Cinnamon, coffee, and blood sugar.

With very little snooping around, you will find out that cinnamon helps control blood sugar.  If diabetes runs in your family, you might have noticed giant blood sugar swings from coffee.


So stop drinking coffee.


Not an option?  Me, neither.  Try this.


1) Switch to dark roast.  Dark roasts are usually made from Arabica beans, which have much less caffeine than Colombian.  I don't know the numbers on this and I don't need to know.  What I do know is that a cup of coffee I get out of someone else's carafe is just about enough to send me to the hospital.  A couple of cups of Arabica are okay, though.


2) Have protein with your coffee.  A latte works well here!  Or some milk, or maybe breakfast itself!!


3) Brew your coffee with cinnamon in the grounds.  Just a pinch!  Too much makes it bitter.  Start with a couple of pinches (more if you make a whole pot at a time) and work up to the right flavor.  You really should notice a big difference.  It should prevent the blood-sugar dip almost entirely.


4) If you opt for breakfast with coffee (and of course you should be eating breakfast daily!), you can put a little cinnamon in the milk.  Or get cereal or granola with cinnamon.  Or make hot cereal and put in cinnamon.  (Subtext: cinnamon is good for you any time of day if you have blood-sugar issues.  Try to have it one way or another every day.  Unless your doctor says not to.  I don't know anything about diabetes maintenance.)


Do I need to say the disclaimers?  This is not a substitute for medical care.  Just a handy tip for not putting your system through the wringer with every cup of coffee.  Also, if you do notice a big blood-sugar reaction to coffee, you probably should get your blood sugar tested as you may be prone to diabetic-type-of imbalances.  This kind of information is much better to know PREVENTIVEly.  Then it is power.  After the fact, it's not so much power.

Fog your windows

I like light.  But on some windows, you really don't want total transparency.  You want frosted glass or glass brick.  But you might not be able to do that, for whatever reason.  I do hear that there is now a film you can buy that 'frosts' your windows, similar to tinting your windows.  (And I've seen the tinting film at K-Mart.  I can only imagine the many clever uses for that.  Wouldn't you love to have a square of it that you could reposition wherever you needed to as you drove, when the sun is at an impossible angle? Like a giant, tinted post-it.)

Anyway, I have tried a couple of things here.

1) Waxed paper.  If you hang this well and cut it neatly, it's not bad.  It is narrow, though.  I have a strip hanging down the center of one of my tall, narrow windows.  It looks decent, but as I've given it no special treatment, you could easily say, "Hey, isn't that waxed paper?"  But the beauty is, it's not actually that noticeable so no one says anything.  It just quietly does its job, taped in place.  It does kind of blister where moisture gets it, so if the window gets condensation on it, it will be the worse for wear.  If you did this well and it hung a couple of inches away from the window, it could look really very nice.  It's smooth and kind of sleek, with its verticality.  If you put some trim at the top and/or bottom (presumably through the artful use of tape), it would hang well and look quite nice.  BUT: wouldn't tolerate much breeze, I fear.

2)  Parchment paper.  This is better looking, as it's thicker.  It's also wider so it covers a bigger window.  Problem: nothing sticks to it.  I have taped a big piece of it over the window in our front door because I want light, but not transparency, and can't stand the miniblinds up there.  (Tacky, dusty, noisy.)  I had to use packaging tape and literally run it all the way up the sides with a very heavy hand, taped to the glass.  (Yes, this does mean there is some transparency at the sides. I didn't want to tape it to the sill as that would look bad and catch lots of dirt and dust...)  Bottom line: I really like it.  It catches the light beautifully and looks a little Japanese.  In fact, I think that's one thing that this has over actual frosted glass: it's a little more opaque and so it does actually catch the light and so the big white rectangle of light hangs there when the sun is striking it.  I really enjoy that.  It lights up that corner rather than the far wall where the light would hit.

3)  Starch.  I have used starch to stick tissue paper to my windows.  I liked it.  I wouldn't want to go too crazy with the colored tissue paper, as condensation really works on this and I picture dripping dyes tinting the painted sills.  But for white, it worked okay.  It would work especially well with good, double-pained windows.  You can cut out all kinds of designs and embed them into the larger layer, or you can just starch shapes onto the window.  WARNING:  I did this once with snowflakes I had cut out of that silverized, space-tapey tissue paper.  I believe I used canned spray starch on this.  When we left that house, no one and nothing could seem to remove all of the silvery starch that remained after the paper came off.  I partly suspect the spray starch.  I didn't have that problem with starch that I mixed up from powder.  (Available in the laundry section of the grocery store.)

You might try the starch on the parchment paper.  However, I suppose starch is one of the main things parchment paper is made not to stick to.  But it might be a case of, If you use enough, it can't get away.

You can also starch fabrics onto your windows!  This has endless possibilities.  I learned about this from my aunt, who starched a fun Noah's-Ark bedsheet to her son's bedroom wall and ran stained wood strips up the sides (and probably stapled them in?).  So you can starch things onto walls too.  Just really be careful that there are no dyes that will run.

4)  Vinyl adhesives.  I suppose that the first thing I mentioned is one of these.  There are such beautiful vinyl wall adhesives now, that the starch trick is a bit old.  BUT still much much cheaper - and at the moment, much more available, at least for windows.

6)  Bubble wrap!  I love this.  You can just stick that self-adhesive bubble wrap to your windows!  It does look a little weird BUT it provides SOME opacity AND -- drumroll -- a little insulation!  How brilliant is that?

7)  Wet-erase or dry-erase markers.  Color your windows stained.  Just be ready for stained sills.  Wet-erase really drip and break apart with condensation.  I haven't tried dry-erase for this.  I believe they would be less intense in color.  Why don't you try it and post your results?

5)  Easiest alternative.  In a pinch, if you're purely utilitarian, you can just buy a shower curtain and hang that.  I have a nurse friend who did that for some light in her exam room.  Also cleans well!

Post any other window tricks that you know of!  (Mainly sticking to the idea of providing a 'frosted' effect that lets light through.)

Heartburn

A nutritionist told us once:
THE BODY NEEDS PROTEIN AND B VITAMINS TO MAKE ENZYMES.

We are born with the capacity to make enzymes, but that can somehow be used up - by poor habits for years, for example.  Some people will never again be able to make their own enzymes (she said), in really extreme cases.  (Those people will always have to take enzyme supplements.)  The rest of us, after a certain age, might have to make an effort to get the protein and the B-vites we need.

So, my husband, who used to get a lot of heartburn, got into the habit of keeping a protein bar in his nightstand.

When he got heartburn at night, he would eat some of the protein bar.

Within a few minutes, the heartburn always went away.

Others may need to use B-vites instead or in addition.

I, too, have used this when I get that acid feeling.

As a friend pointed out, "The stomach is making acid because it's trying to digest food!  You kill the acid with antacids, and what have you got?"

What, indeed?

Pass the protein.

Scaling the Tea Kettle

This is an easy one.  We have very hard water where I live, but I went ahead and got one of those glass teapots anyway.  *Oops.*  Instead of sitting on the stovetop looking shiny and transparent, it *of course* gets all covered with scale on the inside every single time you use it.

But this gives me an opportunity to find out what works for getting sediment out of teakettles.  I'll tell you one easy thing that works really quite well: squirting the kettle out with the sprayer at my sink.

I just turn the kettle upside-down and squirt.  Now, our sprayer has a strong stream.  If your sprayer is all clogged up it's time for a vinegar soak or a Melaleuca's Tub'n'Tile squirt or two.  But if you have a strong stream, turn the kettle bottoms-up and squirt away at all angles to get as much of the inside as you can.  With our particular water minerals, at least, it really gets most of them out.

What works better than this is putting a small amount of salt into the kettle and swirling it around.  The scrubbing action gets the sediment off.

On the other hand, this kettle doesn't have months of buildup; just a few days.  You can do a few vinegar soaks or, better yet, vinegar boils, to get thick chunks of scale out.  Then just give it a squirt every few times you use it.

Another thing that works is boiling the kettle down and letting it sit on a hot burner, empty.  Of course, this is a major fire risk and you might end up with the kettle melted to your stove and your house burned down.  I've done this purposely, keeping the burner from getting red-hot.  It worked ... but then, the bottom of the kettle still kinda burned through and it wouldn't truly hold water anymore.  Well, it did hold water long enough to boil it, but pretty soon the burner got all covered with scale.  Still, that one I can't call a success.

Or you can just leave the scale in the kettle.  What can it hurt?

Better Bath mats (for the spiffy bathroom)

If you have a spiffy bathroom and want a tidy-looking and equally spiffy bathmat, use placemats.  The bigger, the better, of course.  These may seem too small for some, but for me, the bathmat is something my feet have to fit on.

I guess a WARNING is in order here.  This idea may not work for people who exit the shower with water still streaming off them.  This is more for those who mostly dry off in the tub before exiting.  But those who bound out with a splosh are likely not reading this, anyway.

Woven cotton placemats are absorbent and can be quite neat-looking, rather than frumpy.  When you hang them over the edge of the tub (or whatever), they require no folding and already look neat.

I'm looking for photos to post.  Meanwhile, Amazon has some basic, solid-color cotton placemats that work well, with photos that zoom really close.

One thing to watch for: mats that are too thick will take too long to dry.  (They still may dry faster than something you have to fold to hang, though.)  Too thin and, of course, they will leak onto your floor.  The ideal find would be cotton and oversized, and still machine washable.

If this is your taste, those quilted placemats might be just the thing for your tubside.  Just make sure they're all cotton; polyester might be a little too slippery.

ONE TIP
If you can, let mats air-dry after machine-washing; that way they don't shrink so much.  You can also re-stretch them before laying them out to dry, as the cotton can get contracted in the wash.  Re-stretching (by pulling the ends with your hands) helps re-flatten and re-spiff them.

ANOTHER TIP
Watch out for reds and other dark/bright colors; these dyes may bleed onto your floor when wet.

A TWIST OR TWO
One other idea is to place a (non-slippery) table runner at the side of your bathtub; it would stay there and dry in place. With multiple family members using the same tub, on the other hand, each could have his own mat - and thus no yucky sharing of wet mats!  And they would still look neat hanging in a row.

(It seems like bamboo really belongs here somewhere, but of course it's slippery and not absorbent.  Perhaps you could use bamboo placemats as some sort of window treatment, if you have small or narrow windows.  It would be easy to tie a couple of bamboo placemats together end-to-end.)

OUTCOME
Sorry I can't provide pics here - I don't have a spiffy bathroom at the moment.  But when I DID, this idea worked beautifully.  Your pics are welcome!

Car Wash Cleans Area Rug - sort of

You know how the more you clean a rug or carpet, the worse it gets?  I used to have a $30 area rug that was fairly decent-looking but offwhite.  So it often needed cleaning, which bugs me.  The Rug Doctor didn't work that well and took a lot of time and energy and at least $25.  The car wash worked at least as well, took about 1 hour, and cost about $7.  (The one hour includes hauling.)

This is not like the commercial where they take the recliner through the automated place.  This is done at the old-fashioned spray-nozzle-style car wash.  SEE WARNINGS.

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:
This is for cheap, easily replaceable rugs only, as I am sure is obvious.  Who knows what could go wrong?
Also, choose off-hours when the car wash is not busy.
Roll up your area rug (no bigger than about 9x11, depending on your car's size), tie it securely to the top of your car, and drive it to the car wash.
Once you get into the bay (hopefully one you can close!), untie the ropes, shut your car up, and unroll the rug, leaving it draped over the top of your car.
Activate the car wash.  Turn it to soap or rinse.  Spray the water for a while under the car, hoping to clear the nozzle of wax.
(If you are unsuccessful, well, you will have wax on your rug which you can [maybe] take care of on your next trip to the car wash.)
Turn the dial to "soap" and soap down your rug to the best of your ability.  You want to try to spray from the center outward, which, depending on your height and the height of your car, can be a challenge.  It does take time, so be sure to bring lots of quarters.  Then move to the edges, spraying any particularly dirty areas a few extra times.
(The strength of the spray may damage rug fibers; only do this with a sturdy rug.)
Turn the dial to "rinse" ("No-Wax Rinse"!)  and repeat the whole process with the rinse water.  This will probably take longer than the soap.  It is probably better to soap it only until the entire rug has been covered with the soapy water, because you may have to rinse repeatedly.  This is in effect like washing anyway.
When you think all the soap is out of the rug, let the car wash run down.  Take as much time as you can, allowing the rug to drip off before rolling it up.  Obviously, if people are waiting, you will have to roll the rug back up, re-tie it to the roof, and head out with water running out the ends.  Activate windshield wipers if this is the case.  Park outside the bay and await further drainage.  Only drive home when the rug has stopped pouring water.
DO NOT OPERATE YOUR VEHICLE WHILE THE WINDOWS ARE OBSCURED BY THE RUG.  THIS WOULD ENDANGER PROPERTY AND LIFE.

Once you're home, hang the rug over a fence or something if possible.  If it hasn't drained sufficiently, you may not be able to lift it.  The process can't really be rushed.  When it is completely dry, bring it in and put it back on your floor.

Ta-Da!

OUTCOME: PRETTY GOOD.

One nice thing about this:  I understand that our carpets are full of heavy metals, from what we track in on our shoes from roadways.  (No, of course not YOU if you take shoes off in the house.)  I never like pouring water down the toilet from the Rug Doctor, thinking about this.  Someone (not a car-wash OR environmental professional) told me that they think the water at car washes has to be at least filtered before going into the sewer system, and perhaps even recycled.  I don't know; they might have been messing with me.  I really would like to think that's the case.  If so, this may be ecologically superior to cleaning your carpet at home with water that goes into the sewers.

ANOTHER TWIST:
I have also taken dining room chairs to the car wash to use the upholstery shampooer.  It was a good idea but my results weren't that good; the fabric just didn't get clean.  I did this by putting one or two chairs inside the car and transporting them in a safe and normal manner, then getting them out once there.  This might work for you; these particular cushions have never become clean by any means, as it turns out.

WARNINGS:
This is not foolproof.  See above warnings.  Use common sense.
One time I seemed to get wax in the rug even though I was careful not to, suggesting a malfunctioning car wash or maybe just some careless attendant.
The rug could also fly off the car if you don't have it tied down well enough, endangering you and/or other motorists or passers-by.
Tons of other things could go wrong; if you try this, you try it at your own risk.  I bear no responsibility for any problems that arise.
Do not try to lift a rug that is too heavy for you, wet or dry.
Do not try to roll up a rug with furniture, pets, children, or other objects still on it.
Also, if you do this in the winter, be sure to get home well before sundown.  We had our rug frozen by a giant, "flowing" ice chunk to the top of our car for several days once when I cleaned for just a little too long.
Good luck!  No guarantees here!  No kidding!  All I am saying about this is that it got my rug clean enough for a cheap rug, and that it saved me time and money.
Also, you might be greeted by an angry attendant or the car wash might have rules against this kind of thing.  Naturally, you would inquire with the owners or attendant before trying to wash something as unconventional as a rug at the car wash.
If there are gritty particles on the bottom of your rug, YOU MAY DAMAGE YOUR CAR'S FINISH.  Use a car you don't care that much about, like your spouse's.
I am leaving it up to your common sense as to how to tie a rug to the top of a car in a way that allows you to drive safely.

CAT MATS

We have a cat with very long, fine hair.  This cat was starved when we got him.  He shed all over the place.  As his health returned, the shedding ended.

But then we got a lively puppy that the cat hates.  At the same time, the cat got an abscess, as cats do from fighting.  We didn't realize this for a while, but he quit eating and now I know he could not groom himself; the stretching backward pulled at his wound.

Once he recovered from this he was again too thin and now all matted.  I was waiting for warm weather before getting him - *gasp* - shaved.  (Poor kitty ego.)  (I also dreaded giving him kitty tranquilizers.  I don't like pharmaceuticals.) Meanwhile, the fur matted as it grew and the poor guy continually had masses of fur re-felting right at the surface of the skin. This was the problem; they weren't the kind you can just cut out.  They gripped, and they were huge - like continents.

(Yes, I have discovered here that cat fur indeed felts, more tenaciously than wool.  I've pulled things out of the dryer that have one little spot wadded into a tight, tight - wad.  Once I wrestle open the wad, I find a little bit of cat fur clamping the whole thing together.)

But it also just seemed like he wasn't fully thriving; he wasn't too active and his style was of course cramped by the obnoxious dog.*  And the mats.  I had also seen in Pitcairn's book (long may it live) that ~"if you want a cat with kidney problems, feed him only dry food and leave it out all the time."~**  I figured it was time for an upgrade.

Skip to the end:  I bought the cat some high-quality, organic CANNED food ("Wellness" brand) for all of these reasons.  I have been supplementing his diet with a spoonful of canned food every day.  (No doubt more would be better.)  The first thing I notice is that the mats are loosening; he is licking parts of them out.  We are now cutting them off.****  He's also a lot more active, jumping all around and playing jungle warrior.  Since this is the only change that has occurred in his life, I conclude that the higher quality food - as canned food is compared to dry, for a cat - improved the quality of his coat to the point that it wasn't so fine.  For that reason and probably others involving the characteristics of cat fur, the fur is no longer matting as it grows.

As a note, the dry cat food we give him is also a high-quality, 'natural' brand.

In conclusion, if you want to get rid of your cat's mats, give him canned food.  If you already do that, give him really high-quality canned food (I always get these at feed stores as I haven't found them in grocery stores).

OUTCOME: THIS ACTUALLY WORKED!


* Just from the cat's POV, of course.
**  Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn D.V.M. and Susan Hubble Pitcairn
**** Be extremely careful cutting a cat's fur; their skin is paper thin and also may pull out very far; it can get in the way of the scissors without your realizing it.