My husband came down with a cold at Thanksgiving after a week of sitting in a deer stand. The cold weather made his body vulnerable to the rhinovirus that causes the common cold. When you have a cold it doesn’t feel very common, but they are everywhere. So far mankind has not found a cure for the common cold and every doctor will say, “it’s a virus and it has to run its course.” I read somewhere once that skin cancer had been cured by injecting it with the rhinovirus. That might be an urban legend, but then again, maybe there is a reason why we cannot, or should not, eradicate the common cold.
Instead of eradication, we are working on my husband’s immune system to give it a boost. Moonshine is what he has dubbed my concoction, partly because I store it in the refrigerator in a mason jar. I found a recipe that uses water, sliced fresh ginger and lemon simmered for fifteen minutes and then served with honey. (I drink mine cold and no honey. He prefers it hot with honey.) I found that simmering sliced lemon brings out the bitterness of the rind. So, I simmer the ginger and then add the lemon juice afterwards. I think it tastes better.
And believe it or not, he is drinking it! And he is feeling better. I’ve been drinking a little too, to help my immune system stave off his virus. It might or might not work.
But some of the old-fashioned cures are as good as the more modern ones. Gargling with salt water for a sore throat, rubbing Vicks Vapor Rub (mentholated topical cream) on your chest to open up the sinuses, making moonshine (ginger drink) to help the immune system do its job, and last but not least, lots of soap and water to wash away the virus (hands, sheets, anywhere bodily fluids can touch).
A word to the wise, go easy on ginger if your digestive system isn’t used to it. A little bit can go a long way. I only give it to him once a day.
It’s cold and flu season so be careful out there!
Books make great Christmas presents. I know because I read them, and others do to. I grew up happy in the library. My sisters and I would walk the few blocks to the old Carnegie library in Enid during the summer and load up with as many books as our arms could hold (or the library would let us check out at one time). There was just something about the smell of ink on paper and the book in my hand that made me happy. I was transported to another world.
Check out the website of Shelley Workinger’s Foodfic blog! But what are they eating? We discuss food after the apocalypse.
I’m not getting any younger. I don’t know who is, but it is becoming obvious that life is getting shorter and not longer. No, I’m not sick, but my house is cluttered with things I don’t use and maybe never needed. I cleaned out my parent’s house when they died, and I know what a chore it is. My children will someday be faced with the same thing. With that in mind, I’m beginning to clear out the clutter. My house is large and that only makes the problem bigger. I can and do stuff things in closets, attic and garage that are no longer needed.
Fall is upon us. The temperatures fell this week and my basil and cannas are worse for wear. I made pesto at the last minute to save as much basil as possible and I have faith the cannas will be back in the spring. I have a great Chicken Caprese recipe to try out tonight. Cool weather makes me want to cook – and eat. So, I must exercise more to counter act the inevitable.
I viewed the original manuscript typed by Dr. Angie Debo for And Still the Waters Run at the OSU library this week. It was her most controversial book and almost not published because of the content.
Warm afternoons turned into cool mornings in the forests of southeast Oklahoma last weekend. But we are Vikings. We can take it! The storms overnight turned over a few tents – but the damage was minimal. 
Many years ago, on a weekend trip to southeastern Oklahoma, I encountered the Heavener Runestone. I wandered around the park and stared at the stone in awe. There is more than one school of thought about the origin of the Heavener Runestone – but the one I love the best is the idea that Vikings explored America before Columbus.
I have the honor of leading a discussion group this week with the Enid Public Library’s “One Book, One Community” on Saturday, October 7, 2017, 9:00 a.m. at the Railroad Museum of Oklahoma in Enid. Like minds all over Enid, Stillwater and other communities will be discussing the life and literature of Angie Debo, Oklahoma historian. There are several opportunities for you to get involved in this worthwhile project. There will be programs about her life and works and discussions about the book Prairie City: The Story of an American Community. It was one of thirteen books she published about Oklahoma. The final gathering will be at the Enid Symphony Hall with a performance by Will Hill, “Legends Nagonagogee.” 
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 