Oatmeal for beautiful skin

For a great facial scrub, try oatmeal. You begin by making a paste of oatmeal and water. Apply to the entire face, allowing the mixture to dry until it feels tight. Then rub off gently with your finger, using a gentle back-and-forth motion. This great scrub will take off your top layer of dead skin cells, and can also remove blackheads.

The Lost Shoe Solution

Here is a good way to prevent that early morning cry of “Mom, I can’t find one shoe, and the bus is coming.” Teach your children to tie their shoes together! Young children will enjoy the challenge of tying one shoe to the other, and older children will be thrilled to find their two shoes waiting for them in the morning. It takes awhile to instill this habit, but it is well worth the effort.

Science Corner

Q.Why do leaves change colors in the fall?

A.Scientists believe that the colors red, yellow, and orange are the true colors of leaves. Researchers teach that the leaves look green in the spring and summer because that is when the green substance chlorophyll helps the trees produce food for their growth. Chlorophyll keeps leaves green, which hides their real colors until autumn, when the chlorophyll production slows down in some trees.

Q. Why do leaves fall off trees?

A.Without a constant supply of chlorophyll to feed them, leaves eventually dry up and die. Leaf stems that are no longer receiving nourishment weaken and break, causing the leaf to fall off. This is a natural process that allows many trees to survive cold winters. Trees become dormant — as though in a deep sleep — until spring arrives.

Car Trunk Saftey

A child locking herself in a car trunk is a nightmare; yet according to the Trunk Releases Urgently Needed Coalition, an organization dedicated to trunk safety, the danger is all too real. TRUNC has documented over 1,100 instances of people being trapped in trunks, and 260 of these people have died.

Some car companies are now offering a release latch that can be installed inside the trunk, allowing someone who is trapped to open the trunk from within. The Ford Motor Company is planning to make such releases standard on some new car models in the year 2000, and is currently working on a retrofit kit. General Motors and Daimler Chrysler Corporation are introducing a release that can be installed as a new car option or retrofitted to accommodate older models. You can obtain more information by contacting TRUNC at: 537 Jones Street, #2514, San Francisco, CA 94102, or at www.netkitchen.com/trunc.

Winter Vegetables Are Good for Your Health

Winter squash is filled with Vitamin C, fiber, and carotene. Winter squash has very low levels of fat and sodium, making it a very good food for the heart. And one cup of acorn squash has approximately 100 milligrams of calcium.

You should choose a squash that has a hard rind; the vegetable should feel heavy for its size. Pick one that still has a stem, to be certain it is not rotted. The squash you choose should have no soft spots or gashes. Squash should be stored in a dry place that has good air circulation.

Kohlrabi, part of the cabbage family, is very nutritious, and is low in sodium and fat content. It is rich in Vitamin C, with a cup of kohlrabi supplying more than 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance. It is also high in potassium.

It is best to separate the bulbs from the leaves. They should be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator, where they will last for two weeks.

Cucumbers or zucchini are refreshing and hydrating for the skin. After your face is thoroughly washed, use the cucumber peel (the inside, not the outside part) or a chunk of cucumber or zucchini and rub it all over your face. Your face will feel soft and hydrated. (This can be done daily, or once a week.)

Tomatoes will make your face shine. After rubbing a cut tomato over your freshly washed face, your face will look clearer; the tomato will remove excess oil. (This can be done once a week.)

Chamomile tea bags are great for your eyes. Have you ever woken up with baggy, tired eyes? Take two chamomile tea bags, run them under warm water, and place over your eyes for five to ten minutes. Your eyes will look revitalized and less swollen.

Book Review

The PDR Family Guide to Prescription Drugs
Here is a wonderful example of the benefit of having this reference book in your house. A neighbor had been rushed to the emergency room. When she appeared to have recovered, she was sent home with a prescription for a new medication, which she promptly filled and took.

Within twenty-four hours of taking the medicine, she developed a fever. She called her doctor, who did not seem too concerned and told her to wait twenty-four hours. She asked to borrow my PDR to look up the new medication. To her surprise, she read that a side effect of the medicine is the sudden onset of fever. She called the doctor, and was advised to stop taking the medicine immediately. She discontinued the medicine, the fever subsided, and she felt much better. To this day, my neighbor has not stopped thanking me for introducing her to The PDR Family Guide to Prescription Drugs.

This book is a great addition to any home library. It describes each medicine, the most important facts about the drug, and how one should take the medicine. It also details the side effects that may occur, when the drug should not be prescribed, special warnings about the medicine, and possible food and drug interactions.

The book is published by Three Rivers Press and can be purchased at your local bookstore. If you desire other ordering options, you can log on to www.randomhouse.com.