How Our Muscles Age

        I read many excellent posts on aging. Topics covered are health, elder care and the  loss of parents, siblings, children and friends. Volunteering to assist elderly people is another large issue that many people are involved in. People become acutely aware of their aging and begin to think of their own end. People look in the obituaries and start to see that many of the people who die are younger than they are. 


       But there's another  factor I would like to look at. That is the process that gradually happens to our muscles. As we age we become weaker and this brings about difficulties in mobility and participating in daily activities.


      Today I listened to a radio documentary on a 92 year old woman who trains and  competes in all track and field  events. She holds world records in her age category in all track and field events except one. If I considered doing long jump my body would be jarred so severely that I may not be able to move again. This 92 year old trains four or five days a week and travels all over North America to compete. She is compared to someone who would be twenty years younger than her.


      Scientists are interested in this woman to see if there is a gene that allows her to  be so strong at this age. They want to know why she is so very strong while others that age are very weak.


     At about age 75 we lose a large percentage of our strength. Muscles are composed of  particles which are like  "trees". These particles are beside each other head to head and mesh with each other. This is what the process of stretching involves. We stretch the little particles to bring about better use of the whole muscle.  As we age the "trees" move further apart. In our seventies the "trees" are actually beside each other and do not mesh. From this point on the "trees" move further apart and we steadily lose strength. Scientists know that his process happens but they don't know much else.


     So that is why scientists are interested in the ninety two year old who competes in track. They want to know if there is a certain type of gene she has that the rest of us don't have that allows her this extraordinary strength. 


     If they find something, it's already too late for me. Getting up from the floor now takes me great  effort!

The Trouble with Free Lunches

       Now I'll be up front. I don't like free lunches! Now before you leave and say, "Nut job!" I'll defend myself.


       Home Farm Girl is absolutely obsessed with free stuff. She thinks she's died and gone to heaven when she gets samples of anything in the grocery stores.


       So today a mall had an appreciation of seniors lunch. The lunch was free and the first 200 got a free gift. The mall is about 7km away so Home Farm Girl couldn't walk. The bus would take about the same time. So I was embarrassed into taking her to the mall. So guess what, I'll have to stay for lunch! Now we had to be there early so Home farm Girl would get the free gift. I was also lined up to get a free gift as well but we weren't too smart as they found out we were a couple so only one gift to a house hold. So what was the big free gift? A bag of candies! Just what all old folks would like! Oh and there was a ticket in the package for a free picture with Santa. So guess who had to get a picture with Santa?


      Now I don't like crowds! Give me the wide open spaces. There are probably 500 people who take in the lunch so there's a mammoth line up. There's a rinky dink table where they serve you Cole slaw , potato salad, sandwiches that are flat,cookies and drinks. All of this on plastic  plate! There are various musical groups which entertain you. There was some toe tapping old time music. Now to go through all this pain is not worth the free lunch. I would rather be out or just plain at home at the computer reading blogs. 


     So Home Farm Girl had  great time! After I was dragged to the mall I actually did enjoy myself! You can't be that miserable that you wouldn't enjoy a free lunch.


     

The Old One Room country School

      This was the fifth post I made when I started blogging. I was disappointed to find out that no one read it so I'm posting it again. When I read this about my life I find it hard to believe that this is my experience in school. It's long ago and far away.Red

     Where in the world would I come up with a name Hiawatha House for my blog ? Did I see something like this somewhere else? Did I have a streak of creativity . Well, actually none of the above .


     I went to a rural one room school for nine years from the mid forties to the mid fifties . Yes, you can think ahead and guess ... the name of the school ...Hiawatha School District #1720. I, like many others who attended such schools look back with fondness to such schools and therefore honor my old school a bit by naming my blog Hiawatha house .


     I looked forward to going to school as we were somewhat isolated on prairie farms and therefore it was a place to have many playmates and fellow students . We were active on the playground before school began at nine AM. Games were played . Activities from the previous day were continued such as building a snow house or fort .There were chores to be done like putting the horse away for the day, starting a fire in the big stove or getting the day's supply of water . All of these things were done with other kids . It was like a very large family as the enrolment was from nine to seventeen students while I attended .The day proceeded with classes , recesses and noon hours.


      Since there were one to nine or ten grades in a one room school, the teacher had to arrange to have all grades organized so that they were active in the learning process at all times . Much independent work was done by the students . Students helped one another . You couldn't help but hear other lessons or activities going on around you . If you were in grade one you could listen to a grade eight science lesson . By the time you got to grade eight you'd heard the lesson seven times ! Was it boring ? No, it was your turn to be involved in the lesson that you had waited so many years for . Teachers changed and the grade eight science lesson changed . Many activities involved the whole school ...Christmas concerts . All students performed and sometimes the little guys performed with the big guys as a school choir . Think how proud the little guys were to be in something with with the big guys . Our ball teams were made up from usually grade threes to nine. We were immensely proud of these teams when we played other rural schools .


     From grade four to nine I was the only one in the class . I proudly claim that I was top of the class for five years in a row . Besides this I liked working independently . I would do my work fairly quickly , and behave myself so I was not noticed . Why? Then I could read . I loved to read . I would quietly chose a library book from the small book case we had and read . Some of the books I read many times . The school had encyclopedias which I would spend hours thumbing through . I'm sure that most of the time the teacher appreciated me getting lost and not being a nuisance . I'm sure some of the teachers were bright enough to realize that what I was doing was certainly contributing to my progress . I would read and have one ear on what was going on in the classroom ...multi tasking!!


     So the country school was a very pleasant place to spend your time . I have always looked back with pleasure at the time I spent in a rural school . Was it a totally successful learning venue ? Not really . Apologies to those who look on country schools as great learning institutions . There were many positive things which occurred , but many things were absent . We learned the basics , but often not much more . I learned to be a good reader and independent , but didn't learn to be assertive or competitive . As a result when I went to a small high school and later university , I found it difficult to be very active and participate in learning activities . I had not learned to discuss , question or write with any degree of competence .


      However , I do look back with fondness to the time spent in a rural school . We were more than a school ...more a large family with community involvement .


     So here's to you Hiawatha school!


     Hiawatha School closed in June of 1955 with only six students attending in the final year .


     There are many interesting books written about the rural school . One author is John C. Charyk. He has written several interesting accounts of rural schools . Try "The White School House" or "Syrup Pails and Gopher Tails ."

Where Are They Now?

      I retired from teaching in 1997. I taught at the same school from 1969-1997. I didn't plan to stay in the same school that long. As it turned out it was an excellent school and the community was very supportive.


     Over that time I had about 4000 students. About 20% of them stayed in the same district and sent their kids to me. It was a treat to teach children of your former students. So I always wonder where my former students have gone and what has happened to them. I certainly wouldn't recognize very many of them on the street and the same would be true for them in recognizing me.


     In this morning's paper I happened to see an advertising feature for a business called Classic Dream Machines. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a familiar name so I looked and found another. So there were Alden and Anders working in this specialized auto shop. This shop would do as little as paint a stripe on your car or completely redo your car to make it some far out set of wheels. 


     Now I had Alden and Anders in Middle School and I didn't each them very much. I had them for language arts and they let me know very definitely that they had very little time for literature,grammar, spelling or writing. They did as little as they possibly could and still get by. Every day Alden would whine, "Why do we have to do this stuff?" They were both smart enough that they could get by with little effort.


     What these two boys spent all their time on was drawing cars. They could both produce beautiful complicated drawings of specially designed cars as far as painting and shape was concerned. They also had a decent understanding of the power train of the cars in their imagination. They were always drawing cars and sharing with each other. They talked to me about the cars all the time. So there were times that I maybe didn't appreciate their cars as much as they thought I should. If I'd been smart enough to find material on cars they would have read and written all kinds of things about cars. Sadly by the time I figured that out I was retired.


     So this morning when I saw the ad I thought how awesome that these two guys are able to make a living from their dreams as kids. They are both able to pursue their passion for cars to make a living. It doesn't get any better than that!

Ginger Carrot Soup Sequel

         A few days ago I posted on making ginger carrot soup for the first time. It was a challenge of monumental proportions for me.


         Since I have lots of carrots and I haven't learned the secret of storing them I decided to make another large pot of ginger carrot soup. I really liked the ginger carrot soup I made before and I thought that once I had done this recipe I would have an easier time making the soup. 


      Well, I certainly did have an easier time making the soup. I didn't grate the carrots this time I just sliced them.  I had enough ginger root this time.


      The part that was a mystery to me last time but worked well was my undoing this time. Since I had two measures in the margin for ingredients I got mixed up. I used twice the margarine so the roux did not get to a sandy texture. I used the flour mixture anyway and the soup thickened. I also used a power hand mixer to puree the carrots and that worked well. 


    By the time I finished my monstrous pot of soup, I was so happy that I forgot to add the half cup of cream. It was still good soup. 


    So I will include the recipe for you and you can try it.



RED’S “HOT “ (STOLEN) CARROT AND GINGER SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

5 lbs carrots, peeled and grated
2 medium onions, diced
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh ginger; peeled and sliced across to cut through strings then pureed in  a food processor
4 liters chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup of cream
¼ tsp dry basil
½ pound of butter
½ pound flour
Salt and pepper

METHOD:

      In a large soup pot combine the carrots, onions, celery, ginger and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat  and allow to simmer until the vegetables are tender . Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and possibly more ginger.

      In a separate pan melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux. Allow this to cook over a low heat so that it does not change color but cooks to the consistency of wet sand.

       Using a blender, puree the soup and slowly ad spoonfuls of the roux a bit at a time until it begins to thicken.

Jenn Jilks Interviewed on CBC Radio

         One of the blogs I follow is Cottage Country Reflections by Jenn Jilks. This lively, feisty blog deals with a fairly wide variety of topics. Jenn has a passion for health care, nursing care, volunteering, safety, environment and grandchildren. They are not necessarily ranked in this order and I've probably missed a few topics. .


        Jenn researches thoroughly and then pours her heart and soul into the post. Jenn sometimes makes more than one post a day.


       However. yesterday I had the pleasure of hearing her interviewed on CBC radio on  a program called "White Coat Black Art." This program is hosted by Dr. Brian Goldman and he covers all health topics in Canada. It's I program that I try not to miss.


      Yesterday was Jenn's turn to star on the program. Jenn was interviewed regarding the issue of volunteers in health care and their value and challenges. 


      So after following Jenn for a couple of years it was a pleasure to hear her voice and her comments on the value of volunteers in the health system.


     As with her blog , Jenn did a knock out interview. Congratulations Jenn.

Could the Approach of Winter Be Just a Little Kinder?

        Now I know that asking the weather to do something is totally useless. As useless as my dog howling at the moon! As useless as a rain dance! (Although I could get a strenuous argument on this one. )


       I would really like winter to approach a little meeker or a little kinder. 


        It seems that winter has to hit me with a big bang. Winter has to crash upon me and I don't have time to become accustomed to the harsh temperatures. Later in the winter minus 18 for a daytime high will not be noticed. All of a sudden in the last three days our daytime highs have been minus 18 C(minus 5 F), cloudy and a little wind. When you first go out in these conditions it hits you and makes your body hurt. I would prefer to have the days become gradually cooler and then I would automatically adjust to the temperature and be comfortable.


      So to fight the harsh conditions head on I went out yesterday. I walked to the mall (1.625 Km or 1 mile) I found conditions to be quite reasonable. I was comfortable and enjoyed the walk. On the way I saw a high flying flock of geese as well as a very large coyote right on the trail less than 50 m (160 ft) from me. I respect coyotes and won't tempt them . This one hastily went into the bush and disappeared. 


     My walk took me to the local mall where I was volunteering to man the Nature Center's book store. My time at the mall was great fun. Four hours later I had the pleasure of walking home in the same conditions. There was camera in my pocket with the message "batteries too low." I guess the camera batteries didn't like the cold either.


    Now when I really stop and think about winter coming with a bang  the worst part is sitting in the house and watching it!