The Diet So Far and More About Red Hair

  You may have read something about the Midwest weather at the moment, so yes, it is amazingly cold here!  There have only been two days of school this week, and it looks like there won't be school tomorrow either. It's not because of the snow, it's because of the cold. We have been in the negative numbers, made even lower  by the wind chill factor. I was supposed to get started on my paper and carpet stripping, and all that stuff, but with Ivy home and the temperature so low, even in our house,I have instead been vegging on the couch with Ivy, watching tv. I have been doing one thing I said I was going to do, and that's dieting. You have no idea how much I hate not being able to enjoy a nice glass of chocolate milk or some dessert. I'm a sweets person. That's my downfall. Plus I love cheese. So sugar and dairy are what I miss the most. I have dieted seriously before, and I lost about 40 pounds both times. Unfortunately,it came back. At least this time not all of it has come back yet.The first time it took me 6 years to try again. This time I've been on and off with it, so the damage isn't quite as great. I have been working on it this week, and so far I've lost just over half a pound. Talk about a drop in the bucket! But it's a step in the right direction. I'm never going to weigh 105 again, (Don't panic. I'm only 5' tall, and both sides of my family are just small people.), but weighing less than I do would be great. I know I feel better when I'm not so fat. I have less aches and pains, and everything is just easier to do. It's a lot of work hauling all this around. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing. Knowing that people are reading this will help keep me trying. When the weather gets better I hope to get on my bicycle again. I'm not good on exercising, but I love riding a bike.
   For those of you who  have red hair, I have some more info along the lines of my Red Heads Week posts. According to a 2009 Harvard Medical School study redheads have nearly a 50% greater chance of developing Parkinson's than people with other hair colors. The colour with the lowest chance is black hair,then  brunettes, and then blondes.The reason is that the mutated gene that causes red hair is very close to a gene that can cause Parkinson's if it mutates, and being next to a mutated gene can cause another gene to mutate. Yay. I do have some safety margin. According to Svetlana Kogan, M.D., an internist at Lenox Hill Hospital, (and a redhead), the lighter your shade of red, the more likely you are to develop the mutated Parkinson's gene.Harvard researcher, Xiang Gao, M.D., Ph.D. says, “We found that people with a family history of melanoma had an increased risk of Parkinson’s.”
  Another result of the study explains me, my Dad, and my son Fuzzy. Apparently the same genetic factors that control melanin production,(that gives hair it's colour),also affect how your body manages stress. Margaret Lewin, M.D., a New York internist said,“The genes responsible for the ability to produce anti-stress hormones live close to melanocortin-1 receptors.” So we're back to the thing about mutated genes causing nearby genes to mutate. The 'red hair gene' can cause the hormones that produce anxiety reducing natural chemicals like pregnenolone to malfunction.Well, I knew we didn't manage stress well. Now I know why. (And of course that helps...)  
  I'll be back with some doll related posts soon.

Doll-A-Day 243: Red Heads Week: Cinnamon

   This week we're looking at red haired dolls. Today's doll is Cinnamon.

Cinnamon was made by Ideal in 1971.

 She's about 12" tall.

She is a member of the Crissy family of dolls.

In spite of having red hair like Crissy, Cinnamon is actually Crissy's cousin, since she's Crissy's cousin  Velvet's little sister.

The Crissy dolls all had a grow hair feature.

Cinnamon has a button in her belly that, when pushed, allows a chunk of hair in the top of her head to be pulled out to reach nearly to her ankles.

You can sort of see the dark spot that is the button through her clothes.

She has a dial in her back that winds the hair back in, so it can be short again.

Halfway there.

There were several versions of Cinnamon, including Curly Ribbons, Hair Doodler, and an African American version.

Cinnamon's original outfit was a one or two piece orange play suit with tiny white polka dots.

I have no idea who this pink with white polka dot play suit originally went to, but the sweater belongs to a stuffed Emily Elizabeth, (Clifford the Big Red Dog's friend.)

She's such a cute little thing. Look at those chubby knees!

And the teeth. Gotta love the teeth.

And NO freckles! Thank you Ideal. (We don't all have freckles.)
 Famous natural red heads in history include composer Antonio Vivaldi,Thomas Jefferson,James Joyce, Vincent Van Gogh,Galileo,Mark Twain, Winston Churchill,Malcolm X, Queen Elizabeth the First of England,Lady Emma Hamilton(Model for painters such as Gainsborough and Reynolds), Emily Dickinson,Socrates,Helen of Troy,Napoleon,Christopher Columbus,Oliver Cromwell,General George Custer(Of 'last stand' fame.),King David,(Ok, and Judas too...).
When people are asked to think of famous red heads,most often they think of people who weren't really red heads. For example:

  Lucille Ball was naturally brown haired. Other famous red heads who aren't/weren't include Julie Andrews,Alyson Hannigan,Rita Hayworth,Gillian Anderson,Amy Adams,Molly Ringwald,Ann Margaret,and Carol Burnett.
  Famous real red heads in entertainment, past and present, include actor and director Ron Howard,Julianne Moore,Lindsey Lohan,Tina Louise,(Ginger from Gilligan's Island really is one.),Billie Burke, (The Wizard of Oz's Glinda the Good Witch),Conan O'Brien,actor/singer Danny Kaye,

Danny Kaye in the original Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

ballerina and actress Moira Shearer,

Moira Shearer in "The Red Shoes".

singer Bonnie Raitt,actor and dancer James Cagney,

James Cagney

Laurel and Hardy's Stan Laurel,

Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel. You find a real, (not colourized.), colour photo of Stan when his hair was still red.

actor and artist Red Skelton,

Red Skelton.

Spencer Tracey and Katherine Hepburn.

Katherine Hepburn in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".

   But just about the most famous natural red head is one you would never think of. Recognize this girl?
 

Maybe you would recognize her better this way...

Know her now? I thought so.
  See you tomorrow for more red haired dolls and red hair trivia.

Doll-A-Day 242: Red Heads Week: Tessie Talk

  Today we're continuing Red Heads Week with Tessie Talk.

Tessie was made by Horsman in 1974.

. I was lucky enough to win this particular doll with an absentee bid in a doll auction, but I have 2 more...

 Tessie came in a plethora of outfits, hair colours, and at least a couple of hair styles.But, as you can see, they are easily identifiable... 

What did you say your name was?

She's actually a ventriloquist doll. (Except without the floppy legs!) She has a string in the back that opens her mouth when it's pulled.

This girl is absolutely mint except for her baggy socks. She even still has her hair net on, which, due to my bad luck with hair, I haven't even removed.

My first Tessie was the girl with the short brown hair. I'm assuming her hair used to be curly like the red haired Tessie.

My second Tessie was obtained at a toy show.

She's my only long haired one, and the only one missing her shoes.

 I have mentioned this before, but when I got this Tessie someone had given her what I refer to as a 'country singer hairdo'. When I was a kid lady 'country and western' singers, (As they were called back then.), used to wear their hair in huge teased and piled up do's. Like this:

 As I said before, I wasted no time in taking that down!

The Tessies are about 18" tall.

 I love their little knobbly knee caps and their turned up noses.

 This week I have been talking about some of the facts and myths about red hair. In doing research I found an interesting fact: Red heads don't smell like other people!Supposedly we have a very distinctive scent to our pheramones. Pheramones are described by Wikepedia as "a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual." In wild animals pheramones are what attracts the male to the female. Humans can't actually smell pheramones as far as I know, but it would have put poor Charles Darwin's mind to rest if he had known this little tidbit. Apparently he struggled for ages to figure out why red heads continued when they were strictly against his 'survival of the fittest' theory. (Drawing attention to yourself makes you an easier target. He had the same trouble with the peacock!)
  Some research has shown that we have lower levels of adrenalin than people of other hair colours. Adrenaline is a hormone and neurotransmitter, (It sends signal to the brain.),released by the body during moments of stress or strong emotion, causing the heart to beat faster, and thereby increasing the body's oxygen level and giving a burst of strength. Supposedly this makes us less athletic. Ivy would make a good example for this theory! Red heads are, however, "over represented", according to one researcher, in the areas of math, science, philosophy, and  comedy. I guess what we lack in athletic power we make up for in brains. Oh well. I'd rather be smarter anyway.
  We also have less hair than other people. Brunettes have the most, (140,000 hairs), then blondes with 110,000. Red heads have only 90,000. This makes all kinds of sense to me, because I never felt I had enough hair! Supposedly red hair is thicker than other people's hair though. Well, that's where I go astray again. Like my red haired dad, I have very fine hair.
  Speaking of hair,red heads don't go gray like other people either. Most red heads maintain their colour longer than people of other hair colours. In most cases red hair gets more and more sandy coloured until it turns silvery white. This was certainly true with my Dad. His red hair started getting sandy when he was in his 50's, and it didn't really go white until he was in his 70's at least. At 52 I have started getting silver/white hairs in the last couple of years. They aren't very noticeable yet, unless somebody gets close and looks for them. (Thanks Ivy!)On the other side of that coin, the red haired lady across the street from me started going white in her 30s. There's an exception to every rule.

See you tomorrow for another red haired doll.