Berni - Back Country Ponderer

No practical value

2009-11-10T20:15:00.001-08:00

"Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value." - Editorial in the Boston Post (1865)

Of course this was said about the telephone but one could apply this statement to prayer and how sometimes we wonder if it is doing any good at all.

Many years ago when attending Bible School we heard a story from a visiting speaker about his mother, who would pray in the evenings after dinner while washing dishes. He said it was the one time, in her big family, when she could guarantee some time alone. During her prayer time she found she often spoke the same word over and over as well as other words. She was speaking in tongues, a method of prayer spoken about in the New Testament, and she did not know what she was saying but asked God to show her someday what she was praying for.

A long time later she and her husband invited a visiting missionary to dinner and in the course of conversation she related this time of praying and repeating this same word many times. The missionary immediately said that he knew that word, because it was the name of a woman, who had become a Christian and because of that was dragged outside her village and stoned and left for dead. However she did not die, she got up and walked back into the village with no visible wounds. Thereafter most people in that village became Christians.

It took a lot of faith for Alexander Graham Bell to persist in order that today we have the telephone, despite the disparagement of society, and it took faith to persist in prayer for something she did not comprehend. There are many marvellous things in the world which we do not understand, but do we need to understand everything in order to believe in them?

Sixty Uses Of Baking Soda

2009-11-09T13:44:00.001-08:00

Bicarbonate of soda or baking soda has many different uses in the household. Although much more expensive products have been developed over the years to do the same jobs, baking soda can work for you just as well, if not better. Use it in the following ways:

1. To make your own baking powder, stir and sift together 2 parts of Cream of Tartar to 1 part baking soda and 1 part cornstarch.

2. Be sure to keep an extra box of baking soda by your stove in case of grease or electrical fire. Scatter the powder by the handful to safely put it out.

3. Keep a container of baking soda in your garage as well as in your car to put out a fire. It won't damage anything it touches.

4. Baking soda will also put out fires in clothing, fuel, wood, upholstery and rugs.

5. Clean vegetables and fruit with baking soda. Sprinkle in water, soak and rise the produce.

6. Wash garbage cans with baking soda.

7. Soak and wash diapers with baking soda.

8. Oil and grease - stained clothing washes out better with soda added to the washing water.

9. Clean your fridge and freezer with dry soda sprinkled on a damp cloth. rinse with clear water.

10. Deodorize your fridge and freezer by putting in an open container of baking soda to absorb odors. Stir and turn over the soda from time to time. Replace every 2 months.

11. Soda absorbs kitty litter odors. Cover the bottom of the kitty box with 1 part soda; then add a layer of 3 parts kitty litter on top.

12. Always add 1/2 cup soda to your washing machine load.

13. Clean combs and brushes in a soda solution.

14. Wash food and drink containers with soda and water.

15. Wash marble-topped furniture with a solution of 3 tablespoons of soda in 1 quart of warm water. Let stand awhile, then rinse.

16. Clean formica counter tops with baking soda on a damp sponge.

17. Wash out thermos bottles and cooling containers with soda and water to get rid of stale smells.

18. To remove stubborn stains from marble, formica or plastic surfaces, scour with a paste of soda and water.

19. Wash glass or stainless steel coffee pots (but not aluminum) in a soda solution ( 3 tbsp. soda to 1 quart water).

20. Run you coffee maker through its cycle with a soda solution. Rinse.

21. Give baby bottles a good cleaning with soda and hot water.

22. Sprinkle soda on barbecue grills, let soak, then rinse off.

23. Sprinkle soda on greasy garage floor. Let stand, scrub and rinse.

24. Polish silverware with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rub, rinse and dry.

25. For silver pieces without raised patterns or cemented-on handles: place the silver on aluminum foil in an enamel pot. Add boiling water and 4 tbsp. baking soda. Let stand, rinse and dry.

26. Reduce odor build-up in your dishwasher by sprinkling some soda on the bottom.

27. Run your dishwasher through its cycle with soda in it instead of soap to give it a good cleaning.

28. To remove burned-on food from a pan: let the pan soak in soda and water for 10 minutes before washing. Or scrub the pot with dry soda and a moist scouring pad.

29. For a badly-burned pan with a thick layer of burned-on food: pour a thick layer of soda directly onto the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean next day.

30. Rub stainless steel and chrome with a moist cloth and dry baking soda to shine it up. Rinse and dry. On stainless steel, scrub in the direction of the grain.

31. Clean plastic, porcelain and glass with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rinse and dry.

32. Remove that bad smell from ashtrays with soda and water.

33. Sprinkle a bit of dry soda in your ashtrays to prevent smoldering and reduce odor.

34. Clean your bathroom with dry soda on a moist sponge - sink, tub, tiles, shower stall, etc.

35. Keep your drains clean and free-flowing by putting 4 tablespoons of soda in them each week. Flush the soda down with hot water.

36. Soak your shower curtains in water and soda to clean them.

37. To remove strong odors from your hands, wet your hands and rub them hard with soda, then rinse.

38. Sprinkle baking soda on your wet toothbrush and brush your teeth and dentures with it.

39. Sprinkle soda in tennis shoes, socks, boots and slippers to eliminate odor.

40. Add 1/2 cups or more of baking soda to your bath water to soften your skin.

41. Putting 2 tbsp. of baking soda in your baby's bath water will help relieve diaper rash irritations.

42. Apply soda directly to insect bites, rashes and poison ivy to relieve discomfort. Make a paste with water.

43. Take a soda bath to relieve general skin irritations such as measles and chicken pox.

44. Take 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 glass of water to relieve acid indigestion or heartburn.

45. Gargle with 1/2 tsp. baking soda in 1/2 glass of water. Freshens and cleans your mouth.

46. Used as a mouthwash, baking soda will also relieve canker sore pain.

47. To relieve sunburn: use a paste of baking soda and water.

48. Bug bites: use a poultice of baking soda and vinegar.

49. Bee sting: use a poultice of baking soda and water.

50. Windburns: moisten some baking soda and apply directly.

51. Making Play Clay with baking soda: combine 1 1/4 cups water, 2 cups soda, 1 cup cornstarch.

52. Use soda as an underarm deodorant.

53. If your baby spits up on his shirt after feeding, moisten a cloth, dip it in baking soda and dab at the dribbled shirt. The odor will go away.

54. When scalding a chicken, add 1 tsp. of soda to the boiling water. The feathers will come off easier and flesh will be clean and white.

55. Repel rain from windshield. Put gobs of baking soda on a dampened cloth and wipe windows inside and out.

56. Add to water to soak dried beans to make them more digestible.

57. Add to water to remove the "gamey" taste from wild game.

58. Use to sweeten sour dishcloths.

59. Use dry with a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.

60. Use to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from toaster. Dampen cloth and make a mild abrasive with baking soda.

Author: Harry Godwin
Date: 1/15/1999

Dark and dismal at the crazy lady’s house.

2009-10-31T20:47:00.002-07:00

When told the reason for Daylight Saving time the old Indian said...'Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket.'
Daylight saving time, the brainchild of Benjamin Franklin was not readily accepted in his day but was instigated during World War I due to fuel rationing. Germany realized that the fuel could better be used to serve the war effort, and instituted the first daylight saving laws in 1915. England followed suit in 1916, and, finally, Canada and the USA, in 1918. So I suppose the theory is that we will continue to save fuel because of daylight savings.
To me it just means the lights will be on an hour less in the morning and an hour longer in the evening no real benefit as it is dark when I get up anyway so the lights are generally on for two to three hours at least and it is dark again at around 5:30 at night although we will have to put the lights on around 4pm on a clear day and if cloudy it would be about 3pm so we only have about 5 hours a day without lights and all night of course so daytime can be pretty dark and dismal up here in the frozen north.
Tonight it is –7C/19.4F with a brisk 50km/31mph wind. Enough to freeze your socks off but there are Halloween celebrations going on in the village put on by the hardy souls of the volunteer Fire Department for the few spectators brave enough to venture out.
Hearing those fire crackers going off makes me think of our dog Annie, now gone to her duties at the alpaca farm. She hated anything that banged and it was hours until we could persuade her to come out of her hidey hole. I have never done Halloween and my kids didn’t either. I wouldn’t want to give children candy anyway. Fortunately no one comes up here to the crazy lady’s house so I don’t have to send them away empty handed.

News overload

2009-10-30T16:43:00.001-07:00

Every morning we have coffee and watch the morning news, mostly for the weather report but lately all we hear is H1N1 and Olympics. I am so fed up with both I could spit. Is there nothing else happening on the planet? Again in the evening at six we watch our local news which is again mostly for weather and to see if the mine has gone any further forward.

I am a news junkie and I know I could turn the TV off but then I would check it out on the Internet anyway. I follow everything from environmental news to the latest technical news.

As far as H1N1 is concerned I think there is far too much fear mongering, people die of the flu every year. Maternal mortality is horrendous throughout the world even in North America the numbers are high, per 100,000 young women there are 6 deaths in Canada, 17 deaths in USA and 83 in Mexico, worldwide 17,553 women die every year due to pregnancy, but we don’t hear too much about that. Swine flu will come and go but child birth will continue, what are we doing about that.

As far as the Olympics in Vancouver, this January 22 to March 21, I think it was a mistake and I would not have voted for it in the first place. With the drugs and the enormous expense of security, which no city hosting the Olympics can go without these days, the whole spirit of the things is long gone. I imagine this is going to cost the taxpayers a pretty penny. Does anyone know if any city that has hosted the Olympics actually made money from doing so? Montreal hosted them in 1976 and finally paid for them in 2006 having lost money in the process.

So that is my opinion on it for what it is worth.

Binging, thoughts on cholesterol, Vitamin D and doctors.

2009-10-28T16:09:00.002-07:00

As many of you know I am a diet controlled diabetic, which means there are many things I don’t eat and I am pretty strict with myself about keeping my blood glucose numbers in really good shape. I was mad that I finally succumbed to diabetes as I had always been quite careful with my diet, never eating junk foods but my Father had diabetes so I guess I inherited it, but it came a lot later because of the care I had taken with my diet, still I was depressed for a while.

Sometimes I just have to binge and today is one of them. I binged on stuff that wouldn’t upset my blood glucose but may add an ounce or two to my weight but all healthy, if too much of a good thing.

I am a lover of wasabi peas so down the hatch they went, also some dark chocolate almonds that I made myself with stevia to sweeten, peanut butter cookies sweetened with stevia and made without flour, using flax meal instead. Finally I whipped up some extra hot and spicy soybeans which have just come out of the oven now, hot and crispy and ready to burn my taste buds right off my tongue. I think I am slowing down a bit now and have settled with a cup of tea. All of the above foods are actually very healthy foods so I have not indulged in junk but I have indulged myself a bit.

I don’t feel guilty although my scale is still hanging 10lbs over what the doctor would like, but I literally have to go hungry to get rid of it so I am just hoping all the additional exercise I plan to get in Mexico will help. I always figure a little extra poundage as you get older is more becoming than the scrawny look anyway. The only thing I can’t seem to budge is my cholesterol and I tend to think this is all hogwash anyway. I believe it is possible the medical profession has been brainwashed by the big pharmaceutical companies that we all need pills to bring cholesterol down. Just as many people die of heart attacks with low LDL (bad) cholesterol as high HDL (good) cholesterol plus our brains need cholesterol. However, I don’t feel I know enough to argue with my doctor on this issue so faithfully take my pills. Since we have purchased Health Insurance for the trip I have to do as my doctor suggests or the insurance is null and void.

I am very grateful for our Canadian health system and before that the British system, and although not perfect it has always met my needs. However, having almost lost my life and the life of my eldest son twice due to two different doctors’ errors, I decided to keep up with the latest medical research myself and not totally leave all the decisions to the doctors. That is not to disparage them, I think they are great but they are human, they make mistakes, they are over worked, stressed and don’t have the time to keep up with all the research that is out there, regardless what country they are working in. So I feel I should do it for myself.

When the doctor made a mistake in regard to my care while I was pregnant with my oldest son I was asked by the medical association if I wanted to sue as we both could had died. I chose not to sue, I think that would have been morally wrong in that situation. It was an error of judgement on his part not a deliberate act. I survived because of another doctor’s intervention and I am sure the first doctor learned a valuable lesson.

I try and stay fit and eat properly but don’t make a religion of it but one of the things I am realizing now is that I don’t get enough Vitamin D, most people in the northern hemisphere don’t and the latest research says without enough Vitamin D we can’t process cholesterol properly and also we can’t make serotonin which can lead to depression and sleeplessness. The Vitamin D one gets in milk is hardly enough and there are very few foods one can obtain it from but fatty fish like sardines and salmon contain it along with egg yolks, although a supplement is a good idea, Cod Liver Oil being one of the best. Also getting out in the sun for a least ten minutes without sun block, until your skin turns a little pink which means your body is manufacturing the Vitamin D it needs. That is almost impossible here as it never gets hot enough or rarely, and if I was outside the flies would be biting anyway.

So much to learn, so much we are not told, so much the doctors don’t know, no good worrying about it but taking some steps to greater health certainly pays off.

A Day in the Life – October 25, 2009

2009-10-25T17:03:00.001-07:00

Weather in my part of the world:

Snowed starting this morning until noon, cut off internet reception and TV. The snow is probably here to stay now.

A simple pleasure:

Watching my husband paint the entrance way, it has been needing it. The whole place is in muted golds, browns and creamy yellows. I like fall colors. He is working his way through from one end to the other. Probably finish it when we come back from Mexico.

From the kitchen:

I made chicken soup today for supper. Lots of veggies and some barley.

Made my own dark chocolates. Added almonds to a sugarless dark chocolate bar plus stevia to sweeten and a little vanilla and put in fridge to harden.

Made peanut butter cookies using flax meal instead of flour and stevia to sweeten.

Since no internet this morning I had to do something.

What am I working on:

Lists for packing

I am reading:

Shanghai by David Rotenberg.

Thinking about:

Often I seem to make my Christian life about what I do for God. You know, so many points for reading my bible and throwing a prayer heavenward, and so on, but it's not about what I do for God, but about what He does in and through me. If only I would let Him get on with it! He promises that He has begun a good work in me and He is faithful to complete it! I figure I may have 30 years left on the outside, bringing me to 92, I guess I must trust it will be completed on time.

Needing stovetop recipe assistance

2009-10-23T16:51:00.002-07:00

While we are Mexico in our rental apartment there is a propane stove top, a very small microwave and a tiny toaster oven. I guess many homes in Mexico don't have ovens because they heat the place up too much.It is well supplied with cups, plates and cutlery but a bit short on actual cooking tools. The American owner who lives upstairs is a bachelor and I don't think he cooks much so he hasn't outfitted the kitchen very well. One large frying pan and one pot. So I have to take a few things down to make my job easier.

I have an electric wok which I was thinking of taking down and possible my slow cooker plus good cutting knife, cutting board, spatula, mixing bowl, and whatever else I can think of. Hubby is scared I am going to take too much but five months is a long time to camp.

I don't cook many things on my stove top here and I am wondering if any one has a favourite easy skillet/frying pan recipe that they would like to share.

I don't want to be inside especially when it is hot messing about over a stove so I want quick meals. I am used to adapting recipes for myself (a diabetic) or simply giving hubby the stuff I can't eat out of a recipe.

When we were down earlier this year I found garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, corn and peppers of all shapes and sizes available easily but the green vegetables that we like are not so readily available so I will be doing some learning and adjusting in the kitchen. That in itself will be a change.

I made my flaxmeal bread recipe today but put 1/4 cup measures of the mix in my frying pan and slow cooked them into little flat breads so I can at least have some bread. Low carb bread I imagine is almost impossible to buy there.

We are in countdown mode now, about one month until we pull out of here, the weather hasn't been bad so far and any snow we have had quickly disappeared, too much to hope for though, I suppose, to beat it altogether.

Want a brain boost

2009-10-21T22:30:00.001-07:00

No need to feel guilty for all the time you poke around the Internet you are boosting your brain power.

Research has determined that for older folks, those aged 55 to 78, searching on the internet causes enhanced neural stimulation leading to better reasoning and decision-making.

In a presentation at the Neuroscience 2009 meeting in Chicago, scientists stated, "The results suggest that searching online may be a simple form of brain exercise that might be employed to enhance cognition in older adults." Defying folk wisdom that claims one cannot teach old dogs new tricks.

One of the authors of the study, UCLA psych professor Dr. Gary Small, said, "We found that for older people with minimal web experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function." In other words, it takes just a matter of days for older first-time Internet users to catch up to their more experienced counterparts in terms of brain activity.

Small also wrote iBrain, a book all about how technology use impacts brain functions.

Twenty-four people aged 55 to 78 whose brains functioned normally, half of whom were daily Internet users, and half not,volunteered for this research.

First, they searched the web in a lab setting while the scientists took FMRI scans of their brains, looking at changes in blood flow in the brain.

Next, the test subjects were sent home and asked to search the Internet on assigned topics for an hour a day for seven days over the course of two weeks.

Finally, the participants returned to the lab for more scans while they searched for more information on different topics.

What researchers found was that the those new to the Internet displayed activity in areas of the brain that govern language, reading, memory, and visual ability during both the "before" and "after" scans. However, their brains showed new and increased activity in the parts of the brain that control working memory and decision-making. The patterns were, in fact, similar to those found in the brains of the long time daily Internet users.

Notes taken from Get Granny to Google: How the Internet Helps Older Brains

Heads or Tails – Stop or Go

2009-10-20T13:43:00.001-07:00

Skittles has a meme called Heads or Tails this week it is Stop or Go

One wonders where technology will GO to in the next few years but since I love anything techy I hope it won’t STOP.

A lot has changed over the last 10 years. What computer technology of today will become redundant over the next decade?
1. Keyboard and mouse
The keyboard and mouse you use every day will not exist in 10 years, replaced by highly-detailed touch interfaces -- multi-touch systems that support highly complex gestures, such as circling a group of photos, tossing them around, and clicking to remove smudges.
2. Public Wi-Fi
WiMax networks that run in major cities will negate the need for a local hotspot. And as cities develop smart grids that allow citizens to see their power usage in real-time, electric cars report mileage and traffic info over wireless, and streaming video systems replace telephone networks, a widespread wireless network won't just be an emerging tech idea -- it will be a requirement.
3. Landline phone
In 10 years they won't exist anymore, mostly because smartphones will finally take over. Companies have already switched almost entirely to IP-based telephony.
4. Optical discs
In the future, more ubiquitous fiber networks will make broadband faster. Software video distribution networks will finally negate the need for optical discs.
5. Standard game controllers
Game controllers will morph into something more radical, a combination of the Nintendo Wiimote with accelerometer sensors, video systems that scan your body movements and various hardware add-ons.
6. Desktop PCs
Desktops will still be useful for engineers, developers, and video production artists for some time to come. But for most computer users, the desktop already is dead -- netbook and notebook sales are rising fast. Processors and graphics chipsets in notebooks can now compete with desktop equivalents. And portability is no longer just a market segment; every computer user has realized the benefits.
7. Operating systems
An OS will have to exist to manage memory and core functions. But the bloatware of today will be replaced by an extremely thin OS that may not even have a name.
8. Blogging
One reason blogging has become so popular has to do with the one-way nature of web communications. You post your thoughts, and people read them. In 10 years, the web will become much more interactive, leading to better overall information sharing.

Source: Tech Radar September 30, 2009

A day in the life – October 17

2009-10-17T20:33:00.001-07:00

The weather in my neck of the woods:

Today..Cloudy with sunny periods. 40 percent chance of showers. High
5C/41F
Tonight..Cloudy. 30 percent chance of rain showers or flurries
overnight. Low –3C/26.6F

A simple pleasure:

My look after myself day. Shaved my legs, conditioned my hair, stuff like that. Sorted out my makeup, lotions and potions into Mexico and leave here piles. I like makeup and not a day goes by without me putting a bit of a face on and doing my hair even though I probably won’t see anyone but Dave. I do it even if he is away. I like myself better that way I do it for myself because he doesn’t notice anyway.

I am thankful:

Was able to get a pneumonia shot for free. Doctor advised it although I am not having H1N1 shot. I do have certain medical conditions like COPD and asthma as well as diabetes. None of which bother me or make me ill just are there.

From the kitchen:

Cooked black beans then tossed in garlic and olive oil with onions and tomatoes.

Put a pork roast in slow cooker with onions and sage.

Made orange lemon marmalade.

I am working on:

Doing all the boring stuff like organising bill payments etc. for while we are in Mexico and checking health insurance rates.

I am reading:

School Days by Robert Parker (just finished)

The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji

Thinking about:

Contrary to being about man's morality and righteous deeds, the gospel is a revelation of God's righteousness, which can only be received by man as a gift. It's not something man does. It's something he receives and walks in freely. To be ashamed of the gospel is to be ashamed of the gift that God gives and instead to try to attain it by your own deeds.

Heads or Tails - Cause

2009-10-13T16:53:00.001-07:00

Skittles started a meme called Heads or Tails this week the theme is Cause.

When we are in Mexico this winter we will be connecting with Castaway Kids which is a charitable organization working in San Carlos and area, in the state of Sonora where we will be spending the winter.

Castaway Kids has taken on the task of helping those rebuild who lost everything to Jimena in September. Their immediate goal is to make sure that the wiped out communities of Santa Clara, Salvacion, and San Jose will be provided with tent homes while they attempt to rebuild their homes.

Dave is planning to help with some of the rebuilding and no doubt there will be something I can do, but I am not sure what as yet.

What a little sunshine can do for you.

2009-10-12T20:52:00.001-07:00

After years of telling us to keep out of the sun, we are now being told that sunshine plays an important role in our health. Getting sunlight on your skin it has been discovered to be extremely important for preventing and possibly reversing chronic diseases: prostate cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, mental depression, osteoporosis. Scientist claim that sunlight can actually reverse osteoporosis.

You probably know the importance of calcium for your health. If you don't have enough calcium you are going to have cardiovascular problems and you will probably end up with heart disease. Calcium is also crucial for healthy nervous system. However without vitamin D your body cannot absorb calcium even if you take supplements. So if you are not getting sunlight or ultraviolet radiation on your skin, then you are probably not absorbing the calcium. Your skin generates vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure.

In fact, vitamin D is a key compound in the regulation of cancer cell growth. Researchers are just now figuring out that people who are chronically deficient in vitamin D, which includes most North Americans, are at far greater risk of a variety of different cancers. Vitamin D has been shown to be the single most powerful chemical compound known to medical science for preventing hormone-related cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.

What can you do if you live in the north. One choice is using a tanning booth or to find a source of vitamin D. One of the best ways to do that is to drink cod liver oil on a daily basis. A tablespoonful of cod liver oil would go a long way toward boosting your vitamin D count and protecting you from chronic disease. Cod liver oil is close to tasteless, although you can purchase flavoured varieties. Although milk has the addition of Vitamin D it will not give you enough. Most of the vitamin D in milk has been destroyed by exposure to light. The most efficient vitamin D supplement is still fish oil, and cod liver oil is the best way to go.

Vitamin D will give you healthier bones, tissues and blood. You'll help prevent cancer, depression and gum disease. You'll heal more quickly from injury, and your mood will markedly improve. Just ten minutes a day without sunscreen in sunlight can do this for you.

Although I take Calcium tablets with Vitamin D I must admit I hate taking them and often forget or even deliberately don’t take them. Also I don’t go out in the sunshine enough so I am sure I do not get enough of this vitamin. Now I know, this is something I must make myself do every day regardless of bears, flies or cold, as long as the sun is out I can walk up and down in the sunshine on our own property. Dave is out all the time so he doesn’t want to go for a walk with me, and anyway he is 6’3” and I am 5’3” and I can’t walk fast enough and it frustrates him to toddle along. I can’t wait to get to Mexico and start soaking it up, I plan to do a lot of walking there.

Notes from Vitamins on Line

Elderhood. What is that?

2009-10-10T14:58:00.001-07:00

For Jeni on her 65th birthday. I have known her via the internet since 2006 and although we have never met I consider her a dear friend. So dear friend you have lots before you. It was because of your birthday I started researching aging and I am only three years behind you anyway. I found this inspiring I hope you and others will too.

Many of the books about life after age 60 emphasize how to hold on to youth as aging is viewed as a decline, a series of losses - until you reach the ultimate loss - the loss of life itself. This view of life after age 50 is embedded in much of the current Western literature. In western culture we do not honour the elderly as many other cultures do, especially since our culture rewards economic contribution and youth, and considers that the aging have nothing to offer. The affects of aging may be inevitable, but these do not lessen a person’s value. In contemporary Western culture, the young are considered more valuable than the elderly .

This is at best a false view of human development after age 60 and at worst it is degrading to those in the last third of their lives

There is an alternative to this view that holds that there are at least three stages of human development: Childhood, adulthood and elderhood and that the goal of human existence is progressive growth though these three stages in order that at the end of life one is ready to move on because life has been lived fully and completely as child, adult and elder.

It is not considered a loss for a child to move into adulthood but only the losses that an adult faces when moving into elderhood are mourned. Do not allow yourself to believe that aging is any more about losses than was the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Childhood and adulthood have been researched and written about at length but elderhood the third major stage of human development has almost nothing written about it.

In the developed world most people are so focused on adulthood, that is, adult tasks, powers and responsibilities that they give little thought to the next stage of human development. Some researchers believe that one of the reasons why many adults fear aging is because they have no idea that there is a another developmental stage beyond adulthood. Freedom is one of the most important aspects of the third stage of human development. Adulthood may be characterized by accomplishment and responsibility but we are taught there is little positive about growing old.

Psychologists have said that there are more individuals in a room full of eighty year olds than in a room full of 50 year olds. Perhaps the main use of this new freedom in our older years is to become who we truly are - the person that we were made to be. In fact this becoming who you 'truly are' could be one of the great tasks at this stage of your life.

Notes taken extensively from Anti Aging Articles

Proverbs 16:31: Gray hair is a crown of splendour; it is attained by a righteous life.
Leviticus 19:32: Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.
Job 12:12: Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
Psalm 92:15: They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright.
2 Corinthians 4:16: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
Ruth 4:15: He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.

A day in the life – October 8

2009-10-08T13:34:00.002-07:00

This is an idea I stole from Danielle's Day Book. Often I don’t know what to write but as I think about my day I realize there may be some interesting items. Well at least to me.
The weather in my neck of the woods:
Today..Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. High 7C/42F
Tonight..Cloudy with 60 percent chance of snow flurries or rain showers.
Wind becoming southeast 20 km/hr. this evening. Low -3C/26F.
I am thankful:
To have lots of wood in store so I can be as warm as I want to be and no reason to go out if I don’t want to. Hubby has stocked the wood shed completely full we probably have enough for the next three years.
From the kitchen:
I had a scrawny old stewing hen which I boiled up yesterday. Today the poor little thing will turn into a sumptuous curry. Have been trying out buckwheat and its effect on my blood sugar. It has no effect so I can incorporate some of that into my diet. Buckwheat is not a cereal it is actually a fruit related to rhubarb and sorrel. It contains ingredients purported to lower bad HDL cholesterol and lower blood glucose too. I have been looking up recipes other than buckwheat pancakes.
I am working on:
Finishing a blouse that I started in May. I lost interest in it but there is just a hem to do now. Also I am working on another bracelet on my loom. I have done a few now hopefully I will sell some at the Christmas bazaar.
I am reading:
Pilgrim by Timothy Findley is a review of the book, it is a bit different but I think it could be quite interesting. I have only just started it. I also got out several other books last night, I read so quickly I have to have at least five at a time. That lasts me about a week. I will read just about anything.
What I am thinking about:
The gospel was never meant to be used as a means of protesting the sins that are committed in the world. That's not what the gospel is about. The gospel is a declaration of God's love and grace toward people and it's the power that defeated sin - not protested it! Grace Roots
Did I exercise:
I walked up and down for 20 minutes and did some stretching. I may do more later.

Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and Others Also Hit by Phishing Attack

2009-10-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

In yesterday's attack, the list of comprised Hotmail accounts were limited to those where the usernames started with the letter "A" or "B." The most recent list of compromised accounts includes login credentials for Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Earthlink, and Comcast users, so regardless of whether or not you think your account was compromised, today would be a good day to change the password on whichever webmail service you currently use. Better safe than sorry!

Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and Others Also Hit by Phishing Attack

What is phishing?

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I love saving money

2009-09-30T18:12:00.001-07:00

Image by nDevilTV via Flickr

The virus protection on my laptop computer is due to elapse on October 16 and I was preparing to download an update which would have cost me about $80. Also while I am away in Mexico the virus protector on the desktop would expire and I was planning to download a free one like AVG to be available when I first went on the internet when I come back. AVG is good especially for a free program but does not handle malware as well as it could. I had AVG on my last desktop and when I took it into be repaired it had a few nasties on it although they hadn’t hindered me in any way.

Anyway Microsoft came tearing to the rescue today with Microsoft Security Essentials , just released, which will provide real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Microsoft Security Essentials is a free (as long as you have not a pirated copy of Windows) download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology.

So I downloaded onto the laptop and away we go. I just saved myself about $160. Thanks Microsoft, don’t like your browser but you have lots of experience with viruses don’t you.

Heads or Tails - Photograph

2009-09-29T14:07:00.001-07:00

Skittles started a meme called Heads or Tails this week the theme is Photograph

This is where we will be staying for 5 months in Mexico, December 1 until April 30. We have rented the apartment in the bottom part of the house. Only $550 a month how could we not. It is owned by an American man from Seattle, he lives on top in the winter months. It is in San Carlos in the State of Sonora. Sonora is the only state that does not have any drug cartels. San Carlos did sustain some damage from hurricane Jimena earlier this month but not enough to stop us going. The owner promised to have internet access by the time we got there so I should be able to keep in touch.

It snowed!

2009-09-28T20:15:00.002-07:00

We are hardly out of summer and there was snow on the ground and sticking to the trees today as I drove out to Houston. It probably won’t stay around but it is the beginning of the winter season, for me anyway. Dave is planning to put the snow plough on the ATV tomorrow just in case. We saw the last of the snow leave in June. I really must get used to a monochromatic world.

This is the last day for my little yellow car to be on the road. There wasn’t really any point insuring it for 8 weeks. We will be leaving for Mexico on November 25 and driving down in the truck so we will be using that in the meantime.

Very little happening here, Dave has been sick with a bad cold so has been home coughing, snorting and dozing for the last week, but he is back to his usual energetic self today. Fortunately I did not catch it. We almost never get colds, in fact when he dug the Sudafed out from the medicine cabinet it had an expiry date of 2003 so that must have been the last time we bought cold medicine. I can’t remember when I last had a cold and I have never had flu. I don’t think either of us is going to have the flu vaccine. We haven’t up to now and I don’t want to mess with what must be good immune systems. I take two Omega 3 capsules and about 3/4 cup of plain home made yogurt every day, both of which are purported to enhance the immune system.

My biggest problem is year round allergies. They seem worse right now probably because of all the mushroom spores and the wood stove is going full blast. However since we get all our wood free and we run the wood stove for about 8 months a year (except of course if we go to Mexico) heating by electricity is not economically sound for us. So what are a few allergies in light of fiscal responsibility.

What you can do about Cancer or other sicknesses

2009-09-25T17:00:00.001-07:00

We have just learned that a dear friend has been diagnosed with cancer and we have been asked to pray. I expect many of those reading this blog know someone who has cancer or some other sickness and we often feel helpless and don’t know what to do or how to pray. Perhaps these ideas will help.

As Christians we pray in Jesus' name. Jesus gave us His authority, so it is not about you or what level of faith you may have, or the sick person's faith, or your ability to pray well -- it is about what He has already accomplished on Calvary.

Order the cancer to leave and symptoms to abate and that the effected body parts return to normal.
Curse the cancer cells and forbid them to multiply.
Bless the healthy cells.
Command fear to leave.
Ask the Holy Spirit to come fill and encourage the person and to minister to them.
Ask the Lord to come with His healing presence and complete the work in the sick person's body.

You don't even have to be a believer to pray. In fact, studies suggest that non-believers pray almost as often as believers. When we need help, we look for it wherever we think we might find it. How many times have you seen people calling on God when tragedy hits, but who claim not to believe under normal circumstances. Even a confirmed agnostic senses that there's some great power or energy or eternal force behind the universe.

Is there proof that prayer works

Scientific Evidence for Answered Prayer and the Existence of God

Clues that Fall is here

2009-09-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

Officially Fall is meant to be here in just under an hour. It is like a summer’s day here though 23C/73F, but Fall has left a few clues around, that it is on the way.

I still have this lingering fear of bears, although we haven't seen any around the property for a while. So I plucked up courage and wandered around picking mushrooms, but I am always scanning the area and get alarmed at any rustle I hear.

These are shaggy manes and they are amongst many varieties of mushroom that pop up this time of year on our property, but these are the only ones I feel safe in harvesting and eating. I plan to make salmon cakes this evening and I will serve them with the shaggy manes.

The other clue is the trees are starting to turn golden and a few leaves have fallen already. I had to clean out a couple of boxes of petunias from the deck as they were quite dead however my other boxes look like they will last a few more days. Although we are experiencing Indian Summer the nights are getting cold only 4C/39F last night.

Heads or Tails - Book

2009-09-21T19:47:00.003-07:00

Skittles started a meme called Heads or Tails this week we have to write a post mentioning the word Book.

There are two books that comes to mind that have made me stop and think in the last few years.

The first is called God at War by Gregory A. Boyd.

Gregory Boyd is professor of theology at Bethel College, in this book he undertakes to reframe the central issues of Christian belief. He argues that theologians draw too heavily on Augustine’s response to the problem of evil, which is to attribute pain and suffering to the mysterious “good” purposes of God. Through a close study of both Old and New Testaments Boyd argues that God has been in an age-long, (but not eternal), battle against Satan and this conflict is essential to an understanding of the biblical narrative.

This book has been one of the most thought provoking books I have come across and I have referred to it many times.

The second is The Language of God by Francis S. Collins.

Dr. Francis Collins is head of the Human Genome Project, and is one of the world’s leading scientists. He works at the cutting edge of the study of DNA, the code of life. Yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God and Scripture.

Dr. Collins believes that faith in God and faith in science are compatible. In the book he takes his readers on an amazing journey into the realms of modern science to show that physics, chemistry, and biology can all fit together with belief in God and the Bible.

I think this would be good reading for any high school student before entering university, it may answer lingering questions regarding their faith.

Neither of these books are light reading but certainly fascinating.

Pray the News

2009-09-21T10:43:00.001-07:00

An excerpt from Margaret Silf’s book 'Close to the Heart'

“A particular form of intercessory prayer, and one that can frequently flow most powerfully out of our own experience of pain, involves praying the news. This means taking complete strangers, or whole groups of people or other situations from the national or international news, into your prayer.

If it is true that we are 'all one below the tide line' then whatever happens in other, troubled, parts of the world is part of our being in the world. A virus that affects our lungs will sooner or later lower the resistance and strength of every other part of the body.

And if it is meaningful to pray in such a way, how might we approach this kind of prayer? We might reflect on the special power such prayer has when it flows from the heart of someone who has a real bond of empathy with the situation or person for which we are praying.

It is very easy to become overwhelmed by the international news and to be sucked into an abyss of despair when we become aware of our apparent helplessness to change things or even to alleviate the world's suffering in any significant way. A common and understandable reaction in these circumstances is to switch off inwardly- to insulate ourselves against an encroachment of grief and pain that we cannot bear. It follows, all too easily, that we become insensitive to some of the horrors we see on our television screens. We can grow dangerously apathetic and detached. If your reactions are anything like mine, you start to feel bad about yourself for not feeling more acutely what is happening to others in the world. Guilt kicks in and undermines any possibility of releasing positive energy into the troubled situation.

When I react like this, I find that it helps to take advantage of what the news editors call the human interest factor. In practice, this means paying attention to the specific situation of a person or family caught up in the trouble. Every night there is a report from somewhere around the world of a natural disaster or a political crisis or a major atrocity or a ferocious crime. Before you shut off emotionally because of your own powerlessness, try to notice the face of someone caught in the middle or it. Notice the expression in his/her eyes. Imagine experiencing the cold sweat of his/her fear. See for yourself where this person is living. Notice the things he/she says. Enter into his/her domestic space for a while and let it become your prayer, just as you might pray for a friend. Let that person's story, that one person's need, form your prayer for intercession. This will shrink the unmanageable down to a size that is unavoidable. It will hurt, but maybe real prayer such as this has to hurt, just as Christ's prayer for us from the cross was a hurting prayer.

Even a small gesture, expressed from the reaches of our hearts, can do more than we hope for or imagine, when it is made in the power of God.It le ads me to believe that when we pray the news our smallness can count, and, like the widow's mite ,it can become the drop that causes the ocean to overflow.”

Garbage day again!

2009-09-16T13:18:00.001-07:00

It seems I am starting to measure my life by the garbage bin. Every Thursday morning about 7am we have to put out the garbage for collection. We are prohibited by a village by law from doing it the night before because of bears. It is Thursday is tomorrow and I have to collect up all the stuff ready for pick up as I can’t think too straight at 7am and might throw something at the garbage guy, rather than throw it into the garbage truck.

“It was just Thursday, darn it!” I exclaimed out loud to myself. I talk a lot to myself. I remember doing this same routine last week. It comes to something when that is all you can remember from week to week.

For posterity I will relate my doings this morning.

Made the bed and got rid of some dirty dishes
I emailed my Avon lady and checked my email and feeds
Went and took a look at Facebook
Made Irish soda bread with caraway and raisins for hubby
Made flax meal, buckwheat, bean flour, coconut flour, oat bran bread for me.
Experimented with yogurt and made a small batch with added stevia and whey powder.
Made up some chicken salad with left overs
Collected the garbage

It is just past 1pm, maybe I will try another looming project. So far I have made 5 woven bracelets. It is quite time consuming on a loom but so far I am enjoying it. I have a watch that belonged to my mother and must be about 70 years old, but keeps time faithfully. It is badly in need of a strap I might see if I can create something for it.

I still have to get some wood in and make supper, we probably will have fish. “Oh what a surprise” I say to myself.

Hubby is off painting a building with his pal. He has been leaving around 8am and returning about 4pm. Then he sets to and chops wood or he might go off in the truck and get more gravel for the driveway. I don’t know where the man gets his energy.

Love and Sorrow

2009-09-14T11:53:00.001-07:00

	Here a female mate is injured and the condition is soon fatal. She was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road.
	He brought her food and attended to her with love and compassion.
	He brought her food again but was shocked to find her dead.
	He tried to move her ... a rarely-seen effort for swallows!
	Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again, He cries with adoring love.
	He stood beside her, saddened at her death. Finally aware she would never return to him, he stood beside her body with sadness and sorrow.

Millions of people cried after seeing these photos in America, Europe, Australia, and even India .
The photographer sold these pictures for a nominal fee to the most famous newspaper in France.

All copies of that edition were sold out on the day these pictures were published.

And many people think animals don't have brains or feelings? You have just witnessed Love and Sorrow
felt by all God's creatures. The Bible says God knows when a sparrow falls.

It has been that sort of day

2009-09-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

I had these photos sent to me today amongst a lot of others but these are my favorites. I can so relate. I can't find anywhere to give credit for them though.

This has to be my favourite though.