When my Grandson was dropped off here he wasn't left with his hearing aids. So I took him in to get replacement. I found tha this mom didn't even pick up his new molds from last September. He has been without such a vital part for htat long.

Well we finally got the replacements last week. He is doing pretty good tolerating them. I try to make it quality time for him. He leaves the right one in for up to a half hour. The left about 10 minutes. Not to long, so I read to him. I want him ot hear voices and experience language in a whole way. He also likes to listen to my birds. He knows the sign for bird but when his "ears" are in he forgets to sign, he just stares at them.

Special needs children need so much extra time and love and I am so glad I am able to give this to him. Here is Mr. Smiles.

Our Grandson, Josh, was invited to a bitrhday party for a friend of my husbands. Their little boy, Dirk, just turned two. It was held a a local pizza parlor that has a carosel(sp?) as well as games like skeeball. Josh had so much fun.

 The party lasted for 3 1/2 hours. The kids had a great time. Josh and Dirk were the only little boys there, most of the kids were older. So they really had fun playing with each other. They played lots of skeeball and won enough tickets to get toys like tops and mechanical planes.

Josh was up way past his bedtime, so I am hoping he sleeps good for us tonight. He also ate meat for us. This was a first. He ate some sausage off my pizza, then took a couple bites of hthe pizza. We were shocked. He usually hates not only meat but cheese and anything with tomatoe sauce. I guess he played so hard he didn't have time to be his picky self.

My computer was hit by a virus. As a result I had no computer for the last couple months until we could afford another one.

My life has been so busy lately. My little grandson (now 17 months) has moved in with us. He has some serious issues and it has really taken a toll on me. I was to a point in my life where I loved having the grandson for the day or even two when he was younger was fine but this is horrid. His mother took him to Texas and I am not really sure what happened there but he is a mess. His hearing aids are gone. The last time anyone saw them in his ears was when he was just under a year old. I have had him refitted for new ones. I also took him into see the Dr. He is underweight and he is behind in his developement but we are working on that. He does hear low tones in his right ear. So we try to work on sounds and on signs. His mother never signed ot him either. He knows the signs for more, eat, please, thank you, happy, Grandpa, Grandma, apple, banana, bath, diaper, milk, bird, tree, flower, and his favorite Tiger he even growls wiht that one. My son is in the Marines and is not in a position to care for him right now. I am working on a custody agreement but I am not sure how well this will turn out. He dosen't eat well either. All he wanted was cookies and pop. As we don't ever have pop in the house that was his first obsticle to overcome. He would take a mouthful of milk and let it dribble out. He now drinks 16-24 ounces of whole organic milk everyday. He also will not eat meats very well. I have pressure cooked chicken with brown rice and he won't touch it. In desperation I even gave him a hotdog (no we don't consider those food in this house but I was desperate) He won't eat those either. The only meat he will eat is the Gerber organics carrots potatoes and beef. We give him green beans and rice and he loves it. As long as it is baby food. He dosen't like different textures. Yesterday I forced some corn chowder into his mouth. He spit it out but later came back and ate the whole bowl and most of mine. He also arrived not knowing how to feed himself or hold a sipper cup. He now does hte cup and can use a spoon and a fork with marginal success. He crawled when he arrived. Now he walks and even climbs. He clibs everything he can. He also does not sleep through the nigh. When he was 9-10 months old I used to have him for the night sometimes. He always slept then.

We also have another puppy. Just a couple weeks before my grandson came, we recieved a call asking if we would take one more Pommy. This little guy was in a shelter in a neighboring town. My husband and I went to see him and fell in love. He is almost a year old now.

As for my diet well that didn't work well. I really have to do something though, this is out of control.

I also had to get rid of my chickens. Having them in town was a trial in its self. It was alot of work cleaning the pen ever other day. I gave them to a friend who lives out of town so it is much easier for her to have them. I envy her really. I htink she cleans her big hen house out maybe twice a year. The chicks also get to roam and they are really likeing that. She has about 200 acres so room is not a problem. Next I need to get rid of some of my little birds. My lovies have been busy and I have 8 babies. I also removed any shreadable items from their cage so as to discourage them from nesting again. My 'teils are almost ready to go to new homes. I fostered 5 of those. They came from a hoarder who had 60 Doves and 30 something 'teils. A couple of them will never make good holding pets, but they could make someone happy that just wants to have a bird but not interact.

I sent my youngest daughter to a private Christian school this year. I really wanted the break and I had hoped on going back to work. Now I am not sure what I am going to do. I still need ot go back to work but I don't make enough to cover childcare. I think I am going to start my home based sewing, bath and puppy stores again. I will just have to really work at them this time to make a go of it.

I just wanted to make an entry as it has been so long. I will take the next couple of days and try and catch up on all my friends posts. I am sure my spelling is horrid. Please excuse it.

I joined the Discovery Health's challenge. I need to loose a few pounds and it was a great way to network with others in a similar situation.

I have done this before, with poor results. I am a stress eater, and a chocoholic and I love sweets and I don't do well with portion control.

After having 4 kids I weighed 108. I was proud of my figure, but honestly it was to little. 125 would have been a better weight. But when my son got sick I balloned up to 145. We lost a house and I went to 175. When we lost our Ellie, I gained again. I am afraid to look at how much. I think I am still under 200, but I am not really sure.

On top of it all my leg injury never healed. My old boss did not have workers comp and my insuranc ewouldn't pay for it so it sat. I got everything straightened out so I can go in and  I was told I may need surgery to correct it now. I can't use my treadmill, stair stepper or the eliptical machine. So I have to get creative with some excersises.

If anyone else is interested. www.health.discovery.com

Back in September our sweet pom Ellie got sick. She was diagnosed with cancer. A rare type for a pom and very hard to fight.

She fought and we fought, but we were not able to save her. Her passing left a huge hole in our hearts. We checked into doing a rescue but there was not to many available in our area. So we finally decided to look at a puppy.

 I called on many but none of the owners seemed like the type we wanted to get a puppy from, until one day just before Christmas. I called on an ad that was in a small paper in Northern Montana. The way she described the parents and then the pups I knew we needed to go have a look.

It was a 3hr drive one way and the weather was not the best. My husband and daughter kept asking if I was sure I wanted to do it. I was and we finally made it. We walked in and I knew I was in trouble. I was only going to take home one and I had firmly told myself I was looking for another princess. While the little female was a sweet and loving little girl, I soon realized we were going to have a little boy. The runt stole my heart. Feisty and full of energy, we took home Dudley.

Dudley is a pistol. He will never and was not gotten to take the place of Ellie; but it was hoped that he would help our hearts heal a little. And he has done that.

My lovies laid 6 eggs and so far three babies have hatched.

They sure are ugly!!!

This heat is just something else. We are usually so much cooler than the rest of the nation and yet this year we are roasting with the rest of you.

 I actually am thinking about ac this year.

I am back to work full time now. My muscle has healed enough to work my big shifts, although it still hurts some days. I also watch my Grandson. My youngest daughter cares for him for a couple hours until I get home, but then he is all mine. :) I want to find a good baby sign book and an ASL manual. I want to work with him more in those areas.

My garden is looking pretty good this year. Beans are going crazy. Tomatoes are huge and so are my tomatillos. I think my DH will even get pumpkins this year. With our altitude it is hard to grow much but I still try every year. I have a small greenhouse so I can start things a little early, but it dosen't always work the way I plan it. So far we are having a very temperate summer. I have to admit our spring was late and it didn't seem very warm. It took a long time for the soil temps to get warm enough.

The one son is moving back out on Thursday. He closes on his house then. His fiancee has been coming over for dinner most nights. Teaching her how to cook from scratch is fun. They also said I am more than welcome to come over and cook for them anytime. LOL

She is a great girl and I really like her. They are so excited about this house, it is in town and it is not a real starter home but that just means they can grow into it. They don't have a garage but they area already planning on building one. The house is very close (1 block) from my parents so visiting will be easy. :) The youngest daughter will be the last one at home. just so she dosen't get lonely the new DIL has asked if she can visit often. :) She is an only child but really likes the big sister idea.

Like I really need another spinning wheel. LOL

My husband found this one. He was in a small town not far from us for work when he happened to see a wheel in an antique store. So we took a ride over there yesterday afternoon. It is beautiful and fixable and a true antique. It seems hard to fulfill all three of those items in an antique store. I spent half the night searching through pictures that the American Textile History Museum has for older wheels. I didn't find it there. I am really hoping to find as much information about this wheel as I can. It is a saxony style with a smallish wheel like a Dutch or a Scandinavian type. The foot pedal has been notched into a diamond pattern.  The bearing assembly is brass and the axle is bent but my machinist hubby can fix that right up for me. The tension screw is an old corroded mess but I am certain I can clean it up and it is missing a dowel which hubby will whittle a new one for me.And best of all, was the price. She is asking $175 but she said she will take 150. In all honesty the wheel is worth almost twice that. The flyer shows very little signs of wear so the wheel does not appear to have been used much. I'll have to try and get pictures when I get it home.

Well today is a new day. I wonder how much I can get out of it. :)

I went to my parents yesterday. They have a nice sized yard, or did and a large shop garage combo but they didn't like the house. It was an older single wide with a large addition. So they went and bought a modular home. It is much larger than the old place adn it will set differently on the property and it will have a large crawl space under it. So there is now a large hole where most of their yard used to be and a huge pile of dirt in the street.They are living in their garage and a travel trailer until the house is done. The footings will be poured on monday, the walls on Thrursday and then they have to let it cure for at least 14 days. In the mean time they are trying to sell a litter of bulldog puppies. Needless to say it is busy times at their place.

Our one boy moved back in with us for a while. He was living in Idaho while his fiancee finished school. They are in the process of buying a house here ( just one block from my parents) but until it all goes through he is living with us. That is hard when they move back in. Even though you miss them when they move away.

My grandson is growing like a weed. I am concerned though. He is 7 months old and he still can't sit or crawl. I asked his mom to talk to her Dr. It might be due to his hearing loss. He does have hearing aids for now. He needs to be older before they can do the transplants. I put his "ears" in and took him outside. He was facinated by the birds chirpping in the trees. He smiles alot and loves to snuggle. Here is a new picture of him taken earlier this month.

Yep, that is Mr. Smiles.

It has been so long since I have had the chance to post. So much has happened.

I went back to work. For a while at least. I was working as a cook but my part time job turned into 10 hour days and it was really burning me out. I was payed good for our area and had recieved my first raise before I even got my first check. Then I got hurt. I tore the gastocnumeous or calf muscle in my lower right leg. I continued to work the next three days but it was very painful. I took two days off and then went back. I did this until I could not walk anymore. It wouldn't have been bad if we had employees we could have relied upon but such was not the case. These kids would just not even show up. So now I am out for a while. I haven't been to work in two weeks now. I can finally put some weight on it. It took 4 weeks total to get into a physical therepist. In the mean time I have been putting ice on it as well as a tens unit for electrotherepy. Then my hubby had a great idea. He told me to spin. So he brought me some wool from my stach and I started. I used my Ashford as it is double treadle and the small motions have been a real help. It helps reduce the swelling and gets the circulation going. Since I started spinning my muscle is able to flex and it is not so painful. I have also been messaging arnica oil into the area twice a day. The first two weeks I couldn't hardly touch it but now I can handle some manipulation.

My garden is off to a very slow start. It has been cool (yesterday we reached a high of 65 and todays forcast is 70)and rainy here and it seems like nothing I do helps to jump start the poor things. Our night time temps are right around 40 so I think the ground is just to cool. My squash and pumpkins are only about 6" tall with no blooms yet. Beans, cuc's, tomatillas are all just tiny things. My tomatoes in the green house are fairing just slightly better. I just hope I get enough of a harvest to make things worthwhile.

It snowed like crazy here yesterday. It started in the late afternoon and gave up about 10:30 last night. Up by the house it was pretty thick so I took out the ruler and measured 5 1/2", but once I went out the hedge and gate, I realized it was much worse. The hedge must have blocked allot, my car had 9 1/2" on the hood.

Someday's it seems like spring will never arrive.

Well first of all, she said yes. Chad and Jolene will be getting married, I am not sure of a date yet.

 St. Pat's was a busy day. And I have met a Bag Piper who is wonderful. He is going to try and find me the pattern for his family tartans so I can copy them. His family has two (due to marraige), one is a red, white and blue (my favorite) and the other is a green, blue and gold.

I finished up the wedding gown I contracted. If I get permission from the owner I will post pictures. It is beautiful, and I am not just saying that because I made it. It really is pretty. She had perfect measurements and it fits her like a glove. That is always a worry when contract sewing out of the area.

Spring is trying to arrive here but we still get snow. We had snow this a.m. but by afternoon it was almost 50 and just beautiful. My yard still has lots of snow drifts but they are getting smaller. The ground is still frozen quite solid in the garden but up by the house my tulips are up.

I am trying to find a few more chicks. I only want Buff Orpingtons or Domoniques and I am having a time finding them locally. I may order the eggs and hatch them out. I had poor luck with that before but I am willing to try again.

Well hubby is home, so I guess I better go serve up dinner. He worked late today, so I don't want him to wait for me. 

Well our home is bursting at the seams,  we have kids in town for the weekend. Our one boy is proposing tonight. She is as wonderful girl and I do so hope she says yes.

I am waiting and not very patiently either. LOL!!!

My husband and I were in Home Depot a couple weeks ago and we found all these cute rattan blinds on clearance. I love the look of them, so for what one window would have cost to cover, we were able to get all three done in the main living area. There are two large windows in my living room and a small window in the dining area.

Now we live in town and the rattan are only semi private and that was going to present a problem. Well I had some great neutral colored fabric that I made liners out of. It was interesting, but I serged the edges and then hand sewed the liner to the back of the blind. They turned out fantastic. They look nice from the outside too.

Then I wanted new valances. My living area is neutrals in shades of cream and light to mid greens. I found a nice cotton fabric of a medium green shade with paler green leaves on it. I made deep valaces with about a 2" ruffle on the top. My husband loves the "jungle type" look it gave. I was thiking more "under the canopy" myself. LOL.

In the dining area I had another issue. I have much bolder colors there. My kitchen itself is bright blue and I have chickens and roo's all over. In the dining area I kept my chicken theme but as well as "some" blue I brought in more of a deep red, with just the blue as a highlight. I went to the fabric store here twice and I couldn't find anything I liked. So I broke down and went to Wal-Mart, nothing there either. I was not having a good time. Then I was digging through my fabric stash when I came across the perfect fabric. I have had this for some time. It is a red and cream stripe. It had that faded cracked look to it. I had trim to match. It is a blue with faded creamy stars it also has that cracked appearance. So I did the same style, the deep valance, only I put a row of that blue trim on the bottom. This turned out very nice, better than the other ones I think. My poor husband took one look and asked if I was trying to kill him. He reminded me we are still in the deep grip of winter and I made it look like I was ready for a summer B-B-Que. 

Well it is that time of year when I need to decide what I am doing as far as markets and festivals this summer. I am going to start my summer batches of soaps and I want to make sure I have enough.

This weeks Thursday Threesome is On the Nightstand.

Onesome: On-- a clear day I can see all the way to...

These mountains in this picture.

I live down about halfway though town on what is known as the flats. Most days are clear of pollution, but what you don't see is to the left is the "East Ridge". It is the continental divide and it runs just outside of town and it keeps lots of the clouds here. We get lots of inversion in the winter time. 

Twosome: the-- very next project I'm going to work on is _____ ...and why would that be?

Hanging the new blinds in the living room. I bought some new rattan blinds because they were on sale and I needed some. But I have to make liners for them as they are not private enough for me. You can see right through them at night. But I really want the boxes out of the living room, so I must get this project finished.

Threesome: Nightstand-- What are you reading this time of year? A thriller? Romance? The tax code?

I find it hard to read at home with all my projects and I like my time here, so I read to my husband when we travel. He drives alot for his job and I go with him about twice a week. So, I read as we go. It is a nice way to pass the time for the both of us. Right now we are reading the North American Series by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear.

...... something about myself. I am always on here twice a day, and at the same time morning and evening. To funny.

I will have to change my schedule a bit.

Be daring for a change.

Well my grandson, Joshua, has no deformities in his ears so he is a candidate for cochlea implants. The DrÂ’s discussed the options with his parents yesterday. I donÂ’t know when they will do this. But I do hope it is soon, he is missing so much by not hearing and I can tell there is a bonding issue with his mom. So I really wish it is soon, very soon.

I am trying to keep myself busy. Trying to find joy in the little things in life, but it is not helping. My grandson, my beautiful baby, is going in tomarrow for his CT scan. They are going to see if the bones in his ears are deformed or what is happening. You see, he is deaf, 100% in his left ear and 80% in his right. He can hear low tones better than high. He is only 4 months old. So if you would say a prayer for him and his parents. I would really appreciate it.

 I am going back to my floors. I find I handle stresses better when I do physical type stuff when I get this nervous.

Well, my house will be very clean when I am through.

 The weather has been so nice here lately. The ice and the snow drifts were getting smaller. All the fields were of course mud, but that was ok, spring was within our grasp. But I woke up this moring and I could feel it. I could feel the stillness in the air, the sound of silence.

I am usually very good about checking on the weather channel, especially this time of year as we do have very unpredictable weather here in the mountains. But I have been so busy I have not even turned on the television.

So I wake up to snow, and it is a surprise. Big, fat, fluffy flakes too. The kind that you loved to melt on your tounge as a child. And the whole world around me is silent, watching the snow fall. I go let my doggies out for their morning constitutional and I sweep these big flakes off the steps and the front walk, all the way to the gate and the hedge.My hedge is full of little sparrows and chickadees all puffed up and watching, waiting. I often wonder what they are waiting for. So patiently, setting there while the snow falls. I don't want to disturb my flocks of little birds so I go in, taking my doggies and I make the morning coffee.

Even my lovebirds are quiet today, as if they know it is snowing. They usually talk to their cousins outside. In the summer I take them out and they keep a running chatter withtheir friends that continues through the winter I swear they hear their friends through the walls. But today they are silent too, as if they are waiting for the snow to finish. 

I take my dear husband his coffee. Dee has had the flu for two days. At first he wouldn't try my elderberry solution but one dose was all it took and he felt so much better he was truly surprised and now takes it and asks for it. He thinks garlic is the only solution to everything. So when he gets sick the first thing he does is eats one raw clove. If it dosen't cure him he get's flustrated. But flu is tricky, it doesn't respond like a cold and bigger guns are needed. So I gave him my elderberry with his coffee this morning. He is doing so much better. At least until I tell him it is snowing. LOL!!!!

So off to work he goes. Not to happy but he get's home early on Tuesdays, so it isn't to bad today. He tried to tell the guy he works with, his boss/partner and also his friend for almost 20 years that he was just to sick and was told to bad, work it is. This is the same guy that was out last week with this same thing. There is a serious double standard there.

I wake up the daughter for school. She is a tough one. Some days are worse than others. I see today is going to be a bad one. Hmmm, maybe a snowball would work. I've never tried it , but I've been tempted. I mentioned snow and she dug deeper into the blankets. Well that just back fired on me. I would have thought she would have loved to come and enjoyed the stillness of the morning with me. Nope, she wants to enjoy the stillness of her bed for as long as possible. 

So now I am waiting and watching. I will keep waking her up she only has a few more minutes before her max time is finally reached. She will be doing her school work in her PJ's until her break time. She HATES that. But I found if I stay firm, my authority stays in place.

I think I'll go check my feeders. Once it stops snowing I am sure these little birds will be hungry.

Well while the weather is not really warm the snow and the ice is slowly melting away. I am seeeing more and more patches of yard appearing. This time of year is so sloppy and yucky though. I really find it distasteful. There is one nice thing, my turtles are waking.

I run a turtle rescue. I know to some of you that must seem a little strange. But Red Ear Slidders are not native to my area but they are a popular pet.

I have been in the mood for something sweet but I am so tired of making cookies and with just three of us here usually, I don't want a big desert. So I think I will make a Blueberry coffee cake. These are so moist and yummy.

During peak Blueberry season. I dehydrate lots and then store them in the freezer. So I'll just soak some to rehydrate and I'll be ready.

 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries (rinse and drain well)

Cream together sugar, oil, and egg. Stir in milk. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and stir into the creamed mixture. Gently fold in blueberries and pour into lightly greased and floured 9x9 pan. Sprinkle on the topping and bake 45 to 50 minutes at 375º. Serve warm.

Topping

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Some people like to melt butter. I just like it softened I like my topping more of a crumble type. Then stir in sugar, flour, and cinnamon. 

The microwave, seems like most people have one of these in their kitchens anymore. Everyone seems to take the safety of them for granted. Well I guess we are backward there too, at least our friends and children sure think we are. LOL We got rid of our microwave a few years back. I ran across some studies and the more I read, the less impressed with microwaves I became. I agree the convenience is hard to beat but at what cost.

Microwaves are a fairly simple idea. They cause the water molecules in the food or liquid to bounce around and create friction thus heating itself and, bam, instant cooking. Well maybe not that simple but just about. It sounds harmless but in reality it really isnÂ’t. Let me show you one of the most disturbing studies I saw.

Dr. Lita Lee of Hawaii reported in the December 9, 1989 Lancet:

"Microwaving baby formulas converted certain trans-amino acids into their synthetic cis-isomers. Synthetic isomers, whether cis-amino acids or trans-fatty acids, are not biologically active.

Further, one of the amino acids, L-proline, was converted to its d-isomer, which is known to be neurotoxic (poisonous to the nervous system) and nephrotoxic (poisonous to the kidneys). It's bad enough that many babies are not nursed, but now they are given fake milk (baby formula) made even more toxic via microwaving."

As for breast milk

Young Families, the Minnesota Extension Service of the University of Minnesota, published the following in 1989:

"Although microwaves heat food quickly, they are not recommended for heating a baby's bottle. The bottle may seem cool to the touch, but the liquid inside may become extremely hot and could burn the baby's mouth and throat.

Also, the buildup of steam in a closed container, such as a baby bottle, could cause it to explode. Heating the bottle in a microwave can cause slight changes in the milk. In infant formulas, there may be a loss of some vitamins.

In expressed breast milk, some protective properties may be destroyed. Warming a bottle by holding it under tap water, or by setting it in a bowl of warm water, then testing it on your wrist before feeding may take a few minutes longer, but it is much safer."

After the World War II, the Russians also experimented with microwave ovens. From 1957 up to recently, their research has been carried out mainly at the Institute of Radio Technology at Klinsk, Byelorussia. According to US researcher William Kopp, who gathered much of the results of Russian and German research - and was apparently prosecuted for doing so (J. Nat. Sci, 1998; 1:42-3) - the following effects were observed by Russian forensic teams:

1. Heating prepared meats in a microwave sufficiently for human consumption created:
* d-Nitrosodiethanolamine (a well-known cancer-causing agent)
* Destabilization of active protein biomolecular compounds
* Creation of a binding effect to radioactivity in the atmosphere
* Creation of cancer-causing agents within protein-hydrosylate compounds in milk and cereal grains;
2. Microwave emissions also caused alteration in the catabolic (breakdown) behavior of glucoside - and galactoside - elements within frozen fruits when thawed in this way;
3. Microwaves altered catabolic behavior of plant-alkaloids when raw, cooked or frozen vegetables were exposed for even very short periods;
4. Cancer-causing free radicals were formed within certain trace-mineral molecular formations in plant substances, especially in raw root vegetables;
5. Ingestion of microwaved foods caused a higher percentage of cancerous cells in blood;
6. Due to chemical alterations within food substances, malfunctions occurred in the lymphatic system, causing degeneration of the immune system=s capacity to protect itself against cancerous growth;
7. The unstable catabolism of microwaved foods altered their elemental food substances, leading to disorders in the digestive system;
8. Those ingesting micro-waved foods showed a statistically higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers, plus a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues with a gradual breakdown of digestive and excretory system function;
9. Microwave exposure caused significant decreases in the nutritional value of all foods studied, particularly:
* A decrease in the bioavailability of B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotrophics
* Destruction of the nutritional value of nucleoproteins in meats
* Lowering of the metabolic activity of alkaloids, glucosides, galactosides and nitrilosides (all basic plant substances in fruits and vegetables)
* Marked acceleration of structural disintegration in all foods.

As a result microwave ovens were banned in Russia in 1976; the ban was lifted after Perestroika.

There was also a big study done by two researchers, Blanc and Hertel. They found that food substantially changed in their nutrient contribution and found that people feed micro waved food for one month became anemic and their cholesterol levels increased. Their research was so powerful that the courts issued a gag order on the results in 1992; it was finally lifted in 1998. So the world could look at the results of these tests, only to find noone wants to hear. People donÂ’t want to give up the convenience of their microwaves even if it means they are eating dead foods because of it.

You can find lots of articles containing their research here  http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hertel+and+blanc&spell=1

I have been asked about my avitar, or what ever you call the picture by the "about me" part. That is a picture we took during one of our trips to Yellowstone. It is from the Upper falls. We love going there and plan on spending much more time there this year. We only live about 1 1/2 hours away, so spending the day there is really not that difficult and the beauty and tranqulity, and then the power and the fury of the park is like nothing you can experience anywhere.

Last night was a rush dinner. I really needed something quick and easy. So I made one of my husbands favorites, breakfast pizza.

Take one pizza crust about 12-13", you can use your own recipe or one of the store bought kinds. I like mine best. For the sauce I use cream gravy like you would for biscuts and gravy. I put a little extra fresh gound pepper in to give a little extra flavor. Then I top with 3 scrambled cooked eggs, hash browns that I cook in a little olive oil with a bit of chopped onion and green pepper , and a bit of super lean burger or our own sausage (I can't have MSG). I top with a handfull of chedder cheese and place in a 450 oven for 8 minutes. As all the toppings are cooked you just have to cook the crust and make sure everything is hot and the cheese is bubbly.

I like this because we don't eat as much of the high cholesterol items like eggs. It just averages one per person. It is also very filling.

I am going to try and post again. Life just seemed to get in the way of things for a while. I have been reading some of my friends blogs and I do want to thank all of you who have messaged me.

This coffee is really good. I had trouble getting the roast dark enough at first. But now it is wonderful. Here is a picture of us roasting in my frying pan.

The beans in the pan are only about 1/2 done.This is just after what is known as the first crack, when the water is evaporating in the beans. There is a second crack and this is when the sugars in the beans are carmelizing. This is where I like to roast to. It is called Full City.

Here is another picture. The beans in the crock are roasted Sumatran and the beans on the table are green Kenyan. The beans actually enlarge some when they roast and they loose some of the water.

Everywhere I turn, all I find is a short condensed version on making MSG. No one really wants to tell how it is done. They all say, "In a fermentation process similar to that used for making beer, vinegar or yogurt..."then it says, "it can make it from corn. molasses or cane sugar. End result a fine white powder."

Now I don't know about you, but for me, anytime someone is that secretive in the makings of something, my radar tells me it is not right and they are hiding the information. Maybe I am just overly worried about this, but my instinct tells me I am not and I have to go with that right now. I am going back to search more. The information I want has to be here somewhere. Right???

 /shaking her head and wishing she lived closer to a research facility with a good library.

A while back I suffered what appeard to be a stoke. Then the Dr told us it was a series of mini mal siezures, then they told us it was the start of MS. Lucky or unlucky for me I had a terrible reaction to the medications they put me on and my husband took me to another Dr, in another town, and we found I had developed a strange case of migraines.

Now I have suffered from migraines for as long as I can remember. But I always had the "normal" type. I always knew when they were comming, the vision would tell me. Pinpoint is what the Dr's called it. Smells, sounds and light were all irritants and the pain was awful. After everyone of my children they were more frequent. But my other trigger was tomatoes. I have been allergic to tomatoes for as long as my mom can remember so I guess that was not a big deal but remember this= TOMATOE ALLERGY. It will be very important later.

So this new Dr is trying to figure out why I have this new (for me) type of migraine. One that mimics stroke symptoms. I guess that type is not common but it is known but what bothers her is the fact that neither myself or my family has ever had this before. I have had 2 MRI's, CAT scans nothing they can not find out what is wrong. So I take a medication called Topamax and as long as I take my pills, I am fine. Well not all together fine I do have problems some times and I tell her about it. It always occurs after I eat, it is a TERRIBLE taste like metal. Sometimes it is like my throat closes off I try and try to clear my throat. Sometimes I get a pain in my chest, I always get a pain that radiates up the back of my neck and the muscles get very tense and sure enough the next day I end up on my Midrins with a full blown migrain complete with pain. So what was this? What could make me have a regular migrain even taking the topamax? She didn't know and would almost laugh when I told her about the taste, telling me there was nothing she could do about that. But it was a REAL issue that I just couldn't impress upon her the connection. So I started looking at connections myself. One thing I kept finding... MSG. We try very hard to eat good but I admit there are some things I do buy. Bullions and some soup stocks for example. I make my soups but I do use these ALL the time and they are full of MSG.

 Then I came across something very interesting in my search to understand MSG and it's effects on the body and the brain.

Glutimates...These are naturally occuring in foods although some foods are higher than others. MSG is based upon the same premessis as glutimates. Personally I don't believe this makes them safe.I am not going to get into that right now, but for a good case study of messing with natural verses our attempts at making things "better" look at hydrogenated oils. Anyway back to glutimates, they are very important as they are an amino acid used by the body for  metabolism and brain function. MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamate. So there is a difference there although they (the USDA, FDA, World Health Organization and others) try to make you think it is the exact same.

Next item I found was that the FDA said it was not possible to be allergic to MSG. Impossible I thought.  I have talked to people who are almost deathly allergic to the stuff. I KNOW you can be allergic to it...... right? No everything I found put out by so called professionals says there is no way you can be allergic to it but you can be sensitive to it. Hmmm, I think this is  going to take some sluthing on my part. So I keep digging and I hit a jackpot. For me at least and maybe for some of you too.

 I found that glutimates are very high in certain foods like TOMATOES. Remember my allergy, remember my migraines, does it seem reasonable why I would be sensitive to MSG. I bet most people with MSG sensitivity are also either allergic or sesitive to tomatoes. For example on the charts for glutimate rich foods they list tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese as high. Tomatoe juice has .827mg per 8oz  3slices of tomatoe has .339 mg per serving, mushrooms have .094 mg per 1/4 cup serving and Parmesan cheese has .0047 per 2TBS. When you look at the serving sizes and the mg of glutimate per serving; tomatoes are outragously high. No other food even comes close, so it only works with tomatoes. So if you have a tomatoe sensitivity or your children do, it stands to reason they will probably have a sensitivity to MSG's too. However there is NO scientific evedence to back this up. Just my own obsevations.

 I am interested in finding exactly how MSG is made. My DH is too. Like he said, mono=single, sodium=salt, changes that glutimate cell by alot. So no matter how they claim it to be the same, there is no way it can be.

Anyway the bottom line for me is the MSG is causing me to have a migraine, even superceding the topamax. Why? I don't know yet, and I really don't know why I have become more sensitive than I ever was before. I am still hoping the Dr can find the reason for that. I do have another MRI next month in case the missed something the first couple times. So we are eliminating ALL MSG's that is tough, but we can do it. After all, we eliminated hydrogenated oils about 4 years ago, or maybe it was 5. We don't miss them at all now.

Is it possible to become a coffee snob? LOL If these taste as good as they smell I will have to increase my pantry alotment for coffee.

Well my coffee beans arrived. They sure looked different. They are a green color. Dh said they reminded him of baby diapers I told him to be quiet and leave me be, so I could create. I sat looking at my 5 bags. Trying to decide what I was going to try first...... this is what it looks like

Coffee is a seed. The berries are called cherries and in each cherry is two coffee beans. There are many choices in coffee. We choose shade grown, organic and free trade. I can have my coffee; the birds can have their habitat; the farmers can have a livable wage and I don't have to ingest all the pesticides. It is a win win for us all.

When the berries are harvested there are two ways of dealing with them the most common is a water bath to wash the cherry off.  The green beans are then air dried and then packaged into burlap bags that breathe for shipment to the roaster.

So I get my beans and they all look good except the Sumatra. That one has lots of parchment floating in the bag and it looks like the beans have been run over. :) No problem I will just go with one of the other choices. The Kenyan or the Costa Ricans look nice. I was told to always roast small batches so I decide to do enough for three pots. Now the roaster was the next issue. DH had not gotten my pan made so I used my stainless fry pan. I throw the beans in and start roasting. I was not doing to bad. Ok so I needed to stir more as it was a teeny bit burnt to start. I lower the heat and stir, stir, stir. Not to bad a little smoky but not near what the descriptions had me thinking it was going to be like. The first crack of the beans scared me a little. I thought it was going to be like popcorn with the beans flying out of the pan but it wasn't bad just noisy. The beans turned a yellowy color then a brown. I had a hard time deciding when to stop. Some were trying to burn others were not quite done. I kept adding heat and removing from heat. I am going to hav eto push harder for the completion of my pan I think a wok style heat difuser with a flat bottom should be perfect.

They smell wonderful but I am not sure if I got it right and I have not been able to try them yet. You have to le the beans de-gas before you can grind and brew them. De-gassing can take 4 hours for some beans like the Costa Rican ( I knew I should have gone with that one) or 2 days for the African ones like the  Kenyan that I went with.  I also heard the best time to drink it is within 4 days of roasting.

A few years back my DH and I befriended a young couple. These kids were just starting out, hadnÂ’t been married all that long and were sinking all their money into two coffee shops. They were the cute little ones in the parking lots. They look like log cabins and around here that goes over pretty big. His dad was a coffee roaster. Now DH and I like our coffee and we really like supporting local so we just bought our fresh roasted coffee from them. Next they expanded, no problem still great coffee. Then his dad quit roasting. Now due to where his dad lived, in another town, and their own businesses  they did not take over the roasting. Bad news, the new roaster is yuck.

So DH and I decided we are going to try this roasting ourselves, just for ourselves. So I have been researching beansÂ…lots and lots of beans. I have decided to buy free trade, shade grown, organic after that I am not so certain. I am thinking a Sumatran or an Ethiopian. I did find someone who is selling me some sample packs. Next comes the actual roasting part. I tried to put DH in charge of that but no go looks like I will research he will just roast. LOL I thought of a roaster but I want to be able to see and hear the beans as they roast so I donÂ’t want a little machine to do the job. And they are expensive. I think I am going to have DH build me a copper-roasting pan shaped something like a wok. He built he a great outdoor cooking station a few years back. It's next to the bbq, it is a 4-burner gas unit. I have read that roasting beans is smoky so I am going to do this outside to start with and see what happens. When it is all said and done this should cost us about $4 a pound including shipping so if this works I could cut our coffee bill down even more. That is one area where we budget high because it is our splurge.

So the beans should be here today and my pan isnÂ’t done yet. I may get desperate and roast them in a stainless frying pan.

I have been watching with disgust the story of the homeless men who were beaten by the teens in Florida. The timing of this story is Â…scaryÂ…interestingÂ…prophetic.

I sent my youngest son to California to live with his dad. Well that is not quit true, my son arranged to go live with his dad and kind of pressured me into allowing it is more like what happened. My son is 17 and through certain things not of our choosing he is very mature in some ways. Relating to adults very well and yet in other more important ways his mental maturity is that of a 13 year old. He is just now going through puberty and so he will out grow all of these terrible times but it is very difficult in the mean time. And of course everyone wants to put him on more meds even though meds is what caused the problems to begin with. 4 years of very intense chemo. did some very bad things. Bottom line is I have done my very best and it wasnÂ’t quite good enough. But I am afraid. My children donÂ’t understand their father and he doesnÂ’t know them. He had nothing to do with them for the last 12 yearsÂ…nothing at all.

So I was trying to get this person to understand the mentality of this child I was sending down. This child who is so mean and ugly to me he never ever says anything nice. When he comes through the door after school the only thing he says ’When is dinner” All he does is swear and cuss at us. He told his sister I never ever did anything for him. He had no idea how much that hurt, how very deep. But he had many years of therapy that did more damage than good. My personal feeling on that is that it was a huge waste of time and money for all of us, and it just alienated him from us more. But there has always been something about him and I tried to explain it to his father. When you are at the grocery store, and there is a homeless man, this child will take food out of your bag and give to them. This child knew where the shelter was but he also knew the other places. The places the real needy went. Here it is called the Shepherd’s Fold. A Pastor runs it. He bought a huge home and he takes in those in need until they can get on their feet. My child would find needy people and take them to this shelter. He found a couple one day, the lady had a pair of shoes that were falling apart and she could hardly walk so he put her on his bike and pushed her to the shelter. His dad informed me he would put a stop to that. I said no. This is his only touch with humanity and if you take that it is all lost. Like the boys who would savagely beat the homeless as they slept. They lost that humanity. I can’t help but wonder if they, like my son, are also troubled and did someone take away that one piece they had left to keep them tied to this world. That one thing to bring them back when all the confusion ends.

I talked to my brother in law the other day. He said they had to watch this child of mine. He would hand out all his money to the people at the stores and street corners if they werenÂ’t careful. (So I guess my ex listened. I am glad he did.)

For some reason I think my son will grow up to be a poor man who runs a homeless shelter. No matter what, as long as he retains his humanity I will be proud of him.