*** Seeing a spider in my house is very constipating to me...

You know, I was just thinking about this. Years and Years ago, (I'm talking YEARS and YEARS ago), when I was younger, I would have constipation problems. There would be enemas and laxatives, (not every day), but I remember doing this.

Then when I developed diabetes at age 40, I was given Metformin. Well!!! that absolutely ruined me.

I could never go anywhere because I had to go to the bathroom all the time with these awful stomach cramps. I knew it was the Metformin, but I wasn't ready to make lifestyle changes in my diet (you know, eating greens, giving up refined carbs, etc.).

But 4 years ago, after seeing a nutritionist, and LISTENING to this person, I made that choice, and lo and behold, as long as I don't get stressed, I'm as regular as rain. I take my benefiber, I drink lots of water, I eat my veggies and colorful sprouts, and I have no problem. (usually)

But god forbid there is an unexpected even in my surroundings, or my son emails me with whatever he is saying, THAT DAY, I DON'T GO.

This happens like a clock.

I get bad news. I don't go.

I keep myself in nice state of CALM, and I even chant OOH MANI PADME OHM

(I once took a course on this at a local high school). It was to determine if any of us were psychic. I thought it was a lot of hooey but I went along with it.

We learned how to chant during the class. OOHM MANI PADMI OOOHM!!

I went along with it. Then during one of the classes, the guy in the front of the class said "I'm going to give you all a test, I'm holding up a brown envelope, and in this envelope is a photograph".

"I want each and every one of you to focus your attention on this photograph and try and write down what you think it is".

So I gave it some thought and I wrote down "a man with his arms spread wide open" (I will never forget this as long as I live, I was in my late 20's or so).

So we are all writing down what we think is in the envelope.

The guy opens the envelope and there is a picture of Jesus on the Cross. We all went around the room holding up what we wrote, and every time someone got close enough to describing the photo, the guy would shout "WE HAVE A HIT, WE HAVE A HIT".

Well, you should have seen his face when he got to me. I nailed it and he's screaming "WE REALLY HAVE A HIT HERE".

This kind of thing only happened once more where I knew something bad was going to happen before it did. And that was the end of that.

But one thing I learned from that experience was to try and not let stress control my body. So sometimes I lay down and chant OOHM MANI PADMI OHM. over and over.

Now here is where this is really interesting.

Now remember I haven't heard this chant from any external source in over 35 years.

Yesterday I go on Ebay trying to find a silver turquoise bracelet.

I do a search and what is the first bracelet I see?

A silver and turquoise bracelet and the first line in the guy's description says:

"From Tibet. OOH MANI PADMI OOHM.

I said 'that's it, that's the bracelet for me".

Cost me all of $5.00 with $2.00 shipping.

I don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

So I shall keep chanting OOOHM MANI PADMI OOHM, taking my benefiber, drinking lots of water, and GOOOOO!!

lol

Melody,
You just slay me!!!.......


(LOLOL)

Bob with the slay...makes me think of sleigh....which makes me think of gift horse, and then a 'horse drawn sleigh'.....as in jingle bells.....which makes me think of Tibetan prayer bells.....

maybe I need to ohm mani padme ohm.

Round and round we go.

Mel...you must be psychic. I just see dead people.

Here is a weird story. When I picked up my chicks at the farm store....they had a bunch in a glass brooding box.....one was obviously not going to make it and a bunch of ladies were ooohing and awing as the poor chick got trampled. They knew I was picking up chickens and they asked me to take the poor thing and see what I could do. For the unintiated, baby chicks come in boxes like fruit, only, not as well packed...They can get injured. This one looked injured.

I agreed provided the chick was in her own box and, not with my chickens (disease you know?) And that she was free.... Anyway, I took her home in my jacket and and then placed her under the heat lamp, but she didn't make it.

I had placed an order for 5 female plymouth barred rocks (nice dispositions), 5 female ameraucanas (blue egg layers), 5 rhode island reds (winter hardy, all round good layers) and ONE plymouth barred rock rooster chick.....That was what I had. Two of my ameraucana chicks are white, 3 are a mixed brown color.

My 16 chickens are all fine and going on 10 days old.....yesterday, I kept looking and counting and could only count 16...but I kept adding up the colors and the colors came out to 17, not 16 like I paid for..... There were 6 rhode island reds! I pestered my husband to do the math, and he said 17....I said there can not be.

I swear to God, there were only 16.....yesterday, I counted 6 rhode island reds, and I swear I had only 5 to start with. The one that died was a rhode island red, but she wasn't in my count, she was extra....this is down right creepy.

I even painted the 16 names on the coop! Now I need another name for my mystery chicken.....this is too weird. There are 17! Today, I counted all of them by placing them in a new box.....17.

I would name her Karma. Just because. She might be good luck for you!

I suspect it was difficult for the original breeders to count them too.

Karma it is.....MRSD, the first thing I did was count my chickens, (after they hatched, lol.)

I have counted them almost daily!

Either I am going blind, or I am totally math impaired.

One rhode island red is a lot smaller....I noticed her the other day, when checking chicken butts....long story, but one has to check chicken behinds....hers needed a bit of a cleaning. (Mother hens are useful for some things and when one does not have a mother hen....one gets to do all these motherly tasks.)

I have on several occasions, taken these chickens out and counted them. I swear there were 16. Of course, two nights ago, I slipped while crouching and knocked myself silly on the wall....bruised my left side up and scraped up my elbow.

I know this sounds nuts, and reason would dictate that there were 17 all along. I was grousing for a while thinking my 2 white chickens were not ameraucanas, but they are...they got the distinctive cheek tufts. This was when it hit me that there are 6 rhode island reds!

Anyway, Karma is the smallest rhode island red.

You just said it makes you think of Jingle Bells.

Alan and I are up on youtube singing JINGLE BELLS. It's the first video I made with him.

How cool is this?

Mel

Do you know that one of the earliest memories I have (I must have been 5 or so), is that during the Easter Holidays, one's parents would buy them baby chicks. Now don't ask me WHY anyone would bring baby chicks into the house, because DON'T THEY KNOW THAT BABY CHICKS GROW UP TO BE CHICKENS??

Well, each Easter, I would have a little box of 10 or so baby chicks in the kitchen. I don't remember what I did with them. I DO remember that they would die, one by one, and my father would simply handle this. It seems that many italian families did this over 50 years ago. I don't know if this is still done.

Every year, until I was 7 or so, ...BABY CHICKS in my kitchen, in a deep cardboard box. I remember asking my father "won't they climb out?"

Why on earth did my parents buy me baby chicks only to have them die? I'll never understand this. All this came back to me in a flash when I read your post.

Melody