Raspberry Pickin With My Son, and Niece & Nephew from Cali

The Saturday Market Part 1-The food!!

"let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food"~Hippocrates

"I am not a glutton-I am an explorer of food"~Erma Bombeck

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well"~Virginia Woolf

"Make [food] simple and let things taste of what they are"~Curnonsky

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience"~James Beard

Overheard, "well, we got kind of a hippy market down here." Haha. I totally dig it!

Breastfeeding and The Swine (H1N1) Flu! YES!!!

Does breastfeeding protect babies from this new flu virus?
There are many ways that breastfeeding and breast milk protect babies’ health. Since this is a new virus, we don’t know yet about protection specific against it. Mothers pass on protective antibodies to their baby during breastfeeding. Antibodies are a type of protein made by the immune system in the body. Antibodies help fight off infection.

Flu can be very serious in young babies. Babies who are not breastfed get sick from infections like the flu more often and more severely than babies who are breastfed.
Should I stop breastfeeding my baby if I think I have come in contact with the flu?

No. Because mothers make antibodies to fight diseases they come in contact with, their milk is custom-made to fight the diseases their babies are exposed to as well. This is really important in young babies when their immune system is still developing. Breastfeeding also helps the baby to develop his own ability to fight off diseases.

Is it ok to breastfeed my baby if I am sick?
Yes. This is really important.
Do not stop breastfeeding if you are ill. Ideally babies less than about 6 months of age should get their feedings from breast milk. Breastfeed early and often. Limit formula feeds as much as possible. This will help protect your baby from infection.
If you are too sick to breastfeed, pump and have someone give the expressed milk to your baby.

If my baby is sick, is it okay to breastfeed?

Yes. One of the best things you can do for your sick baby is keep breastfeeding.
Do not stop breastfeeding if your baby is ill. Give your baby many chances to breastfeed throughout the illness. Babies who are sick need more fluids than when they are well. The fluid babies get from breast milk is better than anything else, even better than water, juice, or Pedialyte® because it also helps protect your baby’s immune system.
If your baby is too sick to breastfeed, he or she can drink your milk from a cup, bottle, syringe, or eye-dropper.

If no expressed milk is available, you can give your baby milk donated by other mothers to a HMBANA-certified milk bank.

Is it okay to take medicine to treat or prevent novel H1N1 flu while breastfeeding?
Yes. Mothers who are breastfeeding should continue to nurse their babies while being treated for the flu.
Please check back to the CDC H1N1 website often for the most recent updates

Rain Rain Rain. Getting ready for Ostara.

The rain is here again. It has been dry and sunny.
Spring is just emerging. The rain will bring needed
help for our mother to shower us with her color and radiance.
I am already making strategies in my head.
Serrano peppers here, green beans over there
hmmm, cucumbers and lettuce.
Tomatoes and onions. I dig making salsa!!! Yum!

Then, the joy of picking wild berries! Making jam!
Chasing the starlings from the bush and getting the good ones.
The wild flowers that will cover the meadows.
The green has begun. The deer are roaming the yard.
The red-breasted robins are coming back in full force.
The ravens and crows forced to share the nourishment of the ground.

The rain does fall, causing my mind to
wonder and delight in the earth's
magnificent rhythm.

I heart Nutella

and PB, with bananas on top! Ohh my. To wait patiently as the toaster warms up my bread. Umm, well, ok. To taste the sweet mixture of nutella and PB as the toaster warms my bread! HA!

To then spread the glorious mixture onto the bread, witch melts due to the warmth! Next, the circles of bananas chopped to finish the delicious concoction.

Joy!

I guess a picture of said deliriousness would have been appreciated. However, it was not outside my stomach long enough to have it's portrait taken.