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September 25th, 2008
September 23rd, 2008
Here is a very interesting organization that I’m sure many of you have heard about—for those of you who haven’t, please read on… With all the world’s problems and equally as many ways to help, many wonder how they can truly make a difference. What charities will put contributions to work effectively? Will most go to those who need it or to administrative costs and elsewhere? Well, through Kiva.org, the brainchild of San Francisco couple Matt and Jessica Flannery, it is possible to dramatically change the life of someone in need in another part of the world and help them lift themselves out of poverty. Serving as the middleman between lenders (you and me) and “field partners” (international organizations who work in low-income communities to reduce poverty and help find working capital for low-income entrepreneurs) Kiva is a person-to-person micro-lending website that lets you lend money to the world’s working poor. Simply browse the profiles of people in need of funding for their ventures, choose who you would like to fund, then lend them as little as $25 or as much as the full amount needed. The usual course of a loan is 6 to 12 months and while Kiva makes no guarantee that a loan will be repaid, the default rate is only 2.3% for ended loans worth over $17 million. (See Kiva’s Risk and Due Diligence page.) When your loan is repaid, you can choose to “recycle” your money by re-loaning to another entrepreneur. Very cool! I have wanted to join Kiva but just haven’t taken the time. (I failed to mention that I’m an excellent procrastinator!) The time is now! Want to join me? I plan to post updates of my experience and would love to hear of your experience too. Listen to a more detailed explanation here:
September 22nd, 2008
I couldn’t resist snapping these delightful dahlias although a bit tattered and brown. Nearing the end of their lives, they are still quite beautiful. Not being an expert in dahlias, I couldn’t identify these by variety, hence salmon, white and raspberry/white—colors I can handle! Just a bit of background on dahlias: Late-summer and fall flowers, dahlias come in a wide variety of types, colors and sizes and are known for their vivid colors and showy blooms ranging from small pompom to huge “dinner plate” sizes. Originating in Central America, there is evidence that the dahlia was used to treat epilepsy in the 16th century. A few hundred years ago Spanish explorers brought the plant tubers to Europe and at the Madrid Botanical Gardens the genus “Dahlia” was named for Andreas Dahl, a swedish botanist. A friend of mine is so into dahlias that she is a long-time member of the National Capital Dahlia Society. If you’re interested in finding out more about dahlias or a dahlia society near you check out the American Dahlia Society.
September 20th, 2008
This was taken in the backyard garden of the historical Clark House in Annandale, Virginia, built by William Lee Clark in 1902. Once a large dairy farm that operated for 50 years, the Victorian farmhouse now sits atop the hill, alone in a sense, reigning not over rolling farmland and grazing cows, but over a townhouse development, a busy shopping mall and continuous traffic on the busy pike on which it borders. The best that can be said is that the county recognized its historical value and, for the most part (the interior is heavily modernized) restored the structure, if only for the purpose of catering to wedding parties and corporate functions. A compromise, I suppose.
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