Do you ever have that itch???

You know when you have that itch in a place that you can't seem to reach.  It seems like I have my fair share of itching others peoples backs.  Have you ever noticed when you itch someones back, you never quite get the spot.  "No...to the left... now up... not so far... that's too hard...move a little lower...that's it...right there..no stop...it hurts."  And then the itch seems worse???

A few weeks ago, I had an itch.  It was on my butt.  I did not ask anyone to scratch it for me.  I just squirmed and shifted.  I really needed to get there and itch! I'm just keeping it real!

I didn't know why my butt would be itching.  Then I started thinking.  Thinking is very dangerous.  Thinking and Googling is worse. The answer must be pin worms.

As I researched pin worms, I got physically ill about the thought.  It's usually found in nasty little children who hang out with other children and exchange germs and pin worms just happen to love living inside the intestine! The female pin worm comes out at night and lays her eggs in their rectum.   The parents can use a flashlight to spread the sleeping child's butt cheeks and actually see her.  She glows in the dark!

The other way to capture pin worm eggs, is to use cellophane tape around the butt hole and lift them off  the nasty little children after their restless nights sleep. Supposedly with pin worm infestation, you are itchy all night!  I guess you can't see them with your eye but taking the tape strip to a clinic ,a microscopic exam would give you an answer.

I got to thinking, again.  How in the world does a pin worm know to come out at night?  Supposedly they just don't like bright lights.  Isn't your butt always in the dark? If it isn't, shouldn't it be?

 I'm 63 and hang out with nasty little children.  Maybe I could sneak in their bedrooms and shine a flashlight on their butts and tape them up in the morning!!! If the nasty little children don't have pin worms, then I would assume I would be safe from infection.

Yes, there is a treatment for pin worms.  Google it.

I thought and pondered for 2 days about pin worms.  I asked all the nasty little kids if their butts itched.  Of course, Hope said yes, it's her standard answer but the rest said no.

My itch is gone.

I really need to stay away from Google. I wasted 2 days of my life in silent worry!

Honey, What's on your label??

100% HONEY  Oliver Ridge in Perry County, Indiana

Tom has been a beekeeper for a year now.  He and I have attended several "Bee Schools".  He takes the technical classes and I take the fun classes.  Fun as in Cooking, Wax melting,candle making, soap making, flower and garden ideas to attract bees and essential oil basics for bees.   I did take a few technical classes and found them equally as fascinating.  But here is the deal about this Beekeeping business.....I do not touch bees nor do I put on that fancy suit to participate in the technical stuff.  I am the "beekeepers wife" and I serve the beer/wine when all the work is done!

We have not processed any honey.  During the first year, we wanted to establish our colony, so they fed off of their honey during the winter months.  This year, cross our fingers hope to die stick a needle in our eye, we will have honey.

What does that entail for me?  Glad you asked!

Check out the different labels and shapes of bottles. Some plastic, some glass.  There are some that put their labels with the top of the bottle on the bottom.

I am all about the marketing!!!  There is a great deal of "technical stuff" to do before we get honey.  I'm not going to talk about that here, because I really don't know about it.  But Marketing....that excites me!!!!!!!

1. We CANNOT claim a type of honey unless we have it tested in a laboratory.  We cannot sell our honey labeled Clover, Poplar, poison ivy, wild flower, and etc. We would have to pay a lab to test it. NO honey is the same, it just depends on the environment and food source the bee had.
2. We cannot say Organic unless we are Certified Organic.  I don't feel like paying the money...but I bet our honey will be about as organic as it gets....but you didn't hear me say that!
3.  The word HONEY needs to be prominent on the bottle. Saying 100% helps!
4. We must say where our honey comes from.  So our honey will be labeled. Honey from Southern Indiana, Or Perry County, Indiana Honey, or Honey from the USA. We really want to be specific on where it is from.  You cannot just call it Local Honey.  Especially if you want to market it in a different state.  You can say Local Honey from location and state.
5. Beware of any honey that says "Bottled in ........"  It may be bottled in your home town but it may not be from local bees.  There is really nothing wrong with bottling honey from other places in the USA but it is very misleading to the public.   Bottom line  Bottled does not mean Local Honey.
6. The best selling honey is one that has RED on the label.  Go figure.  I have no clue who did this research.  Smart choice of color since it is my favorite!
7. Every one loves to buy their honey in that cute little bear! We are not going to bottle it in that cute little bear!  Sorry!
8. We must put the weight or the fluid ounces on the bottle if we sell it. It weighs more than water.
9.  Most people don't want to see a picture of a bee on their honey bottle.  I guess they don't want to know where the honey comes from.  I kind of like the idea of a cute bee on the bottle. I may or may not abide by this guideline!
10.  Just because it has a cute label doesn't mean the honey tastes good!  So, if you can, taste it! Tom and I will be working the the Kentucky State Fair Bee Exhibit in August and YOU can taste all the honey there before you purchase.  Tom was really impressed with the fair last year, and I am excited to join him this year.
11. I'm sure there are more things about labeling but the above seems simple enough to me.

Here are some pictures of labels from our local Walmart.  I would need to go to a local health food store to find "small time producers" labels. I bet they are awesome!

Cute bear, Large word Honey,USA but has a bee on it!  Would you choose this?

Cute bear, says organic, says raw, says Brazil. Brazil is a good thing.

Beautiful red label, shows a flower, but wait...Sugar free...Imitation Honey...seriously!  .

 I have played around with labels for our honey using  my Granddaughters art.  I keep coming back to putting a picture on the label...I don't know...It will be a while but will keep you all posted on what I do for a label and when we will actually have honey for sale!

Follow us on Facebook at Cinda Sue Originals.

Supper Time

We eat supper as a family.  Well, sometimes Hope eats after we eat.  I don't know what the deal is.  Do you think we chew our food too loud for her?  Or maybe, she likes her food cold.  Or perhaps, she has been secretly snacking all day and isn't hungry.

When I was growing up, we always ate our supper as a family.  Well, unless my dad was working.  So maybe I should say.  We tried to make it a habit to have supper as a family.

When my girls were little, supper time was when they told us about their day.  Major teasing happened at these tables as well.  We would find out about kindergarten crushes or who was obnoxious at the bus stop.   I have two favorite stories.  Want to hear them?  Thought so.

We were eating supper in Ames, Iowa at a table meant for 4.  We were 5 so we squished in.  Bissy was in kindergarten and was eager to tell us what she learned that day.

Bissy, " Did you know that Chicago had a fire?"
Tom looked at her in amazement of knowing about current events.
Me, " Wow, I had no idea." 
Bissy, excitedly went on, " There was a fire in a barn." Tom worked at the Iowa State Veterinary School, and he knew that this kind of fire could be devastating.
Bissy, continued, " There was a lady and a cow in the barn."   All we could think was, thank goodness it wasn't a whole herd.
Bissy, exclaimed, " The cow knocked over her lantern."
And then Bissy stood up and sang, " It's going to be a Hot time in the Old Town tonight!"
Mrs. O Leary, you made our day!


Eating at that table in Ames, Iowa was never quiet.  We would have proclamations from everyone.
Melida, "I will never eat eggs!"
Merideth, "I want a perm!"
Bissy, "I want to play soccer!"
Me, " I just want a nap!"
And for Tom, he made a proclamation that has stayed with us. In the 90's, NOT was used at the end of a sentence.  Example:  "I'm going to the store, NOT!" or " You look really nice, NOT!"  Our girls were in Junior High and NOT became extremely annoying. With his fist slamming on table, shaking the tator tot casserole, he proclaimed," In this house, NOT will not be used at the end of a sentence and furthermore, you cannot say Hate!"

Well, I guess he told us, didn't he, NOT!!

I think being the only male among 4 females had to be difficult.  We all just laughed!  After awhile he would come to the table to just eat!

I hope your family sits together for meals.  You learn the darnest things!

To be a Mermaid, My New Years Resolution

This year everyone seems to be choosing a "word" instead of having a "resolutions". When the tsunami of words started to appear on my face book page, I felt inclined to find a word for 2018.  This year started out sucky and it was getting suckier by the time the middle of January hit.  The snowstorms kept everyone in the house for 10 days...YES 10 days.  If you didn't have the flu as well, you weren't in Vogue!  It was during this time that I picked my word.  It was "Powerwatch"!  This is a new word for the 21st century and it all came about because of DVR, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, ETC.  You "Powerwatch" seasons of shows, or series of movies or about anything that takes up hours of mind numbing time.  My word is "Powerwatch."  It's not a very serious word, so I like it!

In the olden days, we made resolutions.  It seemed like everyone was going to loss weight or gain weight, get organized or not.  Many, many things that usually pertained to self improvement.

As close to being a Mermaid as it gets!

The year I made my most memorable resolution was in 1959.  It was the year that I would  become a mermaid.  Granted, I was 5 years old.  I knew that my folks made resolutions.  I figured I was old enough to give it a try. This was way before Disney had the animated Ariel.  My idea came from the original Hans Christian Anderson Fable. The idea of being a Mermaid became an obsession.

How does one go about becoming a Mermaid?  Glad you asked.  You need a whole lot of penny's and as many wishing well to throw them into.  You see, if you make a wish enough times it will come true.  I had it all figured out because that winter we were going to take a road trip from Iowa to California to see Disney Land.  There would be at least a million wishing wells across the US.

When we entered California, I knew that I had to prepare my parents for the transformation.  They needed to know exactly what to expect.  A mermaid needed to live in the ocean and I would be growing fins. Their job was to get me there and let me swim away.  I remember telling them that one morning I would wake up and my feet would be missing and not to be alarmed.  I didn't think about never seeing them again, I was on mission and that was to BE A MERMAID.  I was prepared to be the best Mermaid ever.  I wish that I knew how to write at age 5.  I would have written a letter to my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Guftason, the reason why I didn't return for the 2nd semester.  I had to count on my brother to tell EVERYONE that I became a Mermaid while we were on vacation. He would have done a great job! Deep down inside, I bet he wanted to be an only child!

I threw my last penny in the wishing well somewhere in Los Angeles, CA.  I remember it was a rainy evening.  I knew my feet would be gone by morning.  Luckily we had planned a trip to the beach the next day.  Such perfect timing!  That morning I awoke to a slight tingle in my ankles and toes.  EXCITED.  This was going to be my last day on the walking earth. I figured my fins growth would accelerate once we got to the beach.  It was a very cold day. We got out of the car and my dream of the wind carrying me to the surf vanished.  The sky was gray, it was misty, damp,cold and it looked pretty darn scary in that ocean.  The beach seemed HUGE and the water seemed so far away.  I more than hesitated  to walk out there. I froze. Secretly, I was ecstatic that I still had feet. Stop fins...don't grow!

What was a "would be Mermaid" to do?? 

 I returned to Iowa a little girl with feet that tingled slightly and told the story about how I didn't become a Mermaid when we went to the Ocean.  I was so close to fulfilling my 1959 Resolution. The next year, I  made the Resolution to create a "Genie" in an Alka Seltzer bottle.  Ya, that didn't work to well either.

I tell my grand daughter this story at least 6 times a year.  When she went to Florida, I asked her if she was going to wish to be a Mermaid.  Her answer was Classic Harper.  With her hand on my shoulder she sighed, " Mumma, that's your idea, not mine!"

The year is still young,  I will "powerwatch" all the old Disney Princess Movies, there has to be a character I can try to become in 2018.  "Cinda rella" perhaps??? I like shoes.