Out of His Shell

Frye boots, a Canon digital camera, a bat house, a blue bird house, and a turtle sculpture. What do they have in common? They're part of the great stuff I got for my birthday. The sculpture, pictured here, is made from recycled parts and a vintage WWII helmet. Our irrationally exuberant bobble-headed terrapin greets guests at our front door...

And now on a more GOOD PEOPLE CHANGING THE WORLD note: USA Today covers "giving circles," including Dining for Women, a powerfully successful group that started here, in my hometown:

A group called Dining for Women started in 2003 with 20 women in Greenville, S.C. They decided to meet once a month for a pot-luck dinner, pool the money they would have spent in a restaurant and give it to an organization that helps women and children in undeveloped countries. They raised $700 at the first meeting and sent it to Women for Women International. By 2005, they had formed a non-profit organization.

"We realized then that we had the support structure for other chapters in other places," said Marsha Wallace, president and one of the founders of the group.

Dining for Women has more than 90 chapters with about 2,200 members nationwide that raise $13,000 to $15,000 each month — all of which is donated to one organization designated for that month, Wallace said.