Saturday, December 20, 2008

Xmas Shopping




Nothing fills me with consumer lust like shopping for other people. Does this happen to you? You go to your favorite store to find something for your sister or your best friend or your nieces, and you find (maybe) one thing for them and eleventy-six things for yourself. And of course you're broke (you're always broke), so you can't possibly justify buying stuff for yourself...unless you try REALLY hard.

The above hat was one such purchase. (Thanks, Una, for taking the photo.) My justification? It's a gift. For me. From my daughter! She's six, so we had to use my money. (And thus I instruct my child in the ways of the world.)

So what about you? Do you do this too? Do you just lust, or do you buy? C'mon fess up to Aunty Pam!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Joy


I'm so proud of my dear friend, Joy. She made joybridy.com all her ownself! I always knew she was a majestic potter, but she just never struck me as the geek type. This is a woman who knows how to quilt and can vegetables and make pie crust. She was one of the last people I knew (besides me) to get a cell phone. And here she is, designing a really beautiful site for her art.


Now, the art itself is brilliant to behold, as you can see here. She was trained at the Indiana University School of Fine Arts, but she's always had her own distinct style. She travels much of the summer, studying with other potters and giving workshops of her own. Her work is heavily influenced by natural lines and colors. And function is central as well. If you're looking for an original gift for someone, check out her work. I'd go on...but the work pictured on her site speaks for itself.

Here's something you won't learn from her site: Joy sings like an angel. We sang harmonies together in Upstart (an acappella group), and in Orquesta Son (a salsa band). So much fun! So many good times. She moved away weeks after attending the birth of my daughter. God, I miss that woman! Here's to ya, Joy!

Friday, December 5, 2008

How to Use a Neti Pot


A neti pot, a.k.a. schnozz-washer, looks like a little teapot. You fill it with warm salt water, stick the spout up one nostril and tilt your head. The water will either run out your other nostril or not, depending on how congested you are. Either result is fine.

Why would any self-respecting human pour water through their nose? To clean it out, of course! Claims regarding the usefulness of the neti pot vary widely. Proponents say, "It cured my allergies! I never get sick any more! It makes my colds go away." The Medical Establishment (i.e. my nursing textbooks) say it soothes the nasal membranes, but they claim no further benefits. My husband says, "Umm...no thanks, sweetie, that's a little extreme for me." (In his head, he's probably saying "Ew, ew, ew! Woman, NO! That is not natural! Get me the brain bleach, STAT!")

My own results and those of my neti-using friend, Angela, can be classified as Pretty Dang Good. We've found neti-potting to be a good preventative measure -- like washing your hands. It doesn't make an established cold go away, but if used daily, it lessens the number of colds we get per year. Also, we've both been able to quit our daily allergy meds --- an especially useful result for me, since antihistamines makes me restless. Nothing like having to choose whether to sleep or breathe! I still use nose spray on really bad days and I still get that One Killer Cold in the fall, but the others --- the ones that would keep me snotty all winter --- either hit me last and least in my family or pass me by altogether.

Details on use: I use tap water and table salt (iodized, since we live in the Goiter Belt and need our dietary iodine). The neti pot packages sometimes say things about special salt or distilled water, but the regular stuff works fine in my experience. Please comment if you know good reasons not to do this. My thinking is: its not like your nose is sterile, for pete's sake.

I've heard a pinch of goldenseal powder can act as a disinfectant, but generally you're not disinfecting your nose, you're just washing it --- reducing the critical mass of germs and old mucus. The salt makes for an isotonic solution, keeping the water from irritating your nose. I use between 1/2 and 1/4 teaspoon. The water feels pleasantly warm, but not hot. It just has to be warm enough to fully dissolve the salt. If the salt doesn't dissolve all the way, you'll get that nasty pool-water-up-the-nose feeling. (Solution: pause, stir.)

Tilt your head so that your ear is facing the floor and your nose is facing the mirror. (What you do mean, "What mirror?" You do want to see all the goop that comes out of your nose, don't you? C'mon, you know you do!) I do one pot per nostril and blow my nose in between. If you decide to try it, or if you already use a neti pot, let me know how it goes!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Van Meets Wall

Dear Kid,

I can't get you out of my head. All those "before" pictures papering the walls of your room in the nursing home --- you were a brown-eyed guitar player, a handsome bad boy. You were the guy I'd would have had a crush on if I were in high school with you. But I'm not in high school, and neither are you, any more. I'm a nursing student, and you're my unspeaking patient, your limbs knotted by spasms, your clouded eyes staring off to the right.

Why did you do it? Was it an accident? Were you trying to kill yourself? You wouldn't have anticipated this life --- pain that makes you howl and sweat every time someone moves you, a three minute struggle to move your hand to make the sign for "yes."

I hope hope hope that there's some mercy in your condition. Maybe you don't know what you've lost. Maybe you can still perceive your mom's dazzling love as she props your head up for the thousandth time.