Bear and Golly Family. Small art fridge magnet, by artist, Kathy Shell.

'Take lots of naps", small art fridge magnet featuring the art of kathy Shell

Get the Facts about this Common Sweetener 
By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

If you had asked me five years ago if I thought there was something unique about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that could lead to weight problems, I would have said “yes.” In fact, I was one of those Registered Dietitians who encouraged families to beware of the "evil" high fructose corn syrup.

Today I am here to confess that as a trained, nutrition professional, I blatantly ignored the No. 1 rule of providing reliable nutrition education for the public. I forgot to rely on published research and evidence for my nutrition recommendations! So today, I am going to set the record straight after reviewing not just one research study but all of them. Read on to find out whether high fructose corn syrup deserves its bad rap and how it really compares with regular sugar.

What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a calorie-providing sweetener used to sweeten foods and beverages, particularly processed and store-bought foods. It is made by an enzymatic process from glucose syrup that is derived from corn. A relatively new food ingredient, it was first produced in Japan in the late 1960s, then entered the American food supply system in the early 1970s. HFCS is a desirable food ingredient for food manufacturers because it is equally as sweet as table sugar, blends well with other foods, helps foods to maintain a longer shelf life, and is less expensive (due to government subsidies on corn) than other sweeteners. It can be found in a variety of food products including soft drinks, salad dressings, ketchup, jams, sauces, ice cream and even bread.

There are two types of high fructose corn syrup found in foods today:

• HFCS-55 (which is the main form used in soft drinks) contains 55% fructose and 45% glucose.
• HFCS-42 (which is the main form used in canned fruit in syrup, ice cream, desserts, and baked goods) contains 42% fructose and 58% glucose.

Sugar & High Fructose Corn Syrup
Table sugar (also called sucrose) and HFCS both consist of two simple sugars: fructose and glucose. The proportion of fructose and glucose in HFCS is basically the same ratio as table sugar, which is made of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. Both sweeteners contain the same number of calories (4 calories per gram).

But the fructose and glucose in table sugar are chemically bonded together, and the body must first digest sugar to break these bonds before the body can absorb the fructose and glucose into the bloodstream. In contrast, the fructose and glucose found in HFCS are merely blended together, which means it doesn't need to be digested before it is metabolized and absorbed into the bloodstream. Because of this, theories abound that HFCS has a greater impact on blood glucose levels than regular sugar (sucrose). However, research has shown that there are no significant differences between HFCS and sugar (sucrose) when it comes to the production of insulin, leptin (a hormone that regulates body weight and metabolism), ghrelin (the "hunger" hormone), or the changes in blood glucose levels. In addition, satiety studies done on HFCS and sugar (sucrose) have found no difference in appetite regulation, feelings of fullness, or short-term energy intake. How can that be?

Well, the body digests table sugar very rapidly. And both HFCS and table sugar (sucrose) enter the bloodstream as glucose and fructose—the metabolism of which is identical. There is no significant difference in the overall rate of absorption between table sugar and HFCS, which explains why these two sweeteners have the same effects on the body.

HFCS and Obesity
HFCS hit the food industry in the late 1970s, right when the waistlines of many Americans began to expand. During this time, many diet and activity factors where changing in society. It is a well-researched fact that the current obesity crisis is very much a multi-faceted problem. The American Medical Association (AMA) has extensively examined the available research on HFCS and obesity. This organization has publicly stated that, to date, there is nothing unique about HFCS that causes obesity. It does not appear to contribute more to obesity than any other type of caloric sweetener. However, the AMA does encourage more research on this topic.

But Is It Natural?
High fructose corn syrup has received a lot of blame and bad press lately. Recent marketing campaigns funded by the Corn Refiners Association have tried to improve the reputation of high fructose corn syrup, calling it "natural" among other things. However, it's important to note that the word “natural” doesn't mean much. This common food-labeling term is NOT regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Let’s face it: Neither table sugar nor HFCS would exist without some human interaction. Both require processing. You cannot just go to a field and squeeze corn syrup out of corn or sugar out of sugar beets or sugarcane. "Natural" or not, too much sweet stuff can't be good for you—even if it comes from what you might think of as natural sweeteners like honey, agave syrup or raw sugar.

Spark Action: What This Means for You
At least for the past five years, I have been providing accurate nutrition education by stating, “We are eating too much of the sweet stuff, no matter what the source.” When it's added to your morning coffee, hidden in your can of soda, or baked into your chocolate brownie, sweetened foods are everywhere. The typical American over the age of two consumes more than 300 calories daily from sugar and other caloric sweeteners. That's 19 teaspoons (75 grams) a day! One-sixth of our calorie intake is coming from a food ingredient that provides absolutely no nutritional benefit! This is definitely affecting our weight and overall health. It is time to take charge and cut back! The most recent recommendations suggest:

• Healthy adults who consume approximately 2,000 calories daily should limit the amount of all caloric sweeteners to no more than 32 grams (8 teaspoons) of sugar daily.
• For SparkPeople members who are consuming approximately 1,200-1,500 calories daily, this would equate to about 19-24 grams (5-6 teaspoons) of sugar each day.

Please note that doesn't only apply to sugar that you to your morning coffee or oatmeal; it applies to all "hidden" sugars, too, which are found in other processed foods and drinks that you may purchase.

To help curb the sugar monster so you can keep your weight and health in check, follow these tips.

• Always read the ingredients list. Foods you might not even realize are sweetened (like bread, dried fruit and crackers) might be hiding added sugars. Learn to identify terms that mean added sugars on the ingredients list, including sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, crystallized fructose, dextrin, honey, invert sugar, maple syrup, raw sugar, beet sugar, cane sugar, corn sweeteners, evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, malt, molasses, and turbinado sugar. Try to limit foods that have “sugar” as one of the first three ingredients.
• If you take your coffee with sugar, try adding a small piece of cinnamon stick or vanilla bean to your cup. It adds flavor without adding caloric sweeteners.
• When baking, reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. Most of the time you can reduce the sugar by up to one-third without noticing a difference in the taste or texture of the final product. Now that's sweet!
• Sweeten other food items with vanilla extract or other "sweet" spices instead of caloric sweeteners. Many times cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice can naturally sweeten a recipe.
• Substitute homemade fruit purees for sugar and syrups in recipes. Applesauce (look for varieties made without added sugar) can be substituted for some of the sugar in muffins, breads and baked desserts.
• Top your breakfast waffles or pancakes with fresh fruit compote instead of syrup.
• Limit the amount of regular soda and caloric-sweetened beverages. While artificially sweetened "diet" beverages aren't exactly health foods, they are one way to cut calories. The healthiest choice is always water. To add a splash of flavor to your water, add lemon or lime juice, other types of 100% fruit juice, or pieces of frozen fruit.
• Skip the calorie-sweetened yogurts that use sugar, honey, syrup, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, sugar and HFCS. Buy plain, natural yogurt and sweeten it yourself with fresh fruit, frozen fruit or fruit canned in its own juice.
• Select breakfast cereals with 5 grams of sugar or fewer per serving. Add sweetness with fresh, frozen, or fruit canned in its own juice. Try sliced bananas, canned peaches, frozen blueberries, or fresh strawberries.
• If you're a juice drinker, buy 100% fruit juices and limit it to 1 cup daily for adults and ½ cup daily for children. Beware of juice "drinks," fruit punches, and juice cocktails; these contain only a small amount of juice and the rest is water and added caloric sweeteners.

Selected Sources:
American Dietetic Association. Use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2004. 104:255-275.

American Medical Association. Report 3 of the Council on Science and Public Health. The health effects of high fructose syrup. July 23, 2009.

American Medical Association. AMA finds high fructose syrup unlikely to be more harmful to health than other calorie sweeteners. American Medical Association Press Release. June 19, 2008.

Forshee RA, Storey ML, Allison DB, Glinsmann WH, Hein GL, Lineback DR, Miller SA, Nicklas TA, Weaver GA, White JS. 2007. A critical examination of the evidence relating high fructose corn syrup and weight gain. Critical Review Food Science Nutrition. 47(6):561-82.

Melanson KJ, Angelopoulos TJ, Nguyen V, Zukley L, Lowndes J, Rippe JM. Dec. 2008. High-fructose corn syrup, energy intake, and appetite regulation. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 88(6):1738S-1744S.

Soenen S, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Dec. 2007. No differences in satiety or energy intake after high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, or milk preloads. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 86(6):1586-94.

 

"Be conscious of your appearance" small art fridge magnet, by artist, Kathy Shell.

Extreme obesity can shorten people's lives by 12 years

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

Extremely obese people — those who are 80 or more pounds over a normal weight — live three to 12 fewer years than their normal-weight peers, a new study shows.

Just being overweight or moderately obese, however, has little or no effect on life span, the research found. The finding adds to the growing body of evidence that being slightly overweight may have no influence on life expectancy, but being severely overweight trims years off people's lives.

Overall, about 66% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese. About one-third of people are in the obese category, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater.

Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure based on height and weight. About 6% of people are extremely obese — that is, they have a BMI of 40 or greater.

Economists with RTI International, a non-profit research organization in Research Triangle Park, N.C., analyzed national data on 366,000 people. Among the findings being published online in the journal Obesity:

•Overall, excess weight was responsible for the loss of roughly 95 million years of life in the USA in 2008.

•Non-smokers who are obese — those who are about 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — have a shorter life span by a year or less.

•Non-smokers who are overweight — about 29 pounds over a healthy weight — do not have shortened lives.

•Smoking takes a toll, too, and very heavy smokers are affected most. An 18-year-old white male who is normal weight and does not smoke can expect to live to age 81. If he's extremely obese and a smoker, his life expectancy is 60, a difference of 21 years.

The effect of extreme obesity appears to be greater for men than women and for whites than blacks, says Derek Brown, a health economist with RTI International and co-author of the study.

Lead author Eric Finkelstein says being moderately overweight may not affect people's life span because there are so many effective treatments to manage the health problems that often come with extra pounds, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.

For instance, of the top 25 most prescribed medications, 10 target high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, he says.

Finkelstein and obesity experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conducted additional research that shows the high medical costs of extra pounds. They recently published a study that showed obese Americans cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double the amount a decade ago.

Obesity now accounts for 9.1% of all medical spending, up from 6.5% in 1998, they found. Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight.
 

"Best Friends", small gift card featuring the art work of Kathy Shell

  Health News FDA Investigating Weight-Loss Drug Over Reports of Liver Damage 32 cases reported since orlistat came on market in 1999 By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- As U.S. health officials announced Monday that they are investigating the weight-loss drug orlistat for possible incidents of liver damage, experts noted the drug might not even work well enough to warrant such potential risks.

Orlistat is available in the United States, both as a prescription product (Xenical) and as an over-the-counter medication (Alli).

Depending on the findings from the investigation, this could dramatically change the risk-benefit ratio of taking the drug, experts noted.

The weight loss gleaned from the drug is quite modest, about 5 kilograms, said Dr. Timothy Pfanner, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and a gastroenterologist with Scott & White, in Temple, Texas.

"It's not a really effective drug. The benefit is not so great to begin with," he said, and additional risks might simply make the drug that much less attractive.

The other problem is that many obese people already have underlying liver problems, added Dr. Eugene Schiff, director of the Center for Liver Diseases at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"If they [the Food and Drug Administration] feel there is a subgroup, albeit a small one but a real one, that gets a serious liver injury, [that] often will be compounded by the fact they have underlying liver disease," he said. "It's very important that this be resolved quickly."

The issue is complicated by the fact that some patients are taking the drug in its over-the-counter form, meaning they are likely not being tracked and monitored by doctors for side effects.

At this point, there is no reason for consumers to stop taking the drug if they're already on it -- as long as they're using it as recommended -- and no reason for physicians to stop prescribing it, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials stressed Monday.

But the agency does recommend that patients tell their doctor if they are having symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, fever, jaundice or brown urine. Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, itching and loss of appetite might also signal trouble.

Monday's move follows reports of 32 cases of serious liver injury, including six cases of liver failure, between 1999 and October of 2008.

More commonly, patients reported having jaundice, weakness and abdominal pain. For 27 patients, the symptoms were severe enough to require hospitalization.

Two of the cases occurred in the United States, the rest originated overseas.

In 10 years of being on the market, this isn't a great number, Pfanner noted.

The Drug Safety Oversight Board, part of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, first looked into the issue in April. The agency stressed that there is no established association or evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship at this time.

The FDA first approved orlistat as a prescription medicine in 1999. In 2007, it became the first nonprescription drug approved to treat obesity in American adults.

The prescription version of the drug comes in 120-milligram capsules while the over-the-counter version is available in 60-milligram pills. Both versions are designed only to be used in conjunction with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet by overweight adults aged 18 and older.

In 2006, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen petitioned the FDA to remove Xenical from the U.S. market, not because of liver-related issues but because it might increase the risk of aberrant crypt foci, believed to be precursors to colon cancer.

The FDA's approval of the first over-the-counter drug for weight loss came as the United States and other western nations are struggling with an unprecedented obesity epidemic.

According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 30 percent of American adults aged 20 and older -- more than 60 million people -- are obese. Another 36 percent are considered overweight.

Orlistat is also approved in some 100 countries, with an over-the-counter form available in the European Union.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more on orlistat.

Beautiful women on a beautiful day. Carla radiating high self esteem, on her wedding day with her wonderful bridesmaids, the moment captured in oil pastels by artist Kathy Shell. 

This morning my wake up message from Spark People was this article called
An Exercise in Self-Esteem Exercise Your Way to Feeling Better About Yourself -- By Dean Anderson, Fitness & Behavior Expert
Quote 
If you’re like most people who want to lose weight, you probably think that shedding a few pounds will help you feel better about yourself. And chances are, you see exercise simply as something you need to do to accomplish that goal. But here’s something you may not know: this "necessary evil" approach to exercise may actually be preventing you from feeling better about yourself right now—even before the number on the scale or reflection in the mirror matches up with your ideal.

A simple attitude adjustment may help you start feeling a lot more comfortable in your skin right now—and this, in turn, can make your weight loss journey a lot easier and more pleasant. Here’s what you need to know to decide if you need to adjust your exercise attitude, and if so, how to do exactly that.

Making Friends with Your Body: The Roots of High Self-Esteem
There’s no doubt that feeling comfortable in your own skin is an important part of that “feeling-good-about-yourself” goal (also known as high self-esteem) you're trying to achieve. But the more you learn about the roots of self-esteem, the clearer it becomes that what helps the most has very little to do with achieving some abstract ideal, like a certain weight or look. In fact, there are many, many cases where people work very hard on goals like this—and even achieve them—only to find that they're still unsatisfied and unhappy. What does seem to have major, positive effects on self-esteem is the process of moving yourself—the right way—from where you are towards where you would like to be.

The journey is more important than the destination.

To be a little more precise, the best way to increase your self-esteem is to actively and effectively engage in something that is both good for you and consistent with your expressed goals. Both of these are key elements. If your goal isn't good for you, because it's unrealistic or strongly based on what you think other people want or expect from you (like trying to look like a model when your body can’t naturally achieve or maintain that), then you are going to face problems feeling good about yourself. Nothing you do will ever be good enough.

You’ll have the same problem if your actions aren’t consistent with your goals, like going on an unhealthy crash diet to achieve a healthy weight. To feel good about yourself, you have to treat yourself as if you are already someone worthy of respect and good treatment. If that means “faking it until you make it,” then that is where you need to start.

Exercising the “Right” Way, for the “Right” Reasons
If you are carrying a lot of unhelpful baggage in the form of poor body acceptance, negative body image, or even body-rejection due to excess weight, then exercising the right way and for the right reasons may well be your shortest, fastest, and easiest path away from these problems.

But you’ll need a particular kind of attitude and approach, one that will help you begin appreciating your body for what it can do right now, and allowing it to be your guide and teacher on your journey towards change—not an object of your contempt and ridicule. Here are the basic elements of such an attitude:

• Exercise for the “right” reasons. There aren’t many bad reasons to exercise of course, so in a pinch you should take advantage of whatever gets you going. But certain attitudes and approaches will help you get a better self-esteem boost. It helps a lot, for example, to tell yourself that you are working out because it is good for your body and you want to take good care of your body. When you do that, you affirm that you and your body are friends—not enemies—and you open yourself up for healthy communication with your body, allowing it to tell you what you need. This will work much better than setting out to burn calories so you can get rid of all that ugly fat you can’t stand.
  
  
• Don’t just mark time. Make exercise a challenge and notice how you respond. The simple act of setting personal performance goals and watching yourself achieve them can work wonders. Keep a journal where you record what you do during your exercise sessions, noting the improvements in your capacities over time. Hold little competitions against yourself, trying to improve on your personal bests (not world records) a few times a month, and reward yourself when you succeed. Pay special attention to how exercise affects your mood, and let your body teach you how to use the type and intensity of the exercise you do to influence your state of mind.
  
  
• Turn some exercise time into playtime. You are, among other things, an animal with a body that needs to play. Notice how happy and excited your dog or child is when he gets to go out and play—especially when you physically play together. There is a part of you that still feels the same way. This need doesn’t go away just because you get older, become more serious, or are a little out of shape. The more exercise you can do in the form of sports, games, and other activities that are fun and rewarding themselves, the better. So be creative—turn some of those daily walks into roller skating, ice skating, golfing or Frisbee, racing with your dog, or even belly dancing!

Research shows that individuals who exercise feel better about themselves and their bodies. Once you start a workout program (or begin exercising for the "right" reasons), you'll soon experience the positive changes in self-esteem and body image that regular exercisers of all shapes and sizes enjoy. It's never too late to start feeling better about yourself!'
Unquote.

There isn't much I could add to that, it's an excellent article and I reprinted it here in my blog, so I personally could re read it and use it for my motivation and because I would like as many people to read this type of positive,' you are beautiful NOW and your making positive choices because you love yourself', message as high self esteem gets to the heart of what it takes to become and be, naturally slim.

You can get your own motivational messages from SparkPeople 

Sunday 25th October 2009,

PRINCES PARK, Carlton at 10am

Route: 3km or 6km, or 6km Run

 Run to start separately

 

An ideal warm down for anyone participating on the Melbourne Marathon. 

 You can also organise your own Great Strides in your local Area - contact Cystic Fibrosis, Victoria,  for details


Sausage sizzles, music, entertainment and post-event massages are all part of the festivities!

 
Great Strides is a lot of fun. It is not strenuous and the emphasis is on going at your own pace – it’s not a race, well except the run!  Great Strides is for all ages from young children through to energetic octogenarians

 

The Course: is completely flat allowing many people to choose to do 3km or go around twice for 6km. 

Afterwards: join in the sausage sizzle, chill out to the music, and even enjoy a massage and picnic in the park.

It’s hard to get my head around realizing that we will be home in less than a month’s time and I need to make a decision.

Will I rejoin the local gym?

Or would I be better off to invest in some gym equipment for my little summer home?

The park land around my home has large hard burrs and it makes a mess of jogging shoes, isn’t really suitable for walking and jogging and I somehow never quite manage to get around to driving a couple of kilometers to a piece of lawn that’s burr free, to do my walk jogs.

I used to own a home gym and I loved it, used it.  I set the gym up with a TV view and I would spend half an hour on a top quality treadmill doing interval training, then about 10 minutes on a mat doing abdominal exercises and follow up with 10 minutes working on the elipticals, by then I would have built up such a sweat, I would pop of to the bathroom feeling rather pleased with my effort, for a relaxing bath.  It was a routine I loved and it worked well at the time, for helping me slim down.

The advantages to my own home gym are obvious; I can do this at home, any time. Disadvantages are the initial big outlay because I will want good equipment. I think poor equipment risks injury and is less likely to be used. Most gym equipment takes up a lot of space, which I don’t really have to spare.

The disadvantage of attending a commercial gym is that if Reg is unwell and I am in full time carer duties, I find it unsafe to leave him and go to gym.  When I am away from home and able to look at that situation ‘from a distance’, there is a part of me, (the part that is carer for the carer,) that rationalizes that that time, when carer duties are full on, is the time when I NEED to go out to gym and this time to do it differently than I ever have before. 

The self nurturer in me is telling me I NEED to develop personal relationships with other people of similar fitness interest.  I have always refused to join in after gym coffee sessions, avoided all social contact saying ‘I need to get straight home and I go to gym for the exercise and not the social life’.   I suspect I am missing ‘the point’, I suspect that if carer duties make it harder and harder for me to go to gym, I need to realize the importance of exercising my mental health, LOL, by being in social contact with others.   I think this may be the main benefit long term if I were to become involved with a gym again, during my six months being based in Victoria.

So these are the thoughts I am having, concerning the steps I need to take to maintain my fitness once I return home and don’t have the possibilities of swimming in hot springs and walking along wonderful Pilbara, mountain ridge tops.

Another consideration is that during the health assessment I had while at Tom Price, by the Prime Health group, I was advised that swimming was the most suitable form of exercise for my body type and I personally know that swimming has been responsible for my biggest health gains in the last couple of years. Swimming is what has given me the stamina to do my other exercises and right now, it’s no doubt the many hours of swimming each week, whenever I have had the opportunity to do it, that has given me the lung health that is allowing me to have the flu at this moment and have this be nothing much more than an inconvenience.    I have no place aside from gym, to swim, near my summer home in Northern Victoria.

There is one other possible situations I could try, there is a six week full gym membership program on offer from October until mid November, it’s costly but it’s 100% supervised,  including an introduction to all the gym equipment, the classes and a 6 weeks once a week consultation with a trained dietitian.  I am considering investing in myself and doing this course and then at least I will feel more confident to enter the various rooms in the gym to use all the equipment.

So these are the thoughts wondering through my mind today. I don’t need to make any decision now. I do need to make a commitment to myself today. I do need to promise myself that within three days of arriving home, I do make some decision regarding my fitness plan, even if t is only to purchase an 8 casual visits, pass to the swimming pool and to begin to use it while I am weighing up all the above options in the reality of home surroundings

What do you find easiest to fit in with your lifestyle and what brings you the best fitness benefit?

Comments welcome.   

 

I work hard to find a balance in my time intensive sedentary work as an author artist to keep fit and find time for rest.
Below is one of my novellas that you can order on line.

Set Free ` Gray Nomad

This Novella is a mature coming of age story

of Love, Resilience, Optimism and Australia.

By Award Winning Artist, Author,

K. J. Shell .

EBook $2.95  Paperback booklet $12.95


Also, available from author at art print, book sales and signings.

To order click Lulu link, below

 I tried to run away from it.

I have had my flu shots near Easter time each year, then head north. I have done this for the past ten years, I love this, lifestyle. 

A couple of weeks after my arrival at Alice Springs, in central Australia, posters started to go up in store windows, on store counter tops and in public places, saying, ‘if you have just arrived in the Northern Territory from Victoria in the last ten days and felt unwell, to not attend a public clinic, Doctor or hospital, but to quarantine yourself and phone (a number given on the poster) for more information’.  Almost as soon as I heard that the swine flu had arrived in Alice Springs I ‘took off’, heading further north to a warmer and non flu contaminated climate.

Arriving in Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia, I swam at my favorite place at the beginning of the public access area of the Katherine Hot Springs, every day for several weeks.  The locals all told me that this particular spot in the pool was their favorite place to swim and many claimed that ‘there was a risk involved swimming downstream as you would pick up all the cold and flu germs from (and I had to laugh, being from the south), the Victorians, who brought their flu to the ‘territory’. J  LOL, I skedaddled out of the town in early July, as soon as I heard that Swine Flu had arrived and was establishing a hold in Katherine.

I arrived in Kununurra feeling quite safe as the only swine Flu I had heard of in the district had been in a remote aboriginal community.  Reg and I had a lovely time in Kununurra but it was there we heard the full extent of the swine of a flu it had been for our fellow retailers coming in from attempting to earn a living at other shows further south or in the eastern states of Australia.  Many retailers who joined us to trade at the Kununurra show had experienced shocking retail trading, with many shows being poorly attended due to adverse press publicity about the heightened risk of locals catching the Swine Flu if they went to the town’s annual show.  Needless to say, after those warnings, many locals did not attend and the takings for the show traders were badly hit.  Traders arrived from Alice Springs shared similar dismal news that several aboriginal communities had been quarantined too, due to the Swine flu and as a result  attendance and retail trade at the Alice Springs Show, had been down, making for a disappointing experiences for those who do these shows for a living. 

Given the flu was a higher risk for indigenous Australians in these close knit communities, the quarantining from large gatherings during this flu season involving this still largely unknown flu, was to my mind a wise move to protect health and that was more important than retail profits, but then, once again, for me, retailing is purely a very part time, hobby, break even on my travel costs at best, business, and I’m not speaking as someone needing retail success for my bread and butter.

My policy of leaving town as soon as the Swine Flu arrived was getting a bit hard to continue as the Swine Flu was well entrenched into the Pilbara of Western Australia, by the time I arrived and I walked right into it.  By all accounts it was a bit of a tame piglet for most; a couple of weeks, a few daytime naps and maybe a pain killer or headache pill and most people were OK.  I was starting to not worry at all about the risk of Reg or I catching this new strain of flu.   One of my daughters and a granddaughter already thought they had had this flu and both said it had been mild, and I began to take the attitude that if Reg and I kept up our walking and fitness regime and eat healthy as we do, most of the time, we would be absolutely fine should we get this new variety of the flu.

 When I arrived in Port Headland, on the coast line of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, I experienced another swine of an event surrounding the flu and that was the absolute Chauvinistic editing of the local newspaper.    The women I overheard in and around the town where the newspaper headlines were on show were furious that ‘women and children in Port Headland, either did not exist or they were considered immune to the Swine Flu’.  ‘SWINE FLU, HITS THE MEN OF PORT HEADLAND’, yelled the newspaper headlines from numerous vantage points around the town.   I skedaddled out of town again. 

We traveled onward to Karratha, to exhibit at another beautiful festival.  A stall holder who came to chat to me, told me ‘he had the flu’, and I quite bluntly told him to ‘go away, I didn’t want it’.   After that, I gave up trying to avoid it; I even went out of my way to help a friend, a fellow stall holder who was ‘under the weather’ struggling to keep going with the flu

The flu was a Swine again at Tom Price; the show was a retail flop for many, due to the effects of flu and its accompanying symptoms of gastro, in the town. I was starting to show symptoms of the flu myself, time to start the piglet jokes. 

I loaded the car with fresh supplies and water and headed up to a beautiful ridge top in the Pilbara, alongside the Karijini National Park, thinking, ‘where else but on a mountain top breathing in the clean air and absorbing the winter sunshine and taking scenic walks at my leisure could one experience a better place to come down with the flu’?   It was a beautiful week. How often could anyone think of, week one, of a bout of the flu, as a beautiful week?  This flu is still piglet sized and manageable. 

This past week, my metabolism is getting plenty of revving up, as I’ve run a temperature most days; I’ve been sprinting to the loo whenever I sneeze and that’s been often.

Photos are of me collecting fire wood, then cooking a very light meal of vegetables and egg on dry camp fire toasted, multi grain bread.  We enjoyed the warm winter evening out of doors together. We watched the sun set each evening, and saw shooting stars and could not have wished for anything more than we had. It was perfect, even with the flu.
 

I work hard to find a balance in my time intensive sedentary work as an author artist to keep fit and find time for rest. Below is one of my novellas that you can order on line.

Set Free ` Gray Nomad

This Novella is a mature coming of age story of Love, Resilience, Optimism and Australia.

By Award Winning Artist, Author,

K. J. Shell .

EBook $2.95  Paperback booklet $12.95


Also, available from author at art print, book sales and signings.

To order click Lulu link, below

Horse Drawn Caravan Journey.

If you think the typical gray nomad Australian touring the country in the comfort of a caravan towed by a four wheel drive, is adventure then consider the life-changing experience of, John and Thea Verhoechx, a Dutch couple who set out across Europe in a horse drawn caravan.

I felt the questions John and Thea, set up to answer as they planned for their living the dream lifestyle were excellent. I also felt that even in the more common mode of travel, the car towed caravan, these were questions were well worth looking at and answering before beginning the journey of a lifetime together with a partner.

I have included a little about the experience they had in preparing to travel, with a caravan towed by two heavy horses also the route as it is so different to anything I have ventured on and I added some images from my art work of heavy horses as illustration and a newspaper clipping where I learned about this wonderful touring adventure by John and Thea Verhoechx.

Life Questions
 
What do you really WANT in your life?
What do you NEED?
What DON’T you want?
Where would you EXPLORE?
What is your GOAL?
What are your PASSIONS?
WHY NOT NOW? What holds you back?
Will that reason go away, or will it also exist LATER?
If you don’t do this, will you REGRET IT forever?


Dream Questions

Do you share a dream with your partner?
Is there a way to combine your dreams?
How much money do you really need?
Are you both committed to living on a budget?
Can you handle change, or does uncertainty upset you?
Can you live without following your dream(s)?

Dream On … and On … and On

Goal Questions

Where do we want to visit?
What excites us about those places?
How can we find out more about these countries?
Should we spend our holidays for that?
Do we know anyone who invents or travels in other countries?
How long should we stay?
Do we want to visit, or move there permanently?

 

The Preparations Begin
To prepare for this trip, they needed to let go of the security of their present lives, sell their house, quit jobs, and either sell or donate all of their possessions.  That’s a scary step I too can well relate to, having done this

Family Matters
While they were excited about their adventure, they were also worried about leaving family and friends behind.  Most gray nomads have mixed feelings about leaving family behind, for Reg and myself, the internet and mobile phone keeps us in touch and we spend six months of every year in Victoria, the state where both our children and our four grand children live and we see them as often as possible during this home state visit.

Emotional Questions

Can the kids look after themselves?
Can we live without our family nearby?
How do we keep in contact during the trip?

The next questions might be hard to answer right now:
Can we live together in a small caravan?
How that will affect our relationship?
What can we do when things get tense?

Trial and error is the best teacher…


Horses. In October 2005, they found Aysha and Isabella. At age ten, Aysha is well-trained. Her five-year-old daughter, Isabella, is only half trained, and needs more training and experience.  The horses they chose were Haflingers, a strong and robust breed. They were strong enough to pull a caravan through most terrain, though very steep mountains are too much for them

They learned about horse care and the local “horse whisperer” agreed to help them, he was wonderful! He told them that Aysha, the “friendly one”, ‘seems friendly but is actually treating us disrespectfully’.

With practice, they learned the basic principles of interaction between man and horse. They learned to be soft yet firm and unequivocal with our commands. Over time, they began to understand how important distance and closeness is to a horse.

To gain a better understanding of their horses, they donned riding breeches and took riding lessons. This taught them that Isabella wasn’t really a bad horse.

Caravan Questions

What equipment do we want in the carriage?
How much weight can we take with us?
Is there enough storage space?
What safety precautions should we take?
Do we need insurance for the carriage?

Wagons away, 
Ho!
The Route.
There was a limit to how much weight the horses can pull so steep hills were to be avoided, so they decided to follow the larger rivers, staying on flat land whenever possible. The Rhine-Main-Danube canal extends between the North Sea and the Black Sea so they began their journey with the Rhine, following it until they reached the Mainz-Wiesbaden water junction (where the river Main enters the Rhine), then at Bamberg, Germany, the Main continues upstream as the Rhine-Main-Danube canal. That brought them through Vienna, Austria, passing the Hungarian border, meandering through Bulgaria and Romania to the Black Sea.

Safety Questions

Will your insurance company provide coverage for horses and travel?
Are there lights and signs on the carriage?
Are there any other safety regulations you need to know?
Don’t forget the first aid kit and fire extinguisher!


The grass really is greener on the other side of the fence! Twice, the horses escaped in search of greener pastures. Isabella especially proved to be a champion escape artist, keeping them on alert just in case.

Route Questions

Are there circumstances which determine the route, like family visits, work, or friends?
Do you plan ahead or travel by sheer chance?
Are you travelling from point A to B, or just roaming around?
Are there mountains, rivers, and traffic to consider?
Rural areas or cities?
Are there steep hills to overcome? Can the horses do that or do you need motorized assistance?
 

Relationship Questions

Are you both devoted to this lifestyle and journey?
Do you trust each other, even in unsafe situations?
Will you both work equally hard?
Can you put aside your disagreements when necessary?
 

Reg and I are following our dream spending our time on

I work hard to find a balance in my time intensive sedentary work as an author artist to keep fit and find time for rest.
Below is one of my novellas that you can order on line.

Set Free ` Gray Nomad

This Novella is a mature coming of age story

of Love, Resilience, Optimism and Australia.

By Award Winning Artist, Author,

K. J. Shell .

EBook $2.95  Paperback booklet $12.95


Also, available from author at art print, book sales and signings.

To order click Lulu link, below