One of my blood

I have so many nephews through marriage and yet I have but 1 through blood, he was the runt of the litters, and yet I have enjoyed him all these years. 
I wake up this morning, coffee in hand logging onto face book, always the variety, some putting up pictures of decorated tree, some boasting a new car purchase, and then I spot his post, I smile I am touched, he is my blood:

 “Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
― Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King and a Selection of Poems

The simple life

"When was the last time, you ever saw the sunrise?" Saw a spectacular one on Thanksgiving morning as we drove to the city, one big orange ball first climbing out behind the purple night clouds and then blasting it's beautiful light into our eyes, I couldn't look away.
The best part of the day is it's beginning.

Scorpio

"When was the last time, you ever saw the sunrise?" Hmmm, you get to see them all don't you? It's one of your days Irish, I think of you often, usually when I'm laughing, or when your grandson's telling us a funny story, his own green eyes so expressive or seeing his own Irish peek out, or sometimes a song will trigger me. But I carry you in my heart, owe you many thanks, and will absolutely never forget the strongest lady I ever met who taught me what to love in life, and to find a laugh in way too many situations.  Happy 11201926  <3 br="br">

Oil of Oregano & Pure Virgin Olive Oil, for skin

Your skin is your bodies largest organ, so handle with care:

6-8 drops of Oil of Oregano & 1 shot glass of Pure Virgin Olive Oil, applied to most skin ailments brings a positive  reaction, healing and in a natural fashion without all the chemical whoopla prescribed by big Pharma that actually wears down the skin and is absorbed into the body thru the skin working against other organs.

Honey & Cinnamon Paste is a wonderful cure

Take a cup, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon,  3 tsp of honey, mix into a paste, and consume it. cures earaches, new colds, sore throats, and newly abscessed teeth.
And has cured some tough chest congestion.......think it's a mini miracle worker, use it for 4 days, and you've beaten it!  If you can't tolerate the past, put it in milk or ice cream

Health Benefits of Cinnamon, another dynamo

What is Cinnamon?

Cinnamon is a small tree that is commonly found in South Asia and the Middle East region. The cinnamon that we typically purchase in our supermarkets is actually the bark of this tree, either sold as sticks or ground into a powder. The two most popular types of cinnamon are Ceylon and Cassia, each of which are derived from different trees.

What are the Benefits of Cinnamon?

Cinnamon has extremely high anti-oxidant activity, and the oil of cinnamon has strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Cinnamon is also a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium. As a result, it has been used as an effective home remedy for:

• Reducing blood sugar levels and treating Type 2 Diabetes.
• Lowering cholesterol.
• Aiding digestion.
• Treating diarrhea.
• Curing the common cold.
• Reducing arthritis pain.
• Boosting memory and cognitive function.
• Treating toothaches.
• Eliminating bad breath.
• Curing headaches and migraine pain.

Uses of Cinnamon

Home Remedy for Arthritis

Cinnamon has recently been shown to act as a natural remedy for Arthritis pain.

Home Remedy for Diabetes

Research suggests that cinnamon may help treat Type 2 Diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels and increasing the amount of insulin production in the body.

Home Remedy for Reducing Cholesterol

Recent studies have shown that consuming small amounts of cinnamon can help reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad one). Simply eat half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder daily. The cinnamon can be added as a mild sweetener to coffee or tea.

Home Remedy for Eliminating Headaches and Migraine Pain

Cinnamon has been found to be an effective natural remedy for eliminating headaches and migraine relief.

Home Remedy for Coughs and the Common Cold

Chinese medicine has long used cinnamon as a natural remedy for coughs and the common cold. A simple herbal remedy for treating a sore throat is the following:

• Add a cinnamon stick to boiling water.
• Let boil for 2 minutes.
• Remove the cinnamon stick.
• Use the cinnamon water for any herbal tea, such as green tea.
• Drink this tea two times per day. If the cold persists for longer than 3 days, consult your doctor.

Home Remedy for Toothaches

Cinnamon has been known to help relieve toothache pain. Simply make a paste using five teaspoons of honey mixed with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Apply a small amount of this paste directly onto the aching tooth 2 or 3 times daily until the pain is relieved. You can store any extra paste in a small container at room temperature.

What are the Side Effects of Cinnamon?

Some recent studies in Europe have shown that cinnamon derived from the Cassia plant contains a toxic compound known as Coumarin. This compound is known to cause liver and kidney damage in high concentrations. Since the powdered cinnamon that we purchase in our supermarkets is typically derived from the Cassia plant, it is important to avoid consuming high doses of it.

Since cinnamon has an anti-clotting effect on the blood, caution should also be exercised when it is used in combination with other blood-thinning products such as aspirin. Large quantities of cinnamon should also be avoided during pregnancy due to the possibility of adverse effects on the uterus.

Anyone that is currently taking medication for controlling blood sugar levels or blood thinners should consult their doctor before using cinnamon as a regular supplement.

Where and How to Buy Cinnamon

The powdered cinnamon that we commonly use as a spice is typically Cassia cinnamon, and can be found in most grocery stores. It can also be purchased in stick form. Ceylon cinnamon is typically more expensive than Cassia cinnamon, and is therefore usually only available in specialty stores. It is usually only available in stick form. While both types are known for their therapeutic effects, the Ceylon cinnamon is slightly sweeter and is therefore considered to be of higher quality.

Health Benefits of the Underated: HONEY

What is Honey?

Honey has been considered a wonderful healing agent for ages. It is a sweet and viscous fluid made by honey bees from the nectar of flowers. Honey comes in a variety of colors, from almost white down to darker colors such as amber, red, or brown. Honey is an amazing antibacterial substance which is comprised of sugars like glucose and fructose and minerals (like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate), vitamins (such as B1, B2, C, B6, B5, B3), trace elements (like copper, iodine, and zinc) as well as amino acids. The nutritional properties, color and flavour of honey are determined by the types of flowers the bees pollinate.

What are the Benefits of Honey?

Honey contains vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, and therefore is a wonderful beauty aid that nourishes the skin and the hair. Honey also acts as an antibacterial and antifungal agent and helps disinfect and speed the healing process in wounds, scrapes and burns.

Scientific research from the University of California, Davis has also revealed that honey consumption raises our protective antioxidant levels. Antioxidants combat the free radicals which can damage cells.

Uses of Honey

Cold and Sore Throat Home Remedy

Honey is considered to be one of the best natural remedies for sore throats, coughs and general cold symptoms. Honey has long been used in various natural sore throat remedies ranging from teas to syrups. Even today many commercial preparations for sore throats and coughs (such as lozenges) are still primarily based on honey. For a simple and natural remedy to a cold or sore throat, take one teaspoon of honey twice a day until cured. If your cold or sore throat persists for longer than 5 days, you should contact your doctor.

Honey as a Beauty Aid

• Cleansing Scrub: Honey mixed with ground almonds makes an excellent facial cleansing scrub.
• Skin Firming Mask: A tablespoon of honey whisked together with an egg white, 1 teaspoon of glycerin and about 1/4 cup of flour makes an excellent firming mask. Just smooth on the face, leave on 15 minutes, and rinse off with warm water. You will be pleased with the results.
• Skin Moisturizer: Honey also makes a great moisturizing pack. Just mix 2 tablespoons of honey with 2 teaspoons of whole milk, smooth over the face and throat, and let it do its job for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, and finish splashing with cold water.
• Lotion for Dry Patches: Honey also makes a great lotion for dry patches of skin on hands, elbows, or other parts. Just mix 1 teaspoon of honey with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply to hands, elbows, heels of your foot, etc., and wash off after 15 minutes. Fast relief!
• Cure for Chapped Lips and Acne: Honey works well on chapped lips and for acne because it has antibacterial properties.
• Conditioner for Dull Hair: To give your hair lustrous shine, mix 1 teaspoon of honey into 4 cups of warm water. Use as a hair rinse. And if you're a blond, add the juice of 1 lemon, too.
• Antibacterial Mouthwash: Mix 1 tablespoon of honey with a cup of warm water. Use it as a mouthwash. Honey cleans teeth and dentures, and kills germs in the mouth.

What are the Side Effects of Honey?

There are no known regular side effects to honey when used in moderation. However, it is recommended that raw honey not be fed to infants under the age of one year. This is due to the potential for honey to carry C. botulinum spores which may be harmful to the undeveloped immune systems of infants.

Where and How to Buy Honey

There are two primary things to keep in mind when purchasing honey for nutritional purposes. First, dark colored honey, such as buckwheat honey, is generally thought to contain higher levels of antioxidants than the lighter colored varieties. Second, raw or unprocessed honey contains the widest variety of health-supportive substances. Any added sugar is simply a non-nutritive empty calorie that robs the body of vitamins and minerals.

A born romantic, who would have guessed

"When was the last time, you ever saw the sunrise?" Daylight is such a great thing, we under estimate it:)

SO I came across this little diddly this morning....and I read it twice before I saw it's author, who I read plenty of in high school with an English teacher who absolutely just loved his style of stories, this obviously came from a different of one man, backing up to my stories of people, multifaceted  like diamonds, all those sides, glints, and colors to be discovered, I really enjoyed finding this:

We have common cause against the night... Why love the woman who is your wife?
Her nose breathes the air of a world that I know; therefore I love that nose.
Her ears hear the music I might sing half the night through; therefore I love her ears.
Her eyes delight in seasons of the land; and so I love those eyes.
Her tongue knows quince, peach, chokecherry, mint and lime; I love to hear it speaking.

Because her flesh knows heat, cold, affliction, I know fire, snow, and pain...
We love what we know, we love what we are.
Common cause, common cause, common cause of mouth, eye, ear, tongue, hand, nose, flesh, heart, and soul.
~ Ray Bradbury

An Aunt's Inspiration

Aunt Dot told me some years back that I had a good writing style, and to start a blog so I could write about the things that affected me in this life, I did do this and it's allowed me to get my feelings and thoughts expressed on all the things we encounter in life, I wouldn't have had the confidence without her nudges., and shared love of Chicago a town we both grew up in.  We had learned all of this through emailing back and forth with her brother Dean who has been my good friend and Father in law for years now, I shared memories of Annunciation Church off of Paulina, and she wrote us back remembering she'd once lived across from it by the rectory, and of we were  writing back and forth about different Chicago landmarks, or old memories we each had of that vital town.

Some of the writing involved different people and relationships that made a difference in each of our lives.  Sometimes she would simply write that the computers were acting up and that Aleta her daughter was going to spend that sunday afternoon tweaking them a bit, and that she was off to the kitchen to make them all sunday dinner.  They lived in trailers that were next to the other, so they were able to have so nice family fun still on Lee's days off, or leisurely days of reading newspapers and books. 

My own Auntie's of merit long gone, and my own parents as well,  I enjoyed the relationship's as the evolved.
Both of them having me keep an eye on Aunt Vi when they couldn't, brought me into another vital link they shared, one that for me would bring about a great sadness, as I shared some of her last path causeways, a sadness maybe only my dear pal knew I experienced,  It brought with it some touching moments like her reaction to a pink rhinestone heart that was on my wallet, or stopping off to have dinner with her in the dining room when she could, or the simple things like getting her shawl or putting on lotion to legs and feet.  While she slept I read some old newspaper articles and learned more about her former life and what an amazing women she was.  I still miss Aunt Vi, and hope she felt my intent somewhat.

And then Aunt Dot's request for the posies for her own Ma, and we did it for Mother's Day, all of ours are at the same place, we remembered mostly the spot. She was so happy we'd done that for her.

And then the years brought vertigo to Aunt Dot, she couldn't be up long for the computer, time changes things, so Aleta and I kept some contact through emails, she is a good daughter, much in spirit to many other daughters and sons, she's given a ton of love back to the people who loved her so well. She lost her dad this year, and last night she wrote us about Aunt Dot's passing. My heart goes out to the family, very hard two in such a short amount of time, no words can convey enough on the loss to a family.

Aunt Dot became one of my Auntie's, in our age of computers it is amazing the relationships time builds, and some of the fun it gives, and comforts too in times of loss, she came into my life for some crucial parts and I can't let her go without saying: thank you for the push to express, much better than holding it in, thank you for the growth that this blog has given me in at least knowing myself, or my perspective on a few more pieces.

What comes naturally to one, another struggles for

A few nights back we were invited to come hear Jack & his group speak, they had just returned from a Group Getaway Weekend.
Jack joined the group to work through some communications issues he felt he had, not always able to express himself to key people in his life, although he does a wonderful job when he's here for a dinner night speaking with us, in fact I like listening to his thoughts as they evolve.
For him his attention was drawn to it due to a break up with his girlfriend of many years, but as he thought it through I think he felt he'd held in in his thoughts from many situations of old as they'd played out in his teenage years.
He is a friend to our son, and thereby ending up spending considerable time with us in his teen years, and for a time stayed with us while his own family had hit dysfunctional.

The group is many in number, different issues, but many stemming from their childhood or teen years, and yet some of them are oldsters like us.  Many were verbally abused or grew up in alcholic households, and a few had been physically abused.

This group & group therapy has tied religion aka: God into it.  One man has been involved for 20 years, helping to guide others is understandable to me, but seeking answers still or progress is way too long term for me to even want to think about.

The group has possible let Jack get in touch with many of his own thoughts or feelings and strengthened him to be able to verbalize or convey his feelings and emotions better to others, these getaways weekends held several times a year, but I would never wish it for him long term.  It was stated that men are groomed to not express their feelings, give hugs, cry in front of anyone, and on some levels this is true, butthey should be freed from cultural
rearings that could possible imbred this type of upbringing, simply being if you want to express yourself "go for it", if you're need to cry let it flow.

Similar to the people in this group I grew up in a way dysfunctional house, Mom having a genuine bonafide nervous breakdown, she was afraid of way too many things and the news media stories of the time only seemed to be additives to an already overwhelmed mind.  Caretakers of her aging Dad & his step wife, called out at all hours for hospital trips, calls from police over a dispute grandpa had been involved in, him drinking way too much and being found somewhere beaten up, a scar on his skull attested too lacks of controls there.  Three young children to care for, she became worried she would hurt us, she became worried she would poison us, I have no idea where these thoughts creeped in but they did, and she hospitalized herself rather than have anything more bizarre happen, and when she got back out of the hospital, she still couldn't cope and went back for even longer, she was gone the better part of that winter of 61.
When she came home she joined one of these group therapy things, it was to strengthen her, in truth she went backwards, she being suseptable picked up everyone else's main fear, and she listened to records of the group over and over, until  we all had our hands real full with this newly evolved edition, gone in with 1 or 2 things, come back with 12.  We had her quit group after a friend of hers committed suicide, one of my own friends moms from down the street.  And the rest would take light years to work through, and all the trimmings.

So yes Jack, I  loved hearing you speak, I like what good you've drawn from this group, but please don't stay too long, please have confidence in yourself and move on using what you've learned, you're a bright young man, go, travel a bit with your brother, and move on into the sun light, it's out there, waiting for you.

"When was the last time, you ever saw the sunrise?" Not recently enough, no time to just sit and watch even our more sedate mid-western sunrise, and somehow that seems to be a real shame, for somehow staying in tune to mother-nature keeps me grounded.
Some thoughts from the last week, unrelated, yet they make you weary:
Dear Mr. a service rendered and full filled = integrity

My dear 8-5 your AADH and lack of tuning into our world is going to catch up with you, you cannot be on the phone with friends at work 4 days out of 5 and not think that our workload and $$ volume is not going to suffer, you've got me to the point where I can hardly stay contained in my own skin at work, the pile on the table to be reviewed sits there week upon week and the dates are coming up and you continue to make it a a sandbox in a play zone.

It's the birth month of my mother and father, I carry them in my heart and sometimes in my head. Conversations never had continue, of all the values and care they instilled in us, patience is my hardest one to keep aligned. I think I use up much of it in my work day, but need to stretch it better in some areas, a work in progress or a piece of work depends on who I encounter it seems.

Driving:  Dear Gaming Generation again I urge you to put the cell phones down when you're behind the wheel, stop doing 65-75 mph switching lanes like you believe this is a game you can lose and start over, you really cannot start over after the crash, after the crash people maybe dead or badly injured because of your grand delusions.

My son goes out with some newer friends to celebrate the dad's birthday, and the parents tell their kids that hard times have come too close, the house must be sold and a down scaled life arranged for, retirement money once again are the only rescue and band aid.  So it seems that even as we see some economy recovery, others falter and prepare to keep fighting another year.  My son pitches in toward the birthday celebration, he has a good heart, he's his father's son.

We will move on, deeper into November, hopefully a few floating items out there will self correct, as I used to believe, although a sorely tested theory:  "man like water will rise to his best level".  Winter's around the corner.

Kms/Some days in the life of sunshine