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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Road Trip ~ Cliff Dwellings



The Manitou Cliff Dwellings was the first of our Summer Road Trips. 


The Manitou Cliff Dwellings are located west of Colorado Springs, Colorado. They are not indigenous to the area, but rather were moved there in the early 1900s by Virginia McClurg. 


Before 1906, there were no laws protecting Native American sites or artifacts. Looters and vandals would destroy ruins and mounds looking for artifacts to sell. Virginia wanted to preserve a small piece of Anasazi history from this fate. So, Virginia acquired the rights to a large 40 room ruin located in the Mesa Verde area of Colorado and had it shipped to its current location. The process of mapping the ruin, dis-assembly and re-assembly took 3 years. 



Unlike most other Native American historic sites, the public is allowed to wander throughout the Cliff Dwellings. When the ruins were reconstructed, concrete was used to hold the stones together instead of the adobe clay mortar that was used by the original builders. Walking between the rooms and climbing the ladders, one can almost feel the presence of the families that lived within these walls a 1000 years ago.



Many unique architectural features can be seen. The top photo shows what the underside of an upper story floor would have looked like. The balcony floor shown in a prior photo was made the same way.
And the window 'lattice' would keep kids in and critters out. Well, big critters anyway.


The stonework and engineering that it took to construct these amazing dwellings so many decades ago astounds visitors to this day. While the rooms may have been small, the views were large.



The top photo is of the Kiva. A kiva was the ceremonial center of the village.
The next photo is of a mano and metate - a stone implement which was used to grind corn into corn meal.


When the ruins were reconstructed, pieces of broken pottery were incorporated into the cement. The correct term for these pottery pieces is potsherd.


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Weird Wednesday ~ Fountain of Youth


Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a secret which vampires have known for centuries. That young blood rejuvenates. 
When older mice were infused with the blood of younger mice, the older mice grew more nerve cells in their brains and became more adept at navigating mazes.
This has huge implications for those who have Alzheimer's.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Cat Tales ~ Ninja


Guess Ninja School paid off!


Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

Thursday, May 15, 2014

De-cluttering Your Time


Earlier this year I wrote a few posts about Living Deliberately. Click Here to go to those posts!
I wrote about how clearing your house of material clutter can bring about many positive changes to one's life. Now I am writing about de-cluttering your time. Yes, our time can become cluttered. Soccer practice, swim lessons, club meetings. While all these activities can be fun on their own, when combined in a short time frame, they can be overwhelming.
Activities can sneak up on us. We have lots of free time, so we decide to take a few extra classes. Then we're ask to help out at school or take over a committee and before you know it, you meet yourself coming and going. 
Just like material objects, activities can pile up. Society, advertising and our culture are all guilty of convincing people that being busy is a sign of prosperity - just like they try to convince us that more stuff is better! We have been told (in a very subtle way) that we have a need for these activities so that we may define who we are. And rather than take a long hard look into ourselves, we buy into this myth. We are not defined by the groups we belong to, nor the classes we take, nor the positions we hold in a certain club. We are defined by our thoughts and actions. Something many people are afraid to confront. And the only way to do this soul searching is to have free time. 
Time clutter also prevents us from living and enjoying each and every moment. Something that is ever so fleeting. When we are busy, we are always thinking ahead to the next task. We feel we must rush through  this project - possibly causing us to not do our best - so that we might have time for the next one. When we rush, we fail to appreciate each moment for what it might bring. Opportunities may be overlooked. Precious moments are never seen. So slow down, take a deep breathe, and relax. Unplug for awhile and spend some (true) face time with your family. When was the last time everyone ate dinner around the table? And actually conversed with each other? 
Maybe it's time we all took a look at how we spend our time....
We are given only a certain amount of time. Use it wisely.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Weird Wednesday ~ Nerves of Steel



A team of Chinese biomedical engineers recently used a metal alloy to bridge the gap between severed sciatic nerves in frogs. The Tsinghua University Researchers identified a liquid metal alloy consisting of gallium-indium-selenium which is highly conductive and can transmit electrical signals just about as well as the nerve did before it had been severed. Utilizing this metal alloy will keep muscles active while nerves heal. The metal can easily be removed once the nerves have finished healing.

Click Here to read more!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Cat Tales ~ Cats = Fairies




Mommy was reading blogs the other day and she came across a post about something that Me already knew. 
The Ancient Celts believed that Cats had their own Faery Court and their own magickal powers. And in Celtic Faery Tales, Cats were often a type of Faery. 
Me could've told her that! Me has Me's own court. And Me's the KING!

Click Here to Read Ravens Shire's Blog!

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez