This is Eliana after she figured out how to open the screen door by herself.  I think she's checking to see if anyone is going to stop her daring escape.

The picture is unrelated to the rest of my post.  But if I don't include a picture, who will read it? Now, on to the real topic(s).

Windows 7 has this great feature called Sticky Notes. Now I'm just a few taps and clicks away from capturing anything that strikes my fancy. The question is, then what? My sticky notes are taking over. So in order to declutter, I bring you random quotes:

A natural solution for teething: For general discomfort you can use one drop of clove oil in 25ml of pure grapeseed oil. Keep this in the fridge and rub a little on the gums at three hourly intervals. (an email from the Simons) 

feel the sunlight.

let it warm your heart.
listen as it tells the story
of hope that comes,
radiant,
shining its warmth
on everything.
(our very own Stephanie Griggs)

To isolate ourselves and live in an individual bubble or even a community bubble is to miss entirely the plan that God has for us as believers.(from Tikkun's newsletter)

With a true friend, one can negotiate a path through the most intense circumstances. The foundation of love and concern for the other partner is strong enough to maintain the structure of the ever challenged and evolving friendship throughout the years. (also from Tikkun)

With the Goldstone-Tomuschat and flotilla resolutions, the Human Rights Council maintained its record of having adopted more resolutions and decisions condemning Israel than all other 191 U.N. states combined. (from an email article from a family friend)

Some 93.5 percent of Americans believe that the US should be concerned about Israel's security. Whereas the Obama administration is unconvinced that the Palestinians need to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, 77% of Americans believe that they must do so. Only 6% of Americans believe the Palestinians shouldn't recognize Israel. And not only do Americans support Israel, they expect their leaders to support Israel as well. Some 50.9% of Americans are more likely to vote for a staunchly pro-Israel candidate, and only 25.2% are less likely to do so. Fifty-three percent of Americans say they could not vote for an anti- Israel candidate even if they agreed with the candidate's positions on most other issues. As for Obama's treatment of Israel, some 42.7% of Americans believe that the president's Middle East policies harm Israel's security, and only 29.6% believe that they are improving Israel's security situation. Some 51.6% of Americans believe that Obama is less friendly towards Israel than his predecessors have been. Only 35.4% believe that he is as friendly towards Israel as his predecessors were. No less noteworthy than the poll's exposure of the massive support Israel enjoys from the American people is what it tells us about the relative strength and weakness of that support along the partisan and ideological divide. As the Emergency Committee for Israel's Chairman Bill Kristol summarized the poll's findings in The Weekly Standard, 69% of Republicans are more likely to vote for a pro-Israel candidate, while only 40% of Democrats are. Furthermore, a mere 15% of Republicans are less likely to vote for a pro-Israel candidate while 33% of Democrats are less likely to vote for a candidate who strongly supports Israel. (from http://www.carolineglick.com/e/ - if you don't read Caroline Glick's articles here or on JPost, you should)

And while the other notes will probably now be cleared from my desktop, this traditional Jewish  condolence will remain:

"May the L-rd comfort you with all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."