How to lose weight...

I stopped at a friend's house the other day, and she was out on her riding lawn mower.    We visited for a while, and she went back to mowing, and I went home.  Later in the day I got an e-mail from her about an event she was going to,  and she was bemoaning the fact that she wished she could lose the extra 40 or 50 pounds she was carrying.   

The next day, as I was mowing my lawn, with a "push mower" and NOT self-propelled, I thought THIS is how she should have, could have, mowed her yard.  Takes a little longer, and if it's hot you may want to take refreshment breaks often, and perhaps take more than one day to mow.  But it's excercise that you don't have to leave home for.  No payments to the health club.  Wear anything you please.  Stop and go as you wish.   Do it at any time you wish.  No appointment necessary.

Now the disclaimer... I admit I use a push mower because I cannot afford a riding mower!

Vitiligo...what is it?

I was stopped at the bank the other morning, by a woman who wanted to quietly ask me about my skin condition, which is known as vitiligo.  For you who are not familiar with this condition, it is an "autoimmune condition" in which I am losing pigmentation in my skin.  It has caused "white" patches, which are not as obvious in the winter, but more in the summer.  This is because the "white" patches obviously do not tan, and the other areas do.  I have large patches on my neck and shoulders that tan, and also large patches that are white, and so the obvious contrast. 

Vitiligo does not hurt, does not itch, is not contagious, is not life-threatening.  It can start at any age.  Mine started when I was in my 40s.  There is a "cure" of sorts, in which a person takes a drug, and also is exposed to ultraviolet light.  This is done under a doctor's care, and is supposed to work well with children who have this condition, but not so much for adults.  The cost, at the time I looked into it, was about $400 a month, and I figured I'd just live with the condition.   

This IS the condition which Michael jackson was said to have.  If he bleached his skin, it would probably have been so he was all one color.  Obviously a dark-skinned person would be much more obvious than a light- skinned person.   I have some discoloration on my face and so have been using concealers, and rather high SPF sunblock so my face does not get large patches of distinct coloration.

Does it go away?   I've read some reports where people have gained their coloration back, and I believe I've gained some back on my hands and arms.  One of the possible reasons for this condition is stress.  Since I've been unemployed, my stress level has probably gone down (no job-related stress) but it's also stressful looking for a job.  That's another story...

What is it about turtles???

This is the time of year, when they're coming out of their burrows and dens, looking for something to eat, and someone to make little turtles with.  Of course, they're crossing the roads, to look for those new loves.

So, why oh why, would anyone want to purposely run them over?  They're living, breathing animals.  If that were a rock in the road, the observant driver would try to AVOID the "rock" so as not to ruin a tire, or whatever.  So why does the turtle suffer?

I once talked to an old farmer who said he ran over turtles because they would get in his strawberry patch.  I was dumbfounded  A turtle, on the road possibly miles from his strawberry patch, deserved to be squished out of existence?  That made no sense at all.

Give 'em a break!!!