Dr Hauschka Disappoints
March 31, 2009
I am very interested in using simple, clean and non-toxic skin care products. I am getting very close to cooking up my own. Using Environmental Working Group’s safecosmetics.com I have found that many of my favored organic companies aren’t as squeaky clean as I require. Check out your brands, and if they don’t feature yours you can just enter in the ingredients and see the ratings for each one on a scale of 1-8, 8 being hazardous to our health.
Here is an example of Hauschka’s Hand Cream (I loved that hand cream, especially the little samples, so easy to travel with…)
Okay, so what to do. There are other brands to choose from. What I am using now is Nikken’s True Elements. It is largely organic, certified by Ecocert. Ecocert is an independent organization that conducts inspections and certifications to insure organic integrity. They are a European company accredited by many groups including USDA for NOP Certification.
All True Elements products are made from the flowers, vines and herbs that grow in the Valaisan Mountains of the Swiss Alps. Subjected to extremes of temperature and humidity over the course of centuries, these rare plant strains have developed an unusual resistance to the effects of environmental stress. Sounds good to me. Using Safecosmetics site we found most of the ingredients to score 0 which is the best! and there were a few 1’s and 2’s mostly ingredients at the end of the list- which means there isn’t much o it in there!
If you want to order some, write a comment and I will offer it to you wholesale!
Have you ever wondered why the keypads on phones and calculators are reversed? I have researched and found many theories but not one concrete reason. If you know, please comment below!
One thought is that on the original rotary phones the 0 was at the bottom and the 1 at the top and they tried to arrange the numbers so that that was still the case? Meh…
Also that there was a study by Bell Labs where they tested setups including 2 rows of 5 numbers….no way!!! I found that on HowStuffWorks.com!
Another theory I read about on keyboardtrivia.com led me back to the previous theory. Well, this could be it, I’m thinking. Here is the study!!!
Last theory, if the above study wasn’t convincing enough. If it’s possible that the phone designers didn’t want folks to be so speedy on the phone buttons as they were on calculators and so they switched the 7-8-9 from the top to the bottom to flummux us, then I’d say that was a blunder- but maybe the technology of the “touch-tones” truly wasn’t advanced enough for our fast fingers. I’m sure no one imagined that we’d type like the wind on our computers either when we were back typing on typewriters.
Onion Seedlings!
March 29, 2009
Stay tuned! We’ll plant them when the soil is warm enough- sometime I’m guessing in May!
Thanks Barbara for the photos.
Where the Wild Things Are
March 27, 2009
More – Eat Your Vegetables
March 22, 2009
This just in from EWG.org- EnvironmentalWorkingGroup‘s 5th Edition of The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, including government data. In this edition you will again find fruits and veggies with the highest and least pesticides. You will be able to make informed choices about which conventionally grown veggies are the cleanest and when to stick with organically grown. What a wonderful service this group performs for us! You can download and print the wallet size guide. Or read the full list– top of the list for pesticide load is PEACHES! So, only organic. Bottom of the list is ONIONS- never found a bug on an onion, they must not taste good to bugs so they don’t spray them much?
“Every year, new research is published demonstrating the toxicity of pesticides to human health and the environment, often at doses previously declared “safe” by the pesticide industry and the government.
As acknowledged by the U.S. and international government agencies, different pesticides have been linked with a variety of toxic effects, including:
- Nervous system effects
- Carcinogenic effects
- Hormone system effects
- Skin, eye and lung irritation”
The site is a great resource.
What Can I Do to Reduce My Risk?
EWG believes that “people have a right to know what’s in their food, so they can choose foods with less pesticides.The government can and should take steps to dramatically reduce the number and amount of toxic chemicals, including pesticides, in the food supply.”
We can choose to purchase produce low in pesticides and favor organically-raised fruits and vegetables to support our families’ health and in particular protect our children the environment.
New Terminal at JetBlue JFK
March 17, 2009
It’s a beautiful and functional new terminal for JetBlue at JFK, aka Terminal 5. Easy and fast check in, security is streamlined, wifi is FREE! and there are lots of hip stores.
I wandered into Exofficio- clothing for the adventurous spirit. I was greeting by the manager, Michelle, who told me that this is Ex’s only East Coast store. I know the clothing from outdoor stores- Bill wore the UV shirts and the bug repellant pants in Sri Lanka. I always wanted one of the shirts for gardening. AND I found one.
When I left, Michelle told me that if I ever wanted to come in and shop, all I needed to do is phone her and she will meet me and walk me through security and into the store! Cool!
Onions Update
March 16, 2009
Barbara says that she is watering the seeds, nothing visible yet.
Cool Site
March 10, 2009
Check out this cool site, authored by a psychologist about our relationship to food and what our food preferences can teach us about ourselves, and more: You ARE how you eat- food•ology.com. I am intrigued by the feature on Bitter foods. I love radishes.
“Bitter food is certainly an acquired taste and symbolizes an eccentric and non-conforming personality. If you prefer bitter foods you are someone who exhibits independence in thought and action.” Well, that sounds about right because I love all the foods that are listed as bitter: Radishes, dark chocolate, black licorice, pomegranate juice, black coffee, bitter melons, citrus peel, uncured olives, bitter herbs, Bitter greens like collard or kale, broccoli, horseradish, ginger…
Juliet Boghosian, the founder and author of the site maintains that food is the common denominator binding us all- we all have to eat. And it is the habits of our eating that can reveal much about who we are. How about the choices you make at a buffet? Read all about it….
What are the foods you love? What does that reveal about you?
Planting Onion Seeds
March 9, 2009
First of all they are very small. Tiny black seeds- onions, leeks, scallions all look very similar. I helped Barbara Putnam plant 8 flats. We put 4 seeds in each soil block (about 2″x 2″) with 50 blocks per flat. There are going to be alot of onions. We figured that I will take one flat home to grow storage onions for next winter. So I will have hopefully 200 onions for the winter- November through March. Barbara plants 4 seeds together and grows bunches of onions. We also planted leeks that way, too. The flats are in her greenhouse and I’ll keep you posted on how fast they sprout and gorw and when we put them in the ground. It’s too early to plant radishes or peas. A few more weeks though. Drove home from Barbara’s in the snow. That was a bit depressing.
I went up to my garden and found some baby carrots which I didn’t harvest last fall! They are very sweet and delicious- maybe taste a little like they froze for 4 months, but very tasty and fresh.
This feels like a very hopeful time. Starting seeds, planning the garden. Still have to find a source of horse manure. Still need someone to help me in the garden this summer. Anyone?
Why Wait to Have a Happy Life?
March 8, 2009
I don’t remember who sent this or where I saw it, I saved it to my desktop and didn’t note anything else about it. I love this little video. It is simple, to the point, basic life work. Thank you, whoever sent it or wherever I saw it posted. Let me know if it was YOU!
Joan Spear's Authentic Adventure 