Cyril O

Mar

2014

Rhubarb Strawberry Jam

I wanted a simple recipe so I read through half a dozen that I found on various websites and it came to this.

4 cups of fresh strawberries cut up
4 cups of diced rhubarb that I had in the freezer from last summer.
Juice from 2 lemons
One package of pectin
Two cups of sugar(I use brown sugar – it is all I ever have in the house so…)
And a couple of teaspoons of butter

I put everything in a big pot and turned up the heat and started stirring. I stirred at the beginning a lot as there wasn’t yet much liquid, the rhubarb was still frozen. Took a little while to boil for this reason as well. Turned it down a bit and I let the whole thing boil steadily for about 7-8 minutes stirring lots. Then I scooped into half pint jars that were cleaned up and sterilized nicely. Put the lids on and wait for the popping. I was able to get 9 of these little jars filled with jam.

Pretty simple really. Never done this before and was way easier than I thought it would be.

Feb

2014

Walking

I know there are all kinds of studies about walking helping with mood for physiological reasons, brain chemistry and all that. And I am sure that it helps with that. I’m pretty sure that is true but I’m sure that at least half of the effects are just from the person getting his or her attention directed outwards.

If one gets his attention off of their ‘troubles’ and feels better then the body will heal faster or just do better generally. Common belief is that if you fix the body you will feel better spiritually or mentally. I’m quite certain it works the other way even more effectively.

Take the person that is dying, having no real reason to live. Something happens in their environment that gives them a new will to live and all of a sudden they no longer feel like dying. Take this in a more common sphere of the child not wanting to go to school and is actually sick. Give that child a purpose, something that he or she really likes to do or create, and watch the fever disappear.

This tack can be much more effective than huge amounts of drugs or other medical procedures.

Sometimes if one is in pretty rough shape it a matter of coaxing these things up together: physical, mental and spiritual.

So, turn off the TV and go for a walk.

Feb

2014

Tempur-Pedic neck pillow

I’ve been using one of these pillow for almost 15 years now. Before I started using it I had consistent neck pain. Have had zero pain since. I use a queen size; I think that is all they make now. If I’m on the road, I take it with me. For me it stays cool and I also do not have to turn it over(almost forgot that I had to do that with a conventional pillow).

Tempur-Pedic Neck Pillow

Tempur-Pedic Pillow

Jan

2014

Found some killer swim workouts…

Found some great workouts to try for my swim. Thanks to Gordon Daugherty and his blog:
http://gordon.daugherty.name/swimming/

Jan

2014

Posting this on as many places as I can…

Here is a recent video that my son K Spencer Jones acted in. Both the countries of Aruba and Curacao are now using this film for promotional purposes. Film by Kevin Garrison. I’m shamelessly promoting the film. Hope you like as much as I do.