I'm trying to discern the wisdom of my orthodontist giving me a large "sippy" cup which is filled with chewy candy. 
First off, I usually don't eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I don't like them; I prefer Justin's - the dark chocolate, thanks. The peanut butter is creamier and the dark chocolate? Well, I have no real vices (except a wicked yarn addiction). I don't drink. I don't smoke. I have never done drugs. I don't even swear. So. Dark chocolate... Second off, "Skittles"?? Really?? Yuck. Just yuck. Now, the KitKat I might eat. But I have never liked Skittles. M & Ms, yes. But not Skittles. Too gritty, too sweet/sour. When I eat candy, I'm craving sweets. If I want sweet and sour, I'll eat Chinese.
Finally, it's a great marketing gimmick. The cup is a nice size and I'll certainly use it. And it's branded with his name and logo. I still don't fathom the candy, though...
But anyway, it was very odd having them taken off. The technician, a lovely woman named Winnie, did the basic removal, and my teeth hurt for a few days. I'm getting used to chewing again. And I'm happy to be using my whitening toothpaste again.
Essential Oils and Cats...
There's been a FB post making the rounds, where a woman claims that her cat was poisoned by "essential oils" that she bought off Amazon and diffused for "4 days straight." Well, there's a bit of Swiss cheese in her post and there's a LOT of misinformation.
I use and distribute Young Living Essential Oils. I use them on me, in my home and on my dogs - well, on 2 of my dogs. See, the thing with animals is, they're either ok with them or not. And the husky is not. Of course, some don't care either way, but Raisa definitely is not a fan of oils applied to her. So she does get exposure because I wear them, and because I diffuse them, but I don't apply them directly. And anyway, the reason I use them on the elkhounds is mainly because they get a little freaked out at thunderstorms and fireworks. The husky? She's all, "What's the deal, people??"
So - the issues in this woman's story:
---"I bought them off Amazon." You can get lots of stuff off Amazon. And sometimes, the Young Living products you find there are counterfeit. I'm not blaming Amazon or accusing. I'm telling the truth. Some folks can re-bottle the oils and re-cap them. You can tell a "real" YL oil by the label (which shows that it was manufactured in Utah, not Asia!), and the cap with the "teeth" on it.
And she doesn't specify which brand she bought. Young Living has a "Seed-to-Seal" program encompassing sourcing, science and safety. We have specific protocols for making the purest therapeutic-grade oils on the planet. We are stewards of our planet. We make sure everything produced is safe and pure - no fillers, no adulterated materials.
That being said, there's a lot of product out there that's not what it purports to be. You can buy oils in the supermarket and at specialty stores. Doesn't mean they're pure. When I was buying oils that weren't Young Living, I noticed, for example, that every "Lavender" smelled different - even though the label always said "Lavender." Hmmmmmmmm. That's an issue.
With Young Living, I have a Lot Number. I can call the main office and say, "You know, Lot number XYW123 is not right..." and they'll replace it. They'll investigate what I send them back and make sure that it's not a quality issue. And if it IS a quality issue? They fix it.
---"I diffused the oil for 4 days straight, day and night." Well - that's a problem in itself. Oils need to be diffused properly. Four solid 24-hour periods? That's a lot. And she doesn't mention the number of drops she used - how concentrated was the oil she was diffusing?
If, as she claims, it was in a closed room and her 16-year-old cat was sleeping in there, that's a lot of oil for one little cat. Cats have a peculiar physiology - they can't metabolize certain chemicals. This cat WAS over-exposed. And regardless of which oil, it was too much for the cat.
And there are oils which cats can't tolerate. She didn't know that the oil she was diffusing was harmful when diffused where the cat was exposed to what seems to be a pretty high concentration. Because she didn't do her research and she didn't ask anyone.
I took a course with a vet in Chenoa, IL, and she posted a video about how she uses oils in her clinic. There's a link here which I encourage you to watch. Dr. Susan knows her stuff.
---The cat was 16 years old. Now, I'm not saying anything about how this woman kept her cat, but a 16 year old cat is old. And when you bring something new into the home, like a diffuser, you need to know what to do with it when you have animals - regardless if they're kittens or elder-cats. Or kids or elder-humans!
Seriously, my mom has emphysema. I would only diffuse certain oils around her. Others could be harmful. It's called common sense. I've already researched oils that are ok for her to be around, so if I know she's coming to the house, I have a choice: I can choose to diffuse the stuff that's ok for her, or I simply shut it off while she's at my house.
Anyhow, watch the video. Ask questions. Contact me if you have any questions and I'll either answer or find someone who knows the answer if I don't.
Get the best for your pets and yourself. You both deserve it.
Christmas again...
So I got this lovely pot for Christmas. I needed an in-between size, and this is it. I took this picture, very proud of my new pot, and I was, at the time, making steel-cut oats. About 5 minutes later, the entire thing boiled over and nearly drowned the burner... My "new" pot wasn't so new anymore!
I quickly turned off the burner, moved the pot to the trivet alongside the stove, and sopped up about a cup of water + oats... Dang it, I was looking forward to those oats!!
Hubby was kind enough, after giving me a little crap, to help me clean it up.
This weekend, I'll try the steel-cut oats again - and this time, it'll be the "watched pot that never boils" so I don't ruin them again!
This pot will be very useful for small batches of jam or preserves. Maybe even marmalade. I'd like to try a marmalade soon. I love orange marmalade.
WTForecast app...
So I've been looking at the funniest posts of weather. As you may know, many of us are getting clobbered. Either dumping snow, freezing weather, ice storms...It's all happening this winter in various areas. And folks have been using this app, which can be decidedly "work unfriendly" by the way, because of its witty and snarky comments about the weather in your area. I put it on the studio phone, because of course it's not available as a Windows app...I swear, I love my Windows phone but I wish it wasn't treated like a cootie!!
I haven't figure out how to "dial down" the snark setting, but this is at least mild enough to share at work with those who have the appropriate sense of humor. Some of what's been posted on FB has been downright foul!
We're in the midst of a "fog storm," and the temperature, within 24 hours has gone from -10 or so up to about 50 degrees. Yeah, with flu peaking and temperatures fluctuating, it's definitely "pneumonia weather."
And then it's going to freeze again. Frankly, I'll take snow any time. I can walk in it and I can drive on it. Ice? Not so much. And everyone here forgets any basic driving skill they ever had.
I mean, even this morning, in a rather pea-soup fog, people were driving without lights on. At 7 a.m., when it's still kind of dark out.
I can't wait to see what it says about tomorrow...
THIS is a yarn-bomb...
Crochet gone amok... I saw this and posted it to our knitting page. All of our Knitsters were pretty agog at this work of, ummmm, "art" I guess??I suppose, if you were inclined to use up your "spare bits" of yarn, and you lived in one of those climates now experiencing the dire cold, this seat arrangement would warm up your body's "spare bits" nicely.
But I wonder how far down the toilet cover goes. And I wonder if, when the seat is lifted, the rim is also covered in crochet. And I wonder if, just in case your aim is off, guys, you can get the crochet off to wash it. And I wonder how you then get it back on. And I wonder why you'd have crocheted the covers for the flusher and the pipes. Unless, of course, you do live in that cold area and you want your pipes AND your tooshie kept warm while you're doing your business...
Lots of wondering along with the sheer curiosity of where this might be and who did the needlework...
Birdhaven Greenhouse...The other day, I was on the way to lunch with a friend, and I had some time to spare. I was hoping that the Birdhaven Greenhouse would still have their Christmas display up. They did, but someone was having pictures taken.
I couldn't get to the part where I wanted to take pictures so I wandered through to the back where they keep the succulents. The cacti looked sad. Which you can imagine since it was all of about 24 degrees on Sunday!! And it was ice-raining, which made it even more fun.
As I was going through, I stopped at the koi pond and waterfall. There were some beautiful Bird of Paradise flowers, but the only way I could've shot them would have been to include the water pumps...not the image I wanted. So I came around to the front of the waterfall and caught the koi. They thought that I might have food, so they all started heading my way. I was just taking pictures, fishies!! Sorry about that!
Birdhaven has a beautiful wildflower garden alongside the greenhouse, which borders a walking path. In the summer, the place is absolutely overrun with birds: chickadees, finches, hummingbirds, cardinals, jays... And of course, the occasional hawk swooping in to filtch a finch off a feeder. It's the circle of life, folks!
Random Picture...
No, I didn't make this. But I'd sure like to! Obviously, the skein of yarn is fondant, but thankfully, the rest of it is just plain frosting. And I think I'd use a real crochet hook. And a real yarn label, for that matter. I haven't done many cakes lately, though I did do one for our pastor's retirement and cupcakes for my mom's 80th birthday.
There's not much call for home-made cakes. Most wedding venues have just about tromped us out of the market. We have to have a health department licensed kitchen and even then - for my nephew's wedding, the caterer, who had a deal with the hall, said they'd "throw in" the cake if they booked a certain number of people.
"Throw in" was about the quality of his wedding cake. He had wanted my mom and I to do it, but they wouldn't allow an "outsider" to bring in the cake.
Anyway, I'll still bake for birthdays, when people want them!
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