Day of the Dead is coming up on Sunday and Monday. We set up our alter last weekend and are beginning to decorate it with candles, incense, and pictures of loved ones who have passed. Today I will place a little jar of salt on the alter to represent the earth and to cleanse the spirit. The final piece will be the colorful addition of large paper flowers.
In Mexico, enormous fresh marigolds in red, orange, and yellow are used to decorate the graves and alters but paper flowers are also popular and are often strung together to make elaborate garlands which are draped overhead and along the edges of the gravestones.
I am not, not, not a crafter so believe me when I tell you they are very simple to make. All you need is one package of colorful tissue paper and some pipe cleaners. 15 sheets of tissue paper and 15 pipe cleaners should make about 15 flowers.
Take one sheet of tissue paper and cut it in half, then cut that piece in half two more times until you have several sheets that are about 8-inches long x 4-inches wide. This doesn’t matter too much—the bigger the sheets, the larger the flowers. Stack 8 pieces of cut tissue paper together (you can use all the same color or multiple colors).
Starting on the short end make a 1/2-inch thick fold.
Flip the tissue paper over so the folded side is down and then take the folded piece up and fold it again so now the fold is on the top, like an accordion. I wonder how many times I can use the word fold in a sentence, hmmmm.
Keep working your way up, folding back and forth until all the tissue paper is folded.
Bend the pipe cleaner around the middle of the stack and twist to secure. This will be your stem.
Cut each edge, either in a triangular shape or rounded.
Then fan out the paper.
Now pull one layer of tissue paper at a time towards the middle, carefully peeling the pieces of paper apart to create a puffy flower.
Continue with the remaining pieces of tissue paper to make as many flowers as you like. You can even make gigantic ones to hang from the ceiling using full sheets of tissue paper.
For those of you celebrating Día de los Muertos, I hope your hearts are full of celebration this weekend. Cherish these days; share family stories, eat sweet yeasty bread, and leave a flower or two for those who can no longer walk with us on this earth, but who are waiting to show us the glorious world on the other side.
Stay in the game and learn how to listen to your body and avoid injury with these tips.
Overuse injuries can be the bane of physically active people, from elite athletes to weekend warriors. Excessive, repeated stress on tendons, bones and joints over weeks or months can lead to painful knees, shin splints, tennis elbow and other overuse injuries. Most of these problems stem from the “terrible toos”: trying to do too much, too hard, too soon. Not getting enough rest and using poor technique or equipment can also make you vulnerable.
You can prevent overuse injuries by following some common-sense guidelines and listening to your body.
Common overuse injuries
Unlike the sudden pain of a torn ligament or sprained ankle, overuse injuries develop slowly and show up more subtly. At first you might feel minor pain or tenderness in the affected area just after you exercise. Eventually the pain becomes chronic and may keep you from participating in your sport or everyday activities.
Common overuse injuries include:
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) — Pain and weakness at the outside of the elbow
Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) — Pain and weakness at the inside of the elbow
Swimmer’s shoulder (rotator-cuff tendinitis) — Pain with overhead activity, problems sleeping on the shoulder, weakness of the shoulder
Runner’s knee (patellofemoral pain syndrome) — Pain around or underneath the kneecap, made worse with running, jumping or cycling, going up or down stairs, and sitting with knees bent
Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome) — Leg pain associated with running
Achilles tendinitis — Ankle pain associated with running, dancing or jumping
Plantar fasciitis — Heel or foot pain that’s often worse with your first steps of the day
Stress fractures — Pain in the foot, lower leg, hip or other area that’s made worse with weight-bearing activity
Limits and common sense
To avoid overuse injuries without sacrificing your commitment to fitness, follow these guidelines:
Increase your workouts gradually. Observe the 10 percent rule — don’t increase your workout time or distance by more than 10 percent each week. If you’re currently running 10 miles a week, add one mile or less a week to your total.
Warm up, cool down and stretch. Warm up for five minutes before your activity by exercising at a low intensity, then do some slow stretches that you hold for about 30 seconds. After exercise, cool down for five minutes, then stretch again.
Rest when needed. Fatigue may increase your chance of injury, so allow time for your body to recover and heal. Include rest days and easy days in your schedule.
Cross-train with other activities. Pursue a variety of exercises to give your joints and muscles a break. If your main focus is an aerobic exercise such as running, incorporate strength training into your routine — and vice versa.
Learn proper technique. Take lessons or work with a coach or trainer to learn the correct techniques — especially if you’re learning a new sport or using a new piece of equipment.
Get the right equipment. Choose the appropriate shoes for your activity, and replace them when they’re worn out. Consider using orthotics or a heel cushion if you experience foot pain. Running shoes should be well cushioned.
Pay attention to evenly working your muscles Strengthen muscles on both sides of your body to avoid imbalances.
Above all, listen to your body. Don’t ignore pain — it signals that you may be heading for injury. Remember, it’s better to take a day or two off than to find yourself laid up for several weeks waiting for an injury to heal.
To bake eggs in the oven, start by preheating your oven to 325°. Place one egg in each cup in a muffin tin, then carefully pour water into each cup until it reaches the brim. Baking hard boiled eggs can result in the formation of small brown spots on the eggshell (nothing to be worried about, just a chemical reaction). Pouring water over each egg prevented some of those unattractive spots from appearing on the egg shell. The water bath also resulted in a more evenly cooked yolk than eggs that were cooked in the muffin tin without water. Cook the eggs for exactly 30 minutes. While the eggs are baking, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. When the eggs come out of the oven, immediately take them out of the muffin tin using tongs and place them in the ice bath to cool. After cooling for at least five minutes, peel and prepare as desired.
Hard Boiled Eggs vs. Oven Baked Eggs
Baked hard boiled eggs don’t cook as consistently as boiled hard boiled eggs (the yolks are not as even in color and texture as boiled eggs). Because of this, we only recommend this method if you want to cook a large batch of hard boiled eggs that you don’t have to keep a close eye on.
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