Back home after Christmas

Lexie loves Christmas. We are in front of the tree at the Moring's.

I am back home after spending a wonderful week with my sister and brother-in-law, Gay and Stu. When I walked into their house, Christmas enveloped me. Their tree is always perfectly decorated. The mantel, table tops, buffet and dining table offer lovely Christmas themed arrangements.

They attended church two times while I was there. They sing in their choir and take their responsibility seriously. In spite of having been sick for over two weeks with a bad respiratory virus, they were able to attend rehearsals and sing the cantata as well as participate in the Candle Light Service at Alpharetta Presbyterian Church.

I felt sad as I left today, looking at the tree for the last time. Both Gay and Stu loaded my car for me and it was loaded! They are generous and very caring people. I will get out the things I need tonight, but the rest will wait until tomorrow when I have help.

We went out to eat several times and Gay and I went to see Mary Poppins Returns, a lovely musical with good acting. We did a little after Christmas shopping, as well.

I have been fighting a respiratory illness for the past few weeks and eventually was prescribed an antibiotic. I was doing much better until Christmas night. We had such fun at the home of my niece, Lee, and her family, eating and laughing so hard we could not stop. But later that night I developed something new or my original illness worsened. Now, I think I have bronchitis. I coughed so hard my chest hurts and my throat does, too. It was good that I came home. Now I can stay in bed or just do nothing until I get over this malady.

Any time I am out with people, it is easy for me to become ill. I can be exposed to a small amount of chemical such as perfume, cologne, candles or things I am not even aware of and in a short time I am sick. I believe that I react badly to live Christmas trees because they are treated with chemicals to keep them green and pesticides to kill insects you don’t want to bring into your home.

Today while reading about toxins in our home, I found some interesting facts that pertain to all of us.

Formaldehyde is in many of the products we use and have in our homes. Who would think our sofas or chairs could be hazardous to our health.  https://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/search?tbl=TblChemicals&queryx=50-00-0

Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen. Formaldehyde is in most manmade fragrances – perfumes, scented items people use on their bodies every day. Learn more on Toxnet.  https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/f?./temp/~3Tzcp3:3

An article in Readers Digest is very helpful for those of us who want to only use natural cleaning products in our homes. If everyone would use these kinds of products, people who have health issues with manmade chemicals could go almost anywhere and not become ill.

Great cleaning tips with natural products that do not contain dangerous chemicals. https://www.rd.com/home/cleaning-organizing/natural-cleaning-products/

I look forward to 2019 and am making plans now for good things to come. I hope you have stayed well during the holidays and that you will usher in a wonderful new year.

I spoke and they listened. What more could I ask for?

Saturday I was scheduled to give a talk at the local library. My sister Gay and her husband, Stu, and friends from out of town came. Although I stand before groups and read and speak often, this engagement was different. I had never spoken on this subject.

We arrived at the library, my brother-in-law carrying my box of props consisting of spray bottles, catalogs, detergent boxes and other things. By 1:45 PM I felt sure my ten handouts were a waste of paper. No one was there except Carolyn, the lady who had invited me to speak.

Obviously no one was interested in my subject, De-toxing Your Home. Perhaps they were like my dear friend Virginia who said there was no reason for her to come. She wasn’t going to do that.

May has been declared in many states as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity month. I hoped to raise awareness in my community about the dangers of the chemicals we use every single day while thinking they are safe. I hoped to encourage those who didn’t know better to stop using scented dryer sheets, scented detergents, and all the scented products on the market that appeal to women especially, but do not give the facts about the toxins they contain.

Suddenly just before two o’clock the doors opened and folks began streaming in.  I relaxed then and enjoyed speaking to people who knew of many things I mentioned and some who wanted to know more. One lady said she has had to come home in the middle of the night because she couldn’t find a motel or hotel room that wasn’t “fragranced” and she knew if she stayed there she would be sick. Others told of problems with perfume and stores that used “air fresheners” and I realized that, just here in our little town, were a number of people with MCS.
My handouts ran out and we made more. The long list of recipes I gave them for making their own safe products seemed to be appreciated.

The group was so enthusiastic about the subject that my one hour talk stretched into 90 minutes. Best of all, my friend Linda told me, “You have finally gotten my attention.” She and her husband plan to make up recipes for their home care, using simple ingredients such as vinegar, soda, water, Borax or washing soda. The cheapest ways to clean are the best ways to clean our homes. No unsafe chemicals in these ingredients.

My weekend was terrific with my family and friends here. And I feel I made a difference, in my own small way, to raising awareness of indoor air pollution, chemical sensitivities, and keeping our air pure and safe for all of us.