Grief: Remember Your Loved One With a Memory Cook Book

After the death of a loved one some families make quilts from their loved one's clothes. Other families compile memory books. I did something different for my family; I made a memory cook book. After my mother-in-law died my sister-in-law and I looked through her old recipe box. Actually, there were four boxes, and the recipes inside were grouped loosely into categories.

There were hand-written recipes, lots of newspaper and magazine clippings, and many duplicates. We threw out the duplicate recipes and saved family favorites - recipes that grandchildren and great grandchildren would enjoy. Reading the recipes brought back memories of family picnics, holiday dinners, and snacks Nana prepared for her three growing boys.

I typed the recipes (one per page) and compiled them in a three-ring notebook. The title of the book: "Favorite Recipes From Nana's Recipe Boxes." For the cover I used holiday stationery with a candy cane border. Each cover had a photo of Nana on it. To protect the recipes from splatters and drips I put them in plastic notebook sleeves. There were only 25 recipes so I didn't index them. However, I did write a short introduction and it contained a story that is still clear in my mind.

Nana served Sunday dinner at 1 p.m. After one dinner she announced that supper would be cake and ice cream. I laughed because I thought Nana was kidding. But Nana, the only person I have ever known who would eat cold butter rolled in sugar, had a sweet tooth, and supper was just as advertised. We had huge bowls of French vanilla ice cream and hefty slices of yellow cake with Penuche frosting. What a memory.

Because the cook book was a glimpse of family history, I typed the recipes as Nana wrote them, including abbreviations such as "refrig" for refrigerator, and references to family members and friends. I grouped the pages into sets, put the pages in the notebooks, and tucked rubber spatulas inside. Then I wrapped the books in holiday paper and ribbon, and tied measuring spoons to each one.

So much love had gone into the cook books that I could hardly wait to give them to family members on Christmas morning. A few fancy gifts were exchanged , but my homemade gifts were the hit of the day. Family members told Nana stories as they paged through their cook books. If you are looking for a meaningful way to remember a loved one, think about compiling a memory cook book.

Your cook book will spark stories about the meals you have shared, and link the older generation with the younger. I didn't have time to put more photos in the books, but a photo on each page would make the cook book extra special. Now you are probably wondering about the recipes. My favorite recipe is the one for fudge. Though I don't make fudge, I love the ending. Here is the recipe, just as Nana wrote it so many years ago.

NANA'S FUDGE 1920

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. milk

2 sq. chocolate

1/2 t. salt

1 T. butter

1 t (teaspoon) vanilla
nuts

Mix and cook all ingredients except vanilla & nuts. When it boils up once lower the heat to a slow boil. After 5 min. begin testing for the soft ballstage (1/2 4sp. fudge in a saucer of ice water.)

When you can pick up a soft ball in 3 fingers it's ready. Cook it 1 minute more. Remove from stove and cool completely before stirring. Add vanilla and nuts and beat until it looks [like] it's glass and begins to set. Pour into a small square cake pan.

Cut when hard. (If it gets too hard add a few drops of cream at the end of beating.) Cut, enjoy. Save some for mother and dad. Be a good scout and clean up the kitchen afterwards.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

Breakfast Cereals

Four Amazing Points to Remember As to How to Keep Skin Healthy and Smooth

Every one of us wants to turn back the clock and look younger. Of course it should be the case. Why should we age before the time? Unless the largest organ in our body looks graceful we will never look graceful. It is a rightful question to ask how to keep skin healthy and smooth.

This is the most asked question. Obviously there are thousands of answers given. The result is confusion. Leave them aside and listen to this simple common sense approach.

We are made up of trillions of cells. The skin is also made up of trillions of cells. Unlike many internal organs, this organ is the most exposed to all that possibly we can subject it to. This is the outer cover of the human ball.

There are two essential ways as to how to keep skin healthy and smooth. One is inside out. What does that mean? Oral nutritious diet is important. There is no substitute for this. Unless the immune system is kept clean, neat and tidy it cannot nourish your skin. The best nutrition is the antioxidant nutrition. You should ensure that your nutrition is totally balanced all the time. This is one important point to remember.

The other point is outside in. This is specifically true to skin. After all external application of nutrition is also very important so that all the seven layers of the skin are properly nourished especially the outer layers where sagging and wrinkles will be conspicuous. Having said the first point, let us move on to important three other aspects as to how to keep skin healthy and smooth.

There are two important proteins in our body more pronounced in skin. They are called collagen and elastin. They are responsible to keep our skin healthy and smooth and taming the wrinkles. When we grow older obviously these proteins will lose their energy and tells upon our skin. While antioxidant nutrition can regenerate these proteins there is an active ingredient called cynergy TK. This is a breakthrough in skincare technology. It stimulates the re-growth of collagen, elastin and new skin cells. When these two proteins are rejuvenated your skin is bound to glow.

However there are always enemies within. In between collagen and elastin there is an extra cellular space filled up with a kind of fluid. This fluid provides moisten to the skin and offers few important jobs. There are many places in our body where blood does not go. It is also one of the places. This fluid takes the nutrition to the collagen and elastin and removes toxic from them. There is an acid in the fluid called hyaluronic acid. This is responsible to do these jobs. Unfortunately a kind of enzyme is produced to break down this hyaluronic acid which in turn does not perform its given job and destroys the collagen and elastin. How to take care of this damage to hyaluronic acid?

Researchers have found certain Japanese people live a very long and healthy life. Even at their age of 90 their skin glows and head is full of hair. It was found that a kind of sea kelp is responsible for that. Based on this kelp a branded active ingredient is developed. This is called Phytessence Wakame. This can inhibit the hyaluronidase and safeguard the hyaluronic acid. If this is provided to the skin from outside in the problem is resolved.

Having seen inside out, collagen and elastin (blocks) and hyaluronic acid (maintaining and moistening the blocks) we will come to the last part of our four amazing points as to how to keep skin healthy and smooth.

Generally free radicals are handled by antioxidant nutrition inside out. We take orally and it works in our body inside to scavenge free radicals. However the case of skin technology has so much advanced that certain nutrition in the form of nano-emulsion format can penetrate into the seven layers of the skin to offer this great job of neutralizing the free radicals. The ubiquonone Co-enzyme q10 is a fantastic antioxidant and it is available everywhere in our body. The branded active ingredient called Nano lipobelle HEQ10 can penetrate all the seven layers of the skin to scavenge the free radicals and ensure the hyaluronic acid does its job and collagen and elastin are protected. The skin has no alternative except to glow. Now you know the trick as to how to keep skin healthy and smooth.

Since I have done various research on this subject and I cannot be fooled by the various products that are available in the market one particular skin care offer meets the above amazing but simple skin care points. I have been using their products for a long time now and found very promising. If you want to know how to keep skin healthy and smooth you should not miss to visit my website. You will have more answers and what I told you above is a tip of the ice berg.

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