Saturdays fly by

My day has certainly flown by. This was one of my little treats so I considered it a "birthday gift" from a little flower that I love. I have had it for Many years and dearly love it. It seems to thrive on abuse as it is stuck in the front window on a little shelf in a tiny little pot (which is a kangaroo - see I dream of seeing them alive in Australia) In the Summer it survives the hot sun and my ability to forget to water it properly and then the cold air hits that window in the Fall and Winter and yet , still she survives and then does this??? This bloom can stretch out as far as almost 12 inches and the little pot is only about 5 inches tall?

Then I accidentally found another kangaroo pot at a yard sale (mixed in a pile of junk). My heart could barely believe what my eyes had rested on and the treasure came home with me. Now my beloved plant has a twin taken from its own stems and together they grow and put up with me. Not Grow Fast though-not to overwhelm you . See how compassionate these two beauties are. They really do take care of us humans who mean to do good to them - but are just forgetful -or neglectful. If these were humans we treated this way they would have disowned us a long time ago. But, these babies take us for how we are and put up with us anyhow and then even treat us at times-like now for my birthday. ~smile~

                                                         

This is some more of my buds that I share time with. These particular 3 are a mystery. I have some chickens (chooks) called Belgian d'Uccle . I started out with a rooster and 3 hens . Two hens were browns and one was black and white. Through  Summer of 2014 and then this past Summer new colors presented themselves. I have fallen in love with them. Then these 3 showed up - they are built entirely differently and they lack a tail. I tracked their history back to the 1800's and were crossed with another breed for different features.  Of course I am AMAZED to have been treated to their visit.

It was very cold here today and all of their water had frozen so I cleaned the containers and gave all fresh water. They all are spoiled and look for their daily treats and today was Napa cabbage from the garden . They were hoping it would be apples -but they pecked at the leaves I hung up in their runs.  Now they will NOT look at them if I place them on the ground - I had to hang special wire hangers  to Hang their treats on. I guess they do not like them to get dirt on them.

By the time I got all of the chores completed it was time to get ready for my grandson to come pick me up to take me out for a birthday dinner at a local Hunan House. His Mom met us there as she was getting off from work at the post office. We had a lovely visit as it has been a month since we had seen each other. Mom paid for our meal and Dakota brought me home.

I checked the mailbox and a new supplement/pain helper had arrived. I am very hopeful that this one might help my fibromyalgia. It is called Heal-n-Soothe by Livingwell Nutraceuticals. It's ability to help comes from proteolytic enzymes which break down protein and pain -and stiffness-causing fibrin.. This is something new to me but I am So tired of fighting Pain. I had came off of my fibromyalgia medicine because research showed it could hurt my macular degeneration and I am doing everything I can to save my eyesight. But, the pain has taken over my life to where I could not sleep , think , or function. If this will help I will be So grateful -beyond grateful . But, I will just take it one day at a time and see what happens.

I am writing this all bundled up in several layers because my thyroid is unhappy with me since I have been off of my thyroid meds also for several months now. I just got a doctor lined up-where I had that blood test done this week for the lead- But - you can only be seen for ONE THING per visit? So now I have to make a new appointment for my thyroid? Our "new medical system" just befuddles me.

Then I just read this interesting bit of tidbit and thought I would pass it along . It is from a holistic doctor that I like:

 In early November, I spoke with a client in
her early 50s who was going on about 6 weeks of
experiencing chronic nausea and diarrhea without a
clue as to why.

In reviewing her daily dietary and lifestyle choices,
we realized that the onset of her symptoms coincided
with regular purchases of pre-marinated chicken from
her local grocery store - her sister-in-law out west
had suggested this as a way to make healthy cooking
easier after long work days at the hospital.

My hunch was that her local grocery store marinates
older cuts of meat to mask bacterial slime and odour -
a colleague in California told me about this practice
many years ago.

Thankfully, within two days of doing away with
pre-marinated cuts of chicken from her grocery store,
the nausea and diarrhea stopped.

I'm open to the possibility that there were other
variables at play, but this experience strengthened
my belief that it's generally best to avoid pre-
marinated raw meat.  There have been a number of
news stories over the years where former grocery
store workers have revealed the pressure that is
sometimes applied from those looking just at the
bottom line to extend best-before dates on raw meats
and baked goods.

Raw meat shouldn't come with slime or objectionable
odour.  Colour isn't always a reliable indicator
of quality and freshness, as some suppliers have
been known to soak their meat in solutions that
impart a richer colour to their raw products.

Isn't it amazing what they are doing to our foods?