Category Archives: Health

Life Prefers Warmer Temperatures

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I read thru a political forum from time to time.  I find it interesting for a number of reasons and it gives me an opportunity and a reason to try and educate myself on a number of things.  Just recently someone posted an article about prosperty and global temperatures.   The premise is pretty basic.  When it is warm out life grows more readily there is more food and more wine consumed!  When it is cold food is scarce, wars break out and societies collapse. 

The article doesn’t attempt to explain the reasons for the warming and cooling and it really isn’t the point.

I thought it was relevant because we are trying to move from a climate that has extreme swings in temperature thru the seasons to one that is much more steady.  In the summer in Colorado it can get up to 110F degrees and in the winter it can get to -20F.   I’ve started to notice that with those swings I also experience a change.  In the summer things are growing, I have more energy and am generally way more productive.  In the winter things die, I have less energy and it’s more difficult to try and be productive.

I would think that not experiencing the extreme changes in seasons and temp would keep humans (and all life for that matter) just a bit more on the productive and energetic side.  It will be interesting to see what my own experience is like living closer to the equator.

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Greeley Acupuncture

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For the last two Saturdays I have been given acupuncture treatments here in Greeley. I’ve never done acupuncture before, but it’s kind of cool. I haven’t really felt too differently from it, but she says it might take a couple of treatments. Britton and I have been thinking of starting a family and we thought acupuncture could help, even though I’d never done it before. Plus sometimes my neck and shoulders ache if I sleep on them wrong, so I thought maybe it could help for that as well.


Some of the acupuncture needles on my legs

For those of you who have never done acupuncture, here’s how it works: First you fill out some paperwork just as you would at a doctor’s office, asking about your various health issues. Then they talk to you about your diet. For me, she said I am running “cold” and so I needed to add more hot foods which include red meat (which I usually avoid!), red vegetables, hot foods like soups and hot teas and spicy foods.

Next she took my pulse (which has always been really low -like in the 50s or 60s, another “cold” sign) and then she looked at my tongue. Finally, she inserted the needles. They are really pretty small -about the thickness of a hair- and most of them you can’t even feel when they are inserted, but a few I could. The one in the webbing of my hand between my thumb and index finger felt strong, but she said that was normal.

Then she leaves me alone on the table with the needles in me for about 15 or 20 minutes to work the Qi (chi -life energy) around my body. It’s nice and peaceful with the heat lamp and the ocean waves CD going on in the background.

She said she might be giving me Chinese herbs next week and possibly doing moxibustion. Moxibustion is where they put hot, smoking herbs over the acupuncture points to increase its effectiveness.

Altogether this is called Traditional Chinese Medicine. I’ve actually been pretty impressed by the overall holistic approach to health. It seems like in conventional medicine it is about certain body parts separate from the rest of the body, emotional state and other factors that influence health.

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OMG!!!! EGGS!

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So it looks like the government needs to step in and protect us from eggs now.  From CNN:

“The fresh eggs from the recalled firms are being diverted to USDA-approved facilities for pasteurization,” Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Patricia El-Hinnawy said Wednesday.

Well honestly, that is about the expected result.  Instead of fixing the problem (large scale centralized food production) we come up with another quick fix.

I just find it amusing (especially after raising a few hens in our backyard) that there is all this hoorah about some eggs.  People really should just take matters into their own hands and raise a few themselves.  But as we’ve seen, the government does NOT want that. 

I mean just think.  People could be responsible for themselves and there wouldn’t be a need for a .gov agency to oversee EVERY single egg this country produces and consumes.  It really is laughable the lengths we Americans go to in order to feel safe.


Show me your papers

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Dad’s Casino Night Hurrah

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My dad , Jack Davis, has always enjoyed gambling, especially craps and poker. In the last couple of weeks he had talked about all of us getting together and going to Central City or Blackhawk to gamble. They are the two cities in Colorado that allow public gambling -although there are many more restrictions than you would find, at say, Vegas.

In the last few days, however, his health has gotten so bad that he can hardly speak or walk and even with the morphine you can tell he’s still uncomfortable to say the least. But when the Hospice nurse visited the last time he stopped her on her way out and asked if she could get him a craps table. She said that she would. And they did! (Hospice has been great.)


The Craps Table

The only thing was that they thought Dad might have to go into the hospital and so time was a huge factor. We had to do this now if we were going to do it. We also had to find a place to put a craps table. While my house is not huge, it does have the most useable space in the family right now. So, we decided to pull together a last minute casino night party at my house to honor Dad’s wishes.


Dad playing craps with friends

It was a little stressful trying to call and email and facebook everyone to see if they could make it  to a party in the middle of the work week with only one day’s notice, but it came together. I would bet we had 40-45 people in our house last night. We had great food, drinks and the younger kids loved playing outside with the chickens.


My brother Justin and his girlfriend Jacqueline -and lots of food

I think Dad had a great time. I hadn’t seen him so animated and involved in something as he was in that craps game in a long time. And he came out a big winner too! Many people (including me) didn’t know how to play craps and so we also had a poker group playing downstairs.


More craps

It was so special to see so many friends and family come and visit him. We asked people to write in a memory book about him and you could tell by what people wrote how special he had been to them. Some people, like the Fitzgeralds, he has known since before he knew my mom. Others he had worked with in his law practice or when he owned the lawn business. Some, like our neighbors the Sandovals, shared memories of living next door and helping to raise us kids (or growing up together). We had people who knew me like my school and work friends, but got to know Dad. People my mom had worked with met him through her. Even Britton’s friends and family have come to know and love Dad. He is just that kind of person.

It was like an episode of “This is Your Life”. And all the inter-connections were amazing. People knew each other in a round about way who we didn’t know -in this area it’s not 6 degrees of separation, it’s more like 2!


My brother and I (right) standing with the Sandovals, our next door neighbors growing up

And Dad was such a connecting link like that. He was always kind to people he met and did it with such a sense of humor you couldn’t help but like him -and remember him. He always saw the potential and the good in people. I just can’t believe he will be gone soon…Much too soon.


Some of my mom’s friends

But I am also glad we were able to throw him a last hurrah of sorts. And it was wonderful to see the outpouring of love and support from so many friends and family. Thanks to you all for making it a night that we won’t soon forget.

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