National Candy Corn Day

By Akindman,

Candy corn history dates back to the 1880s when the Philadelphia-based Wunderlee Candy Company's George Renninger invented this popular candy. Wunderlee Candy Company was the first company to manufacture the candy. In 1900, the Goelitz Candy Company, which later became the Jelly Belly Candy Company, started making these candies and continues to make candy corn today. (Wikipedia)

Candy corn is one of those polarizing Halloween traditions; people either love 'em or just can't stand them. Their triangular shape, Autumnal colors, and sweet little stripes make up an image ingrained in Halloween celebrations all over the world. In honor of the iconic seasonal treat, I looked up a few facts and put it all together in a fun quiz. Think you know candy corn? Test your knowledge here.

1. What are the three primary ingredients of the original candy corn recipe?

    a) Sugar, corn syrup, powdered sugar

    b) Sugar, water, and corn syrup

    c) Sugar, water, and honey

2. Originally, how many months per year did they produce candy corn?

    a) Five

    b) Eight

    c) 12

3. On average, how many calories does each kernel of candy corn contain?

    a) 2.57

    b) 3.07

    c) 3.57

4. In the Thanksgiving variation, "Indian Candy Corn," what color is the yellow layer replaced with?

    a) Brown

    b) Red

    c) Orange

Answers:

B – Sugar, water and corn syrup

A – Five

C – 3.57

A – Brown

10/29 Psoriasis Therapy Month

By Diane Forrest, RN

You may remember the "Heartbreak of Psoriasis" commercial.  This was a commercial selling Tegrin medicated shampoo.  It was a treatment for psoriasis, but they never really told you what that was.

Psoriasis is a common skin condition that causes skin redness and irritation. Most people with psoriasis have thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales.

Psoriasis is a very common condition. The disorder may affect people of any age, but it most commonly begins between ages 15 and 35.

The condition cannot be spread to others.

Psoriasis seems to be passed down through families. Doctors think it probably occurs when the body's immune system mistakes healthy cells for dangerous substances

The following may trigger an attack of psoriasis or make the condition more difficult to treat:

• Bacteria or viral infections, including strep throat and upper respiratory infections
• Dry air or dry skin
• Injury to the skin, including cuts, burns, and insect bites
• Some medicines, including antimalaria drugs, beta-blockers, and lithium
• Stress
• Too little sunlight
• Too much sunlight (sunburn)
• Too much alcohol

Symptoms:

• Psoriasis can appear suddenly or slowly. In many cases, psoriasis goes away and then flares up again repeatedly over time.
• People with psoriasis have irritated patches of skin. The redness is most often seen on the elbows, knees, and trunk, but it can appear anywhere on the body. For example, there may be flaky patches on the scalp.

The skin patches or dots may be:

• Itchy
• Dry and covered with silver, flaky skin (scales)
• Pink-red in color (like the color of salmon)
• Raised and thick

Treatment:

The goal of treatment is to control your symptoms and prevent infections.

In general, three treatment options are used for patients with psoriasis:

• Topical medications such as lotions, ointments, creams, and shampoos
• Body-wide (systemic) medications, which are pills or injections that affect the whole body, not just the skin
• Phototherapy, which uses light to treat psoriasis

Most cases of psoriasis are treated with medications that are placed directly on the skin or scalp:

• Cortisone creams and ointments
• Creams or ointments that contain coal tar or anthralin
• Creams to remove the scaling (usually salicylic acid or lactic acid)
• Dandruff shampoos (over-the-counter or prescription)
• Moisturizers
• Prescription medicines containing vitamin D or vitamin A (retinoids)

If you have an infection, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics.

You may try the following self-care at home:

• Oatmeal baths may be soothing and may help to loosen scales. You can use over-the-counter oatmeal bath products. Or, you can mix 1 cup of oatmeal into a tub of warm water.
• Sunlight may help your symptoms go away. Be careful not to get sunburned.
• Relaxation and ant stress techniques may be helpful. The link between stress and flares of psoriasis is not well understood, however.
• Some people may choose to have phototherapy.
• Phototherapy is a medical treatment in which your skin is carefully exposed to ultraviolet light.
• Phototherapy may be given alone or after you take a drug that makes the skin sensitive to light.
• Phototherapy for psoriasis can be given as ultraviolet A (UVA) or ultraviolet B (UVB) light.

Prevention:

• There is no known way to prevent psoriasis. Keeping the skin clean and moist and avoiding your specific psoriasis triggers may help reduce the number of flare-ups.
• Doctors recommend daily baths or showers for persons with psoriasis. Avoid scrubbing too hard, because this can irritate the skin and trigger an attack.

The main thing to remember is that it is not contagious, and those who suffer from it lead a very embarrassing and isolating life.  If you know someone who has this condition, or see someone with scaly patches, do not stare or ask questions, just show support and understanding. 

For more information visit this site;http://www.psoriasis.org/

Cat's

By Akindman,

Cats, whether they are big or small, black or white, long-haired or short-haired, make excellent pets! These furry felines have strong, flexible bodies and quick reflexes. They are also nocturnal and have acute hearing and an ability to see in near darkness. This is why cats usually prey on mice: the rodents make high frequency noises so the cats can pinpoint exactly where they are.

National Cat Day was founded in 2005 by Pet Lifestyle Expert & Animal Welfare advocate Colleen Paige in order to help the public recognize the number of cats each year that need to be rescued. There are approximately 4 million cats entering shelters each year, with 1-2 million of them being euthanized.

Cats are often overlooked as pets because they don't help people like police dogs or guide dogs. But research shows that having a cat as a pet can lower an owner's blood pressure and stress level. Cats also have many different types of vocalizations that they use to communicate with their owners including meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting.

On National Cat Day, celebrate cats and the unconditional love and companionship that they provide to their owners. If you don't own a cat, today is a great opportunity to volunteer at your local animal shelter to play with the cats and give them some attention. You may just fall in love and want to adopt one!

Wild Food Day

By Diane Forrest,

An old timer who grew and collected much of the food he ate used to say something like this:

"The plants I grow in my garden and the foods I collect in the woods have to fight off the same bacteria, molds and viruses that I do. The ones that live in this area near my house. They've developed immunities over hundreds of years to survive here -- the fiddleheads, wild leeks, mushrooms and blackberries. When I eat them I get the benefit of some of that evolution. When you go buy fancy vegetables from California and fruit from South America or some faraway place, what good does that food do you? None of the bugs it’s had to fight off live here. It might even do you some harm."

My son grew up in boy scouts, from the time he was a cub, til he reached the rank of Eagle.  They would go on many overnight camping trips in the woods in our area.  During these trips they would learn about how to survive in the wild.  The would locate and identify edible plants, as well as learn how to trap and prepare animals, clean and cook the things they gathered as well as other useful information.

There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that you can survive off of the land and catching and preparing your own food without the use of a grocery store or microwave.  Many men and women in the south are known for their skills in hunting and fishing.  They claim that the first day of deer season should be considered a national holiday.  Each year during deer season, our local paper is full of hunters with their kills.  They take great pride in being able to supply food for their families.  They grow up learning the rules and skills of hunting and tracking, and pass this knowledge on to their children.  If you take care of nature, it will take care of you.

It has been my experience ( since I am not much of a chef) that men have a knack for cooking wild game, so I am giving you a recipe from an experienced deer hunter called Deer Meat Supreme:

• Venison
• Salt
• Pepper
• Meat Tenderizer
• Flour
• Margarine
• Lemon Juice
• Accent
• Eggs
• Lemon Pepper

Tenderize venison that has been aged properly.  Place meat on cookie sheet and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Add pepper (heavy), lemon pepper, salt (sparingly) meat tenderizer, Accent and marinate for 1/2 hour.  Turn meat and repeat process and marinate for 1/2 hour.  Flour meat, dip in beaten egg and flour again.  Fry in cast iron skillet with about 3/4 inch hot bacon grease for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn and try another 2 to 3 minutes.  For a different taste, you can skip the egg and flour and fry in 1 stick butter.  Do not overcook.  Enjoy!

One of my favorite recipes with deer is deer sausage.  The sausage is made at meat packing facility.  Of course you can make your own, but it’s easier to have it prepared.  You can also have hamburger made from deer meat as well.

I like the link sausage and my daddy's old scout recipe for biscuits.

Boy Scout Biscuits:

1 cup self rising flour

1 heaping table spoon mayonnaise

Milk

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix flour and mayonnaise, then add milk until the mixture is thick, not too dry, and not too wet.  Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until done.  Makes about 6.

Slice sausage down the center and place in skillet.  Fry until done and place on hot buttered biscuit.

For other information about wild food and recipes click here http://theforagerpress.com/fieldguide/basics.htm

Today is wild food day, so try something different and see what you can find in your yard.  Just make sure it is edible and not poisonous first!

THE ONLY FLAG THAT DOESN'T FLY

(an email to share)

Between the fields where the flag is planted, there are 9+ miles of flower fields that go all the way to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed Companies. It's a beautiful place, close to Vandenberg AFB. Check out the dimensions of the flag. The Floral Flag is 740 feet long and 390 feet Wide and maintains the proper Flag dimensions, as described in Executive Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65 acres and is the first Floral Flag to be Planted with 5-pointed Stars, comprised of White Larkspur.  Each Star is 24 feet in diameter; each Stripe is 30 feet wide. This Flag is estimated to Contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants, with 4-5 flower stems each, for a total of more than 2 million flowers. 

American Beer day

By Diane Forrest,

Benjamin Franklin once said that Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the United States, where over 1,400 breweries produce more than 6 billion gallons annually.  Beer has been around for thousands of years.  The earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500–3100 BC.

It is the third most popular beverage, behind tea and water.  Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 1,700 breweries.   Americans drink more than 50 billion pints of beer each year—that's enough to fill 1 out of every 25 residential in-ground pools in the U.S.!

I can remember being around beer from an early age.  My father would sip some suds on the weekends, I grew up singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall, and when I went to college there were always games to play that involved drinking beer. Even when I started working at the hospital I had a doctor to order beer for one of his patients.

One of the best beers I ever drank was on a hot summer day out at the lake and the only thing I had to drink was an ice cold beer.  While I am not a beer drinker, I have used it on occasion as a rinse for my hair and in batter for frying onion rings.

Today is American Beer day, and you have many different brands to choose from.  One of the best selling brands is Budweiser.  While I’m not an expert on the taste, I have to admit they have some great commercials.  Who can forget the singing frogs, and the beautiful Christmas ads with the Clydesdale horses, or the awesome memorial tribute to the victims of 9/11.

So today, on American Beer day, why not relax and blow the froth off a few, and if your aren't a beer drinker, have some beer battered onion rings...or even rinse out your hair, but enjoy celebrating this fun day.

To Good Lung Heath

By Diane Forrest, RN

The other day I was talking to my father's former secretary.  She had recently moved out of state, so I wanted to catch up to see how things were going.  Things were not going well for her, she had developed COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and Emphysema.  I could tell as she was talking to me how short of breath she was getting, and she had a frequent cough.  As she talked about her treatment and medications she realized that this condition was not totally unexpected.  She has been a heavy smoker for years, and smoking is the number one cause of COPD.

Smoking is not the only cause of damage to your lungs.  Exposure to dangerous fumes and certain gases in the workplace, or long exposure to cooking with fire can also cause lung damage.  Air pollution is another cause for lung damage.

From the moment you are born, the first action you take is breathing.  In the old days the doctor used to whack a baby on its bottom to start that first breath.  My son just celebrated his birthday, and I found the perfect card for him.  It said, there was alot of excitement in the delivery room on the day you were born, everyone wanted to slap your bottom!  Of course these days they don't do that, they just suction out the mouth to clear out any mucus.  Breathing is also the final action we take.

Normal respirations are 15-20 breaths per minute.  In the lungs, the oxygen from each breath is transferred to the bloodstream and sent to all the body’s cells as life-sustaining fuel. Keeping your lungs healthy is an important part of an overall healthy lifestyle.

Warning signs that there is a problem with your lungs include:

• a cough lasting several months;
• wheezing;
• shortness of breath;
• coughing up blood;
• producing mucus; and
• chest pain lasting several weeks.

If you have any of these symptoms inform your doctor.  He will listen to your breath sounds with a stethoscope, get a chest x-ray done, and if there is any abnormalities detected will do further testing.

Prevention and safety is essential to good lung heath.  You need to be aware of the air you breathe at home, school work and outdoors.  Being in a smoke free environment, wearing a mask if working around dangerous chemicals and gases, and having proper ventilation at home and school are good ways to prevent damage to your lungs.

Today is Lung Health Day, so take a few minutes to look around your environment to make sure the air you are breathing is hazard free.

For more information about lung health, click here:  http://www.worldlungfoundation.org/?gclid=CMWiqNf39qsCFYxx5Qod3l1fGw

http://www.lungusa.org/