Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘apple cider vinegar’

CHIGGERS

When I was in second or third grade, many, many years ago I experienced chiggers for the first time. I wish I could say it was the last time.

I was staying with my maternal grandmother in Wisconsin for the summer and we hiked to pick gooseberries. I remember we had rags around our ankles to discourage insect bites. It DIDN’T WORK!
Because of the fire when I was four, my skin was very sensitive and I had to avoid the sunshine or make sure that long sleeve shirts and pants protected the scarred areas of my body. The chiggers didn’t know I had skin issues. They avoided the deterrent and feasted. I don’t know what areas of my body were invaded. I don’t remember what was used to stop the itch — possibly ammonia. I remember it itched, and hurt and my father was furious.

So why am I going on and on about something that occurred more than 50 years ago. Maybe 60 but who is counting? BECAUSE I WAS REINTRODUCED TO THE AGGREVATING INSECTS THIS SUMMER. I had no idea what had attacked my body. I just knew I had more than eleven bites and they itched. NOTHING I put on them stopped the itch. I had no idea what had happened, or where the bites came from. We had just arrived at our daughters in Central Illinois when I noticed I had a PROBLEM. I raided her shelves for itch stopping stuff with no success. For some reason that night I remembered my battle with chiggers when I was young and wondered what we put on it but one and one DID NOT make two.

Saturday morning I remembered the apothecary in my daughter’s town and stopped in for a visit. When I explained my problem, I learned not only that it was chiggers but a remedy to stop the itch was available. The remedy was EXTREMELY IMPORTANT since we had come to watch our granddaughter in a dancing recital that would last more than two hours. The person at the apothecary didn’t have the stuff but she suggested Wal-Mart would have the chigger aid. Thankfully they did. Even though the directions said to put it on every three to four hours, I ignored the directions and was able to enjoy my granddaughter’s dance.

I learned that chiggers crawl up to the spot on the body were there is a band. That explained the 11 plus bites on the right side of my butt.

I had walked Robin at a rest area on our trip south and met the hungry insects. Hopefully I will not have that pleasure(?) again.

Because of our harsh winter, many bugs have had an explosion in population. Gnats were EVERYWHERE at our daughters. SADLY gnats were everywhere at the camper too. My husband sprayed the yard and deck with an insect spray. It didn’t help. While walking Robin I got gnats in my mouth, ears and hair. THEY BITE TOO. I read that apple cider vinegar traps them. I put bowls of it on our deck. I read that softener sheets repels them. I rubbed sheets all over my face and hair when I went outside and stuffed a few in strategic places. Did it help? I’m not sure, but I tried.

I still got a few bites that are still itching. Gnats or mosquitoes? I don’t know but evidently I’m a target for biting insects. I really don’t want to put on insect repellant when I get up. I’ve read that drinking apple cider vinegar helps. I don’t know how much needs to be ingested or if I’m drinking enough to help. Sadly I had stopped my morning and evening tablespoon before our trip. IT IS BACK ON MY SCHEDULE!

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GRASPING AT STRAWS

I wanted to write a couple of thought rambles before we went to the camper. But I had brain freeze –no ideas — so I asked “my friends in high places” for help. I suggested that if they wanted me to write, they needed to give me some ideas. No sooner said than done.

Before I went shopping, I stopped at the post office to mail a DVD to my Floridian daughter.  I’m on the last week of my 28 day eating plan and remembered that today’s snack was fruit. I thought of watermelon. When I mentioned that fact to the woman at the post office, she asked a couple of questions about the food plan I was following. I was happy to share — since this is the first time in many years when I have actually lost weight, not just in my little finger but in my belly.

At the grocery store, watermelon in hand, I shared the food plan information with the clerk who checked me out. By now you know that I talk to the people in the stores that I see on a regular basis and share bits and pieces of my life when appropriate.

Walking home, I saw a man picking berries off of a tree. I thought it was a mulberry tree but I was wrong.  I don’t know the name of the tree. The man showed me how to determine which berry was ripe. The fruit was tasty. I was intrigued by his accent. He was from London, and said we were having London weather — gray skies, damp conditions. When he first arrived, he couldn’t find any wellies. Wellies? I think they are rubber rain boots. Now they are available here.  Since my son is interested in visiting London, I learned that May is a good time to go, the flowers are in bloom.

Reaching home, I remembered that I had forgotten to buy more of the staples for my food plan. More shopping!

One of my stops was Whole Foods. A sampling station was set up with a salad dressing on the table. I was curious — no one was around. Before leaving the store, the person doing the demonstration had arrived. I was able to sample the dressing on greens. I was her first customer. She knew the ingredients in the dressing . They were allowed on my food plan. The dressing not only tasted good, it was low in sodium. It was mine!

On the way home, I stopped at a bead store. It was the first time it was open on a Monday. I needed earring stops for my hook earrings.  I almost lost a new earring at the camper. Mission accomplished.

Just yesterday, having lunch with a friend she told me that it was Senior day at Walgreen’s, that meant a discount. We stopped for shaving cream and I looked at Olay Regenerist Lotion 50 SPF. Not only was it on sale, I also got a senior discount. Saved more than $6. I like saving money on things I need.

Thanks to “my friends in high places” I had material to write about — since these happenings are normal in my life — to remember, I took notes.  I also had a VERY INTERESTING DAY!

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HOME AGAIN

Fair warning. I try to keep my rambles around 500 words but this one is a bit longer.

The last time we visited Hawaii , the trade winds were also on vacation and it was very hot. I packed for hot, not cool temperatures. SURPRISE — the trade winds were on vacation, the surf was flat and the sky was cloudy, and the temperature was on the cooler side. But you see, I have friends in high places that take care of me. Saturday, our first night, my camera stopped working. I took the battery out, wiped it off and replaced it. The camera worked but when my husband phoned and I told him about my camera, he strongly suggested I get a new one. I thought we would visit Costco on the rainy Sunday and check out cameras. Lost, wandering the streets via car we found China Town and the Ala Moana Mall. I was told there was a Foodland Grocery store in the Mall and I wanted a couple of items. Huge Mall, many high end, expensive stores. As we were leaving, I noticed a sign that the Sears store was closing — 50% off. An hour later, I had cool weather clothes — a new sweater, long slacks, a terry cloth hooded jacket and a long sleeve shirt — all at an amazing price. Thank You! We found the food store too, it was tiny but I got a couple of things.

Monday, another cooler, rainy day. We headed for the International Market. I won’t bore you with my purchases, let’s just say I’m learning how to bargain. A Post office is located in the Market. I bought stamps and mailed my post cards. Monday evening we chatted with a couple from Canada that drove the whole island in 2 days. They didn’t see any sea turtles on the North Shore, even though they stopped at four beaches but they found a shrimp truck that served delicious food.

Tuesday — sunny skies, we headed for the North Shore, hoping to see turtles. My son pulled into a tiny parking place off of a small beach. When we climbed down to the shore, a sea turtle slowly made his way up from the water. He was expected — two turtle watchers were on guard to make sure he was safe. I learned that Brutus came on shore to rest and warm up. Once he stayed 50 hours. One of the watchers shared stories with us, including how they knew his sex and name. THANK YOU!

While on the North Shore we visited Waimea Valley. Before leaving for Hawaii, I looked at my Hawaiian cookbooks. I decided that I only wanted to buy a new one if it had nutritional information and the recipes were on the lighter side. Even though I looked at the Mall and the Market, I didn’t see any cookbooks. At the store at the Valley I found what I was looking for. Thank You!

A shuttle is available to take visitors up to the water fall which is 3/4 of a mile up the trail but my son wanted to walk. It wasn’t too hot — since my energy had increased a bit, I thought I could walk it too. Right place, right time — as we headed up the trail, a tour just began. Needless to say, we joined the group. The guide told us she was known as the “bird whistler” when I asked if she knew the identity of the bird that was calling. An ancient village was located on the site — she was very knowledgeable about the culture of her people. Sadly, the tour ended at the end of the village and we still had a long way to go. The waterfall was smaller than I expected, the pool of water at the base was 30 feet deep, but we didn’t bring our bathing suits and now it was hot. I took the shuttle back down.

We didn’t find the famous shrimp truck but found another along the highway. On the North Shore I found a real supermarket. I wanted apple cider vinegar. I didn’t bring some from home and my tummy was acting up but I was able to restrain myself and only buy a couple of items. I kept reminding myself of all I had purchased on Sunday and how many days we had left. We got stuck in rush hour traffic on the way back to our hotel. Abandoning the highway, we got lost again and found Costco. Which was extremely crowded, but we also found Quiznos — sandwiches for a late night supper.

I call Wednesday  TEACHERS DAY. I gave the attendant at the small store in our hotel information on compression stockings, since I was wearing mine and he noticed. My son shared computer information with the owner of a store at the International Market whose computer was down.

Thankfully, I was able to go in the hot tub and the pool. My son went for afternoon walks without me and saw sea turtles feeding. Our last day — I went for an afternoon walk with him and saw turtles too. On the walk, my cell phone rang. It was a friend who was inviting my husband for dinner. I have no idea how I got included in their conversation. Neither phoned me.

Traffic was horrible on the drive to the airport. Luckily we had plenty of time but we had to find a gas station. My son turned off onto a side street which also had horrible traffic. He drove through the parking lot of a library and I saw a gas station a short distance away. Hawaii is supposed to have the worst traffic in the Nation. I believe it — our pilot and airplane personnel were late for take off — stuck in traffic.

Did I have “help” on this trip. Let’s see —  Lost — but found  — sale on clothes I needed; meet and greet a turtle; find a cookbook; join a guided tour; enough energy for most of the walks; saw sea turtles feeding; an interesting phone call; on time at the airport; — and I only mentioned the highlights, leaving out all the interesting people we talked to and meals I enjoyed. One last thought — I took over 500 photos, no more problems with my camera. Did I say Thank You?  –DAILY!

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WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY

There is a well known saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will come. Evidently I was ready. High sugar has been a concern for awhile, not for me, but for my husband. I will admit that I knew carbohydrates: bread, pasta, white potatoes contained more sugar. But I didn’t know how to interpret the data.

Last night I watched a program on our public television station. The nutrionist gave a formula to convert carbohydrates to teaspoons of sugar. Total carbohydrates minus fiber divided by five equals the number of teaspoons of sugar in the food.  The goal — no more then 10 teaspoons of sugar a day. This morning, I looked at my husband’s favorite breakfast — English muffins with peanut butter and jelly and understood why his sugar numbers are up.

I won’t say “my friends in high places” are always around. Truthfully I never know if they are until they make their presence known. This week, for some unknown reason, stuff is falling off the high shelf in the pantry. I won’t mention how long some of the stuff has been up there. But why was it falling now?

Sometime in the past year, I heard a report that mentioned that as a person ages, they produce less acid in their stomach. One of the solutions given was to drink one tablespoon of unpasturized apple cider vinegar in a glass of water two to three times a day. I have been following that advice with good results.

We are going to our younger daughters this week. I usually take some apple cider vinegar with me. I transfer some into a smaller glass bottle rather than taking the bigger bottle with me. When my Floridian daughter was in town, she labeled my bottle as a urine sample. That bottle was up on the top shelf of the pantry. It no longer is. It is now filled and ready for the trip. Was that the message I was supposed to get? I don’t know.

Christmas is coming. “My friends” are ready to help! And we know I need all the help I can get.

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