At a recent convention I attended Dr Andrew Weil said to avoid the grill that produces the black marking on food. He didnt get alot into name brand things/corporations or establishments, however, the processed sugars like HFCS is much more concentrated and hits our body systems much differently...sugar over load in a highly processed form is difficult for the body to process. Its like fat/obese people are actually starving because their really not getting the neccessary nutrients met and instead the high caloric and transfatty oils are really causing havic in the USA. Just one bag of french fries from a fast food place has more than the maximum allowance of trans fatty fat which we should be avoiding anyways.

Alexa no worries.. I think there's gremlins that live in the keyboard here and they move it a few inch's when I'm not looking. Janice, Can Can looks nice from the pictures I've seen and hope it looks as good in person. I'm trying to get Trisha to go to school to be a therapist and I'll help her. I did make one rule and told her we have to accept plants as payment :-).. Getting a little late here if you can't tell lolll Phil, Very nice photo and heucheras. Your no help I see though!! You just encourage me to add more to the list :-).. Did you get that email I sent about that nasty post(s)?

I am so tired tonight but still want to ask for prayers and hugs. The week before we came down, I had four days of extreme pain with an infected tooth which was removed the day before we flew down. Morning of our departure we had 12 inches of snow and had a difficult time getting out. Wait, you have not heard it all. Got here, happy to be out of the snow belt. Tooth thing really good but get a cough and cold. After two night of not much sleep, go to a doc. He gave me the wonderful codeine cough thing and an antibiotic for the rest. Wake up next morning with my face twice its size. Allergic reaction or drug interaction - I had told the doc down here that I had been off of another antibiotic for only three days. He said not problem. I guess it was. So, off of the new antibiotic (duh!) and onto prednisone and benedryl - I could have done my own diagnose on this one. That was Fri. Sat and Sun were horrible but not nearly as horrible as Monday. Monday am, hubby comes into family room and does not look good. Tells me there is something not right. I have my hand on the phone to 911 - I know he has had a stroke! The paramedics were here within 15 minutes. 6 of them! I will tell you I was so scared for my DH. DH spent almost the entire day in ER, doing tests, being observed. The docs and nurses and assistants were wonderful. Finally saw the neurologist at about 5 in the aft. He had seen all of the immediate test results and had confirmed stroke. It was in the lobe which affect speach and fine motor control - a nasty one for an attorney to have. However, no cognitive harm. He has done remarkably well in the last 24 hours and we are confident that he will continue to improve though it will take work. He has already stared with a speach therapist (I love her) and will have therapy for fine motor control. He has no problem with walking - we walked the entire hospital this aft. so tired tonight - drove home through an amazing storm with close to zero visibility. Amazing to look out the balconey toward Miami at this hour and see the lightning stikes-the entire sky lights up. I am on Marco, BTW and I am going to bed. MK

As someone who deals with facts on a daily basis in addition to the skill of evaluating the validity of research data (I teach science), the idea that data and facts cannot be objectively verified I find puzzling. As I mentioned, we use facts all the time to make decisions, for example, we check the weather before going somewhere to determine how to dress. Weather predictions are made based on facts, measurements and data. But, since weather is a system that is highly variable (many data points and facts affect the system) there is always going to be some level of uncertainty in your predictions. Meteorologists factor that into their weather reports, and usually give a range of predictions, such as 20% chance of rain. That is not zero, btw, so I always carry a collapsible umbrella in my car. But we don't assume that a meteorologist has some hidden political agenda, nor do we necessarily question the need for weather forecasting, particularly those of us in outdoor professions who depend on reliable weather data to make critical decisions. I have no reason to doubt that the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, one of the most respected and admired research centers in the world, would not be working diligently to present the best and most valid data available. Also, since science thrives on constant questioning and examination, they would not rest until more and more "truth" could be determined. I know science constantly refines ideas, I'm comfortable with evolving advice based on the results of more and more information being investigated and newer data coming in. That's why medical advice evolves over time and what was once standard advice, (like taking vit. E protects against heart disease, for example, which has evolved to it being a minor preventative factor if at all, not trumping genetics, and having no benefit in clinical studies as a treatment, in fact in might be a detriment and is no longer supported by the American Heart Association). I not only have confidence in the public health researchers at the University of Michigan and my alma mater Michigan State, for example, I feel blessed beyond compare that I live in a state where such institutions can exist and thrive. I feel the same way about the Johns Hopkins Center, their web site is a marvel of useful and helpful information. As well as the many professional groups I belong to that share "truths" amongst members so we can develop strategies to meet all kinds of situations arising out of real data coming out of the real world. For example, the spotted lanternfly is similar to this covid-19 virus in that it has the potential to decimate dozens of economic fruit crops. No one is questioning the validity or political agendas of folks reporting on its spread, nor on ideas for mitigation and control. That's the irony to me, I live in a state known for having more colleges than just about any other state, (we are number 9 for number of colleges) and yet folks want to refuse the good advice one can find here for FREE! Folks from all over the world come here to convene with some of the best brains on the planet! When it was just "their loss" I was fine with it. Now, when it is my own close family at risk and myself, not satisfied! I have also noted, that in my rural area, there is a movement to not only flaunt social distancing recommendations and rules, but also other laws regarding social conduct. For example, two weekends ago a gang of three wheelers rode up and down the streets in my neighborhood for quite a while, knowing full well that ORVs are not allowed on public roads. It was totally annoying because we were outside trying to enjoy the beauty and peace of our yard. It's happening on a regular basis now, folks going out and engaging in socially disruptive behavior, I guess either hoping to draw folks into conflicts or hoping no one will come out to stop them from the local neighborhood. My friend's husband is a policeman, and this is totally adding to their stress unnecessarily since they are not only having to police serious crimes, but respond to the health crisis as well. So they do not need to deal with things like folks setting off firecrackers, etc.which are totally avoidable. Regarding the three wheelers, eventually they got bored and moved on, but such things are happening on a regular basis in my neighborhood, gangs of trucks and motorcyclists driving around revving their motors, etc. And I'm not talking about groups gathering for socially distancing parties, which we had up the street from us. That was very clear what was going on as the cars all had "Happy Birthday" balloons decorating them. There are several cases of church communities being ravaged by the virus here in MI and some folks have lost MULTIPLE family members. We stopped going to church before it was cancelled, and we intend to keep on participating virtually. The biggest issue for me is how to continue to support local feeding efforts which our church was heavily involved in as volunteers. I am having to remind myself to regularly donate to the food pantry now online with money instead of food, and also not forget to regularly tithe at church.