Help for a blocked nose (a steam tent)

If your nose is very congested because of a cold,  spring fever or bronchitis etc. one of the things that you can do to get relief is to make a steam tent.  This is how you do this.  Boil up some water, remove it from the heat source and place the hot boiled water  into a heat proof bowl. Put a small amount of Vicks Vapour Rub  into the water after it has been removed from the heat source.

Place a bath towel over your head and let it cover the bowl to form a tent.  Be careful not to let the towel touch the hot water.  Keep the bowl firmly in place and place your face about 12 inches from the water and slowly breath in and out the steam vapours. This will help soften up mucus and dislodge it from your nasal passages.  Close your eyes to protect them.

At all times be careful not to scald yourself with the very hot water. Blow out your nasal passages with paper tissues.

I do not recommend a steam tent for children.  Fill up the bathroom with steam for them.  My mother did this for my sister, when she had severe bronchitis when she was little.

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The Aussie Farmer (poem)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a farm
Which was run down.
It was fifty miles
To the nearest town.

I ploughed the ground
And planted the seeds,
Watered the plants,
And tore out the weeds. 

With water levels low,
In the tank,
New artesian wells
Into the ground
I sank.

Some rain was needed
For the crop,
But there wasn’t even
One small drop.

I waited, waited,
For the rain,
And finally
One day it came.

It rained non-stop,
Every day,
Washing all
The crops away!

Then the bushfires started
And the barn burnt down.
I quit the farm
And headed for town.

A bakery shop in the town,
I now run,
And dough I am making
By the ton.

More of my poems

Happy feastday St Anthony (The custom of St Anthony’s bread)

True son of St Francis that he was St Anthony had a great love for the poor and even now he still continues to help them by encouraging the devotion known as St Anthony’s bread. This is a very old devotion too and it had its origin in Padua as the result of another miracle.
A little child whose parents lived near the Basilica, which was then being built fell into a vessel of water and drowned. The poor mother was heart broken but great as was her grief she had a greater confidence in the power of St Anthony. She begged him to help and give her back her babe promising that if her prayers were heard she would give the child’s weight in grain to the poor. Towards midnight while the bereaved mother was still praying the child rose up as if from sleep. After this miracle the practice developed of promising alms to the poor in return for favours received through the intercession of the saint. Today this practice is widespread and in most of our churches boxes are provided to receive alms for the poor from those who have been assisted by this great friend of the poor.
Great impetus was given to this devotion by a simple incident that occurred towards the end of the last century. A pious French girl Louise Bouffier who owned a small linen store in Toulon, found difficulty, one morning, in opening the door of her shop. After repeated efforts she sent for a locksmith, whose assortment of keys proved useless. Deciding that the lock must be forced, the man departed to get tools for the purpose. While he was away, Louise prayed earnestly to St. Anthony, promising him bread for his poor if the door was opened without injury to the lock. When the locksmith returned she asked him to try his keys once more, telling him of her promise to the Saint. The man did as she asked, and with the first key he tried, opened the door without any difficulty.

This incident greatly strengthened Louise Bouffier’s confidence in St. Anthony.  She increased her devotion to him, always promising bread to the poor.  Her friends followed her example with the result that, in a short time the rear of her store became a centre for St. Anthony’s Bread in Toulon. People of all ranks and conditions came there to pray before the statue of St. Anthony which had been erected.

Alms of bread arrived in great quantities, until the task of distributing it became too difficult. Then it was decided to accept money offerings for the poor, who were thereby enabled to purchase not only food, but clothing and other necessities. The thank-offerings also took the form of alms for the education of poor boys for the Priesthood.

More customs in honour of St Anthony

The life of St Anthony

Favours granted by St Anthony

Prayers to St Anthony to seek his intercession

A Picnic to alleviate family stress

Life can be very stressful.  Help your health, your marriage and family life by having simple regular picnics.  It need not be complicated:  just bring slices of cold cooked chicken, cut up salad, mayonnaise, bread, a flask of hot water, tea bags, some sugar, mandarins, butter, oranges, bananas, milk, tea towels, plates, cutlery, cups, spoons and a small digital camera to take pictures of the ducks and the flowers and pick a quiet peaceful picnic location near a water tap.