, bananas, apricots, peaches, mangoes and pineapple make fantastic dried fruit. Or, if you want to treat your pooch, cut up some sweet potatoes, drizzle with Vitamin E oil, and you have fantastic, natural dog snacks.
St. Johns
Portland is known for its great neighborhoods. Annexed to the city in 1915, St. Johns still maintains a fierce character of its own, with a downtown of storefronts, coffee shops, restaurants and a fencing salon.
St. Johns bridge
Aside from the peaceful charm of the downtown, St. Johns is one of Portland’s most dramatic neighborhoods. It is one of the northernmost, bordered by the Columbia and Willamette rivers. And it boasts the fantastic, gothic-towered suspension bridge that provides a route to downtown Portland, and access to the also awesome Forrest Park.
Ashleigh Flynn
Ashleigh Flynn
I was reintroduced to a great musical artist tonight. Ashleigh Flynn was cruising around the venue with a little paper crown on her head, celebrating her girlfriend’s birthday, and talking with everyone. Her beautiful energy accompanied her on stage where she sang everything from Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” to “Let the Circle be Unbroken,” all of it in a big, beautiful, blusey, folkey voice.
You can check her out on her website, and if you like what you hear, vote for her to play as an artist at Lilith Fair. Just click the heart for “smashflynn.”
Top 100 Hubble images
Butterfly nebula
My daughter just got a birthday card from Grandpa with this image of a butterfly shaped nebula taken by the Hubble spacecraft. A beautiful birthplace of stars, it’s a work of art.
We’re actually putting it on the fridge.
You can download your own Hubble art online: Top 100 Hubble Images.
Cafe Give
Cafe Give
CafeGive provides a wonderful service. It brings together online shoppers with non-profits and everyone wins.
Shop online through their site, select a charity as a beneficiary and a portion of the proceeds from your purchases go to that charity.
Awesome.
Catalogue of Life
Catalogue of Life
The Catalogue of Life indexes 1.25 million known species and organisms on earth. It divides this massive list into 7 categories: animals, plants, fungi, protozoa, chromista, bacteria and viruses.
According to the website, the Catalogue of Life Special 2010 Edition “is the most complete and integrated species list known to man.”
Did you know there are over 5,700 species of dragonfly and damselfly? Or that there are nearly 27,000 species of orchid in the world?
Awesome stuff.
Dark Chocolate Acai
Dark chocolate acai
As if we need it, here’s yet another reason to eat chocolate.
The super antioxidant power of acai and blueberry rolled into a little ball and covered in dark chocolate.
Yum. Seriously.
You can find these little bits of heaven at Costco. Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai. Write it down.
Flip video camera
Flip Video Camera
We got a Flip video camera several months ago – a Mino HD. It fits in your purse (or your pocket), is very easy to use AND it comes with it’s own editing software – which is loaded on the camera so you can edit your movies on your computer or on grandma’s. LOVE it!
The flip part? It’s the built-in USB that flips out at the touch of a button. Plug and play anywhere.
Plus, it’s just fun to say flip. Flip. 
Farmers Insurance Call Center
I spent a little time at the Farmers Insurance call center in Hillsboro, Oregon, and was amazed at how hard they work to keep their workplace a positive place.
There’s an on-site gift shop filled with cheerful items like balloons, paper sunflowers, painted pots, butterfly magnets and more. And on the walls all around the building are huge motivational pictures, like this one:
If Walt Disney can start with $750 and go on to create a magical empire, anything’s possible, right? That’s a pretty great attitude to surround your employees with. Which makes the Farmers call center a pretty awesome place to be.
Teddy Patrick
Teddy Patrick, photo by Zachary Kaufman
My Costco shopping trip has many times been made more enjoyable by Teddy Patrick; so I wasn’t too surprised to find him as the focal point of an article in The Columbian this week praising his positive attitude and refreshing nature.
He smiles, he sings, he is genuinely warm and welcoming. Teddy is awesome.
Find out more about Teddy Patrick and you might just be enticed to take a trip to Costco to meet him.
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