So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Monday, March 16, 2009

Can Arthritis Be Helped By Fish Oil

By Dr. Bill

Over the weekend a question came in regarding fish oil and arthritis, and the person who wrote in wanted to know what foods to eat and what supplements would help with her arthritis problems.

Generally, with regard to food, you should eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. This means vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, fresh fruits, and dairy. You'll notice that processed foods aren't on the list, and neither are fast foods.

When you go to the grocery store you should only shop in 3 areas, at most: The area for meat/poultry/seafood, and the vegetable and fruit areas. All the rest of the packaged products can just just sit on the shelf, undisturbed by you.

Now that can be unrealistic, although still a good goal. Some processed food will make it's way into your plate at some point. Maybe even quite a bit.

Keep in mind that the elements that provide real nourishment for your body, like enzymes, vitamins, fatty acids, minerals, amino acids, and other elements, are usually stripped from processed foods.

Inflammation can result from not getting these items in the needed amounts, especially fatty acids.

The long chain omega-3 fatty acids help block the dietary omega-6 fatty acids, so high in the Western diet, which actually promote inflammation, restore the correct lipid balance your body needs, and are absolutely essential to combating the pain and joint stiffness of inflammation.

Food manufacturers usually strip out the essential elements you need for a very simple reason. It's called "shelf life." They don't want their product to spoil, so they take these essential elements out to retard spoilage.

It isn't always easy to eat the right kind of food. But these guidelines should provide some help.

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How To Frame A Basement: What You Need to Know

By Casey Torren

The best and the most beautiful homes are framed, or in photos in magazines and books. Fortunately for the first-time homeowner who needs a lot of inspiration to turn their old basement into one of their dreams, the framed basement photo can be of much help. Read on and discover how to frame a basement.

Multi-Purpose Room - If you happen to have a very huge basement, you might want to use it for several purposes. How do you that? It's very simple. Compartmentalize and frame it for different divisions. This way you will optimize the use of your basement. One of the basic prerequisites of course is to know how to frame a basement. This article provides a short checklist of what you need to do first before anything else.

1. Basement Design Plan - You wouldn't be able to get started if you do not have a plan. Details are part of any design plan. Your design plan should include the layout of the partitions and the wall framing. From here, you will have an idea of how to frame a basement according to the design plan specifications.

2. Proper Tools and Equipment - Since your goal is to set partitions, a fair knowledge in home construction is an advantage. Otherwise knowing how to frame a basement may practically be a little difficult. With this in mind you will need a hammer, nails, saw, drills, goggles and other necessary tools. You may also need to know the different nails to use. Concrete nails are strictly used for concrete and wood nails are for wood. You also have to know the existing dimensions in your basement. You need a steel tape for this.

3. Purpose - Assuming you are setting up a bar in your basement. In this case, you need a space big enough to accommodate more people than the current number living in your household. So the walls that you need to frame may be lesser than if you use it for some other purposes. If you hope to use it as a music studio, the walls to frame may even be lesser. The approach in how to frame a basement of your choice should be aligned to the purposes it should serve.

4. Plumbing - Before you know how to frame a basement, you should anticipate plumbing. That is because a basement is also a room in your house. If you want a multi-purpose basement, then you definitely need at least a little knowledge in plumbing. Laundry basements or those that require drainage are usually close to the septic tank. A basement is where the pipes in your house are barely found. Customizing your basement for recreation may require you to clad them with the appropriate framing for aesthetic reasons.

These are just four of the many things you need to prepare yourself before finally understanding and knowing how to frame a basement of your choice. There could be a lot more. Consider this list first. Later on, you could add some more in your list.

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Foot Tattoos: The Latest In Female Tattoo Designs

By Chris Smith

Almost everyone can agree that the foot is a very sexy part of a females body. Thus has lead to some really great foot tattoo designs being created for women. These designs are being requested more and more by women and it is easy to see why. Women are getting tired of the old lower back tattoo design and now they are looking for other options. Thus is where the foot tattoo designs are coming in. They are the newest is sexy female designs.

If you are thinking about what type of foot tattoo design you will get then you will want to read this article. They are of course a great tattoo design and have many advantages. However, there are also some disadvantages to getting a foot tattoo that you should know about.

The Positives Of Foot Tattoos

There are numerous advantages to getting a foot tattoo design for women. First of all the location is very easy to cover up. Just put on a pair of socks and shoes and your tattoo will be well hidden and not accidentally revealed. Yet if you want to show it off during the weekend or at other times just put on a pair of sandals and your tattoo will be revealed to the world. Another advantage is the absolute huge amount of cute feminine designs for this area. The foot is a perfect area for many feminine and cute tattoo designs such as butterflies, fairies and even flowers all work well. The best benefit is this is a very cute and and therefore a great location for a tattoo design.

Popular Design Choices

To start this section here is a little disclaimer. It is never advisable to get a tattoo design because you thought it was going to be popular or because a friend recommends. Do not just pick some flash at your local tattoo shop because that is all they have. This is not the way to end up with a beautiful and unique tattoo that you will love but instead a tattoo you will end up regretting. Remember tattoos are all about self expression and therefore you should choose a design that holds some symbolic significance to you. With that said however it can often be helpful to know what other people are getting tattoo of and this can act a springboard or jumping off point to creating your own unique design. Some of the most popular designs for foot tattoos are those that are feminine and cute. For example butterflies, fairies, flowers, and angles. Shooting stars and nautical stars also work very well on the foot. Some women are also starting to get tribal or even Celtic designs on their foot also.

Foot Tattoo Disadvantages

While there really are not a ton of things that would be considered a downside to such a wonderful tattoo is is important to know what they are. This can help you in making the decision if you want to get this area tattooed or not. One of the downsides of getting a foot tattoo is the pain level. Any time the bone is close tot he skin that area is going to be more painful to get a tattoo done on then other areas of the body. Many report that foot tattoos can be a painful experience. Due to the pain experienced it can also be difficult to keep your foot still. You want to jerk your foot away from the pain and thus making it hard for the tattoo artist to do his best work. Another downside is it can take longer then normal for the design to fully heal. With the rubbing of socks and shoes on top of the tattoo design the healing process can be slower and take longer. Also since feet and often being moved the healing process can be slowed down.

If you are really thinking about getting such a design then go for it. If after reading this article you want a cute, original and unique tattoo and you are willing to go through a little bit of pain then go out and get the tattoo. Don';t rush into getting it inked however, Take your time and carefully come up with a unique design and find a tattoo artist that will work with you in designing the ideal foot tattoo that you want.

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The Six Major Kinds of Cookies

By Colin Joss

For a beginner baker, cookies are one of the first and easiest things to make. There are six basic types of cookies and all have their own special methods to prepare. Here are a list of all six - with an extra one thrown in - to help you bake every one.

Molded Cookies

Molded cookies are usually round in shape and are formed by rolling the dough with your hands. They may be pressed flat with a fork like peanut butter cookies. Keep your fingers or utensils lightly dusted with flour or sugar to keep the dough from sticking.

Dropped Cookies

Dropped cookies are usually the easiest kind of cookie to make. Dropped cookies are made by dropping soft dough by the teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet. Make sure you leave sufficient room between cookies for spreading. Usually 2 inches is a good rule of thumb unless your recipe specifies otherwise. If uniform size is important you may wish to use a cookie scoop.

Rolled Cookies

The dough for rolled cookies, or cut out cookies, is rather stiff. It is rolled into a sheet onto a lightly floured board and then cut into shapes with a knife or cookie cutters. Work with only a portion of the dough at a time. Use as little flour as possible to keep your cookies from getting tough. Rolling out thinner will produce a crisper cookie and thicker will make a softer and chewier cookie.

Pressed Cookies

Making pressed cookies - like spritz cookies - is easiest with a cookie press. The dough should be soft enough to be put through a cookie press but must be stiff enough to hold a shape. If the dough is too soft put it in the fridge for some time. If it's too hard, mix in an egg yolk.

Refrigerator Cookies

To make these cookies, roll the dough into a thick bar. Then refrigerate it until you're ready to bake. Keep the bars wrapped to stop them absorbing the odors of the other food in your refrigerator. The dough will keep for about a week. When you're ready to bake, cut the dough thinly with a sharp knife then bake.

Bar Cookies

Bars or squares are more like cakes and are a softer type of cookie. They may be crisp or chewy. They may also be layered or filled. Brownies are one good example of bar cookie. They are baked in a baking pan with sides. Make sure you use the proper size pan or your bars may not turn out right. When done these cake-type cookies are cut into squares. Most bars will cut better if allowed to cool first.

No Bake Cookies

As the name suggests, these cookies don't need baking. To be honest, they're not really a cookie. They're more like candy. A good example is a no bake chocolate oatmeal cookie. They're made using a candy thermometer and double boiler.

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Honda Generator Parts - Where To Get Cheap Generator Parts

By Adrian Fletcher

Honda generators are a fine solution for most peoples needs, be it a small power source for camping, a backup system for the home or even a large backup generator for offices. Honda has a fine reputation for quality and reliability and their generators are no different. However, like all machinery that have moving parts, the generator is prone to wear and tear. It also needs to be serviced from time to time to keep it running efficiently. So where do you find the Honda generator parts to replace those that are about to wear out and stop your generator form working. Read on.

There are two main ways to get Honda generator parts and it all depends on the type of service you need in getting these parts.

If you are more interested in using your generator but don't have the time or patience to get to know the ins and outs of the machine and how to service it then going to the official dealership may be an option. You could also go to a hardware store that specializes in generators. In these cases, you will be able to get advice from a salesperson on the parts to get. You may even be able to arrange to have the generator professionally serviced. This will take all the worries out of using the generator.

So buying your Honda generator parts in the official locations will help you because you will get advice. They may be able to give you all sorts of other knowledge that they have gleaned from working on the machines for many years. They may be able to pinpoint exactly what is wrong with your generator and suggest some preventative action you can perform to ensure the generator doesn't fail.

Although this is a very stress free way of replacing your Honda generator parts as you will receive all the information and advice you need, it will probably be a costlier option. A store and employing the staff will cost a premium and this is usually passed onto the customers through the prices of the goods sold to them. They also have information and this has a price too.

However for people that want to save a bit on Honda generator parts, looking on the internet may be a more cost effective way. An added advantage of looking on the internet is that you can pretty much find anything you are looking for. So if you have a rare or hard to find generator or part, you'll probably locate a replacement with a bit of googling on the internet.

Another advantage of the internet is that it is all very painless. You don't have to leave you house to get the parts. You can buy them over the internet and have them delivered to your door.

The negative of buying Honda generator parts over the internet is that you have to know what you want and be sure that what you are buying is what you get. So you have to know a bit about your generator, like how to maintain it or at least replace the particular part you are buying. In terms of trusting the site you are buying from, look for logos on the page that certify it is trusted or only use website that you are familiar with and have a good reputation.

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Personalized Baby Gifts Can Be Centered Around Birth Flowers

By Edie Mindell

Flowers add a special touch to any event, especially celebrations like baby showers. While some choose a type of flower to match a color scheme, others like to use the babys predicted birth month flower, or even the flower of the month in which the baby shower will be held. Whether you decide on flowers according to the babys birth date, or simply pick the ones that you love the most, this article will break down the significance of each months flower. A great idea might be to choose different flowers based on their meaning and make a beautiful flower arrangement pattern for the shower.

Januarys flower is the sweet and sassy carnation. The carnation exerts beauty, distinction, gratitude, fascination, and admiration; the pink carnation in particular represents a mothers love. Soft and gentle on the outside but strong and durable on the inside, the carnation is the perfect flower to represent the bittersweet paradox relating to the first month of the year. The carnations scientific name, Dianthus, directly translates into flower of love. This flower is one of the oldest cultivated flowers in the world, yet one of the most popular today.

February is the month of love and warmth, and this months flower, the iris, denotes deep and profound notes. The iris three upright petals each have a meaning; the first is faith, the second is valor, and the third is wisdom. Gracefulness, majesty, and dignity characterize the iris presence. Purple, the color of royalty, makes Februarys birth flower extravagant and majestic; the iris is truly the flower of splendor and grandeur.

In March, spring begins to arise with bright cheers and rays of sunshine. The daffodil is dainty and yellow, and is the flower that follows after and breaks winters cold atmosphere, bringing warmth and joy to the world. The daffodil is the symbol of rebirth, new beginnings, and a fresh start. Daffodils exert happiness and exhilaration to the world, and fill the earth with light and brightness.

April is a paradoxical month, with both rain showers and sunlight. The daisys character parallels this paradox, in that it is a feminine yet childlike flower. The legend of the history of daisies is that this precious flower originated from a nymph who transformed herself into a cute-but-not-loud flower, in order to run away from unwanted attention. The daisy is symbolic of eternal youth, playfulness, and a charming child-like character.

The best things about May are the beautiful lilies that decorate beautiful landscapes of the earth. Lilies are sweet and humble; they do not ask for attention but their unconventional beauty inevitably gets compliments and praise. Lilies symbolize virtue, purity and honor.

The middle of the year calls for Junes sunshine, warmth, and gorgeous roses. Roses are the universal icon for love and passion throughout the world. Roses depict beauty and perfection, and they reveal a touch of mystery. Each and every petal is as gracious as the next, and the rose surely stands out in a bouquet.

Sending a bouquet of flowers can include the flowers of that birth month or the all purpose roses. Receiving flowers is a gift that is always appreciated.

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Save Space With Succession And Companion Crops

By Thomas Fryd

One way to save space is by means of succession crops. On our plan we use the letters "f.b." meaning "followed by. For example, the first row at the west end of our garden this year will produce an early crop of peas to be followed by a late summer crop of beets and carrots. The earlier crop of beets and carrots will be grown near the middle of the garden where no succession crop will follow them because, by the time they have been pulled and eaten, the vines of the squash and muskmelon in the adjacent row will be spreading over the space they occupied.

Although it has not been shown on the plan, a third sowing of beets and carrots will probably follow either the potatoes or the earlier planting of sweet corn. Companion crops afford a third means of conserving space. They involve nothing more complicated than raising two or more crops simultaneously in the same row. The classic example practiced by many generations of our ancestors was growing pumpkins in the cornfield. In our plan, we intend to raise radishes between the cucumber plants.

There will be several successive sowings of the radishes in that row because we do not use many at a time. In the row reserved for parsley, lettuce and peppers, we shall be able to use the portion of the row intended for peppers for a very early crop of 'Bibb' lettuce since the lettuce will have matured and been eaten before it is safe to set out the pepper plants in early June. In our third of the row actually reserved for lettuce, we shall make several sowings at different times. When we thin the lettuce we shall, as usual, transplant many of the surplus little plants to available open spaces in any other rows, as between cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts plants or even between strawberry plants and almost certainly in one of the early potato rows.

Companion Crops

Perhaps the best example of companion crops shown on the plan is the one devoted to pole lima beans and tomatoes. The hills of pole beans will be planted six feet apart to leave space for one tomato plant between each two bean hills. The tomato plants seem to be benefited, rather than otherwise, by the slight shade cast by the vine clad bean poles in mid-summer.

People seem to be obsessed by a sort of mania for setting out too many tomato plants without even doing a little garden planning. Whether it is because, having successfully started 30 or 40 plants indoors or having bought a bundle of 25, they cannot bear to discard any of them, I do not know. Like everybody else, we used to plant a couple of rows in addition in our vegetable garden. But gradually we have cut down until last summer we had only ten plants. This year we shall have just six, yet I expect we'll still have too few tomatoes at the start of the season and a surplus from then on!

The best way to eat tomatoes is right out in the garden while they are warm from the sun. Don't smoke while working around tomato plants and, if you have been smoking, wash your hands before touching the vines to avoid the possibility of introducing a mosaic disease. Also, do not plant tomatoes within 40 or 50 feet of a black walnut tree.

Another method we have used to conserve space is to plant double rows of beans. By sowing two rows just far enough apart to permit hand cultivation between them for two or three weeks not over ten inches but leaving the customary 30 inches between each pair of rows, quantities of beans can be produced on a small area. Presumably the same method could be applied to dwarf peas, although we have not tried it.

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Advanced Wellness Research Acai Berry Discount Offers

By Linda Kemp

There are a lot of different contaminants that you encounter every day that can have a detrimental effect on your health. These contaminants can enter your body from the air that you breath, the water and other beverages that you drink, the food that you eat, and the various personal care products that you put on your body! With all of the different ways that hazardous contaminants can enter your body, there are a couple of different things that should be clear. First of all, there is a very real danger of building up hazardous chemicals in your body's tissues. Second, while it's a good idea to try to avoid coming in contact with the contaminants, you probably won't be able to to so. Lastly, there are probably a lot of hazardous chemicals that we don't even know about that can harm your body. Given all of these implications, it's a good idea to find an effective way to cleanse toxins from your body. This will minimize the effects of the toxins that you can't avoid and the ones that you don't know to avoid!

One highly effective way to clean the toxins out of your body is to use Pure Acai Berry. This nutritional supplement is an excellent way to clean out your system because it provides all of the benefits that come from the acai berry of South America! The acai berry has proven itself to be the most effective and natural way to allow the body to keep itself clean. That's because it keeps the body clean in several different ways.

The most obvious way that the acai berry can cleanse contaminants out of the human body is through the fiber that it contains. The acai berry is actually a source of two different kinds of fiber- soluble and insoluble. The insoluble fiber stays in your digestive track and helps to regulate digestion while keeping things moving through your digestive system. This will clean out any gunk that has had the opportunity to accumulate in your digestive track while preventing the accumulation of more toxins! The soluble fiber will pass into your blood stream where it will clean out the insides of your blood vessels. This means that your veins and arteries will be scoured of deposits of cholesterol, saturated fat, and a variety of other contaminants that can lead to poor cardiovascular health!

Pure Acai Berry also keeps your body cleaner with all of the antioxidants that it delivers. Antioxidants are beneficial substances that can absorb and neutralize dangerous chemicals and pollutants called free radicals. Free radicals can come from the outside environment or be produced as a by product of your body's metabolism. In either case, they can damage your body's tissues and even your DNA! Fortunately the antioxidants that are packed into the acai berry can absorb these dangerous contaminants so that they can be passed safely out of your body.

Another very real benefit of the acai berry is that it allows your body to function better and when the body is working better, it can do a better job of keeping itself clean. For instance, the antioxidants and essential minerals in the acai berry can lead to improved liver and kidney function, which help to clear toxins out of the blood!

With all of the advantages that the acai berry can provide for you, it's really the best way to keep yourself safe from contaminants!

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