Antioxidants

I have almost finished reading The Antioxidant Miracle by Lester Packer. Fascinating stuff. According to him, I should be taking:

AM:
Vitamin E: 100 mg tocotrienols and 200 mg mixed tocopherols
CoQ10: 30 mg
Lipoic acid 100 mg
Vitamin C: 250 mg
Folic Acid: 400 mcg
Biotin: 300 mcg
Vitamin B6: 2 mg

PM:

Vitamin E: 100 mg tocotrienols and 200 mg alpha tocopherols
Lipoic acid 100 mg
Vitamin C: 250 mg
Ginko Biloba: 30 mg
Selenium 200 mcg
Calcium: 1200 mg
CoQ10: 50 mg
Pycnogenol: 20 mg

What a lot! I have read that one should not take vitamin E and C at the same meal. I actually think that is too much Vitamin E. I have a very healthy diet and don’t think I need that much. I started Lipoic acid and vitamin B complex and it has helped that terrible numbness and tingling in my hands and feet that I got after Taxol. The only place that I have found the mixed vitamin E is at Walgreens. They make Isomer E with 133 mg tocotrienols and 391 mg tocopherols. I’m not sure about the Ginko. I don’t know if I can take that with Tamoxifen or the Pycnogenol. But I did read that Pycnogenol is used to treat lymphodema in Europe.

Try this

Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly. Thomas H. Huxley (1825 - 1895)

Sunrise: 5:56 am Sunset: 6:15 pm
Moonrise: 3:19 am Phase: Waning Crescent Moonset: 12:32 pm

Yesterday in the bulk section of Sunflower’s grocery store, I found quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah). It looks like a grain (sort of a cross between brown rice and couscous) but it’s actually a seed. It is thought to have been cultivated by the Incas before 3000 BC – five thousand years ago! It’s now grown in Colorado! It is way more nutritious than grains because of its high protein content and because it contains all the essential amino acids. In fact, nutritionally, it is comparable to milk. Apparently, you can also eat the leaves.

I cooked 1 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of vegetable broth. First, I added a little olive oil to the quinoa and lightly sautéed it. Then I added the water and broth. The directions said to simmer for 15 minutes until all the liquid was absorbed. It took closer to 20 minutes. It’s delicious and can definitely substitute for brown rice. I see you can make bread with it. That will be the next challenge – looking for a good recipe.

Sunny Tuesday

Natural ability without education has more often attained to glory and virtue than education without natural ability. Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Didn't make it to art yesterday. The roads were so bad that I knew it would take too long to get home and get my daughter to violin.

When I went to the doctor for a checkup, I was given this lovely vase of daffodils. They were an anonymous donation. I can't tell you how much they delighted me. That was a very kind gesture that I so appreciated.

Another Monday

Frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action! - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

We were meant to get 10 inches of snow, but just a little fell. Ha!

We were woken at 5:15 AM with a call from Denver Police. We are to be on the look-out for an old woman with Alzheimers who is lost. How terribly sad.

I have art class this afternoon. It's part of the art therapy program I joined. I like the teacher/therapist. She has been a good friend. When I had a severe toxic reaction to the drugs she came and sat with me in the ER until my husband could get there.

Daniel is on Spring Break. A delight. He tells me the story of his physics quiz. He got it back with white-out all over. Then the prof explained. He said that he (the prof) made a mistake in the solution and so did most of the students, but fortunately there were some very clever students in the class who did not make the same mistake. And as he said that he looked right at Dan. I know as an instructor I always enjoy the students who catch my mistakes. When Dan is asked (as he frequently is) what it was like being home-schooled, he always answers that it was like being taught by Kingsfield in The Paper Chase. Dan tells everyone his mother used the Socratic method. I so treasure that. I thought I just muddled along. My eldest, of course, tells everyone that he just taught himself - that he even taught himself to drive. Ha! Now that is when his argument crumbles. I spent 50 hours teaching him. Clutch in, gear, clutch out and accelerator in, stall.....Clutch in.......

Finished last book. Back to more Cat Who books this week. Today will be cold out there!

Did some more quilting last night while I finished watching The Curse of the Pink Pather - old movie. I couldn't watch the whole thing on Saturday night. We started too late and by 9 PM I was falling asleep in the middle of it. Sigh.

Happy Birthday Daniel

Children are the only form of immortality that we can be sure of. —Peter Ustivov

Sunrise: 6:05 am Sunset: 6:09 pm
Moonrise: 10:11 pm Phase: Waning Gibbous Moonset: 7:33 am

Today is my son’s birthday. He is 20 and I have survived long enough to see him exit his teens. Though he never was much of a typical teen. In youth he had a rich autumnal tone. He is such an awesome young man. He is very clever and works hard and one day will do something really wonderful. After my diagnosis he got even more focus and decided to study medicine. He is kind and compassionate, has lots of friends, and manages to hold a part-time job. He calls me every week and comes to visit on Sundays. I am so proud of him.

Listening: My life as a fake. This is a so-so book that I have constantly wanted to abandon, but didn’t have anything else to listen to. It really wasn’t much company on my walks. Peter Carey just can’t get into a woman’s head. He is a fake.



Still walking 5 miles a day. Started adding a few laps of running to get some aerobic exercise with it.

Not much progress on the quilting.

Finished draft 1 of Chapter 1 of the dissertation and sent it off for review.

Catching Up

Things do not change; we change.
Henry David Thoreau

Sunrise: 6:27 am Sunset: 5:56 pm
Moonrise: 9:29 am Phase: Waxing Crescent Moonset: 12:01 am

Blog is getting behind as the busyness of life takes over. My laptop died and so did my connection to the outside world. I have to arm wrestle for one of the desktops. But DH to the rescue! He will get me one as an early BD present. Thank you DH.

The weather in Denver has been so wonderful. We live on the 4th floor and I wake with the sunrise and go out onto the balcony just to watch the sunrise and breathe the wonderful cool air and be grateful for another day.

My days are still mostly taken with children. I work on my dissertation for a few hours a day and of course, I walk 5 miles a day. I am listening to the Cat Who series on my walks right now. Very entertaining.







Last night we went to see my son’s first professional show: A Chorus Line. We actually got complementary tickets!!!







I’m reading Andrew Weil’s Spontaneous Healing. Although some of it is definitely out there, I am enjoying the hope and inspiration of this book.



Watched two movies on Friday while I sewed on ribbons and elastics to my daughters pointe shoes: Polar Express (disappointing) and 84 Charring Cross Road (as delightful as the book).

I continue to hand quilt whenever I can. Loooooooong process.

My research has been on Melatonin. I will post my conclusions soon.