Strew the herbs; Stir the stew. Family to the hearth; Home is safe and sound. Keep your home safe and clean with these inexpensive and easy-to-make alternatives to store-bought cleaning solutions. The season for staying indoors is coming and that means stale air, insect pests coming inside, and germs flying about. Long ago, herbs were spread, strewn about the castle to sweeten the air, freshen living spaces, and ward off pests. An added bonus was that many herbs also protected family members and guests from bacteria and viruses. Herbs, such as sweet woodruff, catnip, spearmint, and conifer needles were strewn on the floors, hung as swags in rooms, or placed…
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Gratitude
What will you remember most about this last year in which all of us were faced with a pandemic that abruptly put a halt to “normal” everyday life? I have to admit that it was pretty unnerving at the beginning when it was all an altered reality. Simple activities such as going to the grocery store made us anxious, and we rushed to get our food and leave as quickly as possible, and then we washed the food when we got home. It was stressful, no doubt about it. My husband and I both felt such gratitude that we were retired and not having to figure out work, educating children,…
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HOW TO EAT HEALTHY
Especially During Holidays Let’s face it, once the Holiday eating season is upon us, who can resist the seasonal delights? All year long we yearn for mouthwatering holiday foods. My sister’s Figgie pudding (with hard sauce) is my real weakness. It actually hijacks my brain cells to indulge. Going into the Holiday Eating Season, I practice Conscious Eating by being aware of my blood sugar fluctuations, and not “starving-to-binge” by missing meals just to take on more calories later. Approaching a big feast with an empty stomach just makes me heap my first plate full and (fill my dessert stomach too early) before the second plate arrives. Finally, it’s how…
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What’s Your Plan B?
I spend a lot of time talking to people about their End-of-Life plans. My coffin and cemetery business has a way of making that an easy topic of discussion for me
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Planet Fat
In keeping with Green Living Journal’s Spring 2018 theme of “Be the Change”, I refer readers to an interesting series published in the New York Times titled “Planet Fat” which started in September 2017.
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Essential Oils to Tame Mosquitos
Summertime means sunshine, camping, hiking, gardening, and an all-around good time being outside. But with the great outdoors comes one big bugaboo: mosquitoes! Rather than spraying on a synthetic cocktail of chemicals with conventional bug spray, we prefer to use natural essential oils. There seems to be one winged menace that’s especially difficult once the weather turns hot and humid. Not to worry … Here are seven essential oils that naturally discourage mosquitoes: 1. Cypress Essential Oil A 2013 Greek study looked at eight species of cypress to assess their e effectiveness against mosquito larvae from Aedes albopictus. Three of the essential oils (C. benthamii, C. lawsoniana, and C. macrocarpa)…
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Skin is No Obstacle for BPA
Bisphenol-A, also known as BPA, is an industrial chemical component of many widely-used items including plastics, resins, canned food linings, and paper goods. Studies have suggested that long-term or high-dose exposure to the organic, estrogen-like compound disrupts the body’s endocrine system and may be linked to cancer, heart disease, intestinal damage, reproductive problems, erectile dysfunction, diabetes, obesity, impaired neurodevelopment, and behavioral changes in children. BPA is a part of a thermal paper coating that acts as a color developer in small credit card and cash register receipt printers. According to a CBS news report, some receipts contain up to1,000 times the levels found in a can of food. Needless to…
