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Believe it or not!, Blessings of Habit, Health, Home School, Homemaking, Inspiring, Who's the mom here?, Wisdom

How to Take Care of Your Eyes – Nutrition

Posted on June 1, 2011May 21, 2015 by Katharine

Since I’ve been seeing things, all SORTS of things besides what is really there to see, I have studied a bit about eye health and visited quite a few doctors. So much knowledge floats around in space, these days, and so many preventive and curative measures exist for boosting eye health, waiting for someone to take advantage of them.

Why isn’t this on billboards, nationwide?

Study the next few posts. Link to them. Copy-paste them for your fridge. Someone you know needs this information!

Nutrition for Your Eyes

We know our bodies have various nutritional needs and we know all the old wives tales about carrots, but listen to this: The eyes desperately need the right nutrients to work, and to last a long time.

If you are in charge of several children, though, you hold in your hands the keys to their continued excellent eye health. You are duty-bound to make good eye nutrition happen.

Vitamins: The eyes must have adequate A, C, and E. They simply must have them. Eat foods like carrots (yes!), strawberries, and wheat germ. Look up these vitamins and build your menus around foods that provide good eye health.

Minerals: Copper and zinc are good for eyes. Add beans and red meat.

Antioxidants: Try whole eggs, spinach, pumpkin, and . . . guess what . . . CARROTS! Your grandmother was SO RIGHT–they help prevent macular degeneration.

Sulfur, cysteine, and lecithin: These come from the onion and garlic family. They put the brakes on cataracts, among other health problems throughout the body.

Anthocyanins: Blueberries and grapes contain these and help night vision, according to WWII pilots, and much further research.

DHA: Sorry, all you catfish lovers, this one is found in cold-water fish like salmon and sardines. You’ll have to try grilled salmon, though–it is marvelous!

Water: While not exactly a nutrient, pure water is totally necessary for the eyes. And, yes, it is 8 glasses a day, and it should be filtered if you use it from the tap. Anything created as wet as an eye would obviously need water, right? Think of the eye as an under-water camera that doesn’t work without the water.

Coming tomorrow, Lord willing: Eye Exercises! Who’d have thought!

Okay, now comes the part we have to say in this lawsuit-happy world: This post is meant to inform and to satisfy curiosity, only, and is not a substitute for medical advice. Consult your doctor for information concerning your conditions. Much effort has been made to assure this information is accurate, however, medical research is always changing the facts, and new findings may supersede currently accepted data. I am NOT a doctor, only quoting several of them.

Believe it or not!, Health, Who's the mom here?, Womanhood

There’s Killing; And then there’s KILLING.

Posted on May 31, 2011May 30, 2011 by Katharine

Number killed or missing in action in all wars in U.S. history: 1,343,812. Adding the wounded: 2,489,335.

Number killed or missing in action in U.S. wars since 1973: 12,387. Adding the wounded: 96,680.

Number of executions in U.S. history dating back to 1608: 15,269.

Number killed in the September 11 attacks: 2,977.

Number of detainees waterboarded by the CIA under President Bush: 3.

Number of abortions in the U.S. since 1973: 53,310,843 through 2010.

Number of abortions per year in the U.S. since 1973: 1,402,917.

Number of abortions per month in the U.S. since 1973: 116,910.

Number of abortions per week in the U.S. since 1973: 26,979.

Number of abortions per day in the U.S. since 1973: 3,841.

Number of abortions by Planned Parenthood in the U.S. in 2009: 332,278, more than 900 per day, or 27.6% of all abortions in the U.S.

Health

She’s Back!

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Katharine

Well, I promised a report from the eye doctor, and here it is.

I do not have glaucoma and I do not have macular degeneration. Whew!

What I do have, though, is somewhat serious: fluid on the eye.

Now if you are scratching your head and thinking ALL eyes have fluid, you are echoing my first comments to the good Dr.

Patiently, the explanation came: The interior of the eye is supposed to contain fluid, yes, but the tissue comprising the perimeter of the eyeball comes in several layers and my excess fluid is between those layers where it does not belong.

This fluid build-up warps the “screen” on the backside of the eyeball and in that way, causes my vision distortion. He says this condition points to high blood pressure, which mine was not great, but satisfactory while I was there in the office. So we are puzzled, but will find the cause.

At least it is something that is fixable. He says once we determine and eliminate the cause, I might find improvement, or else he can treat it at that time. Yea!

So, all you who have prayed, please keep up the good work as I try hard to be in better health, whatever that means, to keep my vision.

To the rest of you, I say, thanks for putting up with my couple of personal posts.

And to all, I say, “sorry” for taking off so many days for all the running around I had to do regarding this condition. Really good eye doctors are rare and booked to the ceiling at all times. My 9:00 a.m. appointment took until 2:00 p.m. to complete, simply because of the sheer multitude of patients there that day.

And the doctor, for some reason, said, “It’s not going to get better in the future.”

Homemaking, Who's the mom here?, Wisdom

HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR A TORNADO

Posted on May 28, 2011March 4, 2016 by Katharine

Know Where to Go

Have a safe place. If you have a basement, that’s the place. Go to the side or corner where the tornado is COMING FROM. (If a tornado lifts the house a bit and then drops it a bit further away, you will not be under it, supposedly. Another somewhat safe place is supposed to be inside any super-reinforced structure, such as a stairway closet, hallway, or shower stall.

Stock the Safe Place

One fresh gallon of water for each person.
High energy snacks.
Up-to-date medications, or copies of prescriptions.
Flashlights with fresh batteries. Candles and matches in watertight containers.
Protective headgear for each person. Hail happens during tornados; bricks fall. A bike helmet is better than nothing. A thick mattress is nice, too.
A radio that works by battery or crank. Fresh batteries.
Light jackets for everyone. You don’t want to be too hot, but it will probably rain.
Diapers, wipes, and formula if you have a baby. Renew this as baby grows: keep it current.
Spare set of car keys.

Have a Plan

Know where you will meet, if separated. (Choose several places in case one blows away.)
Know whom you will call (someone outside your area) for an info base.
Make rules for tornado watches. (Everyone put on sturdiest shoes and jeans. Everyone put one keepsake in the basement. Move cars under hail shelter. Etc.)
Make rules for tornado warnings. (Everyone stays indoors. Everyone be aware [no headphones on, etc.] Everyone make sure nothing obstructs path to basement, etc.)
Make rules for take cover. (Go directly to basement, put on your helmet, and get under the mattress, now. Do not stop for anything.)
Drill your take cover plan, exactly like a fire drill. Practice helps! Also, should you be injured or incapacitated in any way, the children may still know what to do.
If you can, have a bed or two in your basement and put the children to sleep down there, with shoes on, when the nights are dangerous. This saves endless trouble and worry. If you can add a few toys, they can play down there, too, when the days are dangerous. If you have no toilet in the basement, you may want to add a small pot, too.

Okay, there you have some ideas to get you started.

My siblings and I slept in the basement many nights, to the sound of the radio broadcasting the cities and counties in the path of some tornado. Some nights I remember being lifted down those stairs, still half-asleep. Some mornings I awoke to the sounds of my parents readying for another day, upstairs.

The basement was the one my parents built immediately after that infamous tornado in Ruskin Heights.

Believe it or not!, Blessings of Habit, Homemaking, Wisdom, Womanhood

Ten Steps to Tornado Safety

Posted on May 27, 2011March 26, 2018 by Katharine

Yesterday I shared my memories of surviving the Ruskin Heights tornado of 1957.

Today I’d like to explain what was wrong with what we did.

Few people took tornadoes as seriously as they should have.
ALWAYS TAKE A TORNADO SERIOUSLY; IF YOU WANT TO CHASE OR WATCH THEM, GET THE TRAINING, FIRST.
There were very few sirens and they were not systematic in their sounds.
LEARN WHAT THE VARIOUS TONES AND PATTERNS OF YOUR EARLY WARNING SYSTEM MEAN. ALSO, DEMAND THAT YOUR AREA SOUND SIRENS ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES AND PRESCRIBED TESTING, NOT FOR SETTING CLOCKS OR CELEBRATING.
It was against some law or policy to issue tornado warnings over radio, although a Mr. Audsley did so, that night in 1957, risking his job to save lives.
ALWAYS LISTEN TO RADIO, OR BETTER YET, TO A DOPPLER-BASED WEATHER RADIO STATION. HAVE A RADIO THAT WORKS DURING BLACKOUTS.
Few people knew what to do. Our hiding under a table was as futile as our running across lawns was dangerous.
KNOW HOW TO BE SAFE, WHICH PORTIONS OF ANY BUILDING ARE GENERALLY SAFER IN A TORNADO, AND HOW YOU CAN BE SAFER IF CAUGHT OUTDOORS.
We were barefoot or nearly barefoot.
WHEN YOU REALIZE A TORNADO MAY BE ON ITS WAY, PUT ON YOUR MOST STURDY SHOES AND SOME SOCKS, STURDY JEANS, AND A STURDY SHIRT. MAKE YOUR CHILDREN DO THE SAME.
Although helmets for children were not available over 50 years ago, today we also should store helmets in the basement or safe place during tornado weather, one for each family member.
Many people were caught bathing.
NEVER BATHE DURING LIGHTNING OR TORNADOES.
Although Kansas and Missouri are notorious, worldwide, for hosting tornadoes, few people were ready with a plan and supplies.
WE HAVE LEARNED HOW TO FACE TORNADOES WITH PREPAREDNESS. RENEW YOUR PREPAREDNESS PLAN AND SUPPLIES AT LEAST EVERY SPRING.
We were shocked at the far-reaching effects.
DEBRIS CAN LAND ANYWHERE. WATCH OUT FOR FALLING DOORS, TRICYCLES, ETC.
People were injured by the aftermath.
DO NOT TOUCH DOWNED WIRES OR GO NEAR THEM—ELECTRICITY CAN JUMP. IF YOU SMELL GAS, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOT LIGHT OR START ANYTHING OR CAUSE ANY SPARKS, EVEN ELECTRIC SPARKS. DO NOT GO INTO WRECKED BUILDINGS WITHOUT HEADGEAR. ETC.
Although phones were different back then and most were down, today we must:
MAKE ONLY ONE PHONE CALL TO AN OUTSIDE FRIEND OR RELATIVE AND ASK HIM OR HER TO FORWARD YOUR STATUS. LEAVE THE LINES OPEN FOR THOSE WHO NEED EMERGENCY CARE.

More tomorrow.

Believe it or not!, Good ol' days, Inspiring, Who's the mom here?, Womanhood

RUN! OH, RUN!

Posted on May 26, 2011October 18, 2019 by Katharine

Tornado! I remember my mother’s voice that evening: It warbled.

And though I was only six years old, I knew the warble came from utter terror. We were running as fast as a heavily pregnant woman with three children ages 2-6 could run. She was watching the sky more than the path to the gate, carrying my sister, holding my brother’s hand, and sort of warbling to me, “Oh, run, hurry, RUN!”

I dug my toes into my flip-flops and ran.

I knew it was a tornado up there, whatever a tornado was. I looked up, too, and stumbled.

Mom scolded me sharply. “Don’t look up! Don’t look up! Don’t look up!” She seldom scolded sharply. It hurt my feelings but I knew it was no time for hurt feelings. Her words were like a mantra, a warbled charm against bad omens . . . don’t look up, don’t look up . . .

But, when I had looked up I was puzzled. It looked just like clouds.

Then I had seen a door. And when, disobeying, I looked up again, I saw a tricycle.

We were headed to our neighbor’s house. My mom screamed for them to let us in. We cowered under their huge oaken table, in the dark, with our mother’s arms encircling us. I heard my mom praying, so I prayed too. We cried and pleaded with God to protect us. I did not know what to be scared about, but my mom’s fear was plenty for us both.

The neighbor calmly stood on his front porch and watched the sky. His wife wrung her hands and paced through the house. I remember her shoes and feeling sort of dumb lying on the floor under her table while she walked by. I thought of a Little Rascals episode in which the children hid under furniture.

Then it was over. We went home. My mom talked for days about the foolishness of standing on the front porch to watch a tornado go by, summoning new terror at each telling.

It was over, yes, for us, but for the victims it still goes on. The forty-four dead would be burried. The over 500 injured would tell their stories.

And the RUIN still speaks.

More tomorrow.

To read a beautiful memorial written for one of the victims, read here.

Home School, Inspiring, Who's the mom here?, Wisdom

Kinds of Babies

Posted on May 25, 2011May 22, 2015 by Katharine

Our firstborn son was bookish. From an early age, he could “read” himself to sleep. (They were pre-school picture books.) He loved lining toys in rows and dressing like and imitating his daddy. He was a visual learner.

My friend had two boys who disliked reading, although they loved a good story and she could hold them enthralled for hours if she read to them. Having difficulties with bookwork, they aced the hunter-education class, which was all lecture. They were auditory learners, picking up most input through the sense of hearing. Which explains why her sons could hear Mom calling for chores better than mine could?

Some children love to learn by touch. They love science experiments, lap books, and many other sorts of projects, whereas my kids cringed at them, resented the time they seemingly wasted. Math manipulatives greatly help tactile learners, even if it’s just Popsicle sticks. Coloring a picture of a horse can teach them more than hearing or reading a description of one, but riding a horse will teach even more.

I had one child who learned the most by talking about it. Oh, he could read okay, but until he reproduced what he had learned, his lesson was not done. He was one who also learned better when moving, so when he bogged down as an older child, he would slide over the piano and pound out some Rachmaninoff and then could study better. And then he proceeded to become a computer whizz.

What lesson do WE learn from these learners?

All of our children may look alike, but have extremely different insides.
Our daughters may look like us but have their dad’s personalities.
A perfectly excellent curriculum may not work for one child as well as it did for the others.
Einstein and Edison could both be immensely successful, although one was bookish and the other was not.
Institutionalized teaching of scores of children via the same methods will never work.

All of which statements are another good reason to homeschool.