I read the whole thing, it was amazing, I could not stop, and then later discovered there were more articles. That one and the other two prints, plus all the other good news from the AHS all for only $30 / year. I read several articles twice, should continue that. As a new member I got a $15 coupon to buy hostas at participating vendors like Naylor. Is there an option to read past Journals, I did not come across that yet. I remember someone wrote that we can not read on-line old printed versions (but can buy them), but there was another or more on-line versions I believe. (the AHS forum seems to be inactive?) I noticed that the left column on the Member page is no longer clickable? Bernd

Oh how I wish I'd done this all these years! It would be wonderful to read about past Christmas' times, especially now all my kids are grown with their own children! The only thing I've done the last few years is keep a list of gifts given to family and friends, as my memory stinks and I don't want to repeat gifts. As of last year, I also am keeping a list of where I've stored stuff. With things scattered around closets in the house, bins under my bed, bins in garage and storage shed, I now want to know exactly WHAT is WHERE. This year I am going to list and photograph my Christmas decorations as I unpack stuff, and am getting pictures of new purchases of course. As you know I take pictures of my house decorated, but I'd rather have better organized photos of collections and ornaments. (Maybe if I look at my photos this time NEXT year, I'll do less impulsive buying. I love Christmas things too much, LOL. Hard to resist.) I am going to suggest to my grown kids to think about starting journals while they still have young ones! hugs, Karen

Thank you, Jess and Khalid for your comforting words. I went to the PA (physician assistant) on Jan 20. He checked my ears and found the right ear badly blocked, same with the left ear. When the cold virus attacks the body, it inflames the Eustachian tube. Some info. from Mayo clinic: "With plugged ears, your eustachian tubes — which run between the middle of your ears and the back of your nose — become obstructed. You may experience a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ears. You may also have ear pain, dizziness and muffled hearing. As swelling from the cold subsides, the obstruction usually resolves." My experience is very much like what the below doc. went through: http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/healthyliving/SpecialFocus/Pages/a-common-cold-can-cause-vertigo.aspx " Dr Young, 33, started an otherwise ordinary day with a mild sore throat and a runny nose – like he was coming down with a cold. However, by the third evening, he started to feel light-headed and awoke the following morning with severe vertigo. He felt as if the room was spinning around him. “For the first two days after the vertigo set in, I couldn’t eat, drink, turn my head or even move my eyes from side to side without vomiting or feeling the room spin around me,” he said. It turns out that Dr Young had labyrinthitis, a condition where the labyrinth (the inner ear) is inflamed and not functioning normally. Dr Young, an infectious disease specialist from Britain who works at a local hospital, self-medicated with vestibular suppressants and anti-emetics. These are prescription drugs to suppress dizziness and nausea. “But they had little effect." he said. “The acute vertigo usually lasts from a few days to two weeks. As it resolves, the patient experiences slight imbalance or unsteadiness while walking. This rehabilitation phase may last for one or two months. The hearing function may or may not fully recover. The recovery period is fastest during the first month but the patient may still recover up to six months after the onset of the disease,” said Dr Tan. Labyrinthitis is often spontaneous and idiopathic but can occur after a cold, flu or upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). “These infections don’t usually affect the inner ear. More often, in URTIs, the middle ear is affected when bacteria and nasal secretions pass through the eustachian tubes to the middle ear causing fluid accumulation. A bad middle ear infection can lead to the spread of infection to the brain, or in rare cases, labyrinthitis as well,” said Dr Tan. **** From Straw, the P.A. who examined my ears recommended an MRI of the brain (magnetic resonance imaging scan) to show the inflammation. The cost? $1,000. I said, "NO way, I'm going to rinse my ears with hydrogen peroxide". I went home, fill a glass-dropper with hydrogen peroxide, rinsed my left ear. That cleared out completely. The right ear which bled, I had to rinse it 3 times with hydroxide peroxide ... and my vertigo went away !! I was able to stretch my head backward in all directions. Hydrogen peroxide kills all three: bacteria, fungi, and virus.

See below link in Organic Rose forum .. everyone is welcomed there to post on organic gardening & healthy eating & losing weight. I will post my daily progress in the below link, and I hope you'll join me so we can motivate & inspire one another to take better care of ourselves ... that's more important than gardening or roses. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3579603/12-29-15-foods-to-lose-weight-daily-journal-toward-health-and-joy