Gelled Henna Recipe, now with pectin recipe

Fia's gelled henna (calculations adapted by RogueWriter)
Slower version for powders with slow dye release (Such as bulk powders)

½ cup (4 ounces) henna powder/Cassia Obovata (For conditioning w/ no colour change)
1 ½ cup Black tea (12 ounces)
¾ cup Lime Juice (1 Tbsp Lime/Lemon juice concentrate with ¾ cup water)
1½ Tbsp Powdered pectin (about 1 oz.) *SEE NEW ATTACHED RECIPE ON BOTTOM!*
1 Tbsp AMLA powder

Sift Henna in nylon/fine mesh first.

Dump sifted henna powder in a bowl and mix with half of the liquid. (DO NOT ADD PECTIN YET)

(POT 1) Let this one stand on top of something warm until you see dye release – these are basically the same steps as if you were preparing a regular henna paste.

(POT 2) After you've seen dye releasing from the henna, boil the remaining half of the liquid, then add pectin.

Pour the liquid & pectin (POT 2) mix into the henna paste in the bowl (POT 1) and mix well.

Add AMLA Powder

Let this stand until it is gelled - usually about 20 minutes- and use.
______________________________________________________________________________

Pectin recipe: For one/two gelled henna or casia applications

~Take one sour apple (young unripe or green tart apples work best.

~Chop into pieces (the smaller the better...like gravel sized)

~Place in pan with enough water just to cover

~Boil stirring frequently for 20 minutes or until apples are tender

~Strain mixture through mesh sive or cheeseclothe.

~Check mix by taking a drop and placing it in a tablspoon of alchohol. If it congeals and gets goey its ready. If not place mixture back in pan boil for 5 minutes and check again.

Colouring info:
For Chocolate brown henna I have been told by Indian women to use a metal bowl and Coffee/Tea (such as Earl Grey) and Walnut powder. Also AMLA is said to prmote chocolate colours and tone down brassiness however you will have reddish highlights, its unavoidable.

For Fiery red finery Here is a tried and true bunch of additions that my sister and I have used on her to mae her hair Burning flame bright.

Additives:
Papika (yes paprika)
Red Zinger tea (Our FAVE and tried and true add in! Not only does this add brilliance to the red, but the hibiscus in the tea actually acts as another colorant AND a slip agent making washing it out a breeze)
Red Wine. I usually use the cheapest reddest wine I can get from goodish grapes. Italian wines like Fat Bastard, Red Cat, and Barberras bring a burgundy/Ruby colour to hair. A warning to though alleric to Sulfa drugs like Baytrol BE CAREFUL YOU DON'T HAVE TOPICAL ALLERGIES!!! As 98% of wines contain sulfites and can make you break out. (antoher reason for tea preference)

These above additions can be used as a liquid or in liquid to replace the water/Fluid in the recipe.

Happpy Henna everyone!

Henna for Cocoa/Fire Engine coloured tresses

Henna for Chocolate brown hair:
The Thneeds:
Cotton wicking to wrap around head (avaiable at beauty supply stores)
Plastic bags
Saran Wrap
Coffee/Tea Brewed for an hour STRONG (Red Zinger Tea for red)
metal bowl and spoon (for Brown henna Non-metal Bowl and spoon for red henna)
Plastic gloves
Vaseline
Old towels
Old t-shirts
200 grams Henna
Lavendar essential oil
Olive Oil
AMLA Powder
Lime Juice
(optional) Walnut Powder or Nutmeg (brown) Red ZInger tea (red)

The Method:

Brew BOLD coffee or Strong Black Tea with a scent you can stand or love
Boil Mixture for an hour.

Add 200 grams Henna, mix with the mixture above until goopy (for shoulder legnth hair)
2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp AMLA
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
7 Lavendar Essential Oil

Let henna mixture sit in warm place for 2-3 hours in METAL BOWL (That you don't care if it gets stained..cause it will)

Schmear vaseline around your crown, cover ears and make the line about an inch wide.

Add 1 TBSP Pectin (see recipe on Gelled Henna Article, or available in canning isle)

Wait about 20 minutes until desired consistancy is reached.

Stir and put into your hair in sections (friends help friends, also makes for good co-dependency)

Pile hair in bun on top of head use old scrunchie or non metal pony holder to hold hair up, Clip hair in a bun.

Wrap cotton wicking around crown of head.

Cover with a plastic bag and wrap with saran wrap.

Cover with a thermal hat and sit for 4 or more hours.

Rinse using warm water and LOTS (Like an entire bottle) of conditioner. *note* I find that Suave, VO5, Natures gate and Jason or Giovanni works like a dream...If price is a concern use Suave)

I personally reccomend Suave Aloe Vera/Coconut VO5 Spa Lemongrass and use the whole bottle.

Rinse and rinse and rinse until the stuff is out, Garden hoses work REALLY well for this.

Hair will be super conditioned and pretty for 4-6 weeks and doesn't need to be washed for 5-6 days.

Samsara the Feral

"Socialization with other humans is very important. However as stated before, feral kittens (or feral cats) tend to bond with one human so they adjust to a new home better if they have also socialized with other humans."

Insert giant sigh here. If CHris had been the one to get up in the middle of the night to feed and change her. Or to give her treats, or to make her feel better (dispense medication in tuna...YUM) Sam may have made him her favorite human.

But alas. Now two out of the three cats in this house have claimed me as their favorite human.

Which is exactly what I didn't need. Maybe me being gone for eleven days to Florida will help her get closer to Crash.

~Rogue

Birthday Blues

Twenty nine years. Its not milestone or anything but it IS kinda depressing that my birthday consisted of a veggie burger, tater tots, a popsicle and a shower...um..the only people to send me a birthday shout were myspace, the beauty bottle, the vegan forum and my nana.

But what an awesome prezzie from my Nana!

Two pairs of jammies from PJ Salvage on sleepyheads.com

I am wearing them now, very comfotably I may add.

Hubby has to work, and everyone else was busy.

No cake, no presents, just two e-mails and a veggie burger with my friend Jen.

again, wheee.

Not that its a bummer, just very unspecial.

~Rogue

Very interesting article about Hair, Skin & Body

SKIN PROBLEMS - SKIN CARE
Monday 31 March 1997

THIS PROGRAMME IS A REPEAT OF AN EARLIER HEALTH REPORT, ORIGINALLY BROADCAST ON 2nd OCTOBER, l995
Norman Swan: Welcome to the program. I'm Norman Swan. Today, new ways of looking after your skin when you're in the shower, when you choose your clothes, when you sleep and even when you travel.

Today's Health Report is about what some skin specialists might see as threatening and controversial ideas about skin care. It's a theory and practice based on the fact that many factors in our environment and lifestyle adversely affect our skin. So dandruff, dry skin in general, foot blisters in sport, hard-to-treat eczema, psoriasis and acne may all have environmental components which, if fixed up, can improve our skin condition and perhaps even reduce the need for medicated creams and ointments.

The concept is based on the experience, practice and research of Dr Hugh Molloy, a dermatologist who was once considered an iconoclast among his colleagues but now finds that internationally his ideas are becoming more accepted internationally.

As you'll hear, he doesn't suggest mung beans or crocodile dung, but sensible non-toxic ways of subtly changing our habits to turn our skin and hair back towards what the cosmetic companies like to promote as the ideal. But, says, Dr Molloy, they tend to peddle products which perpetuate skin and hair problems rather than solve them. So stop scratching and have a listen.

Hugh Molloy: My basic message is that a lot of the patients I see, probably well over half the patients I see, are causing their own skin problems.
Norman Swan: Causing their own skin problems?
Hugh Molloy: Yes, by the way in which they're looking after their skin. I think a lot of problems, be they psoriasis, eczema, or any other skin disorders, and a lot of types of acne, particularly that occurring later in life, are ways in which the skin is reacting to what is being done to it.
Over the last fifty years, life changed quite a lot. We've overheated ourselves; we've put ourselves into air conditioning; we've put ourselves into planes where the relative humidity gets down to 3% whereas human beings really like relative humidity to be between 46% and 65%.
We've overused soaps and shampoos. Those older members of society will remember washing their hair once a week with Sunlight Soap; now I frequently see people who are washing their hair twice a day with strong detergent shampoos. That detergent shampoo not only affects their hair, their scalp, their face; it runs down their bodies and they walk in it. And so it affects their feet too.

All of these things have insidiously crept up on us, and so our skins are getting drier and drier and are unable to function as well as they should do.
Norman Swan: And you think this breaks out as some skin problem? And you're generalising, you're saying that in some people it's eczema and in other people it might be psoriasis?
Hugh Molloy: People think that eczema is inherited. People think that psoriasis is inherited. I don't quite believe that. I think that a tendency to react in a certain way if you're insulted enough, is what you inherit. So it's rather like, I often say to patients, if I swear at you, well, you can pretend you didn't hear me, you can cry, you can laugh, you can throw something at me, you can hit me over the head, or you can get up and walk out. And that depends on your personality. And your personality has got two parts: what you've inherited - and I can't alter that; and the way you've been brought up. Your skin is rather like that. It has inherited a number of ways of reacting, and that depends on the personality of your skin. What you've inherited, I can't alter. But I can alter the way in which you look after your skin.
Norman Swan: Well let's look at the modern environment and see what you think are the public enemies number one to ten, as far as your skin is concerned.
Hugh Molloy: Well, some years ago I asked about a thousand people who were coming to see me, what they were doing to their skin. Six things came up as being important. The first one was having a dry skin. Now, most fair-skinned Caucasians with green to blue eyes, maybe freckles, and often with red or fair hair, really have dry skin. They often have long hands with very fine creases, not much muscle opposite the thumb, and sometimes palms that sweat a little bit. They often have a little bit of roughness on the outside of their upper arms, a thing called keratosis pilaris. A lot of Asians have dry skin. People seem to think that if you've got a tanned skin it must be oily, but that's fallacious. And so I think most of us have fairly dry skin. Then we have to think about climate. Human beings like relative humidity to be between 46% and 65%.
Norman Swan: On what basis do you say that?
Hugh Molloy: The scientific evidence that skin works best, and lots of other things. Your respiratory system works best within those limits. Now, my meteorological adviser, who has been around for a long time, tells me that there is nowhere in the world known to him that has a greater daily variation in temperature and humidity than the east coast of Australia. And so, if you've got a dry skin and you come to live in this climate, then that makes your skin drier.
Norman Swan: Simply because you can go into very low humidity at times of the year or even times of the day.
Hugh Molloy: Yes.
Norman Swan: What happens to your skin when the humidity drops down that low?
Hugh Molloy: It gets dry. You lose water vapour from your skin, and the barrier that is formed by the outer part of your epidermis doesn't function as well. That barrier also becomes disrupted in some way which we don't quite understand, and so you can't sweat as well. You can't keep yourself as cool. And often that sweat gets trapped within the epidermis and causes inflammation and irritation to your skin.
Norman Swan: So the natural exits, if you like, from the sweat glands, are blocked and you get a buildup of sweat, you believe?
Hugh Molloy: Yes.
Norman Swan: And that breaks out as a skin rash as well?
Hugh Molloy: Mm.
Norman Swan: What about cold weather? I'm one of these people with dry skin and my back turns into sandpaper in winter.
Hugh Molloy: Yes. Well, if you understand relative humidity you will know that cold air contains much less water vapour than warm air.
Norman Swan: So, step one, people living in coastal Australia are living in an environment which, surprisingly, although they're living on the coast, can be quite low high humidity and therefore not too good for their skin?
Hugh Molloy: Yes.
Norman Swan: But you also believe we do things in terms of our environment, which makes that worse.
Hugh Molloy: Yes. We then put ourselves into overheated buildings. If you heat up air, you dry it out. If you air condition air, you dry it out. So this tends to make your skin more dry.
When I go to the United States to a meeting and I'm in a hotel room with the windows all screwed up and the air conditioning on, I tend to switch the air conditioning off, open a window - if possible, but that's usually impossible. And then I chock the bathroom door open and I fill up the bath with water, and I leave a little note for the chambermaid saying, 'Please leave this full of water all the time I'm here'. Because it makes life more bearable! And it certainly makes a lot of difference.
Norman Swan: While we're talking about bedrooms, I think if you were to nominate your Public Enemy Number One, it would be the continental quilt, the duvet or the doona?
Hugh Molloy: Yes. That's true.
Norman Swan: Tell me about that - and you also believe that it's not just your skin that we're talking about here, it's the quality of your sleep at night.
Hugh Molloy: That's quite correct. One of the things that I decided after looking at the list of things that people told me they did to themselves, was that most people, in my opinion, overheated at night. Because of this, I took six months off and went to Oxford, where we put twelve people to sleep in a sleep laboratory. We covered them up with a standard 10-tog duvet, doona...
Norman Swan: Now we're going to have start talking about 'togs' here. This is a measure of the insulating quality of covering?
Hugh Molloy: It was first devised by the British Textile Technical Research Group at Shirley Towers in Manchester, and it's an electrical way of trying to work out the insulation capacity of any material, be it a building material, be it a carpet, clothing, etc.
Norman Swan: So, from your pyjamas to your quilt?
Hugh Molloy: That's right. A simple way to understand it is that the British Textile Technical Research Group left us with a table which said that shirting had a tog value of .2.
Norman Swan: Your standard cotton shirt?
Hugh Molloy: Standard cotton shirt. Underwear was .2 to .4. Thermal underwear, .4 to .8. Suiting, 1. Sweaters, 1. Cotton and wool blankets, 1 to 2 togs. A standard continental quilt was 10 togs.
Norman Swan: So ten times a blanket?
Hugh Molloy: Well, 1 to 2. So I decided 5 or 6, being on the generous side. They also pointed out that a 9-tog duvet or doona should keep people relatively comfortable when their bedroom temperature got down to 5 degrees Celsius. That's the temperature at which you keep the milk in the fridge. I wonder how many bedrooms in Sydney get down to that level.
Norman Swan: So what do you believe are the consequences of lying under the equivalent of five or six blankets?
Hugh Molloy: Increased sweating. But if your skin is dry, then that sweat can't get out onto the surface of your skin and evaporate and cool you down, so it gets trapped there. This does two things. It irritates your skin, and so causes your skin to react in one of the ways in which it wants to react in response to insult.
Norman Swan: This is the old eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis story?
Hugh Molloy: Yes. And we also found that the people who got too hot had changes in their brain waves, including a reduction in rapid eye movement sleep. Now, it is known that if you don't get enough rapid eye movement sleep the quality of your sleep is reduced and you wake up feeling tired and hung over in the mornings. Many people report this when asked about it, but they haven't associated it with getting too hot at night. It's the same sort of feeling that many people who are depressed seem to have in the mornings, and their depression is said to be associated with a reduction in REM sleep.
We also showed that people had changes in their sleep stages. And there was some work done in Edinburgh in about 1972 which showed that if you had changes in your sleep stages for the middle of the night, of a certain type, then the upper part of your body and your face became irritable. And we noted that all of our subjects at about two o'clock in the morning started to rub their faces. When asked about it the next day they denied having done it. They had no recollection whatsoever of doing it. But we have noted that amongst the people that overheat, by our standards, at night, they develop what we called 'duvet or doona eye'. This seems to be increased tissue formation around the upper eyelid, increased folding of the upper eyelid, sometimes extending to the sides of the eye, with increased creasing and wrinkling. And, in the people who are able to pigment, they often get a lot of pigmentation around their eyes.
Norman Swan: The skin colour?
Hugh Molloy: The skin colour is dark brown.
Norman Swan: And you relate this also to dandruff?
Hugh Molloy: Well, if you are constantly putting shampoo on the top of your head and the shampoo, which is detergent, dries up the outer layer of your skin, then again you are blocking the exit of the sweat. And that causes irritation of the skin, which responds with the production of dandruff.
Norman Swan: And if you sleep in a doona it's even worse, because you're sweating from your head?
Hugh Molloy: Yes. 80% of the sweating which you do at night is done above the middle line. Most of it is done on the scalp. If you can't do it on the scalp then you tend to sweat on the face and neck and the upper part of your chest. And so we see a lot of people who get itchy rashes on the upper parts of their chests, particularly in the winter time when their skin is drier. And they are covering themselves up with a lot of bedding at night.
Norman Swan: Okay. So we've done air conditioning, and air conditioning in hotel rooms. And we've done the doona, and we've done what you do in the shower. Is there anything that you wear on your body that makes this worse?
Hugh Molloy: I think, too much clothing. I'm always impressed by the amount of clothing that children wear. And I think this gives rise to...
Norman Swan: You mean how little they wear?
Hugh Molloy: No, how much they wear. Since the days of Florence Nightingale, everybody has thought that you must heat up children, keep them warm. My view is that you probably cause them to have much more trouble by over-clothing them. And they are often much worse tempered, and they become fractious and difficult to manage, if they are overheated. You often see children in the city who have got loads of clothing on and then they've got a synthetic coat on top, and they're trying to drag it off and their parents are putting it back on, and a great fight ensues. The invention of the synthetic fibres has, I think, done us a lot of harm. Because they certainly don't breathe. They certainly are better insulators, they're certainly lighter, and they're certainly cheaper, and they certainly last longer than the natural fibres, and so they've become very popular amongst those people who don't have a lot of money to spend on clothing and who want to keep their children warm.
Norman Swan: It's the equivalent of the doona in some senses?
Hugh Molloy: Yes. And then the ladies who go to the gymnasium to do their aerobics, and wear lycra from their feet up to their neck, are doing exactly the same as the people who are sleeping at night with a doona or duvet.
Norman Swan: So the correct garb for aerobics would be light cotton?
Hugh Molloy: Light cotton, with a bare midriff and bare arms and legs.
Norman Swan: Just on the clothing side, one of the most popular interviews we've had on The Health Report was in fact with a podiatrist who was talking about shoes, and how certain types of shoes, particular non leather uppers, create a lot of problems on the feet, simply because the feet get too hot.
Hugh Molloy: And it's not only the synthetic shoes, it's the leather shoes also. In the old days the uppers were sewn to the soles, and so there was some ventilation around the seam. In these days, they are welded or stuck together. Also, even some of the finest leather shoes are sprayed with plastics, so-called 'anti-scuff devices', so that you don't have to polish them so much. And these plastics seal up all the little holes that normally would be in the leather, and so shoes become hot-boxes. All my shoes are ventilated, by me, soon after I buy them.
Norman Swan: You stick holes in them?
Hugh Molloy: I stick holes in them, in the instep, which I make with a little electric soldering iron - four little holes, three to four millimetres in diameter, about a centimetre above the weld in the instep. It means that every time you walk you can blow air in and out of your shoe. We tried this at Oxford, we put thermometers in our shoes and ran around for an hour, and measured the temperature inside our shoes. Then we ventilated them, put the thermometers back and ran around for another, and found that we could reduce the temperature inside our shoes by three to four degrees Celsius. And in fact they were much more comfortable. A lot of people said, 'Well, what happens when it rains?' I very rarely get water in my shoe through the little holes that I make. But if I don't make them, every night when I get home my feet are wet through with sweat.
Norman Swan: Let's start looking at some solutions here. We've spoken about the bathtub in the hotel room, to make sure that the air remains humid. What about the shower, what about washing, what's your advice for the person living in the modern world?
Hugh Molloy: My advice for people living in this modern world is not to use soap.
Norman Swan: At all?
Hugh Molloy: I personally haven't used any soap for twenty years.
Norman Swan: And I can testify to the listener that it's not an unpleasant experience sitting next to you in the studio.

Hugh Molloy: My patients have also told me that they have realised that once you stop using soap, you don't need to use deodorant. Now, who sells deodorant? The soap manufacturers!
Norman Swan: Now why is that?
Hugh Molloy: I don't know exactly, but my suspicion is that the constant use of soap changes the ecology of the skin.
Norman Swan: The bacteria on the skin?
Hugh Molloy: The bacteria on the skin. And it probably knocks out a lot of the goodies and leaves more space for the baddies to survive. And the baddies are the ones which, by their biochemistry and by their effects on the perspiration, produce odour. Once you get the normal population of bacteria back onto the skin, then we don't seem to produce as much odour.
Norman Swan: But you do need to remove the daily grime from your body. What do you use to do that?
Hugh Molloy: I use a simple, water soluble cream, like sorbolene and glycerin. And this will wash your body, all parts of your body, quite adequately.
Norman Swan: This is 10% glycerin and sorbolene, which is available in any pharmacy.
Hugh Molloy: 10% glycerin and sorbolene, yes. It won't take off ink stains, but nor will soap. But it also can be used as a moisturiser, so using it as a soap and then put some more on, always mixed with water... Remember that the man who stands outside Buckingham Palace each day, if asked how he keeps the toes of his boots shiny, will tell you, 'With two things, spit and polish'. In order to refurbish the outer layer of his boots, and in order to refurbish your skin, you need two things: grease and water. And so the cream should be mixed with water before it is put on. It can be put on very simply, and you can put your clothes on straight away because it doesn't stain your clothes.
Norman Swan: And when you're washing in the shower - sorry to get into the mechanics of this - do you actually just put it on your hands the same as you put on soap, and rub it on the way you would normally?
Hugh Molloy: I take a little bit in my hands, I take some water with it, I mix the two together, and I use that as soap to wash myself. I rinse it off, get out half dry, take a little bit more, mix it with water, put a thin layer all over, put my clothes on.
Norman Swan: And what about your hair?
Hugh Molloy: Shampoos are, really, industrial detergents. They are very strong, and they do damage skin. They do damage your hair also. There is a condition of hair called 'weathering', which we see around the streets all the time. This is purely the effect of shampoo on the hair, the damage that it has done.
Norman Swan: And what is this weathering?
Hugh Molloy: Weathering makes the hair look straggly and thin, it reduces the calibre of the hairs, and the hairs tend to catch each other and tie themselves in knots. Because little cuticle cells on the outside, which normally lie over each other, dry up and stick out. And so they become like the barbs on a fishing hook, and they catch through to one another. And if you measure the calibre of a hair right up against the scalp and then follow that hair out to the periphery and measure the calibre again, you'll find that the calibre is reduced probably to about a sixth of what it is. So it can't hold itself up, so after a few hours, with a little bit of sweat on it, it will become lank and will go flat. It loses its bounce.
Norman Swan: You're describing the situation that most people see on television all the time, particularly aimed at women with long hair.
Hugh Molloy: Yes. And most of those will tell you that...
Norman Swan: So it's a self-perpetuating problem?
Hugh Molloy: Of course! And they will wash their hair and blow dry it and it will stand up beautifully. But eight, or six, or four hours later it will just go flat. And the only way they can get it to stand up again is to rewash it and re-blow dry it. And if you keep doing this, then you damage the hair!
Norman Swan: So what do you use on the hair?
Hugh Molloy: Well, some of my patients use sorbolene and glycerin, take a little bit, mix it with water, rub it into their hair at night, and just rinse it out with water in the morning. Others use hair conditioners. Hair conditioners don't contain detergents, they contain spreading agents called surfactants. There are various types of surfactants - four types of surfactant, in fact, depending on the charge which is on the molecule in solution. Some of these have some detergent capacity, but they are nowhere as destructive as the detergent shampoos. So you can wash your hair quite satisfactorily with hair conditioner, provided you use a lot. You need at least a couple of tablespoonfuls if you've got long hair. The people who say that hair conditioner makes their hair greasy are the people who don't use enough.
Norman Swan: I've known you for awhile and I've tried this. And I found that glycerin and sorbolene made my hair greasy, but in fact conditioner works quite well. But you've got to go for it, it takes you a while to get beyond a certain point, where your hair is not that greasy and it starts to work.
Hugh Molloy: Yes, that's perfectly true. I've had some comments with some organisations who test shampoos and hair conditioners. And they tend to run their tests over a period of a fortnight. From experience I have learnt that it takes at least eight weeks to get over the hump, but it's certainly worthwhile. And you can use hair conditioner as often as you like, because it's nowhere near as damaging as the shampoos. And people often find that in the early stages they have to use hair conditioner quite a lot, but later on, towards the end of the eight weeks, they find that they only need to wash their hair a couple of times a week.
Norman Swan: Now what will do about the bedroom? Most of us invested in the continental quilt. What do you suggest is the solution for the bedroom?
Hugh Molloy: I think that unless one is in Kosciusko at this time of the year, or out in central Australia where the nights can get very cold, two to three blankets made of either cotton or wool should be the absolute maximum - in a house with no heating and the windows up. Now, there is a problem, that we are born with what I call a little man in our brains who enables us to cope with cold. He is like any other function in our body. If we use him and recognise him and respect him, he will work very well for us. But if we misuse him he stops working.
Norman Swan: So you reset your sense of cold?
Hugh Molloy: That's right, that's perfectly correct. If you jump into a swimming pool you will feel cold. But if you stay there for four minutes you will warm up. If you get out of that swimming pool and sit on the side you will feel cold. But if you stay there for four minutes you warm up. So, if you put clothing on the moment you feel cold, then you do the little man out of a job. If you put clothing on in case it might get cold, then you obviously spend a lot of your time being too hot, and again, you do him out of a job, so he packs up. If you overheat him at night, he will persist for a while, but after some weeks or months he will pack up. So you're left there now without this little man who enables you to cope with cold. And in this situation, I believe that your thermostat slowly gets pushed higher and higher and higher, and you feel the cold more.
Norman Swan: You become addicted to your duvet?
Hugh Molloy: And you become addicted to your duvet, and you learn how to feel the cold. So most people who use duvets or doonas have their thermostat set much higher than they should have it. In my experience it takes ten consecutive cold nights to pull your thermostat down. And I advise my patients to go home, put a sheet and two blankets on the bed, and I warn them that they will wake up a number of times during the night for the next six nights, they may wake up every hour or so. They will certainly wake up between four and five in the morning, which is the coldest time of the night. But after about six nights, they'll start to sleep through. And by ten nights they are usually sleeping through and waking up feeling much better in the mornings.
Norman Swan: And when you wake up feeling cold, do you advise putting on a pair of socks or something like that?
Hugh Molloy: No. The most important parts of your thermoregulatory mechanism are your extremities, your hands and your feet. If they are cold, it means they are working very well, they are helping your body to conserve heat. If they are hot it means that they are being used to try and get rid of heat from your body. And so if you overheat your feet you make it more difficult for your body to conserve heat, and therefore you feel more cold. And in fact, if you put a duvet or a doona on the bed, it takes much longer for your feet to warm up. As soon as you lie down and put the bed clothing on, the body's main function is to come to an equilibrium with that bedding. And if that bedding has no heat source, it will be colder than your body. And so heat flows from your body into that bedding to warm it up. During that phase of warming up your bedding you are trying to conserve as much heat as possible, and so your hands and your feet go cold. And so the more bedding on top of you...
Norman Swan: The more there is to heat up?
Hugh Molloy: The more there is to heat up. Therefore your extremities stay cold for longer, which is the opposite of what most people think. If you have terribly cold feet when you're going to bed, then I find the simplest thing to do is get a bath towel and heat it up over a heated towel rail or a heater of some kind, making sure that it doesn't catch on fire. Or you can even put it in the microwave oven for a few minutes, making sure that you don't burn it. Pop that into bed and put your feet on that. It's safer than a hot water bottle. You can't burn yourself with it. It will take you through that initial stage of having cold feet and then it will rapidly cool down, so it won't upset your thermoregulatory mechanism.
Norman Swan: Of all the people who come in to your office with eczema or psoriasis and so on, how many respond to these simple environmental measures and how many go on to need the dermatologists' friend, which is cortisone cream?
Hugh Molloy: That depends on the reason why the patient came to see me. If the patient came to see me to buy the cure, then they go away disappointed.
Norman Swan: What do you mean 'buy the cure'?
Hugh Molloy: Well, for me to give them a prescription for some pills or some cream that's going to make them better. I don't believe that I can cure anything. Pills and creams are like umbrellas. They don't cure things, they just stop the uncomfortable feeling for a while. But usually when you stop the creams or the pills, the condition returns if you keep on insulting your skin. So all I can do is teach people how to manage what they have and get the best out of their skin.
Norman Swan: Dermatologist, Dr Hugh Molloy.
DFERMATOLOGIST
SYDNEY

COUNTDOWN TO FLORIDA!!!

Oh I am SO EXCITED. JetBlue is now flying from Syracuse to Florida.

I am going down there for as long as I CAN!

In return I am not going to be able to go for christmas...OH WELL! Maybe I can make a shorter trip home to MN for some holiday...

My family and I get along great together from a distance of a few states. Not as an insult.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

OCTOBER 31ST off to Florida!

Pirate kitten, cherokee daughter

Her name started as sweetie, then baby, then Nina-Mohsi (strong daughter) now she graduates again. Halla. Because she is one tough pirate kitten.

She started off wasting to death in a lawn in Rochester where my other boss found her. Severe infections in her eyes and nose along with ringworm and severe dehydration made for one sad looking cat.

Crash and I took her to try to nurse her through the night. She made it by me waking up every three hours to dribble water into her mouth and try to get her to suck down liquid baby food.

Finally by 3 in the morning she had eaten liquid baby food watered down with whole milk infant formula.

By that evening she was eating ground Tuna and formula and this morning I found her covered in her own urine but hungry.

After a meal of warm tuna, milk and kitten chow she had a bath. She must be feeling better because she bit me and growled at me. But she took her medicine, drank water, and is sitting here in fresh bedding watching me type and looking curiously at our cat William who is making an ass out of himself. Spitting and hissing at a kitten the size of his belly.

Ani on the other hand is VERY curious. She really wants to lick the kitten and eat its food and lie in the basket with it. I don't think she understands its a cat yet and thinks its a stuffed toy. But I think Halla prefers that to William hissing at her.

Yes three name changes. Now she really is an american indian's cat.

It figures yesterday was great...

So today I found a giant hemroid on my butt. It is HUGE.

Then I found another huge growth on my ear, my eye, and my abdomen.

My doctor says "Yeah you are cystic the skin you have is really thin, take Horse chestnut"

So I am going to go and buy this crap when I see it costs 15.00 DOLLARS! (for three bottles but PLEASE!)

So I finally go to check my checking account and see that my credit card is overdrawn, funnily enough I don't even remember using this card to buy anything. So I go on my account and find out BusinessMaxx has been enrolling me in this stupid super saver account who has 51.60 a month fee!!!

Yeah I ripped them a new one and told them to reimburse me.

I then figured out that I didn't even remember getting a bill!

So I piss and moan and fix this crap and then call my credit card and tell them what happened and ask if they would please forgive my late fee and help me to disenroll in any weird account stuff.

Then I applied for a 200 increase hopefuly to forgive my over draft. Then I am going to cruise for a loan from Empire and hopefully ge this loan payed off.

God I hate money...

My wish list:
Paton Bohemian Cranberry 2 skeins
Journals from GwenFrostic.com
Record player and speakers
A trip to a beach

These are my wish lists and I am going to give up going out to dinner, exspensive coffee treats, cookies from Alto Cinco and shoes.

Oh hell...I'll promise not to start a new damn craft!

That and not adopting any other pets should save me money. My cats need jobs.

Preya, then Kadar, then Gita who will die next?

No these are not people you know. Although you may have heard of them. They had two things in common. First and formost they were Asian Elephants. Second and most important they died in City zoos.

Why is this important? Elephants are on of the oldest species of animal on this planet. Dating back to prehistoric earth. They have taught us so much about evolution, animal behavior and family units in nature.

We have learned that elephants cry when in pain or distress.

We have learned that female elephants stay together their entire lifetime.

We have learned that elephants are closely related to Mastadons but incredibly more intelligent.

Some elephants can predict early drought and choose not to breed.

Elephants can paint, they "play" and mother their young up to three years and if the calve is femal an entire life.

Elephants have been known to stop at elephant bones and carcasses and look at the bones almost pensivly and gently but them down together before walking off.

My point? elephants are gentle loving beautiful creatures that do not deserve to be treated like slaves. They deserve to have land that is THEIRS and only theirs. To live out their lives in sanctuaries where they can be loved and cared for and in the end teach us about compassion, joy and preservation.

Who knows what other secrets they have for us? We won't if we let them die off because of our greed and negligence.

The Upside of Menses

I lied. There is no upside other than knowing I'm not pregnant.
I am having yet another period with all the lovely pain that having cysts and fibroids brings.

It seems so easy for me to fly off the handle and jump down my partners throat for stupid things. I don't like the fact that meditation and breathing practice cannot ease this pain. I am sure it is more offensive because it means less control for me.

The only exercise I can think of that this is the opportunity to practice is letting go.

I cannot hold anger at my condition, I cannot hold anger at my failure to control pain via non-medicinal methods. I must be thankful that this is Sunday and not Monday, had I been at work I most certainly would have been sent home or useless.

Instead I will take this time as a chance to rest, eat something homemade, and take time to read, do a craft or just rest.

I must let go of the feeling that I am "wasting time" and embrace the idea that sometimes rest is the best use of time.

Furious in Syracuse

To the Editor: June 8th, 2006

I have been following the impregnation of Romani for the last 7 years. I am active in boycotting circuses, handing out literature about the reality of “Culling the herds” in African elephants, and the means of getting Asian elephant calves in Asia by killing the mother and brutally reconditioning the calf with torture and corporal punishment.

When I found out about elephants in Syracuse the first year here I was curious to see how they were treated. Imagine my surprise to find them performing circus tricks with “keepers” holding the same bull hook type devices I’d seen first hand in horrific circus training.

When I found out about the Syracuse “breeding” program I vowed to never visit the zoo again. When I wrote a letter to the zoo, I received no answer, with some research I found out from PETA the following information:
“The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, faces two charges of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act and a $10,765 fine after USDA inspectors determined that improper handling led to the death of 4-day-old Asian elephant Kedar. Baby Kedar dove into a deep pool of water from which zookeepers had trouble removing him and died when his intestinal tract became twisted after he took in too much air and water.
Half the elephants born at the zoo since 1990 have died, including 3-year-old Preya from the elephant herpes virus. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo keeps breeding elephants because babies draw in visitors and boost profits—even though every birth carries the risk of the herpes-carrying herd passing on the disease to the vulnerable baby, and there is no chance of the elephant ever being released to the wild.
Elephants born at the zoo face not only the threat of disease, but also the bite of Syracuse’s harsh winters and of the bullhook: The Rosamond Gifford Zoo still practices an outdated, circus-style form of elephant management that consists of dominance and the imposition of fear, both of which are established by the barbaric use of bullhooks.”
Taken from Peta’s “www.Savewildelephants.com”

Now elephant Romani is again pregnant and as of early this morning is to receive an “”episiotomy” which involves making an incision to widen the birth canal to allow her to push the calf out. There is only a minute chance of a live birth. This will be Romani’s third baby to die because of a reprehensible decision by the Syracuse Zoo and director Anne Baker to use elephants as “tools” to boost profit and attendance.

Shame on Anne Baker director of the Syracuse Zoo for routinely subjecting this elephant to such abuse, and on Syracuse for allowing it to go on without objection.

Furious in Syracuse,

Joy E.C. Manlove
Community Animal Project
Communications Officer

Soul Searching...

1. How was your day? Started off cold and with a fever

2. Ever pet an unusual animal? Explain unusual...

3. Ever do a threesome? not a porno style one

4. Ever make-out or kiss someone of the same sex? yeah

5. How's the weather right now? sunny and perfect

6. Do you play in the rain? yes

7. Are you insecure? Sometimes

8. Do you believe in love? yes

9. Play any sports? Air Hockey

10. Ever stuck your tongue to something frozen? 5th grade to a street post

11. Who do you miss? My brothers (RIP)

12. Who are you thinking of? right now? My brothers James and Seth, wish they were alive.

13. How many kids do you have? none, I am childless by choice. My cats would eat them.

14. Do you like your job? Sometimes

15. What did you go to school for? Social Policy and English Literature

16. Tell me about the perfect guy/girl? Chris is the perfect guy

17. If you could be a flower what would you be and why? Gerber Daisy in Pink

18. Do you believe in reincarnation? Energy yes

19. What is your religion? Buddhist/paganesc

20. Do you have a special someone? I have several someone specials

21. Does someone think you're special? I hope so

22. Give a quote that describes your life right now and why: Barely Contained Mayhem

23. Describe your perfect wedding: One that I am not required to plan or wear a hideous outfit for.

24. If you had your own band, what would your name be? "Muppet Mayhem"

25. What is something you say a lot? "Dude"

26. Would you rather be nailed or screwed? Nailed. I've been screwed enough lately.

27. Do you like dinosaurs? Yep Triceratops are cute

28. Who's your favorite Simpson character? Lisa-my cartoon god

29. What's missing in your life right now? Chaos

30. Do you know a lot of people with your same name? no

31. Do you like your name? I guess

32. Are you a stripper? Would you ever do it? no, not in public

33. Are there eggs in your fridge right now? no, I'm Vegan

34. Is there a song that makes your heart melt? "Lullaby" by Juliet Lloyd

35. Do you think astrology really means anything? yep, I have a leo sign tattoo'd on my back

36. Do like indoors or outdoors? Outdoors

37. Do you ever wish you were someone else? no

38. What's your favorite thing to do? read

39. What's one thing you're good at? other than reading? I have been called a animal whisperer...

40. What's one thing about yourself you don't like? my butt

41. Ever had surgery? too damn many times

42. Are all your ducks in a row? yes but they are multi-colored

43. Are you playing with a full deck? missing a spade

44. Do you think you are hot and sexy? Shoo nuff

45. Are you an alcoholic? Don't touch the stuff

46. Best break up song: "Breakin up is hard to do!"

47. Name 12 songs to the soundtrack of your life:
"Absolution" Muse
"Yellow" Coldplay
"Plastic Trees" Radiohead
"Pink Cadillac" Aretha Franklin
"Georgia" Ray Charles
"Superstition" Stevie Wonder
"You belong to me" Jason Wade
"Celebration" Kool and the Gang
"Shining Star" Earth, Wind, And Fire
"Alright" Supergrass
"Always Love" Nada Surf
"Feel Good Inc." Gorillaz

48. Any regrets? Not having dreads in college

49. If you were a superhero, who would you be and why? I am a superhero

50. Why is your favorite color? Antique Pink

51. Are you a freak? Yes

52. Ever wonder about your own funeral? Shits pre-planned, no worries!

53. Ever kill anyone or anything? unfortunately yes, they were suffereing

54. Are you where you want to be in life? I'm where I am, I try not to wonder

55. Do you like to go bowling? not especially

56. Are you graceful? uh, sometimes?

57. Do you think you are intelligent? I've been told I am...

58. Are you an introvert or extrovert? Depends on how I feel

59. Are you a nympho? Yes

60. Do you have any hidden talents? If I do they are hidden to me.

61. Would you ever go on a safari? Hells Yeah!

62. What's your favorite letter of the alphabet? X

63. Do you eat breakfast? Always

64. What do you do in your spare time? Define "spare time"

65. Finally, are you happy? Sho nuff

Support Indie Artists!

http://phritzi.comicgenesis.com

This is the FUNNIEST sheeatt around.

You gotta see this and give her props...

I am one picky biotch too. So...

SUPPORT INDIE ARTISTS!!!

Native Earthlings Lake Onondaga is ALL our problem

Can I prefice this by saying I am fed up with my fellow Native American Relatives?

Here in Onondaga County the Onondaga are voicing protest and garnering forces to try to get the VERY polluted Lake Onondaga to be cleaned up.

Right now it has the capacity to make three eyed fish.

They rally and make fuss and when it is meeting time a lone indian walks up to confront the people who polluted the lake in the first place.

So WHY is it that when it was about complaining the entire reservation and its allies got in on the "Hey ho lets go!" mentality but when our "chief" needs support we are too tired, too busy or just plain don't want to get our butts off the reservation?

Your missing the point fellow earthlings. Its not about Native Americans or non- native Americans. Although setting an example by showing up in force would be great! Its about correcting a huge mistake that is literally killing the very land we rely on to sustain us.

It is not a ripple it is a wave and we stand in its path sand-baggless pointing at one group or another waiting for one to start the action of protecting us from the tidal wave created before us.

Complaining to Complain

I am at my ropes end. I keep hearing everyone around me kvetching and complaining about how hard life is, how unfair people are, how stupid things are, how unjust the world is...

Lucky people.

People whose lives have not been touched by famine, by unbelievable loss, by things that would crush other people. These complaints range from a kitten crying to other people complaining about silly procedure.

The point?

I can't take anymore of the stress of other people venting.

How does one listen to it?

Earthlings: Humans are such jerks...

Earhtlings: the video narrated by Joaquin Phoenix.

I cannot describe how much I hate people so much after watching this video. People were GLADLY even HAPPILY torturing and killing these animals with SMILES ON THEIR FUKKIN FACES?!

The image of a dog who thought its "captors" were there to give it water and food, maybe even a home. What did they do? They put it in the back of a GARBAGE TRUCK. Where it was put through the COMPACTION to crush it to its death.

The dog had a grin on its face even as it was tossed into the back of the truck.

If you eat meat, and care nothing about the way what you are eating was tortured you are JUST AS GUILTY.

If you don't wish to spay or neuter because of cost or personal beliefs you are JUST AS GUILTY.

If you turn away from these graphic films with TRUE footage, TRUE practices, and BLATENT examples of cruelty, you are JUST AS GUILTY.

Shame on all of us for treating a sentient being that feels fear and pain in such a way.

YOU ARE NOT A LION, YOU ARE NOT A WOLF, YOU DO NOT NEED MEAT<>

Vegan+Voice=Change

That dog needs you to change.

VEGAN UNTIL THINGS CHANGE.

Kraft n' Stitch INFO

Meetings will be Thursday 6PM @ Recess Coffee House and Roastery on 110 Harvard Place.

We will meet to discuss crafting and craft related things, show off our goods, and learn from each others crafts!

I also want to make crafts for good causes to sell for charity (or we could sell them and donate the moola) Since not all good causes have a not-for profit label I won't say that is a requisite.

Any questions please e-mail me.

KeenJoy@gmail.com

Circle Jerking...

OK...For the life of me I COULD NOT figure out how to knit on the circular needles!

I have FINALLY found a pair of small knitting needles that I can make a baby cap for my friends baby! I was getting hella pissed. I made the flyers for Kraft n' Stitch and handed them out. I asked Recess if it was OK to meet there and they said "Rad" which I assume to be good.

We will meet Thursdays at 6 PM at the Recess Coffee House and Roastery. This is 110 Harvard Place, Syracuse, NY.

If anyone wants to join us or has questions e-mail me or post a reply on da' blog.

Hope Floats

No this is not an opinion article on Sandra Bullock in that horrible movie.
It is an article about poop. My sister recently told me all about the needed consistancy, duration, frequency, and after care of a bowel movement.

One of the things she told me that surprised me was that Poop is SUPPOSED to float.

So needless to say in my desire to move the perfect bowel I began to do exactly the same thing her colon therapist had told her to do.

Water, no caffiene, no wheat, no dairy (I'm already Vegan this isn't tough!) no white sugar...

Ohhhh...K

No coffee...Oh hell. Yeah that was REALLY tough.

So I'd hover over the toilet and do my bidding and take a gander.

It started a quaint little conversation with my partner Chris "Any floaters hun?"

"No" I'd sigh.

Then this afternoon with my hands clutched to my chest and peering into the bowl I saw my long awaited award.

Floating poop.

All that hope welled up and floats. I felt like a kid who just got potty trained.

So for those of you out there who are seekers of the professional poop. Take heed if it don't float, its a flush.

See? I'm angelic

You scored as Faerie. Faerie: Aren't you a cute little flying person? Faeries are earth spirits. They live among each element completely hidden. They have cousins called Pixies. Pixies however, are very mischevious. They enjoy tormenting other creatures for fun. Little pranksters.. I hope you never meet one. Pixies have a bad reputation for finding a creature and clinging to them until death. Faeries can be somewhat close to a Pixie, but mostly they are loving, playful, and carry with them a child-like enthusiasm for life. Hide among the pedals of a Daisy, you are a Faerie. Angel 100% Faerie 100% Dragon 75% Mermaid 67% WereWolf 50% Demon 0% What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!) created with QuizFarm.com

Rock out with your sock out

You scored as Skater. Your A Skater! Skater 90% Goth 60% Rocker, Mosher 60% Emo 40% Prepy 20% Chav, Townie, Rude Boy, Ned, Kev 20% Trendy 0% What Group Are You? Chav, Rocker, Skater, Emo, Goth, Trendy, Prepy E.c.t created with QuizFarm.com

Finding Faith in a Blender...

I took a test. At first it told me I shold be muslim.

Yeah RIGHT.

I have nothing against the muslim except for the whole "women are subordinate to men" and "dress appropriate at all times"

Need to dress a LITTLE slutty at times LOL

So...I decided to give you all my answers...

You scored as Buddhism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Buddhism. Do more research on Buddhism and possibly consider becoming Buddhist, if you are not already. In Buddhism, there are Four Noble Truths: (1) Life is suffering. (2) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance. (3) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. (4) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. These eight are usually divided into three categories that base the Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration. In Buddhism, there is no hierarchy, nor caste system; the Buddha taught that one's spiritual worth is not based on birth. Buddhism 96% Islam 83% Paganism 83% Hinduism 83% Satanism 58% Judaism 33% atheism 33% Christianity 33% agnosticism 17% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

Try your own...

Garden Brothers Circus

So I went undercover at the recent Garden Brothers Circus. I didn't trespass, I had permission to be there I showed them a badge from a donation I had made to an organization that will remain nameless, and they let me in.

I exspected they would be more apprehensive but playing dumb and talking up these carnies was like shooting tin cans point blank.

First and foremost I was allowed into the Circus simply by saying I needed a phone. Once inside I easily slipped away and took a private tour to get my bearings.

I found the elephants easily in a parking garage... Upon being stopped by a male trainer I whipped out my contribution badge which I had laminated and said I had called ahead to check that the elephants had everything they needed.

The man didn't even look at it.

I have worked with elephants before and am familiar with their commands. I will be honest. What I saw there was not horrific, it was just sad. These elephants appeared so bored and so hopeless it broke my heart.

The three ladies were standing on bare concrete flooring. They had shackles on their feet connected to a concrete pillion. Less than 24 feet away lie an huge pile of dung 3 feet by 4 feet in size.

The smell was overpowering. There was no Hay, Timothy or otherwise for the ladies to munch or stnad on. They had dirty feet, and were swaying back and force in rhythem to the cars driving by. There was no music, no interaction, no food and no water.

A beautiful young woman came down as I was writing down my observations and introduced herself as the wife of the male trainer. She had been working with elephants all her life and appeare to have a deep love for the animals, but little understanding of anything being wrong with the surroundings.

She carried no bullhook although her husband did. She dressed the elephants in shiny masks and gave each one a scratch before untethering them and having them line up.

The ladies were forced to stand on a steep concrete drive and wait for the trainer to ask one of the elephants to lift her foot so as I could brush caked on feces from the bottom. I got two swipes before the man took the brush way and said "we don't have time for this"

Previosly I had asked each elephant to open her mouth so I could view her teeth and chin. I saw old healed marks and cuts but nothing recent at all. The ladies were very curious about me and each took turns reaching into pockets and touching my hair.

I truly felt like they knew my concern for them.

After the ladies went into the ring I was asked to leave and walked outside. I found a place where I could continue to view the girls without being seen.

Upon returning to the garage they were immediately shackled again, and given a 5 gallon bucket of water. No apples, affection, treats or brush down.

I observed the male trainer asking one of the elephants to open her mouth, peer in, and blow a thick cloud of cigarette smoke into her mouth.

I was disgusted and decided it was time to do some more research.

I found a carnie smoking in the back of the duilding with another female who had her child on some sort of leash. I feighned ignorance of the event inside and attempted to flirt with the carnie man. The man took all of three seconds to warm up before he was talking about Sarasota Florida being the Circus capital of the world. He told me the elephants are always transported in a huge truck and often do back to back shows throughout the entire year. He further informed me that the Garden Brothers Circus didn't even own the animals that they leased them from Sarasota Florida. I asked about a well known elephant abuser whom I'd seen in Peta Video's pretending to be facinated at his bravery. The man smiled and said "Well you know, these elephants are really like huge dumb dogs I hear, they don't do nothin and only respond to a little military discipline ya know? Like...Pain doesn't seem to effect them they'll trust anybody, cute animals but dumb, they are lucky there are circuses that can find a use for them."

I thanked the man for his time and gave him a fake phone number. Then proceeded directly to the picket line and informed my boss of what I had found.

We were both saddened and amazed.

Elephants are intelligent animals that nurse their young, travel in groupd of woman, and are curious and fun loving by nature. Elephants enjoy music, exploring, swimming, sratching and being near one another. They have favorite foods just like people and form lifelong friendships.

Elephants truly have the capacity to remember people and it is true that even though scars fade, elephants never forget cruelty. Nor do they forget compassion. Be kind to these gentle creatures. Do not attend the circus of patronize zoo's that are innadequete shelters for these magnificent animals.

For more information please go to www.circuses.com

Knitting Pretty

I have completed my sisters knitted pashmina!

It is 100% no dye cotton thick yarn in sky blue and cream. It is 64 stitches long on 7 gauge needles with a Knit row, purl row pattern.

My next project is a Vogue scarf I saw in black and pink. For me. So far everything else I have given away except my snuggly leg warmers. I have them on now and I LOOOOOVE them.

I never felt this way about crochetting...Knitting is addictive! I only think about "Knit, Purl, Turn"

Cathartic even.

Where Crafts are born...

http://www.craftster.org/

Why the HELL did I NOT know about this place?!

I mean I love crafts just as much as the next DIYer,Sweatpants with Studs wearing,Leg warmers in summer, purses cost more than food craftster!

I am looking around this site and I can say it took me literally four seconds to decide to register and excitedly wait at my g-mail account saying "come on! COME ON!"

So go...make your internet pilgrimage! Find the perfect cat cozey or Lamp made out of a Diaper Genie! Come to think of it...NO that idea is MINE!

Rogue aka KeenKitty the craftster

Sic Magnets for the Veg Fridge

I feel as though I need these. Perhaps only to pre-exterminate the question "Why isn't there any meat in here?" These magnets are not oly little kid cute, but they grab this cartoon watching loonies attention!

I give mad props to the SicasSin collective for making these 70's style cartoon magnets. I am now dutifully saving up my spare change for ne of their adorable Elephant T-shirts and Black Kitty Underwear.

For more info and to see a picture of the Magnets professing their herbivore love, go to:

http://www.sickonsin.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=84

Git yer Veg ahn!

Rogue

Big Big Love

I am unsure of when my love for animals began. I hold a special place in my heart for elephants and cats.

Honestly though I cannot think of an animal that I don't respect. Animals, just like people have personalities and habits that in my experience those deemed "with souls" possess.

It breaks my heart that there are so many people in the world who can view animals the same way they would view a spoon, or a car, or a coat.

What amount of fear makes a fur coat, is the wearer absolutely informed on how these animals are treated? If so how would one gleefully wear fur knowing that a living breathing creature suffered needlessly for fashion.

Would you skin your cat for fashion? What is it was all the rage. It may seem obsurd but think about it. Animals would not willingly kill for popularity, why would you?

I heard a woman once say "I am all for animals being treated compassionately but I enjoy meat." I asked her if she had ever slaughtered a hog, no. Had she ever killed a cow? no. How about had a male calf locked in a dark room, only to slit its throat and eat it? absolutely not! Did she know where veal came from?

"Its a type of cow right?"

no.

"Um...A bull?"

Yes. a toddler bull calf.

She thought about it and said "Well...I'll try not to eat red meat."

For most ethical means doing what our societies have done forever. We believe it is ethically ok to eat animal flesh because we've done it for years.

However if you ask if it is ethical to smoke in front of children or take speed they would look at you like you were a psychopath.

My point? We have changed and our views on sentience have to change. We have to become aware our surroundings. Truly aware.

It is Buddha who first spoke of his realization that animals suffer for our personal pleasure, and that in order to become "enlightened" we had to work diligently to be compassionate to all living things.

How are we today supposed to teach our children that it is wrong to hurt people, or kill people when we ROUTINLY kill and hurt animals.

No animals are not people, nor are macaw's a breed of horse.

Yet sentience has evolved and those who are aware realize animals are closer relation to us than we first suspected.

We have become educated, now we must evolve. Truly it is not meerly popular to become a vegan, but nessecary for our future survival as species anima in total.

Vocabulary for Animal Rights?

As a vegan and animal rights activist. I have a lot of people sending me things from WONDERFUL groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Syracuse Animal Rights Organization, Community Animal Project,Mercy for Animals, Humane Society of the United States...the list goes on and on.

It made me ponder the vocabulary we use to attempt to educate others on the importance of treating all living anima with the treatment we would wish for ourselves in the same situation.

Ethical: Of relating to dealing with ethics, being in accordance with the accepted principles of rights and wrong that govern a profession.

Could this not be construed as simply "Doing things in the tradition as they have historically been done?" Would this in the case of animal abuse move one to change the way they view and therfore interact with animals?

Is it not our purpose to educate people on a healthier way of eating and living that has a positive impact on both animals, the environment and other worldly populations?

Which brings me to my preffered terms:

Mercy: Compassionate treatment especially to those under your care, alleviation of stress and relief of pain and/or trauma.

and finally,

Compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another with a wish to end it.

This final word...Compassion, envelops everything I believe about animal rights. Be they human, elephant, dog or cat they are all animals and every animal deserves compassion, especially those entrusted to the care of others, like us.

Buck the Rodeo...

OK...how is this for proving your manhood. This guy can beat up a BABY ANIMAL. Elephant Polo, Donkey Basketball, Greyhound racing, Cock fighting, PitBull Fighting, Bull Fighting whats next? Kitten Wrangling with burlap sacks and rocks? Can't you just let Mike Tyson make an ass out of himself without coercing animals into doing it? Urge Starbucks to Buck the Rodeo! Starbucks Corporation has faced intense public scrutiny recently for sponsoring various rodeos and rodeo organizations, including Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming, the Miss Rodeo Washington Association, the PRCA Belton Rodeo, and the Calgary Stampede. In some instances, Starbucks donated money; in others, it donated beverages. Regardless of the nature of the donation, the company that’s been heralded for its progressive policies and hot coffee is suddenly alienating consumers through its affiliation with cruelty to animals. Rodeos are a cruel form of “entertainment.” Every national animal protection organization opposes rodeos because of the events’ inherent cruelty. Rodeo promoters say that the animals are wild and rough, but without the use of spurs, tail-twisting, and bucking straps cinched around their abdomens, these frightened and usually docile animals wouldn’t even buck. They are often terrorized when participants shock them with electric prods, twist their necks, yank them by their tails or legs, slam them to the ground, or otherwise batter them. Following a life of confinement, abuse, pain, and fear, the final destination for most of these animals is the slaughterhouse. The Calgary Stampede, a 10-day annual rodeo and exhibition that boasts hideous events such as chuckwagon races, bears responsibility for the deaths of at least nine horses in July 2005 alone. Animals have fallen, drowned, jumped to their deaths, and sustained injuries severe enough to require euthanasia.

Behold the power of poop

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/22/dog.waste.power.ap/index.html

This story just makes me think there is a use for everything. And that makes me happy and hopeful.

Joy

The Government Sucks.

I am so stressed out right now. I don't enjoy needing help from the government, but I try to be respectful, courteous, and prompt.

Yet besides my best efforts they were missing my form for recertification.

This is fukkin wonderful.

So now Chris has to come to my work, help me fill out forms and make copies, and then we have to leave early to drop this stuff off tommorrow A.M. so that we can get our damn food stamps.

GRRRRR!

I hate my memory problems!

Joy

Why Boycott the Circus?

Please join me in boycotting the Shrine Circus

Circus Location: New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse, New York

Show Dates

April 01, 2005	7:00 PM
April 02, 2005	10:00 AM 2:30 PM 7:00 PM
April 03, 2005	1:00 PM 5:00 PM

I hope to form protest/rally in order to re-educate the public by handing out pamphlets educating about the inhumane practices of the Shrine Circus and the accidents and deaths it has caused.

“The Shrine Circus escapes the scrutiny of governing bodies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and local animal control agencies by not owning the animals used in its shows or possessing an exhibiter license. The animals are leased from outside companies…”

“Exhibiters of Shrine Circus leased animals have failed to meet minimal federal standards for care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The USDA has cited Shrine Circus exhibiters for failure to provide veterinary care, adequate shelter from the elements, nutritious food, and clean water, as well as failure to handle animals in a manner that prevents trauma and harm and ensures public safety.”

PETA Fact Sheet Shrine Circus.

“Elephants don’t perform because they WANT TO. They perform because they are afraid NOT TO. “

PETA-“Cruelty is not entertainment” pamphlet

There are far more entertaining ways to entertain and also educate your children about animals. Several Circuses that don’t use animals are: Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize, and The New Pickle Family Circus.

There are places in NYS that Rescue, rehabilitate, and place animals in loving homes and accept tours! These places not only help animals to be happy and healthy but your patronage helps them to rescue more animals.

Volunteering at such animal rescue places such as:Farm Animal Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, Little Shelter, Huntington, Pets Alive No-kill Shelter Middletown, Animal Haven Flushing, Catskill Animal Sanctuary Saugerties, Lollypop Farm Fairport, For Our Friends Bayside, NYS Humane Societies, NYS SpcA, and State and National Wildlife Preserves and Rescue centers.

They are not only great places to show children happy animals, but are great places to learn about animals. You may even find an animal to become part of your loving family.

Teach our children that is isn’t right to hurt animals for our entertainment, PLEASE BOYCOTT THE SHRINE CIRCUS.

To help Pickett, Educate or Rally Support or for more information please e-mail: KeenJoy@gmail.com or go to www.circuses.com

New EPA Deal Lets Factory Farms Pollute Air without Restriction

New EPA Deal Lets Factory Farms Pollute Air without Restriction

Hey y'all listen to this...it SUCKS!!

The day after the inauguration, January 21, the Bush Administrationsigned an agreement that allows factory farms to freely violate any andall clean air standards for the next two years, and forgives these samecompanies from paying fines for past air pollution violations.

In exchange for the freedom to pollute without any restrictions, thedeal "requests" that factory farms agree to monitor their air pollutionand provide that data to the government.

This "Dirty Air" agreement isoutrageous, given that the Clean Air Act already requires factory farmsto provide air pollution data, while also requiring facilities to adhereto clean air standards

Please sign on to a petition in opposition. Petitionand more information on this issue is available here:http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa3.htm

Please also forward this message to interested friendsand colleagues. (source: Organic Consumers Associationhttp://www.organicconsumers.org)

A chill in his chest

Every night I wake with a start.

Left foot, soft and warm.

Good.

I place my right hand out to touch the crown of her head, soft and warm, a warning snuff with kibble breath.

I reach out sideways and touch her softly snoring person.

She is warm, breathing easy, safe.

I roll over to gaze at her.

She sleeps with a look of concentration on her face. She is always thinking.

Sometimes of me, sometimes of pain, sometimes of things she tells no one.

I turn back on my back and stare up at the ceiling.

I cannot sleep sometimes.

I dream of waking up on terror, her cold beside me. Waking alone to remember she isn't there.

I cannot breath sometimes.

The tightness in her chest causes a tighness in mine.

The shortness of her breath makes me catch my own in fear.

Her short stumbling gate makes me trip over my own feet.

Her smile and laugh heals everything that is broken in me.

My love makes her forget about everything that is broken.

I will be her stregnth and she my will.

Together we will do more than survive this life, we will live it.

I smile to myself and she sighs in her sleep.

I can sleep, I can breath, and I can live, with her.

Moon Phases

CURRENT MOON moon info

Not so enchanted evening: a story of real love

I woke up with the room pitch black. The only thing I was aware of was my head pounding in time with my heart.

I tried to rub my neck and stretch.

The pouding because worse. I tried to sit up and the pounding in my chest awakened the churning of my stomach.

I turned over in bed and swallowed a darvocet with a glass of water and tried to go back to sleep.

Slowly I felt sweat covering my face like cool gossamer silk. It began to bead, becoming more profuse and dripped into my eyes.

I sat up with the knowledge that I had about 3 seconds to find a can, toilet, sink or bathtub.

Falling out of bed blindly I threw up on the floor.

Crawling over it, I surged forward again and threw up on another patch of floor.

This was not going so well.

I attempted to puke silently as to not wake up my boyfriend deep in slumber.

Crawl, crawl, puke, crawl crawl puke.

Finally I made it into the bathrrom. Crying at the sheer nastiness of my condition I literally hugged the toilet bowl in relief.

Snot running from my nose, tears running through my eyes, vomit covering my chest, my knees, my hands.

Again, this was not going so well.

I finally managed to pop the top off my anti-spasmatic meds and take them.

laying sideways on the cold floor for a moment or two I finally felt the waves of nausea subside. I sat up and shucked off my clothes throwing them into a plastic bag.

I sat there in silence.

All at once I heard the recognizable "ssssplurt! sssplurt!" and scrub of a person with paper towls and a sprayer full of carpet cleaner working their way accross the carpet.

I opened my eyes to see my boyfriend leaning over me with a fresh set of pajama's and a glass od "Tummy Tea."

After getting me safetly to bed he lay down next to me and watched me while I passed out.

The next morning he called my boss and told them the whole disgusting tale of our late night afventure. He told him that in no way was I fit to be at work today and he refused to wake me or let me go to work.

I slept.

This is a story that we will tell our family for years to come. Not because it shows the ugly head of my disability or sickness. We will tell it because my best friend, my partner in crime and boyfriend to boot scrubbed my vomit off the floor without being asked.

That, and no other version of dimestore paperback romance novels is the true show of love.

Super-Charged "Rogue Rice Bowl Scrub"

Here are some ways to make yor scrub a little more personable.

Use essential oils to add scent and different elements to your scrub:

Rose: Normal or older skin
Chamomile: Sensitive skin
Tea Tree: Oily skin
Lavendar: Relaxing and anti-inflammatory
Patchouli: Balancing and relaxing great earthy smell
Sandalwood: Soothing scent, mildly anti-inflammatory, good for dry or winter skin

I also reccomend using different types of WATER in your scrubs when placing them on the face.

I have tried mineral water, distilled water, warm filtered water, cold filtered water.

My favorite is Cold mineral water for face scrubs and warm peppermint tea/water for my body

Here is my typical:

"Soothing Scrub for a rough rough world"
1/2 c. dry scrub mix (see recipe) INSTEAD of regular sugar I place a whole open vanilla bean in a cup of sugar and let it sit overnight.
2 tablespoons warm red/black tea
1 drop sandalwood essential oil
1 drop patchouli essential oil
1 drop glycerin

This scrub makes me smell like a "heavenly cookie" according to my Partner.

It sticks around in the bathroom for a while too. So its a deoderizer!

Tell me how you like it!

joy

A facial scrub miracle? or cheap MacGyver Spa treat

I set out to make a scrub that was simple, inexspensive,moderately mousturizing and "natural" without being gritty rough or just plain gross.

After all. Sugar strained through bones is "natural" but that is just gross.

I wanted something that could be dressed up or paired down. This concoction is simple to prepare,store, and use.

So attatched is the following recipe for a spa treat for everone and every budget:

"Rogue Rice Bowl Scrub"

For enough scrub to do your ENTIRE body use the following measurements:

"Rogue Rice Bowl Scrub"-total body recipe

1/2 cup dry rice (any kind) ground
3 tablespoons Sugar (I prefer raw/organic) For dry skin ~or~ Salt for oily skin
Enough floral water to make a paste: Floral water: 1 drop essential oil + 1 Tablespoon water
1 drop of glycerin (optional: for dry skin)

For enough for just hands and face:
Mix above dry ingredients together in sealable container

3 TBSP Dry mix (above)
1 TBSP floral water (glycerin already added)

TIPS:

I make the dry ingredients and wet ingredients and keep them in prett sealed jars. When its time to make my scrub I keep a bottle of floral water near the shower take a handful of dry stuff out and spray it with the floral water.

Another thing I have found my partner Chris doing (leave it to a man to be Macguyver) is taking a handful of dry mixing it with CONDITIONER (yes I said conditioner) and using it to shave.

I tried it, and it works like a dream.

So do something nice for yourself! Treat yourself to a Rogue Rice Bowl Scrub!

The burdens of being sentient: an opinion on vegetarianism

I am not a lifelong vegetarian. I had much trouble not succumbing to peer pressure when it came to eating meat.

My family were cattle farmers, my uncle a pork farmer, and my own family largely into hunting and fishing.

It was on a trip to one of those farms ( a pig farm) that I saw a pig with a broken leg being dragged off to a corner of a field by a tractor to be killed. I could see the pigs eyes, it was scared, it was hurt and it was screaming.

I will take that image with me to the grave.

I stopped eating pork that day.

Another visit to a farm I saw calves being kept in dog "igloo's" in the hot sun. Everytime I went to them they tried to suckle my fingers. I asked what they were in the igloo's for and the farmer told me "They are there for veal, best meat in the world!" I told him I didn't understand and he explained in detail how they would be kept in the huts until they were almost 6 months old and then killed for meat.

I asked why they would not be allowed to run around and get older and the farmer told me "Then the meat wouldn't be WHITE"

I never ate Veal, and I still never have.

It is stories such as these that I have string together over a series of years in my life that make it so much more important to become educated. Further I also must be an advocate and a responsible citizen in this world.

For me that means I cannot eat meat that is manufactured in unethical and sometimes in cruel ways. I am a citizen that wishes to become and help others to become enlightened regarding the sociological, economical and ethical repurcussions of supporting "feed-lot" mentailties, and unethical cruel practices against sentient beings.

I find that often, as I was, people are not ignorant by choice on issues such as Fois Gras and Veal but often are told white lies by people who wish to indulge in a meal without caring for the ramifications of that meal.

I think of this as mindless eating, people placing truth in logic that is at best fuzzy.

I am not saying that I would never eat meat. There are animals that eat meat that REQUIRE it. I for one believe that my body does not require meat on the level that certain meat agencies have led me to believe I need it. Conversly I will not force my cat or dog to eat vegetarian, I would be just as much as a sociopath as those who force feed a duck through a tube for foi gras.

Instead I am saying that I cannot eat it without being willing to do the dirty work. At the very least understand the circumstances in which your food comes from. Upon inspection of the process, one may find you may not "truly" be able to enjoy it. Ignorance or inability to listen to factmay result in unwillingly supporting a n industry that thrives on the mistreatment not only of its sentient animals but the sentient human animals who eat it.

The good things in life are not free. Great things come at great costs and great sacrifices. But it is when we make truly educated descisions that take into consideration such costs and sacrafices that we become truly involved and responsible citizens in this world.

Frozen sunny day

Waking up it felt like something in me had either scabbed over enough not to bother me anymore, or maybe it was gone completely?
The sun streamed into the window, I felt rested, I felt like smiling, in other words I felt like everything would work out maybe today.

I went to go get my disconnection notice taken care of, exspecting a line out the door. I was the second in line. I filled out my paperwork, found that I was already in the computer and was assured that they would not turn off my heat until after January and by that time they would help me pay my bills in the future.

I went to sit down feeling pretty happy. Accross from me a woman was swearing into her phone. She was raging and carrying on about having been there for over and hour. She complained she didn't have any meat to eat, ahe yelled accross the room that she was going to jump the woman in charge of helping her with her HEAP application.

I sat near her listening to her rant. Suddenly I became overwhelmed with the feeling of needing to laugh. I started to chuckle and then to all out laugh.

The woman looked at me like I was out of my mind and asked me what I could possibly be laughing at. I told her "I remember my nana telling me that is is only through discomfort and challenges that we can reaffirm our deep faith in a benevolent force that wants the best for us."

Of course the woman wanted to know WHY this was so funny. I continued that every single person in the office was in the same boat, every person behind the desk was trying to help all of them. We could ALL sympathize with her wanting service, and I am sure they wanted her to be on her way out as well. She squinted at me and I almost cracked up again.
Leaning forward to her I said; "If you were over there are you saw a woman saying she couldn't wait to speak with you privately so she could ream you out and kick your butt, would that make YOU want to help her quickly or slowly?"

The woman opened her mouth, looked around at the secretaries looking at her with their eyebrows raised and settled down immediately.

They called her next. She flounced over and slammed the door, then seeing the look on everyone's face staring at her she appologized and re-opened the door and shut it softly. The woman walking her back said quietly; "Thank you for your patience, the reason you had to wait a while is that HEAP denied your claim and I resubmitted it under a disconnect rush and got you an extention and temporary assistance.

Everyone in the room stared at me. I closed my eyes and thanked whatever force was out there for blessing this woman with tranquility and peace. Seems like with all the holiday hubbub, people forget the REAL point of holidays.

Celebrate Peace, Love and Tranquility These are things we take for granted all year and then during the season that they are most important we throw them out the window.

Happy Holistic Peace Day