How To Make Tea With Pot

If you have some shake or pot to make tea with it’s a good way to get your medicine without smoking it. It’s not liking making regular tea so please pay attention to the instructions or you will not be happy with the results.

Learn how to make weed tea in just a few simple steps.

If you have never tried weed tea you may not get what you were expecting. Making marijuana tea takes time, technique, and prep work. The most time-consuming step is extracting the THC from the weed.

THC is not easily soluble in water alone, but with added saturated fats like whole milk or butter the transfer can occur just add heat and time.

If learning how to make marijuana tea is new to you, you should know that its effects are likely to be equal to that of eating marijuana. Marijuana tea produces time-released body high that has a mild effect, but can potentially last for hours.

Some variations of weed tea are better tasting, and some are more potent. So, depending on your preferences decide which recipe will suit you best.

How to make weed tea the super stoney way:

1/2 cup of marijuana leaves
4 cups of water
4 oz of whole milk
2 tea bags of your choice
4 oz of pot butter
honey

1. Grind up your marijuana leaves. Put in pot, add water and bring to a simmer. Let simmer on low for 15 minutes.

2. 4 oz. of your favorite premade pot butter.

3. Melt your 4 oz. of pot butter and mix it together with 4 oz. of whole milk. SLOWLY add this mixture to the simmering pot of weed tea to avoid curdling of the milk. Put in your favorite tea bags and simmer for an extra ten minutes.

If you think that the texture or taste of the weed flakes in the marijuana tea will bother you, you can extract them by using a strainer, or by using a cheesecloth to separate the materials.

Quick marijuana tea recipe: 

• whole milk 
• tea bags 
• marijuana 
• water 

1. Grind up 1/2 gram to a gram of marijuana buds per cup of milk. Add 1/2 oz of water per cup of milk.

2. Bring to a simmer for up to 25 minutes to allow THC extraction. Pour into a container, add a couple tea bags, and honey if you wish.

3. After about 6-8 minutes, remove tea bags. If you think that the texture or taste of the weed flakes in the marijuana tea will bother you, extract them by using a strainer, or by using a cheesecloth to separate the materials. You can also strain your weed tea in an old pair of pantyhose.

Notes:

The effects of weed tea can take 30-60 minutes to take effect, and when it does it may only be a mild high.

You may have to stir your drink occasionally just in case the mixture starts to separate. A straw will easily solve the problem. Drink it all down.

Cheers to you and I hope by now you are holding a nice glass of hot or ice cold pot tea with pot butter in the fridge. Now, make your favorite space cake with the leftover pot butter and invite your cool neighbors over for a “high tea” like they do in the UK!

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Making Pot Butter

Once you learn to make good pot butter you can make any kind of food or drink with pot in it and be successful at getting enough medicine in your food so that you don't have to smoke. If you don’t like to, or can’t smoke there are ways to get around it they just take a little time and care.

To Make Pot Butter

Making pot butter is the core of most marijuana food recipes. Pot butter is the essential ingredient that gives the high in marijuana food, so take your time to learn and make it right.

There are a couple different ways to make pot butter, however, all ways to make marijuana butter are pretty basic.

Pot butter ingredients:
3 sticks of unsalted butter, not margarine!
1/2 oz. or more marijuana leaf, less if using buds.

Suggested tools to make pot butter:
1 Double broiler, or 2 pans one smaller than the other
1 large bowl
a strainer
a grinder
a cheesecloth or an old pair of pantyhose.

Making Pot Butter Fast

1. Prepare marijuana leaf or bud. You can crush or grind your marijuana leaves using a clean electric coffee grinder for ease, or you can do it by hand with a bud grinder or with your hand. The more the leaf and bud is ground the easier it is for THC extraction.

2. If using two pots, add water to the larger bottom pot and put your butter in the smaller pot. Set the small pot in the big one and heat on low until butter is melted.

Caution: DO NOT BURN THE BUTTER-LOW HEAT!

3. When the butter is completely melted add your prepared marijuana clippings to the pot butter. Let cook for up to thirty minutes, remembering to stir every five.

4. Remove the bud butter from heat and let it cool until manageable (about twenty min). Now pour your fresh pot butter through the strainer into your large bowl, this removes the big pieces of the marijuana leaf.

5. More extraction for a nice buttery consistency.

If you have a cheesecloth handy this step is easy. If your butter is still hot wear gloves. You do not want to burn yourself. Soak the cheesecloth in the butter, and squeeze into your small bowl used for storage. You can repeat this process to remove more of the marijuana remnants if you feel it is necessary.

If you do not have a cheesecloth then we would recommend using an old pair of pantyhose. Cut the foot off the pantyhose and carefully pour your marijuana butter mixture in and squeeze over your small bowl.

You're done! Cover your small bowl and place in refrigerator, or now that you have made pot butter you should try it in one of your favorite recipes that requires butter, like brownies, cake, or cookies to make your very own space cake.

How did yours turn out?

Now go to the last article and make some pot tea to enjoy before summer is over!

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Take An Acid Trip Into Your Body

Teeth Looking upward from inside the mouth.

In the course of developing sophisticated imaging techniques for peering into the human body, Hong Kong-based radiologist Dr. Kai-hung Fung discovered something within himself: an artist.

The discovery happened when Fung was asked by surgeons to generate 3-D images to allow them to visualize complex anatomies prior to surgery. Beginning with CT scans that show slices of organs at different depths, Fung stacked the slices into a single image and developed a way to indicate changes in depth with contour lines similar to those on a topographic map.

Adding “millions of colors and the infinite combination of different shades of colors can be more informative than the simple steps of greyscale,” Fung wrote in an email about how he came up with the idea.

The color added more than mere data. A few years ago a CT scan of a woman’s nose, which resembled an iridescent orchid from a distant planet, sparked an insight. Medical images could be art as well as science. “She had a very straight nasal septum and wavy maxillary sinuses ... the anatomy was exceptionally beautiful,” Fung wrote. “What Lies Behind Our Nose” went on to tie for first place in the 2007 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge. National Science Foundation. Dr. Fung’s art career took off. His visually stunning diagnostic images have been published, exhibited and awarded more prizes, including “Most Psychedelic Images in Science” (2011) from Discover magazine.

But Dr. Fung’s amplifications of CT and MRI scans are more than just groovy wall posters. His “4-D visualizations” (short 3-D videos) aid surgeons by “showing changing perspectives and relative relationships of various anatomical structures. He compares his anatomical views from inside the body to scenes from the science fiction film “Fantastic Voyage,” but with real data.

Like a photographer who prefers manual settings to “point and shoot,” Fung says that instead of using commercial 3-D medical imaging software, “I started to generate my own mapping algorithms and created various color spectra for representing the data … The Rainbow Technique and the 3D/4D color Moiré art that I pioneered were discovered by accident and through … careful observations when I was experimenting. ... They were in fact image artifacts created by the software.”

Riffing on these accidents and creatively tweaking the settings, Dr. Fung has pushed radiology into the realm of fine art. Dr. Fung’s aesthetic approach to radiology doesn’t stop with medical imagery. Currently, he is working with data supplied by artist and nature photographer Dr. Gary Yeoh to produce 3-D CT images of flowers and biological specimens.



The roof of the 4th ventricle of the brain.



The blood vessels inside the brain with the skull base as background.



A virtual view inside the left ventricle looking towards the heart valves.



A hole in decaying tooth in the lower set of teeth.



Stress lines cutting through the head.



An inside view of the left nostril.



The flesh and shell of a live whelk and a clam illustrating evolution and problem-solving in nature.

What a psychedelic trip through tissue and bone that was hey kids?

I used to work on CT and MRI scanners here in CA and before Dr. Kai-hung Fung came up with this method other scientists and doctors were working on similar models. That was in the 1980’s however and they have come a long way.

Software and hardware wise they do a lot of things with scanners that they never could have done before. Many heart procedures that involved surgery are now done on scanners with no heart dyes and common X-ray methods just get better. I’m happy to see a new art form come out of something that can save our lives and still look like Fine Art.

And, I get to say things like “acid trip,” “Psychedelic,” “groovy” and other cool stuff.

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Happy Earth Day!

Times are tough with everything that’s going on in the world but I still have a simple belief that we are on this planet for more of a reason then just destroying the planet and each other. I think one of our best hopes for a united Earth effort begins with the astronaut's vision of the Overview Effect. Once the movie “Continuum” comes out the general public will get their first look at an overview, our history and everything they didn’t know about our little blue planet.

“On the outside, in-between all of us and everything else.” Chris Hadfield

I wanted to do something different for Wonderland so I wrote this poem beforehand and now I want to share it with you. It encapsulates my feelings about this day and the Earth. I hope you like it.

Believe

Believe that things can get better
Believe that the earth can be clean
Believe that no person goes hungry
The future remains to be seen.

Believe there's an end to extinction
Believe that the forests stay green
Believe that the garbage gets picked up
The future remains to be seen.

Believe there's a better tomorrow
Believe that the earth is pristine
Believe there's no war in all counties
The future remains to be seen.

The future is ours so let's grab it
Let's clean up this world that we trash
We need to quit wasting resources
The future remains and must last.

© Bekkie Sanchez 2013

Take care and may your view today on Earth Day be an Overview.

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Guns For All The Wrong Reasons

The military needs the right tools for the job and I don't have a problem with them having the guns they need especially during war although I'm against violence. I have 2 uncles whom were proud Marines so I know what they went through and I respect the military because of them. Unfortunately even military weapons of all types have filtered down to be had by the general public through illegal means and that includes sniper rifles and automatic weapons. President Kennedy's death comes to mind and he isn't the only one to die from a sniper's bullet. 

All you have to do is look at the news reports. Guns and the stupid people using them are causing more deaths of innocent people in the U.S. than ever before. Most states are practically handing them out to the public and countless non-military people even obtain permits to carry that gun until it is pried out of their cold dead hands. Even if you don't own a gun I bet you know someone, a family member or friend (not in a job that requires a gun) that does. There are more guns than people to shot them.

With a permit to carry a person can take their gun on airplanes, buses, trains anywhere they go in this country in any public venue. All they need is their gun and a permit to carry. Don’t fool yourself when you get on an airplane there are more people carrying guns then the cop on the plane and it’s all legal.

I personally know too many gun-toting Americans including people in my own family. Not only are they proud of it they have more than one gun to their name and a lot of them have never gone to a shooting range to practice shooting these guns.

My father was killed by a handgun in 1990 in my hometown. Right after my father was killed the Indiana police were quick to hand that same gun over to my brother who took it back to Florida. The Indiana police should have destroyed that gun. If a gun is just handed over to another person where is the gun control there and this was a murder! The cops do this all of the time when someone dies with a gun and TV lies.

Criminals have been caught with all kinds of illegal guns with silencers and guns that have been altered. The police (who are sometimes the problem) can't keep up and the murder rate caused by guns has gone up alarmingly. Handguns can be bought very cheaply on the street with the serial numbers ground off, ready for a new crime.

After the parent’s of the children killed at the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School petitioned the government to support common-sense legislation to reduce gun violence. Despite a 90% backing of this legislation, it was voted down by the lawmakers this week. Now children in grade schools will need armed guards because the government is afraid to go up against the NRA lobbyists giving them even more power than they had before.

They should be ashamed of themselves. At least the parent’s from Sandy Hook tried and they have a lot of courage to have gone through what they did and then have this happen.

We must not forget the 20 first- and second-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, along with six of their brave educators, who gave their lives in the Newtown Shooting. Change must happen to honor their memories! In tribute to them, and to the many other individuals who lost their lives in other horrific mass shooting in America, we are inviting our members and friends to take an active role right now in the battle to secure common sense legislative solutions to growing gun violence in America. We will deliver this petition to leaders in the U.S. Congress and to the Governors of all 50 states. Your contact information will not be shared publicly. Please forward to your friends and invite them to sign as well. Now is the time for action!

My father was one of these gun enthusiasts who always said his guns would protect him. He had been a champion tag-team wrestler in his time and got killed in his own home while sleeping on the couch with his own handgun. I was outraged at the time and the police were no help. If there were no guns allowed in this country he’d still be with me. Those kids would still be with their parents.

Gun laws vary widely by country. The UK and China both ban private ownership of guns. Many other countries enforce laws that make it extremely difficult to own a gun, especially if you have a criminal record. Some countries with strict gun control include Australia, Japan, Singapore and Canada.

In Canada for example, "handguns must be registered and potential buyers must undergo training, a personal-risk assessment and a criminal background check; supply two references; and have their spouses notified before purchase" (Source: Washington Times)

In the United Kingdom, the right to private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law. Police in the UK don't generally carry a gun. In the UK, citizens are "not allowed to possess semi-automatic and automatic firearms, handguns or armor piercing ammunition"

There was a plan to stamp serial numbers on bullets for more control that would make it harder to commit crimes with all guns. I think that's a great idea. 

Better yet, if there were no guns allowed then people would have to fight hand to hand which I feel would be a lot fairer. If someone attacks you without a gun at least you have a better chance of survival. People might think twice about attacking one another and deaths caused by guns would go down. Or maybe I'm just dreaming of a better less violent world without guns?

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Cell Phone Facts To Consider

Cell phones are so convenient, what would you do without one? They let you make those important on the spot calls and important text messages during the day.

What a lot of people don’t know, and cell phone companies have been keeping from the world is that a cell phone is nothing more than a radio. It is a complex radio, but a radio none-the-less. Let’s take a look at a brief history of cell phones.

In the early 1950’s cell phones were called Radio Phones, in select urban areas, there were large central antennas that were specifically allocated for these radio-phones. Since radio technology itself was only in the building phase, only about 25 channels were available for private use. So basically only 25 people could be talking on their radio-phones at the same time. It wasn’t an efficient system to say the least and a better system was needed so they came up with the cell approach.

The cell approach divided each city up into small divisions, or "cells". The technology behind cells has changed dramatically over the years, just as cell phones have, only now most standard cells are about 10 square miles large. They are usually in the shape of a hexagon. Nowadays, every individual cell has its own base station, rather than only one for an entire city.

Now modern cell phones (meaning they were created in the last 20 years or so) are made to be low-power transmitters (either 0.3 watts or 6 watts), which is much lower wattage than in past decades. This means that the same frequency can be used in the same city, at the same time, but in different cells. This is what makes our current system what it is today.

I got my first cell phone in 1998 and at the time hardly anyone had them that I knew. They were simple but they did the job with very well with an antenna that you pulled up when you used it. It had an old style (green) digital screen with no pictures or texting but it’s convenience was obvious! They were really cheap to have in 1998 but I didn’t have it for long and I wasn’t to buy another one until 2007.

In many ways, cell phones do make our lives better and more convenient. Let’s face it, what can’t the smartphones do? Big Brother and sharing personal information just seem to be growing at a faster rate, whether we like it or not.

Just consider how much personal information you put on your cell. Losing it is one thing, but all the applications you put on your cell use your personal information to some extent. Next time you download an application take the time to look at how much information you're sharing with it. That would normally be a lot, from memory to your images. It usually lists this information after it tells you all the cool things the application can do for you and how you can’t live without it.

Cell phones that have internet can give you the same problems that you encounter on your home PC. Better have a virus checker on that cell, most people who have cell phones don’t think they need them. Always run a virus checker to keep an eye on your naughty apps too.

I’m on my 3rd cell phone and my first “smartphone” and I love my phone. There, I finally said it. Me, the person who always said; “Why do I need a smartphone when I have an awesome computer at home?” The Android cell phones cannot be denied, I have an Evo5 4G with a 3D camera.

To top it all off now there are studies that say our cell phones are possibly carcinogenic causing brain tumors and cancer.

Just lately the World Health Organization put out a new classification for cell phones. The new classification indicates that there is some link between cancer and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields that are emitted by cell phones, but extensive study is still necessary. The panel found that the evidence that cell phone radiation was linked to one type of brain cancer was “limited” and the disassociation with any other type of cancer was “inadequate.” According to the report, the “limited” classification is just one step above the “inadequate” classification.

The problem is with the antennas or certain circuit boards in the cell phones. Holding them up to your head while you talk and exposing this directly next to your brain is what causes these tumors or serious problems. Using your headphones while talking or anything that keeps your cell phone away from your head is the best way you can protect yourself from these problems. Don't put cell phones in your bras women!

The panel that did this study consisted of 31 scientists pulled from 14 different countries that reviewed two large studies that found a relationship between cell phone use and Glioma, a form of brain cancer. The scientists reviewed those studies and other scientific literature for eight days at a meeting in Lyons, France.

There’s no doubt in my head that using cell phones, especially as much as we rely on them now is not a good thing for us. Just consider how many minutes you use yours a month and how you use it. You might be concerned by the answer you come up with!

Here are some cell phone facts:

1. About 20 percent of teenagers have cell phones, many of whom are girls.
2. About ¼ of all Americans have cell phones, but nearly 2/3 of all Europeans do. There was also digital phone technology in Europe about 10 years before there was in the United States.
3. In 1994, 16 million Americans were subscribers to a major cell phone service. Today, more than 110 million Americans currently subscribe. 1.2 billion people are estimated to be subscribers by 2010.
4. There are also disposable cell phones. They are available online and only cost about $12.95.

Whatever your opinion on cell phones it’s hard to live without the convenience of having them. The fact that they are incredibly useful and fun means they will be around for a long time until the next thing comes around to take their place.

This has been updated in 2017 and cell phones have changed even more. I now have a Samsung Galaxy s7 and I love it! Soon, I'll get an s8.

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Overview Imagined

Overview Imagined

I wish that I could see the earth from space
free from the trappings of my life and gravity
my imagination might free me from this plight
so I fancy myself an astronaut on my way to the moon.

Acceleration pulls at me as the rockets propel me forward
I feel another stage release and I clench my teeth as I pray
general confusion and dizziness fill my mind as I try not to be sick
then we are in orbit and I’m floating in my seat.

I slowly move to the window with great expectations
searching the bright dots I find the small ball of pale blue
it looks so peaceful and pristine, just hanging there
everything else fades away as I savor the sight.

Earth, without the complications of being there
a gorgeous living and breathing planet covered in life
no borders just land masses divided by blue waters
surely a paradise to those who live on the surface.

I realize I am seeing Earth as a whole for the very first time
and I feel completely different than I ever have before
witnessing the overview effect for the first time in my life
fills me full of hope as I re-enter the atmosphere…

…finding myself earthbound in my living room.

© Rebecca Sanchez 2017

“When we originally went to the moon, our total focus was on the moon. We weren’t thinking about looking back at the Earth. But now that we’ve done it, that may well have been the most important reason we went.”— Overview Institute co-founder David Beaver, retelling what one astronaut has said.

If we imagine the Overview for ourselves, forget our petty differences, self-importance, love of money and understand how fragile our existence is on the earth we may yet have a chance to fulfill our promise to keep it healthy. 

© Rebecca Sanchez

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Poop On Your Cell Phones

By now most of you have heard the facts about flushing the toilet without shutting it and the waste that gets spewed all over your bathroom stuff in there but what about something we carry in our hot little hands all day and take everywhere? Our cell phones.

You know you take it everyplace you go. There was a good article recently that said with all of the choices that we have at home to get online or do searches with that cell phones are at the top of the list. Not home computers or tablets, cell phones. I hear a lot of people complain about trying to read the small screens and use the tiny keyboards but it’s becoming a well-known fact that we use our phones more than any other device, especially at home.

When you consider those facts it may not be a surprise to you that our cell phones could be harvesting E. coli and infectious diseases from bathrooms, dirty hands and who knows what else.

You hold it up to your face, use it while relieving yourself, take it into public bathrooms, play with it while eating, take it to hospitals, your car and handle it all day. You may wash your hands but after that, you pick that dirty cell phone right back up again.

NED University Journal of Research did a study in 2012 and published a paper on this subject. Here is what they found.

Mobile Phones: Reservoir Of Infectious Diseases In University Premises
The objective of this study is to find out the level of contamination of mobile phones used in University premises. These mobile phones could be a reservoir of pathogenic microorganisms and can also contribute in the spread of infectious diseases among the users in different environments. During this study, 367 mobile phones of teachers, students, non-teaching staff, medical staff and canteen staff of the University were screened in order to check the presence of different microorganisms including normal flora and pathogenic species. Isolated bacterial species were identified by the standard microbiological methods and biochemical tests. Eight different commonly used disinfectants were tested by Agar Well Diffusion method to find out the effective disinfectant for the cleaning of mobile phones. 98.6% of the total mobile phones were contaminated with bacteria. Overall, 250 (69.0%) samples were contaminated with different members of coliforms group of bacteria. 5% Acetic acid solution and Dettol (4.8% Chloroxylenol) were found to be active disinfectants against bacterial isolates. Presence of coliforms and other pathogens on mobile phones indicates the potential unhygienic conditions in university staff and students. Incidences of infectious diseases are greater in those people who use mobile phones for more than two hours per day. This is an alarming situation which can result in an outbreak of diseases on university premises.

Or at work, or in the home, it’s no wonder people get sick so often. I never gave this much thought myself until I was watching Anderson Cooper on TV and he discussed it. It makes sense even if you never considered it until now.

When asked if they wash their hands 95% of people said they did it regularly but obviously they aren’t telling the whole truth. Men’s hands were more contaminated then women and men wash their hands less when exiting restrooms. I don’t think I have to point out that people with dirty hands have the most “poop” on their phones.

If you stop to think about every place scientists have ever turned up fecal bacteria-grocery store carts, swimming pools, fast food restaurant soda fountains and kids’ play areas, ATM keypads, your purse, your washing machine, prewashed salad greens, food court trays, and pretty much everything in a hotel room, it makes it hard to lay your hands on anything again.

You know what to do about this because (if we ever learn to develop it,) it’s just common sense. Wash your hands, disinfect your cell phone with wipes, don’t share your phone especially with sick people, and keep your phone away from the bathroom.

A little cleanliness never hurt anyone, even when dealing with technology.

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Life In Your Years

The seasons' change and time flies. Do you feel like you spend the time you have in your life wisely?

We only go around once and during that time we have to hustle in order to get what we really want, spare time.

Time Used Up

• First, you’re born. You have about 78 years left statistically speaking.
• You’re sleeping for about 29 years of that time. That leaves you with 49 waking years. 
• Time to get educated. You spend 31,000 hours studying or in class. Added up, that’s about 31/2 years. 
• You’ve graduated congratulations! Time to put in your 91,000 hours at work. That’s about 101/2 years.
• All that time you spend in traffic. Say goodbye to one whole year of your life.
• Brushing your teeth, showering, sitting on the toilet and dressing. That’s 21/2 years.
• Eating and drinking take 4 years. You’ve got 28 years left.
• Shopping, grocery runs, Amazon.com; it adds up to about 21/2 years. 
• Cooking, cleaning, yard work and 6 years spent doing chores. 
• You spend 11/2 years caring for kids and loved ones. That’s 18 precious years left….
• Of which you spend half watching TV, playing video games, online, or pick your poison you spend about 9 years doing it and you have only those 9 years left. 
• Out of 78 years on this earth, 9 years and 6 months are yours. Nine years to spend with your family and friends. To play, laugh and cry. To fall in love. To see the world and fulfill all of your passions.

So why are you still in front of the computer? What would you rather be doing? Go out and do THAT instead.

"It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years." by Abraham Lincoln

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Will You Be Mine?

Some history first.

February 14 is Valentine's Day. Although it is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, cards, diamonds, (hint, hint) flowers, or other gifts between couples in love, it originated in 5th Century Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the Roman god of passion and erotic love. He also was associated with desire. Cupid was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid played a role in several mythical adventures. In Vergil's Aeneid, Cupid prompts Dido to fall in love with Aeneas, with tragic results. Cupid is a central character in the traditional tale of Cupid and Psyche, as told by Apuleius. In modern times, cupid is often depicted as a chubby cherub-like creature with wings, shooting his arrows to inflict desire on his unsuspecting victims. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards or is imprinted on heart-shaped candies.

In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings.

Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap." Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

Will You Be Mine?

I fondly remember making hand-made Valentines in 6th grade to trade at school. Even though we had always handed out Valentines at school this time I had someone “special” to give one to. Steve Weber was his name and it was love at first sight.

At home, I got together the art supplies to make it with. Elmer's glue, scissors, scrap paper, ribbon, and lace. Getting to use my mom’s real scissors I excitedly and carefully cut out my hearts making sure they were perfect.

As I worked, I bit my tongue lightly with great concentration. I cut a big red paper heart and then a smaller pink one and so on until I was happy with the results. I worked on that Valentine for hours thinking about how much Steve would like it. Then I thought, what should I write on it?

I walked into the kitchen; “What should I write on my Valentine?” I asked my mom who was cooking supper and smoking her ever-present cigarette, 

“Are you done with the scissors yet Bekkie? I told you to return them to the sewing box when you’re done.” Not answering I silently slunk back into my bedroom. Luckily she didn’t know I liked a boy.

I was stymied, what could I write on the Valentine that would make Steve like me? Even though she was my best friend I knew Barbara Snyder liked him too; all the girls did. I knew she was probably making him a Valentine tonight too. Or worse yet maybe her mom got her store-bought cards! How could mine compete with fancy store-bought cards? I felt miserable.

I thought about asking my mom to buy store-bought cards and then quickly put that bad idea out of my head. Then the words came to me, I'd do a simple, "Will You Be Mine?" 

It wasn’t all lovey-dovey either it was simple, to the point. I ran to get the sparkles so I could finish my card. Surely he’ll like it and me.

The next day at school it was time to pass out the Valentine cards, but I had a plan. I was going to give Steve my card at recess by the big tree, not now. I felt my bravado fade when I saw Barbara Snyder passing out her store bought cards. 

I watched like a hawk while Steve looked through his cards. He didn’t react to any of them in particular. Gosh, he was cute. He turned and locked eyes with me. I turned fire engine red and turned away while I pretended to fiddle with a card that Jerry Lewis had just given me.

At recess, I raced down the hill and took my place by the big tree. I got there first, good. Steve would be playing baseball nearby. I wanted to do this before my girlfriends found me and then I saw Steve. 

He walked right up to me. “Barbara said you like me,” he said somewhat accusingly. 

I turned 50 shades of red, extended my shaky hand with the card in it and stammered, “This is for you Steve.” He took the card without reading it, hit me really hard on the arm, and ran off to play with his friends.

“He loves me!” I thought to myself triumphantly.

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Some Of My Favorite Things

The old lighthouse on Lake Michigan in my hometown. That is the city of Chicago sticking up across the lake. On a clear day, you can see Gary and Chicago.

Michigan City is a small town that borders on Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes. We have our own zoo and didn’t have a Mall until one was built. It was wonderful growing up there and I think about doing so with great fondness.

When I think about those days there are so many, one of a kind memories I got to experience while growing up Hoosier. I thought I’d share some of them with you.

1. Eating breakfast at Brownies Restaurant after church, filled with people who had been at Sunday services.

2. The view from our largest sand dune, Mount Baldy.

3. Summer concerts at the old band shell.

4. Going to the Moose Lodge for parties and functions with my family.

5. Riding the South Shore (electric train) to Chicago and back.

6. Franklin Street, (our main drag) filled with honking cars after the 1966 state basketball championship.

7. Seeing Santa at his little house that would magically appear at Christmas on the corner of 7th and Franklin street.

8. Watching men make railroad cars at Pullman Steel.

9. Going fishing at the crack of dawn on the pier by the lighthouse.

10. Walking along Lake Michigan searching for beautiful pieces of driftwood and other treasures that washed up on the shore.

11. Riding with my friends up and down the main drag after we all got our drivers license.

12. Going to the bakery for fresh Bear Claws.

13. Driving along the lake on Lakeshore Drive looking at all the beautiful homes and mansions on the lake.

14. Going to ‘sock hops’ at school and the YMCA.

15. Watching my dad wrestle at the Armory, state fairs, and Ames Field.

16. Ice skating and bobsledding in the Winter.

17. Going to Scholl’s Dairy for the best ice cream ever.

18. Horseback riding at the stables in Beverly Shores.

19. Ordering cherry cokes and fries at Woolworth's fountain.

20. Buying 45 records at Harvey’s Dime Store.

21. Going to the beach and swimming in Lake Michigan.

22. Going to the A & W on the way to the beach for hot dogs and root beer.

23. Penny candy and I have the fillings to prove it.

24. Standing outside at McDonald’s and buying 25 cent hamburgers.

25. Christmas decorations on Franklin Street.

26. The balcony at the Tivoli Theater.

27. The smell of the Smith Brothers cough drop factory.

28. Fish fries with fresh water perch (the best food ever) at M&M’s restaurant.

29. Three feet of snow in 1958.

30. Walking out to the lighthouse.

31. Climbing all the way up to the top of the observation tower by the zoo.

32. Going to the Washington Park Zoo to see Monkey Island.

33. Riding the bumper cars at Washington Park.

34. Going to the old amusement park on the beach by Lake Michigan.

35. Going to the lake to get a free truck full of sand for our sandbox.

36. Walking to school and back home every day all by ourselves.

37. Going to movies at the 212 outdoor theater.

38. Catching lightning bugs on warm summer nights.

37. Sunrises and sunsets on Lake Michigan.

Just a few of my favorite things about my home town.

Mount Baldy the biggest sand dune now a park.

The Armory where my father wrestled.

Carlson's Drive-in, the only one left now.

The lighthouse in winter.

Our Mall (we only had one) where we hung out and my mom taught me to drive in the parking lot when it was closed on Sundays.

I enjoyed growing up here and if I could make time stand still I would have done it before all the little changes that forever make our lives different. This place as I remember it is just a memory.

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