I love spicy chai tea. I don't drink coffee at all, but in the winter, I usually have a cup of hot tea every day to warm me, as well as my hands, up. We were in Ireland in the fall and the tea was so delicious every where. I loved how it came served in a teapot every where we went. Toward the end of our trip, I found this gorgeous teapot at a small pottery shop. At that point, I'd already bought quite a few wool sweaters, an expensive painting, and a few other things at a different pottery shop. I didn't have room left in my bags, and I didn't want to spend the money on shipping this one small thing. I didn't get it. After we got home, I told dh I regretted it - this artist's style was quite unique, very colorful and abstract. He actually called and ordered me one for Christmas - that was quite a surprise! While I normally drink either Tazo, Stash or Trader Joe's tea, I decided I wanted to try using loose tea leaves like I had in Ireland. Finally, just last week, I stopped at a tea and spice shop and bought a bag of Chai and a bag of green tea leaves. I made my first cup on Friday and it was delicious! It was fun serving myself out of my new little teapot. I also really like iced tea but never make it at home. I've been meaning to, but just haven't bothered. It is my drink of choice though if I'm out at a restaurant in the summer. While I do like some sweet tea, I prefer my iced tea unsweetened, with just a touch of sugar and lemon. Daisy, I"ll have to try the Tazo zen tea. I'm still going to use bags for when I'm in a hurry, but my loose tea when I'm relaxing!

Hi Rudo, hope you are doing ok. Yes, you really need to get up every now and then, even to just go to restroom and take a stretch. I work with a computer a lot and my shoulders get so tense they hurt if i forget to stretch. Once I get home I have to do a little bit of tai Chi and that helps a lot. Any slow, measured movement will do, you dont have to know Tai Chi. But on the other hand, it sounds like you have something else going on, do you use a lot of salt in your diet? Seems your body is retaining water a lot, which can be normal if you sit a lot but I see you also have elevated BP, so that could be the culprit, is BP under control?. Lay off caffeine and try herbal teas. I know you said you walk a lot but don't overdo it, take a break sometimes and do different kind of exercise, like bike (recumbent one is great for leg circulation and nice cardio, plus saves your back). Key word is moderation. :) With our messed up metabolism its very easy to overdo and I find that is never a good thing. Strenuous exercise is as easy to bring on anxiety attack as any other kind of stress so we have to find a way to mellow. :) let me know if I can help with anythign else. Have a wonderful day, hugs :)

I have never had a burning pain, but as a large part of my job duties are done on a computer, I did USED to have aching, tired shoulders after my 12 hour shifts. I found that lowering my chair and raising my computer monitors virtually eliminated that. My favorite remedy was and is a back/shoulder massage from SO. But you can't have him, or even borrow him. ;op. As for chiropractors, i have no experience as a patient. However, I attended a health fair recently where there were 4 different chiropractic practices represented. The interactions with them left me....dubious, to say it nicely. I had absolutely no opinion on the topic beforehand, as i do not suffer with any sort of chronic pain in which the services of such would be recommended. The first one offered a free "scan" of my neck and spine. Sure, I'll play. When the scan popped up on the screen, both ladies looked concerned (fake). The girl who did the scan pointed to some red lines next to my neck on the screen. She proceeded to tell me that the nerves in this region control things like migraines, depression and anxiety. "Does that sound familiar?" She asked with a smug, sympathetic smile. I answered "no...." That response was met with a look from both women as though i had just claimed to be the Queen of Mars. This sparked annoyance in me, as I do feel that depression and anxiety are more prevalent than ever, and that they were trying to exploit that. I mean, the look on their face when i told them that no, I do not have migraines, depression or anxiety was pure shock. She then said, "Huh, well, it IS a thermal scan, so if your just hot, then it will show up as inflammation on the scan." Then they offered me a card and new patient forms. I took them to be polite, as i did with all the vendors. The second one had a fun trivia game, in which you answered questions to win entries into a drawing for a gift basket of some sort. I won 3 entries. YAY! (I didn't win,BOOOOO!) Well, then we get down to business. The chiropractor asked me to step on two scales, one foot on each scale, so that she could see if i was "off balance." Sure, sis, whatever. I complied, why not? When i did so, i got a look of shock, accompanied by a "wow, you are REALLY favoring your left side." I looked down, there was a one pound difference between the left scale and the right scale. She asked me if i have pain in one hip or the other. I replied no. Then she proceeds to warn me that even if I am not feeling pain now, these things build up over time and will hit me all at once if i don't address them now. With her help, of course. Now, I have not been to medical school, but I am not sure WHY or HOW to treat pain....BEFORE it hurts. I should go watch some episodes of "House." Anyway, again I took the forms and the card.....The whole time I am thinking that the freebies at this fair SUCK!!!! I mean, can i get a magnet? A pen? Something? NO? ok movin on..... The third might have been the worst. The "doc" was there, with a massage table and one of those massage things that look like a power sander. Would I like a massage? He asks..... I suppress the urge to break out the karate moves i taught myself the last time i walked into a spiders web, and politely decline, citing a ticklish nature. However, that was not the worst part. This was not only a chiropractic office. This was a "wellness" center. Ugh. I was pitched some sort of vitamins that apparently cure everything that ails you, make you drop dead gorgeous and tell you the winning powerball numbers. All i have to do is fill out this form that lists any undesirable symptoms that i have, and they will recommend a vitamin program that will help. I really wish i had saved that form so i could post a picture of it. It would have been laughable if it wasn't so reckless. Everything from insomnia to digestive issues to HEART DISEASE was listed as a choice of "symptom" that these vitamins would help address. All i got from that table was the form and a bad taste in my mouth. I liked the 4th one the best. The girl manning the table was playing on her phone. She looked up and smiled at me, declared that she knew i was tired of hearing about chiropractors, as there were 4 there, and told me to pick a cup to take home. To my delight, she had PINK ONES. I took it and i use it to scoop bird seed out of the giant buckets of it i buy into the feeders. That was the only one that wasn't a waste of time. At least i got a cup out of it. So, if i were to believe their "expertise",based on their highly scientific testing methods, I have hip pain, depression, anxiety and migraines. and worse to come if i don't address it NOW! And I didn't even KNOW! But no worries, the magic vitamins would cure all that, as long as i took them in conjunction with some "adjustments" made by the chiropractors. Anyway, I digress. If the pain is only occurring during your computer time, an adjustment to the monitor,your posture or the chair might be the easiest and best solution.

A couple summers ago, a friend brought me a couple bottles of organic turmeric - ginger drink. There was also lemon in the mix. It was fantastic. I should try to make some. Anyone here ever make it? I seem to recall it being quite clear. Yum. dcarch — I’ve never tried coconut water. Do you make it yourself or purchase ready made? Can you recommend a good brand? Carbonated drink and CO2 cartridges Some months ago, into the pandemic a bit, I read an article about there being some shortage of (pretty sure it was CO2. And I wondered how that could be. Perhaps it was something else. Isn’t CO2 everywhere? Did anyone else come across an article like this? Or, what was the common commodity that we all assume will always be available? I must have carbonated my brain. The article spoke of shortages such that research labs were only able to get limited supplies. Sort of like there was some big bubble motherload of it beneath _____ (Pangea?). It seemed like it was CO2 because those home carbonated water units came to mind. But, isn’t CO2 easy to generate and capture? How could there be a limited supply?