For us, over here on this side of the world, May means a step closer to winter. However, most folk I know on my Boomer pages, etc, live in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means the season of Spring! How charming to think of all those folks who have been having to deal with the heavy winter conditions for a very long extended winter this year, finally getting some blue skies and sunshine! Awesome. I myself can take or leave Spring since it usually brings some of the humid weather I don't get on with, and lots of pollen!

On my honor, when I was a young thing, I wasn't subject to any allergies what so ever! I was bug free except for the occasional dose of tonsillitis! I never had those sinus problems nor was I in trouble with asthma, or food intolerance's etc. I was, in fact, very lucky indeed. Those issues were nowhere to be found in my early youth. In fact I didn't see anything like those issues until I had become ill with pneumonia one year in my early twenties; I'd finished a shift of waitressing at around 1 a.m in the morning, and while waiting for a taxi to get home, mid-winter and without a warm enough coat, I contracted the dread disease.....

It was a full 12 months before I was free of the effects; but what marred the whole thing was the wrong medicine initially was given which meant I developed pneumonia within 2 weeks ~ after going to the doctors.. I mention this in particular because it was after that long duration of taking antibiotics and rolling up and down with infections, that I found myself developing some of these allergies, reactions to food and general fatigue and intolerance's to certain food stuffs... Of course, getting older merely enhances all those things you'd like to avoid like the plague (joke) but nevertheless, I spent many hours studying alternative health (holistic) remedies, etc, and data concerning health in general and boosting your immunity and basic constitution through eating right. I don't know how well received it was over the years, but to me, my 'bible' became Adele Davis Let's Eat Right.. in that precious book was enough data to sink a ship, or sink any and all misconceptions about how to regain one's health after illness, and indeed, what to do about it in relation to eating right!

I found it fascinating and following that information allowed me the privilege of getting over a bout of blood poisoning which lasted some 6 months, that had not been picked up by the hospital I was in at the time: they sent me home that way - half dead! Ha! What a laugh ... and because I am not by nature a natural 'victim'... I set about making myself well with the information in that book: and it worked! These days I am fighting with a few health battles, all made worse by prolonged illness in certain fields ~ which came about on top of the low profile I had immune system wise, due to the long term effects of too many antibiotics which is a sad side effect to be sure, because it's what happens when you kill off all the beneficial bacteria in someone's system, they lose the ability to fight off your average infection! It's such a shame really because when you are young, before you've had time to mature your point of view on such matters, you simply follow instructions from your doctor: it seems innocent enough to me! But the result can be devastating!

Seriously I have learned through experience that the worse thing you can do is rely on antibiotics without also trying to handle things with natural nutrition, and/or home remedies, and taking a more holistic view on getting and/or keeping well. I am NOT advocating not seeing a GP when needed, besides it helps always to have a proper diagnosis. How you set about keeping from catching every bug in town falls down to your inner strength against such things; your general stamina and your system's immunity! I just realised I got lost somewhere from where I began on this journal entry but the ends to tie in together because it's concerned with health, what seasons bring with them and how to set about dealing with keeping your head above catching everything which is out there in the air!

With a great immunity, you can deal with things physically without succumbing all the time! Isn't that a far better thing for your health and, into the future when you are older, you'll still have some kick=back, and be able to tolerate things far longer, and in a better frame! Some of what I'm saying might be misconstrued - but I don't want it to be! Doctors are wonderful, effective beings. They serve the general public and for years, dedicate their lives to the health and well being of individuals! But some of the burden of responsibility should fall on our own shoulders; it's up to us to do whatever we can to build up our own immune systems eat right, get adequate rest, and exercise! The streams of people heading off to the doctors each and every day would be terrifying for the old system of the family home doctor: with increases in population, we can see why medical centers became necessary. Also changes - large changes in how and what we eat formed new patterns and habits which were not going to deliver us to the winners circle of GOOD HEALTH

... Sadly a lot of the modern approach to eating involves rather unhealthy habits which result in bad health, and overweight people, and when you get this happening en-mass, why it must be very daunting for those who deal in health concerns! Imagine what a huge benefit it would be if there was a basic area in education that covered WHY you would be better off to take nutrition into high consideration! I know I know: you can't put a old head on young shoulders! In fact, I'm probably talking through my hat but . . . when you see the ravages of time and bad habits boiling down to permanent ill health, you'd shift mountains if you could to stop someone else from walking that path! I didn't get there through bad habits (thank god) my fall into the clutches of chronic illness came about through ignorance to do with the long term effects of antibiotics and what they do to deplete your system of healthy and necessary beneficial bacteria, to help keep the balance of bugs in check. Now this lead to 'bug resistant' medications which is now quite a problem. Sadly, we are all wiser in hindsight.

Having said this, I want to state that I feel it is never too late to turn things around. You might have a battle on your hands to ward off the effects of a system that has been taken over by bad bacteria; but you can and should move in directions to put back some good bacteria those the use of bacteria enriched foods such as organic sauerkraut, and sugar-free yogurt. There are also many fine probiotics on the market, and any product which can re-populate the gut/intestine with these good bacteria are basically something you should use liberally each and every day..... While you are working hard on handling this, you might need to do a 36o turnabout on allowing yourself to ingest sugar of any kind whatsoever! It's tough for sure but sugar (I am sad to say) is the big enemy here because it helps grow THE WRONG BACTERIA and will undo all your hard work if you don't get rid of it from your daily diet (i.e what you eat every day)

Seriously it is overloading the body with sugar that can and has done lead many into the dilemma of diabetes!! We sure don't want to go down THAT road, right?! So knock out all products that have sugar in them: and that includes just about any and all packet foods you better believe it: just check out the labels. Just about EVERYTHING has sugar (for example, barbecue sauce has around 16 teaspoons of sugar per serve or something like that (don't quote me please - I haven't got a bottle here to check on, this data was given me by my daughter, who was on a sugar free program for health reasons) Now the next BIG hurdle in the fight to regain health is eliminating white flour products because of the love-affair being fostered around the globe, with pasta and white bread, just to mention TWO giants in the retail sector of food stuffs that is the Holy Grail as far as most folks are concerned! But if you check around and see what's happening you'll notice the huge obesity problem happening around the world, due to eating these foods liberally...

It doesn't pay, not in any world that wants good health and stamina! I have gone off on such a tangent here I'd forgotten where I started and what I was leading up to about the changing season. I honestly think it's a terrible shame that fast foods and that perhaps through a lack of resources, people rely on that fast-lane way of eating - which leads to some of the issues mentioned above.... On that note, I should end off before this gets any longer! I wish you a warm and sunny May and I hope there are blue skies, and plenty of sunshine! Enjoy the time.... Oh and by the way: sorry about font and color issues here: don't know what happened and can't fix it! (-_-!

Have a great mid-week

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When I was a little thing.... I longed to dance! I have very early memories of going out into the back yard, and, standing on the footpath there, with a pair of 'noisy shoes' I'd pretend I could tap-dance, and I'd sing ...."IF she's smilin all the while....THAT'S Peggy O'Neil.....'' and I'd spread out my stick-out dress, and courtsey, plugging my finger into my cheek to create a dimple!

I can smile about it now, thinking back, I had such a great imagination! I used to also recruit half the neighbourhood girls, bring them to my 'stagging' area - a big rock face with a flat surface that was my mock stage, and put on shows, getting them all involved! As I said, a great imagination!

Living not 5 minutes away from me was Colleen Webber - a nifty little thing with blonde curls, 9 brothers, and a 'stage door mother' who used to sew all her costumes, handle all her dancing shoes, and run her through all her tap dance and ballet routines every day! I naturally knew Colleen, in fact we were fast friends - so her mother would permit me, as an ardent fan of Dance, to sit silently in wrapt awe, and watch Colleen practising her dance routines.

Moving forward some years now in my story, we'd moved from where we lived close by to Colleen, to the coast.....a 20 minute ride by train. We used to go back to visit her, and her family for many years, until she moved on, getting married and moving to Queensland with her new husband!  However, I'm getting ahead of myself...

Two years after we'd moved to the coast, I had occasion to visit a small dance 'studio' which was actually a church hall nearby. It was a Saturday morning, and I was thrilled to see the girls in their leotards, and little blue stretch frilled 'tutu's tap dancing in their routines.  I did this, going over to watch the dancers, for a couple of Saturdays, before one time, the dance teacher there, asked me if I could dance!

As I'd taken notice of the steps when I used to watch Colleen dancing, I proudly stood up, and proceeded to show off some of those steps while the dancing teacher stood by watching.  She apparently was impressed, asking me to come and see her after class was over. I approached her when it was time, and she asked me if I'd like to join her dance group!

I was so surprised and delighted, but when she said what it would cost, I said I did not think my mother would be able to pay that amount. I was one of 5 children, and we were always watching pennies.  I cannot remember the exact details, but they offered a cut price rate and, in the end, it was not just I who joined her dance team, but my sisters came too!

I was so elated, and excited, that I practised madly anytime I could, all the routines I'd learned them so fast, and used to put on my tap shoes and work through all the routines even at home, for hours on end! No doubt I drove my family mad with all the noise but no one stopped me in my glee! The teacher was so impressed with my ability to dance, she awarded me two solo's and when they put on a concert, two months after we started there, I had the thrill of doing the two solo dances - one was a 'fast tap' set to Whistling Rufus, and the other a song,  "Pass Me By"  with a jazz ballet routine to follow...

I have never forgotten the absolute thrill of it all, the pretty costumes, and makeup, the hair curlers, making my hair into ringlets, and the elation of dancing on stage!   If I regret anything at all, it would have to be that there are no photos taken which seems odd now, when I look back, because our family photos were legendary, there were SO many, we almost needed a separate house to put them in!  Just sharing some precious memories with you today....

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