Saturday, October 11, 2014

New site

For my faithful readers, I keep www.spinningstrawintogold.blogspot.com live because it still has Hotel Life, which some of you have told me you still wish to read. It also has the beginnings of Loft Life, about our move from our hotel room to our loft apartment.

But, just to be clear, Spinning has moved!! There is a brand new website now, with many more offerings than simply our life in New England--which by the way is now Ramblings on the River, about our new river house.

So here are the URL's. But for some reason blogger doesn't let me make them live. Please visit www.readmstradinger.com and CLICK ON MENU.

http://www.readmstradinger.com
http://www.spinningstrawintogold.readmstradinger.com
http://www.lunchwithmarjorie.readmstradinger.com
http://www.pray4ourtroops.readmstradinger.com

Please visit my new site and enjoy!

Thanks to you all for making my site even stronger.


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Old person, new world

It’s amazing how huge changes in our behavior sneak up in small steps. When I look at even the vocabulary I use today, I realize that even as recent as a couple of decades ago words like mouse, desktop, icons, footprint, kindle, application, tablet, and so many more, meant something completely different than they do now.
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I no longer have a home phone. I don’t subscribe to cable TV. I have no print. I rarely buy a hard copy or paperback book. I don’t collect coupons, or print coupons and loyalty cards are now on my keychain.
I do not have a GPS device on my windshield and rarely use paper maps. Why would I when that helpful woman’s voice, sometimes irritating, tells me where to turn and gets me, usually, to my destination.  Unknown-7pge.jpg
I listen to news on a tablet in the morning or on the Internet radio station available on my Apple TV, and I don’t have to be sitting in front of a TV to do this. A tablet is quite portable.
In the early ‘60s I read a TV guide article about the future. I was excited about tall tales of being able to get any movie you want on demand through some touch screen. I couldn’t wait to have an audio greeting telling me I have messages, or reminding me to shop or call someone. Now I am frustrated if the movie I want isn’t yet available on Netflix or Amazon Prime. If it isn’t there now, though, it will be soon, I am confident.
Jeff Bezos stated in an interview that it is his intention to have (almost) every book every published available on Kindle. That is quite an ambition. I expect he will soon say the same thing about movies on Amazon Prime.  Unknown-8 Unknown-9
I still sometimes prefer the feel of a paper book in my hands, but for travel, there is no question of Kindle's convenience over lugging heavy books on a trip where we are now so limited by airlines on cost of baggage.
Modern life is ever changing, and APPLE, Amazon and Netflix have truly changed our behavior on a large scale. How many people have PC’s but still have the Apple products for phones, tablets and Apple TV?  Right?
It’s getting as though you have to think twice before you purchase almost anything—DVD’s of TV series that are free online make purchasing DVD series so unnecessary. And at this point, if the season I want on a series I am following isn’t out yet, I switch to a different series until it is. The selection is so vast, I wouldn’t have time to see everything anyway. And, unless I need to watch a live sports game, I have no idea why I would pay $100 a month for cable or Dish.
I just heard that the stats on people giving up a home phone have risen dramatically. We gave ours up ten years ago. The only people who ever called it were telemarketers and long, lost relatives, who if we wanted to talk to, would know our cell numbers.  Unknown-10 Unknown-11
Technology is so amazing that it connect over generations, gender, and even people with vastly different interests. Where but on Facebook, for instance, can you instantly find out which of your friends has a new grandchild, or a birthday, or needs prayer, or wants you to Like some cause they believe in--even if they are thousands of miles away. I don’t always act on everything there, but I am glad it is there.
The down side of all this is obvious. Privacy and quiet time are rare. I was unnerved to see my photos are waiting to upload to Twitter and Google Circles. I don’t remembering setting that up and don’t want to.
But, when I want to share photos, like asking my contractor friend to look at an inspection report on a house, it was amazing to be able to discuss that with him, having instant pictures and the report and being able to go over it line by line. No down time.   At Christmas, I wanted to give my son-in-law a picture of a train that my daughter took. It took my son and his girlfriend about a half hour to help me get it to CVS in Los Angeles, so it would be awaiting me at the store by the time we arrived there the next day. Then I could buy a frame and have it ready for Christmas, rather than the old days of film, developing, waiting, printing, paying for copies, etc. This was amazing to me.   Unknown-12       1003147_4894137400773_1868205741_n
For all it’s downside, I love technology, and am so happy to have the efficiency of  digital copy and paste, scanning, digital bank deposits, Amazon grocery delivery and countless other conveniences I never realized have crept into my life as normal, everyday activities. They say a million dollar idea is one that changes behavior. I can’t wait to see which one I can come up with, but for now, I will enjoy paying for or accepting for free the myriad of ideas that have changed mine--mostly for the better.


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

LOFT LIFE: Taking pHun to a new level

You all know I am into green smoothies, organics, antioxidants and the like. But when I began reading about how to do the  pH thing, I was overwhelmed. Learning all about the balance of alkaline and acid for the body  seemed foreign to think about.    51doKJVk1vL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_
I dabbled with the idea, but really had no idea what to actually eat. The whole idea of it reminded me of the chemicals we used to clean our swimming pool (when we lived in California).
But, I began to do more than dabble when my “California girl” daughter texted me a picture of her sore throat, gross as it was, and told me she thought she was getting strep. Rather than rush to the urgent care center, she decided to completely change her food for a couple of days to alkaline foods. The throat redness left, her fever left, and she was well in three days. Wow!  This got my attention, big time.
So when I started to feel some flu-like symptoms, I did the same thing and it all went away. Health.
I read up on what foods are alkaline. I started making sure my daily 8 to 10 glasses of water all had a squeeze of lemon. My daughter was buying alkaline bottled waters and was concerned with the expense. I told her to go to Costco for a bag of lemons, and make her own. Much cheaper, tasty and easy to do. You can get 8 wedges from one large lemon, which does the daily dosage for both alkaline food and water. I mean, really. If drinking lemon water can give me a flu-free season, why wouldn't I do this.  Unknown
The research tells me that, although lemons and other citrus are acidic, they become alkaline when ingested.
On the other hand, animal protein becomes acidic to the body, So, next I cut down dramatically on how much animal protein I consume.
Greens, ala green smoothies, are also alkaline.
I have to say, that barring having all the overwhelming reading to do, these three simple steps--lemon water, less animal protein, more greens--have gotten me through flu season with no symptoms of flu and a really robust health, even with our extreme winter.
The pH people claim that it is the acidic diet that most Americans eat that increases inflammation in the body and they say inflammation is what leads to disease--and not just flu, but disease like cancer and other gnarly stuff. The toxins and waste that accumulates in our bodies because of our high-acid producing diets are also the culprits in decreasing energy and even speeding up the effects of aging.
Getting myself to learn how to maintain the ideal pH of 7.4 is more of a challenge, since it requires me to learn way more. But, the benefits claimed seem to warrant at least considering doing this.
If it is this simple, why not try it? It is easier and cheaper than medication, and has the benefit of not only warding off disease, but creating health. Rather than a cure, why not go for the preventive?
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The answer for why most of us don't attempt this seems to be tied to the whole idea of the modern American eater. I am sure our grandparents weren't dealing with the problem of trusting food companies and restaurants, because they didn't eat packaged foods and seldom went "out" to eat. They didn't have the soft drinks daily, if at all, and they weren't eating snacks we think of as normal (donuts, candy bars, giant sugary drinks). They had gardens, they canned veggies and fruits for winter. So when this seems like going to a lot of trouble to eat more like they did, it is true. It is a lot of trouble changing over to the former ways. But, did they have the health problems we think of as normal? Were they generally obese?
I am still in process on this, still reading, thinking, changing my diet. But, I will now hunker down and really read the book that claims miracle powers of a balanced pH eating plan, and I will begin to make permanent changes where it just makes sense to do so.
Let me know what you think about this, please.


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENT



For all you faithful readers--about 300+ of you from literally all over the globe--I am now redirecting you to my new HUB website: www.readmstadinger.com. When you click on MENU, you can see ALL of my writings in one spot, and I am updating constantly.

With the MENU button, you can find Spinning Straw into Gold (I may continue to post it here also for awhile, but want people to make their comments on my new site, please). Also, you can find Lunch with Marjorie, my newspaper column about people's lives--an inspirational wealth of stories about ordinary people and their great significance. And, my travel blog City Cites is also there.

In the future I will have my downloadable Resume workbook. Its techniques have been used successfully by thousands of people over the 35 years I have been doing resumes.

And my Pray for Our Troops bookmark will soon be available in lots of 10 for a donation of $1 each ($10)--as soon as I figure out PayPal. :)

Lastly, for now at least, I plan to have my Sourdough cookbook as a downloadable eBook, containing authentic sourdough recipes from my grandfather in the early 1900s, when he was a US Marshall on the Santa Fe Trail.

Happy reading! Your comments always make my day.  www.readmstradinger.com

PS, I am thrilled with my new affiliate Blue Host. They are the most helpful, customer-oriented hosting site I have ever worked with. If you plan to start a blog or website, please check them out through my site: www.readmstradinger.com

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

LOFT LIFE - Angel update

Thanks so much to my readers for all of your wonderful Angel suggestions. I decided to start with making my Christmas angel into a Valentine angel.
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This wasn't as easy for me as for you very creative types, but I took my All Recipes friend Pam B.'s suggestion to visit the Dollar Store, which she advised the toy department, and that was very helpful.
Of course, upon entering the store mid-January, all of the Valentine stuff met me at the door, so I did not need to proceed to toys yet.
I purchased $6 worth of hearts, ribbons, and, for some reason (probably the fact that I didn't have my glasses on), rose petals.
Returning to my loft, I made a pattern for a "heart dress" by tracing the wooden angel shape and cutting it out of the red heart of swirls and flowers. I, all by myself, created a paper-doll dress for Angel dear.
Now when I was a young girl, I really didn't get into playing with dolls much, but I did like dressing them, and my mom made beautiful clothing for my Mary Hoyer. But, I was more comfortable with paper dolls, I guess because I could mess them up and not be out the price of an expensive doll.
So this exercise brought back that memory, and I think I may be able to keep that going for other seasons and holidays.
I found out, after I got home, that some of my hearts, little pink ones, had two-sided sticky stuff on their backs. You know folks, to most of you this probably seems very elementary, but to me it is an entirely new adventure on which I would never have embarked without the encouragement of Pam.
So I stuck the pink hearts on the wire frame to cover up where Christmas balls had been, and presto, a Valentine angel was born.
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I used the same patterned red heart (the package had two) that I had cut the dress from, and stuck it on my door. That took a bit more work, since there was no two-sided sticky tape on that. I created my own double-sided tape, but it didn't stick well. I used some Scotch tape, finally, out of desperation and also made a hole in the top of the heart, inserted Valentine ribbon, and hung it over the door. That worked better, although because the heart is edged in black, the Scotch tape shows. Do they make a clear red tape?
Anyway, this should serve until St. Paddy's Day, for which I will return to Dollar Store to get green stuff.
Thanks Pam. Thought you all might want to see my solution.
Let me know how you like it, and please don't laugh too hard (at me).

Monday, January 13, 2014

LOFT LIFE - What do we celebrate?

On my walkabout today around the inside of our apartment building (15 rounds is three miles), I was noticing the Christmas decorations on the doors of floor two. That got me to thinking:

I, too, still have my Christmas angel, bells and wreath decorating our apartment door. And, I keep wishing I could move on to the next season, but really think the earliest I would do that would be Valentine’s Day. But, then Valentines would be a very short-lived decor, unlike Christmas which at least lasts about a month.

But, what is the decor for January? What do we celebrate after Christmas and before Valentine’s Day?

Really there is nothing. Well, there is nothing that Madison Avenue or Hallmark tell us to celebrate.

So have we come to this? We can’t figure out how to or what to celebrate unless there is an advertising campaign for it? I find that a little disturbing that I am so dependent on them for this, rather than looking into my own heart and life for motivation to celebrate.

I thought about just celebrating “life” and putting up decorations for that. But, that seems like it’s more of springtime and Easter. And, welcoming spring before it is time goes against my whole reason for loving living in a place that has all four seasons. I like the winter months. They give me time to contemplate, to visit friends, to turn in a bit and do some soul searching which doesn’t seem to happen in the good weather months (or in California ever when I lived there).

Some people have their favorite football team logos out. I guess that would be appropriate for January and early February. But, my heart wouldn’t be in it. Don’t get me wrong, I like football. But, I don’t get into it enough to use my door to cheer on my team (which has already lost).





There are no leaves on the trees. There is still some snow and more to come. It is raining and, though not so cold as last week, it’s winter. So I don’t know what to replace my angel, bells and wreath with. Maybe a wreath of twigs?


I will keep on considering this, but I am open to your ideas. I’m really not very creative about this area. And, decorating has never been my strong suit. But, I do seem to choose friends who are both creative and artistic. What is it we celebrate in January that could have a decor to go with it? Bring it on readers. I welcome the good winter ideas.