Natural Hairball Remedy

I have shorthaired cats and they usually don’t have hairballs.  But when they do, I found a hairball remedy for my cats that is better for them than the normal store bought remedies that contain mineral oil or petroleum jelly.  You see, because mineral oil is also obtained from petroleum, it is not good for our kitties to ingest on a regular basis (you should not ingest anything that the body doesn't readily absorb).  See EWG - Environmental Working Group for more information on mineral oil and petroleum jelly.

The best hairball remedy surprisingly is “Olive Oil“

I give my cats a little olive oil (extra virgin) when they seem to need it.

How Much to Give your cat?

How to Buy Organic Eggs from Humanely Treated Chickens

eggs

Lets face it, factory farm “battery caged” egg-laying chickens are not humanely treated. They are kept in small cages their entire life - about the size of a 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. They have their beaks clipped so that they do not peck at themselves or each other in close confinement. They can be deliberately starved to increase egg production which is called forced molting. They are denied their natural behaviors, like spreading their wings, the act of nesting, the act of perching and taking natural dust baths. Cage confinement increases the risk of salmonella.

Endorsing this practice impacts our humanitarianism - our respect for other life forms.
I personally do not want to eat meat or eggs from animals that were mistreated.


For more information, see the Humane Society website articles: Egg Recall , Cage Confinement of Laying Hens Increases Salmonella Risk.

For great visual information visit the Animal Visuals website for these articles- Battery Cages Increase Salmonella Risk and Harm Chickens, and The Virtual Battery Cage

How to find Eggs from “Happy” Chickens that were treated humanely?

Natural Ear Cleaner and Ear Mite Treatment for Pets

Every once in a while my cat Willow will get very dirty ears. There is dirt and wax buildup in them. The mildest method to clean out their ears is with Olive Oil.

Olive Oil will coat the ears and loosen the dirt. And, if there are ear mites present, the oil will smother and kill them.

Directions:

1. Scruff your cat 

Simple, Easy, Almost Non-Toxic Conventional Way to Dye Gray Hair:Loving Care Hair Color for Permanent Coverage

My Before Pictures:

another view - before Clairol Loving Care application

4 week roots show after previous Clairol Loving Care application

(NOTE: in 2011, Clairol Loving Care Haircolor has been DISCONTINUED! Please now refer to my article on Clairol Beautiful Hair Color What Can I Use Now that Clairol Loving Care is Discontinued? for updated information.)

The latest way I’ve been coloring my hair is with Clairol Loving Care Haircolor. Loving Care has no PPD (the chemical p-phenylenediamine) in it, no harsh ammonia and even no peroxide. The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has rated Loving Care Lotion as a 5 rating out of 10, which is pretty darn good when compared to many other conventional hair dye products out there.

Loving Care is

How to Use Natural Henna to Color Gray Hair

Because I feel that I look older with gray hair, I want to color it.  Currently, the hair on the front half of my head is covered with what they call “salt and pepper“ - almost and equal blending of brown and gray hair.   The back half of my hair is around 90% brown with just 10% gray.

Conventional hair dyes contain many chemicals.  Some of these chemicals can be carcinogenic (cancer causing).  One of the chemicals for brown hair dye is the chemical p-phenylenediamine, known as “ppd” for short is a potential allergen and a possible carcinogen.  So I decided to look for more natural ways to color my hair.

before henna application - gray and bleached hair

In my quest to find the right healthful coloring for my brunette and gray hair, I tried “body art quality” (BAQ) henna.  It works very well for me and I have beautiful color results.

The color is amazing - the reflective highlights are fantastic.  It also coats my unruly hair and makes it feel softer and act more manageable - and no frizzies either.

after henna application - in the sun

after henna application - in the shade

Coloring Your Hair with Natural Sage Rinse - for Brunettes with GrayHair

Because I feel that I look older with gray hair, I want to color it. Currently, the hair on the front half of my head is covered with what they call “salt and pepper“ - almost and equal blending of brown and gray hair. The back half of my hair is around 90% brown with just 10% gray.

Conventional hair dyes contain many chemicals. Some of these chemicals can be carcinogenic (cancer causing). One of the chemicals for brown hair dye is the chemical p-phenylenediamine, known as “ppd” for short is a potential allergen and a possible carcinogen (see more information at the Environmental Working Group website).   So I decided to look for more safe and natural ways to color my hair.

For Brunettes, you can make a natural sage rinse to darken gray hair. It is a natural and safe way to color gray hair. You make a decoction of the herb “Sage” as a rinse for your hair. A decoction is made by boiling the herbs in water to extract the active ingredients into the liquid - just like making tea. It is a progressive color - that means the more you use the rinse, the darker the gray hairs get.

How I Eliminated Breast Fibroids

I have had fibroid cysts (a.k.a. “lumps”) in my right breast for as long as I can remember. It didn’t bother me too much except it was very uncomfortable wearing underwire bras. Whenever I did a breast self-exam, had a doctor examine my breast, or have a mammogram performed - my breast would hurt for 2 days after. One Day, my friend Jean told me to try eliminating caffeine from my diet as it may get rid of the lumps -- and sure enough -- it worked! I no longer have any fibroid cysts in my right breast!

What I did:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the Best Moisturizer for Very Dry Skin

extra virgin olive oil

After menopause, there is a natural decline in the amount of oils produced for the skin. So, my once oily skin is now so very dry. My latest discovery for mature dry skin, or for any dry skin, is to apply extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) straight on my skin. After I tried many different body lotions (some even with Alpha-lipoic acid which will slough off dead dry skin to help reveal a newer skin layer beneath) I still couldn’t get rid of that shriveled up dry feeling in my skin.

I found that straight extra virgin olive oil works the best. I apply it to damp skin, or if my skin is already dry - I wet my hands and apply some water to my skin, and then apply the olive oil.

What Do the TV Resolutions 360i to 1080p Mean and What Is the Difference Between TV and PC Resolutions?

How sharp and clear your television picture appears depends on your televisions maximum resolution. The resolution depends on the type of TV you have. Resolutions are much higher and better on the new flat-panel LCD or Plasma TV’s versus the “old fashioned” CRT’s (cathode-ray-tube, which is a vacuum tube) TV’s. Keep in mind that the type of device you have connected to your TV and the type of cables you run between them have an effect on the resolution as well.

The following tables will list the resolutions you can expect.

　

Television Picture Resolution:

Resolution is represented by numbers followed by a letter (360i, 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p)

The Numbers represent:  

The number of lines going down the screen horizontally. The more lines displayed the more detail displayed.    

The Letters represent:  

• I = interlaced. The pictures are displayed on your screen in an alternating stripe pattern - odd lines are displayed in the first fraction of a second, followed by even lines in the next fraction of a second. This was the standard on CRT’s.


• P = progressive - the picture is displayed all at once. The quality is better than interlaced. This comes standard on LCD and Plasma TV’s.  

• 360i = standard definition TV available on your vacuum CRT style TV


• 480i - this is also available on your CRT style TV and on standard DVD players


• 480p - this is available on progressive scan DVD players


• 1080p - this is available on Blu-ray DVD players and X-Box 360


• 720p-1080p - displayed on High Definition Flat Panel TV’s　  

PC Resolution

PC resolution is represented by horizontal and vertical pixels. 1280 x 720 would be : 1280 horizontal pixels (number of pixels going across your screen in one line) by 720 vertical pixels (number of pixels going down your screen in one line). Therefore, the 720 vertical pixels match up with the 720p horizontal lines that can be displayed on a 720p HDTV (“720p” is really short hand for 1280 x 720).

So, PC resolutions can match up to TV resolutions as follows:

   PC                                      TV

640 x 480                              480p

1280 x 720                            720p

1920 x 1080                         1080p

Your TV may not show all the lines displayed on your PC monitor with the following resolutions. Your HDTV will match them up as follows:

  PC                                       TV

800 x 600                              480p

1024 x 768                            720p

1280 x 768                            720p

1360 x 768                            720p

Note: If your PC screen size over-runs your HDTV size, and you want or need to see them, you can purchase PC software such as “Powerstrip” to adjust the screen size output to your TV. http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm

　

Analog Versus Digital and their Native Devices

Analog: Broadcast television was always analog, which is waves. The audio portion of the signal was sent by FM and the video portion was sent by AM.

Digital: As of Feb 2009, broadcast television it all Digital. Digital converts the physical properties of the original sound and video to the binary number system of 1’s and 0’s.

Devices:

• LCD TV - digital


• Plasma TV - digital


• PC (personal computer) - digital


• LCD monitor for PC - digital.


• CRT(old style) TV - is analog


• CRT monitor for PC - analog

　

Cable Definitions and their Maximum Resolutions

RCA composite cables

Composite or RCA cables   - displays up to 480i, analog format; in a 3 wire grouping, the Red is for R audio, the White is for L audio, and the Yellow is for video - however all the wires are the same and can be swapped around if needed.

s-video cable

S-Video cables - displays up to 480i, analog format; better than Composite because it also separates the Chrominance (color) from the Luminance resulting in reduction of color bleeding and increase in clarity and sharpness.

VGA cable

VGA cables- can display up to 1600 x 1200 on PC’s (you must purchase higher quality cable for higher resolution), these are analog. A graphics cards converts the PC’s digital signal to an analog signal and makes it available through the VGA port. These were used to connect to the old CRT monitors which were analog. You can still use them with LCD monitors - the monitor converts the signal back to digital before displaying it. Note: usually, degradation of signal occurs over lengths longer than 15 feet.

DVI cable

DVI cables - display up to 1080p, digital format. It is better to use a DVI digital cable between a PC and a LCD monitor as it doesn’t have to convert the signal from the computer and to the monitor, resulting in less signal loss. These cables are compatible with the video portion of HDMI cables. Note: usually, degradation of signal occurs over lengths longer than 50 feet.

component cables

Component cables - can display from 480p to 1080p, analog format; Red, Green and Blue connectors on cables; cables can run long distances without degradation of signal. Note: So far, 1080i is the maximum resolution allowed with component HD Television.

HDMI cable

HDMI cables- displays 1080p plus Audio signals as well, digital format; signal can degrade anywhere from 20-50 feet depending on the brand of cable purchased.

　

　

Wireless Connections- Wifi needs a special HD transmitter to display HD

How to Connect a Standard Definition or HDTV to your PC by Using S-Video or HDMI Cables

HDTV displaying a TV Show from a PC on the Internet

We don’t have cable, satellite or even digital on-the-air television available to us. We watch our TV programs on the internet. (Refer to my article: “How to Watch TV Shows on the Internet”.) We wanted to watch these streaming TV programs and movies on our TV in the living room - it‘s so much more comfortable in there - so we connected our computer to our TV. There are several ways to do this. We tried a couple of ways ourselves.

As we don’t have anything else wireless yet (WiFi), and our PC is off to the side of our living room, we decided to go with cable connections from our computer to our TV (its actually safer as there are no EMF (electromagnetic field waves) involved.

To decipher all the different TV resolutions - Refer to my article:  What Do the TV Resolutions 360i to 1080p Mean and What Is the Difference Between PC and TV Resolutions?

Watch standard definition TV (360i to 480i)

We first tried using an s-video connection from our PC to the TV. S-Video cables display better quality than regular RCA video cables and composite cables.  S-video can display up to 480i.

You will need:

• VGA to s-video converter 
• VGA cables (around 20 ft long) 
• S-video cable - measure the length required to connect your PC to your TV
• RCA audio cables dual connectors for stereo (the same length as above) 
• Stereo to RCA Y-connector

Step by Step Instructions

      

My affiliate links:

1) Purchase the VGA to S-Video Converter. We purchased ours from AMAZON.com

2) Attach a VGA cable from the computer to the Converter

3) Attach another VGA cable from the Converter to the PC Monitor   

4) Attach S-Video cable from the Converter box to the TV (we needed 50 ft to snake around our doorway).

5) Attach RCA audio cables. S-Video only supplies the video portion of the computer, so you need to run audio cables as well. We ran a 50 ft dual RCA cable for R and L stereo connections from our PC to the TV.

Stereo plug to RCA plug adapter

6) Connect RCA cables R and L to “stereo to RCA Y-connector”. We needed an RCA to PC stereo jack adaptor so we could plug in our RCA cables into the computer sound jack.

7) Change PC resolution to 600 x 480. You can try all the resolutions available on your PC to decide which one looks better on your TV.

8) Change the PC Monitor to be 60 hertz to match our TV. Change this setting under “advanced settings” on your desktop settings. (Caution: don’t run your PC at a higher hertz - it’s incompatible and could damage your TV!! Most all TV’s run at 60 Hz. So, if you ever hear a high pitched noise from your TV - shut it off right away!)

This worked well, whatever is displayed on our computer monitor is displayed on our TV.

To watch HDTV from a PC to a 720p Flat Screen LCD TV  

!! Unfortunately, our old TV broke down - so we decided to buy a new LCD flat screen 720p HDTV (of course!) to replace it and found out that we could NOT receive HDTV on the S-Video cable (remember it only supports 480i) !!

You will need:

• LCD High Definition TV. We bought a Toshiba 37” - model 37AV502R - it was the cheapest model in the store and had a good picture too!


• PC graphics card with an HDMI output connector, and a VGA input connector.


• HMDI cable (Measure the length required to connect your TV to your PC. We needed a 50 foot length - to go around a doorway and run along the baseboard.)


• Internet connection of at least 1.5 MBPS


• Powerstrip software (optional, if needed)   

Step-by-Step Instructions:  

1) Install PC graphics card.

My affiliate link:

We bought an updated graphics card for our PC that had an HDMI cable output connector and a VGA input connector. This comes standard on many newer PC’s, but as ours is an older model - we needed the upgrade.        

• 
  
  We had a choice (there always is one, isn’t there) between a card with a “heat sink” (quiet, but some can still produce heat), versus a card with a fan to cool it (some fans can become noisy over time). We decided to go with a fan model (VisionTek Radeon 512MB).


• 
  
  You must make sure that your PC’s power supply can handle the graphics card. Check out your power supply wattage (ours is 300W) and make sure your card does not require anything higher, or you will have to buy and install a LARGER power supply.


• 
  
  Make sure you check to see if your slot size available in your PC is a compatible size for your graphics card. PCI Express (PCI-e) cards come in different lengths and you must match them to the size of the slots you have available in your PC. They are sized by the number of pins that connect to the PC’s motherboard. The sizes are: x1 (very short), x4, x8, and x16 (the longest). Smaller PCI-e cards will fit into the bigger slots as well.


• 
  
  After all that, we installed it ourselves - it was pretty easy.

2) Attach HDMI cable to PC graphics card and to HDTV.

My affiliate link:

We needed a 50 foot HDMI cable (to run around a doorway and run along the basement) and ran it from the PC to the TV. We got it from AMAZON.com - a generic cable cost us $26.83. HDMI carries the video and the audio - so we were all set there!      

3) Change the PC Monitor to a resolution that looks good on your TV.

We changed the PC Monitor to 1280 x 720 resolution as this is an acceptable signal format for our TV (info was in the manual) and fit our TV screen size the best. The top resolution of our PC is 1280 x 1024 - you can try all the resolutions available on your pc and see which one fits your TV screen size best - our best bet was 1280 x 720, which is one of the “signal formats” listed for our TV, and should be a perfect match for 720p. We leave our PC at this resolution all the time - but you could switch it back and forth if you want to. To change this setting - right click on your PC monitor desktop, and then select “display settings”, slide the bar to change the resolution setting, and hit APPLY to see your changes .      

4) Change the PC Monitor to run at a refresh rate of 60 Hertz.

60 hertz will match your TV‘s refresh rate. Change this setting under “advanced settings” on your desktop settings. (Caution: don’t run your PC at a higher hertz - it’s incompatible and could damage your TV!! Most all TV’s run at 60 Hz. So, if you ever hear a high pitched noise from your TV - shut it off right away!)      

5) Use Powerstrip software if needed.

If your PC screen-size over-runs the TV screen, you can use “Powerstrip” software to tweak your resolution -http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm - you can download a free trial of the software before deciding if you want to purchase it $29.99. We did not need this option.      

6) Check that your DSL internet service is 1.5 MPS or higher.

We upgraded our DSL service from .75 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps so we could stream more the more information needed to view 480p and up shows and movies - that way they will buffer faster and not freeze up.      

7) Whatever you now see on your PC monitor is what you see on the TV.

HDTV and DVD player

When shows are output in HD on the computer (this is mostly from www.hulu.com), you can now watch it in HD on your TV! We can now view 360p or 420p or 720p formats . It’s great!      

Connect your old DVD player

Traditional DVD’s have a resolution of 480p. If you have a Progressive Scan model DVD player, check to make sure that it’s set up to always display the progressive resolution (480p instead of 480i).

DVD component cables for video and RCA composite for audio

You will need:

• DVD Player (Progressive Scan model preferred)   


• Component cables for video


• Composite cables (RCA) for audio       

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1) Change DVD player to always display the progressive scan resolution (480p instead of 480i).

We found out how to do this in our DVD player manual.      

2) Connect the DVD player to the HDTV with Component cables (Red, Green, Blue connection tips)

This will supply the video portion to match your players 480p.      

3) Connect 2 RCA composite cables from your DVD player to your HDTV

This will supply the audio portion of your DVD.      

4) Now you can watch your old DVD’s in semi-high definition on your new HDTV!

NETFLIX Ready Devices

Another option available (but one we haven’t tried yet) is to attach your TV to one of many different “Netflix-Ready devices” including: Wii, X-box 360, Play Station 3, Roku Digital Video Player (a Netflix box), various blu-ray players, or internet ready TV’s. With these, you bypass the computer and load shows and movies directly to the Netflix-ready device for viewing. This can be done through a HDMI and Ethernet cable or through a wireless connection. This works with Amazon Movies too! Note: you will need a high speed internet connection - at least 1.5 Mbps, and for DVD quality you need a connection of 3.0 Mbps.

What is the Difference Between Olive Oil Grades?

What is the Difference Between Olive Oil Grades? How is EVOO made? What do the different grades mean?

The other day, I was trying to figure out what the heck the difference is between extra virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil. Is it a First Press versus a Second Press? Is regular Olive Oil refined and therefore not as good for you? Well, I was wrong on all accounts.

Olive oil produced in Europe has the following classifications applied by the International Olive Council in Europe (IOC) (see Resources below). America has had their own olive oil standards since 1948 that are well below the IOC’s. This has meant that olive oil producers could send us “extra virgin olive oil” that did NOT meet the IOC standards. But that is all going to change in October of 2010, when the US olive oil standards are revised to be in line with the IOC’s standards (see Resources below) .

European Olive Oil Standards (and US Standards as of Oct 2010): 

Virgin means the oil was pressed with no chemical treatments involved.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) - This oil is made by pressing olives to extract the oil - no chemical treatments were

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

involved. It must have less that 0.8% acidity and be judged to have superior taste.   By the way, if you take a sip of your EVOO, you should feel a tingle at the back of your throat (wait a few seconds for it) -- the tingle is from an anti-inflammatory substance called oleocanthal -- the more tingle you feel, the better your EVOO is!

First Pressed - If the Olive oil says “First Pressed” - now-a-days, it just means pressed rather than extracted from other methods. (In the past, extraction was from olives pressed between mats - the first press was a better quality oil, and the second press would yield oil that needed to be refined.)

Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) - This is not the second press! If the olive oil’s acidity is more than EVOO but less than 2%, and has been judged to have a good taste, then it is classified as VOO.

Olive Oil (OO) - this is usually a blend of refined oil and VOO. See “refined oil” below.

Refined Oil - most poorer quality olives need some form of refinement to remove the strong taste and the high acidity. A process using charcoal to filter the oil is used. Temperatures can be high - reaching up to 470° F, however no solvents are used.

Cold Pressed or Cold Expeller Pressed - regular pressing of olives produces friction which can cause very high temperatures. When olives are “Cold Pressed” - the heat is monitored so as not to be greater than 120° F. These oils retain more nutrients. If the heat is not monitored then the oils were just “Expeller Pressed“.

Organic - This will be the healthiest oil yet as there will not be any pesticides or herbicides used in the growing or processing of the oil.

Olive Pomace Oil - solvents (mostly Hexane) are used to extract oil from the remaining product after virgin oil has been pressed, it may be heated, and then refined This oil has only neutral flavor.

Hexane - Hexane is made from petroleum. It can cause dizziness, and with long-term exposure - nerve damage. The problem with these solvent extracted oils is that some of the solvent remains in the oil. It is also more toxic to the environment when used in the manufacturing process because it is released into the air -- the EPA regulates the emissions of hexane as it contributes to smog problems. (See Resources below)

Lampante Oil - this is NOT suitable for human consumption - its name comes from its olden time use in oil-burning lamps.

Country of Origin Labeling 

You should see the country of origin listed on all domestic and imported olive oil. Even OO that has been blended will list the multiple countries of origin on its label. This is because the US has adopted a “country of origin” labeling for all its food on Sept 30, 2008. Also, the IOC ruled that starting in July 2009, all their EVOO and VOO will be labeled stating the of country of origin.  

　

Shelf Life of Olive Oil 

Olive oil has a shelf life of 12 to 18 months.

　

generic extra virgin olive oil

Is It Safe to Cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Smoke Point of Olive Oil

The smoke point of an oil is the point in frying when you can visibly see smoke rising from the pan. This is not desired as it is changes the flavor and decomposition of the oil occurs releasing free radicals. (Free radicals are unstable molecules which destroy other molecules and are responsible for aging and tissue damage.)  

• 
  
  EVOO has a smoke point from 365-400°F (see Resources below)


• 
  
  OO has a smoke point of around 200°F

 Your stove’s temperatures:  

Low Heat = 300° and lower  

Medium heat = 325-375° F  

High Heat = 400-450° F   

Can Cooking with Olive Oil produce Trans-fatty Acids (Trans fats)?

The short answer is NO - Virgin olive oils are highly monounsaturated oils (55-85% of which is Oleic acid) which do not oxidize as fast as polyunsaturated oils, and remain stable (does not go rancid) at high temperatures and do not easily become hydrogenated (creating Trans fats). However, deep frying will hydrogenate olive oil in miniscule amounts - but you will get more amounts if you re-heat it repeatedly, like they do in commercial operations for making French Fries, etc.

Resources:

1. International Olive Council (IOC)  


2. New US Standards for Olive Oil  


3. Smoke Point of Olive Oil from the Olive Oil Source  


4. EPA Hexane Rules  


5. Supermarket Extra Virgin Olive Oils by "Cook's Illustrated"  

Information on Olive Oil‘s Health Benefits:

1. Health Benefits of Olive Oil, Extra Virgin by "The World's Healthiest Foods"

How to Watch TV Shows on the Internet

When you’re living on a budget like me, living frugally is just not a option - it’s mandatory!  The more I can cut down on monthly expenses, the better - every penny counts. Unfortunately, my husband and I live in an area where the new broadcast digital television (DTV) is not available over-the-air for us at all (we‘re in a “dark” area).

How do we cope without the television?  Well, we don’t!  Our solution is to watch movies and television shows (or programs) on the internet!

What we do is:

1) We joined Netflix.  They have movies and TV shows available on DVD.   They have many options - 1 movie at a time, 2 movies at a time, up to unlimited movies. We subscribe to the 1 movie at a time option for $9.62 a month (including tax), and we can get an average of 2 movies a week (the first day we receive a movie and watch it, the second day we mail it back, the third day Netflix receives it and mails out the next one). With this option we can also Watch Instantly many TV shows and movies right on the computer - it’s also called Streaming.
(UPDATE: 12/

　

2) We also watch streaming network and cable television shows on Hulu.  This is one of the legitimate sites that has permission for all the shows that is has available. They do have commercials interruptions, however they are only from 30 seconds to 1 minute long. From them, we get a lot of HD (High Definition) shows in 420p (some even in 720p) and if your bandwidth is slower, they have 320p and even 288p.  They play many first run TV shows the day after they air on broadcast television as well as older shows.

A great feature that Hulu has is that if you search for a show and they don’t have it, but they know who does, they will have a connection available to that website! For instance, I searched for “Nature”, and they show you that PBS has it and you can launch it right from Hulu. Great!


　

3) We also watch Fancast - they have many shows available as well. Also, we can watch  Joost  for music videos.

　

4) The above websites offer TV shows and movies in all the different genres. There are other legitimate places to watch TV shows as well. But beware, watching TV shows on places that are not legitimate, as well as being illegal, may open your computer up to receive viruses.

　

5) We monitor our local weather on Wunderground   - it’s great for the local radar and local temperatures. We also compare it to The Weather Channel - we watch their current video updates on hurricanes during hurricane season too!

　

　

6)We catch the national news headlines on BBC  and CNN.  We can also check our local TV Channels on the web for local news.

　

We also wanted to watch these streaming TV shows and movies on our TV in the living room - it‘s so much more comfortable in there - so we connected our computer to our TV. ("How to" article coming soon)

　

If anyone knows of additional legit websites to watch TV shows on, please share that information with me.


Thanks and Enjoy!

How to be Frugal When Buying Organic Fruits and Vegetables

apples

I have found that organic produce is usually more expensive than conventionally grown non-organic produce - hopefully, that may change in the future if more people demand more organically grown fruits and vegetables. For us, being on a budget and all, it’s hard to be frugal and purchase all our produce organic. Fortunately for us, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) comes out with a listing every year called "The Dirty Dozen" (see list at end of page). This list contains the top 12 fruits and vegetables containing the most pesticides when conventionally grown. So, the best healthy approach for us: Only buy organic fruits/vegetables if they are on "The Dirty Dozen" list AND if we eat a LOT of them REGULARLY.     

organic lettuce, carrots and celery

For example, we eat a lot of salads, and I snack on celery and carrots - so we buy ORGANIC celery,lettuce and carrots (they are #4, #9 and #11 on the EWG Dirty Dozen list). We purchase non-organic onion, broccoli and tomatoes.     

organic strawberries

fruit smoothie drink

We have a morning fruit drink that has bananas, papayas, pineapple and strawberries - so we buy ORGANIC strawberries (#6 on the EWG Dirty Dozen list), and the rest as non-organic as these fruits have less pesticides in them. We occasionally eat peaches, pears, apples, nectarines, cherries, kale, and grapes - so, because we don’t eat them regularly or eat tons of them, we buy these as non-organic produce.     

peaches

This way we are reducing
the total amount of
pesticides that we ingest, and being frugal at the same time.     

Below are the 2010 lists from the Environmental Working Group (EWG):     

“The Dirty Dozen” - the most contaminated fruits and vegetables, and “The Clean 15“ - the least contaminated fruits and vegetables.
(See EWG Foodnews for a handy printable guide that you can bring to the store with you, or an application that you can download to your cellphone.)     




Update 8/13/2010: The EWG has updated their Dirty Dozen List and their Clean 15 List for 2010!  The new lists are reflected below.  (Oh no! Blueberries are on the Dirty Dozen List - my refrigerator is full of frozen blueberries - it may take a while to eat through them!)  You may also want to see the EWG full listing of 49 fruits and vegetables.    

The 2010 "The Dirty Dozen" -- the top 12 fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides when conventionally grown (From Worst to best):        

1. Peach Celery


2. Apple Peaches


3. Bell Pepper Strawberries


4. Celery Apples


5. Nectarine Blueberries


6. Strawberries Nectarines


7. Cherries Bell Pepper


8. Kale Spinach


9. Lettuce Cherries


10. Grapes (Imported) Kale/Collard Greens


11. Carrot Potatoes


12. Pear Grapes (Imported)

　     

"The Clean 15" - the top 15 fruits and vegetables containing the least amount of pesticides when conventionally grown (from Best to worse):     

1. Onion


2. Avocado


3. Sweet Corn


4. Pineapple


5. Mango


6. Asparagus Sweet Peas


7. Sweet Peas Asparagus


8. Kiwi


9. Cabbage


10. Eggplant


11. Papaya Cantalope


12. Watermelon


13. Broccoli Grapefruit


14. Tomato Sweet Potato


15. Sweet Potato Honeydew Melon

What is Homeopathy - A Simple Explanation

Homeopathy is a system of medicine that stimulates the body and mind to heal itself. It is legal in the United States and remedies are controlled by the FDA.

Homeopathic Remedies are made from plants, minerals and animal substances. Remedies are tested by a series of provings - the effects and symptoms of the substances on healthy and sick people are recorded and added to the Remedy’s symptom list. Homeopathy then matches the persons symptoms with the remedy’s symptoms list and chooses a remedy with the closest match possible.

These symptom lists are compiled into 2 different books or sections of a book - a "Materia Medica" which is in order by remedy with each symptom listed, and a "Repertory" which is in order by symptom with all remedies listed.

How to Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap

foaming hand soap

　

Here is a simple way to make your own hand soap and save money, too. (It's a very frugal thing to do.) In a nutshell, all you have to do is just add water to regular liquid hand soap. This works because foaming hand soap is essentially a very watered down liquid soap.

You will need:

How to Control Cat or Dog Flea Allergy Dermatitis

Sparky - my cat

Most cats and dogs in the US are troubled with fleas. Normally when thy bite them, they make them scratch and itch. Very annoying to the animal and to their human caretakers! Today, there are a plethora of products available that will kill and repel fleas to relieve your pet (and you too).

However, when your pet has flea allergy dermatitis, just one bite by a flea can drive them crazy - they will itch and scratch or chew and lick the spot unit it is RAW. They may even scratch or lick another spot where they can reach that hasn’t been bit. This is what happens to my cat “Sparky”. She gets bit by a flea and will lick off all the fur on her stomach, until she is raw.

I’ve tried a few different flea products - some conventional and some “natural” - before I stumbled on this combination of products that get her flea allergy under control.  For her, this method really works like a charm.

Cookware Varieties and Safety Issues

When it comes to cooking, who ever thought that there would be so many decisions to make on what type of cookware to use!  There are many varieties available to choose from.   There are different sizes and shapes, different non-stick capabilities, some have better heat distribution than others, and other characteristics as well.  But, did you know that many pans can leach potentially dangerous contaminants into our food?   So safety is something that we should be aware of when choosing cookware.   In this article, I've listed some of the things that you should keep in mind before purchasing new pans.      

Here are the choices available:    

1) Teflon coated pans :  These pans are coated with a non-stick "Teflon" coating.     

Using Natural Products to Clean Your Home

The best products for house cleaning are found right in your own kitchen pantry.  So you can start saving a substantial amount of money while saving the environment as well.

Baking soda and white vinegar

White vinegar is a great cleaner and it has great antibacterial properties.   Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can’t claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Baking Soda is a great cleaner because it has scrubbing power without scratching surfaces, and it can deodorize and has antiseptic and disinfectant properties.

The Best Safe and Natural Aluminum-Free Deodorants

white vinegar

After living to be middle aged (and maybe a little past that), I finally discovered that the best safe and natural deodorants are natural products that you can obtain right from your kitchen pantry and bathroom closet.  I wanted a product that worked, a safe product, and one that was also aluminum free as some research links aluminum to breast cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease.  For me, the product that works the best is white vinegar!

I have been using this method now for about 5 years.  Let me tell you my story....