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Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (7/16/10)

Posted in Creativity, Gardening, Health, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2010| 1 Comment »

It’s the middle of summer already and a couple of 100+ degree days are coming my way. All this heat must be good for something, right? I’m taking advantage of the heat by drying my laundry in my oven-of-a-garage. I have five large drying racks out there and my laundry dries quickly and without wrinkles. Heat brings good and bad news for me; on the one hand, my vegetable garden is thriving in this weather, but on the other hand, it’s too hot to turn on my oven, so no baking for awhile. Haven’t yet convinced my husband that solar cooking is safe!

#1 – Desk Travels
Even though my international travels are done for the year, I can still see other parts of the world. The internet is filled with breathtaking snapshots of wonderful worldly sights, that for the most part, most of us will never see in person. Here are two photo essays that transport you to amazing sights without the need to leave your seat: The World’s Most Spectacular Roads, Vol. 2 and the World’s Most Extraordinary Swimming Pools.

#2 – Daily Limits
I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my favorite monthly reads is the Nutrition Action Health Letter. Once a month it provides easy to read, relevant articles about nutrition and health. For example, are you aware of what the daily limits of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar are for a basic 2,000-calorie diet? With today’s dining-out lifestyle it’s easy to exceed those limits. In an issue of the Health Letter there was an article called How Many Sugars? that provided a breakdown of several no-no ingredients found on menu items from popular dining spots. Here’s a quick look at daily limits and a sample menu item from the article:

Daily Limit of Sodium: 1,500 milligrams.
One McDonald’s Sausage, Egg, & Cheese on a Croissant contains 1,250 milligrams.

Daily Limit of Saturated Fat: 20 grams.
One Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee with Cream Coolata contains 22 grams.

Daily Limit of Added Sugars: 25 grams or 6.5 teaspoons.
One Starbuck’s Green Tea Blended Creme Frappuccino with whipped cream has 13 teaspoons.

Choose wisely when you dine out!

#3 – Thumping Watermelons!
According to several sources (my local newspaper, produce guides, and my dad, a former grocery store owner) to select the best watermelon you must consider these characteristics:
1. Shape – Look for a symmetrical shape (no flat sides or dents)
2. Weight – Since watermelons are over 90% water, select ones that are heavy for their size.
3. Sound – Several sources recommend lightly thumping the melon with your knuckle and listening for a hollow sound.
4. Appearance – Besides being firm and having a dull-colored skin, look for the spot where it sat on the ground. This area should be creamy yellow and it indicates the melon was vine ripened.

#4  – Mindless Computer Doodling
Sometimes when I have writer’s block, I look for interesting ways to refocus. I found this site that allows you to spend endless, mindless minutes doodling. The fun part is that the colors change on their own as you scribble and the squiggles move constantly. All you have to do is move the finger icon/cursor around. After doodling for a couple of minutes, I was back to writing!

#5 – Set Sail
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

– Mark Twain

Set your sails this weekend to explore, dream and discover!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! ( 7/9/10)

Posted in Creativity, Handcrafted Cards, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Marriage, Photography, Recipes, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2010| 1 Comment »

Hearts and flowers and joy and excitement fill the air at bridal showers. Generations of women gather to shower the bride with wisdom, laughter, and gifts. Thoughts of times passed for some mingle with hopes of the future for others. Women coming together to support one another is always a good thing!

#1 – Champagne Punch
2-12 ounce cans of frozen lemonade or limeade
1-46 ounce can of pineapple juice, chilled
2 bottles of champagne, chilled
1 quart orange juice, chilled
Fruit for ice mold

Dilute one can of the frozen lemonade/limeade with 1 can of water. Pour into tube pan or any mold of choice and add fruit slices, berries or mint leaves for decoration. Freeze until solid.

Mix the remaining frozen lemonade/limeade, pineapple juice, orange juice, and champagne. Place extracted frozen mold from mold pan and put into a punch bowl. Pour mixed beverages into bowl.

#2 – Explore the Sistine Chapel From Home
If you’ve ever visited the Sistine Chapel, you were probably awestruck by the it – you and the other couple hundred visitors crammed into the Chapel with you. It’s difficult to appreciate the magnificence of the art there because of the wall-to-wall bodies. Here’s an interactive site that lets you take a leisurely virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel. On your computer screen the Chapel is completely devoid of people and is available for your complete exploration. Using your computer mouse, you can navigate to any area – the walls, the mosaic floors, and of course the glorious painted ceilings. You can even zoom in on any particular area of your choosing to see details. I wish I had taken this virtual tour, before I visited the real thing!

#3 – Chilling Drinks Quickly
Chill beverages quickly for a party by placing beverage containers in a ice bucket/ice chest and adding layers of ice alternating with layers of salt until almost to the top. Fill your ice bucket/ice chest with cold water just below the top of the ice.

#4 – Instructables
Instructables is a site where do-it-your-selfers can search for step-by-step instructions for a myriad of projects. I came across this interesting project the other day – How To Hide Your Stuff In A Tissue Box. Although it seems easy enough, I’ve not tried making the project, yet. I like the idea, but my biggest problem would be preventing my hubby from using up the tissues and throwing the box away! Maybe one of you could benefit from this idea, though!

#5 – From Within Your Heart
“Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower.”
~ Shigenori Kameoka

Have a wonderful weekend!

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The Three O’s Salad: Orange, Onion, and Olive

Posted in Recipes, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on June 28, 2010| 1 Comment »


Summer’s heat has definitely arrived and the thought of being cooped up in a warm kitchen slaving over meals is enough to make me want to eat salads all summer long. Does the thought of juicy, sweet orange slices sprinkled with thinly sliced red onions and salty green olives sound refreshingly good? I recently had a salad in Greece with all those ingredients and came home with the desire to duplicate the sweet-saltiness of this colorful dish. Searching some of my Mediterranean food cookbooks, I came up with a good basic recipe that only needed a few slight changes. For the salad dressing I used an olive oil that had been infused with the peels of blood oranges and I added the frozen orange juice concentrate to thicken, sweeten, and flavor the dressing. Plating the oranges on a bed of fresh spring greens instead of directly onto the platter made it a more substantial and nutritious salad.

Orange, Onion, and Olive Salad
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma: Essentials of Mediterranean Cooking

Salad Ingredients:
4-5 navel oranges
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced (plus or minus depending on your liking of onions)
1/2 cup olives, cut in half and pitted (I prefer green)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
Mixed salad greens, optional

Dressing Ingredients:
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 T frozen orange juice concentrate
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (infused with the essence of oranges, if possible)

Makes 1/2 cup of dressing.

Directions:
1. To slice the oranges stand one on a cutting board with the stem end up and the navel end down. Using a sharp knife, slice off the “north and south polar caps” of each orange so it has a flat base. Now cut “longitudinally” downward to cut both the peel and pith (white membrane) away from the orange, making sure you are following the contour of the fruit. Cut each peeled orange crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices and save any juice that accumulates on the board.

2. Make the salad dressing by mixing the orange juice collected from the cutting board with the rest of the dressing ingredients, except for the extra virgin olive oil. Now whisk in the oil. Set aside.

3. Place mixed spring greens on a serving platter. Arrange orange slices on the bed of greens. Sprinkle the onion slivers over the oranges.

4. Scatter the olives over the oranges and drizzle with the dressing. Let sit at cool room temperature for 10-15 minutes for flavors to blend. Sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Serves 4-6

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (6/25/10)

Posted in Creativity, Gift Ideas, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Style and fashion, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Hooray! I am the proud mother of a thirteen ounce cucumber! I just harvested my first cucumber of the season and although it may be the first and only one I ever harvest this summer, I can at least say that I finally grew something I could eat! Other veggies in the garden are looking good, too – the tomatoes are are still clinging to their vines and the “squashettes” and “eggplantettes” have not yet shriveled up. Life is good! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

#1 – Trip Tip
If you are planning a trip, I would recommend you check out TripAdvisor. Prior to planning our trips abroad, my husband and I consult the site and we’ve always found it to be extremely helpful. While searching for hotels we learn valuable information by reading reviews submitted by other travelers. The reviews often contain comments such as the pros and cons of staying at different hotels, location advantages, restaurant recommendations, numerous sight seeing tips, and photos taken from and of the hotels.

#2 – Seafood Savvy
How savvy are you when it comes to purchasing seafood at the market or ordering it at a restaurant? The Environmental Defense Fund’s website lists which seafoods are eco-best, eco-okay, or eco-worst. It also provides better alternatives and recipes. You can download a Seafood Pocket guide or a Sushi Pocket guide from the site, too.

Here’s a recap of the EDF’s categories:

Eco-Best choices describe:

  • wild fish from healthy, well-managed populations, caught using fishing gear that does little harm to sea life and marine habitats;
  • or farmed fish raised in systems that control pollution, the spread of disease, chemical use and escaped fish.

Most fish on this list are also low in environmental contaminants and can be safely eaten at least once per week.

Eco-OK fish have mixed records on:

  • how they are managed,
  • the health of their habitat,
  • or how they are caught or farmed.

Some fish on this list may have elevated levels of environmental contaminants – such as mercury or PCBs – and should be eaten in moderation.

Eco-Worst choices have one or more serious environmental problems, such as overfished populations, poor management, high bycatch, extensive habitat damage; or come from farms that allow widespread pollution, the spread of disease, chemical use and escaped fish.

We work with many of these fisheries to help them become more sustainable and keep fishermen on the water. As fisheries improve, they are moved up the list.

Many fish on this list have elevated levels of environmental contaminants – such as mercury or PCBs – and should be eaten in moderation, if at all.

#3 – Rainbow in Your Hand
There is no end to creativity. Someone created a flipbook that, instead of creating animated images as the pages are flipped, creates a three dimensional rainbow in your hand! How very clever!

#4 – Men’s Summer Style Tips
Askmen.com had an article called, “Men’s Summer Fashion Mistakes” that I read because I was curious to see what kind of fashion trouble men could get into during the summer months.

Read the article yourself, but otherwise I offer my quick synopsis:
1. Do not wear socks with sandals, boat shoes, or drivers.
2. Cargo shorts are out.
3. Switch to a lighter, more refreshing fragrance.
4. Do not wear flip flops, Teva-type sandals, or thin-strapped European sandals for any outing other than to a beach or a barbecue.
5. Do not wear tank tops.
6. Billowy board shorts don’t cut it anymore.
7. Outside of athletic activity don’t wear wraparound shades.

My husband scored fairly well. He only got dinged for two out of the seven entries and, believe me, I’ve been working on those two issues with him!

#5 – Fill Yourself Up
“What I know for sure is this: You are built not to shrink down to less, but to blossom into more. To be more splendid. To be more extraordinary. To use every moment to fill yourself up.” -Oprah

As always, enjoy your weekend!


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On a Need to Know Basis

Posted in About me, Kids, Parenting, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

As my husband prepares to leave for a business trip, I pepper him with questions like, “How can I reach you?” “What airline will you be flying?” “Which hotel will you be staying at?” “Who’s the contact person at the conference?” etc. My husband takes it all in stride and patiently answers my questions. He is aware that I’m on a need to know fact finding mission. I’m like this all the time with everyone in my family. Even my parents can’t go on a road trip unless I have their itinerary first.

My daughter, who is seeking her independence daily, rolls her eyes at me whenever I ask her questions about her travel plans. “Do you really need to know this, Mom?” she impatiently says to me. My reply is, “Yes, I need to know and this is why I need to know:  If something happens to you on your trip and I don’t have a clue about your whereabouts, there will be no way of retracing your steps.” Inevitably, I get the information I need to satisfy my overactive imagination.

I need to know my kids are okay. I started “Sunday Night Check-ins” when my oldest child went off to college. Primarily, I wanted him to stay in touch with his siblings and to not lose track of what was happening in their lives and to share with the family what was happening in his. Basically, it was just good to hear his voice. I figured Sunday was a good choice, because if he had gone out of town or if any part of our family had gone away for the weekend, we’d all be back by Sunday evening. When my second son went off to college, he rightfully assumed he’d be making Sunday night calls. To this day he checks in with me whenever he’s been out of town for a while to let me know that he made it back safely. He knows I just need to know.

Apart from being a mom, I can attribute my “need to know” behavior to one particular event in my life.  When I was in my twenties, I went home to visit my parents for a weekend. One morning my parents went out to run errands while I stayed behind. The phone rang and I answered it. A voice pleaded to me, “Where’s my brother? . . I need my brother . . . .” My uncle was on the line, but this was not the voice of the intelligent and funny man I knew. His son, my cousin, was a freshman in college and had become seriously ill. Because this happened before the invention of cell phones, there was no way of contacting my parents directly. As I tried to remember everything my parents had told me about their morning plans, I frantically called store after store and had my parents paged. This proved futile; I could not find them.

Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.“ I can’t really recall my uncle’s exact words, but I will never forget the overwhelming cries of desperation, fear, and sadness in his voice that morning. I learned many life lessons from my cousin’s tragic death, but the one that surfaces regularly is how important it is to know where your loved ones are – so my dear family, please indulge me.

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Worry Beads

Posted in Gift Ideas, Travel, tagged , , , , on June 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

A clicking and clacking noise can be heard almost everywhere you go in Greece. Airports, restaurants, stores, and street corners are not exempt from this noise. It’s the sound of worry beads hitting against each other. Greek men are seen flipping their worry beads much more than Greek women. Does this mean men have more worries than women? I don’t think so, it’s probably more that women just don’t have the time to stand around and flick beads!

In Greece worry beads are called komboloi, which means bead collection. According to Wikipedia, “Komboloi is a part of modern Greek culture, used to relieve stress and generally pass the time. It was especially popular up to the end of the 20th century while now it has dropped in popular use. It’s still though considered a traditional trademark of Greek (and especially rembetiki) culture and niche.” Playing with worry beads is a form of therapy and used particularly by those trying to kick the nicotine habit or lose weight, but could also be used by some to deal with travel delays or rising tempers. The beads are also a symbol of national pride and are hung in stores, homes, offices, and cars for decoration.

Worry beads are made from many types of materials, but are most commonly found made of plastic, wood, semi-precious stone, amber, or coral. The only prerequisites seem to be that they are smooth and make noise. There are two types of worry beads. The komboloi resemble rosary or prayer beads, although there is no religious significance. Begleri is a straight and shorter strand with fewer beads. It’s a matter of preference.

My daughter purchased her strand from a little Greek woman in the town of Nauplion. This woman told my daughter that one does not choose his worry beads – the beads choose their owner. It’s similar to the Harry Potter concept where the wand chooses the wizard and not the other way around. Worry beads sounded like the perfect souvenir for a fidgety person like me, so my quest began. Racks and racks of  worry beads were surveyed, but none called out my name. Then they found me. A lovely strand of onyx beads, the color of a deep, rich caramel, kept drawing me to it. They felt good as they slipped and slid in and around my fingers, all the while making a pleasant, raindrop-kind of sound.

Different worry bead techniques achieve different sounds for different therapies. The most soothing technique is to pull the beads up to the ends of the strings and release the beads slowly, one by one, so that they make a soothing sound as they fall on to one another. For a more frenetic therapy, worry beads can either be rolled between your palms or rhythmically flicked between your fingers. There is some skill involved in flicking the beads correctly. Numerous shopkeepers and my daughter have tried to teach me the Greek way of flipping the bead strands finger over finger. Mastering this technique is going to require some practice. But hey, no worries! I’m not going to worry over my worry beads!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (5/28/10)

Posted in Travel, tagged , , , , , , , on May 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Traveling can be exciting and fun, but it can also be wearisome. Here are a few travel tips that can make your next long trip a little easier. By the way, for those of you who laughed or scoffed at my traveling medicine bag, let me just say that several items in it were needed and used during my recent trip to Greece!

#1 – Have iPad, Will Travel
The cell phone I carry is a generations-old flip phone and I do not own a laptop computer, so when I received an iPad for my birthday, I was delighted! It was the perfect distraction for this restless traveler during the long flights. I played games, read books and news, did crossword puzzles, listened to audiobooks and music, word processed, designed jewelry, and more! I also downloaded these helpful applications to it before leaving: calculator, weather, flight control, currency exchange, Greek translator, and wifi finder. The irony with the wifi finder is that you need wifi to employ the finder! If not for the fact that I had to stand on street corners in Athens to get adequate wifi, I would have enjoyed posting to my blog and checking my email more often. It’s an indulgent toy, but it made my trip more pleasant and my backpack lighter!

#2 – Oh My Aching Neck

I read about this tip in a travel magazine years ago and have since used it many times with great success. Buy a soft foam cervical collar from a drugstore or a medical supply store for about $15.00. It’s smaller, more compact, and offers more support than basic neck travel pillows. When dozing off, your head and neck are comfortably supported – 360 degrees around – in an upright position. Your head can tilt in any direction and your neck does not ache during long flights. Of course, you will need to get over the fact that you’ll look like a whiplash victim!

#3 – No Jet Lag Pills

One of my friends gave me a package of No Jet Lag Pills before I left home. I dutifully doled them out to me and my husband during our flights to Greece as directed. We arrived in Greece after a day’s worth of travel – tired, but still energetic enough to meet my daughter and her roommates for a late dinner and a rainy walk back to our hotel. On our return flight home, I accidentally packed the pills away in my checked luggage and could not dispense them. I’ve felt jet lagged for days now and wish I had taken them! The pills are made from homeopathic ingredients and can be purchased online.

#4 – Socks That Might Make a Difference
Before one of my trips to Asia, my doctor told me to buy compression travel socks and to make sure to put them on before boarding the aircraft. With their gradual compression, these socks stimulate blood flow and eliminate swelling of legs and feet. They are especially good when traveling for long periods of time, because when the muscles of the legs are inactive, blood can collect in the lower extremities and increase the risk of developing DVT or Deep Vein Thrombosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when traveling for more than four hours you should :

* Get up and move around every two to three hours
* Keep hydrated and drink plenty of water
* Reduce alcohol or caffeine consumption
* Avoid crossing legs for long periods

These socks can be found in most travel stores or online.

#5 – The Most Important Trip
The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway. ~Henry Boye

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It’s All About the Food

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 26, 2010| 1 Comment »

It’s all about the food. Sometimes the best way to learn about a country and its culture is to learn about its food and its cooking traditions. Lucky for me, my daughter, who was a student in Greece for nearly five months, was not only my tour guide to the ancient sites, but also my culinary guide.

From dining in little tavernas that speckle the narrow side streets of Athens to eating fresh-caught fish off the coast of Santorini, I was introduced to the exquisite textures and flavors of Greek food. Sampling inch-long baby okra cooked in a light tomato and onion sauce, devouring tiny fried whitebait fish – head, tail, spine and all, and spreading pureed dried yellow peas on bread, were just some of the opportunities I used to discover the gastronomic resources available to the Greeks. I learned that some of the varieties of legumes we eat today are the same ones once eaten in ancient times.

And because the sun shines most of the year and very little rain falls, Greek tomatoes and peppers are exceptionally sweet. The freshness of Greek ingredients cannot be denied. Most foods are simply delicious because they are prepared with fresh and few ingredients. Very few over-processed foods ever made it to my table while I was in Greece.


Scorpion fish or grilled octopus, anyone? The seafood in Greece was as good as I had anticipated. The subtle lobster-like flavor of the Scorpion fish and the chewy texture of the fresh octopus were both delicious, but it was the fried calamari that really got my attention. Maybe it was the freshness of the squid or the very lightest dredging of flour or the addition of exactly the right amount of salt, but this Greek version of fried calamari was by far the best I’ve ever tasted!

The Greeks love their sweets. The sweet scent of freshly baked pastries found me following my nose into more than one local bakery. Even before I left home, my daughter had warned me about this temptation. I’d heard her stories about Bougatsa me Krema and was looking forward to my first taste. It did not disappoint. How could warm layers of buttery, thin phyllo sheets filled with creamy custard, and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon be disappointing? Before the introduction of sugar, ancient Greeks used honey to sweeten their food. Thick, creamy, Greek yogurt and honey is a traditional treat and Greeks like to make sweet syrups from honey to pour over their cakes and fried sweets. Many Loukoumades or Greek donut balls coated in a honey-syrup called out to me.

Now back at home, I wanted to try my hand at making the memorable Bougatsa me Krema and I found a recipe online. Flakey, buttery and filled with custard – mine was pretty darn close to the deliciousness I experienced in Greece! I share this temptation with you.

Bougatsa me Krema or Creamy Custard Phyllo Pastry

-Courtesy of Nancy Gaifyllia of About.com with comments by Linnell-

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

* 4 1/4 cups of whole milk

* sliced peel of 1 lemon

* 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar

* 3/4 cup of semolina (durum wheat flour which I found in my local grocery store)

* 4 eggs

* 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

* 12 sheets of commercial phyllo dough

* 6 ounces of butter, melted

For the topping:

* confectioner’s sugar

* ground cinnamon

Preparation:

Warm the milk and lemon peel in a saucepan. Stir in semolina with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thoroughly blended and thickened. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and add to the pan, stirring over medium-low heat until it reaches a creamy custard consistency. Remove from heat, take out and discard lemon peel, and allow it to cool completely. Stir occasionally to keep the custard from forming a skin on top.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Lightly brush a baking pan (13 X 9 X 2 or equivalent) with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with 8 sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet well with the melted butter. Add the custard filling. Fold the excess phyllo that overlaps the pan in over the custard. Top with the remaining phyllo, brushing each with butter. Use a scissors to trim the top sheets to the size of the pan. Spray the top lightly with water and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon while hot, and serve warm.

Serving tip: In Greece, Bougatsa is cut with a pizza cutter.

Enjoy!

Adventures in Greece – to be continued . . .

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There and Back Again

Posted in About me, Travel, tagged , , on May 24, 2010| 2 Comments »

As the plane touched the ground, cheers were heard amongst the group of weary travelers. Admittedly, I was one of those cheering to be back on U.S. soil after traveling in Greece for almost two weeks and being in transit for nearly twenty hours. I’m the type of person that the Concorde supersonic jet was built for – the type that needs to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Sitting and waiting do not seem to be among my strengths. I was probably one of those kids that sat in the back seat and asked “Are we there, yet?” Now that I’m back on my own terra firma and supervising fifty loads of laundry, I can take pause to reflect upon certain aspects of my trip.

My daughter has truly become an independent, self-assured young lady. She’s always been mature and independent, but her tenure abroad has added a new dimension to her confidence. She bravely went to Greece alone, made new friends, learned to speak and read some modern Greek – which is no easy task, excelled in her five difficult university courses, and with the ease of a seasoned traveler, she navigated her way around Greece, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Jordan. Her extensive knowledge of Greek history was evident as she proved herself a competent tour guide ushering me and my husband throughout the historic sites in the city of Athens. I listened intently as she spoke passionately about the economic and cultural issues of Greece – a country she vows to return to one day.

Whereas my daughter wants to be a world traveler, I discovered I really don’t enjoy traveling for extended periods of time. I am good for about ten days and then I start to get weary of the hustle and bustle and the lack of a good night’s sleep. Having been fortunate to have traveled a bit, I acknowledge that I’ve seen sights and sounds in parts of the world that other people only dream of. I would never trade my memories of visiting my dad’s village in China or of my first glimpse of the crystal clear, cerulean blue waters surrounding Bora Bora or of the charming little towns of Italy’s Cinque Terre, but at some point during all of these trips, the overall strain of traveling and sightseeing starts to overshadow the wonderment.

Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard.” This morning as I sipped my tea, I gazed out of my kitchen window and looked at my backyard. With gazania, geranium, and begonia blossoms painting the garden with vivid splashes of color and carpet roses cascading over boulders like an undulating ribbon, I indulged myself a few moments to take it in. The scent of citrus blossoms wafted through the window and the sounds of water trickling from the fountain welcomed me home. Greece was wonderful to visit, but to me there’s no place like home.

Adventures in Greece – to be continued . . .

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The Traveling Medicine Bag

Posted in About me, Health, Helping Others, Organization, Parenting, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on May 10, 2010| 1 Comment »


Pepto-Bismol? Check. Ace bandage? Check. This is me mentally going through the contents of my traveling medicine bag. Whenever I travel long distances, I grab my plastic travel bag that contains medications and first aid items. I’ve learned that when traveling you can’t always buy medications when you need them. For the most part, my medicine bag is ready to go at a moment’s notice; I do, however, review expiration dates before I leave and replace any items that have expired. Most of the time the contents of my medicine bag does not change, but it may vary depending on my destination.

Obviously I’m a detail-oriented person, but I’ve learned a lot about packing from my mother. Once when I was preparing for a trip to China, my mother told me, “Throw in some strapping tape and an Ace bandage.” I mumbled to myself, “Why do I need those things?” Being a dutiful daughter, I threw them into my bag. Traveling in China during the 1980s was restrictive. You could not deviate from the schedule and most certainly could not leave the tour group to run to the nearest drugstore to make a purchase. So sure enough when someone in my tour group fell down and sprained her ankle, I stuck my hand up in the air proudly and said, “I have an Ace bandage!” And later during the tour when someone’s suitcase tore, I volunteered, “I have strapping tape, if you need it.” Two out of two – never again have I doubted my mom’s packing advice!

While traveling with my children over the years, I’ve learned that unexpected issues can arise and it’s always better to be prepared. Because of this I’ve had to add items to my traveling medicine bag. I’ll never forget this experience: It was a lovely day in Hawaii and my husband, children, and I were enjoying a day out on the beach. My oldest son was building a sand castle when he stepped on a bee and got stung underneath his big toe. I grabbed my room key, which was a plastic credit card-type, and gently scraped across his skin to remove the stinger. As his foot began to swell, I reached for a chilled can of soda from our day pack and held it to the swelling. Once back in our hotel room, I applied hydrocortisone cream to the area and gave him a Benadryl tablet. Since we were in Hawaii, we could have easily run out to a drugstore, but having these items on hand, I was able to attend to his swollen foot without delay and prevented his symptoms from getting worse.

Like prescribed medications, I keep this medicine bag in my carry on luggage. To make the traveling medicine bag lighter, more organized, and more compact, I remove all medicine from their boxes. Then I dismantle the boxes until they are flat and make photocopies of the important information on them. I cut out the photocopied information and put them into sandwich-sized Ziploc bags along with the medication. Blister packs of medication work well, but If you have bulky pill bottles or Costco-sized containers, pour some pills into labeled (medication name, # of mg/per pill, dose, expiration date) small, jewelry-sized plastic bags before placing them into the sandwich bags with the instruction sheets. All sandwich-sized Ziploc bags then get placed into the traveling medicine bag. I probably would have made a great Girl Scout, because I am always prepared!

Linnell’s Traveling Medicine Bag:
Ibuprofen (Advil)
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Pepto-Bismol
Antidiarrheal (Imodium)
Decongestant
Antihistamine (Benadryl)
Hydrocortisone cream
Antibiotic ointment
Alcohol wipes
Assortment of bandages
Ace bandage
Blister pads or Moleskin
Digital thermometer
Dramamine or Sea Bands
Eye drops

If traveling overseas, I might add:
Antibiotics
Dental repair kit

Always read and follow the accompanying instructions on medications and always check with your doctor to see if there are any contraindications for any member in the family to take these drugs.

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