On Tuesday evening we hosted a backyard pizza party for my quilting group and their husbands. What fun. But of course there's lots of prep ahead of time.

Thats the secret to any successful party, plan ahead.

Just to tempt you--the openers included, twice baked potatoes, stuffed jalapeños, and chicken bits. Two salads--one a delicious pasta salad full of olives and roasted peppers-- the other a rather normal tossed one, but the dressing was special. Our pizza oven is wood burning which gives a lovely flavor to the food. I make up the sauces--fresh tomato and pesto ahead, and left overs freeze nicely. Toppings include--besides the cheeses--egg plant slices, onions, tomatoes, peppers, fresh herbs, olives, mushrooms and various meats. This lets everyone do their own--The secret to the dough is plenty of olive oil and ground black pepper!

the political atmosphere here in the region is tense. On BBC this morning saw President Bashar Assad of Syria speaking in an interview, he didn't mince any words! Also in the news we hear that it is taking two days for the Isareli government to discuss and come to a decision about easing (not lifting) the blockade (seige) of Gaza. Also my Inbox had a message from Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)which among other things mentioned the Gaza Flotilla. I am pasting my reaction here, as itwould not show up on his FACEBOOk page--too long? If you read this, I highly suggest you contact your local media--and object to at least the distortion of the facts--

I recently recieved Senator John Cornyn's (R-TX) regular update. He has a facebook page that only posts 'nice" things about him and you cannot write on his wall! so here I will put the portion he wrote about the Gaza Flotilla, and following my remarks. You can contact him directly, but you will only get a "form letter" in about 2 weeks. What's wrong with Washington? people like him!
Recently a group of extremists boarded a ship intended to provide humanitarian relief to citizens in Gaza and deliberately provoked a violent confrontation with the Israeli military. Unfortunately the United Nations has rushed to judgment and criticized Israel’s right to defend itself. Last week I introduced a resolution to express the sense of the Senate that Israel has an undeniable right to self-defense. It is important for Israel to know that the United States remains their strong and steadfast ally, and I’m hopeful my resolution will gain widespread, bipartisan support among my colleagues in the Senate.

This is a quote directly from Senator Cornyn's update. It is straight out of the AIPAC text book, and practically a verbatim quote from the Israeli propaganda machine. 1)the passengers on the ships embarked from Turkey and included many nationalities, including American (one of whom was killed by the "self-defending' Israeli military attackers. This attack is state-piracy as it occurred in international waters, the Israeli territorial waters do not extend 70 miles into the Mediterranean. But what does it matter? Israel practices state-terrorism on a regular basis against the Palestinians. Mr. Cornyn, get your facts not from AIPAC, but from a more balanced reporting--even Fox news is better!

And now we read reports that it is taking more than two days for the Israeli government to make a decision about easing the siege of Gaza.

Incidentally, it might be fair to say that grassroots support of Israel and their policies is waning. Other interesting items--is how much of your tax dollar goes to support the State of Israel? When it comes to budget cuts, it is American benefits--schools and other programs that suffer not the amount sent to Israel. It's time to complain about this--- they are not our friends, they are only interested in themselves.

So what else is new? This week end Ali is expected from Texas--with Laith. That will be fun.