A Clearer View From Vision Villas

Silence Day

I arrived in Bali on the eve of the Hindu New Year in the Balinese Saka calendar.

“You know tomorrow is Silence Day, yes?” The friendly customs officer informs me. I tell him I am a regular visitor to Bali, but this is my first time during the sacred holiday. It makes an impression.

I am greeted by Suta, driver from Vision Villas. He hands me an ice-cold bottle of Aqua and we set off to manoeuvre through the many colourful parades that are spread out along the road as the Hindus celebrate on the evening before their day of silence.

In Indonesia they celebrate their New Year through purification and sacrifice. On New Year’s Eve, the villages and homes are cleaned, food is cooked for two days and in the evening people make lots of noise to scare away the devils. Continue reading “A Clearer View From Vision Villas”

The Flavor Game – Sweet And Salty

The drive was taking an awfully long time. Traffic, although not too congested, was heavy enough to slow things down. Mom was getting irritated by the look on her face. The speed of her thumb thumping the steering wheel was getting faster and more vigorous. My mind was wandering, thinking about this visit to the dentist. It was probably the first visit I could remember. I kept feeling the tooth that was troubling me with my tongue. It felt painful but it kept me occupied for the duration of the trip. We finally arrived, and I was beginning to have second thoughts about agreeing to the visit. What’s going to happen? My mind was working overtime!

Sitting on the dentist’s cold chair, a chill went down my spine as I viewed the dreaded-looking dental instruments neatly laid out on a tray. Suddenly, the dentist was sitting next to me with gloves and a mask. I felt like fainting. “Please open your mouth,” he said. I could barely move. I then felt the cold steel probing my teeth. As he located the bad tooth, I felt a sharp, searing pain. “Doc, you’ve got to fix this,” I said to myself. “It’s got to come out,” said the dentist. I just nodded and told myself to be brave. I was given an injection which was surprisingly not as painful as I had anticipated. A while later I heard the dentist say, “Done.” My bad tooth was gone. I didn’t feel anything. What an anti-climax! Continue reading “The Flavor Game – Sweet And Salty”

Why Do Tomatoes Irritate Cold Sores?

A lesion on or around your mouth may be a cold sore. This itchy painful sore is a result of the herpes simplex 1 virus. This virus is transmitted by close interpersonal contact and after the infection will remain in your system for an undetermined amount of time, usually forever.

No one can tell precisely what will trigger an outbreak, sometimes cold sores appear for no apparent reason. That being said there are a few things that have been known to increase the likelihood. One of these is an injury or trauma to the tissue. This prompts the herpes virus to come to the surface creating a painful sore. In some cases, what we eat can play a role in that.

While no food is directly responsible for an outbreak ones that are high in acid content can cause severe irritation of the sore. Tomatoes for example are high in sugar and acid both of which can cause cold sores in some people. This is due in part to an allergic type reaction to the acid or sugar. Continue reading “Why Do Tomatoes Irritate Cold Sores?”

I Hurt Therefore I Eat – The Truth Behind Emotional Eating

We live in a culture in which food has become inextricably bound up with emotion and situation. We eat because we’re bored, because we’re sad, because we’re happy. When we want to celebrate, we go out to eat. When we’re grieving over a romantic breakup, we drown our feelings in ice cream. When someone is sick or someone dies, food becomes the way in which we show our sorrow and support-great amounts of casseroles and cakes and salads.

I’m not saying this is all bad. While food has inherent limitations in meeting our emotional needs, an emotional connection with food is part of a normal and healthy relationship with food. Food can and should bring us pleasure and comfort. Just think of the associations certain foods and aromas stir up for you: the sense of “home” you feel when you smell cinnamon and vanilla; the sense of safety a meatloaf and mashed potato dinner can provide; the sense of longing you get when your sister makes your grandmother’s famous broccoli casserole at Thanksgiving. On rainy Sundays, a cup of hot cocoa is a wonderful accompaniment to reading the paper, while the ritual of a celebratory cake adds meaning to birthdays. Continue reading “I Hurt Therefore I Eat – The Truth Behind Emotional Eating”

Are You Thinking About Throwing a Surprise Party for a Relative or Friend?

“Look Jim!” I chuckled. “We don’t have to take you out for your birthday dinner, there’s a barbeque right here.” Jim grabbed a hold of the latch and swung open the large outside door to the Angle Armoury building. At that same moment a chorus of voices shouted out from inside the building. “Happy Anniversary!” Stunned, I instantly glanced over at Jim still holding the door open. Jim glanced back at me. Then a lady yelled from inside. “Gordon and Trish!”

Trish and I were completely taken aback and were completely dumbfounded! We had no idea that our relatives and friends had gathered here to celebrate our 30^th wedding anniversary! I was in a daze. It took us several minutes to wrap our minds around the fact that we were NOT going out for our son-in-law Jim’s birthday celebration! Continue reading “Are You Thinking About Throwing a Surprise Party for a Relative or Friend?”

I Thought Love Would Just Be in Books or Movies Until She Came and Made It All Real

Questions to Her

On Our first date…
On our first date, I was very nervous to meet him. He was due to fetch me at my brother’s house since I was dropping my car off there because I had to drive 2 hours to meet him and we decided that he’d drive us around for the day. As he arrived to fetch, I hardly had a chance to look at him as he flew to open my door for me, which shocked me a bit. As soon as I got out the car he gave me a big hug, which helped calm the nerves. As we drove to our destined date spot, we immediately hit it off in the car, with us chatting non-stop and to his horror I had brought with a fun game for us to play on the way, which was the “Harry Potter flavored jelly beans”. The game defiantly broke the ice and I felt completely comfortable with him, even though I still feel bad about getting him to eat all those gross flavored beans, it was still a great experience to have together. The rest of the day was amazing, with him taking us to a nice restaurant on the beach, where we shared a dessert and spoke non-stop. We went on to spend the whole day and night together, with time feeling like it had stood still. I could not have asked for a better first date, with it ending in us having our first kiss and becoming a couple. Throughout the date, I knew that Jay was special, with him making my heart skip a beat every time he looked into my eyes. Continue reading “I Thought Love Would Just Be in Books or Movies Until She Came and Made It All Real”

Care of Wild Baby Mice

If for some reason wild baby mice have been placed in your care, I have included a few tips on caring and feeding to help you give them a chance at life. Please be aware that even in the wild, mice have a 50% chance of surviving beyond 5 months of age, given a normal upbringing. The mice that do make it can live up to around 5 years if healthy. A pair will have a better chance of survival than a lone mouse.

As soon as you have your baby mice, it is important to keep them safe and warm. You can use a small pet carrier, large plastic tub or any other suitable box in which you can put them. Layer the bottom with a towel and place the mice on top. Then, use another soft material to lightly cover the mice like fleece. Place the box in a warm place, ensuring that it isn’t hot; otherwise the mice will become dehydrated. A heater on the lowest setting may be all that is needed. Test the towel the mice are laying on so that it feels cosy and warm to your hand. Continue reading “Care of Wild Baby Mice”

How To Create Your Property Into A Whitetail Paradise

I will be sharing with you on how I made my property into whitetail paradise, and what still needs to be done. I own 150 acres in southwest Michigan, which I bought in 1989. Up until 1995 we, me, family, and friends shot every buck that gave us a opportunity and did not shoot does. All that change in 1995 when I shot a buck that scored in the 120’s. After that day I stared doing research on how to get bigger deer.

The following season I started putting in new ideas and concepts into my property. My first rule was if you shot it you had to mount it. This took care of the people that just want to shoot anything. I placed 20 acres in a safe zone. We also started to shoot does. After a few years we started seeing a lot more 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 years old and were killing nice bucks every year. I then went to neighbors and tried to get them on board. Continue reading “How To Create Your Property Into A Whitetail Paradise”

Spanish Food – How To Prepare Boquerones

Whilst on your travels in Spain and pausing to take a breath from site-seeing, you have surely experimented with “tapas” at a welcoming bar.

If this is the case, it is more than likely that you have come across the small, tasty filleted fish, preserved in olive oil, sliced garlic and chopped parsley, and highly popular throughout Spain. This delectable dish is usually known as “boquerones” but, depending on the area, can also be called “anchoas”.

Boquerones are small, fresh anchovies. Accompanied by crisp, fresh Spanish bread, a glass of ruby-red wine or refreshing Asturian cider, they are a delight to eat. Moreover – as with many traditional Spanish dishes which comprise the renowned Mediterranean Diet – they are extremely healthy.

Continue reading “Spanish Food – How To Prepare Boquerones”

Excuse Me, Are You Visiting or Have You Moved In? The Freeloader Nightmare

Shanty towns or squatter communities known as “Hooverville’s” during President Hoover’s term as President (or back in the day as my son might say) began to sprout up all over the United States because of the fallout from the Great Depression. These ragtag “communities” were composed of people who had been evicted from their homes or their farms. These individuals, labeled hobos, were forced to live a degrading existence among grotesque piles of accumulated trash, made of discarded public scraps of food they had to eat or of various items of value that they could sell. The poor and disposed would cook their meager portions of food in tin cans over open fires, covering themselves with old newspapers while wearing Hoover shoes with holes in the soles. The only scenery was blurred by dust in the summer and mud in the winter as they inhaled the stench from all of the trash and the extremely unsanitary dilapidated outhouses. These poor Depression era hobos, though, are no comparison to today’s modern freeloaders, lazy, selfish people who are calculating in their tactics, and who by no means suffer as much as those displaced victims of the Great Depression.

Continue reading “Excuse Me, Are You Visiting or Have You Moved In? The Freeloader Nightmare”