Hello all! It has been brought to my attention that I have not updated my blog for a few weeks. I was so busy and did most of my updating on Facebook in little snippets and notes.

To make a long story short, we are HOME. Hurray. We had a whirlwind two days in Paris, a marathon of sightseeing that left us with SORE feet and aching bodies, but it was worth every minute. Paris is awesome. I love touching history. I have never seen so many statues in all my life. Notre Dame was truly a religious experience. The Eiffel Tower at night with it's thousands of twinkling lights was breathtaking. I can't wait to go back.

We had a wonderful stay at the Grand Traverse Resort when we returned last Wednesday. Jenny met us at the airport and took us there, where she had reserved a room for us with a jacuzzi! She works there and gets a SIZEABLE discount. I have never experienced such luxury. We stayed two nights and the kids came up the first day and we hung out, going out to eat, playing putt putt golf, swimming in the pool....absolutely wonderful.

On Saturday, we went to Hopkins Creek to visit our distance riding friends there. We had a very, very warm welcome. No one can believe how big Mykayla has gotten. I have missed the riding and I have really missed the people. I sure hope I can handle at least part of the Shore to Shore this summer, even if I can only ride 25s each day. Being there motivated us to get started on some training this summer so we can all ride something!! Too many young horses here without an education!! That's going to change!

Now reality has set in as we start moving in to my sister's trailer where we will be staying for the summer. We have to put up some fence so Malik can come and stay with us, plus one other horse who is going to get educated this summer. Nelson needs to RIDE. The water pump isn't working so we have to get that going first of all. My sister, Mary, has been living in the UP with her daughter for a while, so there is a little work to be done first, but with help from the kids, it won't be a big deal. We are so happy to be home.

I have started the antibiotic treatment and discovered immediately that I am going to have to start out at a very small dose, every other day in order to be able to tolerate it. I am so anxious to get it done. But it's not something that can be hurried. So, I am just hopeful that the Herx reactions taper off quickly so I can get to the business of enjoying my grandchildren and horses. I've had the time and energy to only ride once (for a very short time) with Mykayla down the road and back. (This is what my body has dictated to me....in my mind, we're tearing down the trail at top speed!). We also got out Dusty and started his education. Our hope is that Mykayla will be riding him by the end of the summer and that he will accept (and Malik, too) being ponied from Malik. And, we're still a bit jet-lagged, too, I think.

Yesterday we received the news that Nelson's mom fell and broke several bones in her face. She may have also had a heart attack. We aren't sure yet. We're going down today to visit her in the hospital. We'll also stop and see our friends, Larry and Barbara Ward. Larry broke his ankle recently. I sure hope we can stay healthy and injury free this summer!!

We won't have internet service at the trailer, so I won't be checking e-mail daily or writing in my blog a lot, but I'll do my best to update everyone on what is going on!!

Take care and have a safe and happy summer!

Food is medicine; medicine is food.

I'm not sure who said that (Hippocrates maybe?). I have been learning a lot in the past week while researching natural remedies for treating sarcoidosis. First of all, my pulmonary function test was normal. I knew that it would be. I also discovered that, although the doctor had ordered lots of tests for me, I have no way to compare them to past tests because they measure everything differently here. I only had his word on what was normal, high or low. Most things were fine, liver enzymes up a bit, cholesterol high, A1C a little high, Vitamin D normal. However, they only did ONE of the necessary vitamin D tests I needed. I can't get either of the drugs I need for the Marshall Protocol at Hamad Hospital, although I can buy one of them OTC out of pocket. I can't afford to do a summer's worth out of pocket. Ridiculous. They also would only give me two months of drugs even though the doctor wrote it for 3. So, good thing I've been able to cut back on some......what I have should last til I get back, barring any complications. I am going to have to be extremely strict with myself especially with diet to make sure I can keep the diabetes under control. Unless I get riding so much, the exercise counteracts that. :) In the fall, the plan is to get a CT scan to check my lymph nodes, liver and spleen. I may end up having to go to Al Ahli Hospital after all.....but gotta pay for THAT out of pocket, too. I'm just not sure if I'm comfortable with this guy I have....I need ONE good doctor to help me with EVERYTHING. Good thing I am proactive with my health care.

Anyway, I am completely finished now with grades, turned in my committee work, and am ready to fly home. Last week, we got together with our Kurdish friends, Shamal and Suzan, who showed us how to make yaprakh (also called dolma). It's one of our favorite dishes and not terribly difficult to make. We made our own today and it turned out great! I can't wait to make it for our friends and family in the U.S. :) We're planning to take home some spices so we can make some other dishes, too. Now, to get to my blog title....

The more I research the health benefits of different foods and spices, the more I find that all I need to do is EAT fresh foods with nature's seasonings. I ended up buying a whole box of lemons since the yaprakh requires fresh lemon and after looking it up, it has LOADS of health benefits besides having vitamin C. So, I squeezed one fresh and added some Splenda for some fresh lemonade. I added another one to a glass of karkade....mmmm, mmmmm, good! Dill is another ingredient in yaprakh, delicious and has lots of health benefits as well. I can't bring myself to eat fresh garlic cloves, or fresh spring onions raw, but so many of the foods I love are so healthy. It will be hard making do in Michigan this summer without the variety and amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that we have gotten used to having here. I'll be haunting all the farm markets and natural food stores! :) I'm hoping we can continue eating as well as we have been. I'm going to go book shopping for a book on natural remedies as soon as I get home, too! The time is fast approaching. We'll see you all soon!

Wild, wacky and wonderful world!

We have had a great weekend so far, starting with Michael McKenzie's arrival Wednesday evening with his friend, Ali. The weekend in Saudi Arabia begins on Wednesday night, so Michael (who works in Dammam in the KSA) has Thursdays and Fridays off. Fortunately, classes finished last week, I had no doctor appointments or tests and we were able to enjoy company for a couple of days. We didn't do anything spectacular really. We showed them various areas of Doha, and, of course, took them to Souq Waqif and the Corniche. We had a fun little jaunt on a dhow at the Corniche. Nelson or I will post photos on Facebook later. We finished off the visit at a small restaurant on the Corniche which serves a variety of Middle Eastern foods and we ordered a lot of appetizers for a light meal. It was so much fun. Ali was quiet but delightful and he and Nelson both enjoyed talking photography. They both have a Canon camera and Ali wasn't sure what all the settings were for, so Nelson enjoyed showing him some of the different features.

Michael and Ali left for KSA about 6:30 last night and Nelson and I headed over to Veronica and Colin's for pottage (South African stew) and karaoke. Veronica and Colin are the friends we made through their African Grey parrot, Habib. Habib has come a long way and is now quite a sweet bird. He stayed with us for a week or so last fall while Veronica went back to South Africa. He was not a very nice bird, but he needed some time to adjust. After a second trip away, he seemed to realize how much he loved her and how lucky he was to have the home he had and did an about take....you know what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder. He still hates Colin, but Veronica can handle him and do all sorts of things with him that she couldn't do before. I think Habib thinks she is his bird wife. :)

In any case, the group of people there LOVE karaoke and really get into it. The more wine, beer and alcohol that is consumed increases the fun. I had ONE glass of wine. Nelson had none. He sang Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind," (so sweet!) and I sang (with everyone joining in), "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. It was quite fun!

So, it's still Saturday, and we plan to take Thai to see "Night at the Museum 2" today. We have been wanting to see it and his mom has to invigilate today (HA! I finally have a reprieve!), so it's off to City Center and the movies today!

I am working on a formula for my treatment this summer that includes some natural/herbal remedies. I have my pulmonary function test tomorrow, Nelson has his CT scan on Monday, I see my doctor on Thursday and he sees his doctor on the following Sunday. We then have a week before heading off toward home. However, we will be stopping over in Paris for a couple of days to break up the trip (it's 17 hours actual flying time, not including layovers). Our bodies just can't take it. The plan is to get a medical certificate from my doctor so I can go home and try an antibiotic course of treatment for my sarcoidosis. It may make me very sick, so I don't want to travel when I'm sick. And I'd like to get a full three months of the therapy going before I start teaching again (September 27). So, wish me luck. And if I get this thing kicked for good, I'll certainly let everyone know. I am still keeping my blog (http://4wardclimb.blogspot.com/) about my experience with this journey I am embarking upon. I am going to kick this thing and feel like a new person. I am already experiencing an improvement with the few simple steps I have already taken in preparation for the treatment.

See you all soon or somewhere soon, Inshallah! Keep in touch!!

The news is: NO NEWS!

We may not know until September if Nelson gets the head farrier position at the racetrack! For Heaven's Sake! I have never known wheels that turned so slowly! I wish to never hear the term "Inshallah!" again! :) LOL Oh, well.......but that's what it's all about: if God wills it, it will be. And if not, then there's something better waiting and too bad for the fools at the racetrack! At this point, that's all we want to say about it. We were so excited that we are afraid we jinxed it. I guess you have to believe in that sort of thing and I'm not sure if we do really. Maybe a little bit. But there's plenty of time for good vibrations or prayers or whatever people do when they want to help. :) Whatever it is, we will welcome it!
Classes and exams are done. This week will be submitting grades, finishing up any last minute grading (I'm done except for one ISP research paper that was turned in late), working on a TESOL proposal for the 2010 conference in Boston, etc. We plan to break up our trip by staying over in Paris a couple of days when we come home. That will be so exciting. We are really looking forward to it! We should be home by July 4th! Woohoo. I'll see my grandson turn one!

Nelson and I are collaborating on our first book: Where the Hum Comes From. I will surely let you know when it's done and where you can buy a copy. It's our summer project. He also is planning on a book about how to trim and shoe your own horse...we suspect in this economy that there are a lot of folks out there who can't afford a farrier right now and while it's not ideal, a how to book with some common sense for horse owners might be a hot seller! :) I will also be putting together a poetry book I have been working on for several years called Verisimilitude. I am hoping that Nelson will contribute photos for it. It's almost complete and all I have to do is use the software necessary to create it and then get it published. Self-publishing is easier than ever now and we should even be able to make our work available on Amazon.com. We'll see.

So, until my next update, stay tuned and we'll see you all soon!
Maggie