07.29.07
Posted in Anything goes, Historical Trivia, History, Uncategorized at 10:21 am by Administrator
My son, Andrew, finally used one of his Christmas gift certificates and bought the book Days of Peleg. Once it arrived in the mail, he couldn’t put the book down until he was finished, ha! Or so it seemed. He liked the book so well that he wrote a review of it on his blog, Willful Ignorance. This morning he informed me that he got a comment on his blog from John Saboe, author of Days of Peleg. Wow, how nice!
A while back I had written an entry on my blog I titled, “How Old is Old?” and linked it to Andrew’s first blog entry he titled, “Line of Symmetry.” It dealt with the life expectancies of people through the ages. Evidently, Saboe added a comment to that thread as well. I though he had some interesting comments and insight to the topic of the life expectancy of man, so would like to link his comment here as a follow up. He begins his comment as follows:
”
I wanted to point out that at the time Sarai and Abram went to Egypt, the average life expectancy IN Egypt was around 120. However, at that same time, in Mesopotamia, the average life expectancy was much higher – around 250! This was well known by the Egyptians who were dealing with the fear that comes from constantly decreasing life-spans. . . ”
His complete response can be viewed here.
Andrew’s birthday was actually yesterday. He’s now 19 years old! Ack! We ordered the Ussher’s Chronology set for him, which unfortunately has not arrived, yet. I’m actually anxious to get a peek at it, too, and may likely blog about it later on. It should have interesting insight as to the ages of the people mentioned in the Bible and subseqently, the age of the earth according to Ussher’s study of the ages of the people noted in the Bible.
Well, gotta dash for now.
Marlakins 
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07.26.07
Posted in Anything goes, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Historical Trivia, Uncategorized at 8:13 am by Administrator
Along my travels learning about health stuffs, I find that there seems to be a recurring theme that illnesses are on the rise. More particularly, we are developing “new” illnesses and more resistant illnesses. For instance, when reading about the history of aplastic anemia, I found that it was first recorded formally only around the early 1900s. Leukemia was similarly only formally recorded around the later part of the 1800s. Osteoporosis was also unusual until after WWI according to Alan Gaby, M.D. author of Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis. Now osteoporosis is commonplace and even “expected” as we age.
Along these lines, I have come across yet another claim of a “modern” disease. I picked up a book called, Thrombosis, Everything You Need to Know by Jack Hirsh, M.D. Chapter two of his book is titled, “Blood Clots: A Modern Risk for Modern Times.” In this chapter he wrote in that, “Scientific studies suggest that prior to the twentieth century, venous clotting was very rare. Today, this condition affects one in 20 people in the Western world during the course of their lifetime. Consequently, there are millions of people throughout the Western world who have suffered or will suffer from blood clots in their leg veins. . . ”
Hirsh goes on to say that venous clots are less common in developing countries than from the Western world and that in Western countries about 1 in 1,000 people develop venous clots every year. Some of the risk factors for clots I found interesting, so I listed them below:
~Major surgery
~severe accidental trauma
~prolonged bed rest due to illness
~chronic debilitating illnesses
~leg paralysis
~cancer
~old age (this one I find questionable because I believe that people in the past lived to what we consider today “old age” yet didn’t seem to have lots of incidences of blood clots that are recorded. I currently know several people whose parents and aunts and uncles have lived to over 100 years old. These people who I have spoken about this are now either in their 80s or almost there. This means that it was their parents who lived this old and that would translate to at least two generations back from my age. So that means we’re talking about people in the 1800s already living into their 100s. Yet, I know a lot of people today who have died at much younger ages. I don’t see that our live spans are extending much at all if any).
~estrogens
~previous venous thrombosis
Hmm, so what about that list is so modern? Estrogen therapy perhaps? I’m inclined to think there is much more involved with the increase in the incidences of veinous clots.
Marlakins
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07.25.07
Posted in Anything goes, Uncategorized, knitting and crocheting at 10:06 am by Administrator
I just have a moment in between my morning chores, so before I run out and start the day, I wanted to upload some of my completed stuff. I finally got the bag handle I ordered from M&J Trim, so I was able to complete my Brea Bag. Here’s a picture of what it looked like while it was in the making.
This is what it looks like this morning all put together. For some reason my picture doesn’t show the details too well. I just don’t have much time this morning to fiddle around with optimal lighting, etc. so this will have to do for now. This is actually going to be a gift for someone I know who’s birthday is coming up in a couple weeks. I made it early because I need to allot for shipping time. It’s got a little hippy flare to it, I know, but I hope she likes it. I figured what gal has too many spare purses? Ha! I think I’m gonna make one for myself in olive or something like that. For anyone interested in making a Brea Bag, I will say that the instructions were very clear and easy, and actually a bit fun to make. You start out long and each row starts to decrease, so that the knitting goes faster and faster as you go. This is not one of those long drawn-out patterns. One comment, tho, is that the pattern called for 2 skeins of Ultra Alpaca, but I ended up a little short, so I had to go out and get another skein.
The other things I’ve been working on are handmade stitch markers. I had been tying little bits of yarn to mark places, then I saw some really cute stitch markers with beads dangling from them. I realized that I could make those! I used to make jewelry years ago and still have a bunch of supplies left over. 
So here are a few pictures of the stitch markers I made. I get pretty addicted to crafts, so I kept putting more and more beads together and ended up with these. . .
And these. . .
And these. . .
And these. . .
And these. . .
And more! Ack! I figured those were enough to give you an idea of what I’ve been churning out. Actually I had gone on a hat-making spree, too, but I haven’t taken any pictures of those, yet. I was mostly just playing around with designs, and baby/kids hats are good prototype projects cause they’re so small. I’ve also made some stuff animals as well, but also have not gotten around to taking pictures of those to share, “yet.” Ha! I don’t know, but for some reason I when I get interested in something, I just go a little overboard. . . yikes. Just wish I had more time and could knit and crochet faster! I take a project with me wherever I go, and put in a few stitches every now and again. Seeing the results, all those few added moments adds up!
Okay, I think my time’s up. Must dash for now. . .
Toodles!
Marlakins
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07.22.07
Posted in Anything goes, Uncategorized at 9:06 pm by Administrator
Zip, zip, zip, and the weekend is over again. . . But, not without any pictures! Brian has been taking some herbal courses and part of his assignments have been to make up herbal formulas and test them out on himself and anyone else. So we have been making trips to our local Chinese herbal shops in Chinatown. While there I was able to snap a couple pictures. Here’s one of the wall of drawers where some of their herbs are stored.
Each drawer houses different herbs, and they are labeled outside in Chinese. When you want some herbs, you just tell them which ones you want and how much in terms of ounces. They weigh each one out, then seal them up in a plastic bag. Another way to order herbs is by going through a Chinese doctor like an herbalist or acupuncturist. They can write up a prescription for you, then you take it to one of these herbal shops, and they fill it for you.
Below is a picture of someone’s herbal prescription order being filled. They weigh everything out, then they separate them in trays per tea batch. Each tray will go into an individual bag and sealed. When the person gets home, all they need to do is dump their packet of herbs in a tea pot and cook them up.
Afterwards we still wanted to stop off at the library downtown, but it was already lunch time, and I had to be fed, heheh. Lucky for me, Chinatown is right next to Little Tokyo where there is a market that sells sushi cheap! For instance Brian and I bought these two dishes for about $10.00 for both. At any other place, it would likely cost double that.
The Central Library is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. This is one of my favorite hangouts, ha! They have so many good books in there, I love it! Actually, the Central Library is the largest library west of the Mississippi. Here’s a pic of it to give you an idea of its size. I forget the exact number of floors it has, but I know it has at least six floors. The building doesn’t look like it is six floors high, and it isn’t. The library actually goes below ground several floors. 
Here’s a picture of the inside about 2 floors down. I took the shot looking back up from the escalator. This library not only has books, but it also has a small gift shop upstairs on the main floor as well as a few art galleries. Organizations like the Getty often exhibit some of their stuff here. Another nice thing about this library system is that their catalog is searchable online. I can look for books from my computer at home and reserve them from any branch within the system. Then they will deliver it to my choice library and let me know it’s ready by phone or I can just check my library record online. What service! I will say that I think the public library system is one of the best services the government provides for us. This resource has been invaluable to me from researching health issues, to amusing myself with historical texts, literary works, and hobby books like knitting. They have DVDs, VHS, CDs, language books and cassettes, etc. All for free. It’s such a shame not more people take advantage of the library. It’s wonderful.
Oop! I hear my family starting up a movie! I’d better stop for now and see what I’m missing! Will have to continue later.
Marlakins
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07.15.07
Posted in Anything goes, God, Uncategorized at 9:18 pm by Administrator
The other night, Brian and I watched the DVD rental, Pan’s Labyrinth. Despite what the cover looks like, it is *not* a kids’ movie. Actually, it was quite sad and a bit disturbing. The leading character is a little girl living during WWII. She has vivid imaginations, which heavily mixes up her fantasies with reality. This gets her into a lot of trouble. I won’t reveal what happens at the end for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet and is planning to. That would be a spoiler. But suffice it to say that what was in her mind was very different from what was happening in reality.
This reminds me of another story I read years ago. Not quite the same as Pan’s Labyrinth, but the story, Kiss of the Spider Woman also had a similar ending and illustrates the complexities of fantasies vs reality. While the lead character in Kiss of the Spider Woman, didn’t fantasize, per say, he struggled within himself between his values and his desires. One of the lead characters is a rebel who fights against the rich and what they stand for. Yet, secretly he has a rich girlfriend who he sneaks to meet. While in prison, he dreams of how much he enjoys the lifestyle he shares with his rich girlfriend. It’s actually a very different story from Pan’s Labyrinth, but interestingly, their ends are very similar.
I am reminded that this duality of wills is not new or unique to a few movie characters. Many times we live our lives with many contradictions. We say one thing, yet we do or want another. We want one thing, but we also want the opposite. It’s the old, “We want our cake and eat too.” Is it a problem? I see that living with duality or conflicting values may hold us down because James told us that, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” I wonder if this is the type of person who has trouble making up his mind? I would classify being unstable a problem. We should not be double-minded. The Bible teaches us that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and a sound mind.” Doesn’t seem like God has given us an unstable mind. We are also taught that, “a double-minded man wavers like the waves of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.” A double-minded man runs with the current fad, changes his mind from day to day because he can’t make up his mind. He is unstable.
Now, I’m not saying that it’s bad to have fantasies and dreams. Often times dreams or goals is what gives us direction. But it does appear that dreams and goals have to be applied appropriately in order for them to be helpful to us. Maybe it’s the idea that so many people live their lives in contradiction that I find interesting. Why do we do that? Or is it just unavoidable? It seems that it does matter what we think and how we think. We should strive to keep our minds in the right direction because if we stray too far off, we can get lost, like the lead character in Pan’s Labyrinth.
Marlakins
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07.07.07
Posted in Anything goes, Historical Trivia, Uncategorized at 9:02 am by Administrator
Yesterday, July 6, was my 6 year anniversary since my last blood transfusion! Yee hee! Like last year, it was another hot and humid day, but overall, uneventful. It did make me think what other special occurrences happened on July 6. Here are some of the events I found in history which occurred on July 6:
1253 ~ Mindaugas crowned the king of Lithuania
1483 ~ King Edward III was crowned the king of England.
1609 ~ Bohemia is granted freedom of religion.
1785 ~ The dollar is chosen the monetary unit for the U.S.
1906 ~ Robert Peary sets sail for the Arctic on the expedition where he reaches the North Pole.
1942 ~ Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the secret annexe of her father’s office in an Amersterdam warehouse.
1957 ~ John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time at the Woolton Parish Church Garden Fete, Liverpool.
1964 ~ Malawi declares independence from the United Kingdom.
1975 ~ Comoros declares independence from France.
2006 ~ The Nathula Pass, between India and China, which was sealed during the Sino-Indian war, reopens for trade after 44 years.
Obviously a lot more happened on all the July 6’s of history. And these events probably have little to do with us today, but hey, I thought that bit of trivia was fun, heheh.
Have a great weekend!
Marlakins
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07.05.07
Posted in Anything goes, Uncategorized, knitting and crocheting at 10:40 pm by Administrator
Seven months into the year, and I can now check off one of the items on my New Year’s Resolution list! Learn to make socks. Years ago Brian suggested that I might like to learn how to make knitted socks. He even bought me a little book with a few sock patterns. Every time I would look at one of the patterns, I would tune out when it came to how to turn the heel or make a gusset. I never spent the effort to understand it. Subsequently, that book has collected dust for over 15 years now. Finally last Friday I bit the bullet and dove right in. Actually, I was driving down 3rd Street, and saw The Knitter’s Studio on the left hand side of the road. And gee!, there was an empty parking spot right in front of the store! Oye! Any other time I’ve visited that store, I’ve had to walk a block or more after I parked my car (not like that’s a terrible hike or anything, but just finding parking tends to be a struggle). That empty parking spot beckoned me. . . No time to argue or ask any questions. That empty spot was a “sign.” Ha! The next thing I knew I was hopping out of my car and bouncing in through The Knitter’s Studio’s front door. I already knew I wanted sock yarn, and the ladies there were very friendly and helpful, which made an impulse buy even more of a done deal. 
Shortly after browsing through their store, I had two hanks of sock yarn in my bag. I was excited because not only would this be my first sock project, but I think it’s the first hand-dyed yarn that I would be working up. So I learned a few things. . ., but back to that later. Here’s what the yarn hanks looked like before I unwound them. These two hanks are Lorna’s hand-dyed yarns. It’s their Shepherd Sock yarn, which is 80% superwash wool and 20% nylon. The color is camouflage (sounded like something a guy like my hubby would like, ha!) These hanks were destined to be hugging my hubby’s feet when the cold weather returned.
Although Brian had bought me a sock pattern book years ago, I didn’t use it because they are for girl socks, and I wanted to make Brian socks. So, I found a free pattern for a basic sock online. I figured I wanted to just get the mechanics down first on how to construct a sock before fussing with any fancy designs. This pattern had a close match for the size specification for the yarn I had purchased, so after a swatch test and a few adjustments to the pattern, off I went!
This particular pattern uses a size 1 needle US. For those of you who knit, you know that that’s on the small side. My youngest son walked in on me while I was casting on. He stopped for a moment then exclaimed, “What are you doing? Are you crazy? That’s gonna take you a year to finish!” Ha ha! Kids! Well, I’ll show him! And I did! Below is a picture of one sock finished and the second one almost half way through.
Okay, so a tip to anyone contemplating making socks. The instruction portion for turning the heel works! even though when I first read it, I thought, “What’s going on, here?” Well, to make life simpler, I got online and looked up the trusty site, YouTube. I am so happy so many kind people share their knowledge on video! This one video showed how to turn a heel, and made the instructions look soooo simple! So off I went, and “viola!” I started to form what looked like a real sock! Oye! Lemme do that again! So below is a picture of the completed pair. Brian is modeling them on his tootsies, hee!
So back to the few things I learned. Hand painted or hand dyed yarns are commonly worked in two strands because no two are exactly alike. Working two strands at once will help ensure that the color scheme looks more even. Eh, I didn’t know that until I had already finished one side. . . So Brian’s socks are mix-matched as far as color, erp! “Sock yarn” is a yarn that has some synthetic fiber spun in to make the yarn a little more durable because socks get a lot of wear. It was common for knitters to weave in extra support through the heels because they commonly wear out. With sock yarn, one doesn’t have to do that! 
My first pair of socks were worked from the top down, but there are other ways to work socks, i.e. from the toes up! I want to try that eventually, too! AND some people work both socks on the same needles at once! I want to try that, too, heheh. And then I saw this other sock pattern where the socks are worked sideways. . . Check out Opal’s sideways socks. These are all different angles to attack sock making and that doesn’t even address all the different sock designs. Funny how I found the hardest or trickiest part of making the sock was the very end where I had to graft the toes. For some reason that had me all twisted up. I am happy to report that I think I now have that part under control. Perhaps you may notice the toes on the socks Brian is wearing. Not bad.
I will say that knitting socks in size 1 needles US takes a lot of work. So if anyone ever gives you knitted socks for a gift, they must love you! Give them a hug and a kiss.
Marlakins
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07.04.07
Posted in Anything goes, Uncategorized at 8:18 am by Administrator
Today we celebrate one of the big Yankie holidays, July 4th. When I first heard myself referred to as a “yankie,” I felt a little offended. It brought to mind the war of the north and the south, but I found out that all north Americans in the U.S. in general are referred to as yankies by some Europeans and the English. Ah, okay, then, I suppose I am a yankie. . . erp! Anyway, just wanted to wish all “ya’ll” fellow yankies a grand spankin’ 4th of July! Here is Los Angeles, I’ve been melting in the heat and humidity. I know it’s relatively comfortable here compared to other parts of the U.S., and even other parts of the world!, but I’ve been sweating like a horse, nonetheless. Then I get an email from one of my friends in Australia. Included are a couple pictures of what their weather is like there “now.” Ah, just looking at them, I can just get a hint of the feel of the coolness. . .
And another one. . .
Aren’t those beautiful? Honestly, we don’t get a lot of those trees with the golden leaves much here in So Cal. The first time I saw trees in abundance like the ones in the above picture were in Virginia and other eastern states. Wow was it gorgeous there in October. But to think that is what it’s like in June in Australia is a strange thought to me because I’m just so used to it being hot in June-September. I suppose that concept is not strange to jet-setters. But, Christmas is always celebrated in fairly cool weather here north of the equator, but in Australia, Christmas is celebrated in hot weather! That reminds me, when we took a Mexican cruise, we started out in Long Beach, Ca. As we started to move more south, we could feel the weather change from that cold October breeze to hot, humid, tropical weather. Was kinda cool really, and interesting.
Thanks, Helen, for sharing those pictures with me! If I’m lucky, one day I may be able to visit Australia. All the Australians I’ve ever met so far and had the pleasure to talk with have been very friendly, down to earth people. I even met Guy Pearce at the Whole Foods Market here in West Hollywood! He got right behind me at the checkout stand, and when I looked back at him, I said, “Hey! I know you!” Ha ha ha! And he said, “You do?” Ha ha! And so I got to talk a little with him at the checkout stand, and boy was he friendly! And ever since then, I’ve been a Guy Pearce fan. Honestly, other movie stars that I’ve seen here seem to be too much in a rush and have no interest in speaking to anyone. Makes me not care to stop and talk to them (course I can understand that they don’t want to have to talk to fans every time they go out to by toilet paper, but hey, they have made themselves popular, and there must be other nice movie stars that I just haven’t seen). Guy was different, very laid back, and didn’t mind at all that I spoke to him. Made a very nice impression to me of Australians. (Although I realize he’s English-born. . .) Maybe I just ran into him on a good day? I hope all his days a good.
Okay, so I’d better get on with the day. We’re gonna be BBQing tonight! I can’t wait, hehehe. Here’s to wishing you all a fabulous 4th of July!
Toodles!
Marlakins
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