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the peanuts were an annual ritual at my house. The Great Pumpkin Special began the festivities for the season.....


and the Turkey day Special:
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christmas:


I miss Charlie Brown

I was going to add this to my post but thought I should put it separate. My MIL died from aspergillosis because an oncologist diagnosed her with brain lesions and gave her radiation therapy which killed her within 24 hours. She was basically filled with a fungal infection that could have been treated. This is usually a disease caused by inhaling or being around moldy feed grains. Once the immune system is compromised for some reason it explodes and goes every where in the body.

Dang forgot again MIL presented with a nervous system symptom of paralysis in her legs and they first told her she had a stroke then they told her she had cancer.

15 years ago it was legal for dog food companies to use the feed grains not fit for human or livestock consumption. Science Diet was the culprit in a lot of aflatoxin poisonings back then and I had 3 dogs that proved that. They make a much bigger deal out of that kind of stuff now but back then the dogs and cats that were euthanized at vet's offices that people did not take home to bury were also used in the "meat meal" in dog and cat food. So any drug that was in the animal when it died was also in the dog food.

ya know.....the whole anti spammer rigmarole is fine and dandy, but it puts a hitch in the giddy up of situationally created sock puppets.

fixed it for you!

According to the Philly paper, Monday I think, the latest thinking is the increase in peanut allergy in U.S. children, is because Doctors have been advising pregnant women to avoid peanut products and keep them away from young children. Now they think that pregnant women and young children should eat peanut products for the allergens.

They cited comparisons between countries that eat a lot of peanut products, and those that don't, in the number of children with peanut allergy.

I remember one Christmas, Mum telling us to keep an eye on our brother around the peanuts - they had been identified as a choking hazard. Me, as a jealous ?7? year old, deliberately turned my back - and suffered hideous pangs of guilt late into the night, despite the fact he was still alive. Like me, he didn't even like peanuts, at least not enough to eat them if there was other food available. (Note, we had a big tub of salted peanuts out every Christmas, being the only time of year children were allowed to help themselves and eat what they wanted).

Aside from that confession, I do remember that a consignment of walnuts was contaminated a couple of years ago, and people were warned off buying them in case it had gone unnoticed in previous shippings. Not sure if nuts are Christmas food in the States, but in England we always had a bowl of nuts and a nutcracker at Christmas. Walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds. Like dates - only a few were ever eaten, but we had them every year!

Sure, we go nuts every Christmas. ;)

We've always done the nut thing in our house at Christmas, but we're a family that grows things like macadamia nuts etc, so they're a bit of a year round (seasonal) item too.

That reminds me. I need to get a new nut cracker for this one. :)

eta: Aden had his first taste of nuts at 5 weeks old if you can believe that. His father and I took my mum to baskin and robins for a sunday, and Kal ordered rocky road icecream in his. I was yabbering at my mum and then happened to glance back and here's Kal feeding our 5 week old his icecream and looking so proud of himself for doing so. Aden seemed as pleased as punch too. I threw a blue fit and told Kal what an idiot he was.

I did that a lot over the next couple of years.

Not sure about the cancer aspet of this, but I heard somewhere that one of the reasons posited for the increased instances of peanut allergy in recent years might be that peanut oil is used in many preparations for treating eczema, and that this is somehow sensitising youngsters to peanuts, particularly youngsters who already have an allergy based condition (eczema).

Don't know if there's anything in it. Just something I heard.

FIPPLE POSTING?

What, really? *winces* ohmigod that's disgusting. I did not know that. I don't know why that revolts me more than the fact they used to do the same with cattle feed, but the idea of a dog eating dog flesh goes through me like hearing of humans eating humans. Worse, becasue they're all innocent and unknowing as we feed them their meals.

It's a dog-eat-dog world.

Actually I think a dog would eat a dog, if it came across it somewhere.

what a great first post. I'm really impressed by this newbie.