A Sad Christmas Gift

Had to take my puppy I got for Christmas to the Animal Defense League a few days ago.  It was very sad.  I explained to my daughter that this was way too much of a responsibility for me.  A dog is a 12-15 year commitment and I had no choice but to take her to Animal Defense.  

Tullia, the puppy, was very cute and although I tried not to get too attached, I did.  Just having her one day did it, although she peed and pooped everywhere except the yard.   

Hopefully, my daughter learned a lesson on this.  Hopefully I was assertive enough.  I don't think it was a mean gift, just misguided.  It put a major responsibility on me that she didn't consider.  I explained to her that adopting pets can't be taken lightly.  It's a major commitment.  She may have just wanted me not to be alone.  I don't know.   She assumed a lot by giving me this puppy which bothers me to this day. 

I think Tullia will be adopted without a problem..  The people at the Animal Defense League said she was in good health and there shouldn't be a problem.  I wound up paying $40 for spaying/neutering and a medical checkup.  What a sad, hurtful Christmas gift. 

Daughter Going to Rome

My daughter Leah just left for Rome yesterday.  She will be there for 3 months working on her Engineering internship.  Have put her in touch with a couple of my ex students there.  Hopefully they'll connect.  How exciting.  Hope to get lots of pictures coming in on Facebook.

My new cold remedy

I'm slowly getting over my cold.  I've had it for days.  As soon as my Christmas break started I got sick.  Some remedies, like the one I posted a few days ago, about soaking your feet, didn't work, but some new remedies did.  I discovered a new DIY tea that made my sinuses feel a whole lot better, with a little help from Claritin.
New tea recipe:  I bought some ginger root, cut it up and put into a pan of water.  Heated to boiling.  Put in several shakes of cinnamon, red pepper, oregano, and garlic.  After boiling, I put a dish towel around my head and inhaled the steam from this mixture for a few minutes.  After it boiled down a little, I poured a cup of the mixture in a cup and added some sweetener - in my case, Agave syrup- and whahla.  I had a terrible tasting tea that really opened up my sinuses.  It worked.  No soarthroat today and nose feels better and is not running so much.

Interesting vertical mount guitar rack.

Pedal Case / Rack Mount? - Marshall Amp Forum

Re: Pedal Case / Rack Mount?

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Yeah. I figured they were custom made for Guitar Center.

I have a rack mounted shelf that I can use, and I've seen the shelves / drawers that slide out, but I was just hoping to have something that would hold them vertically. I just saw something this that looks like it's just velcro or something:

Am a little sick and ready to try new remedies.

Get Rid of Your Head Cold Fast - Green Health Spot

Great moon pic.

The only crop to harvest during a drought.

From a friend's wall post.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2182724819985&set=a.1442168186532.2056604.1602906313&type=1&ref=nf

Getting Enough Vitamin D

How much vitamin D do I need?

How much vitamin D you need varies with age, body weight, percent of body fat, latitude, skin coloration, season of the year, use of sun block, individual variation in sun exposure, and - probably - how ill you are.

As a general rule, old people need more than young people, big people need more that little people, fat people need more than skinny people, dark-skinned people need more than fair skinned people, northern people need more than southern people, winter people need more than summer people, sun block lovers need more than sun block haters, sun-phobes need more than sun worshipers, and ill people may need more than well people.

What I and many of my colleagues around the country are finding is that even people spending what we thought was adequate amount of time in the sun, are still showing up with low blood vitamin D levels. I am not sure why at this stage but there is an easy and cheap solution...vitamin D supplementation.

How much vitamin D should I supplement with?

Most important is that you take vitamin D3, (cholecalciferol) the active form of vitamin D. Do not take vitamin D2 as it is not as biologically active nor as effective, and nor as safe as vitamin D3. And taking the right amount is crucial, most doctors tend to under dose. The current recommendations from the Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. Institute of Medicine: from 200 to 600 IU/day depending on one's age, are way too low.
These values were originally chosen because they were found to prevent osteomalacia (bone softening) and rickets

Here are some guidelines

If your blood level is above 45ng/ml and for maintenance, I recommend 2,000-4,000 IU daily depending on age, weight, season, how much time is spent outdoors, where one lives, skin color and obviously blood levels

In other words if you are older, larger, living in the northern latitudes during the winter, are not getting sun and have dark skin, I recommend the higher maintenance dose.

If your blood level is 30-45 ng/ml, I recommend you correct it with 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day for 3 months under a doctor's supervision and then recheck your blood levels.

If your blood level is less than 30 ng/ml, I recommend you correct it with 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day under a doctor's supervision and then recheck your blood levels after 3 months. It takes a good 6 months usually to optimize your vitamin D levels if you're deficient. Once this occurs, you can lower the dose to the maintenance dose of 2,000 - 4,000 IU a day.

What are the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency?

There is no clear pattern of symptoms. In fact many people remain asymptomatic despite low levels. But here are some of the more common symptoms:

• Fatigue
• General muscle pain and weakness
• Muscle cramps
• Joint pain
• Chronic pain
• Weight gain
• High blood pressure
• Restless sleep
• Poor concentration
• Headaches
• Bladder problems
• Constipation or diarrhea


What about vitamin D toxicity?

It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs. Although very rare, it is possible to overdose and become toxic with supplementation as vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and therefore stored in the body for longer periods of time. Therefore if you are taking 5,000 IU or more daily, you should have your blood levels monitored approximately every 3 months.


What blood test should I have to check my vitamin D levels?



The only blood test that can diagnose vitamin D deficiency is a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25 OH vitamin D). Unfortunately, some doctors are still ordering the wrong test, 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D. In fact a common cause of high 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D is a low 25(OH)D or vitamin D deficiency. So when doctors see the 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D is normal or high and tell their patients that they are OK, they are often vitamin D deficient.

Your doctor should do this test for you. Unfortunately even some of the labs, in particular Qwest, have had problems with correct results, usually giving erroneously high results.

If you don't want to go through your doctor, the ZRT lab does a blood spot test that you can order without going through a doctor.

What is the ideal blood level of 25 hydroxy vitamin D?

The current ranges for "normal" are 20 to 55 ng/ml. These are much too low!!! They may be fine if you want to prevent rickets or osteomalacia, but not for optimal health. The ideal range for optimal health is 50-80 ng/ml.

How often should I have a 25 hydroxy vitamin D blood test?

At least once a year especially at the beginning of winter. If you are supplementing, I suggest you monitor your vitamin D levels approximately every 3months until you are in the optimal range. If you are taking high doses (10,000 IU a day) your doctor must also check your calcium, phosphorous, and parathyroid hormone levels every 3 months

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-frank-lipman/vitamin-d-what-you-need-t_b_308973.html