Ginny Diezel Studios

I wouldn’t be true to myself, and to my son, if I didn’t post something about show biz and upcoming awards for film.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know about my son, Matthew, and his fiancee, Joan, and their careers in Hollywood in the film industry.  Well, critics and award nomination associations are beginning the annual rites for the season, and this morning, the Golden Globes announced their offerings.  Follow the link and catch up on all the buzz!  Enjoy!  And, there’s George Clooney!!!!!!!!!!!!    Yay!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I came across this interesting article online and thought you might enjoy reading.   Have a peaceful, quiet day, and reflect on the true meaning of this day.  Although I am a Christmas lover at heart, Thanksgiving has always had a special significance for me because there is no runup to it with vast amounts of pre-holiday hype.  It is a time for family and being grateful for what you do have.  Today, and every day, I am thankful for my family, my friends, and my health.  I hope you feel the same way!

I hope that my previous entry stirs a lot of you to think about the state of health care in this country.  I have had two responses so far, and I have replied to a lengthy one.  I encourage everyone to THINK!  What do we want as a nation?  Do we want to continue to pour money into a broken system or do we want to begin to make real change?  I have no silver bullet for the solution, but if we do nothing, I feel we are doomed.  Please read the comments from my previous entry and let me hear from you!    G.

Where do I come in the debate about health care?  Firmly on the side of everyone in this country having it.  I believe it is a national shame that we have 45 million people without health care.  There are many nations ahead of us who devote part of their national revenues for this very purpose.  Please don’t get me started on some of the stories people sling about long lines, not getting care, not getting operations, etc.  Because they live in Canada or England or France.  Just read this story about medical care in this country - a two-door policy for those who have insurance and those who don’t. Good grief! How elitist; how demeaning!

Imagine that you are someone without care, or perhaps you already are.  This is a situation which I find intolerable and steps must be taken to change.  Change, yes, is always difficult.   I have long since grown tired of the feeling which seems to exist with some individuals that they have what they want and need, and it’s just too bad if others don’t.  I don’t believe we are in this life to take and take.  LIfe is so much more than acquisition.  You can live on little - I know, because I have in my lifetime.  I am fortunate today to have what I need, without extravagance.  My parents brought me up with the belief that we help, not hinder, one another.  I think they had the right idea.

OK, another soapbox day for me.  We received a letter in the mail a couple of days ago, and then I read this article on my homepage this morning.  My husband and I have flawless credit - we always pay our bills on time, don’t carry any debt on credit cards.  Well, it seems that we and others like us are being punished for not providing banks a way to charge us for something.  So, annual fees are perhaps going to be exacted upon us weary taxpayers who have played by the rules and met our obligations.  Follow this link to the article, and if it affects you the same way it has affected me - SPEAK OUT!  The big banks will find out that we won’t take it anymore if we let them know.  Haven’t we all had enough????????

OK - not my choice of words.  I would use pumpkin goop, but whatever you choose to call it,  here’s a handy and informative article I found online today.

Follow this link to find out what to do with all of that stuff inside the pumpkin - you know, the pulp, the seeds, etc.  And, you’ll find out how really nutritious it is for you.  Here’s a hint from little old me - every morning, I cook oatmeal.  Now, this is not the handy dandy packaged stuff.   Get the oats in the big containers, please!  Cook according to your directions, and I always use milk!  Then, when you remove it from the heating surface, stir in some brown sugar, cinnamon, and about three tablespoons of canned pumpkin which you can get all through the year in your grocery store.   (Store the remainder of the pumpkin in a container in the  refrigerator.)  Voila!  It’s as if you were having a slice of pumpkin pie every day!  Yummy! And there is a giganto amount of Vitamin A in pumpkin.  I have not had a cold or anything like it in many, many years - great antioxidant!  I guarantee it is a healthy, tasty way to begin your day, and it is the sort of meal which sticks with you for hours.  I don’t get hungry mid-morning.  There are times when I even go way past the normal lunchtime, because I am busily creating, and my stomach isn’t telling me to eat!   That’s a major accomplishment for me!  Hope you find some useful tips from the article, and that you try out my breakfast suggestion!  Enjoy!

OK, today is one of those days when I have to get out my soapbox and climb aboard.  I read, with disgust, about the size 4 model who has been fired because she no longer fits into the clothing which she is to model!  PULLEEEZZZE!  She happens to be 5′ 10″ tall, and weighs 120 pounds!  I don’t know about the rest of you, but the last time I was a size 4, I was probably in the womb!

Take a look at this link, and think about what this says about women, about pr, about self-image, about the emphasis to be shaped like a twig.  Success in life is not determined by the label in your collar, or in your waistband.  Success, in my opinion, comes from contentment with yourself, contentment in your own skin.  if you have that, you can achieve whatever your heart desires!

I bet you were thinking that it is someone who is 50 years old!  Well, no…….this is an article which was on my msn homepage this morning.  It has 50 ideas for re-purposing items - the green and recycling thing which we all need to be doing.  Anyway, there are some neato ideas here,and  some which are sort of borderline for me.  Take a look by following this link to the story!  Enjoy!  Let me know what you think!

As I was reading news on my homepage this morning, I came across this interesting article.  Are you up to this challenge?  Can you do a no-spend month?  Read here and find out why this is interesting!

From time to time, I post stories from the news which I believe are inspirations to all of us.  Today, I am writing about a wonderful 100-year-old British gentleman, Sir Nicholas Winton, and his courageous efforts to save children at the beginning of World War II.

At the end of the summer of 1939, 669 mostly Jewish children were boarding trains in Prague’s Wilson  Station, headed for safety in England.  Today, in London’s Liverpool Station, Sir Nicholas greeted 22 Holocaust survivors who had recreated their journeys of 70 years ago.

This is a story for the ages.  It illustrates one of my most basic beliefs:  one person always has, always can, and always will make a difference.  Read about this most miraculous effort by following this link to the story which aired on ABC World News this evening.  It will warm your heart, perhaps make you cry, and surely will reinforce the truth that there is much good in this world.

We can all be part of something greater than ourselves.  We can begin in our own communities - what a wonderful world this can be!