GMO seed and a Trip To Amish Country

     Last year my husband and I took our very first trip to an Amish area. We went to Berlin, Ohio, and visited Sugar Creek,and other local areas. we stayed in our camper and traveled everywhere on our Honda Gold Wing. We loved the trip. It was time to relax, enjoy the scenery, and each other. We enjoyed the buggies, watching the Amish kids playing in the school yard.  Laundry hanging in the sunshine , their shades of blue waving in the breeze. We visited the local eating places, toured the shops admiring their handwork.
     We just got back from our second trip to the same area on Sunday. It was another wonderful trip, but this time, my eyes were more observant to other things. Things that were slightly depressing. Everywhere we went , we saw miles and miles of  corn fields. i assume this late in the year it was more than likely field corn, but may have been for people to enjoy to. Anyway, this corn was every bit of 10 feet tall. ears packed in closely, as far as the eye could see. The disturbing part came when we saw the occasional small signs along the road in front of the corn fields, bragging about it being from Great Lakes Hybrid, Chemgro, and a few other names that are escaping my memory at the moment. All from GMO seed. Genetically modified! I have read only bad about this stuff. One article I read said scientist modify the seed for different traits. One was kind of like a time bomb in the DNA of the seed so that farmers can not save the seed to use from year to year. The plants produce sterile seed. This is called a "terminator seed". Other seeds  with the chemical Round Up gene.
    Monsanto is the largest producer of these GMO seeds. They have also been the manufacturer of chemicals that have been the most destructive to mankind. Such as Agent Orange. The toxins these seed produce are even found in fetal tissue. SCARY! huh? Read the article found at this link:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/05/has-any-company-ever-harmed-the-planet-more-than-this.aspx
    Do your on research, and be informed. The health of our loved ones are at stake. I was really expecting the Amish would save their own seed from year to year as the old farmers of our past did. I never dreamed they had gotten as commercialized as most of the farmers providing our foods now-a-days. Dont take me wrong. I am not just coming down on the Amish, its just that I expecting them of all people to be different. This eye opener is going to make me work even harder at using only open pollinated seed, and save my own. However, all in all, I still love the area.

Do We Really Know What We're Eating?

      Sometimes, I think it might be better NOT to know. when you actually take time to think about it, it can make you sick to your stomach. Every once in awhile I will hear of some strange ingredient that the FDA allows in our food. Thats the key word..."ALLOWS"!  It is absolutely shocking and appalling to think about what we are putting in our mouths. Be warned though, you may want to stop reading now, while you still have an appetite.
       Many....many years ago, while I was in high school, I read that red dye Carmine was derived from beetles. I quit eating red jello. admittedly tho, as I got older, I forgot about it.......mostly. Sometimes its one of those things you just try NOT to think about.  However, its one of those truths that we are not told about. Carmine,and Cochineal are made from ground beetles! It is used as a dye in many red juices, candies, cosmetics and more. You might want to start reading your labels.
                      check this out: http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/bugjuice.asp
       Just this morning, I found this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/26/fda-approved-rat-hairs-an_n_773608.html#s165326title=Pizza_Sauce_30 . I know its by Huffington Post. Not my favorite read. They like to lead off with misleading titles to draw you into a vague or stupid article, but this one has links to the FDA's website. Check it out.
        Yesterday, I read that L-cysteine is used in many bread doughs as a dough conditioner. L-Cysteine is derived from human hair, hog hair,and avian feathers. I dont know about you, but I never have to sweep my floor after a haircut to make my homemade bread.....yuck! Check out this post below and be sure and read some more on your own.
               http://www.vrg.org/blog/2013/04/22/information-about-l-cysteine/
               http://www.vrg.org/blog/2011/03/09/l-cysteine-in-bread-products-still-mostly-sourced-from-human-hair-duck-feathers-hog-hair/
              http://www.eatlikenoone.com/l-cysteine-a-dough-softener-made-from-feathers-and-hair.htm
I checked my bag of sunbeam bread and thank God, I didnt see it listed, but who knows what else is "allowed" in there that is NOT listed.
         Grandma did it right. almost everything was made from scratch at home. Some used to and still do, grind their own flour. Milked their own cows. Canned their own produce, and sat back and enjoyed their meals without a second thought.
        As I am researching and writing this article, my thoughts keep drifting to a 70's movie called "Soylent Green", starring Charleton Heston. A futuristic movie about how  food is in short supply, and the people find out the high protein green wafer they have been eating is made from HUMAN REMAINS.  Then you remember when you watched old movies about people traveling to space, and how we thought THAT would NEVER happen.

                           
     

Coconut Oil For Healthy Lashes and to Stop Loss

  For many years, 38 yrs to be more exact, I have used  petroleum jelly to remove my waterproof mascara. For most of these years my lashes have been okay. I have never had exceptionally long or thick lashes. Just average. I spoke with a young woman in Lowes once who had gorgeous lashes. She told me her's were so long that she had to trim them to keep them from dragging her glasses. Oh to be so lucky.
   Anyway, for the past 3 yrs or so, I have been having a great deal of problem with sections of my lashes falling out. You can use mascara to thicken lashes or make them look longer, but not much can be done when their missing. This baldness can't even be corrected by a comb-over ,lol.  They would no more than grow back on one eye, then fall out on the other, or the same eye again. Never all of them from one lid, just 3/8" to 1/2" sections. Bad enough though. I have fought this for years. Trying regular store bought stuff made specifically to remove the lashes. This stuff, made it a little more difficult to remove tho. I tried non waterproof mascara, but hated the raccoon look if I cried, or my eyes watered. I tried tea tree oil since it is supposed to have antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Still no relief.  I even tried Olive oil, it made removal easy, but after months I was still losing my lashes. it is great stuff, but just didnt help my lash problem. I also bought stuff called Talika, that was supposed cause similar benefits as the prescription stuff. Still no help.
    Then one day, while researching on the internet, i came upon info about the benefits of coconut oil. It was supposed to be great for skin, hair, and over-all health. Check out the info on Dr. Oz HERE. I couldn't believe all the good this stuff was supposed to do. Always a little skeptical, I decided to give it a try. I had nothing to lose, since I already had a partial bucket of this from soap making. Still, I figured if olive oil did nothing, I had little hope this oil would work.
    Coconut oil, is a solid at room temperature, but softens very quickly with the heat of your hands. So about 8 months ago, I took a small container and poured some warm coconut oil into a small container and took it to my bedroom. My usual routine is to remove my mascara after my shower before bed. So after my shower, i would rub my finger over the top of the oil a few times, to soften . then I would gently rub over my lashes a few times to soften the mascara, then gently wipe with a tissue. I would get more oil on my finger if needed. It only takes a few swipes. Much less than the traditional removers. I didnt try to remove all the oil from around my eyes. Sometimes i would also smear a little more on and leave it. I never have any burning, or irritation. I have now noticed that I havent had any lash loss for several months. I hesitated to post this, because I figured if i just wait a little longer, they will fall out again. but they havent. I still dont have extremely thick or long lashes, but they are NORMAL again! I can be happy with that.
   Maybe if I am lucky they will even keep the crows feet at bay. At 52, my eyes still dont look too bad. If you already have decent lashes, maybe you will get more lushness. Who knows. Its not too expensive to try, and I have even seen the oil at Walmart. If you try it, leave me a comment and let me know how it goes.