Holidays are upon us. And I wish each of you the very best. May you have time with family and/or friends... And for those of you as old as I, may you take an evening with a cup of hot chocolate (or glass of red wine if allowed) and enjoy some REMINISCING...time to relive, to savor some of the BEST times you hold in memory. .

There is a way to do this as a CELEBRATION of past times. If you are old (or getting older) you have a store house of memories. Reviewing, reliving the best of them can bring encouragement and quiet joys. Treasure those good memories. They are gifts from all you have experienced. Do take the time to enjoy them. If you have friends with whom to share all the better. And if friends are not available, write those memories down..or draw them. Remember that EXPRESSION is life giving! .

Oh, and if you miss some people who have moved away or died, do focus on your good memories of them and you may find yourself uplifted -- realizing just how lucky you are to have know such people...to have had those experiences. (I often think of C.P.Cavafy's poem ITHAKA (you can find it on line. (http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?cat=1&id=74 )

On another note

1. Olive Leaf. This is one of the best, most effective of anti-viral items. It also has anti-bacterial properties. I often take it to 'bowel tolerance'...oh, and it can often lower blood pressure too. .

2.Enchina extracts have been shown to boost immune function, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and have hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effect. This is an anti-viral that can help with flu virus. .

3. Elderberry Extract - has been used for many years to combat flu virus. But elder has many uses. The University of Maryland site states: "Elder may have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-influenza, and anticancer properties." .

**Eucalyptus Oil - WARNING: Do NOT eat or drink Eucalyptus oil. It has been recommended to put 8–10 drops of eucalyptus oil on a handkerchief and keep it close enough to your nose so that you can inhale the fumes. Or, 10–15 drops can be added to a vaporizer or to some boiling water on the stove to help ease congestion. .

4.Zinc Lozenges have become popular. They have been shown to be helpful for colds but researchers do NOT agree about how useful they are for Flu. .

5. Oscillococcinum has been shown to relieve flu-like symptoms such as body aches, headache, fever, chills and fatigue...at least for a short while.

Caution

Yes, I check it two different ways since different web developers use different words/phrases and I want to be sure I get the information I need. .

PubMed, by the US National Institute of Health is another site. Just put the name of the herb and the drug in the search box and see if any studies come up. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

Please, it is important to check herbs and medication [and over the counter drugs] There can be some dangerous interactions. For example: I recently discovered that one of the medications I take, when combined with a herb I was considering, could cause internal bleeding. Glad I searched!

But I am hoping that you will NOT have flu over any holidays...that this newsletter is one that you can just file away for possible future use.

Finally, as we come into a time of great religious holidays....and holidays for celebrating the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017, I wish you all the best. May you feel loved...may you find a way to show love for others...may you savor memories and find a way to make good new ones. .

with love, Kate .