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April 1, 2010

     You may have noticed that I stayed out of the bitter national health insurance controversy that’s played out over the last year. But, now that we have that law, you may want to check out what exactly we’ve got and how it will affect you personally. I have therefore listed some helpful sites in item 8.

     There is of course talk of repealing the national health insurance law if the Republicans get a majority in Congress in the fall 2010 elections. The political party out of office generally picks up some seats in non-presidential election years. And, now that we’re in the third year of the worst recession since the thirties, it would be purely amazing if Republicans do not pick up quite a few seats in Congress. I do not think they will repeal this law, however, and here’s why:

     1. The new national health insurance law will eliminate the hated “doughnut hole” of the Medicare prescription drug program. People will not want to go back to paying through the nose for their drugs every fall.

     2. The law eliminates many of the rules of health insurers that people have long considered unfair, such as refusing coverage for pre-existing conditions. I do not believe that people will voluntarily go back under the dictatorship of the health insurers.

     So, in my opinion, it’s here to stay. You may disagree, and of course only time will tell us for sure.

     Janette

----Table Of Contents----

1. Russian Easter Overture
2. Celebrating A Russian Easter
3. Ukrainian and Russian Easter Eggs
4. Easter Breads
5. Fruits And Vegetables Make You Smarter
6. Chocolate, Wine, And Tea Make You Smarter?
7. Ten Heart-Healthy Foods
8. The New National Health Insurance Law
9. Remember Layaway?
10. Why Buy If You Can Rent?
11. “I Lost My Daughter”
12. First Seed Roundup
13. First Harvest Of The Season
14. Strangest Thing Buried By A Squirrel
15. Building A $50 Greenhouse

1. RUSSIAN EASTER OVERTURE

     If you haven’t already heard RIMSKY-KORSAKOV’s Russian Easter Overture, you are in for a bit of surprise, because it bears little relation to the music your church choir sang last Easter. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV’s music has an oriental flavor, which is logical enough, considering that Russia is located right on top of the Arab world. The link below is for my RIMSKY-KORSAKOV playlist, and Scheherazade, the piece that follows Russian Easter, is extremely oriental in flavor – it makes you long to take off on a flying carpet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty8CCHicF40&
feature=PlayList&p=C5164D37563822B9&index=0&playnext=1

2. CELEBRATING A RUSSIAN EASTER

     In Western Christianity, Easter has become second in importance to Christmas. In the Greek and Russian Orthodox world, however, Easter is first in importance and is celebrated with great joy.

http://www.passportmagazine.ru/article/211/

     THE REAL MEANING OF EASTER. Click on CHRISTIANITY in the column at left, then on “The Real Meaning of Christmas and Easter.” You’ll find there some lovely Easter music:

http://tourthesites.com/

3. UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN EASTER EGGS

     The two are quite different. Here, first, are the Russian Easter eggs, which are much simpler than the Ukrainian.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Russian-Kulich

     UKRAINIAN EASTER EGGS. A craft going back hundreds of years, and an art of great beauty. Learn how to make them here:

http://www.learnpysanky.com/

4. EASTER BREADS

     You are probably familiar with the hot cross buns of old England. Here’s a recipe your children can make, with perhaps a little help from an adult:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/easter/hotcrossbuns.htm

     TRADITIONAL EASTER BREADS OF EASTERN EUROPE:

http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/breads/tp/easterbreads.htm

5. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES MAKE YOU SMARTER

     Yes, really. This German study found “higher cognitive performance in individuals with high daily intake of fruits and vegetables.” It also found “higher antioxidant levels, lower indicators of free radical-induced damage against lipids, as well as better cognitive performance compared to healthy subjects of any age consuming low amounts of fruits and vegetables.”

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163436.php

     You may also want to read one of my blog posts, “Improve Your Memory With Blueberries.” Scientists are still figuring out which fruits and vegetables most improve memory. In fact, if you read to the end of that item, you’ll see that research into “superfoods” has just begun. There will be some exciting revelations in future.

http://youcanavoidalzheimers.blogspot.com/2009/
02/improve-your-memory-with-blueberries.html

6. CHOCOLATE, WINE, AND TEA MAKE YOU SMARTER?

     An Oxford University study of Norwegian subjects found that subjects who took in more chocolate, wine, and tea did better on cognitive tests than those who didn’t. Chocolate, wine, and tea are rich in flavonoids, and previous studies indicated that flavonoids appear to lower the risk of dementia. The researchers feel that more study needs to be done, but this is a promising line of research. (The Norwegian subjects seem to have drunk black tea, which has never been given the “wonder beverage” status of green tea, even though most people, including myself, find it more tasty. This is good news indeed!)

http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2009/01/07
/chocolate-wine-and-tea-consumption-could-
decrease-dementia-risk.html

     CHOCOLATE AND FLAVONOIDS. Why dark chocolate is so good for your heart:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040601/
dark-chocolate-day-keeps-doctor-away

7. TEN HEART HEALTHY FOODS

     As you can see, dark chocolate (not milk chocolate) is on the list, as are nuts. And chocolate and nuts are a lovely and healthy combination – if you can keep from going hogwild over it, of course.

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Health/
Diet-Nutrition/10-Powerhouse-Foods.html

8. THE NEW NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE LAW

     Following is by far the simplest and clearest explanation I’ve seen. People in the much-hated “doughnut hole” of the Medicare prescription drug program – mentioned in the first item – will get $250 this year to help cover their out-of-pocket expenses, but in later years the doughnut hole will be eliminated altogether.

http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/a-look-at-the-
health-care-overhaul-bill/1081784

     And now, MICHELLE SINGLETARY gives some tools for finding out how the law affects us personally:

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/
personal_finance/032810_color_of_money.html

9. REMEMBER LAYAWAY?

     Most clothing stores used to have a “layaway” section. If you bought, say, a dress on layaway, the dress was hung in the layaway section in a back room. You made payments on it, and, when the last payment was made, you took the dress home. It was yours, free and clear, with no credit card bill you couldn’t afford AND NO CREDIT CARD INTEREST.

     It seems that the financial crisis has not only brought back old-fashioned savings accounts, it’s brought back layaways as well. Here’s what eLAYAWAY has to say about it:

http://elayaway.com/

10. WHY BUY IF YOU CAN RENT?

     Gone are the days when apartments and floor buffers were about the only things you could rent. Go to ZILOK to find out how to rent power tools, hunting and fishing equipment, wedding dresses, evening dresses, baby furniture, crutches ... really there are few occasions, pleasant or unpleasant, for which you can’t rent what you want or need.

http://us.zilok.com/

11. “I LOST MY DAUGHTER”

     I didn’t, actually, but the mother in this story did. The story ends with “10 ways NOT to lose your kids.”

http://www.momlogic.com/2010/03/i_lost_my_daughter.php

     “WAKE UP AND SMELL THE CHAOS.” The MOMMY TRACKED blog features many mommies. Check it out and see which ones you like.

http://www.mommytracked.com/about

12. FIRST SEED ROUNDUP

     YOU GROW GIRL has been in business for ten years, a very long time to be on the Internet. And here she’s looking over strange tomato seeds:

http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2010/
01/26/first-seed-roundup-for-2010/

13. FIRST HARVEST OF THE SEASON

     Radishes are by no means the only thing you can harvest in early spring:

http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/
05/05/first-harvest-of-the-season/

     EXPERIMENTS IN GARLIC GROWING. You thought there was only one kind of garlic? No way!

http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2009/04/
23/experiments-in-garlic-growing/

     RAMP ROMP. And if you thought garlic made you smell bad, you should try ramps. They’re wild!

http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2009/05/15/spring-ramps/

14. STRANGEST THING BURIED BY A SQUIRREL

     Squirrels are a thrifty bunch, always thinking of that day in the future when there’s no ... WHAT?

http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/
05/13/qualifies-as-the-strangest-
thing-buried-by-a-squirrel/

15. BUILDING A $50 GREENHOUSE

     Which will collapse – he admits it – under four inches of wet snow. But that’s the sort of thing that happens when you’re gardening, and you just pick the stuff up and struggle onward.

http://doorgarden.com/10/50-dollar-hoop-house-green-house

     THE MUCH CHEAPER COLD FRAME. Which is, of course, much smaller than the greenhouse, but it won’t collapse under wet snow either.

http://www.digginfood.com/2009/04/inexpensive-diy-cold-frames/