Charcoal

Have you ever burnt a piece of toast, a slab of meat out on the grill, or even a marshmallow over a flame?

I have. And Mom always used to tell me that charcoal is good for you. Well, I told my son the same thing and he said, "No it's not. It can even cause cancer." So I thought I would look it up and find out who was right and who was wrong.

Well, according to Natural Health Restored Charcoal is good for you.

"Activated charcoal is an excellent natural remedy that goes as far back as recorded history. It is so effective that it definitely deserves a prominent place in your medicine cabinet.
Charcoal is safe and harmless. It will do you no harm, even if you eat lots of it. It is officially recognized as an antidote. The FDA gives it their stamp of approval as a safe and effective remedy for acute toxic poisoning.

Charcoal is a cleansing agent that is able to adsorb toxic gases, liquid toxic wastes, germs, and heavy metals.

When it passes through your digestive system, it carries these toxins with it. That prevents you from absorbing them into your blood stream.

Adsorption is different from absorption.

With absorption, something is attached into something else. An example would be some water that is sucked up by a paper towel. The water goes into the paper towel.

With adsorption, something is attached onto, instead of into. Charcoal attaches or binds things onto itself. It does not absorb them.

Activated charcoal is not the same as regular charcoal. It is a lot more powerful than regular charcoal.

Regular charcoal is made by burning wood in a controlled environment.

To activate charcoal, steam or air at a high temperature is used to oxidize it. This process makes the charcoal develop lots and lots of tiny pores. These tiny holes are what make activated charcoal able to adsorb so much more than regular charcoal can."

So I was feeling pretty vindicated but then I read further.

The same site said: "Burnt toast and other burned or charred foods are NOT charcoal. Unlike charcoal, burned foods still have their proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts, and fats present. These charred nutrients can damage your body. They can even cause cancer! Charred foods are not a natural remedy."

So it seems we were both right...sort of.

Still, I'm not sure that eating burnt toast could cause cancer. It seems a little strange to me...I guess more research is in order.

What do you think?

Columbia Christening

My hubby and I went to see the christening of Gunderson's new barge the Columbia. I'd never seen a boat really being christened. I mean, yes, of course on t.v. but not when I was standing right next to the boat/barge. This was interesting.

When the champagne hit the boat, it exploded.

Home built Benches

My husband loves to build things. He's built me chairs, this arbors, benches, tables and stools and now with our renewing of our wedding vows coming up in two weeks (to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary) he's  built wrap around benches on our deck, so people will have a place to sit.

It only took him a couple days. Here's how they ended up.

I'm thinking these are much nicer than renting chairs. And it sure is nice to have such a handy guy around the house ;D

Homemade Spaghetti

My daughter got me a pasta machine, which is something I've been wanting for a while.

So I made some dough, which was four eggs, 3 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of water.

Then I rolled out the dough.

Then I fed the dough through the machine to thin it out.

Then I fed the dough through the knives to chop it into spaghetti

It made six servings of pasta (well more like five in my family)

No more time...

I've got to sign up...or the price goes up...and it's funny how much $10 can influence my decision. I've been going back and forth on which event I want to do at the Pacific Crest this year.

I'm thinking a half-marathon, or maybe a 10k or maybe even a duo with my hubby...

My sis and niece are doing the 10k so it would be fun to run with them...but...

I don't know. And the price goes up tonight so I have to decide...and quick

We'll see, decisions, decisions, decisions

Fatkini

Plus-Size Two-Piece 'Fatkini' Flies Off Store Shelves | Video - ABC News

I think this is cool. Women feeling comfortable with who they are.

What do you say?

Boys and their Toys

I always thought when my kids grew up they'd box up their old toys and put away childish things.

Not so.

The boys might have grown up but their toys just got bigger.

And I'm not talking about boats and cars, nope I'm talking about helicopters. No. Not real - pilot driven - helicopters. I'm talking remote control beauties.

My son went out the other day and bought three of them...yes that is a "boat"load of money that went into those toys. But he's saying he's going to use them to create a little art...filming with them.

And if he does, I'll think it's pretty cool but until then it's just boys with their toys.

How 'bout you - do you have any childhood toys that have moved with you into adulthood?