Monthly Archive for September, 2011

Life

A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls.  It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in thea sun to bake.  They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock.  Inside was a beautiful precious stone! Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls.  Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars’ worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.

Then it struck him.  He had been on the beach a long time.  He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves.  Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands but he had just thrown it away.

It’s like that with people.  We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the outside. It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy but we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know a person then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. I am so blessed by the friendships I have. Thank you all for looking beyond my clay vessel.

Onions

ONIONS
PLEASE READ TO THE END: IMPORTANT

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that
visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.
Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very
healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different,
the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the
rooms of the home (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn’t
believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under
the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu
virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping
the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several
years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were
many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions
around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must
work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never
got the flu.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who
regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this
most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don’t know about the farmers story, but, I do
know that I contracted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill. I came
across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an
empty jar…placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the
onion would be black in the morning from the germs.. sure enough it happened
just like that.. the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around
the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful
antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note.

Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don’t know what to blame.
Maybe it’s the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria which is why they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu’s.  It is also
the very reason we shouldn’t eat an onion that has been sitting for a time
after it has been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS!!!!

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of
mayonnaise.. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the
Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.

Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned
from a chemist.

One of the brothers, Ed, guided our tour. Ed is a
chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formulas -
he even developed sauce formula for McDonald’s.

Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone
asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always
worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed’s answer will surprise you. Ed said
that all commercially- made Mayo is completely safe.

“Mayonnaise doesn’t even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but
it’s not really necessary.” He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at
a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked
about the quintessential picnic with the bowl of potato salad sitting on
the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials
look for is when the ‘victim’ last ate ONIONS and where those onions came
from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it’s not the mayonnaise (as long as
it’s not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It’s probably the
onions, and if not the onions, it’s the POTATOES.

He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked
onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion. He says
it’s not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your
refrigerator.

It’s already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit,
that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you
put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!) Ed says if you take the
leftover onion and cook it like crazy you’ll probably be okay, but
if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you’re
asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato
salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial
mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook
the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and
creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections
because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

Girlfriends

My book club met last evening for the first time since May.  I really discovered, once again just how much I enjoy the company of my girlfriends.  We’ve all heard stories about how invaluable the support of our “sisters” whether biological or otherwise is during our lifetimes.  As we grow older and wiser, I believe, we truly come to understand that having a good friend to lean on in times of need as well as having them to share the good times with is what makes life worth living.  I have seen friends taken from this earth prematurely and I have felt the void that their absence left in my life. Life is too short to gossip and find fault and too short to accomplish all the fun things I want to have time to share with my friends. My girlfriends are my sisters, my daughters, my mother and my friends and to all of them I wish the superb happiness of knowing true friendship.  That is truly the greatest gift of all

Bed Bugs

O.K. I know I have a strange sense of humor and probably have been known to laugh at inappropriate things at times, but I have got to tell you that I got such a chuckle out of this that I just had to pass it along.  We all know that we are in the midst of a crisis in this country with bed bug infestation.  From what I hear, there are now bed bug sniffing dogs that have proven to be the most effective means of getting rid of the little critters.  Contrary to what we might think, the dogs find the little pests in corners in rooms and behind draperies and such. Sounds to me like the little buggers are smarter than the average nuisance because we tend to think we might locate them hiding beneath our lovely down comforters not holed up in the dark corner of the room.  Well, anyway, I do hope I never have to go in search of these canines for a problem in my own house.  Do keep in mind though when you might be tempted to purchase something in a consignment store, you never know what unwelcome guests might be following you home.

I’ll get right to the point here though and that is – should you ever have reason to suspect that you are hosting these offensive buggers, do not, under any circumstances, try to eradicate them yourself. I am here to tell you that you will be taking your life in your hands and that would be much more painful than a few red welts covering your assets. Just this morning, I read that dozens of Americans have fallen ill from using insecticides on their own.  As a matter of fact a North Carolina woman actually died after using 18 cans of chemical fogger to attack the tiny little blood suckers. I wonder who croaked first – her or the bugs.  Try to imagine breathing in that bedroom and run for the gas mask. Sad that the federal health officials have to issue a warning for consumers to be careful when attempting to kill the reddish brown little insects.

I’ll close by saying that though their bites cause itching and welts, they are not known to spread disease. They are a major hassle. In recent national surveys of exterminators, bed bugs were named the toughest pests to get rid of. I wonder if I could find a way for those sniffing dogs to train me. Makes you think twice about which hotels you stay in doesn’t it???

Kids

I received an invitation yesterday to attend a luncheon at the Arizona Biltmore to benefit Crisis Nursery.  It got me to thinking about one of the issues in life that bothers me the most.  Last month it was all over the news that a woman had chained herself to a post outside an animal shelter or some such place in protest over pets left outside in the heat. I was already upset over the numerous stories over the past few months of children being thrown against walls and killed, locked in boxes till they suffocated for eating a popsicle and thrown off the top levels of parking garages.  I’ve always wondered why anyone can volunteer at animal facilities and Sherriff Joe even has his pet posse roaming around to find people who mistreat animals and yet we hear all the time how short handed CPS is and that they can’t possibly protect our children and yet they do not ask for volunteers unless a person has a degree in social work.  Kind of an upside down world I would say when we put more value on the life of an animal than a child.  Every year when football season starts we hear the talk about what a disgrace it is that Michael Vick has a second chance at an NFL career after being released from prison for dog fighting. He paid his dues and yet he is chastised and faces resentment every day for having another chance.  Take a look at the number of pedaphiles and child molesters and child trafficking offenders who are on the streets and holding jobs they never should get close to.  Go onto your computer on sex offender sites and put in your address and see just how many sex offenders are your neighbors. When are we going to start to protect helpless children as much as we protect helpless animals?

Past Times

My very favorite past time in life is reading.  Given my druthers, I will take a quiet afternoon with a good book over almost anything else. I once took a bag of books and went to a secluded resort in San Jose del Cabo all alone and stayed till I read the entire bag full of books. I remember that trip fondly as I enjoyed a delicious Margarita every afternoon, took a nice siesta and started my reading all over again.  The resort had no telephones and  no TV’s and it was heaven.

I am in the process of reading Malcomb Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point”. He also wrote “Blink” and “Outliers” which were equally good.  The books are about how some people just seem to excel in life and the reasons why, the so called coincidences in life and the ways in which we can change our futures.

I, most recently, finished “Hunger Games” which is part of a fantasy novel trilogy.  Wow,wow, wow is about all I can say about that one. It is full of addictive survival scenarios in a brutal storyline about 12 districts and a capitol in what used to be our country. The games are “24 men enter and only one man leaves”. A teenage girl is the main character and the book follows her through her determination to survive. I cannot wait to read the other two.  This is storytelling at it’s best. The author is Suzanne Collins and she truly has a gift.

6 Mistakes Real Estate Investors Make

Six Mistakes Housing Investors Make – Investing in real estate right now can be surprisingly profitable, if everything goes well.  Investors will want to avoid falling into one of these common traps:
* Mistake 1: Confusing a cheap deal for a good deal.
Homes in deserted subdivisions aren’t any more appealing to renters than they are to buyers.  The same is true for less-attractive properties or those in less-desirable school districts.
* Mistake 2: Overlooking key costs.
Factor in closing costs of 3% to 6%, the costs to fix up the place and maintain it, and your holding costs.
* Mistake 3: Forgetting that time is money.
You lose money when your property is empty, whether you are painting it or between tenants.