.SOMETIMES RAW.

Oh Canada! Have you ever been to Canada? In this article I want to share why I love Canada so much. On the picture above you can see how proud I was after ordering food in French at a Tim Hortons in Quebec. We spent four days at  Les Chalets du Lac Grenier in Quebec/Montréal last month. My French is good enough by now to survive. Awesomeness!

I fell in love with Canada after my first visit because it is so great. In Canada, I have been to Newfoundland, to Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, Chicoutimi (yes, this is a city) and to so many other places that I can truly share some insight about this awesome country.

The main focus of this article will be Toronto; simply because this city is amazing and it is a special place that my husband and I discovered together. We have been back there several times since.  We stayed at a tiny hostel the first time because the trip was all about walking around and exploring and not enjoying a beautiful hotel room. 😉 It seems we explored the entire city while walking, which was great. I remember my feet hurt but then again they always do because I never wear the right type of shoes. (according to my husband) We took so many pictures, ate awesome food (Check out this café at Kensington Market for breakfast/brunch or lunch) and did most of the touristy things. I loved the CN Tower for sure.

Yep, this is me, approximately four years ago with short-short hair, sitting on the glass floor all the way on top  (553m/1,815 ft) of the CN Tower striking a Yoga pose. And it was winter – it was a cold winter 😉

Many say that Canada is just like the United States but it is not true. Not for me at least. There are all kind of differences that made me fall in love with Canada and enjoy it so much as soon as we cross the border every time. The first thing I noticed was that the people in Canada are so friendly. You know, heartfelt friendly – not fake friendly. Everyone is just so nice. No New York attitude and not everyone has the face down looking at a smart phone (is it so smart?) or avoiding eye-contact.  People look at you! The other thing I noticed was how clean Canada is. Coming from Germany this was not a something new to me. Germany has rules for everything and one big thing is cleanliness.

Take the subway in Toronto and compare it to the Metro in NY. You know this nasty smell when you take any subway in Manhattan? This nice mix of feces, dust, dirt and urine? Yuk! In Toronto – clean! It all seems to work over there.

One more place I would like to share is  The St. Lawrence Market. This place has everything a huge farmers market has plus more. You can easily stroll around for hours. Of course I have to mention that my husband and I bought real wool cardigans at one of the stands and I thought it would be enough to wear that when we stepped back outside. Note to self: Whenever it is below minus 20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) you don’t go out with just a wool cardigan on! Of course I got really sick but this is another story.

It probably sounds like I am exaggerating but with Canada it was love at first visit for me! I am looking forward to our next visit which is actually just around the corner. When you visit Toronto for the first time it can be slightly overwhelming because there is simply so much to take in.

If you plan a visit to Toronto, this website is pretty amazing. Also, feel free to ask me anything about all my Canada travels. You will find nature at its best!

Thank you for reading my blog. 

I would like to share my take on Homeopathic Medicine today. I am by far no expert but I know a little about Homeopathic Medicine and this is what I will write about. You can make your own decisions after. The book I read to start my studies on Homeopathic Medicine is:

My aunt recommended this book written in German and I read it, highlighted things and took out of it what I think is useful for me and my family. There is just so much to learn about this you guys! Insane! The other days I shopped at Whole Foods. As I wrote, unfortunately I got crazy in there; especially in the Homeopathic Section of the store. I found out about Boiron. I never heard about this company before. What I would love to do  is to give you a little overview on homeopathic medicine and share some of the products I use. For myself I ordered this one just to have a reference in English.

What is homeopathic medicine?

It is a therapeutic method that uses deleted substances to relieve symptoms. As simple as that. There are usually no chemicals added to the active ingredients which are from plants, minerals or some animal products. Homeopathic medicine has been around for more than 200 years.

What are the benefits? 

The benefits are that they are natural and they work with you body not against it. They don’t cause sleeplessness or drowsiness and you cannot overdose on them. However, you do have to be careful as well. You cannot just take 10 of those and 15 of those, sort of. You have to study and learn about it and get yourself familiarized with these methods. This way you can self-medicate yourself naturally. When you have the first sign of sickness you start taking the medication. For example I feel my throat is itchy and I might get a cold I am taking Phytolacca decandra. It sounds all weird but when you read about it more you will be fine and understand.

How are homeopathic medicines presented?

Usually there are specific indications  and directions on how to use them. They are available as tablets, gels, creams, ointments etc. Just go to the Boiron Website for a start!

What’s with all the dilutions?

I asked myself the same question and here is a quick answer. If you have a homeopathic medicine, let’s say a 30C. It is not stronger than a 6C but the difference is the level of action. You usually take a 6C for local symptoms and a higher 30C is more for fever, sleeplessness, rashes etc. According to Boiron “The ’30’ indicates that the source material has been homeopathically diluted 30 times. The ‘C’ stands for ‘centesimal’ and indicates that each of o the 30 dilutions was made of the real of 1/100”. 

How do I take homeopathic medicine? 

It usually says it on the tube of the medication but the most efficient route of administration is under the tongue. No water, chewing or swallowing.  You simply take the dosage prescribed on the tube or by your doctor. Do not rinse your mouth after taking the medication. For example some of the medicine you have to take are five pellets every 15 minutes for 1 hour. Sometimes also 5 pellets 3 times a day. “As a general rule for  self-medication, increase the frequency when the symptoms are sudden and acute; decrease the frequency with improvement”.

There are just so many homeopathic medicines out there! How do I know I chose the right one? 

As I said, you have to read a lot about it before starting self-medication. You might feel better very quickly if you start the treatment at the onset of symptoms, especially in acute conditions. All products come with product labels so you can read up on the direction of use. In any case, if the symptoms persist or get worse you should see a doctor anyway. For anything chronic you may have you want to see a homeopathic health care professional and your treatment may require different dosages. You might also need more time before your conditions improve.

These are the Homeopathic Medications I have used:

Arnica (Cream/Gel/Tablets): Muscle pain, swelling from injuries, bruising

Belladonna: For High fever of sudden onset

Ferrum phosphoricum: Low or mild fever; also first symptoms of a cold or flu

Kali iodatum: Colds with frontal sinus pain (I used it for my son when he had a cold. He was fine after two days!)

Phytolacca decandra: Sore throat with pain radiating to the ears

Sulphur: Skin rashes, also after vaccination

Zincum metallicum: Leg cramps

Silicea: Fatigue and irritability, also after vaccination

Sepia: Mood swings  – Hello, all you women out there! 🙂

I would love to hear your thoughts on homeopathic medication. Are you familiar with it? What do you take? Share your thoughts!

Update: I just received information on Homeopathic Medication from Firma SEHES: You should not take Homeopathic Medication before or after you brushed your teeth! Also, if you drink coffee or smoked you should wait at least 30 minutes before you take Homeopathic Medication. Otherwise it won’t have the desired effect. It is important to add that initially your symptoms could get worse. It is important that you know the basics about Homeopathic Medication before self-experimenting.

Auch ganz wichtig. Es kann zur erst Verschlimmerung kommen. Und die ist manchmal nicht ohne.Thank you for reading my blog. 

“I have come to the conclusion that my passion for tidying was motivated by a desire for recognition from my parents and a complex concerning my mother. Being the middle child of three siblings, I did not get much attention from my parents after the age of three. Of course, this was not intentional, but being sandwiched between my oder brother and the youngest child, my little sister, I could not help but feel this way” – Marie Kondo

I am into decluttering and minimalism as you might be aware of by now. I have read a plethora of books on those subjects but this particular one kept on popping up in my inbox so I bought it and hopped on the Kondo-bandwagon. Everybody in this world – it seems has read this book. Three million copies sold it says on the cover on the book right? Well, let’s start reviewing it while it is still fresh on my mind.

If you have never read anything about decluttering or minimalism and want a book to start, you should start with this one instead. Joshua Fields Millburn is amazing.

Kondo has some great ideas to help organizing and help decluttering I think. But, since I have read so much about it already it seems to me that all she does is repeat herself and if she doesn’t, the book just seems strange. She is giving some advice here and there and the quote I put from the book just fits right into the weirdness. She loved organizing, cleaning and throwing things away since she was ten years old. Say whaaaat? Yep, I mean when I was ten, the worst thing was to clean up but it was all good because we did it eventually all together (my brother, sister and I) but we did not read magazines on changing our rooms, or re-decorating things.  One weird part about the book was when she explained what she does when she comes home after work. All her belonging have a place in her home. And she talks to them and thanks them for serving her this particular day. She says good night to some items, and usually takes all her things out of her purse to give the purse a rest or sort. She gives her socks a rest because they were on her feet all day long. Ahem… cough cough!

Marie Kondo also organizes and cleans houses and apartment and she described stories about her clients. When she arrives at a new client’s house she bows down at the entrance to greet the house and to say thank you for allowing her to clean it.  Also that if you clean and declutter it cleans the body of toxins. Well, in a way I think she might have a point but then again… not! Of course it is nice to make more room, clean up and to know where everything is. The way she writes I think she does not have children. If I would come home from work after a long day while dragging my son behind me,  all I really want is my husband, some food and a glass of red wine. I don’t really think about placing my purse at the “purse-place” after taking everything out of it so the purse and items can rest until the next day. Or bow down at the entrance to welcome my home. She mentioned also that she puts her dishes outside so she does not need a dish rack because the sunlight and wind can do the job. Plus you can “hang sponges outside, such as on the veranda” so they don’t sit around the sink I reckon. Where do you put your sponges after you cleaned the dishes? 🙂

I donated a lot of my clothing and even dropped of some books at the local library. However, folding my underwear and socks? I think this is for people who have all the time in the world.

So after watching this video you get a pretty decent picture of how this woman “ticks”.

Overall, although there are some helpful tips on how to clean, declutter and organize your life and home, this book is mostly funny. I am still thinking about all the sponged hanging outside to dry on my porch. So make sure you don’t hurt your sock’s feelings okay!

Does this book “spark joy”? Not really for me I must say. Maybe you would like to read it? Or you read it and want to share your thoughts? In any case, if you want my copy I will send it to you for free. 😉

You can order the book in German here. 

Thank your for reading my blog.