Raw Bloggers' Digest

Dr. Connealy explains here how cancer is not a tumor—it’s a systemic problem and therefore must be treated systemically:

This isn’t something from MY harvest but it is from someone’s garden/farm. I’d bought a bunch of parsley and when I remembered it, it was languishing in the refrigerator. I don’t like to throw out food so I decided I’d see what I could do.

Taking the wilted sprigs out of the bag, I cut the ends off with a sharp knife. Don’t use scissors for this. They will crush the stems. Then I stuck the whole thing in a jar of purified water.

It looked pretty sad and I was wondering if I should write it off as a loss and discard it. I decided to give it a chance, though. I was glad I did because here’s what it looked like a few hours later:

Now, I’m not saying that the nutritional value was as much as when it was freshly picked but it made it salvageable. This will also work with salad greens and tougher greens like collards and kale. If the water is hot (not so hot you can’t put your hand in it) it works even more quickly.

While fresh produce should be used as soon as possible for maximum value, it isn’t always possible. Keep this in mind for your next emergency resuscitation.

Holy shit! There goes my potty mouth again. I guess I’m starting to get more comfortable around you guys. I ordered a Norwalk Juicer. Do I even need to say anymore???? Ok, I will! I ordered it on Sunday night. :)

Greg and I have been talking about the awesomeness of the Norwalk Juicer (a.k.a. the ultimate in juicing, hands down, the highest quality, bestest – yes, I just wrote “bestest” juice, because it warrants that. Ever. On the planet.) I’m sure you can sense a bit of my excitement. Where was I? Oh yeah, Greg and I have been discussing the Norwalk for about three years. I’ve had it on my vision board since then. Recently, we decided to take the plunge and buy the sucker!

Why is it the best? Well, the short of it is this:

1. Cold-pressed juice for the ultimate juicing experience
2. Massively high nutrient content in your juice compared to other juicers (check out these laboratory stats)
3. Highest yield (The pulp comes out dull colored and dry like a wafer, so you’re getting every drip from your organic produce. Apparently, animals won’t even eat the pulp because all of the nutrition is gone.)

Don’t be discouraged by the price. No sticker shock. Truth is… it pays for itself. Yup. If you juice a lot, and we do, it can pay for itself in about a year. If you juice modestly, maybe three years. Juice just a bit? Ok, longer, but it has a 12 year warranty, so eventually it pays for itself! Here’s how they put it on their California site (great videos there of Norwalk Juicers in the news)

The Norwalk Juicer Produces 50-100% more juice than other juicers: Based on organic produce costing an average of $1.50 per pound people who drink 12 glasses of juice per day will save $3000 per year in organic produce using the Norwalk over another juicer! Anyone who drinks 4 glasses of juice per day will save $1000 per year in produce, for the rest of their lives!

According to their other website where I placed my order:

Complete extraction. The tremendous pressure exerted by the Norwalk Hydraulic Press gently and completely extracts the natural fruit sugars, vitamins, trace minerals, enzymes, and other vital elements. This imparts to the juice an extremely fine quality and flavor which is unequaled by any other method of juice extraction.

Frozen Juices. Norwalk juices may be deep frozen and held for periods of up to 6 months with very little loss in food values. Green juices may be made up in quantities in season and frozen in ice cube trays and stored in plastic bags in your deep freeze.

Storage of juices. The Hydraulic Press method of juice extraction provides a minimum mixing of air with the juices which results in very slow oxidation or decomposition. This is why Norwalk juices may be kept refrigerated in closed containers for several days with little, if any, apparent loss of flavor, color or, vital elements. With the Norwalk it is possible to keep the refrigerator stocked at all times with a variety of delicious and satisfying juices with only occasional use of the juicer required.

Simple and efficient. So simple, that a 25-pound sack of carrots may be juiced in 20 minutes, providing 7 to 8 quarts of juice. Many Norwalk owners juice only 1 or 2 times a week to keep their refrigerator stocked with a variety of fresh juices.

Let me just say this… I loaned my Hurom, my current juicer of choice, to my friend and I’ve been using my Green Star. What a pain in the ass that thing is. Good heavens! Now, the Hurom is a very good juicer, but it has its share of cons. It produces a lot of foam and doesn’t strain enough so I always have to strain after juicing. Now that I know the potential of the Norwalk, the Hurom is going to start paling in comparison.

So, I’m beyond friggin’ stoked. My cells are doing a happy dance. I’m just trying to come up with a name for it now. Hmmm.

Of course… I will blog many deets once I try my new baby out. Count on it. There are many things to learn to make the Norwalk experience simple and fun. I’ve been studying diligently… scouring the forums, blog posts, reviews, etc. I’m only a Norwalk Padawan right now, but I will soon be a Norwalk Jedi.Similar Posts:

• Updated Juicer Review – My Newest Juicer – Perfect For A Busy Mama
• New Juicer Comparison (video)- Green Star vs Breville vs Hurom
• Green Juice For The Day With My Hurom
• My Favorite Juicers: Green Star & Breville
• Organic Green Juice – Refreshing, Hydrating, Delicious!

Of course, every cancer patient hopes for the words “remission” or even better, “cure.”

Those things are possible and do happen regularly, especially with early-stage cancers. But, one thing that has been a surprise to me in my studies thus far is that practitioners almost universally talk about how cancer does not have to be a death sentence, while admitting that they cannot always make it disappear.

In other words, Contreras and others talk about co-existing with cancer. They tell stories of patients who have spots on their lungs and in their bones, for many years, even decades, without them growing or causing health problems. (This was the case with my grandfather, who had a cancer behind his eye for most of his adult life—you can tell by looking at photos—before it finally killed him in his late 70’s. His M.D., whose treatments my grandfather refused, told him that the healthy diet he ate with my grandmother, for many years, made that possible.)

Co-existing peacefully with cancer is possible due to solid integrative treatment in the beginning, and excellent detoxification practices, mental/emotional self-care, and nutrition for the long haul after that.

Who knows what ONE thing makes the difference. Both Drs. Contreras and Connealy said to me that it’s not just one thing—but many pieces in a puzzle that accomplish these objectives:

–break down tumor tissue

–cut off its blood supply

–oxygenate tumor and surrounding tissues

–alkalize the body and tumor tissue

–detoxify to eliminate chemicals and metals

–strengthen the immune system

–stop feeding the cancer

This whole-body, integrative treatment makes it hard to compete for print in the medical journals. Dr. Contreras said to me, “I hope one day soon, whole-system therapies are published in peer-reviewed medical journals.”

Many patients go in to have their tumor markers monitored, and the tumor masses measured, and then increase their diligence with green juices and avoiding sugars, if there has been any activity, to get it in control.

I’ve talked to patients who have done this for decades—and practitioners who describe it as a common occurrence. Did you see the video of Andie, treated at Oasis of Hope Irvine? She eats a raw vegan diet with virtually no sugar—and thinks cabbage is a treat because her tastes have changed so much. Her breast cancer, which she believes began during her horrific divorce and custody battle several years before a 2-cm. tumor was detected, is not gone—it’s just gone except for scar tissue.

Most patients going to Oasis of Hope are Stage 4. Unfortunately the cancer revolution I predict—Medicare cannot sustain $100K to $1 million chemotherapy invoices, and the American public is getting sick of it—is still in embryonic stages. So people do chemo FIRST and go to the integrative or alternative docs when they are full of cancer.

Dr. Contreras says, of his mostly Stage IV practice, that his statistics “show that we are making progress toward the goal of turning advanced cancer into a chronic disease that can be managed in the long term—rather like diabetes—as opposed to a rapid death sentence.”

He continues, “…our treatment protocols…are in a constant state of evolution. Barely a month goes by that we don’t add some new element to our regimens, or modify them in a way that seems likely to improve their efficacy.”

• 2 cup nuts ($9.90)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice ($.50)
• 1 teaspoon probiotic powder (or a few capsules, opened) ($1.50)
• dried or fresh herbs for rolling

• In a blender, add together all the cheese ingredients except for the probiotics and dried herbs. Add more water if necessary for blending.
• Puree for several minutes until as smooth and creamy as possible. 
• Stir in probiotic powder.
• Pour into a jar or other glass container and cover with cheese cloth. 
• Let sit for about 24 hours at room temperature to develop a cheese flavor. As it sits, the nut "cream" will also thicken up, making it easier to handle.
• Once the flavor has developed to your liking (taste test every so often), divide in three equal portions and form into circles. 
• Wrap each in the cheese cloth and place them in a colander with a weight or weighted plate on top. Put the colander in a sink or over a plate or bowl to catch any drips. A lot of the liquid will be pressed out of the cheese this way.
• Let it press for several hours.

• calories: 180      fat: 17 gr      carbs: 5 gr      protein: 5 gr

Look at all the meat eaters passing the lone deficient vegan.

You know I don’t  promote any “isms”–vegetarianism, veganism, raw foodism.  I’m secretly a fan of all those movements. But I don’t adopt them because I think they send most people running for the hills. And I believe that sticking to the idea of eating MORE PLANT FOODS wins more converts.

But I don’t cook/serve animal flesh in my home. My older daughter, though, is a militant vegetarian.

The younger one, Libby, 14, struggles. She admires her sister’s “cause” orientation, and has “gone veg” several times but it doesn’t stick. She goes to her dad’s where meat is a staple, and she caves in, falls off the wagon. She has been looking at vegetarian vids on youtube and studying the issue.

Today she brought me this typed statement:

“I, Libby Pay, am going vegan. I will not eat anything with eggs or milk. Or meat. So I want to make  special veggie foods for myself since the rest of you drink kefir in the mornings. If I have to drink kefir I will be deeply hurt. Anyways, to make my special food I would like these ingredients. Some of them I have already, but just want to make sure I am allowed to use them. I want to be hardcore vegan. You don’t have to be. But I really want to.”

“Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatoes, fresh kale (to try this one recipe I found), black beans, that seaweed stuff you buy, big carrots, garlic and onion, green and black olives (not needed, just somewhat wanted!), green beans, cucumbers.”

“I feel very strongly about this. If it gets too hard, I’ll just be vegetarian, but I really want to do this.”

A few hours later, she came in with a binder she’d made, with lots of printed material about cruelty to animals and nutritional support for a plant-based diet, in plastic sleeves. The cover page has this printed, in large text:

“WHY I DO NOT EAT MEAT:

“Yes, God may have put them on the earth for us to eat. But in the scriptures it says to eat meat sparingly in times of winter and famine. I don’t think our Heavenly Father intended for the animals we eat to be tortured, stuffed into tight cages for their whole lives, beaten, and to rarely see sunlight. Chickens, pigs, and cows have been chemically altered to grow way bigger than they are supposed to. They put steroids in the animals to make more meat. These animals can’t walk, and are tortured daily.”

I’m so proud of my kids when they stand for something. When it’s something that will benefit them and the world, even better!

Now if I could just get them to take a vigilante stand against SUGAR.

October 2004 was predictable. First, there would be my granddaughter’s third birthday, then Halloween at the hospital and after that, homecoming at the university. All three were traditions by now and there was no question I would be participating.

The birthday itself fell on Sabbath and for any little celebrant in Sabbath School, it was a landmark occasion. She was dressed in her finest.

Children who could repeat their memory verse had their hands stamped as a reward. Her birthday warranted lots of stamping and she was thrilled.

When all was said and done, she was a little pensive because it was over.

Well, that part was but the next day, we were all set up again in the wind tunnel aka the picnic shelter at the Imagination Station. This year, the theme was “My Little Pony” complete with a cake with my granddaughter’s picture.

Before it was cut, Mom and daughter posed for a picture.

She looked like, “Enough, already!”

My other daughter-in-law and granddaughter were there for the festivities.

After the picnic, cake-slaughtering and present opening, there was the real fun. She was getting old enough that she could run and climb with the best of them.

She was really pleased with herself because she could slide all alone this year.

As for me, it was fortunate that I didn’t care a whole lot for cake. I had enough sinful food favorites to make up for it. I wasn’t one to get up in the middle of the night to snack but watching TV wasn’t watching TV unless I had something to munch on and it showed.

Halloween had rolled around once again and it was time to do the dress up gig. I decided I would show my true self and went as an old hag.

You could see that, while I might have a lot of problems, a lack of appetite wasn’t one of them.

A big deal was the pumpkin carving. Below are a few of the ones done that year. The first one is sort of poking fun at the people who insist on smoking even though they have breathing problems.

I thought this one was particularly creative:

The next big deal was Homecoming. My granddaughter was dressed in a new outfit and was glad to pose so I could take pictures.

What made this Homecoming even more special than usual was the Reunion Concert by all the members of the singing group my son had sung with for several years. The pipe organ was the backdrop.

This is about half of the group that was on the platform. DS1 is wearing a black suit and standing to the left of the podium.

There was a get-together meal afterward with quite a spread of food. As luck would have it, we sat with another of the singers and his wife. It was during the stuffing of my face that I found out she was an old flame’s daughter. She insisted on taking a picture of me to show her father. I wasn’t too happy with that turn of events and glared into the camera. The picture was probably on a par with my Halloween one. There was one thing that was sure—I wouldn’t hear from him as a result.

Listen to Roger Doiron’s TedTalk, about how we take control of our food supply and change the world. This video is worth your time:

View Roger Doiron’s TedTalk HERE!

I’m a huge fan of growing your own food. It can truly change your life. It empowers you. It connects you to your food source. It gets you out in the sun with your hands in the dirt, which gives you the most important hormone/vitamin to prevent cancer, and grounds you to help eliminate the harmful electromagnetic frequencies you build up. It saves you money. It will make you feel happy, I promise.

Step 5 in 12 Steps to Whole Foods is all about how to grow an organic garden, in any amount of space, and use everything you grow. Thank you to Marianne, our new webmaster and a longtime GSG reader, for sharing this video with me.

I touch a bit on the subject here. For more info look up Dr Esselstyn and his site www.heartattackproof.com

Let’s just be honest and to the point. This post involves talk of colons, poop, speculums going up the bum, and more. Therefore, you might want to pass. But, I know there are some very interested folks out there in hearing more about enemas and colonics. Today, I’m sharing my recent adventures in them.

Let’s see… I’ve been living a raw (or at least high-raw) life for a long while now … going on 7-8 years. Two things I’ve never been interested in though, which many raw foodies are, are enemas and colonics. I’m asked frequently and my answer is always the same. I go to the bathroom enough. I shouldn’t need those. In the back of my mind, I also knew they’re controversial – although I’d never done any in-depth research. Some people believe they’re essential no matter what, some say they’re important if you’re ill, and some say they’re harmful (typically allopathic docs, which I should know better than to just follow their advice blindly). But, since I didn’t think I had a need for them, I figured I was playing it safe by avoiding them. After all… I poop a lot.

Well, as you all know, I’m evolving. My life is transforming. I’m living life on a more vibrant plane. As a result I’m becoming open to more things: yoga, enemas, and colonics being three of them. So when I started re-reading Normal Walker’s books (oldies but goodies like this one and this one), listening to cool peeps like the Monarchs yapping about them on YouTube, this time around I kept my mind open. I considered what I was reading and learning… things like… just because you go to the bathroom multiple times a day does not mean that you don’t need your colon cleansed… just because you eat an uber healthy diet, does not mean you wouldn’t benefit still tremendously from spiffing up your colon… just because you think you know better, maybe you don’t and you should look more into it.

OK, I’ll bite – chomp chomp. I started reading about them more, both on the internet and in books like Inside Poop. Honestly, I won’t go into the details of what I’ve learned because it’s late at night and I’m trying to get this post done. I’ve been trying to write it for over a week. Suffice it to say, I decided that I actually WANTED to try enemas and colonics. I realized that they could be beneficial to someone even like me. I am of the mind now that my colon needs to be cleaned even when I go to the bathroom a lot, even when I eat a clean diet, even when I’m not ill… and especially if you don’t go to the bathroom a lot, especially if you don’t eat a super clean diet, and especially if you’re ill (be it headache, acne, stress, cancer, etc). Of course, I’m not a doc, you all know that. I’m not giving medical advice. I’m just sayin’ that enemas and colonics have a place in my life and they might in yours. Do the research and see. 

Breastfeeding or pregnant?When I decided I was ready to take the plunge, I wanted to know if it was ok for me to do an enema and/or colonic while breastfeeding. Here’s what I found. Enemas are fine and should be for most people. However, they can cause detox so consider that. I, personally, am not afraid of that because of my clean diet. But, if you’re breastfeeding and have a crappy diet (I don’t even want to go there!) and you suddenly start doing enemas then it might not be a good idea? I don’t know. Ask your naturopath and do your research. Same goes for pregnancy. However, I know people do enemas while pregnant. Again, do your own research.

As far as colonics go, I did come across a local site that won’t do colonics for breastfeeding women, while many other sites were fine with breastfeeding moms. Pregnancy is a bit different though when it comes to colonics. Apparently, they’re to be avoided during the first and third trimesters.

OK! So! I’ll bet you want more personal details! Bear in mind, I’m not a professional enema-er… I’ve only just started these so who knows if I’m doing them exactly right. So far so good though! I’ve no complaints. :)

When I decided I wanted to do them, I had no idea where to begin. So, I found a couple of websites that gave some details, I bought a 1.5 quart bag, and I went to town! After I cleaned the bag when it arrived, I grabbed my iPhone (might as well have tunes or texting, right?), walked into the bathroom, put some towels on the floor, rolled up a towel for under my head, undressed, filled the bag with warm filtered water, hung the bag on the towel rack, let out some water to make sure there’s no air in the tube, clamped the hose shut, sat on the floor, put some Andrea’s oil on my bum and on the speculum part that goes into my bum, laid on my back, knees raised (sometimes I even put my feet on the wall), inserted the speculum thing (no big deal at all, like the size of an eraser on top of a pencil if that), unlatched the hose lock, and the water flowed.

I learned from reading that if it feels like pressure, try to massage your belly a bit or roll to the left or right. See if it passes and you can keep going. You can massage counter clockwise while filling your body. If you feel you can’t keep going (common in the beginning of a session if you need to release some poops), then clamp the hose, stand up, walk to toilet with hose still in you (good idea to do all this by the toilet so the enema bag can stay hanging and you can move to toilet with hose still up your bum otherwise you risk pooh-ing on the floor). Pull it out and release the water (and poop) into the toilet. Don’t stay on the toilet if you’re straining. If you haven’t completed the session, then start over and put more water back in. Make sense?

That’s how I do enemas.

I knew immediately that I needed a bigger bag so I upgraded to the 4 quart. When it arrived I was shocked to find the speculum thing was bigger! Yikes. Fortunately, I just took the hose off the small bag with the smaller speculum and attached it to the bigger bag. Whew! It’s working like a charm. In hindsight, I’m glad I have both bags for the aforementioned speculum issue but also, I think the smaller bag is ideal for travel. Yes, along with packing my high speed blender when I travel, I’ll now be packing my enema bag.

I’m also proud of myself. This was something I never thought I’d do. I became open to it. I researched it. I did it. And, as a result, I feel like I stretched my self. It was a challenge and I tackled it.

One last note about enemas… Staying hydrated is important. I noticed a couple times feeling thirstier (even on my raw diet!), so I drink more water.

So, what about colonics? Well, after doing enemas a few times, I decided it was time for the big dog. Bring on the colonic. I researched various medical centers (I didn’t feel right going to a spa for it. I preferred going to a doctor’s office where they had naturopathic docs on staff). I read their websites, called them to ask questions and finally decided on a local place called Aletris. (Highly recommend them!)

Turns out the gal doing the colon hydrotherapy is vegan and even knowledgeable about raw foods. She answered all of my anxious questions before beginning. I’ll say this right now. It was awkward for me. Having someone put something up my bum and hold it there for about 45 minutes just isn’t a walk in the park.

I think the biggest surprise, however, was the size of the disposable speculum! Holy moly! Bigger than even the one that came with my 4 quart enema bag. When she pulled it out of the package, I was like… whoa what’s that? Rest assured, it actually didn’t hurt, but it was weird. Let’s be honest, it makes you feel like you want to push it out.

Anyway, despite that, it ended up being fairly relaxing because of her. She had soothing opera music on. I had to keep reming myself to just let gooooo. After awhile it was easier to chill, and I’m confident that for the next colonic it’ll be that much better because it won’t be my first rodeo. The colon hydrotherapist said I was impressive, that my “waste” was as it should be (after all, you get to watch the waste leaving you as it goes through the machine – at one point I think I saw a goji berry – ewww gross – just a friendly reminder that I need to chew better – tee hee). After it was over, I was starving but I hadn’t eaten much earlier in the day so I’ll remember to eat more breakfast next time. They recommend that.

I will do more colonics in the future but probably not for awhile. The colon hydrotherapist actually said that I had a nice colon and she didn’t need to see me but maybe 1-2 times a year, if that (yay raw vegan food!). She said if I feel I need it, then ok, but she saw no immediate need for more sessions. Groovy. I’ll stick with my enemas for now.

So, what about you? Do you have other questions? Do you like enemas or colonics? Care to share your stories, tips, and tricks?

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• My 90-Day Clean Raw Food Mission – Kristen Suzanne’s Raw Reboot™
• One of The Reasons I Love Protein Powders in a Raw Vegan Diet
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• Diet Junkie – My Former Days
• My 90-Day Clean Raw Food Mission – Kristen Suzanne’s Raw Reboot™ – Update #4

I’ve been involved in the raw food movement for over 15 years. Years ago, there was a thriving time of raw food events and festivals of all kinds.

Then over the last few years there has been a sort of “dead zone.”

Not many BIG live raw food events and festivals have taken place.

And for the few that did take place, I couldn’t really recommend them because they were all about consuming more supplements, cacao and superfoods, and not about eating REAL raw foods.

Now that’s all changed with an amazing festival that will probably be the biggest raw food event of all times, and this one is really promoting the RIGHT kind of raw food diet.

The Woodstock Fruit Festival 2012 will take place on August 20 – August 28 in beautiful upstate NY.

People from ALL over the world will be coming to this festival.

Including lots of long-timers and experts such as:

- Dr. Douglas Graham – an athlete and a raw vegan since 1978, an author
of 80/10/10 Diet book

- Dr. Robert Lockhart – raw vegan for about 30 years

- Anne Osborne – fruitarian for over 20 years, who brought up 2 children
on the fruitarian diet, an author of the book Fruitarianism – The Path to
Paradise

- Dan McDonald – raw vegan for about 10 years, youtube channel -

- Harley Johnstone aka Durianrider - low fat raw vegan, endurance
cyclist

- Don Bennett – low fat raw vegan for over 18 years, the director of the
Health 101 Institute

- Michael Arnstein aka The Fruitarian – low fat raw vegan, competitive
ultra distance runner

- Tony Wright – raw vegan and human consciousness researcher, the
co-author of Left in the Dark book presenting an outline of his theory
about human brain owing a part of its extraordinary development to the
biochemistry of a fruit diet.

- Dr. Samuel Mielcarski – low fat raw vegan for over 12 years, licensed
physical therapist.

- Karen Ranzi – raw vegan since 1995, www.SuperHealthyChildren.com;

- Chris Kendall – low fat raw vegan athlete, www.The-Raw-Advantage.com;

- Ellen Livingston – low fat raw vegan since 2002 and a yoga teacher,
www.LivingYogaNow.com;

- Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram – low fat raw vegan for over 7 years and a
founder of non-profit food co-op called Rawfully Organic,
www.RawfullyOrganic.com;

- Mike Vlasaty – low fat raw vegan athlete and power-lifter,

http://www.youtube.com/user/fruitandstrength;

I think this is something you definitely do not want to miss. The energy of a festival like the Woodstock Fruit Festival is amazing. You’ll come back home reenergized, with new insights that could change your life.

Check out these videos to get an idea:

You can find out more about the festival by going to:

http://www.thewoodstockfruitfestival.com/

I would recommend signing up early. I heard from the organizers that spots are filling up fast.

That’s what one of my sisters emailed she hoped I was up to doing. Not quite. Even now, I’m not there yet. Better but not altogether well.

I’d been out to the garage on Friday to get some things out of the freezer. My supply of cooked fava beans would be zilch after breakfast on Sabbath. Saturday night, I almost forgot to put them to soak but I remembered just in time. Sunday morning, when I took the lid off the pan, I was greeted with the usual giant beans staring up at me. People have a hard time understanding just how big the beans are so I thoroughly washed a quarter and took some pictures so I can answer the question once and for all.

As usual, you can click on the picture to see a larger size.

I’m still spending a lot of time in Mother’s chair though I was able to start exercising again on Wednesday. I managed almost 8,000 steps that day and 11,000 both Thursday and Friday. I’ve been walking to the mailbox, too. My periods of exertion are getting longer and longer. I actually even made a batch of Super Duper Gut Bombettes on Thursday and took a couple over to my neighbor. The Bombettes are a bit smaller than the Bombs because I’m trying not to sabotage myself. There’s still the weight loss challenge, you know.

This morning, I had the alarm set for 6 a.m. I “snoozed” it until almost 6:30. There was a rip-roarin’ storm going on and it was nice to just lie there and listen to the rain.

I managed to make it to church a tad early but my trip to the bathroom delayed my arrival at the organ. Today convinced me that it takes some effort to play the organ for both Sabbath School and church with two song services. By the time it was over, I was tired.

I hadn’t coughed at all while I was in the building but when I got outside and started breathing the cold damp air, I started in hacking like I was a few days ago. As soon as I could get in the car and go, I went. There was a fellowship meal today–I don’t know why because the regular ones are on the second and fourth Sabbaths of the month. It isn’t unusual not to be notified of such but I wouldn’t have stayed, anyway. I let a couple of people know that I won’t be going to prayer meeting until the weather improves and the days get longer. Guess I’m getting Up There.

Tomorrow, there is some kind of food party at the home of one of the members. I’d thought about going but I don’t think I will. There’s lots to do here at home to get caught up to where I was (which was behind) so I believe it would be better to spend my energy that way.

I’ve been looking at floor lamps so I can see to read while I’m sitting in Mother’s chair. I have yet to find one that I’d want that’s affordable. The one I had was brass and it got wet and grew awful green stuff so I put it out to be discarded. Maybe Goodwill?

The weather this week has been dismal, mostly. There was one day I could sit in the sun. That’s not enough. When I drove home today, it was through a think pea-soup fog. Tuesday is the first day we are supposed to get an appreciable amount of sun. At least I have that to look forward to.