New Bern, NC – Still enjoying some of the cornucopia of goodness from 
Thanksgiving? Leftovers may be my favorite part of the holiday, so it seems appropriate to have savored my Cranberry Secret Sauce over some peanut butter on gluten free toast for breakfast today.
Yum!
Check last week’s post to keep that tasty and versatile jewel of redness around for the whole holiday season.
This week foodtalk4you is serving a bit of this and that as well – a cornucopia of seemingly random information that is so appropriate for the season. Let’s dig right in!
GERMS
You’ve probably noticed how the trend has been away from anti-
bacterial hand soap.
For those of us who wizened up to the more current wisdom that regular hand soap did a fine job, thank you, we were often at a loss to find regular liquid soaps. Seems that the relentless use of all things anti-bacterial can actually train germs to grow stronger to resist the effects of anti-bacterial germ warfare.
Finally, Bath and Body Works and other purveyors of “soap-ness,” have returned to offering most of their wares in the non-antibacterial form. Excellent!
Having said that, I do like to use a foaming anti-bacterial soap before handling my contact lenses or touching my eyes.
Here’s the thing I just discovered. You DO NOT have to buy foaming soaps! It’s a rip off.
How do I know?
Well, after accidentally buying the regular liquid to refill my foaming 
squirt-top container, I discovered regular liquid is too thick to go through the apparatus. What to do? I tried diluting the liquid – one-part soap to 2-3 parts water – guess what? Foaming soap! Think of all the water I had been buying all those years.
You’re welcome!
No matter what soap we use, the trick is in proper handwashing technique. Rub, rub, rub those dirty paws thoroughly. Get to all surfaces of the hands, between fingers, and scrape your nails along the palm of the opposite hand to drive the soap bubbles underneath them. The rubbing process with soapy hands should last for 15-20 seconds or two hums of the Happy Birthday song.
Dont forget to include those wrists!
Says Deidre, “Using one soapy hand to wrap around the opposite wrist, twist back and forth several times. Repeat for the other wrist!”
No kidding. If your family is continually passing around the “crud,”
truly proper handwashing, coupled with not touching your face, will break that hand-to-mouth/eye/nose circle of germ circulation.
RECOVERING FROM A HYPERVIGILANCE HABIT
Today’s next tidbit is something I’ve successfully employed in my recovery from being in a hypervigilant state for the past two years – even longer, as I endeavored to be “on-the-ready” for my husband’s changing needs.
Just because the need for hypervigilance is no longer there, does not
mean our nervous systems magically switch to a normal maintenance mode. Some of my symptoms were manifesting as an irregular heartbeat at bedtime.
My former nighttime caregiver routine was busy and emotionally taxing; sleeping time meant keeping a constant ear out for my husband. No wonder I was showing stress: relaxing at night was contrary to what I was actually doing.
Maybe you, too, are trying to come off of a hypervigilant state. Whether it’s a different living circumstance, a change in jobs, or a change in relationships, converting to a calmer state of mind is not easy. Others may wonder why you may be having a rough time since the “problem” has been eliminated.
You and I know differently.
While I am still very much a work in progress, I would like to share a bit of success that may help you, too. Curing hypervigilance and anxiety requires a multi-faceted approach, often with professional counselors, but this may be a starting point for you.
By the time I had read up to page 62 of Virginia Ritterbusch’s book, 
Reframe Your Viewpoints, harness stress and anxiety, transform it into peace and confidence, I was writing in the margins with my epiphany.
Following her recommendations to look at today’s circumstances, with a focus suitable for our adult selves TODAY and not from our former traumatic focus of yesterday, I realized the source of my heart palpitations.
I learned to see/recognize my anxiety; to feel what I was feeling; and to substitute an alternate thought for my anxiety.
This is how that went for me – here comes that nightly tension; I’m feeling those strong erratic beats of my heart which causes more anxiety – and instead of the usual tailspin, I applied alternate thinking.
I thanked those feelings/friends for having kept me on alert for so long, but now the need was no longer there. All I needed to do was to relax to go to sleep and get some much-needed rest. Those helpful feelings of hypervigilance can assist me in the future when I need to be vigilant, but not now. Right now, I’ve got this, and I’m going to spend a few minutes of being mindful of my
quiet breathing.
Those nightly heart palpitations have vanished. I keep with mindful breathing each night before retiring. Reading the print version of Virginia’s book each night also helps.
Remember to be “off screen” before bed each night; the blue light of electronic screens is detrimental to the production of sleep-inducing hormones. Read something relaxing and helpful from a good old-fashioned printed book. It can be part of your winding-down routine for a good night’s sleep.
FAST CHICKEN SOUP FOR FEELING BETTER
Last, but not least, a quick update on healing chicken soup.
As a vocalist in three choirs over the holidays, keeping the “pipes” 
working is a big job. While post-hurricane mold spores swirl in the air along with the usual mix of wintertime viruses, many of us are walking a thin line between health and vocal collapse.
I’ve ramped up the usual version of chicken, broth, garlic, and fresh ginger with the addition of some fresh sliced whole lemon and dill as a gently complimentary spice.
I’ve cheated the all-night simmering of chicken bones with large boxes of organic, free range, chicken bone broth.
Quick, Healing, Chicken Soup – 2018 version
With just the following ingredients you can have some yummy, healing soup:
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
¼ sweet onion, diced
2 T. olive oil
Several thin slices of whole lemon from the middle of the fruit (about ½ lemon or more)
2 chicken thighs
2 chicken legs
1 large container of chicken bone broth
Salt, pepper, and dill weed to taste
In soup pot, sauté the ginger, garlic, onion in olive oil until fragrant. Add the chicken, bone broth (with some water to rinse container), lemon slices, and seasonings. Simmer until chicken is falling off the bone.
Remove chicken; take meat off the bones. Cut cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to soup pot.
Ladle up a fragrant bowl of healing goodness.
Enjoy!
Until next week-
Deidre
some of the happiest times of the year: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year’s Day – to name a few. Maybe a birthday or an anniversary will be added to the mix. Some of us, however, may be caught up in the poignancy of All Saints’ Day Memorials – remembering those who have passed away in the last 
year – or in Veterans’ Day tributes to those who have given their all for us in battles of war.
may have resulted in the physical and emotional rugs being jerked out from under us, many of us are just trying to suck in all of our emotions.
But is that the right approach?
produce about 10 ounces of tears a day and 30 gallons a year. Toddlers probably exceed that.
such as dust, wind, or onions.
Tears release toxins from the body – The tears we release when crying actually wash away the chemicals that raise the stress hormone (cortisol) inside of us. Other chemicals found in our emotional tears include the “feel good” hormones, called endorphins, that help to decrease pain.
have been shown to help kill anthrax.
Tears relieve stress – Stress activates our Sympathetic Nervous System or our fight-or-flight response. Tears counter that by activating our calming system called the Parasympathetic System. Again, our tears cause the stress hormones and toxins to wash away, thereby reducing tension. As one article pointed out, tears are certainly a healthier option to punching a brick wall and cause no physical injury, no headaches, and do not contribute to higher blood pressures.
moments and can put an emphasis on the emotional component of a verbal exchange.
If you aren’t going to be home for Christmas; if your family does not look like a Norman Rockwell painting; if you are going to spend the first holidays without a special someone; chances are, a good cry may come your way.
others in similar circumstances (or worse) and be a light in the darkness for them. Call others on a whim. Surprise an acquaintance with a small gift or flower, or physically be there for someone in need.
box of Kleenex. You may need to see the doctor. Be alert for signs of depression in yourself or others which will also include some, or all, of the following indicators:
Depression will not be fixed by a good cry. Depression is not fixed by “pulling up your own boot straps.” If you see yourself in the list above, please make contacting a physician a priority. You do not have to feel like that. There is help!
The whole back-to-school atmosphere of late August makes me think of fresh yellow No. 2 pencils and a brand-new box of Crayola’s.
After taking 28 days of vacation out of town to reconnect and refresh – my physical and emotional fatigue, grief, and jet lag have taken a toll. Spending 15 minutes with my new watercolor brush pens takes me away from those blue electronic screens, and completely relaxes my mind and body in preparation for a restful night.
those crayons, pens, pencils, or brushes to help disconnect and calm yourself for sleep.
As regular readers already know, it’s been two or three years since I’ve had any kind of time off. It was pure bliss to reconnect with friends I hadn’t seen for forty years in Sacramento, California. Then I flew to the Big Island of Hawaii where I basked in paradise at my daughter’s home. I hope you have had some type of time away from your normal schedule. It’s so healing to just walk away from it all – even for just a few days.
stopped there for me except for playing Uno with the grandkids.
to reset myself. Other than the obvious changes that come with grief and widowhood, my body is clamoring for some attention. Too many good habits have gone by the wayside as caregiver stress mounted for over two years.
Like the classroom instruction starting up all around us, we would do well to remember how learning happens. Teachers guide young minds to learn one concept at a time. When that concept is mastered through practice and application, the next concept is introduced. Children put all of those concepts together to create a bigger whole. Learn the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. Put those letters together to form words and then sentences. Eventually, books are read.
my public 
Everything that has been shared about journaling for goals is true. The effect is immediate. The desire to improve is fleshed out in action through this simple accountability tool. Grab a piece of paper and write down your daily progress for a personal goal.
periodically with an update as to your progress or share some difficulties. We’re in this together to help and cheer each other on to success!
drop of water floating along…sometimes at a lazy trickle over pebbles … sometimes on top of a leaf scurrying along a fast stream …sometimes rushing along in the swift currents of a raging river. We ride alongside other drops in an ever-
changing scene. Some drops are carried away from us at a faster pace, but with the ebb and flow of currents we may once again float along with them as neighbors.
Bone health is a topic foremost on my mind as I will share my efforts to move that bone density scan from osteopenia/osteoarthritis to normal bone density. Hint: There’s a lot more exercise happening and collagen consumption going on.
This fall, I will also be writing the last chapters of my next book, Toolkit for Caregivers. It is a project I hope to share with others on a grand scale. There will be presentations nationwide for caregivers who need tips, hints, and practical how-to ideas for taking
care of someone who is confined to a hospital bed at home. The need for this supportive and encouraging information is great, and I feel “called” to help others walking that path.
you at the end of summer and early fall. Until then, I am listening to my body, mind, and soul and am entering into a period not of inactivity but of calm. My transition into flying solo has actually been full of activity but has lacked nature’s touch.
Ocean waves beckon. Stargazing beckons. Quiet forests beckon. I need to heed the call of nature and the deep desire to spend time with family.
world turn while watching the clouds above float by.
forests of Northern California was a holy experience. Quietly stepping into the ancient tabernacle of giant redwoods was life-changing! I return to that experience often to relive the awe and wonder of it. Presently, extended slow walks to the mailbox and some time spent on the back porch swing have to satisfy that deep need for now.
boat on the river or time sitting on one of our beautiful beaches satisfies many. Time to unplug from the rat race and reconnect to the REAL WORLD of nature.
The best indicator of longevity turned out to be the number of daily face-to-face connections we had. Smiling at people. Striking up brief conversations with strangers. Laughing about the human condition with someone while in line at the bank. Lamenting about the price of tomatoes with a fellow shopper. Little connections. With humans. Face-to-face.
Yours truly won one of the main door prizes! I had never heard of a Dash Caddie before, so the young inventor and his wife had to show and demonstrate it to me.
Caddie, which is a portable box that can mount into almost any golf cart or suction-cupped onto the dash of an RV or boat with ease.