Book Review: The Help

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I received a Kobo* Reader from my daughter and her family for Christmas. It's amazing.

The Help is the second book I've read on the Kobo and I loved it. It takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. It's still a time in history when Blacks are fighting for equal rights. Rosa Parks has protested, Martin Luther King is in the news on an almost daily basis and maids are good enough to raise white children, but not to use the same bathroom as their employers.

The Help is told from the viewpoint of three women, who are unforgettable. Minny is a black maid who is always losing her job because she "back talks" her employers. Aibileen has raised many white children, this being her seventeenth. Miss Skeeter is a white woman...an inspiring writer who was raised by a black maid.

Skeeter decides that she wants to write a book about the way the black "Help" is treated. She recruits Aibileen, Minny and a few other maids. She prepares and sends a book proposal to Harper and Row in New York City. To everyone's surprise, it is accepted.

This is a fantastic book. It makes you laugh, cry and feel the fear of those involved in the writing of the book. You will love some of the characters and feel despise for others.

I don't think Miss Skeeter realized the danger she was bringing upon herself and the maids until after the book was published. However, I do applaud this fictional character for doing her best to see that the maids were treated fairly and for believing that they should have equal rights.

This is a book that I recommend for everyone. If you haven't read it, check it out at your local library or book store.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapeshang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods. Modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them.

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onionslook like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells.. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Don't know why the type is large and small. Blogger is glitching again. My apologies.

Things Our Mother Taught Us

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, ! that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Antique Scuttle Shaving Mugs

At the fleamarket two weeks ago, hubby and I came across some shaving mugs. There were eight different ones and the dealer happen to see us looking at one. He offered it to us for a small discount, but I told hubby we'd pass.

Then the dealer said something that caught my ear. "Bundle." I asked him if he was interested in bundling the shaving mugs together for a better deal. The price he gave us dumbfounded me. It was a opportunity I couldn't pass up since I sell on Etsy.

We purchased all eight shaving mugs. The ones I want to show you today are the scuttle shaving mugs.

This one is a nice shape and has lovely orange flowers on both sides. It is unmarked.
This one is so pretty. It has been repaired on the bottom and is also unmarked
The above shaving scuttle mug was Made in Germany and is hand painted.
A beautiful shape and a lovely pink rose on the front. Victorian era.
The one is English and is an unusual shape. I am still researching it to see if I can find out more.

A Little History on Shaving Mugs

Scuttle mugs were first used in the beginning of the 19th century. The first patent for a scuttle mug dates to 1867.

Scuttle mugs were popular. Hard soap was placed in the soap dish portion of the shaving mug. The holes allowed the water to drain off the soap and the excess water was poured off through the mouth of the scuttle. When the person was finished shaving, the shaving brush was placed handle first into the scuttle for drying.

There are a couple of shaving mugs in this lot that I hate to part with because of the lovely hand painted flowers and the history of the mugs. The Victorian one is especially hard because my great-grandfather had one that shape and style. I can't remember any picture on it. I believe it was pure white with a bit of gold trim.

I wonder if these shaving scuttle mugs could talk, the stories they would tell. Who used them? What was their occupation? Did they have family? Any ideas of what they might tell us?