CURE FOR THE ITCHY DOG

Last night my little dog was scratching like crazy.

I have her on Advantage plus, but that still doesn't keep bugs from biting her. Anyway I rubbed a dab of tiger balm red on the 2 spots she was scratching and the residue I rubbed all over her fur. She hasn't scratched since. I use this stuff like crazy for my sinus issues. I think its the best thing I brought back on my trip.

THAI ONLINE COOKING SCHOOL

The Thai government with a Thai university (Kasetsart) has created an online Thai food course, to teach their students how to explain the history and culture of Thai cuisine, select Thai ingredients and explain their nutritional benefits, create a healthy Thai menu, and plate garnish in a Thai-style. I just signed up! If anyone else decides to study, please share your thoughts with me. Hint: use Internet Explorer.

www.thaifoodtolearn.com

Love is much like a wild rose

Love is much like a wild rose; beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense.

45 LIFE LESSONS

Written by a 90 year old This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!!

Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

HELPFUL HINTS

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief... it's not for breakfast any more! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.

Did you know that Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.

***I also recommend Tiger Balm, clears up stuffy nose and sinus pressure

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-even though the product was never been advertised for this use.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus: Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again

Balm for broken blisters... To disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer... If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.

Hunt's Tomato Paste boil cure... Cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

Vinegar to heal bruises... Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Eliminate ear mites. All it takes is a few drops of Wesson Corn Oil in your cat's or dog's ear... Massage it in, then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing

Kills fleas instantly... Dawn Dishwashing Liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Good-bye fleas

Rainy day cure for dog odor: Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.


Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers


Honey remedy for skin blemishes... Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Easy eyeglass protection... To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from

loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Smart splinter remover: Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off t he skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.
**I got these hints in an email and had to pass them on***

CREOLE EGGPLANT RAGOUT RECIPE

Creole Eggplant Ragout

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium unpeeled and coarsely chopped eggplant

2 stalks, chopped celery...

1 medium diced yellow onion

4 seeded, diced green or red bell pepper

3 cloves minced garlic

1 can crushed or stewed tomatoes,

(28 ounces)14 ounces crushed or stewed tomatoes

1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

tabasco sauce - to taste

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 lemon, (squeezed and quartered, rind added to pot)

Heat oil over medium heat in large saucepan. Add eggplant, celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté until vegetables are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, water, and dried seasonings; cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in hot sauce and parsley; let stand about 5 minutes.

Serve with Basmati rice, greens, or brown rice.

**Cooks note: I added 4 boneless chicken breasts at the end cooked & cubed

****Trying to use up all the goodies my Mom is growing in her garden**

Greg & Kathy's Thailand Adventure 2011

GARDEN TOUR 2011-GALVESTON

I am not certain what this tree really is called. One neighbor calls it a Tulip Tree another calls it a Lily Tree. Anyway I now have one in my garden to replace my long loved Fiddle Leafed Fig Tree that I lost in the freeze this winter.
My tree is still young and hasn't bloomed yet. I saw this tree on the tour and took a few pics, so I will know what to expect from mine.

This house was actually one I walked by on the way to another garden. I loved the Charmingly southern porch and the mermaid you will see in the next picture

The Mermaid was craved from reclaimed trees that were lost during Hurricane Ike. This is by far my favorite of all the tree carvings.

I am always amazed at the different things people like and incorporate into there gardens.

This was a nice little archway and niche

A fish sculpture over a water garden

I always enjoy the little touches like the sun bonnet and shovel. The spirit of the gardener blooms in her plants

Very lovely mazed hedges and roses

A secluded dining area, how romantic!
******

I don't know what was wrong with me yesterday. I am normally always prepared for every eventuality. Yesterday I brought the bag that was suppossed to contain my Camera and Water

only to find I had overlooked packing them. So the photos here are not up to par as I had to use my cell phone camera. There were more photos but somehow they didn't transfer over.

My mind has been a bit preoccupied and I am out of balance.

Hopefully some normalcy will return soon.

BUDDHA WATER GARDEN

A Zen Water Garden for my husbands 50th Birthday

The two water lily pads are silk decoration until I can get a real one. Finding real ones has been elusive. The other greenery you see is called Water Lettuce and a nice lady on the Garden Tour gave it to me yesterday. So I am thrilled.

I installed a submersible waterproof led light with a blue lens. The kit came with several other color lenses in case I want to change it. I also put a small pump in to have some water movement for the fish I will be adding once the plants become established.

**********

I became inspired to make this water garden from the many I saw all over Thailand on the recent trip My husband and I took. I thought it would be a nice reminder of the time we spent there.

The project was not as easy nor did it come together as quickly as I had expected.

I will give you the instructions and tell you what worked and what didn't.

I got some on line directions that seemed simple enough.

Directions

Buy a glazed pot large enough for your project

use aquarium glue to seal the drainage hole

fill with water and plants

Seems really simple doesn't it.

Well the pot would n0t hold water. I wasn't sure if the water was soaking into the pot itself, leaking from the drainage hole or was a mixture of both. Someone suggested Thompson's water seal on one of the forums. So off to the hardware store I go. The guy from Galco Hardware thought a gallon of drylock would work better than the Thompson's water seal for what I was trying to accomplish. So I go home and proceed to paint the inside of the pot with drylock, I let it dry. Although some of the sealant pooled in the bottom of the pot and refused to dry so it was a messy clean up with paper towels and sticky sealant. After that dried I reapplied aquarium glue to the drainage hole. Can you guess what happened? yep it leaked and it leaked fast. So I scrape off all the aquarium glue which is easier said than done. So I begin improvising. I used the cap from a gallon of milk, a condom as a gasket and put on more aquarium glue. Let it set up , And it still leaks. So I am not a happy camper. For 2 weeks I have been trying to get this pot to hold water. Then a guy says just put a plastic bag in there. In the meantime I had scraped off glue ,milk cap and my improvised gasket. I put a plastic bag on the bottom and covered it with rocks. Wouldn't you know it, that worked.

*******

The Water Plants

This too became a dilemma. I used to see water plants at all the garden centers, but as fate has it. Whenever I decide I want them, no one carries them locally anymore. So I look on line and find them being sold in other parts of the country they were what I considered pricey $15 for the plant and as much as $35 shipping. Finally I got lucky I went on our local Garden tour and a lady had a huge water garden, she has an abundance of water lettuce and gave me a nice sized plant. So I was very happy about that. It seems to be doing well and getting established.
*****

Kathy's Water Garden Directions

Materials:

1 glazed pot large enough for project.

**

(I got this pot at Garden ridge pottery, it was the largest I could find and it was marked down to $50. It is 24 inches high, 18in diameter and 52 in circumference its heavy)

1 container of drylock

1 paint brush

1 trash bag

rocks or stones

( fish rocks, garden rocks,pente stones whatever you want to use)

1 waterproof, submersible led light (Lowes)

1 small water pump(Lowes)

1 water plant (water lettuce, water lily, etc)

15 cheap fish/ fish food

Decorative statuary for rim (I used the Buddha)

Instructions:

Paint inside of pot with drylock and let dry 24/36 hrs. Instructions say reapply a second coat after that drying period, but my pot wouldn't take the second coat.

put plastic bag as a liner at bottom of pot. Cover with decorative stones to cover bag.

Test pot to make sure it holds water. Fill it and let it set a couple of days.

Place Light and Pump into bottom of pot.

(Originally I was trying to run cords thru drainage hole and seal with epoxy but it leaked and I thought if one of them needs replacing its alot easier to just run them from the top)

If you are using a decorative feature(like my Buddha) attach it to rim. I used superglue. I had absolutely no luck with aquarium glue actually working on anything with this project.

add water plant

once water plant becomes established

add fish

(follow pet shop instructions when adding fish)

*******

Notes

Evaporation, I have noticed that water evaporates from my pot at a rate of about 4 inches a week. Once the fish are there its probably wise to use de-chlorinated water to refill. I plan to just keep a couple of gallon jugs with tap water on hand, I read that after about 3 days the chlorine in tap water dissipates. You can also buy drops at a fish store to take chlorine out of water. I have never had luck with fish, so I am no expert on this one.