Endpaper Mitts

This is about all I have accomplished so far on my Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang. I am really excited about the colors. I love the way they are turning out. I had to put them down for a bit though. My 7month old is quite the busy bee.

Adventures in Rosemaling

I enjoy refinishing furniture as much as any other craft I am acquainted with. I finally got around to refinishing my daughter's bed. It was my bed when I was a child. It used to be a canopy bed. It was very plain. The posters were warped from time, and the color was too drab for her room. I decided to compliment our Norweigan heritage by trying my hand at Norweigan Rosemaling. I had to used colors that complimented her personality and the other items in her room. I forgot to take a before picture of the bed, but here is a picture of the matching dresser before I refinish it. They orginally matched. You can get an idea of how boring the bed was before it's transformation. I replaced the old posts with a ball top that I found at Home Depot. I had to used some wood filler to fill in the gaps. I used a flat latex off white for the base coat. I then did the rosemaling using an old family antique tine for a guide and some craft acrylic paints. I washed the entire headboard and footboards with an acrylic mixture of mostly brown/red hues that were very watered down to provide an antique effect. To finish I sanded down corners and strategic areas to make it look old and worn. It was such a fun project that now I am venturing to do the dresser to match.

Are You Being Poisoned?

When I was just a small child I received my first silver filling. Nah...I don't necessarily remember it. My mother was in dentistry. I probably went to see the dentist she was working with at the time. Over the course of my life so far I have acquired two more. They're little specks of silver/gray looking metal no more than an eighth of an inch big. I try to look at this as an accomplishment considering that I hardly remember brushing regularly at all as a child and since most the people I know have far more fillings than I do. I do however remember being in the fifth grade when some kids down the street were playing with some shiney liquid metal in a dish. I thought it was so cool I rushed home to tell my mom about it. I was shocked and a little scared when she nervously asked if I had touched it. I replied that I hadn't and she seemed to relax a little. Years later I realized this same stuff that she was so vehemently against me touching was the same stuff that was in my mouth.
So I am no chemistry major. I hold no degrees in the sciences of any kind. I do however love to do research. I wasn't really until years later when I married my husband that the subject came up again with any potency. My husband used to be a connisseur of tic tacs. When I met him he already had one root canal, several fillings and a few gold crowns. He had several teeth pulled as he was informed he had many "extra" teeth. When I met him six years ago he also had one deformed fingernail and few small patches of red scaley skin due to an autoimmune disease known as psoriasis. This disease seems to run in the family. I
I remembered some things from studying bits and pieces about heavy metals and tried to discourage my husband from further recommendations by his dentist to have more amalgam fillings. Incidently, silver amalgam fillings consist among other metals of 50% mercury. My husband's dentist insisted that he get the silver fillings due to the fact that they were cheaper than other materials. My husband conceded. His teeth now consist of about 40% silver amalgam.
Over the following few days my husband experienced great jaw discomfort, swollen jaw, sinus trouble and some serious night grinding of the teeth. He would sweat most profuse in his sleep. Many times I rolled over to put my arm around him and found him soaking wet. These first symptoms seemed to disappear over the course of a couple months. The following few years were another story. The lone psoriasis fingernail had now spread to all fingernails and toenails. He developed large patches of scaley red skin on his scalp, ears, hands and various other places I won't mention. It became painful for him to wear certain shoes and there was always the scare of bumping one of his swollen, 1/4" thick fingernails or toenails. It also became a source of personal emotional discomfort as many people seemed to accuse him of having some sort of fungus. He promptly went to another dermatologist who confirmed the psoriasis. If you know anything about psoriasis you'll know that there really isn't anything you can do for it. You can try to "manage" it...but it is genetic and incurable. What do most people do when they've been told their disease is incurable? I think most would say they just try to get by by managing the symptoms.
My husband's step mother was recently diagnosed with mercury poisoning. Sure, she ate alot of salmon, but the chief concern in the mind of her health professional was her silver amalgam fillings. Shortly after having them removed by a professional experienced and specifically trained biological dentist she claims that she feels soooo much better. So I started to look into it. I started researching other's claims to healthier lives after having their fillings removed. Well, they are out there. There are many of them. Here are a few... http://www.toothandbodyconnection.com/success-stories , http://www.vaccinetruth.org/posion_in_your_mouth.htm , http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/,http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/bedford_bulletin/news05.htm These are only a few people who have experienced relief after having their fillings removed.
I don't think there are many people who truly like to admit that they are wrong. Medical science seems even more reluctant due to the fact that you might possibly be able to sue them for any negligence. There is a reason they have to carry such heavy duty malpractice insurance. Despite the fact that there are many references out there detailing the dangers of mercury exposure dentist still use this toxic heavy metal in their fillings. Here are just a few references about toxicity. http://www.mercola.com/article/mercury/no_mercury.htm , http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2001/may2001_report_mercury_1.html , http://cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/~epados/mercbuild/src/poison.htm , http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26953--,00.html . The ADA American Dental Association seems to say that mercury becomes stable when combined with the other metals. Please see this and this. (for the second one scroll down to 60 minutes episode).
I made an appointment with a biological dentist to have my fillings removed. I only have a few small ones. My husband has many and it will be very costly to have his removed. He paid a bundle to have that poison put in his mouth, and now we have to pay a bundle to have it removed. Regardless of whether or not the mercury exacerbated his psoriasis (as this is yet to be seen) the research on the effects of mercury poisoning show that there is a great price to pay with your health whether the effects are now or later. I posted this information because I believe that dentists should not only have consent from us to use such materials on us...but INFORMED consent. I write this to encourage anyone to take resposibility for your own health. I write to validate others in their search for truths. Don't let anyone tell you something is "safe" without doing the research! Once you've done the research I feel certain you'll come to the same conclusion.

*If you do decide to have your silver amalgam fillings removed make SURE it is done by a biological dentist trained in the safety of their removal.

Here are some... http://mercuryfreedentists.com

Blessings and Good Health!