We are all connected

When I tossed my old jack-o-lantern in the compost bin, Koka pulled it out and ran off with it. I had to take it away from her because inside were several of those glow-in-the-dark things I used instead of candles. Maybe I'll let her have some of the pumpkin I'm going to roast for a salad. Which leads to another subject - yesterday my daughter and I drove from Portland to Seattle to try on a few wedding dresses she saw from J Crew online. We ate lunch at the most wonderful vegetarian restaurant because they have many gluten-free items. We are not vegetarians but this place was so goooood! I had a salad with roast pumpkin, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds and lots of other things, and a dressing made of Allspice Dram liquor and sherry. The best salad I have ever had. I had never heard of Allspice Dram liquor! Cafe Flora, 2901 East Madison and www.cafeflora.com. Wonderful food.

Gosh, you were only blocks from me!! I've heard raves about Cafe Flora, but haven't been there yet. Thanks for the recommendation. And I see that they have a cookbook out as well.

Pix, I've seen pumpkin work on eliminating smelly flatulence in dogs in only a few hours. And the nice thing is that you can buy a case of canned pumpkin and have it on hand.

Here's the article on pumpkin for pets by Geoff Stein (palmbob) who is a veterinarian and is kind enough to pop in on the pets thread when someone has a health issue with their pets:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1817/

My friend Ivy loved Cafe Flora. Tracy and I hate it. We call it the birdseed restaurant. ;p

Meant to say that I talked to Kate yesterday and she's doing okay - just busy. Whew!

Katie maybe next time I am in Seattle I will have time to meet you. I feel like I really missed out when I couldn't attend the roundup, and I will miss the next one because of my daughter's wedding. :(

That's good to hear. I hope she can come back soon.

Yes, Judi, it would be great to meet if you have the time when you're next up here.

Kathy, thanks for the link to the pumpkin article - I've got some canned puree in my cupboard and will give Spike some today . . . he's doing pretty good, but seems a bit mopey (I haven't taken him back to the dog park, though, since he got sick and he's probably bored without his new friends . . . he looks really sad).

Well, you know how kids and dogs are - they are very good at making you feel guilty. We're all mopey in this weather, right? My co-worker was telling me that her cat checks the weather at one door and if he doesn't like it, will immediately run to the other door and ask her to open it. As though the weather over there might be better. Well, it's a thought . . .

Just make sure that what he gets doesn't have added sugar, spices, etc. - it's the plain pumpkin stuff that is good for them. Hope he likes it!!

Spike LOVED the pumpkin - I was a little afraid he wouldn't as it is indeed the plain stuff, but he scarfed it down immediately!

Loved the cat trying another door, looking for better weather!

Oh, good. It's good for him and he thinks he's getting a treat. What could be better? Oh, yeah, and it's not as expensive as frou-frou food.

Murmur, I'm happy for your pup's recovery. Amber is also jumping around and playing like crazy. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they are sick, but it is easy to know when they are feeling good.

I will try the pumpkin on Skippy. He will generally eat anything, so he'll probably like it. If it helped his gas, we'd all be eternally grateful.

Yogurt is a "cultured" process that utilizes active yeast, bacteria and other specifics that produce the Culture of Acidophilus, lactobacillus, Strep fecalis and many more that "balance" the GI tract. The good gram positive bacteria often are eliminated by ingestion of 'competing others' who kill off the good guys. Gas producing, odorous, and anerobic bugs get into them and change the make-up of the intestine. Yogurt (active culture) balances the kill off from antibiotics, of the good guys, and eliminate the bad guys resulting in better health. Fiber is a way of naturally changing the GI tract by removing rapidly the material (hair, bones, dead meat etc) and also moving the bowell to empty faster and return efficient activity to the affected patient. Pumpkin (canned without sugar and spices) is a readily accepted fiber component for cats and dogs therefore we use it to resolve many GI issues.

Okay, here's a story for you:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120580047&sc=fb&cc=fp

Thanks, Steve. I'm going to make sure to eat a lot of pumpkin next week (I can't guarantee that it'll be without the sugar and spices, tho).

So is dog gut bacteria that different from human gut bacteria? Are you saying that we shouldn't give dogs the yogurt?

Whoa Katie59. What a story. It's sad, but somehow it's not. No, I decided it's sad.

Neat story. Must have taken some of the pain of his dying away, knowing that he knew what was happening and ok with it.

Wonderful story, but it must be sad - I'm sitting here crying.

Steve, thanks for all the info - very helpful indeed.

Dang. That story totally made me cry.

Exactly - it's sad and uplifting at the same time. And fit right in with our discussion of the young being connected to other worlds that adults lose track of . . .

NPR's story corps is an amazing project. I'm fascinated at the experiences that other people have to share:

http://www.storycorps.org/

No gut bacteria varies with each person but not that much. Dogs, cats, people, any Omnivore/Carnivore will have similar gut bacteria.
I liked that story. Wow how cool to know when you are headed out on the next big adventure. Go Brian! See ya soon.

This message was edited Nov 20, 2009 7:48 PM

Cool. Thanks, Steve!

Wow. What a kid. Makes me wonder what he is up to now.

What we have learned
Is like a handful of earth:
What we have yet to learn
Is like the whole world.

~Avvaiyar

Like the quote.

There's a new Symphony of Science video up on the site now, titled "Our place in the Cosmos".

http://www.symphonyofscience.com/

Thanks!

This makes me think, the more you learn about anything, the more you know the complexity of it, the more you know that there is so much you don't know.

I wasn't sure if I should share this, but it has been gnawing at me. The article about the little boy who knew of his impending death/ move to another dimension really hit me hard. It brought up a time in my own child's life that was emotionally difficult. When he was 7 years old, a friend of our family who was a grandfather figure to him became ill suddenly and died within a week. My son wanted to go to the hospital to see him, but he was still in intensive care and children were not allowed in. Just being there in the waiting area with our friend's family seemed to give him comfort. We stayed for several hours. When out friend died a few days later, it coincided with a homework assignment (writing, which has never been easy for him) that he struggled with. My son told me in despair that he would kill himself. I tried to react calmly, though I was in total shock, and asked him to tell me more about it so I could help him. He said, "Oh not right now, but when I am old enough to drive." I truly hope that this was not a premonition, but simply his way of expressing the depth of difficulty he was feeling about the writing coupled with his grief at the loss of our friend.

Oh Holly, I wish I could give you a great big hug right now.

Wow. Ditto on the hug, Holly. What a thing for a mother to hear her child say... and so heartbreaking for any child to feel so anguished.

Has he mentioned that again? Does he remember the conversation? Of course, how do you bring it up? You poor thing, to relive that over and over, must be so mentally exhausting for you.

Oh, my, Holly. That MUST have brought back some traumatic memories. Maybe if you two talked about it you'd find out more . . .

At the time, I told the teacher we had just experienced a loss, and that he was not going to do that homework assignment. She made him do it in class. I was furious. Academics are still something he struggles with, though he is reasonably intelligent and is a good musician. I have much more understanding and compassion for children and their parents since I have my own challenges with my child.

I actually did bring this up recently. The music teacher when he was in 4th and 5th grade (now retired) just lost her son to suicide a few weeks ago. In the context of telling him about this, we were making a card for her and talking about how it could happen that a person would feel that despairing, including who you could go to and talk to if you ever feel that way. He asked me why I was so upset and wanting him to make a list of people he could talk to if he ever was so sad, and I told him the story from when he was seven. He told me, "not to worry, mom" which makes me feel somewhat better, but I do harbor this dread still.

Well, that sounds like it's a testament to all the work you have done to show him that he's understood and loved at home . . .

Oh, that is completely chilling to read, Holly. That's not something any parent ever wants to hear a child say. Your son seems very well balanced to me, and i know you are close. I'm sure he would let you know if anything like that were ever on his mind.

Holly I think that you are remarkable for really listening to your son and not dismissing his feelings. Many parents would say something like "Oh don't be silly, you're fine" and then change the subject. Your son is lucky to have such a thoughtful mother.

Tough one Holly. I was often speaking suicide through my youth just to use it to explain my angst. I always had God in my life so it kind of flew over my mothers thoughts. During the swings of teen years it was a common expression. I know how difficult it must be to those around to hear but in my life it was just a way of saying I am doing or feeling poorly. I know it is a fine line. The last time I ever used the statement was during my divorce and feeling very down and losing everything I was in a dark hole. I walked into a room with a client first thing in the morning I suddenly felt lifted. She told me how her neighbors had recommended me and told me stories that I began to feel even better. She told stories of how I had helped them. In just a few minutes I was totally happy. I left the room and told my receptionist not to charge the lady in room 1 for the nail trim. She looked at me and asked me if I was all right. I said "Yes I am much better due to the lady in room one." She said "You need to take a day off, there was nobody in room 1". I just knew I had an angel visit. Once I knew that I always went to my "Friend".

Awesome story, Soferdig! That's a very cool experience!

That is amazing, and just what you needed to make it through an extremely difficult time. How comforting to know there is an angel watching over you.

My son has not mentioned it again since he was seven, except once when my father died ( he was 15) he said he wondered if all the pain of living was "worth it" or if he should just "end it right now" so I think he has always been very affected by the concept of mortality. The context when he was 7 was that he was so frustrated he had crawled under the bed and was crying hysterically. The second time, it was part of a conversation and he was trying to come to grips with his feelings of loss. Both times, I think you are right Steve, he was trying to communicate how bad he felt. I took him to see a counselor after each incident, and it did help.