Warnings, and more warnings,it never ends

My new issue of Mother Earth Living has a paragraph I want to share. " Watch out for Tertiary Butyhydroquinone. The preservative tertiary butyhydroquinone is a petroleum derived preservative, and a suspected carcinogen. The FDA allows TBHQ to compose no more than .02 percent of the total oils in a product. A good thing as ingesting a gram of this can cause nausea ,vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation and collapse. Ingesting 5 grams is deadly. It is sprayed on many processed foods including Cheeze-its, crackers and potato chips, pop tarts and most fast foods including chicken nuggets to extend shelf life. It is also found in some cosmetics. Hungry? Youch. If you have knoshed down a bag or box of this stuff then felt horrid, guess why? And on the news this week we found out that our toothpaste contains polyethylene. Which dentists say can cause all kinds of problems, tiny little beads of it get under your gum line and make all kinds of bad stuff happen. It is not biodegradable so is building up in rivers and streams. Crest will be removing it from their products by next year. Buy Brown, look for paper products like coffee filters, paper towels parchment paper and waxed paper that is brown, otherwise it has been bleached with chlorine, a product containing dioxins, which affect your immune system. endocrine system and nervous system. If you want sparkling dishes look for plant based products to wash them with. Most of the ones we use contain triclosan, which is a harmful antibacterial agent. Fill a shot glass with white vinegar and put in the rinse aid compartment of your dishwasher to make dishes super shiny. Anti bacterial anything is not a good thing to use, harms your immune system. We are still harvesting, pears are everywhere, neighbors, help yourselves. Spent Tuesday making more pear butter, sauce and a few cans of minted pears, cooked with Moroccan mint tea. Should be good with cottage cheese this winter. Still see tomatoes on son's plants up the mountain side, nice to still be eating fresh ones. I have a few in my garden, plus okra and now the chard is finally getting started, and looks like kale is pushing up. Hate to see the growing season end, we had a brief cool week but should warm up again next week. Winter is not my favorite season, not fond of cold since I am old now, my feet never get warm. Going to try a heater that should give 15 extra degrees to your room, two flower pots that fit inside each other, a nickel duct taped over the hole in the inside one, set over a glass meat loaf pan on a heat proof base, and a lit couple of tea lights candles inside. Folks who have tried it swear it works, and that 15 degrees would make a nice difference. This has been a great week, temperatures just right! Cool nights and just warm days, mid 70's. The low humidity has been great too, not sweating for a change. Best get moving, still a lot to get done tonight, and tomorrow I need to put in about 8 hours on my new job. Have a great week!

Ginger for joints, uses for salt, rambling on

This has been a sad week. The minister we had for almost 9 years has been having problems, he had a transplanted heart in 1988 and was in need of a valve replacement. So he went to Cleveland clinic to have some tests. Another case that makes me wonder about medical care, after the tests he died of a heart attack. I have a huge fear of doctors, they seem to be associated with bad endings. I will miss our pastor, he was a true Godly man, spent many hours with Pat and I when Pat was sick. I can only hope he is ministering to those in heaven now. If you are having minor joint twitches, aches etc, try some ginger capsules. I started taking them when I was in my 20s to escape my folks arthritis problems, it has worked well, I have no aches or pains in my joints. Take 250 to 500 mg 3x a day, do not exceed 4 grams per day. Adding fresh grated ginger to your foods can help too. Salt is kind of like baking soda and vinegar, it has many uses. Scouring powder can be made from equal parts of salt and baking soda, put in a sprinkle can and use as you would any scouring powder. If you have walnuts or pecans to shell, soak them in salt water overnight then shell, makes it much easier. If you have stains, sprinkle salt on the spot, let it soak up the stain, then rinse. You can sprinkle on carpet stains, let dry then vacuum. Of course we have been gargling with warm salt water forever, to ease sore throats. It also helps heal canker sores, mouth ulcers and can be used after post surgical tooth removal. Don't use it long term, just as needed. Add half a cup of salt to your laundry to set colors and keep them bright. Once again, a cheap substance is found to have multi uses. It's still humid and quite warm, thought we had some cooler weather coming in by today, but so far, that has not happened. Gardens seem to be on their last legs, everything is beginning to die out. Need to take down my bean vines tonight. Still have okra and some tomatoes, but they are fading too. I hope the huge praying mantis that lived in my bean patch has found a winter home, and lays eggs for next year, it sure kept the bugs out of my little garden patch. I have volunteered for several years now for our Agency on aging. One of the ladies I talk to was born with cerebral palsy. She is a little hard to understand but I am getting better at knowing most of what she says. She has belonged to a local church for many years but lately they have not been in touch with her. She wants badly to get calls from her congregation, and have someone take her to church on Sunday. I tried to help her, but so far the pastor of her church has not been in touch. If it had been our church, we would have by now. Seems when someone needs you most is not the time you ignore them. Life will be changing soon, have found a part time job and will be joining the work force again. Sort of looking forward to it, sort of not. Will make a lot of changes, one gets used to the routine that sets in. It should be a good thing, will keep you posted. The maples have some red leaves now, and if it cools off, it will feel more like fall. The local pumpkin patch has lots of big pumpkins and squashes for sale in front of their shop. Will soon be Halloween, then the other holidays follow rapidly. Enjoy some fall weather, pumpkin pie, apple cider and football games. Til next time, be well.

We are loosing oiur bees, butterflies and our minds

Unless you live under a rock, you must be aware that for the last few years, our bee population has taken a big hit, and now Monarch butterflies are disappearing. And now Monsanto wants to add Agent Orange to their list of chemicals put on our food supply. Be afraid. Very afraid. Think what this was used for during the war, do you really want to eat this or feed it to your children? If you can find a way to contact your congress man or write a letter to one, do what you can to stop this new ingredient from becoming part of our already over poisoned world. The best way to help is to refuse to buy anything grown with GMO's. Of course you will need to read labels. Almost all processed foods, things in cans and boxes contain at least one and sometimes several of these wicked crops. More and more manufacturers are putting the little blue GMO free box on their products. One person can make a difference. Be that one. This week I found out that one person thing really does work sometimes. I work for an agency in town as a volunteer, talking with folks who are alone, lonely, most of the time ill, and have few others to talk to or help them. One of my ladies has Cerebral Palsy, is hard to understand but such a sweetie, and yesterday she told me her cleaning lady had been stealing her meds and personal items, plus her long time church had not been in touch with her for a very long time and she really wants some one to pick her up and get her to church on Sunday. Well, a little on line work, and an e mail and phone call and she will have what she needs. Makes me feel good to know I have a purpose still in this life, even if I am old. And then we get to the loosing your mind thing. Alzheimer's is now the number one killer in this country, overtaking heart disease, cancer and HIV. Which have all fallen in number. And the sad thing is, we have the power to prevent or delay this health hazard. Just with diet. As with most body illnesses, Alzheimer's is caused by inflammation. Common foods can make a big difference. The Mediterranean diet , rich in polyunsaturated foods is great for heart and brain. Fruit, vegetables, fish, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds and most of all olive oil work wonders. Be sure you are getting B vitamins, B6, B12 and folate. Eggs and fried rice are great examples. Add veggies to your rice and eggs. Herbs are great too, grow some in pots on your window sill or buy a few fresh ones. I just picked parsley, thyme and chives. They smell so good. Carrots are a wonder, did you know your skin can absorb the carotene? Whisk up an egg white, and add a teaspoon of finely chopped raw or mashed cooked carrot, apply to face avoiding the eye area, leave on for 20 minutes and rinse off., This is natural retinol and will make your skin glow. My morning Bible time had a great verse today, James 4, 14. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. So we must make the most of our time here, helping others and doing whatever good we can to off set all the bad we hear about. I am sure the good outweighs the bad, it's just not newsworthy.. Have a great week, eat some fresh, healthy foods and feel well. See you next time.