its my day

ITS MY DAY
yes today is my birthday
so my wife she and i have an agreement that
on your birthday you get to do what you what
and
you get a meal of whatever you want

my choice is a simple one
i like to stay at home here at the country n
work in my garden do landscaping nap
do the things i like to do

my birthday meal is usually a simple one
as long as it involves my wife shes cornbread

today i will celebrate my 65th birthday as i wish to
celebrate it
here at the country n
eating cornbread for supper

i cant think of a better birthday present than that

now 65 is one of those turning point birthdays
like
16 or 21 or 40 or 50
you get a different feeling with each one
some good some not so good
40 bothers some men and some women
50 is when you realize your life may have peaked out
and
its a downward movement after that
im not to sure about that

now today i cant get excited about getting medicare or
my social security
since it was forced on me 4 years ago
so that excitement wont be there today

so i dont really feel different today than i did yesterday
i dont feel 65
i can work all day
eg at the habitat builds all day doing manual
labor and keeping up with the young folks
i can work all day here at the country n mowing weed eating
cutting logs moving brush gardening without getting
tired or short winded
so physically i feel good
mentally i feel good and feel more sharp than i was 5 years ago

so
65 may be the old 50 is what i think
so i dont feel sad or bad that today is my 65th birthday
knowing the clock is ticking closer to the end
but i dont see that end in sight too soon
i have too much to do in that time left
keeping busy and satisfied each day
so
i know i will have a happy birthday today
no sadness here

two things i want are to see my new soon to be granddaughter
grow up
and
to see a cure for alzheimers
hopefully one that i will benefit from

now i share my birthdays with two people whom i always
send a happy birthday wish

one is a  niece
as a medical student i had a spring break in my school
i was so excited when my older sister went into labor
on my birthday
i was able to be there when she labored
but
it got to 1100pm then 1130 pm
then sometime after 1130pm approaching midnight
she delivered my niece
was i ever excited
cementing a special bond that still exists
happy birthday ab today

then
the other was a former patient of mine
born on my birthday
i cared for her from then until i moved away when she
was a teenager

i remember at the end of a busy day well past 500pm
in walked this mom crying carrying her 2 week old baby
who had fell from her car seat onto the floor
landing on her head
an xray showed a fractured skull
the baby spent the night in icu
the fracture eventually healed
the baby grew normally
now she has finished college and graduate school
a bond beyond sharing birthdays was always there
happy birthday today to am

i hope both of you have a good day today
as
well as all of you who read this
as
i know i will

the organicgreen doctor

mind for mind

MIND FOR MIND
a new study just came out
showing that a new treatment
well not a new treatment
could reduce the risk of alzheimers by
53%
yes thats
53%

it doesnt need to get approved by the fda
or
your prescription drug plan
or
your health insurance plan
or
medicare or champus

heck
you dont even need to get a prescription for it
or
even get it a a drug store

its really simple
you grow some of it yourself
all legal of course
or
buy it at a farmers market
or
a grocery store

this new treatment is called

the MIND DIET

an acronym for
the mediterannean-dash intervention for neurogenerative delay
cute arent they
but
it does sort of stick with you

oh yes i am on the mind diet for my mind

the mind diet is a tweaking of the
mediterranean diet and the dash diet
in a simpler to follow form
the berry industry will love it

the dash diet was developed for folks to stop hypertension
and heart disease
it like the mediteranean diet also helps with dementia

remember
what is good for the heart is good for the
brain or should we say
the mind

here simply put is the
MIND DIET

there are 10 brain healthy food groups
green leafy vegetables   other vegetables   nuts   beans   berries  
whole grains   fish   poultry   olive oil and wine

there are 5 food groups that should be limited
red meats   butter and stick margarine   cheese   pastries and sweets
fried and fast foods


that seems pretty easy and clear to me
they especially recommend blueberries and strawberries
note i have 40 strawberry plants in my garden now

here are the stats for reduction of the risk for alzheimers disease
mediterannean diet 54%
dash diet 39%
mind diet has 53%

however
if some one moderately follows
the mind diet the risk is reduced by
34%
the mediterannean diet the risk is not reduced much
the dash diet the risk is not reduced much

so even if you half ass follow this mind diet it helps a lot

so if you are a relative of my mind
siblings   cousins   nephews   nieces   sons   and their kids
you need to be on the mind diet

you are programmed im sorry to say
to have a much higher risk of getting alzheimers disease
than most people

if you mind your diet you can reduce that risk by 53%

as we well know in our family
that misery associated with the alzeimers disease effect weve seen
so far
and
that we are about to see in the future
is not a very pretty happy picture to look at

we all want a cure for this disease
this may be as close to a cure as we will get
for awhile

just do it

here is the link i promised to post for those at the q&a
session yesterday 

clinical best practices guidelines for alzheimers blog

the organicgreen doctor

tomato obsession

TOMATO OBSESSION
most of us organic gardeners
have an obsession of growing a perfect tomato
and
dream of biting into its juicy insides
a true sink tomato
theres
nothing like the flavor of these tomatoes

so i am alway looking at ways to grow a better tomato

as the weather gets hotter
the ground gets drier
i have a drip system from my rainwater tanks that i use
to drip my tomato plants when they need water
plus
i mulch them quite heavy to save water evaporation

this year i will mulch them with pine straw
my older brother the one with early alzheimers
and my nephew brought bags of it for me to use as mulch
he my nephew raises pine trees so he has an ample supply

it supplies besides moisture retention
an increase in acid ph to the soil
which around here we have a high or alkaline soil
so between the rainwaters lower ph and the compost and the pine straw
the ph is lowered some
which tomatoes love

but
im always looking for more

so someone sent a link to this method
so im trying it this year

first you take 5 gallon buckets
these i get from the habitat builds
these were destined for the landfill
and

drill holes in the bottom so water can ooze out
into the soil

then
you go up the side and drill holes about 10 inches all the way around

then
you bury the bucket to the depth of the 10 inch holes

then
in the bucket you place 2 shovelfuls of compost

i used the country n compost that our chickens
so gratuitously made for us
they scratch all over the leaves veggies we place in the bin
then make frequent deposits as they work and play and eat
making this rich country n compost

then
1-2 times a week based on the moisture level of the soil
i will pour in a bucket of water
sending
the compost liquid deep into the soil
and
watering the top of the soil from the 10 inch holes

hoping
this will help make that
much sought after

delicious sink tomato

the organicgreen doctor