Sunday, March 20, 2011

Mother Connie Sez: Closets? Really?


Let's begin by saying that the house where we live is generously blessed with closets.  The sliding doors have exquisite wood grain and the house was built in the 1960's, so closets were not overlooked.  Each bedroom has ample closet space and there is a coat closet near our front door.

That said, if you stopped by, you'd never know there's a closet in the place!
 
We seem to live like teenagers.  When we come in from the paper route, we are tired and want our coffee, so we peel off our layers and hang them on the corners of the chair at the desk in the living room.  We take off our boots; Norm lines his up along the china cupboard.  I tuck mine under a chair near the computer desk.  Hats, scarves and gloves go in a heap, wherever they land.

As our day progresses, Norm's jammies hang on one of the posts of the bed.  His shoes are lined up beside the bureau.   My jeans might wind up on a doorknob.   

Were my mother still with us, she would have a COW.   From what I know about Norm's mother, I think SHE also would disapprove of these sloppy habits.




We do know better.  We just don't take the time to hang things up properly.  We fancy they are "handier" and more convenient as we pile them around.


My own mother was fastidious.  She was a stay at home mom of one and she took great pride in her homemaking skills.  She had a place for everything and everything was in its place.  I'm not sure how I've strayed so far from my upbringing.  But to be fair, my mother did not have a paper route during the night and she did not blog by day.  grin


There was a time-I must have been about 4 years old-when my mother and father disagreed about who should pick up whose dirty clothes and put them into the hamper.  I remember coming out of my bedroom one morning to find my mother's hosiery draped over a lamp and across the back of the sofa.  Her shoes were on a table.  Her dress hung from the light fixture in the ceiling and her unmentionables were stuck under the cushions of the chairs, just so they were easily seen.  

I asked what had happened, for I was sure we had been invaded by fly-by-night closet re-organizers.  My mother and father exchanged looks and I knew I should never have brought it up.  But after that demonstration my dad was careful to pick up his socks and place them in the laundry hamper on a regular basis.  I never noted that he got a hernia from doing so.  That subject never came up again, either.


When 2011 rolled in, I vowed to simplify my life.  Perhaps I've carried that a wee bit too far.  It could be time to rethink my bad habits. . .But what are the chances of Norm going along with me?  I have a cousin who is a professional organizer.  I guess it's time to pick up the phone...

Connie Baum
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Friday, March 18, 2011

Mother Connie Sez: Never Say Never?

Do you wear eyeglasses?  Contact lenses?  Maybe you have had the Lasik surgery that's so popular now.  Family members of mine have had it and are glad they did.

Mother Connie has been sporting contacts since being courted by The Normanator.  They have worked like a charm and there was never any "fogging" of lenses that came into a warm house from a cold winter's day.  No smears to wipe away, either.  Best of all, I could clearly read the clock if I woke during the night!
As time has passed, the need for more power became apparent as i reached for "cheaters" more and more often.  I dearly hoped that was not an old lady thing.  You KNOW how I've been 33 for all these many years...

Well, age has caught up with Mother Connie, more's the pity.  Cataracts, which I swore never to have, made their appearance rather suddenly.  There is a date for the eye surgeon who removed my parents' cataracts to remove mine.  Dr. Proffitt is legendary for his work as a pioneer in eye care.  I'll be in good hands.
I went to my tell-all book about disease.  I wanted to understand WHY I have these little monsters growing where they are not welcome.  What IS the lesson I'm to learn?  Here is what the book says:

"Cataracts are caused by not wanting to see what the future holds in store."

I'll be dipped in dew!  Now, if only we could find the book showing what the lesson is to be learned from this.  Stay tuned; I may figure it out.  OR, YOU MAY KNOW WHAT I DO NOT AND YOU MIGHT LIKE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER.  Leave your comment, won't you?  Thanks oodles.  I still have the ability to read mail.  grin

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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Mother Connie Sez: Shea Butter Has Many Benefits

Beautiful Ghana Women shown with their Shea butter


You have met my Ghana friend, Boat.  He sent me this photo of Ghana women gathered around a good supply of Shea butter.  Their colorful garb is as interesting to me as the baskets filled with Shea butter!  And look at the joy in their faces!

Boat shared with me some of the properties of Shea butter.  I know it is a wonderful emollient for I have used it when I was working as a massage therapist.  I have used a plethora of oils and lotions and potions.  Shea is my all time forever fave.
"Shea butter has been known to work well against stretch marks. It also benefits those suffering dry skin, dermatitis and sunburn.  It is effective because it protects the skin against the harmful  rays of the sun. Since Shea butter is well tolerated by the skin, it usually does not trigger off any allergic reactions.  It  is an ideal agent for use by persons with sensitive skin.


This is a partial list of conditions that may be helped by the application of Shea butter: 
  • Fading scars  
  • eczema
  • burns
  • rashes
  • acne
  • severely dry skin
  • blemishes
  • dark spots and skin discolorations
  • chapped lips 
  • wrinkles
  • may lessen the irritation of psoriasis"
Boat says that  in Nigeria, Shea butter is used for the management of sinusitis and relief of nasal congestionWouldn't that play well in the USA, too?  No doubt that would be due to the properties of hydration, which would help relax the tension in the face-that would ease respiration.  Golly, it even SOUNDS relaxing!

There are some serious admonitions about Shea butter, dear readers.  Those will come along with the next post, rest assured.

If you HAVE some Shea butter, go use it now.  If you do not, please wash out your mouth with soap...TOOTHSOAP, that is!  

Connie Baum

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Mother Connie Sez: Shea Butter is Sheer Luxury

Shea butter is Mother Connie's emollient of choice for massage work.

You aren't likely to think about massage work as often as your humble blogger does.  Even though retirement came along, the things learned over three decades of body work do not fade into oblivion. 

As you know, the internet has replaced massage work for this kid.  Social Networking led me to Twitter.  That's where I met a young Ghana man I call "Boat."  It turned out that I became his online mom and we have kept in touch over the past few years, popping in with instant chats and Tweets to make sure we stay in one anothers' loops.  His latest news is that he is very interested to showcase Shea Butter.

Boat hit the Hot Button!  Shea Butter is the ultimate in body care.  It comes from Africa, where it is extracted from the Shea nut.  It has traditionally come from West Africa but some is coming now from East Africa.



My friend, Boat, who lives in Ghana, has written to me about this product.  He is in hopes that people will learn about its benefits and get as excited about Shea butter as the two of us!  Here is part of his message to me about Shea butter:

"We all know of Shea butter as children growing up throughout Ghana.  What I think is that most of us have not  yet realized the importance of Shea Butter to the World Market and the economy today.

Women  of Ghana spend comparable  monies as other societies  on cosmetic products that only contain about 5% of Shea Butter with the other 95% made up of synthetic compounds to give a desired texture and scent.  

Compare the price of a kilo of Shea Butter in Accra against the price of an imported jar of cosmetic containing 5% or less of Shea Butter. Would it not be prudent to take that kilo of Shea butter and add your own preferred infused scent?



Why not design your own skin cream? Collect a variety of wild flower petals; select the scent of each one that you like. You can even go as far as blending different scents together until you get the right one.  Finally, get a piece of light, white cotton material and make a small medicine bag to hold your petal mix.

Put the required amount of Shea Butter and medicine bag of petals into a large clear glass jar with a lid, leave it in direct sunlight for at least  2 weeks.  Every evening open the jar to test the strength of the scent. If need be, add some more petals.



From this humble beginning you could possibly go on to achieve a cottage industry with a Product designed on the uniqueness out of the garden of Ghana. Please let Mother Connie know about your successes so she can let me know how you enjoy using Shea butter!  Just leave your comments in the comment box below this post, where it says "comments"."

Boat was so gracious as to send a list of Shea butter's benefits.  We will continue our discussion on this topic by revealing those in the next post!  Do stay tuned!

Connie Baum 
PS/Using Shea butter on your body and ToothSoap on your pearly whites will be the ULTIMATE in body care!
The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly