Monthly Archives: October 2013

Best Movie on an Airplane – EVER! “Fly Away Home”


I can’t believe that this is my 5th long haul (over 5 hour) flight in 3 weeks. Nuts I tell you, nuts. But here I am – stuck in a tiny seat with no fresh air headed to Munich. At least I have one of those individual TV sets – nice they let the slobs in economy enjoy them too, eh?

My choices are not great – I watch Monster University – which is predictable but fun, and then I try several other losers. Honestly – what garbage. But eventually I happen on the best movie I’ve seen in quite some time – a surprisingly sweet charmer called “Fly Away Home”.

Remember – it’s a tiny screen and it’s the middle of the night. You want a memorable story that is easy to understand and visuals that are captivating. Action movies on a tiny screen are lost in translation!

And from this point of view – “Fly Away Home” delivers. The story is based on a true story – a young gal (13 turning 14 in the movie) from Ontario adopts 16 Canadian wild goose eggs. She manages to hatch the eggs, and the babies adopt her as their mother. So far – so cute. But the Canadian Goose migrates – and normally the parents take the children south the first time, showing them the route. From then on – the young geese find their own way back home in the Spring. So the gal and her single parent father must figure out how to get those geese south.

The solution – lighter than air airplanes that fly slowly enough to keep the birds company. Since the birds will literally follow their ‘mom’ anywhere – they follow her thru the air, heading south.

It’s a charming story – and the visuals are stunning. The rather silly confrontation with the developer at the end is pure movie imagination, they didn’t think that people would be happy with a simple happy ending.

Bottom line on this – don’t pay a fortune, but if this movie shows up on your local free channel – go for it. It’s way cute.

Antioxidants to the Max – Super Foods Part 4



Super Foods and Antioxidants – a match made in your local kitchen!

I didn’t invent these lists, for that I must give credit to Rebecca Katz’s “The Longevity Kitchen” and my favorite source for advice to the aging – the AARP Magazine. But as I’ve said before and will say again – the comments are all mine!

Food 11: Pomegranates
I’ll never forget being in China and seeing how Pomegranates grew. Who knew that they grow in baggies. Well, they do – at least in China. It was explained to us that putting the fruit when they are small in clear plastic bags encourage them to grow bigger – and juicier. Interesting, eh? Like Apple Trees, Pomegranate Trees are kept short for easier picking. But it’s not just about the yum – it’s about the antioxidants! Pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants, and a 17 oz glass a day was shown to lower blood pressure in a study in Britain, but that might just have been the result of getting all that liquid out of the Pomegranates!

Food 12: Green Tea
The signature dish of China – second only to BBQ Duck in my book – Green tea is known to be delicious – and not surprisingly – good for you. It’s abundant in catechins, a type of super antioxidant known to protect cells. And it turns out that green tea may also reduce the risk of certain types of cancer – particularly those of the stomach and esophagus. So drink up and be merry! (We know how that ends – but at least you get to be merry first)

Food 13: Blueberries
I unabashedly love blueberries. Those and raspberries are probably my favorite summer fruit snacks. And I admit to a total passion for Lac St. Jean wild blueberries. Unlike the huge, and sometimes tasteless store-bought Blueberries – the wild ones are tiny – but packed with flavor. But it’s not just about flavor with Blueberries – it’s about even more antioxidants. Blueberries rank among the top disease-fighting foods – including but not limited to reducing a woman’s risk of heart attack by 33%. Even better – blueberries are good for staving off the loss of memory – by several years. So eat up – Today.

Recipe from Allrecipes: Green Tea Cheesecake

Makes 1 – 9″ Cheesecake, cooking time is over 2 hours including the wait for the cake to ‘set’

16 oz of fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, softened
2 eggs beaten
3/4 cup white sugar (or use Splenda)
1 tbs green tea powder (some reviewers went up to 3 tbs for a stronger flavor)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 9″ prepared graham cracker pie crust (some reviewers when with lady fingers – another prefered a short-bread crust. So reader – you choose)
Lots of Blueberries and Pomegranates for Garnish

Step 1: Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees

Step 2: In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the green tea powder, eggs, and vanilla extract until lightly and creamy; pour into the prepared crust.

Step 3: Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until the center jiggle evenly when the case is shaken lightly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving – more is merrier.

Step 4: Garnish with Walnuts, Blueberries, and Pomegranates. You can even add the mint.

4 Low Cost Cures for Smelly Feet



Hey – talk about a seriously embarrassing little problem. My son’s feet can stink so badly – I have permanently banished his shoes from my house. Those babies have to stay in the garage when he visits!

But there are other options, and not one requires him to stop visiting, or cut off his feet, or even spend a lot of money.

First though – why do feet smell? Good Question. Research suggests that the primary cause are the thousands of sweat glands in your feet – and sweat enclosed in tight spaces is a great breeding ground for odor-causing bacteria. So any cure is going to start with getting rid of the bacteria – and secondly – dealing with the sweat.

Smelly Feet Cure #1: Air out your shoes. 24 hours between wearings is the suggested time frame – so buy a 2nd pair! Alternate your shoes every day – you’ll get twice the life – and less smell.

Smelly Feet Cure #2: Buy shoes that self ‘air’. Mesh inserts, bacteria ‘eating’ insoles, anything that will get air into the shoes – and kill off the bacteria will help. You know that this is going to help if your smelly feet problem is much worse in the winter (tight-fitting air sealed shoe season) and non-existent on the beach when you wear flip-flops!

Smelly Feet Cure #3: Dab antiperspirants deodorant on you feet – or spray it into your shoes. Hey – cut off the source of the smell – (sweat) – and you are less likely to encourage those odor-rific bacteria.

Smelly Feet Cure #4: For hard-core smell – try disinfectant spray or a sprinkle of cornstarch or antifungal/antibacterial powder – in the shoes – not on the feet. No need to pay lots of money for this stuff either – we’re talking grocery store cleaning supply aisle.

Still having issues – I did read once that Botox injections halt the function of sweat glands – so I suppose you can try that. Won’t make for smiling feet though! Personally – go for option 1 – really – is a 2nd pair of shoes that hard to break in?