Elena 
Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary
1. When I was preparing my post on the Kennedy Assasination, I learned some interesting things about the house I grew up in. For example, it was built in 1870. I knew it was old when I lived there, but that means when I was 11 it was already over 100 years old! I also remember that I wished so much that could have a big wrap around front porch – and now the house has one! I see that a 1/2 bath has been added to the place too.
When I was growing up we only had one bathroom- and all six of us had to share it – not fun. I also remember that there were three bedrooms upstairs, but no hallway, so whoever had the middle bedroom had to go through one of the other bedrooms to get there. I wonder how or if that has been changed over the years?
It had a creepy basement. I also remember our washing machine was precariously located on the back porch and one false move in removing laundry from the machine and you could end up at the bottom of the basement steps with some pretty serious injuries. I remember we kept our canned goods down there and I dreaded having to go down and get something.
I also note that the old place has changed hands a number of times since my grandfather died. I’d kind of like to see it sometimes when it’s on the market. I’ll have to keep an eye on it.
2. So I am going to try to delve completely into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It’s not going to be easy.
I think the big trick for me is going to be to stay healthy, so that I don’t need any antibiotics- because where my problems started in this year in the first place! But then I wonder if maybe those infections had something to do with gut bacteria being out of check in the first place? I wonder.
3. To that end, I also ordered a yogurt maker!
This is the article that convinced me to try it!
We all know that the SCD diet is designed to reduce inflammation by removing grains and other hard to digest foods. In the process we also remove the food source of many bad bacteria. This killing of bad bacteria is what causes “die-off” symptoms at the beginning of the diet. Well if we are taking the time and effort to kill the bad bacteria we need to do everything in our power to put some good bacteria in their place. I used to think no big deal I will load up on probiotic pills…but always in the back of the mind is do I need the yogurt? Great question…
The answer is simple there isn’t a probiotic source available that will give you what 1 or 2 cups of homemade SCD legal yogurt will in terms of a bacteria payload. For each 1 ml of yogurt you eat you ingest about 3 Billion CFU’s of probiotic goodness. CFU’s are colony-forming units or a way to measure how many bacteria are in a substance. According to Elaine SCD legal yogurt contains at least 700 Billion CFU’s per cup. Now go look at your probiotic pills I bet at most your getting about 50 billion CFU’s a day. That’s the equivalent of shooting a machine gun at a fortified bunker. Except this bunker is your digestive tract and it currently has on average of about 100 TRILLION bacteria in it.
Makes sense to me! What I like about my little yogurt maker is that I can make batches in these little cups and then keep them in the fridge until I’m ready to use them. I might buy more cups. We’ll see. But so far this doesn’t seem to tough to start with.
4. Our old cat Bill is living with Gabe and his family. Before he left us, Bill had a big bump growing on his back. It wasn’t painful for him, just unsightly and the vet thought it might be a cyst, or a benign growth or possibly cancer. We decided that since it wasn’t hurting him, and now he is over 10 years old, that we would just do watchful waiting. When Gabe came to visit last week, he told me Bill has a big sore on his back close to the bump that just isn’t healing and Mr. Pete said that the hair around the sore is gone because Bill keeps messing with it. There’s no way that Gabe can afford to take Bill to the vet, and although I’m leaning that way, I’m wondering if it makes sense to put a lot of money into an old cat, or better to just watch him and if he starts suffering, then just put him to sleep. I find myself agreeing with this post from the Economide family site:
We know that some of you may disagree with this, but for our family and budget this is what works. When an emergency or illness occurs, we let finances be our determining factor. Spending money you don’t have, never helps the situation. If our pets require surgery, and we don’t have money saved to cover it, we’ll have to choose to put the pet to sleep. Please don’t think that we’re hard hearted. Our German Shepherd’s all have lived to a ripe old age and we’ve cared for them well, and sobbed when we had to say good bye. We love our pets, and they are an integral part of our family, but they simply aren’t people. Plus there are so many wonderful pets waiting for homes through rescue groups that trying to keep a very old, or very sick animal alive, seems like it might be for our own emotional well being, but not the animals.
I guess we’ll see what happens.
And lest you think I’m hard-hearted dear reader, between 2009 and 2013 I spent more on health care for my pets than I did for myself. This year I just had to take precedence.
5. Last week, I got into a little bit of a debate on Facebook about vaccinations. This is the article that started it. And some people put up some excellent data. I recommended this recording from Dr. Patrick Johnson about informed consent and vaccines.
OK, here’s the thing about vaccines – I totally understand parents wanting to give them to their children. I totally understand parents NOT wanting to give them to their children. But where ever one stands on the issue, I don’t think it is appropriate to say things like:
As
far as I’m concerned, not vaccinating your child is about as
irresponsible as driving drunk with your toddler in the back seat
jumping around without a child restraint
My kids have had some vaccines and I’ve passed on others. I did not follow the schedule at all for Rosie because I thought it was too much too soon – and I agonized about all of it. Doctors and hospitals aren’t always right and the final say on what a child should have rests with the parents. So let’s quit guilting each other okay?
BTW, I was concerned when I heard Dr. Johnson say that our vaccines are not put through a double blind- placebo study. So I googled it and the best argument I could find from the pro-vaccine side, was lame.
6. Both girls have moved up in their reading levels. I note that Rosie is starting to read EVERYTHING! She reads words on t.v. and tries to read the hymnal at church. I think she’s really taking off. Izzy is doing much better too, but I find her scribbles all over the kitchen- recipes mostly. She watches Youtube and then tries to write it all down. That’s what I call do-it-yourself narration!
7. Gabe and Noah and I read the original Mary Poppins a few years ago, I think that is going to be the holiday read for December for me and the girls! It’s a delightful book and so much better than the movie (and I loved the movie!) Maybe we’ll see Saving Mr. Banks when we’re done!
