Where the Deer and the Antelope are Eaten

I have a neighbor who hunts as a hobby. He is a vegetarian because of health concerns. He hunts and gives us his bounty. He is a very meticulous person, a very good hunter, and a great neighbor.
Vegetarians and members of PETA stop reading this blog, it is not for you.
Those of us who eat meat and fish, you may continue to read this blog.

The first time he brought us an antelope the kitchen ended up looking like a horror film. My adorable apron ended up looking like evidence from a murder scene. This year we were prepared for his successful hunt and implemented an efficient cut and wrap operation. Antelope meat is lean and delicious. It is wild so I don’t know what it eats but not intentional antibiotics and hormone feed. It tastes like lean beef. It does not taste like chicken.

Last year he came to our door and asked if we were sick of salmon? That would be no, to fresh wild salmon from the Pacific Ocean. Dungeness Crab?
Yes he goes crabbing and shares with us after he cooks and cleans them. I did mention that he is great at his hobby.

Antelope, fresh wild salmon, and Dungeness crab are delicious exotic and expensive foods. I am so lucky to have a neighbor that keeps my family in food for months. He can pursue his hobby and know it is well appreciated. How many other hobbyists can say the same? Another bird house from Cousin Fred? Another knitted toilet paper cover from Aunty Min?

I Feel The Earth Move

In many newspapers there is a section that shows weather and hazards from around the world. Earthquakes are listed if there is a big one in some part of the world along with typhoons, floods, insect infestation and other biblical and non-biblical plagues. In my Portland Oregon paper a small section lists the local earthquakes for the week. Often there is a summation sentence saying “too many small quakes to count in the Mt St Helen area”. This gives me pause.

If you have ever experienced an earthquake it is not something pleasurable. Although Seismologists say there really is not an earthquake season, autumn seems to have many as evident in the nightly news from around the world. If you ever drank too much and stood up quickly and felt the room or the floor spin, this is an idea, except the floor or room is indeed moving. It takes several seconds for most people to realize what is happening and then the most common response is a shrieking “Earthquake!” Big earthquakes are known to happen in California, but other areas have small ones all the time like here in the Portland area. Not much damage and not felt by many, but enough to check your home owners insurance.

I have been in several big enough for me earthquakes while on business in California, and Alaska. I have been in stores, hotels, ballparks, and airplanes while they occurred. I was always happy to go back home where the earthquakes are smaller. Recently there was a 2.6 quake 6 miles from my home. No alarms, power surges, and no damages were attributed to this minor quake but I felt it. By the time my brain could register that it was a quake and get me to a doorway it was fortunately all over. We have all heard about the acuteness animals have before a quake, but not much is said of humans. Never in a million years would I want to develop a keen sense for earthquakes, because that would mean I would be in one!

Living An Unplanned Life

I have always been organized and never a procrastinating person. I had a plan for my career, my vacations, and my life. You can imagine my surprise when I received an invasive aggressive breast cancer diagnosis. Breast cancer was not in my plans. It wasn’t even on my radar. I was forced to open up my plan book and add a new chapter.

As breast cancer awareness month winds down I wonder how many other women felt like me? How many other families had to cancel vacations, alter their roles, or give up careers? How many other women added not a new chapter to their life but a whole new book as I did?

I never would have thought that my breast cancer diagnosis would lead me to a new career path. A life threatening diagnosis can bring out different responses in different people. For me the response was to look at this life plan I had and not just edit it but start fresh. Starting my own Sleepwear Company, http://www.haralee.com/ gave me a new path, purpose and career. To be able to be my own boss, to be able to do something that helps others and to be able to give back to charity is the new plan for my life.

Change is difficult but achievable. Change in health, family, career, and income can all cause stress to a well planned order life. The joy is taking the changes and making a fuller life. I wish all breast cancer survivors the joy of survivorship in their new lives.

Macy’s Steps Up its Charity Presence

Last week-end was “Shop for A Cause” at Macy’s. Macy’s stores let charities sign up for a table at store entrances where the charities sold for $5.00 a coupon pass good for that day. All the proceeds went to the charity. A win-win situation. Macy’s gets more customers in their stores to use their coupons and the charities profit from the sales with little expense. I signed up the charity I am involved with, the Clara Jean Foundation, a holistic approach to breast cancer, http://www.clarajean.org/, for the day shift.

Since it was our first year we did not know what to expect. We didn’t come prepared. Next year we will be better prepared from what we learned from other charities that have done this promotion.

Here is what we learned:
1. Dogs, especially big dogs will stop a shopper in her tracks

2. A couple of cute teenage well mannered boys roaming the store asking customers if they need help with their packages and selling the coupons on the spot at the registers

3. 12-13 year old determined young girls stopping and selling to customers

4. Cooking demonstrations with samples

5. Cookies, candy, balloons, dog treats, wrist bracelets, teething cookies, water

6. Bag/Coat check station

7. Resting chairs with portable TVs incase there is a game

8. Chair Massages

9. Raffle to win something/anything

10. Cheer Leaders

We have a year to come up with our plans and we will be better prepared for next year. My thoughts go to pink balloons, cheerleaders, pink cookies, breast cancer wrist bands, chair massage, and maybe even flu shots! I am really impressed with Macy’s commitment to support not only national but local charities too. The coupons were fantastic. Boy did I get some great buys on presents for the Holidays!

Will you dress up for Halloween and Breast Cancer this Year?

October is breast cancer awareness month and as the month advances, more thought is given to Halloween than Breast Cancer. What if we combined the two? How about dressing up as the pink ribbon, or the pink crusader? What about Racey for the Cure all in Pink? Of course Pink Fairies, Pink Queens, Pink Witches, Little BoPink are all viable combination options.

Will you dress in costume for work? On October 16th, American Airlines is encouraging their employees to dress up in pink for the cure. Susan G Komen for the Cure has a program, “Passionately Pink for the Cure”. This program encourages companies to fund raise, show your passion for the cure and manifest it by wearing of the pink. Sounds like a pink Halloween party to me!

Kids, or grandkids, are never too young to instill social responsibility and still have fun. Why not a pink theme family holiday? Many schools no longer have Halloween parties but have harvest festivals. Can you see pink scarecrow costumes, pink farmers, pink Dorothy with the red slippers? Adorable! Have fun and support breast cancer awareness through-out October.

A Menopausal Rant on Some Recent Medical Studies

If you have been reading the papers or various medical journals lately a few studies jump out from the page.
How about this one from the ‘American Academy of Sleep Medicine’,
“Biological clock out of sync in patients being treated for breast cancer with chemotherapy”?
You Think!
The study goes on to say that psychological factors such as stress, pain, depression, napping and more could be contributing factors. DUH!

In the Journal of Nature, “Gene therapy fixes colorblind monkeys”.
The study tells us that 7% of male Americans have red-green colorblindness, which is the inability to see a difference between shades of the two colors.
I am riveted to read more on how this research can help all humans. Let me say the researchers note that “Colorblindness is not life threatening”. They also acknowledge that gene therapy has risks of actually causing cancer and other life threatening complications. So…….?

In the Archives of Internal Medicine, “Defibrillators do little for women”.
A recent study showed that the devices do little for women in preventing them from dying of heart failure. This is one more study showing gender difference in regards to heart disease. Historically large studies have been on men with the results applied to women. So now once and for all can we say ‘What is good for the goose is good for the gander’ is a stupid saying?

Ways to become involved with the cause of Breast Cancer Awareness

October is National Breast Cancer awareness month, so all month long there are opportunities to raise your own BC IQ and enlighten others.
1 out 8 women in the United States will have breast cancer in her lifetime.
40,000 women in the United States died from breast cancer last year.

There is no cure for breast cancer. There is no definitive cause for breast cancer. You know you are cured from breast cancer when you die of something else. The top two causes for breast cancer are being a woman and having too many birthdays. Research is encouraging, but slow. The question remains:
Will you see a cure for breast cancer in your lifetime? In your daughter’s?

Here are a few things you can do to make a world with-out breast cancer, one day closer.

1. Schedule your mammogram
2. Encourage some one who has not got a mammogram to schedule it

October 16th is National Mammography Day

3. Donate to the Susan G Komen for the Cure, or any BC charity
http://www.komenforthecure.org/

4. October 2, 2009 is Lee National Denim Day. Wear jeans, and donate $5.00
http://www.denimday.com/

5. Join the Army of Women. Dr. Susan Love and Avon look for the Cause.
http://www.armyofwomen.org/

6. Shop with companies that donate to breast cancer research. Such as;
http://www.haralee.com/, http://www.newbalance.com/, http://www.coldwatercreek.com/
and many more. Be a conscientious consumer.