OK, I admit it. It has been disgracefully long since I have ‘created’ and not just ‘curated’. I can’t tell you how many times and how many topics I have come up with. They are in the front of my mind, on the tip of my tongue, or my fingers. But then, nothing happens. So, enough is enough. Nothing heavy duty or earth shattering. But a simple, straight forward post summarizing one I saw from Takepart. It is so on target that its content bears repeating and in my own words.
The topic is Five Essential Superfoods to Eat Everyday. I will confess right up front, or at least in the second paragraph that I don’t have them daily. But I am very familiar with all of them. None is strange, nothing like the information about the ten weirdest foods I had ever read about. I had only even heard of one in terms of its being a food. I admit. It was gross and really required an cast iron stomach to even look at the pictures and consider them as food.
No this is an easy, pleasant, palatable and extremely healthy group. I actually enjoy them and you can easily find them, too. So without further delay, I would like to introduce them.
NUTS
Surprised? Well it won’t be the last time. Nuts are really good for you. So many people love them but don’t eat them because they think they are fattening. There are essential oils in nuts. Yes, I said that anti-diet word, oils. We need oil. People who diet by removing oil from what they consume are depriving their bodies of really important nutrients.
QUINOA
OK, this may be one you never heard of before. So get used to it. It is pronounced keen-wah. It is native to South America and has been voted the Food of the Year by a branch of the United Nations. It is super packed with nutrients. On its own it can be bland. But mixed with some veges, oil and spices make it quite tasty.
OLIVE OIL
This is one of my favorite foods of all times. I love olives in almost every form and a good, extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil is majestic and magical. It can bring a plate of steamed vegetables to life in ways that seem unimaginable. The quality and even country of origin can make a huge difference in the taste. Try different origins to see what you like best. But always get extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil. In addition, never refrigerate your oil. Keep it in a cool, dark place as labels often read. It often comes in a brown or green bottle to protect it from too much light.
KALE
Here’s the perfect food to try your olive oil out on. I like to steam greens or use them in juice. I prefer not to cook them in oil but add it after they are cooked. If you prefer it raw, you can soak the kale in a marinade that includes the oil, of course. It tastes amazing.
GOJI BERRIES
I like to think of these as Asian raisins. They are not as sweet but are super-nutritious. They go great in rice pudding with or without the raisings. In fact, they can replace any dish you might put raisins in. I prefer juicier berries. They are often dry and crunchy.
The Charrette delivery van @ The Charrette CorporationHow It Began
What began as a single article, written by me as the NY Graphic Design Examiner, evolved into a series of articles, seven in total, that spanned a year’s time to complete. Although the time to compile all the materials, including researching, interviewing primary sources and so on did not take a full year, a new assignment as an author for The Digital Brand Marketing Blog took me away from the project for sometime during that year. In fact, this multi-author blog has made it to the semi-finals of the Social Media Examiner’s Top Ten Blogs 2012 competition.
But it was overdue to be completed, as hard as it was to write a Charrette Corporation fond farewell. It was like a long ‘good bye’ that no one wants to make when dear friends must part. But it had to be done. Essentially, I knew what the final article would be about, the store designed by architect, David Paul Helpern, a fellow student of Charrette Corporation founders, Lionel Spiro and Blair Brown, who all attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The store, located on Manhattan’s East side on Lexington Avenue in the East 30’s, was the Crowning Jewel of the Charrette NY retail side.
Although the commercial accounts handled by a sales force that covered much of the East Coast and into the Midwest were much larger than the retail side sales, the retail side was the face of the corporation. This gave Charrette the opportunity to show the world the ‘stuff it was made of’. As the tip of the iceberg, it glistened in the sun and shone like a well-polished gem. The flagship store was the ultimate representation of the Charrette brand.
It was a company whose name was synonymous with quality. The tools and supplies manufactured for and sold by Charrette had to be of the highest quality. The pedigree that resulted from employment at the company practically guaranteed future employment anywhere when the time came for someone to move on.
The Charrette corporate culture, philosophy and brand development was such that it is possible that other retail corporations fashioned their stores after Charrette. They were clean looking with simple straight lines, well designed, displaying everyday items as if they were high end designer merchandise.
The generosity of everyone was as real as the quality of the Charrette inventory. The Charrette culture had affected everyone who came in touch with it. The writing of this story took on a life of its own, a life that also had to be written in a way that gave credence to this corporate culture and all its glorious history.
So I wrote and wrote and wrote. When would it end? How would it end? Numerous months’ hiatus from the writing became awkward and the pressure to finish overcame the same lingering feeling of not wanting to say good-bye. But at the same time, it was clear that the final tribute had to be made and how to do it.
That is where The Charrette NY Crowning Jewel came into the picture. It was a store that was written up in two nationally respected professional magazines, Interiors (February 1982) and Visual Merchandising (June 1982), had a grand, grand opening and one that was built to design specifications. It was glorious. Everything about it and in it was a designer’s dream. In addition, the place, their products, and award winning packaging designs were featured in two nationally renowned design magazines, Communication Arts (March/April 1982) and Print (May/June 1982).
And then, in spite of the attempts to keep up with the times of transition from analog to digital design, it was time to let go. No more founders, some staff stayed, some staff went. The era that was the original Charrette was gone. The company was bought by a succession of other companies. It even became known by different names. But the culture and the philosophy could not be packaged, bought and sold.
Gone but Never Forgotten, A Charrette Trailer @ 2011 Christine Miller, former Charrette employeeHow It Ended
So it was time to say good-bye, for all of us, the founders, the staff, the customers and even this author of a series of articles that became the Charrette NY Chronicle that took a year to write. It is all over. But much will live on in the minds and memories of those whose lives were touched by the experience of their involvement.
There is a Charrette Alumni Group on Linkedin. I am the only civilian to have the honor of belonging. There is also an Internet photo archive on flickr. Finally and in some small way, it is my sincere hope that the Charrette Chronicle will be part of this legacy. It is dedicated to all the wonderful people who let me into their lives and shared their stories so that I could write a series in honor of them and their Charrette experience. Thank you all. I wish you a fond farewell. You shall never be forgotten, Charrette Corporation.
This post, Blogging about my Pinterest Passion, was inspired by and is the result of a questionnaire presented to bloggers, event planners, photographers, social media experts and other professionals by a freelance writer seeking input and opinions on Pinterest etiquette. It was originally written in April of 2012.
Pinterest research and blog posts:
I have done a substantial amount of research on Pinterest, have written several posts about it to date, and am a pinner myself. I have an extensive list of sources and resources that you may find additionally helpful for your project. You can view my Saturday articles as well as the source and resources lists, on Digital Brand Marketing posted on 3.17.12, 3.24.12, and 3.31.12.
Pinterest Bio:
As a blogger and visual artist myself, I was immediately drawn to this relatively new platform with the naive assumption that it would be like scrapbooking but on virtual boards, no cutting out from magazines, no glue and no trips to the crafts store and no in-depth knowledge of social media. After the beginning of an ongoing and thorough investigation about Pinterest and its inner workings, I have come to some very different conclusions and considerable legal concerns.
4 Boards from my Pinterest.com/AlisonsArt account. Each image is credited on the board itself.
To answer your questions:
Q1. What bothers you about the way that people pin you work, photographs or ideas?
A1. What bothers me most is not that other people are pinning or repinning my work, photographs or ideas. What really concerns me is that it is very difficult for people to obtain clear guidelines on know how to pin properly, at all.
The reason for this is due to the fundamental lack of understanding about how Pinterest actually works. It may
appear to be an innocent, hobby like activity but it is just as complicated and intricate as any other social media
platform, if not more so. Transparency is the key. In my opinion, the founders of Pinterest were not clear in their ‘Terms of Services’ when they wrote them. There is considerable concern within the ‘investigative blogging
community’ about the current updates not really being sufficient to create the needed transparency to make this
platform user friendly.
4 Boards from my Pinterest.com/AlisonsArt account. Each image is credited on the board itself.
Q2. What would you encourage Pinterest users to do before they pin something?
A2. I encourage pinners to learn how to pin properly. How can they do this? Research, research, research.
I know that this will seem like an ordeal for pinners to do this but I can simplify this by sharing the work I have done. Since the original and revised ‘Terms of Service’ are so heavily laden with legal language, I strongly suggest that anyone who wants to pin read the set of posts by A.F.MarCom. Angelique and Friends turn inscrutable legal language into pedestrian terms in:
4 Boards from my Pinterest.com/AlisonsArt account. Each image is credited on the board itself.
Q3. What kind of content is unacceptable for users to pin?
A3. This is a direct quote from the Pinterest website’s Pin Etiquette page and then my comment:
Report Objectionable Content “We do not allow nudity, hateful content, or content that encourages people to hurt themselves. If you find content that violates our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy you can submit the content for review by pushing the ‘Report Content’ link.”
The first sentence of this quote is very clear and requires no further explanation or research. But in the second sentence, we run into the same legal issues discussed about the ‘Terms of Services’ and ‘Acceptable Use Policy’ in Q2.
4 Boards from my Pinterest.com/AlisonsArt account. Each image is credited on the board itself.
Q4. In terms of giving credit where credit is due, what advice would you lend to people using Pinterest?
A4. To quote from the Pinterest website and then add my own comment:
Credit Your Sources
“Pins are the most useful when they have links back to the original source. If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source. Finding the original source is always preferable to a secondary source such as Image Search or a blog entry.”
Also, there is a difference between crediting the person whose content is in a pinned image and the source of the image itself. Which one is the proper credit?
Here is a fantastic blog that explains how to get the proper credit:
If this very clever search method still leaves you empty handed, do not use the image. There are millions of other images to choose from, both your own original ones and those of fellow pinners.
So always follow these ‘suggestions’:
• check that your source is correct
• ask direct permission if possible or when necessary
• if both fail, find another image
If you do not follow the above to the ‘letter of the law’, I believe that you can leave yourself open to possible legal problems related to copyright infringement.
Pinterest is a platform that has qualities and issues that I am very passionate about. I hope my answers are helpful. I would be delighted to discuss this topic further with anyone who has thoughts, suggestions, ideas, or disagreements.
On my gifts wish list for the 2011 holiday season, I had included an oilcloth backpack. Keep in mind, I had no idea if such a thing existed but I had decided that I wanted one. Since I knew about oilcloth and had other items made from it, I decided that a backpack must be available, too. Thanks to the power of the Internet and search engines such as Google, it took me simply a matter of minutes to locate a dreamy, pink patterned oilcloth backpack from a company in Georgia.
The pink with blue floral oilcloth backpack. Photo Mary Jane Bags website.
Besides it being a mouthful to describe, this bag embodied several of my favorite design elements. First, was the color pink; next was the pretty blue floral pattern on it. And last but essential, of course, was that it was made of oilcloth. I have had a love affair with oilcloth ever since a dear friend of mine introduced me to it when she gave me some sample pieces about 20 years or so ago. I immediately realized where they had come from since the name of the company, Oilcloth International, was stamped on the back of each sample piece. I wasted no time in contacting the company to order more since the sample pieces were only about a foot square each.
When I contacted the owner, Cardie Molina, I found out that Oilcloth International is not a retailer but a wholesale importer of the product. Oilcloth is no longer made in the US but in Mexico. Although Oilcloth International is not a retailer, Cardie kindly agreed to send me some yardage of a few different designs. I was in oilcloth heaven.
A delicious array of oilcloth colors and patterns as well as items that I have both bought or made myself using oilcloth.
Over the years, I used the cloth to line shelves, cover footstools, decorate pocketbooks, and have great fun playing with my various colors and patterns of cloth. I also purchased some oilcloth items that included a purple book bag and a large red tablecloth.
It was not until I decided that I could not live without an oilcloth backpack that I really started thinking much about oilcloth again. Once I started doing research on the Internet and discovered the number of companies that either sell products made from it or sell the oilcloth itself (whether it is retail or wholesale) that I became both enthusiastic and very curious about its history.
According to this link, History of Oil Cloth Tablecloths, on the website, lovetoknow.com, “Oil cloths were first created for use on the floors of eighteenth century English homes as rugs. They were also used as coverings for leaky roofs. Artisans stretched sheets of linen cloth on a frame and through a sizing process the cloth was prepared to be painted. This was the point where the oilcloths came to life and were transformed. Various designs evolved as artisans experimented with this new utilitarian artform. After the design was painted onto the cloth, it was sealed with coats of linseed oil.
“This artform traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to America, where it was used to grace the floors of Colonial homes. Eventually, as the textile industry grew, the floorcloths were replaced with yarn rugs and the oilcloths eventually found their way onto tables.” The article continues with ‘Modern Oil Cloth’.
“While the traditional linseed oil cloth is no longer produced, the modern versions are just as serviceable, and in most cases, the tablecloth is a better quality product. Today’s oilcloth is made out of vinyl that is printed with various colorful designs. The vinyl is then adhered to a cotton mesh backing to give it support and form. Some of the backings used are flannel cotton, very similar to the kind used on vintage tablecloths. Some fabrics use PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) for the top side of the fabric and a mixture of polyester and cotton mesh for the backing.”
Oilcloth was made in the US from early colonial times into at least the middle of the 20th century. All that remains of its making are a few references. These were provided by Carlie Molina. According to the book, Jamestown Colony to the Revolution, 1607 to 1775, there is an old oilcloth in the collection of the Mercer Museum, affiliated with the Bucks County Historical Society in Doylestown, PA. No picture of an oilcloth could be found of it but may other fascinating domestic colonial items are on permanent exhibit.
The Columbus Coated Fabric Corporation Catalog from the homepage of Oilcloth International
The more recent references are the Columbus Coated Fabric Corporation, the definitive domestic source for oilcloth up until at least the middle of the 20th century. The two references to that company are some cast iron fabric cutting machines on encyclopedic sites like worthpedia and etsy as well as the cover of their catalog which Oilcloth International uses on their website home page.
Today, oilcloth is made in Mexico. It is still durable, waterproof and comes in a myriad of irresistible colors and patterns. There are also still companies back across the Atlantic in England and France, where one can purchase all kinds of items that are as hard to resist as the cloth itself.
To get back to my backpack, I ordered it in early December so I was surprised as Christmas approached that it did not appear. Actually, I started to hope that it would not arrive since I had decided that I no longer wanted pink with a blue floral pattern (at least not until the summer) and that something more subdued, like a black and white design, would be better for winter wear.
By the time Christmas weekend came, there still was no backpack. So the day after Christmas, I called the company inquiring what had become of my much wished for gift. I left a message alerting them that if it had not already gone out, that I wanted to change my backpack order.
On Monday, I got a call from Suzanne Coffey, the owner of Mary Jane Bags, apologizing profusely. She told me that they had run out of the pink pattern fabric temporarily. Every time she looked at my order, she said that she felt so guilty that my holiday had been ruined because my gift did not arrive on time.
My black and white gingham backpack with polka dot straps and inside. Click on the link below to order one just like it.
I told her that the situation turned out to be quite the opposite. I had decided after I had placed my order that I wanted a different pattern. Actually, ‘it was meant to be’ that there had been a delay. Had the pink bag come, I would either have had to return it for a winter wear pattern or held onto the pink one until the summer and also ordered another one I could use now. When my bag arrived, it was perfect. It is black and white gingham on the outside and white with black polka dots on the inside. In addition, Suzanne had included a matching cosmetics case as a gift for me. Needless to say, I was and am thrilled. I wear my holiday dream gift just about everyday.
From a simple oilcloth backpack order came a story filled with its history as well as color and detail to delight anyone who has a liking for oilcloth even a fraction as much as I do. In fact, here is an Amazon.com direct link to purchase the very same bag that I got. I am sure you will love it, too.
Being truly poor was something I had no idea about before I put the pieces together for this blog post. Living in fear of not having enough to eat is not poverty. It is a poor middle class fear. On the other hand, having to go without food is truly poverty. What the family in this story goes through is completely alien to me. I am simply part of a growing US phenomenon, the Poor Middle Class. By the standards of the people in this story, I am very rich.
This prize winning video, Reel Time: Bone Dry: Winner of 2013 Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award
(Produced by GMA Network, Philippines) is a Philippine documentary on child malnutrition as well as the shocking living conditions of the truly poor.
To quote the YouTube.com description, “This documentary tells the story of Mary Rose, a girl from a very poor family living in a slum. Although Mary is 10, her height and weight are comparable to that of a 5-year old child. She lives with her five siblings, who have all been diagnosed as severely malnourished. Mary’s mother, Vina, earns less than a half a US dollar a day, and has to single-handedly provide for her six children.”
Mary Rose is small and underweight for her age due to malnutrition. But she is big in spirit, insightful and strong with determination. She has two dreams in life, to get an education, she wants to be a doctor, and to eat chicken meat. Imagine never having tasted more than the broth from a chicken but not the meat. Think about going to school without having eaten and falling asleep in class. In addition, Vina, Mary Rose’s mother does not waste money to buy soap because that takes money away from buying food for her children. Imagine any of these and watch this deeply stirring video. Then you will know in your heart, and feel in the pit of your stomach, what it must be like to be truly poor.
Are you part of the Middle Class Poor? We are. How did it happen? What are we doing about it? These are the two questions I will answer in this blog post.
Randi Shubin Dresner, President and CEO of Island HarvestI’d like to make a few points about being Middle Class Poor. We are not alone. The problem is increasing. The government plans to have less involvement in helping to solve this problem. For example, as illustrated in her article, Hunger is all around us, yet it doesn’t have to be, Randi Shubin Dresner, President and CEO of Island Harvest explains what is going on. Her post starts with the following statement, “The recent vote by Congress to cut $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the food stamp program known as SNAP — over the next 10 years is alarming. If these cuts become law, those who are already struggling to afford food will be thrust into further hardship, increasing hunger across America and right here on Long Island.”
Because the problem is increasing and the government will have less to do with solving it, we will have to find alternative resources to solve it ourselves. That is a big part of the reason for the title of this post and the creation of a Facebook group, Resources for the Middle Class Poor. There are many private donors and nonprofit resources, like the Island Harvest Food Bank that are currently helping people. Island Harvest website
Right now, I would like to go back to the question, how did it happen? For us, the answer is simple, ‘2008’. In the same week, my husband was laid off from his job and the stock market crashed. The fallout from that led to my own crash, physically and emotionally. I was hospitalized and became unable to work. Our lives have changed dramatically in the last five years. We had savings, we had security and we thought we had stability. The rug was completely pulled out from under us. We went from being middle class to being middle class poor.
The upside of having our lives turned upside down is that our new lives have brought us extraordinary challenges and opportunities that we never imagined experiencing. Sometimes it has been terrifying. But the more we go through, the more miracles we have received and the stronger we become. Our fear has been replaced with faith. We are inspired to pass on to others what we are learning as we help ourselves navigate our new path as part of the Middle Class Poor.
For more resource information, refer to my facebook page and group shown below.
‘The Middle Class Poor’ facebook page
‘Resources for the Middle Class Poor’ facebook group
My husband volunteers working with others and is actually studying to become credentialed in a helping field. I have gone completely wild applying my years of social media marketing studies to using social media as a communication tool for this serious, real life issue. I have created numerous facebook pages including, The Middle Class Poor and the companion group, Resources for the Middle Class Poor. As we help ourselves to grow into our new state of existence, we are working to help others who are in situations similar to ours. Together we will change the world. It may only be our world. But as Ghandi is credited with saying, ‘Be the change in the world you want to see’.
Women are not permitted to become sushi chefs. This comes from a tradition as old as sushi’s popularity itself. Sushi became popular in the Japanese Edo Period. Since sushi is served cold, it needs to be made cold. A woman’s hands were believed to be too warm to make a cold dish. So only men could become sushi chefs.
Although, to my knowledge, that tradition has not changed, there is no restriction on “making artistic makizushi (cooked rice, vegetables and/or seafood rolled into a seaweed wrap)”. Initially, Takayo Kiyota, the creator of the amazing work here, was mistaken for a man. But that is secondary to her art. She is a master at it, even if she has warm hands.
Munch on this
The ingredients that will create the lines and volumes of the individual sliced pieces are first laid lengthwise, bottom-to-top, then rolled tightly shut (with the help of removeable skewers) in a sheet of seaweed. By subsequently slicing cross-sections out of the resultant loaf-shape, your success (or failure) is then revealed.
Tokyo-based Kiyota, a/k/a Tama-chan, calls her creations Nikkori-zushi, or “smile sushi.”
She currently gives workshops in Tokyo where she teaches others how to make, or attempt to make, their own Nikkori-zushi creations. It is, of course, fiendishly difficult–though we’d like to think that industrial designers trained to think in 3D might have a leg up. Making a Nikkori-zushi brings to mind extrusions, 3D printing and cross-sections.
Have a portrait done of your pet.
Amusingly, Kiyota even uses her creations to communicate. When this Japanese writer asked if he could interview her, she sent him this image as an assent.
This is a rough translation from Japanese, but as Kiyota writes in her blog, “You don’t know how the images will come out until you cut the roll open at the end, and the thrill of that moment is almost unbearable!”
The treasures of an Egyptian tomb could not surpass this makizushi.
Do I spot some ‘Hello Kitty’ makizushi?
You can even create a makizushi family tree
If you’re wondering why there’s no fish visible in Kiyota’s “smile-sushi:” In Japanese sushi actually refers to cooked rice mixed with other ingredients, be they vegetables or seafood, whereas in English we incorrectly take it to refer to raw fish.
Sushi is often spelled (and pronounced) -zushi when used as a suffix, hence makizushi and Nikkori-zushi.
The above examples of Takayo Kiyota’s are amazing Japanese food art. There are many different styles and kinds of designs. The closest thing they remind me of is Fimo Clay Art. Kennick Kreations – Fimo Clay Beads & Fimo Nail Art
Charles and Ray Eames. Picture credit: Library of Congress
I am a huge fan of designers. I guess you could say I am a design groupie. I am a fan of modern day designers equally as much as legends whose work has lived on after they are gone. Two of my favorites are Charles and Ray Eames.
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra “Ray” Eames aka Charles and Ray Eames, who are pictured at the left, are a perfect example of a team whose work has lived on and is highly respected both within and beyond the design industries. In fact, a wonderful tribute to them and their work aired recently on PBS, public television. It is called, ‘The Architect and the Painter’.
Ten (of the) healthiest foods on the planet, according to a Banoosh.com article, are salmon, eggs, berries, bananas, spinach, brocolli, shitake mushrooms, sweet potato, tumeric and tomatoes. Here is a visual sampling of the article. The image above and the slideshow images are all from the Banoosh.com article.
tumeric
There are many other resources about healthy food and, of course, many other equally as healthy foods to choose from.
For more information, explore the resources mentioned in ‘Ten Healthiest Foods’, as well as on Alison*s Art FOOD page. The food page of this website offers some background into my personal journey and evolution in the way I eat.
Visit the HEALTHY FOOD category of this website for lots more articles about healthy eating. The link is above this article. It is the green bar labeled HEALTHY FOOD. Here is what the three category bars look like with a link on each bar. The three category bars: ART & DESIGN | HEALTHY FOOD | HOLISTIC HEALING
Alison’s ‘Eat Free’ Earth: How It All BeganAlisons Food Heirloom Project: Where Things Are NowThe Food rEvolution: A Personal Food Journey That Has Become A Political Nightmare
We welcome your questions, insights and suggestions about this article and the topic of food in general. Looking forward to hearing from you, soon.
These are kitchen ingredients that we consume normally as food, condiments and teas. But did you know, that when used properly, they can also be natural painkillers?
Ultimately, one may need to seek medical attention for the cause of the pain. But for pain relief, they can be very helpful. Let’s take a look at some of them in detail.
FOOD ITEMS Some common kitchen ingredients that are natural painkillers, too
NATURAL PAINKILLERS IN YOUR KITCHEN: OATS can be used to end endometrial pain. PEPPERMINT can be used to relax sore muscles. GRAPES are good for giving the back some TLC. HORSERADISH can help heal sinus problems. GINGER is good for muscle and joint pain. CLOVES relieve toothache pain (until you get that emergency dental appointment). GARLIC can erase earaches. TUMERIC is good for chronic pain.
CONDIMENTS Some common kitchen ingredients that are natural painkillers, too
good for an earacheIn looking over the above (fairly) common kitchen ingredients, I have to admit that I am not sure how these foods are supposed to be applied to work their magic. Do you stick the garlic in your ear to ease the ache? I doubt it. Do you eat these ingredients, make teas or poultices out of them, or eat them raw or cooked?
Clearly more research needs to be done to see how these ingredients are applied and how they work as natural painkillers. I do know from experience that sucking on some cloves does relieve a toothache temporarily. I have used ginger tea for an upset stomach but do not know about joint pain.
good for the backI am glad to hear that grapes are good for the back. I love grapes. But I hope the application does not involve putting the grapes on my back and then crushing them the way wine is made.
alleviates chronic painTumeric has gained attention lately as a condiment that has all kinds of healing properties. It is supposed to be good for stiff joints. But the amount that needs to be consumed for it to have any effect is far greater than one can eat. Therefore it supposedly need to be taken in supplement form or by putting the powder in a capsule and swallowing it. I would still rather eat Indian food since it is a frequent ingredient in the dishes I find delicious.
A GRAIN OF SALT
All this information must be taken with a grain of salt. No, I do not know what adding salt would do. It is a manner of speaking. It means to not take this too literally or seriously without knowing what you are doing. I still can’t figure the garlic/earache relationship. But there is a wives tale about hanging a clove of garlic around a child’s neck to prevent them from getting sick in school. I am just not sure if the garlic actually keeps germs away. Or if the smell keeps all the other children away thus keeping the germs away.
relaxes musclesSpeaking of smells, the last item on our list is peppermint. It smells great and makes a tummy soothing tea that can’t be beat. In fact, its fragrance is used in many food and dental items.
IN CONCLUSION
In all seriousness, there are some wonderfully helpful food items that can act as natural painkillers and even help heal us. (They can even look nice as decoration like the mint shown here. I also love the color of tumeric. It reminds me of autumn). But to stay on subject, let me end by saying that just like any prescription, one needs to read the directions, using as prescribed. So, good luck, feel better and send me your comments in the morning.
