Thieves

I've been talking about the Vinegar of 4 Thieves for years now, ever since I first learned of it while Dustin was on his mission in the Amazon and picked up some parasites. I cultivated the herbs the summer before he arrived home so I'd be ready to treat what ailed him. He dutifully took it, then went to the doctor, who couldn't find a trace of the parasites anymore. I've since used it with varying success over the years to treat colds and flu. I say "varying" because it depends how close to the onset of symptoms I can take it--the earlier the better. Those who put it off til they are miserable (that's you, Richard) usually don't see much effect. This week I was in a health food store and saw several 2-ounce eye-dropper-type bottles on the counter labeled "Thieves" selling for $23.00 each. I burst out laughing and asked the clerk if that was for real? I have a gallon of it at home from the last batch I made that is easily worth over a thousand dollars at that price! Well, it is now colds and flu season and last night I was awakened with a stuffy right nostril..I got up and began the Thieves Regimen. In the morning, having had little sleep, I was feeling yucky, but had to go in to work for a meeting. At noon though, I came home, self-medicated again with thieves and vitamin C, and sleep a couple hours. I just woke up without any cold symptoms! I wonder if knowing how much it "costs" has anything to do with it's effectiveness now??

A few of my favorite things

Several blogs that I follow, Cornflower, Brigitte Dale, and Sami's had entries recently about the little things (emphasis on little and things) that make us happy. Here's my attempt and will try not to be too influenced by their suggestions (although "new box of crayons" is right up there...).

1. Macaroni & Cheese (Martha Stewart's recipe, not the Kraft boxes...)
2. Hyacinths and lilacs (Hmm. Neither of which are in my garden...at the moment...)
3. Small blank books--oh! the possibilities!
4. Scarves--a new obsession since being in London.
5. Hot, hot showers.
6. Ok, I give up. New box of crayons. Doesn't even have to be the 64 size, but it helps.

Oh, She's my dear, my darling one

We had 6 yr old Renee over for a sleepover this weekend, and when it came time for our evening ritual of watching the news, Rich asked Renee, "You like watching the news don't you, Renee?"

She said, "No."

"What?" says Rich, " Aren't you interested in what is happening in the world?"

Renee responded, "No, I am only interested in princesses, fairies and leprachauns." So, instead of watching Brian Williams, we watched Darby O'Gill...

Awww.....

Rich and I were at a board meeting last night for our Library System. After the meeting got out, we were leaving with a few other people who were commenting on how much they liked the Tumwater (my) library. Dick said, "I love the Tumwater Library! It's such a welcoming place!" Mike said, "I love the Tumwater Library too!" Then Rich said, "I love the Tumwater Library Manager!" It was sweet because it was so spontaneous! And I appreciate that he didn't feel self-conscious expressing his love in front of our co-workers.

I'm a lucky woman!

Puppy Love

Quincy immediately latched onto the stuffed dog we brought for her and took him on our outing, a walk to the field and then down the road to the stop sign. About an hour after we got home, she said, "My puppy is missing..." We looked all over the house, then she said, "I think he is at the stop sign..." We all mounted an expedition, this time armed with a flashlight, as it was getting dark. As we neared the end of the street, Nephi spotted a dark lump on the sidewalk and sure enough, puppy was there waiting to be found. It was pretty amazing that a 3-year-old could "walk backward" through her actions to remember where she most probably left her toy.

Step it up! (and Mind the Gap)

You don't see too many overweight Londoners and here's the reason why: steps. The millions that use the Tube have to walk and walk and go up and down many steps. Londoners walk very fast also, wherever they go. We walked an average of 5 hrs each day, and one day, just for fun, I kept track of how many stairs we went UP (not even counting down steps.) Every time I reached 100 stairs, I tied a knot in my scarf. At the end of the day, we had gone up 1035 steps. That was a pretty typical day. It wasn't even the day I went up this monument to the Great Fire of 1666: 311 stairs. I did it in 3 minutes and got a certificate proving the fact. I also got a fabulous 360 view of London from the top!

Imagine

The advantage of visiting England is that even though it is a "foreign" country, there isn't (supposed) to be a language barrier... but I felt like I had to translate everywhere we went, as Rich couldn't understand the British accent and he spoke so quietly all the time that no one could understand what he said.

But music is the universal language and the highlight, for both Rich and I (when we compared notes later) was experiencing a John Lennon impersonator sing John's songs in the Cavern in Liverpool (where the Beatles first performed before making it big.) It was an emotional experience for me, as I could imagine what it might have been like hearing them (or John, at least) sing there in the 60s.