Life has many adventures and paths, I choose to share my ideas and writings, hopeful to make the world a better place with deep thoughts about many varying ideas. Be kind to all living things.
It lowers our heart rate and encourages our bodies to make calming hormones. Provided they are not annoying or sounds or sound that scare us. I love to hear the owls and frogs at night. Someone I know loves the sound of rain on the tin roof.
We become less hostile and we start letting go of anger. Breath in though your nose and though your mouth nice a slowly.
If you have the availability to get out in nature it will amplify the benefits nature has on your brain. Breathing in fresh air and taking time away from your electronics will let you shut off. It slows our neurotransmitters down. When that happens it relaxes us.
Binaural beats was first scientifically proven in 1963 by Gerald Oster. This happens at 10 hhz and causes the brain to release beta endorphins, growth factors gut peptates, acetylcholine, vasopressin, serotonin. This helps us heal, relax and sleep well. You can also get tracks with alpha waves, can protect the brain from the effects of aging and increase the brains ability’s in studding. They could help you in learning 5 times the content.
Enjoy the sounds of nature. Learn to bring happy neurons together.
If you want to share what sounds in nature you enjoy, I would enjoy reading it.
Have you enjoyed a farmers market, I have been to many. So many fresh and wonderful things.
I love the ones that have live local musicians. I feel that it brings a community together.
There is a farmers market near where I live every Saturday from 9 till 3 I think. The sign said earlier I think that is so the vendors can set up all their wares.
Tips on going to your first farmers market. Bring about $40 cash.(I have a little more of a stash with me. I will use the remaining money next time) Modern times many of the sellers have the chips that hook to their phones but some are still cash only.
Get there early as the fresh produce goes fast.
Having time to spare, talking to the people is what brings a sense of community. Some of them are quite the story tellers. Smell the air, so many wonderful things have been brought there to sell. Pet the pets, smile at the old and young. Bring in a bag or basket to carry out your finds. Be prepared to walk about the market and the parking is sometimes far.
Look through the whole market if you can before buying, different people sell things for different prices. Some have things I enjoyed more than others and don’t mind paying more.
Other things that you can find at different markets, gin and other alcohol, meats, fish, wooden crafts, leather crafts, handcrafted jewelry, toys, microgreens and pet outfits and treats. Care products, handcrafted soaps and lotions, clothes, mushrooms, oils, Gluten baking. Soups and other prepared meals. Fresh candy and fudges. Some very fun creative art. So much more.
I would love to read what you enjoy about Farmers Markets.
Supporting your local crafters and farmers helps your neighbors and people around you. It helps to have sustainable communities. Hope your week brings many smiles.
Are you a hot beverage person? Does your coffee keep you from harming others?
I finally unpacked my espresso/beverage maker. So you might want to sit down with a cup of happiness and read through this week’s blog! Drink your beverage and no one gets hurt!
Found this on the internet. I could not find the artist. If you know who’s art this is please let me know I will add the credit.
I have learned to make a good espresso (just the fine ground I used a dark roast), and a latte ( with milk and espresso not foam) still working on the cappuccino (espresso, milk and foam) Wondering the differences between Latte and Cappuccino?
It takes practice to make all the drinks.
Tools for the beverages
Coffee/tea or other beverages
Coffee machine or French press
Milk or milk substitute
Sweetener, simple sugar, non sugar options
Measuring spoon
Cups
A place to store tea and coffee discards
Tamper
Working with my homemade Cashew milk has taught me a few things. I need to strain my milk after making it, not like when cooking with it. It seems to separate at the temperature I enjoy my drinks at. I order extra hot when I go out to enjoy beverages, they’re still often too cold.
I have been trying to learn how to foam the non-dairy milks. I tried a commercial oat milk and my homemade cashew milk. On two different days I made London Fogs with vanilla simple syrup. I love the dark colour of the one I made, the use of one part dark brown sugar and two parts white sugar. The next batch of the syrup I make will use some vanilla beans and infuse the blend. I will also be working on a sugar free syrup. Being able to share nice drinks with my diabetic people and those that are on no sugar lifestyles is very important to me.
Ingredients for my simple syrup, the container with the nib end is my syrup
Some of the tips I learned to make a good espresso is to prewarm the cups and don’t tamp the coffee too hard. It did not work as nicely.
My beverage bar still needs a few things. I need a thermometer, some fancy measuring spoons and a tall spoon to stir in the goodness.
In the near future I will be making hot beverages with eggnog.
We enjoyed some hot steamed apple juice drinks at the local coffee shop. Mine had house caramel sauce and my partner’s had rooibos tea and whip cream. I forgot to ask for it extra hot. I keep thinking I can make that at home just the way I love it. It will be so fun learning to make all the new drinks.
What drinks do you enjoy at your local coffee place. Do you make any hot beverages at home? If so, how do they differ from what you buy at your local coffee place?
Have you ever looked at something and wondered, how does this work? If you have been reading my blog for sometime. You might realize a few things, I’m good at fixing things and getting in some interesting learning curves.
So our new home has a bidet, I know the concept behind the device is to rinse your behind. Hence why I in fun call it a butt wash. Standing in front of the toilet, I started wondering how this works and what the little symbols mean. Having a base idea does not give you the knowledge. Having never used one or seen one besides in a catalog I decided to turn the dial. I was smart I put the lid down thinking it would use the water to spray you after using it to void.
Well! There is water spraying under the seat. To my horror my leggings are getting soaked! In my shock I’m trying to turn off this crazy spraying water. The floor is wet as am I. I am embarrassed.
I feel the need to tell you about the bathroom itself, it is this weird little converted closet that they turned into a bathroom. When you sit on the toilet you can’t see the symbols, your arms almost touch the walls. So not a ton of room to move while you’re being accosted by cool water. I did not see the symbols till I took a photo for the blog.
Me being who I am, I cleaned it up and then proceeded to tell my family. How they don’t bust seams laughing at me is bewildering.
So If you have a butt wash, aka bidet, my guidance is to sit firmly on the seat before you test out the service. If you have a good system I read you don’t need to use toilet paper and it is more sanitary than wiping with paper.
I hope this week’s blog made you smile. If you have learned something the wrong way feel free to share!
I have seen many that don’t have the resources to stay as clean as they would like. Don’t judge them, you can see if hygiene products would be helpful to them if so make them a personal care kit. That is small and fits in a back pack. They are many community resources. Some community buildings have public showers and some have ones wheel chairs can be brought in to. There are many food banks that will let you pick out personal care products. Many places have services to help people meet their basic needs. Being clean is a basic human right, many don’t have the opportunity to take good care of themselves.
Washing involves being able to have access to water and an ability to have basic cleaning tools.
Basic tools:
Soap
Toothbrush
Floss for in between your teeth
Cloth or something to scrub your body.
Towel to dry yourself
Nail clippers
Brush or comb
Toilet paper or a way to clean after the bathroom. You can use a container with some warm soapy water too.
A way to wash your clothes.
Shaving gear (razor, soap or shaving cream)
Shampoo and conditioner
Menstrual cup, pads or tampons
Thinking about this as I write this blog, that is a lot to carry if you are not living in a stable home.
Is something that dentists recommend to do twice a day. I had to be taught by my dental hygienist as an adult how to floss.
Brushing your teeth helps to scrub off plaque and massage your gums. It also keeps bad bacteria down that can cause tooth decay. When I did not have a toothbrush I used a wet cloth to wipe the front and back off my teeth. It is better than not cleaning to brush your teeth. You need a small amount of toothpaste on the wet toothbrush. They use the example of the size of a pea.. Not everyone knows what a pea looks like.
Shampooing and conditioning your hair can be done with or without a shower. You will want to wet your hair all the way through to wash it. If you have a dirty job or greasy hair you might want to clean your hair once or more a week. With long hair it will be hard to wash often. If you have fine short hair you might only need to use an amount of shampoo the size of a dime or if your hair is long or really thick you might need to quarters worth.
You would rinse your hair after shampooing really well, put a small amount of conditioner in your hands, less than used for the shampoo, then rub your hands lightly so it coats the palms of both hands. Using too much can make your hair lifeless and flat. I will sometimes use a comb to get it all the way through my hair. With long hair start an inch or 2 away from your roots and apply between your hands down to the ends of the hair. If you have really short hair you can try to go a bit always from the ends. Learning how long to leave the conditioner in before rinsing with water is a trial thing. About 1 to 2 mins for a regular conditioner and longer for the deep treatment ones. Those ones often come with their own instructions.
Washing your full body is kinda a personal choice, some people clean more than once a day other wash a couple times a week. If you have heavy body odor or if you’re having a menstrual cycle, if you have bowel or bladder challenges or a job that makes you feel grungy, shower more. You can spot wash with a cloth and soap and water your armpits or other areas that need refreshing. Soap and warm water can dry your skin out if you’re bathing or showering lots.
Clipping your finger and toe nails is an as needed thing pending on how fast they grow, personal preferences to what length you enjoy. I recommend cleaning your nails daily with soap and a nail brush. So much bacteria and germs build under the nail. When you clip toenails they recommend cutting them straight across to help reduce the chance of ingrown nails.
Shaving/hair removal, whether it is your face or all over shaving is very personal choice
photo taken by me, Electric razor, wet shavers and a wax hair removal.
You can search YouTube for tips that suit you.
If you are going to shave you can use razors, or electric razors. If you’re using a wet razor or straight classic razor you will want to warm and wet the skin, then lather it with gel or shaving product. Only use regular soap if that is all you have, it can dry and irritate skin with its harsh ingredients. Electric razors can be done on dry skin before your washing.
Wax you will follow the instructions on the product. Having a warm bath or a nice wet warm towel applied to the area you want to remove hair is often more gentle than just ripping it off cold dry skin. It gives the follicles time to relax and expand. Not all products are to be used with water that is more a sugar wax thing.
Keeping body odor down might mean the use of deodorant/anti perspirant, crystal deodorant, or you can apply talcum powder. Some people have medical problems that make them sweat more or smell less then they want no matter what products. This might be something the doctor can help with. Always wash your areas you are applying products and put it on clean dry skin. Be mindful of heavy perfume and chemical products. Some can harm you and the scents can be very hard on anyone around you with scent allergies or that get migraines or other adverse health problems from any scents.
Menstrual products can be complicated to buy, knowing the right products for your body can be so frustrating. Menstrual cups can be very helpful if you don’t mind inserting a cup into your vaginal canal. They are easy to clean and are way more convenient than caring around pads or tampons that you need then be able to dispose of in a sanitary way. Whatever your choice of products, read the package. If you’re buying for someone else, find out the brand they like or take a photo of the package. If they don’t know what they need try to gently find out if they need ones for heavy or light flow and if they need something for nighttime. It is normal to buy menstrual care products for others. It is just part of life!
I hope that this week’s topic gave you some ideas on personal care. Have a safe week, now that we are getting settled into our new home I feel I will be able to get back to weekly topics. Recovering from Covid and getting settled has left me a bit drained.
In the midst of the last part of our trip. The day we were to take the Ferry over to stay at an airbnb.
No matter how careful you are Covid lurks.My partner and I tested positive for Covid.
We used a rapid test to see if we had Covid. The instructions are in very small print. So we used our cell to take a photo of it to be able to read it clearly. The text has some flaws.
The full kit. The test is in the green foil pack.
First step, wash your hands. Then open the test you get a small tube holder, some liquid, a vial, a lid and a swab. You need to open the liquid and put it in the vial. Open your swab with only touching the plastic end. Now the torture part, you can do it yourself or have help. Lean your head back and put the stick slowly into your nostril till you reach the notch on the swab. This notch is about the distance between your nostril and ear. Hold it in there for 5 seconds then press your nostril closed with a finger. Turn the swab with the nostril closed 70 degrees. Take your finger from your nostril and slowly pull out the swab and repeat the process in the other nostril. Once you’re done that step you put your snotty swab in the vial with the solution. Stir it around and leave it in the vial for 2 mins. When you’re done squeeze the swab in the plastic vial and get the liquid out as you remove it. Put the used swab back in the plastic you took it out of. Put the cap with the white part on top of the vial with the spout out. Open the test cartridge and drop 3 drops into it, wait 15 long mins and if you have two lines you know you have Covid. I told my partner we have gone to a whole new level of romance, matching Covid tests..
This is the swab in the vial with the liquid and the unused Covid test the cap for the vial.
Once your 15 mins is up put all the stuff back in the fold and dispose of it in the trash. Wash your hands with good warm water and soap. If you are helping another person wash your hands between steps, you can wear medical gloves too.
This is what a positive Covid test looks like you drop the 3 drops in the cycle
I feel bad it has been 2 weeks since I did a blog post. Things were very busy with my move. Friday we get the keys for our new place. Take care. If you get Covid please rest as much as you need. It is a very harsh virus. The physical pain my body is in is really hard. My left lung was so painful I needed to use my inhaler.
Have you ever thought about what might be needed for a long distance move..? Become a monk, give away all your worldly possessions.. Might not be the step you were thinking.
This is some of our stuff ready to go. My family is still packing the last stuff. There is so much in our locker. I still need to pallet wrap some of the furniture. We will keep our bed up till the morning we rent the truck to get things to the crate.
Where do you start, what options work the best for you? It takes a lot of research and calling around to find a fitting option.
Calling in movers to pack and move your home is one way to go about it. As I found out, not all movers do long haul. They seem to charge by weight so they can give you an estimate but nothing exact on the cost. They can look at all you got and if it is packed up already it is a guess. This can run you for a three bedroom town house with some outside equipment like barbeque, hoses, planter, lawn mower, composter and outdoor patio. $14,000 CAD To move it in Travel time 3 hours 15 min, and store it for 6 days. That is with a toll on the Ferry. For a standard vehicle like our Van is $62.00 plus $18 per passenger. They want a detailed list of what is going and they do a walk through estimate. or they talk on the phone and give you very poor information. When you look up movers for distance on the internet look up ‘Long haul moves’
They have 4 different sizes
You can rent a storage crate, this has many options also. Our neighbor rented from Big Steel Box for their move 12 hr 6 min, 1133 km (704 miles ) from here and they loaded in the crate storage yard. This option worked wonderfully for their family due to not having a place right away to move into. So they stored in in a near by yard and will have it dropped off at the new home.
Not all crate services do long haul. You can have a crate dropped off at your home as long as you have enough space to off load it and pick it up (70 feet). There is a fee for loading and unloading. We need a 20 foot crate. They come smaller but we have lots of stuff. If they can’t drop it off or you want to try to save money your options are to have movers take your stuff to the crate and load it for you, or to load the crate yourself at the yard.
You can rent a truck, load up your stuff and take it to the crate. That is what we will do. That in our area is $30 CAD plus 47 cents a kilometer plus fill the tank back to where it was. We got a 15 foot truck, so better than doing it all in the van it will be multiple trips but still faster and bigger than our family mobile.
My guidance to you if you are hoping to save costs is pack all your own belongings. Then try to find a rental truck that has a one way drop off at the end location. Load the truck, drive it and off load it yourself. Downfalls to this is poor health, not having 1 way destination drop off and having to deal with the logistics if you are going on a ferry. Weight truck scales, booking the ferry for an over length and weight truck…
I’m not at the stage in my life that I want to do things all in one day anymore. There is the factor that you are completely liable if anyone or anything gets hurt or damaged.
If you are moving soon, safe travels have a safe end of summer.
In my years in alternative health I have seen and dealt with many health conditions. Do you think about how yours or others you know medical conditions are altered in the heat? What precautions should be taken to stay in the best health.
Mental health reactions in everyone can be influenced when you turn the heat up in areas that are not hot normally. Our brain function changes when we are too hot. It is like when you have a fever.
Also people who take medication for mental health and many other conditions can have side effects. Either from the way the body processes the medication or from photosensitive reactions.
Ways to help, if you take any medications over the counter or prescribed please read the labels or ask your pharmacist. Here is a list of medications that might be affected by environmental heat
Stay hydrated with broths, unsweetened herbal teas, and water. Fruits with higher water content and vegetables like cucumber. You can have fruit if you’re a diabetic. You just need to be mindful of how much you have in a serving.
People with high blood pressure can get dizzy and dehydrated if they are on medication like water pills. Keeping your heart safer in the heat You can aid by cooling your pressure points by soaking your wrists or feet in cold water, put a wet towel or neck cooler around the neck or feet and drink more fluids. Stay in a cool place. Tips on cooling your feet.
Anyone with a cardiac condition can be at higher risk of strokes and heart attacks, Many of the medications dehydrate you or cause contraindications for hearts that are struggling.
Diabetics please watch your blood sugars in the heat, check them very regularly. Eat small protein dense snacks even if you feel overheated. I suggest hard boiled eggs. Keep your insulin in a cooler pack, if it gets to warm it can wreck you medicine.
See if your area has cooling stations. Malls often have air conditioning I would recommend not walking there if it is really hot out. Try to avoid midday sun. From noon to about three in the afternoon is often the hottest.
In extreme heat weather you have a medical condition or not. Be mindful of exercising at the hottest time of the day. You can try getting up early. Take in enough electrolytes.
I’m blessed to have been loaned ac units, so I’m not dealing with the side effects in the house, my doctor changed one of my meds that was giving me problems in the heat. stay cool and safe. If you have any ill effects in the heat please talk to you practitioner. Take care till next blog.
If you have been following my blog for sometime, you may know we are in the process of relocating. Our townhome sold! That is quite the process. You need to get your home ready to make it like a show home. How does one do that when they have a “Bob’s Burgers family couch” Well you put a sheet of the same colour over the well loved parts. It is family after all! You might need to get a bigger beverage for todays read.
Bob’s Burger’s, their smelly old, tattered couch that they where going to put out on the curb. The Mom was like but it is family!
Now you have done all this fussying up of your home, you call a realtor and sign some papers, and then the realtor works some magic and voila your home is on display! We chose to not be at the home when it was being shown. So we traveled to some of the areas we might want to live and were there for 3 weeks. One week we were watching a friend’s home and pet. The next week was spent in a one bedroom basement suite. With 3 adults, one worked from home at the makeshift office, the other was at their computer doing their things for their job, then there was me working quietly around both of them in this tiny space. I was making most of the meals and trying to keep the space clean till my weekend shifts at work.
The realtor called and was like we have an offer after about 13 or so showings. We had less than 5 hours to read over the offer and decide if we were happy. More paperwork this time we did it all on line with electronic signatures, boy did that break my already overloaded brain. I was so upset that it looked nothing like my signature. Took my partner a bunch of time to get me calm and back in my brain. So then the people that made the offer were happy and signed their copies.
At this point there is a part in the contract that gives the buyer time to get their finances done and gives us time to do anything we need to in our part of the agreement. Lucky us (sarcastic looking faces) when they had their home inspections, the inspector found a small drip behind the upstairs toilet. They first were like you must change the toilet, we let them know we would get a plumber in and do what they recommend. We out of good faith changed the shut off valve after the plumber found there were no problems (we suspect the water found by the inspector was caused by condensation). I’m like this is old and can drip a bit when turned on. So we did our part, their bank did what was needed and 12 days later the subjects were removed and those folks gear up for being in a new home September 10, 2022!
This is the old shut off, looks bad but was not leaking
The next part of the adventure, time for us to look for our place. They said oh, “This is the fun part”. It was anything less than fun.
The first home had Glade scented plug-ins. My weird chemical sensitivities went into overdrive. I lost my voice, had raspy breathing and had a headache that got worse. I had my clipboard trying to take notes and photos while having homeopathic allergy medicine. Looking like a nice place though watery eyes and shallow breathing.. Oh the joys of finding a non vacant home.
A cartoon illustration of a home for sale looking scared. (This is what house searching feels like.)
House 2 smelled like dogs that had bladder problems and it was small and dark.. I’m starting to lose hope.. I was already not sure about the home due to not being easy to access for people with mobility issues. I have problems with stairs and so do other friends and family..
At this point in the game I’m sure I made the worst decision to sell. Too late now you are homeless.
I’m thinking this can’t get worse. House three smokers that smoke in the home.. My head is pounding and my lips are getting tingling and numb then sudden dizziness, this is the reaction I have when there is mold. I was ready to crawl in a hole and die. Partly embarrassment and partly due to how this was making my body react in front of our realtor who barely knows us. Good impression.
Day one over, looking back I love the first home but made a deal to see all the homes on the list.
Day two, going better with no reactions. I felt like Goldlocks and The Three Bears. This one is too old, this one is too new, this one is beautiful but too small. So I was mulling about the first house day one was just right. Go to look it up online to relook and it is gone, GONE.. What the heck, I like the house not the reaction my body had but the house had much I wanted. I message our realtor and tell him it is gone, nowhere on line. He contacted their realtor and made inquiries.
A while goes by and we get the word we can still make an offer. That is at 9:30 at night. So in the morning we talk over our conditions. Here are estate-terms to help you understand. The realtor put it in print and we had to electronically sign and then by 10:30 am sent.. The deadline for response was 10:00 pm the same day, just under 12:00 hours. We start to get stir crazy (if you meet us, crazy is not that far of a drop). Long walk at 7:30 or 8:00 pm so I’m watching time tick slowly. 8:45 we get a call (it is our realtor) I’m like hi, he us like well I have some news they turned down your offer. Knowing not to get my heart up, I was like oh ok.. He indicated he was joking and we were a step closer to having a new home. Now you need to know the stress boiler just went wild. We need to give the down payment. So we say we will bring it tomorrow after breakfast. Here is where the boiler gets hot. We have 5 days to get all our stuff online. Hoping nothing goes wrong. Well it is a Sunday so the banks are closed. Post Dated cheque for Tuesday. A day to get in touch with the bank.
All the documents have been emailed and the down payment was ready weeks in advance. As of today we have 2 days to do everything else and remove subjects.. End of the day Tuesday the bank was called to see what was going on. We have more coal tossed in the boiler. We need an appraiser for the house we are buying.. You know the human that gets paid so much for doing almost nothing.. Because it is a rush, we get to pay the extra large rush cost. We are now at the 10th, two days left to make this all happen. We risk losing the house and the down payment.
We are back in the place formerly known as home till our closing date on September 10. I had my family in to empty the chest freezer. Currently making food for them to use up the frozen food. It is how I cope with major stress, cooking lots of food for others.
If you are moving, buying, selling or renting in this bonkers market may you find something you enjoy to fill the in between.
Happy week. Sorry I did not get my blog up last week, things were really hectic and we were in and out of cell service, and internet servers.
If you are like many of us, eating a heavy meal on a super hot day is just not what you want to do to your gut. We don’t digest as well on really hot days. The thought of using the oven or even the stove makes many want to wither on an already hot day. When it is above 30 degrees Celsius, 86 Fahrenheit it is lower than natural human body temperature but it starts to get a bit sluggish.
Guacamole and cut veggies, gives you good fats from avocados and good nutrients from the veggies. That is what we had for two days when It was 33 degrees Celsius. We make it in a food processor. It keeps well in the fridge so take some time in the cooler part of the day and cut up vegetables. I store them in a glass lock container for about a week. Who am I kidding, cut veggies never last that long here.
Greek salad and store roasted chicken You can make Greek salad vegan just leave out the feta and don’t have chicken. I make my own Salad and dressing so much better than store bought and much cheaper.
Cucumber salad, I grew cucumbers in my garden to enjoy before we need to leave our sold house. We cut one the other day, it was so tasty. Vegan Paleo cucumber salad
This cucumber was grown in my garden photo take by me.
Chef salad, you can use hard boil eggs, cheese, fresh berries or cut fruit. We bought pre cooked chicken packs served in 100 gram servings. They were great in so many ways including in or cool packs for lunch working outside in the extreme heat.
Tex – mex salad is good because it has beans. I make mine with cooked chickpeas. It is so filling. I change it up a bit due to allergies.(My family might fall off their chairs if I stuck to the exact recipe, I think they are convinced I can’t read with how many recipes are inspired by the original)
We are making so many easy low cooking meals this summer. It is a bit of a challenge with not wanting to buy food before moving to a new town. We packed up the barbecue months ago and are starting to pack more of the kitchen. (YOU know the “we will be out before summer So lets pack summer stuff..” Well we will be out in late summer.)
The multi cooker AKA Instant Pot has been a great tool in the heat
When I make things like hard boiled eggs and chickpeas, I do the steam release outside so all that hot steam is not left in the house. Opening the door is the gross part, it is cooler in our place so to open the door to the outdoor oven is just not a happy thought.
The heat of the summer can make you creative in the kitchen. Hope you’re staying healthy and cool. Next week’s blog will be about health conditions and the heat.
This is where it starts 