OUR SENSE OF SMELL

SENSE OF SMELL 

Anosmia is the partial or full loss of smell. Anosmia can be a temporary or permanent condition. After reading an article in June in the NYT, I was compelled to check out our sense of smell and if it does indeed deteriorate with age, as so many of our senses do. 

Experts say a loss of smell can negatively impact mental health. But training your nose can fight off the decline. Taste and smell are the first senses to decline with age.

The aroma of just-baked cookies, roses in full bloom, and other every day scents make our lives richer in ways we often take for granted. Yet, when the sense of smell is lost or compromised, it is not just enjoyment of life that is affected but also health and safety. Our sense of smell helps whet the appetite and also serves as a warning system to avert dangers and toxins.

For many people, troubles with smell are among the first signs of Alzheimer’s.

“Two of the great joys in people’s lives are the sensations of smell and taste,” says R. Peter Manes, MD, an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Yale Medicine. “When these senses are altered or absent, people lose that pleasure and can feel isolated from those around them who are not afflicted.”

“Our brains need a lot of olfactory stimulation in order to maintain their health,” said Michael Leon, a professor emeritus of neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine.  Fortunately, a diminished sense of smell may be reversible, perhaps by something as simple as spending some time with your spice rack.  And so I have a new project. 

Smell training!  Every day I choose an herb or spice and take whiff.  I enjoy the whole process;  from choosing one of our 33 bottles, breathing it in, and trying to see what combinations of flavors and scents I recognize.  Especially those we don’t use very often (fenugreek or garam masala), for example.  Other scents suggested are peanut butter and peppermint and fresh herbs vs dried.  Try coffee, shampoo and essential oils.

OR … you can buy a kit from Amazon! 

Just $19.99

• Olfactory retraining involves smelling a variety of strong scents every day, such as citrus, cloves, or eucalyptus. You can use items you have around the house or buy a smell retraining kit online. Try smelling each odor for 15 seconds with a deep inhale through your nose. 

While smelling, think about what the scent smells like and try to recall times when you've smelled it before. You can also try associating pleasant smells with pleasant feelings. Some recommend practicing this therapy for at least four weeks, or even a few months.

Exercise: Research suggests that exercise can strengthen your sense of smell. You can try setting aside at least 30 minutes a day for physical activity, such as a brisk walk.

Eat well: Try eating foods rich in zinc and B12.

Quit smoking: Being healthier can help you smell and taste better.

Treat nasal congestion: If your sense of smell is blocked by allergies or sinuses, you can try using a nasal decongestant to shrink blood vessels in your nasal passages. (As I have aged, I take a Zyrtec twice a day to help with runny nose).

I haven’t noticed any change yet, but I do enjoy stopping to smell the rose bush on the way to my car.

VISIT AGING AWKWARDLY

I started a new blog, Aging Awkwardly!  Come visit!

https://mrsjblockhart.blogspot.com/

CAUTION - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

This will be my last blog.

My heart is not in it, I struggle to find topics and readership is half of what it used to be.  If I have a negative title, I get lots of "reads".  And lately the blog only gets one or two comments.

My Awkward Widow days are over and now I'm just a Grateful Gramma.

Thanks for stopping by and reading.  It was great fun for almost ten years.

P.S.  Please keep blogging as I am still reading!

LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY!

Wow.  Google can do just about ANYTHING!  So so many sites that will share tips and tricks about Google with you.  I will share a few that I found useful

Use a colon to search specific sites

There may be an instance where you need to Google search for articles or content on a certain website. The syntax is very simple:

• Sidney Crosby site:nhl.com

This will search for all content about famous hockey player Sidney Crosby, but only on NHL.com. All other search results will be removed. If you need to find specific content on a particular site, this is the shortcut you can use.

Use Google search to do math

Google search can actually do math for you. This is a rather complex one to describe because it can be used in so many ways. You can ask it basic questions or some more difficult ones.

It is important to note that it won’t solve all math problems, but it will solve a good number of them. For example

• 8 * 5 + 5

If you search, it’ll return 45. It will also show a calculator that you can use to find answers to more questions.

Use words that websites would use  This is a very important one. When people use Google search to hunt the web, they generally search for things using the same language that they would use for speaking.

Unfortunately, websites don’t say things the way people do; instead, they try to use language that sounds professional. Let’s look at some examples:

• “I have a flat tire” could be replaced by “repair a flat tire.”
• “My head hurts” could be replaced by “headache relief.”

The list goes on and on. 

Google search has shortcuts

A number of commands can be entered to give you instantaneous results.

Like the math example above, Google can immediately give you the information you need that is displayed right at the top of the search results. This can save time and effort so you don’t have to click a bunch of bothersome links.

Here are a few examples of some commands you can enter into Google:

• Weather *zip code* – This will show you the weather in the given zip code. You can also use town and city names instead of area codes, but it may not be as accurate if there are multiple area codes in the city.  I used to go to my phone and use the weather app!
• What is the definition of *word* or Define: *word* – This will display the definition of a word.  Although I just type in the *word* and it shows the definition (and synonyms and antonyms)  A mediocre tip in my book.
• Time *place* – This will display the time in whatever place you type in.  Again, I would use my iPhone when my sister was in Hong Kong.  
• You can check any stock by typing its ticker name into Google. Just type in GOOG, it will check the stock prices for Google.

These quick commands can take a web search that is usually multiple clicks and condense it into a single search. This is very helpful for information you need repeatedly.

Track your packages

This last trick (and my favorite so far) is to use Google search to find out where your packages are. You can enter any UPS, USPS, or Fedex tracking number directly into the Google search bar, and it’ll show you the tracking information about your package.

This is much easier than going to the specific sites, waiting for them to load, then searching for your packages there.  How many times have you done that???? Me?  Millions and going to the delivery site is usually very cumbersome for me.

I updated the operating system on my Mac and man it changed everything!  Currently I hate it but once I watch a few more videos, I'm sure I'll find everything somewhere and will be able to make Ventura do things my way.

GOOGLE GURU

I love Google!  I think I’m going to try to learn one new thing about Google every week.  This search engine has so much capability.  Maybe someday I will be a Google Guru.

(Birthday boy with his Mom)

Sorry this post is so late in the day.  We all went to the Oregon Coastal town of Seaside for two nights and what fun we had.  Mr. B turned 12 on Friday so it was anything he wanted to do!  We left about 3pm Friday afternoon as Friday night is pizza and movie night … and he got to pick the movie, of course.  MAJOR traffic accident on the only straight way home and we were diverted into a rest area just 35 miles from home.

It was a trailer truck and a pick up truck and oil had spilled all over the highway.  It would be 4 - 6 HOURS before traffic could move again.  Luckily Kate uses the Waze app and she asked for directions home without using any highways.  It was a meandering beautiful fall drive with just a bit of fog.  

Every once in a while there was a home, or 2-3 to make a neighborhood and I always wonder where they work!  A heck of a drive even to a suburb of Portland.

We went through the tiny town of Vernonia and stopped to get water and a power bar but they had jacked the gasoline rate to almost $6/gallon so we made it home on fumes.  Picked up an already baked pizza (ordered an hour ahead of time!) And finally got home after 8pm.

While the boys played on devices in the car some of the time, we had GREAT conversations about any topic someone brought up and all of us chimed in.  Just delightful.  Yet exhausting.  Deacon and I shared a room but mostly we were in the bigger room (with a view of the ocean) (and a fireplace).  He loves to have his privacy and he is always building "tents" or "clubhouses" or "nests."

(D is under the table and B is on D's bed in my room)

Now .... I’m going to continue to sip my cold brew while I do a little more Google research for my NEXT blog!  Hopefully I'll write it before Saturday so it posts on time.  Such a slacker ....

TIS THE SEASON

 

Two spiders this year!

Black vampire flamingos 

Welcome!

The wicked witch within

QR CODES ARE TAKING OVER!

 Bar Codes vs QR codes  

Believe it or not, bar codes were invented in the early 1950’s and patented in the US and are kinda based on the Morse code.  However, it took over twenty years before this invention became commercially successful.  

Now we see them everywhere! Groceries are probably the first and most successful use of barcodes. (Which are now referred to as automatic identification and data capture - AIDC).  In fact, the first barcode was used on a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum in 1974.

With the widespread use of smart phones, AIDC has now turned into QR codes ... short for Quick Response).  Invented in 1994 by engineer Masahiro Hara, the original purpose of the QR code was to track vehicles and parts moving through the assembly line.  When QR codes first morphed into more than that, we had to download an app to read them.  I first used one in the 80’s at a state park to guide you through and see special sites.  It was incredible in my mind.  Like magic!

In 2017, Apple integrated a QR code reader in their camera app.  There are two kinds of WR codes used in 2022 … static and dynamic.  A static QR code contains information that cannot be modified once it's live. This means any typo or misstep will require you to create a brand new one. The good news is that static codes don't expire — so once the content is set, your work is done.

Static QR codes are ideal for storing fixed or sensitive info — think Wi-Fi passwords, employee ID numbers, or access codes. But they're not so helpful if you need to update your data regularly.

Dynamic QR codes allow you to change your info as many times as you want. This is because the information isn't ingrained into the code itself. Instead, it redirects users to a specific URL that can be changed at any time. For example, a restaurant can redirect users to a menu on their website.  Our local Olive Garden uses a dynamic QR which instantly opens their Current menu on your phone or pad.  We could also pay our bill using a QR code.

The Food Pantry will be using bar codes or QR codes soon to identify clients.  Because in the next month we will have to limit shopping to every other week.  I stopped in to Hunger Fighters on Friday to pick up a project and was shocked to see how bare the shelves are.  Both in the shopping area and in the storage area.  We are again offering Thanksgiving Boxes and all clients were mailed or emailed information on contents and how to order.  Unfortunately for us, some clients photocopied the flyer for their friends and neighbors and now we have double the number of recipients over last year.

It reminds me how privileged my life is.