June 14, 2018

you are the bartender of your own body’s Circadian Rhythm and Blues bar so use your mixology expertise wisely.(image credit: Catherine Streeter)
According to The National Sleep Foundation, traveling to distant locations across several time zones, “you are likely to experience the phenomenon of jet lag which can have profound effects on your sleep and alertness.” What was believed as a state of mind for a long time (jet lag), today is a scientifically proven imbalance in the body’s “biological clock” the foundation explains.

bang…! you might be able to say no to drugs but you would miserably fail when trying to say no to an echte Hungarian “chicken paprikas…”
As it turns out, studies by Northwestern University and Harvard’s Medical Chronobiology Program, have also proven that messing too much and especially long term with one’s Circadian Rhythm and Blues, one might encounter complications of high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes, weight gain and other health problems due to excessive eating in response to the mixed signals of one’s body.

My sister, Zsuzsanna, the “Chicken Paprikas Lady” with Anka. Anka is wearing her cooler because of the unusual hot weather in Budapest (at least for us, upstate NY farmers)
To avoid a potential jet lag nightmare after my arrival to Budapest, I’ve decided to decline to eat all the delicious greasy, salty, sweet and fattening Hungarian culinary wonders that I was offered at my sister’s home. But than I realized that good manners are essential and it would be absolutely pointless to hurt my family by refusing to eat. I’ve decided to compromise, (basically sacrificed myself) and did eat all the goodies they served and more…
To get rid of my guilt, the extra weight and also to give Anka a break, we took her to a nearby park with my sister Zsuzsanna, where she has shown me an interesting green project. In the park, all the different newly planted trees are accompanied with large signs explaining not only the particular tree’s botanical description, but also its potential industrial use and function in folklore.

if you suffer of ophiophobia, than you want to sit and rest under the shades of ash trees to avoid snakes as Slavic legends say
Did you know for instance that Ash is used in the furniture and sport industry? Also, according to Slavic folklore, it is safe to sit under ash trees, because snakes avoid the shadows of ash reflected on the ground.
Or, have you ever heard that in Pomerania and Mecklenburg, (German principalities) wooden pegs made of maple and sycamore trees were used by the medieval building industry to reenforce doors, door frames and thresholds to keep witches out from the homes?
After reading the signs, I was not entirely sure that what was such a big deal about witches? But than the more I was thinking about it and tried to rationalizing it, I realized that I shouldn’t rush to judgment, because what would I know about superstitions and supernatural creatures? After all I am not from some North-eastern German province, I am just a Transylvanian.
To be continued…