Leisure | The Canary Report

My Solstice

Posted on Dec 21, 2009 by Susie Collins in Organic Gardening, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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Happy Solstice!

I spent Solstice evening in the garden, puttering around, taking photos and planting a bed of vegetables and flowers (you can see the seed packets on one of the slides). After the series of storms that blew through here over the weekend, the evening was calm and peaceful, barely a whisper of a breeze. The melodious laughing thrushes sang and sang from the bamboo. It was one of those perfect evenings in the gardens.

Find more photos like this on The Canary Report

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Tags: Fresh Air Photos, Garden, Hawaii, Healthy Living, Leisure, Organic, Photography

Puzzles for cognitive health

Posted on Dec 06, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

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Doing puzzles can improve your cognitive skills and even stave off some diseases.

We all know how Multiple Chemical Sensitivity can interfere with our cognitive abilities, especially during an exposure to toxic chemicals or phytotoxins such as toxic mold. In this TED Talk, famed puzzle designer Scott Kim takes us inside the puzzle-maker’s frame of mind. Sampling his career’s work, he introduces us to a few of the most popular types, and shares the fascinations that inspired some of his best.

Kim says electronic and online games are moving away from violent themes and trending toward games for a healthy lifestyle. He sees three distinct trends emerging: casual games, mental fitness, and social media. Kim talks about his website Shuffle Brain, which includes a game called Photograb that reminds me of those games I played as I kid where you had to find things like ladders, cats, and irons hidden in the picture– I loved those games! Photograb mixes puzzles with social photo-sharing, where you play your friends’ photos to sharpen your visual skills. It’s a very clever blend of puzzles and social networking.

Puzzles like this are an excellent way for those with MCS to exercise our brains: Use it or lose it, peeps!

Here is Scott Kim’s TED talk:

Link

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Tags: Art, Health, Healthy Living, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Products, Video

Featured blog: Sheri’s Healing Flower Garden

Posted on Oct 31, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

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Sheri has a passion for animals and an eye for landscapes.

Sheri (at left in a cotton field), aka SheriDragonfly, is a member of our social network and often shares her beautiful photos with us.

I love her landscapes, but I’m especially fond of her animals and insects. Deer, hummingbirds and dragonflies are a few of her favorite creatures.

You can view more photos on her Profile Page on our network here.

Or visit her blog Sheri’s Healing Flower Garden to view more.

One of Sheri’s signature dragonflies.

A landscape taken on Sheri’s October 10th birthday in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina at 6000 feet.

And Peebo. Heh.

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Tags: Leisure, Photography

Sex and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Safe sex

Posted on Oct 12, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Home & Garden, Kimberly Shaw

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When it comes to MCS, “safe sex” has a whole new meaning!

Post by Kimberly Shaw.

Part I: Safe Sex.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity experts recommend your bedroom be the safest room in your house. Sleep experts strongly suggest your bedroom only be used for sleep and sex. When we are overwhelmed or over stimulated by our surroundings, we are not in a receptive place to enjoy sexual intimacy or a good night’s sleep. It’s important the bedroom be a safe place, a place for your body to rest, be nurtured and enjoy pleasure. This may mean purchasing an air purifier, an organic bed, organic sheets and organic pillows. It also means keeping anything toxic far away from the bedroom. Not just chemicals, but emotionally toxic conversations or attitudes. Consider your bedroom your healing sanctuary and only allow items into it that are essential, nurturing, healing and lovely.

Having a safe partner is also very important. Hopefully, they understand MCS and are well aware of the need to be fragrance- and chemical-free. If you have any severe food allergies, your partner should also avoid eating them. Kissing someone who recently ate something you are severely allergic to may cause reactions.

Birth control is a difficult topic for those with MCS. Hormonal contraception, spermicidal methods, intrauterine contraceptives, condoms and other barrier methods all can cause issues for someone with sensitivities. There are some alternatives like natural family planning, natural lambskin condoms, vasectomy and, of course, menopause. This topic is something you want to discuss with your medical care provider if you are in a situation where birth control is an issue.

Unless you are in a monogamous relationship where you know both of you are free of sexually transmitted disease (STD), you need to consider how to protect yourself. Latex condoms often cause severe reactions. Some people do better with natural latex condoms verses synthetic latex. Lambskin condoms may not protect against STDs. Non-latex condoms are generally made out of polyurethane or polyisoprene. Again, another area you want to discuss carefully with a medical care professional that understands MCS. The last thing you want with MCS is to also have to deal with an STD!

There are many natural and/or organic lubricants on the market, but most contain some type of preservative. Read labels carefully! Many people with chemical sensitivities enjoy using organic coconut oil, organic jojoba oil, organic aloe vera, organic cocoa butter, organic almond oil, organic apricot oil, Vitamin E oil or organic plain yogurt, but proceed with caution when using for the first time. You might want to test first for any sensitivity by applying a small amount to the inside of your arm for a few days. (Note: Do not use these oils with condoms.) If you are a female and have trouble with vaginal dryness, you might also consider changes to your diet. Adding more essential fatty acids (EFAs), organic vegetable and fruit oils (like olive) to your diet, drinking more water, supplementing with vitamin E and vitamin A help many women.

Sex toys can enhance your sexual experience. In recent years, they started making vibrators and other sexual enhancement items out of safer materials. For example, you can now find vibrators made out of glass. Earth Erotics is one company that sells glass sex toys. They also sell organic bedroom linens and other safer products. (Many of their items would not be safe for people with MCS though.)

Practice sex safe, MCS style!

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Watch for more upcoming blogs on sex and MCS. I plan to cover health and sexuality in relation to MCS, dealing with disabilities in a sexual relationship, how to handle sex with a non-MCS partner, being single and other topics we with MCS deal with in our sexual lives.

I also blog at Serendipity, come visit!

Disclaimer: None of this information is meant to replace medical advice. Your sexual life is very important and any decisions that could affect your health need to be discussed with your health care provider.

~~~

10/18/09 Editor’s Note: This post is now translated into Spanish at Eva Caballé’s blog NO FUN. Thanks, Eva!

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Tags: Chemicals, Food, Fragrance, Healthy Living, Home, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Organic, Perfume, Personal Care, Products

New online radio station for people with Environmental Illness

Posted on Sep 12, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

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DTOX Radio programming will include music, old time radio programs, radio plays, who-done-it mysteries and hilarious comedies.

A new online radio station for people with Environmental Illness and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity has just been launched. Creator of DTOX Radio is Canary Report member Rob Neis (at left). The Rob Network’s programming right now is easy listening music, but Rob plans on enriching the content with interviews, information about EI/MCS, and for those of us who can no longer read books due to outgassing issues, regular programming also will include old time radio plays and comedy sketches. Doesn’t that sound like fun? We can all listen together!

I’m very excited about the DETOX Radio project. It will enrich the overall online content available to people with Environmental Illness and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Rob has generously offered The Canary Report some air time, so I’ll be creating some five-minutes spots and possibly some hour-long programs for DTOX radio in the near future. Stay tuned!

Welcome to The Rob Network, the home of DTOX Radio

We are very pleased to bring you DTOX Radio, the worlds first 24/7 online radio dedicated to people suffering from Environmental Illnesses.

Now playing; The best non-toxic online music there is

We will soon be updating our program schedule and adding more shows dealing with the complex issues surrounding Environmental Illnesses.

For those who miss the pleasure of relaxing with a good book. We will soon be bringing back several old time radio programs featuring; radio plays, “who done it” mysteries and hilarious comedies.

Our regularly scheduled programs begin at 1pm EST and are repeated at 1am EST. We do this for our friends in different time zones and to give everyone the chance to join in and participate.

We’re always interested in hearing your feedback. Please feel free to drop us an email with your comments and suggestions. But remember, they may just be read on the radio.

Congratulations, Rob! Well done!

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Tags: Environmental Illness, Health, Humor, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Support

The pampered canary

Posted on Sep 03, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Kimberly Shaw, Personal Care

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“There’s no better way to energize your body, mind, and spirit than by taking care of yourself.” ~Stephanie Tourles

Post by Kimberly Shaw.

One of the ways I take care of myself is to make time to pamper myself with my own homemade organic personal care products. When I make something myself, I know exactly what goes into it and can use ingredients that work for me.

The recipes below include a basic unscented version and also variations with organic essential oils. If you have very severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, are currently in a “universal reacting” stage and/or are recovering from a recent exposure, I’d strongly suggest NOT trying the essential oil variations. Even natural and organic scents can and often will trigger reactions. Some with MCS can tolerate organic essential oils in moderation and even find they have aromatherapy benefits. For many years, I could only use unscented products. After much recovery and studying aromatherapy, I find that some essential oils in moderation work well for me.

If you have extremely sensitive reactive skin, keep things very simple. When my MCS was really severe I cleaned my face with just organic jojoba oil.

Feel free to omit any ingredients you are sensitive to or substitute for another ingredient. You are welcome to email me, if you need help tailoring a recipe to work for you.

Due to the nature of these ingredients, products should be used within six months. Before trying something new on your face or large parts of your body, you might want to do a small skin test on the inside of your arm. As with any skin care products, discontinue use if any skin reaction or rash appears.

~~~

Relaxing Bath Salts

¼ to ½ cup Epsom salt
¼ to ½ cup Dead Sea Salt or any type of sea salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon organic jojoba oil

For a regular size bath, use ¼ measurements, for a larger bath use ½ measurements. Add salts and oils to running bath water. Soak and relax for at least 20 minutes.

Variations:

Add several drops of an organic essential oil such as lavender or vanilla.

Add some green tea (or your favorite herbal tea) to the bath. I tend to use about 6-8 tea bags or about 6 teaspoons loose tea in a cheesecloth bag or stainless steel tea infuser.

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Body Scrub

2 cups organic sugar or sea salt
¾ to 1-cup organic oil (jojoba, olive, grapeseed, sunflower, and/or other organic oil of your choice)

Variations:

10-30 drops organic essential oils, if desired. Tangerine or grapefruit work well.

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If you can use essential oils, here is one of my favorite recipes:

Kimberly’s Mojito Sugar Scrub

2 cups organic sugar
¾ cups grapeseed oil (I use it because it is naturally green in color)
20 drops organic lime essential oil
10 drops organic spearmint essential oil

(When I make it for gifts for friends and relatives, I add a dash of rum.)

Mix well and store in a glass container. Use in the bath or shower. Be careful may make surfaces slippery. Do not use on face or sensitive areas.

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Face and Body Wash

8 oz. organic unscented castile soap
8 oz. distilled water
1 tsp organic jojoba oil

Variation:

8 oz. organic unscented castile soap
4 oz. organic hydrosol* (I often use calendula hydrosol)
4 oz. distilled water
1 tsp organic jojoba oil
(10-20 drops organic essential oils, if desired)

*I find since most hydrosols contain less than 5% essential oil they are mild and subtle and some with MCS can tolerate them.

I put this recipe in glass pump dispenser bottles and use as a basic liquid hand and body soap for the whole family.

If you have really dry skin, add extra jojoba oil to the mixture.

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Organic Eye Butter

3 Tablespoons organic shea butter
2 Tablespoons organic avocado oil
2 Tablespoons organic coconut oil
¼ teaspoon organic rosehip oil
¼ teaspoon organic calendula oil
2 drops organic carrot seed oil (optional)

Gently melt shea butter in a double boiler. Add all oils and blend well. Store in glass container. If storing in warmer environment, keep in refrigerator. Use within three months.

Apply a small amount around eye to help hydrate and soften wrinkles. It also works great on lips!

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There are many places to get organic ingredients, one of my favorite places is Mountain Rose Herbs.

In the coming months, I’ll be sharing more organic body care recipes!

Enjoy!

Come visit me at Serendipity.

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Tags: Cosmetics, Healthy Living, Home, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Nontoxic, Organic, Personal Care, Products

Potter with chemical sensitivity goes through the fire

Posted on Jul 29, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Disability Rights, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins, Worker's Rights

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Raku, a Japanese pottery technique, creates a thermal shock in the kiln that will either destroy the work or make it into something amazing.

Post by Susie Collins.

Amy Pratt was unable to throw pottery for close to a year due to injuries caused to her chest wall by coughing too hard and for too long from exposure to toxic chemicals. The chemical exposures she endured at work, coupled with myriad things they were doing to her body, stopped her from doing much of anything for a long time.

“My hiccups and vocal tics were getting worse with activity,” Amy says. “The hand and arm spasms make throwing very challenging.”

But it didn’t stop her completely. Like her pottery in the kiln, Amy burned through the worst of it and is back at her craft making balls and rattles.

“It started out as something to do to practice different texture, firing, and glaze techniques,” she says. “I wanted to try to do something repetitive, to see how I could improve my skills or see how long before I got really bored from it.

“I am now planning to make fountains or some kind of outdoor sculptures out of them.”

Amy is practicing her craft in the studio at the school where she used to work. She started throwing there last spring, before she was asked to leave her job of nine years.

Amy, in her early 40s, has been throwing since she was eight years old, during her first trip to summer camp. She says she didn’t have anyone show her how to do it, she just “went at it,” sometimes spinning art across the room.

“I was able to center, and make something close to a small bowl,” she says. “There is something magical, something primal about taking a lump of clay and creating something with it.”

Amy’s first clue she had Multiple Chemical Sensitivity came in 1997 when she had two isolated exposures from which she completely recovered.

But in 2001, she was leveled by an exposure to lacquer oil, and she almost lost her job because she was too down at work and too ill for close to a year. In 2005, she was again knocked out by paints, carpet and glues, and was out of work for five months. By late 2006, she was experiencing exposures almost daily, which, when coupled with a back injury, led to further complications. She filed a total of six worker compensation claims in three years. She’s now fighting for a disability claim.

“I am often asked, ‘Why do ceramics, why expose yourself to more chemicals and dust?’” Amy says. “Why? Because it keeps me sane.”

Amy says the studio where she throws is very proactive with keeping clay dust down to a minimum, and she avoids using the glaze room when the sprayer is being used.

“I wouldn’t be able to do anything there if I didn’t have the support of the people who run the place,” she says.

So far, the worst exposures at the studio have been fumes from glues, hand lotions and perfumes. There has only been a few times when she could not enter the kiln yard due to something bothering her.

“Throwing helps me cope by getting out and being with other people,” Amy says.

She describes Raku, the Japanese pottery technique she uses, as creating thermal shock that will either destroy the work or make it into something amazing. “You have to let go and see what happens, there is only a small amount of control,” she explains. “Clay can take a lot of abuse, as long as you don’t drop it.”

The analogy of Raku to life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is unmistakable.

“When I finish my self portrait, I plan on raku-ing it, using all of the boxes of paperwork generated from my claims to be burned in the process,” she says. “Fire, good.”

Photos by Amy Pratt.

You can view more of Amy’s pottery on her photo page at The Canary Report’s social network.

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Tags: Art, Chemicals, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Health, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Support, Work

Enjoying simple pleasures

Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Kimberly Shaw

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“Simple pleasures are always the last refuge of the complex.” -Oscar Wilde

Post by Kimberly Shaw.

(Editor’s note: Please help me welcome Kimberly Shaw as a contributor at The Canary Report! Kimberly blogs at Adventurous Canary and is an author, educator, filmmaker and natural health consultant. She’s currently making a film documentary about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. She’ll blog here at The Canary Report on organic food, easy-to-make recipes, herbs, personal care products, and the enjoyment of everyday life in the midst of allergies and sensitivities. You can read her full bio here. Welcome, Kimberly! Aloha, Susie)

For many with food allergies and sensitivities it feels like a love-hate relationship when it comes to eating. We may love food, but hate the way it makes us feel or react. For some it feels like treading through a minefield to find something we can actually eat and enjoy.

It is easy to focus on what we cannot eat. Sometimes it is depressing to consider all that we need to avoid. I have found if I dwell on the “no list” I miss enjoying the “yes list.”

When I focus on what I can eat, meals can become an everyday celebration! Just the simple act of appreciating and savoring simple foods becomes something to enjoy, not something to dread.

I may not be able to have many of the ingredients in a fine gourmet meal, but I can wash some organic cherries, make some organic tea, get out a favorite bowl, sit outside in the breeze and slowly relish each bite. While you might not be able to have cherries or tea, there are some things on your “yes list” that you can enjoy.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Simple pleasures are always the last refuge of the complex.”

In our complex world, especially of avoidance, let’s celebrate and enjoy the simple pleasures, the foods we can eat!

Photo by Kimberly Shaw.

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Tags: Food, Healthy Living, Home, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Organic

The challenge of finding a nontoxic recreational vehicle

Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Keith Carlson, MCS

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Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: An Inconvenient Reality

Post by Keith Carlson

As my wife and I shop for a recreational vehicle in which to spend the next year or two as we live, work and play, our Multiple Chemical Sensitivity has become even more of an inconvenient reality.

We all know that new car smell, and many people equate that smell with freshness and newness. We also know the particular smell of a new shower curtain which is now widely understood to be the off-gassing of pthalates and other very unhealthy chemicals. These are modern realities, and they’re making us sick.

Recreational vehicles (RVs) are manufactured just like homes and cars—they are filled with particle board, formaldehyde-based materials and nasty chemical-laden furnishings that off-gas for years. In our meanderings, we have entered several newish RVs and the chemical aura has hit us both like a brick wall, driving us out the door in seconds. One wonders about all of the retirees out there who buy brand new RVs and then hit the road. Do they develop cancers, memory loss or early-onset dementia more quickly than others? After all, they are living in a small area which is often sealed tight—a literal chemical soup.

Many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity end up homeless because they can’t find safe housing. Small homespun businesses (like Taylor Designs) have indeed sprung up in an effort to fill a niche, creating “safe rooms,” MCS trailers, and other spaces designed to make living and sleeping healthy for those with environmental illnesses. Publications like “Our Toxic Times” and “The Canary Report” offer resources, advertisements and classifieds for those seeking safety and healthy alternatives, and many do-it-yourselfers take a shot at retrofitting trailers, homes and other structures to suit their needs.

For us, our only alternative may be a refurbished Airstream trailer, gutted and professionally retrofitted by Taylor Designs several years ago and now available through a private seller. However, what we really want is an all-in-one RV in which we can live, work, sleep, eat and drive, but every vehicle we look at or consider has been treated with, or is constructed with, materials that can put our health at risk.

Yesterday, after combing through Craig’s List, Mary found an RV that sounded great, and she called the owner. After a long and detailed discussion during which she patiently explained our MCS, the owner finally acknowledged that he has put Bounce dryer sheets in all of the storage compartments of the rig in order to ward off mice and “freshen” the air. That potential sale is going nowhere, of course.

So, we continue in our search, narrowing it down, looking under every rock, and may end up spending more than we care to on the retrofitted Airstream and a diesel pickup truck with which to tow it. This is another consequence of MCS—we can often end up spending more to get what we need because so much of the world is stacked against us. It’s a chemical soup out there, and we simply want to remove ourselves from the broth.

This post was originally published at Digital Doorway, my blog on creative expression, nursing adventures, reflections on healthcare, thoughtful reverie, thoughtless repose, and other flotsam and jetsam.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Environmental Health, EPA, Fragrance, Healthy Living, Home, Housing, Indoor Pollution, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Nontoxic, Perfume, Products, Sick Building, Stink, Toxic

Where day and night meet

Posted on Apr 17, 2009 by Susie Collins in Media/Videos, Organic Gardening, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

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Susie’s Secret Garden

Yesterday morning at about 9:00 a.m., as the night water lily at left was closing, the day water lily at right had just fully opened. Each bloom opens and closes with the cycle of day and night for about three days. There’s a nontoxic black dye in the water for algae control, it really sets off the colors of the blooms and leaves. The variegated leaves belong to the day lily, and the solid reddish to the night. I mixed up the varieties in the same pots this year so they’d come up close together like this. I call it pond art.

Tending my ponds is one of my survival techniques for dealing with my Mulitple Chemical Sensitivity. Even when recovering from an exposure, when I get outside and putter with the ponds– prune plants, feed the fish, change the water– I feel so much better about life and my place in it. I hope you, too, have an activity in your life that helps you stay connected to nature and at peace with yourself and the world. xoxo

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Organic, Organic Gardening, Photography, Water

Go natural for coloring Easter eggs

Posted on Apr 06, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Healthy Living

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With more people going green, natural egg dyes are making a comeback.

The Chattanooga Times reports natural ingredients gain favor for coloring Easter eggs.

Now, folks across the country are boiling cabbage, beets, blueberries and turmeric to create a range of colors and effects.

Some turn to natural dyes because they’re feeling crafty.

Sherry Johnson, co-owner of SheerLark Farm in Flat Rock, Ala., said natural dyes have become more popular in crafts. She uses them to dye her homegrown heritage wool for fiber art, for example.

She has explored natural egg dyes, she added, copying information from Web sites and trying out a few recipes when her children were young.

You can safely try beets, red and yellow onion skins, liquid chlorophyll, cabbage, coffee, green tea and chamomile, she said.

Link to full story

Photo by Cobalt: These eggs are naturally colored, by the breed of the chickens my friend raises on her ranch near Casa Grande, Arizona. Starlene says that one of her hens always produces the green ones. The breed is called “Araucana’, nicknamed the Easter Egg chicken, with more information in the linked wikipedia article. These are just too pretty to do any other decorating with. Hope my grand-daughters enjoy them Easter morning. And with this image, my Easter greetings to all of you, my friends.