My Experiments

 

Gynura Tea Experiment

If you have some of my previous blogs, I am turning my backyard into a Gynura procumbens or Longevity Spinach farm.  After years of killing plants (there is a wives' tale that women with big hands kill plants,) I have something that I can grow; along with papaya trees.  I have sent cuttings of this plant and small starters all over the country to friends and family to see how it grows in apartments, balconies, rocky soil, cold weather, etc.     

I am also finding various ways to eat it.    My goal is to test if this plant can truly lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and curb your appetite.  I find that supplying Keith with 6 leaves a day (he likes to eat 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening) plus my morning 3 leaves means 9 leaves a day.  This is not an issue; I have hundreds of these plants in my yard; but what about someone who cannot grow it outside year-round like we can?  How can we supply it all year?

 The instructions say to eat 3 leaves, then drink a cup of warm water and wait 30 minutes before eating/drink (especially no caffeine for 30 minutes.)   I thought I would dry the leaves, then make a tea; adding cinnamon for flavor.  But you really don’t get the whole plant unless you tear open the bags and eat the leaves.  Well, mixing it with cinnamon means a rather messy job of eating; plus making the tea bags is time intensive and wastes a bag.

Instead, I’ve been trying this; I put 3 dried leaves in a cup of hot water and wait for it to cool enough to drink and then I chew and swallow the leaves.  I tried to get Keith to just eat the dried leaves and he spit them out with a big yuck!  But putting in the warm water seems to be working okay.

 Now, I'm starting to send out gynura tea.  The experiment is for my friends and family to compare the tea bags to the loose tea leaves and see what is more acceptable.  Can they eat the tea leaves afterwards? If you are interested in a 30-day supply to start the New Year out with right, just email me which is better for you (bags or loose) and I’ll try to supply you.  Of course, this is just a hobby of mine, so no charge!

  My next experiment is to grow this hydroponically in a jar.  If this works, I might ask if you want some hydroponic-ready plants and their feed.  Then you’ll only have to keep in a jar or vase inside and naming them is optional.

Accepting Change

 

Accepting Change

This month has been particularly difficult.  There has  been a lot of stress at work.   My eyes are sore from reading documents drafted by someone who must be paid by the word.  As a CPA, the  certification is 25% legal, but it is taking up 100% of my mind in these negotiations as I try to make sure our employees and original investors are taken care of during a merger of our software company into the company that purchased our majority interest over three years ago.  Ah...the days of a handshake are sorely missed.  The other change is in my yard.  I have accepted that I'm probably never going to grow bananas (seen to my left in this picture) and I'm not sure I like papaya enough for it to take up so much room in my tiny yard.  What I can grow is the longevity spinach (gynura procumbens) that I mentioned in a previous blog.  https://sandijerome.blogspot.com/2021/08/eating-new-things.html

That plant that is not from the spinach family but rather the sunflower family is doing very well and we're truly seeing the results of my experiments on Keith.  My darling husband of almost 50 years is my "lab rat" to see if this really reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, and curbs appetite.  Each morning, he chews three leaves and drinks a cup of cup of water and repeats at night.  It is really helping; in 30 days his blood pressure dropped from 163 down to less than 130.  He is no longer starved during the day as he is still on his path to be under 160 pounds (he's down to 165!)  I do the recommended morning leaf eating routine, but I'm already at my target weight so this is to help reduce inflammation due to inherited autoimmune diseases;  psoriasis and arthritis.    Can't do anything about the genes we are born with; Keith's whole family suffers from high blood pressure and high cholesterol but years and years of medication never seemed to control either. This is the first thing that has worked and helps him lose weight.

I didn't discover this wonder plant, but it doesn't seem to get much attention.  I'm trying to get it out there so  I've sent to family and friends in Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, south Florida, and California.  The only place where I find it grown commercially and marketed is in Cyprus but I'm experimenting on where is might grow as good as it grows here in central Florida.  

http://www.gynuraonline.com/en/

Since it is a bother to go outside and get the leaves twice a day, I'm working on developing a tea and adding a little Ceylon cinnamon to increase anti-inflammatory properties.  That combines the warm water process with the chewing of the leaves. 

If you want to learn more about this plant, please visit the site that have a few more links to other sites.

https://leaftonic.com/pages/gynura-benefits

The nice thing about change is that you find little surprises.  I found that the little cups that Disney provides with a Kid's meal are perfect for growing these.  If you want to watch a video about that, here is the link on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gdJrqJQiqs

Visit my website for info on my books - https://www.sandijerome.com/

 

 

Finding my Inner Child

I do enjoy going down a nice water slide if it isn't too fast.  I guess it is the inner child in me.  Here is a picture of me at Disney's River Country which is now gone, but we went there in 1983.

This month, we stayed at Disney's Vero Beach Vacation Club to see if we’d like to become DVC members.  I bought a few DVC points through the resale market to test it out and those are for Sarasota Springs; next to Disney Springs.  But it’s been a goal of mine to stay at each of the Disney Resorts and I was wanting a “beach stay.”  We had already been to Disney’s Hilton Head Beach Resort, so Vero Beach was next on my list.

It was a lot of fun and the weather was fantastic.  At Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, they have a 2-3 story water slide that was exciting.  After I climbed the many stairs to the top, a little girl about 8 years old was in line in front of me.  She stopped, turned around and told me I could go ahead of her.  I think she was having an issue with the boy in front of her.  I thanked her and feeling a little frightened, I didn't really want to go earlier than anyone, but I thought it was such a kind act.  I said, "thank you so much, this is my first time."  Well...that started a whole lesson of how to go faster and tips on knowing when it is your turn (watch for the green light.)  It was so funny because she talked to me like I was a little baby!  I loved it.  The ride down the slide was fantastic, just fast enough to give me a thrill but not so fast that I was thrust underwater (I don’t like to put my face in the water.)  I am now starting to examine the water slide at Sarasota Springs and can’t wait for that visit. 

During this Vero Beach trip, I also enjoyed sitting in the hot tub the most since the weather had turned cooler for a few days.  But the thing that I was really looking forward to was the walk on the beach.  The beach was such a big part of my childhood.  On hot days, when my dad would get home from a grueling day, we’d all pile into the car and off to the beach to cool off.  My mom would pack our dinner and after we arrived, my dad would take a nap while she cooked it.  My brother and I would head for the ocean and ride wave after wave until it almost got dark.  Then we’d go to the restrooms to shower and get in our PJs.  We were always starved for dinner and there was often a treat of toasting marshmallows afterwards.  We’d then fall asleep on the big blanket while my parents surf fished.

So going to Vero Beach was an attempt on my part to capture some of that beach experience; but unfortunately, the S’mores around the campfire didn’t start until 8pm – which is past my bedtime.  There are also little “no-see-um” bugs that come out at night, so we stayed safe in our room after sunset.  Earlier in the day, we found out that after Keith's stroke four years ago, he can't walk in the sand.  Most of his brain balance replacement is through his feet feeling the ground and the shifting sand makes his brain get confused and he can't balance very well.  I’m afraid of rip tides and the red flag was out – so I only went into the water up to my knees.  Add that fear to my fear of jellyfish and sharks meant that my beach days are over.  It is sad to give up something so wonderful from your childhood, but I realized how much I do like going down waterslides and being in the hot tub on a cool day.  Our development has a hot tub that is usually empty, so with the fall days cooling off, I think that will be my new joy and every so often, we’ll stay at one of the Disney Resorts to take a waterside ride and make my inner child happy.  

Visit my website for info on my books - https://www.sandijerome.com/

Everybody Needs Deadlines

 

Keith and I work differently.  

Whenever I have a task, I see if I can finish it now; or at least before the end of the day.

Keith (left) always asks, "What is the deadline for this?"  He works off of that date and often waits to the last minute to start a project.  The reason for this is that he thinks about it for a LONG time. 

Sometimes we'd be walking and I'd ask him a question and he wouldn't respond.  I'd ask him, "Are you programming?" and he'd smile.  Yes, that is the reason why he waits to start a project; he starts programming it in his head for days.  I instead, start outlining the project and create a planning document of the steps I need to do. I work with deadlines also, but rarely wait until close to the deadline to start the task.  Yes, I was that person in school that asked, "Can we start on this now?"  I like to get things done early and there is a problem with that.  If you don't spend the time to "program" it out in your head, you might miss some valuable ideas.

We recently went to the Magic Kingdom to see the progress of the new Tron ride.  We found  this sign with Walt Disney's quote, "Everyone needs deadlines."  I thought it was so fitting for Keith and took this picture.  Disney is a big part of our lives today.  We both grew up going to Disneyland since it opened right after we were born and our grandparents lived up in Orange/LA area - so that made trips there special.  After we got married, we'd go there at least once a year and then when we moved here to Florida over a decade ago, we became Florida Resident Annual Passholders.  This means we pay one annual fee and can go as many times as we want.  We currently go twice a week but when we fully retire in two more years, we'll up that to three times a week.  

Guess what?  We don't like to ride most of the rides.  Instead it is a great place to walk.  Keith had a stroke over three years ago and lost his balance.  Instead of the more common, ischemic stroke, Keith had the very dangerous, hemorrhagic stroke that only has a 26% survival rate.  It happened at a training seminar that we were presenting for our software and across the street was the hospital.  The wife of our General Manager insisted on taking him over there (he wanted to go home) and we think that saved his life.  If he had gone home, he would have gone to sleep and probably died. It was deep in his brain; in the cerebellum area that controls balance.  It took many months of physical therapy to get him walking again and now years of continued walking therapy to increase his balance to prevent falls.  

My favorite place is Disney's Animal Kingdom that has uneven walkways through winding paths and lots of things to look up and see.  This is great for Keith's balance therapy.  Going to the other parks when they are crowded provides a whole other challenge; dodging little kids, strollers, and ECVs.  Now about 4 years later, he is about 99% recovered and has lost almost a 100 pounds.  He can go up ladders again, although I'm always next to him for safety.  Next month, we're walk/running a 5K at Disney which will be a challenge since it starts in the early morning dark.  But we've been training for it all year and we're excited for the challenge.  We knew the deadline of the run, and worked backwards on what we needed to do.  So, yes - everyone needs deadlines; it helps get you to the finish line.

Visit my website for info on my books - https://www.sandijerome.com/

Eating New Things

 

One of things that I’m learning about living in Florida (along with alligators, hurricanes, and bugs) is that the same plants that I have grown for years, do not thrive in Florida.  But other plants do.  I tried and tried to grow the typical garden favorites; broccoli, corn, and spinach, but they do not do well in our hot humid climate.  But these are a few new things I have learned to grow and like to eat – and they are good for me!  This is a picture of my granddaughter, Suby who is off the Florida Keys, learning about how wonderful Florida can be for free food.  The best food is the food that you grow yourself!

Longevity Spinach (Gynura Procumbens)

This easy to grow plant (just take a clipping and stick in the ground) can help lower levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycerides in the body. Research shows that along with lowering sugar levels, the ethanol extract of the plant’s leaves has anti-hyperlipidemic effects as well. Another benefit is weight loss, considering the plants fat lowering properties.   Longevity spinach has also become famous for its anti-inflammatory effects. It contains many bioactive constituents, alkaloids and steroids. These steroids and alkaloids found in the plant play a vital role in warding off inflammation. Its leaves have a mild taste so they can be crushed and put in smoothies, soups, or teas.  I use it as my lettuce in sandwiches or in salads.  I am also trying to grow its cousin, Okinawa Spinach, (Gynura crepioides) but the squirrels seem to like that.  I bought both plants as little 4” starters on Etsy, but now I have plenty around the yard. Each serving contains about 4.5 grams of protein in a 3.5 ounce serving. 

Red Leaf Hibiscus (Hibiscus acetosella)

This one I started from seeds that I got on Etsy. Both the foliage and flowers of 'Panama Red' Hibiscus are edible. Young leaves have a tart, lemony flavor, are rich in vitamin C and thiamin, and may be eaten raw or cooked. Its red foliage also adds color and flavor to salads. It makes a great addition to salads or sandwiches and you can also add it to your smoothies. When it comes to cooking, it is good in stir-fry, soups, or steam it like spinach. What many people like about it, is that it is not losing its nice red color after cooking. Older, tough leaves and calyxes can be used fresh (chopped or crashed), or dried (and crushed), to make a nice herbal tea, that taste quite sour and fruity.   Every 100g of leaves of Hibiscus acetosella is providing 42 cal and 2.88g of protein, 67mg of vitamin C and 3409g of beta-carotene. Because of its oxalic acid content its leaves should not be consumed raw in excess, and avoided by persons suffering from urinary stones. Boiling and steaming significantly reduce oxalic acid content.

Papaya (Carica papaya)

My first papaya tree got too large, so I had to remove it.  Now I have been growing smaller versions from the seeds of it. They truly grow like weeds if you scoop a handful of seeds from the center and toss them in the ground. I trim them down to keep them growing low, and I use the males  in the yard to shade other plants. This year, I got a few females out of the batch of seeds I planted that are ready to fruit. Papayas contain high levels of antioxidants vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Diets high in antioxidants may reduce the risk of heart disease. The antioxidants prevent the oxidation of cholesterol. A medium-sized contains about 119 calories. 1.3 grams of protein. 30 grams of carbohydrates.  I like to cut it into squares like cantaloupe; sprinkle a little lime and stevia on it and eat as a treat.

Do I miss my crop of corn, spinach, and broccoli? Sure, but some many other things  grow well like sweet potatoes (like weeds) and potatoes.  I  have been transforming my tiny yard that had an ugly palm and 2 woody scrubs and tons of rubber bark, into a tropical oasis with my own organic food! 

Visit my website for info on my books - https://www.sandijerome.com/

You are Bigger

 

My granddaughter, Vrinda graduated this year from the University of North Florida with a degree in Biology with a concentration in Coastal Environmental Science.  My hope is that someday she will save our world from devastating climate change. One of my favorite memories of Vrinda was when I took her down to the beach when she was about two.   She would love to run out to the water’s edge but was terribly frightened by seagulls and would run back up to me on my blanket.  I knew she wanted to be out there with her sisters playing, so I had a talk with her and said, “You are this tall,” holding out my hand over her head. “the seagulls are only this tall,” as I moved my hand low to the ground.  “All you have to do is run towards them and shout, “Go Away, go away!  The seagulls are afraid of you because you are bigger.”  Vrinda tried it and was delighted to be able to make the seagulls fly away.  She would run up and down the beach shouting at them, “Go Away, go away!  From then on, her favorite game when we'd go to the beach would be to immediately clear the area of any seagulls.  

We were on a business trip when Janet went into labor with Vrinda.  I had asked our accountant, Lena to come over and help watch Chandra and Tulaasi after Janet went into the hospital.  Keith and I boarded the plane, thinking that when we arrived, we’d have another grandchild.  When we called from the airport, we found that although Janet was in the hospital; she had not had the baby yet.  We sent Lena home and took the girls over to our house to wait.  It seemed like minutes after we had arrived home that Janet had Vrinda.  We always thought that Vrinda waited until we got there.  We were delighted with this cute and smiling baby.  Vrinda was the first one that Keith and I had been around from the start, and I think that caused a special bond between us.  She tore a pretty big hole our hearts.  When they would bring the girls over to stay with us, Vrinda would always jump on my lap with her bottle hanging from her mouth.  She’d turn my head towards her and say, “Grandma, I want to tell you about my bad dream last night.”   Vrinda was special to Tulaasi.  Finally, no longer the youngest, Tulaasi seemed to rise to the occasion when Vrinda came along.  Tulaasi would lay on the floor and look at Vrinda and gently touch the side of Vrinda’s face. She would talk "baby talk" to Vrinda. Tulaasi was finally the bigger sister.

I grew up like the Gorgonites; the heroes of a movie called Small Soldiers.  They were not brave, instead they had a knack for hiding.  My brother was bigger and a bully who beat me up; both physically and emotionally.  I was insecure and thought of myself as little.  A friend at work one day said to me, "Sandi, you intimidate others."   I was shocked!  Me, thought of as intimidating?  How can that be?  He explained, "you're very smart and smarter than everyone else here.  They find that intimidating."  I had worked most of my life in the car business where having an education was not a strong point; in fact I rarely mentioned that I was a CPA and had a degree in Accounting with a minor in Computer Science.  Typically the General Manager or owner had a "PHD."  That doesn't meant an advanced degree, rather that meant "poppa had a dealership."  He got the job because his dad, grandfather, etc. owned the dealership.

Was I an intellectual bully?  I realized that I didn't like training people; I couldn't understand how they couldn't understand how things worked or aspire to a higher position.  I didn't have empathy for those that were content to be at the same level, lacking the ambition to learn more and grow.   My friend would lector me, "Sandi, not everyone can be the CFO like you; the world also needs file clerks."  Later when I started a software company, my "bigger brain" got worse.  When someone would be using our software and wanted our product to look like their old antiquated previous system, I didn't get it.  Didn't they want the speed and power of better technology?  

I'm not sure if I'll ever be cured of being an intellectual bully.  I never thought of myself as pretty, but I knew I was smart and could figure anything out if I had a manual or an Internet connection.  But I am also self-aware, so I've stepped down from running my software company and in my place are empathic professionals that work carefully with our customers, helping them use our software, regardless of their ability to learn or understand instructions.  I am trying to be bigger and stop yelling at people to "go away, go away!"

Visit my website for info on my books - https://www.sandijerome.com/

No More Drugs

 

My brother, Stan was a drug dealer.  In high school he was more of a distributor; a good source for weed and speed. I was a customer for weed twice, and unfortunately got some speed as a graduation gift from him to help Laura and me stay awake grad night.  It made us both very sick and when I finally went to sleep, I slept most of the next day. 

 

Stan later moved up a step and created a crack/meth lab.  My dad eventually got Stan into treatment and disassembled the lab, but the damage to Stan’s health was already done.  Stan died of nasal cancer at 62.  It is a rare cancer, but some studies show that it can be caused by snorting drugs.  The nose was not designed to snort powder.

I inherited two autoimmune diseases; from my dad's side arthritis, and from my mom's side psoriasis.  Treatment for these over the years included lots of drugs including tranquillizers, steroids, and photochemotherapy drugs.  I also took dozens of supplements to try and get healthy. 

Today I only take 2 pills a day; a low dose aspirin in the morning to keep my blood thin to avoid strokes and at night melatonin, a hormone that decreases as we age.  Instead of taking dozens of supplements, I decided to get healthy through diet and exercise instead. As a science buff, I do a lot of research on how to get the nutrients I need through food and grow a lot of that in my own organic garden.  My latest additions are longevity spinach and Okinawa spinach, a cousin of longevity spinach.  The name “Longevity” refers to its health benefits in lowering blood sugar, inflammation, and cholesterol.

In my 40s and 50s, I had packed on an extra 50 pounds from my lean high school weight.  I was always slightly underweight growing up, so this was a puzzlement for me to be gaining weight. I first tried various diets; settling on vegan/pescatarian diet to try and avoid the cancer cursing our family.  I bought a treadmill desk to try and walk off the pounds, and of course all those supplements.  Then I started looking at the science of weight gain and weight loss.  The weight gain was simple.  I was under a lot of stress and the drug cortisol caused my body to start holding onto my fat.  Cortisol in nature is essential for my body's fight or flight response; however, it caused fat storage in my abdomen. This belly fat accumulated and caused far more health issues including my weight gain and inflammation to trigger my autoimmune diseases.

I found four things to lower my belly fat; eating good fats, intermittent fasting, adjusting my metabolism and core strength training. I've gotten 40 of those extra 50 pounds gone; but it did take a few years.  I started first with my core strength training since that is best when you have all the extra weight.  You might think that "I'll diet and lose some weight so that exercise will be easier" but actually this extra weight is like carrying around free dumbbells all day.  Everything you do will be more effective in this phase.  I worked with a physical trainer and have a daily routine of planks, chairs, tippy toes, etc.  I combined this with yoga for a great core training routine.  I've lost 6 inches in my belly and become rather strong.  It is great in my gardening to be able to dig and pick up things without getting a sore back.  I like being strong.  I've already covered in another post the good fats  and I'll discuss the metabolism in my next blog.  In the meantime, focus on using your extra weight to your advantage!

Visit my website for info on my books - https://www.sandijerome.com/