"He got better"

is one of my favorite movie quotes. It is said after the question.....  "I thought he died?"

The reason this one came to mind this morning, is because I was looking at an add for clothes and the mention of this new fabric called Tencel. I got all happy, it won the EU- Flower prize, because of the way it is manufactured, it claims to be all natural, without chemical additives, cool is summer, warm in winter, breathable...... WinWin!  I never heard of it, so I looked it up. The proces is chlorine free, but uses oxygene, hydrogenperoxide and ozone.....and this "environmentally friendly process releases acids and water in the air, plus the process uses a lot of energy (it partly re-uses the leftovers from the process for this, but the rest has to be generated thru the grid) As contrary as this may be to "all natural and environmentally friendly" this is not the part that got me here....

In a study into "health issues and the air we breathe" from Belgium, this is mentioned:
"Ozon concentrations in the air can be unhealthy for individuals and can cause shortness of breath, irritation of the airways, inabillity to breathe due to irreversible damage to the lungs and dizzyness.  Plants die before their natural time and crops have lesser yields." This also wasn't a big shock. However the next part of this study was.....  "Although there is no direct connection between Ozone and chronic disease, during the period between 1997 and 2003 an average of 120 people  PER YEAR died prematurely because of increased Ozone in Flandres" ...... Now, I'm not a doctor, but DEAD seams pretty chronic to me! As is an increased amount of COPD, Lungcancer, Skincancer, and deminished lungfunction.....

This makes me wonder how BAD you have to be for the environment to be passed over for the environmental prize?

It also drills down to do your research if something is hailed as "all natural" and "environmentally friendly"............  Maybe we should just go back to the ways of early man..... wool, linen and such. Grab a sheep, shear it, spin it, weave it, wear it...... Plant some flax watch it grow, harvest the seeds to make oil, save some of the flowers for coloring the fabric and use the leftover bits to make linen clothing. No muss, no fuss, all natural. REALLY!

Getting of the soapbox now, but wanted to make you think, just a little :-)

Don't forget to hug a loved one!?

Hugs,
Pauli

Just pile it on......... I can still carry something.

Just heard from the powers that be...... I can't start my business!

Last week Monday, I got a  visit from an independent counselor to decide if my business was viable, and I have what it takes to make it work.  He started off pissy, and didn't improve during the inquisition. He was here for 3 hours, and nothing I had done, or was planning on was right, so somehow I didn't expect it to go my way, but because to make it out of the financial help plan, I only need to make 500€ per month, I was hoping it was not going to be a big deal. Well, I was wrong. According to him, I have no business being IN business, my office space is laughable, and anything but professional, he hasn't seen anything that gives any indication that I'm the least bit creative, let alone creative enough to be paid for it and I'm not even close to being even a mediocre business owner.  I don't think I could have felt any smaller by the time he was done talking, and can't wait till I get that in writing!  (His attitude when he visited was so obvious that 3 different neighbors who knew he was coming asked me about it, so I know it wasn't just me.....) 

I tried to tell him... All I need to make my business work, is a place where I can sit, do my thing and be alone.... I can do that. I don't expect, or even want people in my house. And as for not being a business owner, I indicated I needed help in the "doing business" part. I know I don't have the experience. But he wouldn't listen. I'll have to wait for the official send off, but I'm busy replanning. With everything that hangs in the balance, I'm nowhere near ready to give up. My own business will be the only thing that I've found sofar, that will allow us a little more security and stress relief.

The thing that urks me about this whole thing, is that they rather pay me the rest of my life, than give me a chance to get out from under. I don't need to earn 60K a year. I just need to earn enough to keep us here, if anything happens to Mikes job, and a little extra so we can take a couple of days vacation per year, and not have to look seventeen times at every penny we spend.

While I was writing this, this morning, I got a call from Mike. He has blown out his shoulder while unloading a truck at work, and if I could come and get him........ It never stops.  We have an appointment  with the doctor tomorrow morning. I initially made the appointment, because after he got to work, Mike called that his right eye was so cloudy, it was like looking thru a dirty window in heavy rain, and he would like a referral to a specialist. The doc wanted to see him before he wrote the referral........ So now, tomorrow will be a "two-fer".......  I don't know how to do this anymore, and I'm taking the rest of the week off .........  If the saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" holds true, I should be as strong as Ayrs Rock by now :-)

For now, take care, don't forget to hug a loved one, and please count your blessings.....

Hugs,
Pauli

I want one of these.......

I found this site where you can build yourself a cat, in lego's! Well, not Lego's but something just as cool.  Check these guys out!

The site sais it takes about a day if you don't have any interruptions to build one, but who cares how long it takes.... SOOOOOO COOOL!!!   facebook JekcaWorld

Check out their website as well......  there's a contest to win a kit on The Purrington Post

Don't forget to hug a loved one? 

Pauli