Bronchitis Treatment? Or Coincidence?

Salt water from a neti-pot can clean out sinuses.  Salt-water gargles can soothe a sore throat and wash away excess mucus from the throat.

Monday night I was wishing so bad for a "neti pot" that could wash snot out of bronchial tubes and the lungs. 

For some reason, it crossed my mind that hot, moist compresses might help.  Soaking in a hot tub might do something, but that's not long enough.  So I placed a wrung-out hot washcloth at the base of my neck, covered it with a heating pad, used a wide Ace-bandage to strap the heating pad to my upper chest, turned it on, and went to bed.  (Okay.  Okay.  I know the instructions that come with the heating pad say you should NEVER sleep with the heating pad on.  It's a fire hazard.  Or you could burn yourself.  I'm sure they're right.  I was a bad bad person to go to sleep with the heating pad turned on.)

About three hours later, I woke up, coughing.  I spent an hour --an entire hour-- disturbing Gary's sleep mightily, coughing and coughing and coughing up mucus and snot-balls.  It was disgusting!!  But amazingly, by morning my chest was no longer tight.  It's not like I was done coughing for the next two days, but my health was much better than I'd expected it to be.

So was it a coincidence?  Or shall I try it again (bad bad bad to use a heating pad this way) next time a cold tries to settle in my bronchial tubes?  My logic is that we use moist heat to draw infection such as in a stye or an abscess or in mastitis or in boils.  Maybe the moist heat drew the infection together so that it could be coughed out? 

Shhhh -- The tricky part is going to 

be my trying to remember this little 

experiment next time my bronchial 

tubes get clogged.

Poll-Worker Training

Okay, so maybe I'm just kinda sorta, a-little-bit maybe, intimidated.

I went to training this afternoon for those of us who work the elections.  Voter-ID was shot down by a Madison judge.  So today we talked about what proves identity, what we can and cannot ask for, as well as what proves residency.  [Mind ... spinning....]  Since the poll-workers in our group really seemed to care about the integrity of an election (that is, everybody having his vote counted, and only one vote counted per person) there were lots of questions.  "Wait!  You don't mean to say ...."???   Same-day voter-registration is fraught with problems!

We know that turnout will be exceptionally high for next month's election.  At the end of the training session, one of the poll-workers asked just how high a turnout the clerks anticipate.  They said "high 90s."  HIGH NINETIES?!  They told us that our county had the highest turnout rate in the country for the last presidential election.  It sounds like it could be a very long day.

Write-ins?  Do you know how much longer that makes a poll-worker's day?  We have to be there a minimum of 15 hours as-is.  Every write-in ballot makes the day longer, as we have to record them by hand. 

One of the poll-workers reported that she had received phone calls at home, asking if she usually voted absentee or in person, and what time she would be voting.  She was horrified.  Why would anybody want that information unless they were scheming to submit absentee ballots in the name of other voters, bumping their votes? 

They told us that there would be "observers."  I don't know if one side or both will be there to observe.  But some of the poll-workers are aware that at least one campaign is training observers to be there to watch closely.  We were taught what observers can and cannot do.  We were warned that out-of-state "observers" will sometimes cause conflict, suggesting voting irregularities because different states do have different laws.  (For instance, one time I was registering voters, and I had a 17-yr-old come to vote.  He wasn't trying to scam anybody or hide his age.  The state they'd recently moved from allowed 17-yr-olds to vote in the primary if they'd be 18 by election day.  He and his brother and his dad initially thought I was disenfranchising the teenager.  Nope.  Wisconsin law doesn't allow that.)

Military votes can come in via online or email ballots.  That will be interesting.

I think I better make a crockpot of substantial soup to take with me that day. And hearty bread.  And beverages.  And cookies.  

What a chance to say HI to all the neighbors!

Dairy-Free Tomato Soup

Saute in some olive oil:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-3 tsp hot pepper, minced (may substitute a pinch of red pepper flakes)
until onion is transluscent.

Add:
2 quarts of canned tomatoes (or about 4# of fresh tomatoes, chopped)
1 bay leaf

Bring to boil.  Then add:
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 slices of bread (or 1-2 oz of soda crackers)

Continue to boil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
In small batches, put soup through blender to puree.

In saucepan, bring 1 pint of chicken broth to a boil.
Add tomato-smoosh to broth. Heat through.
Adjust seasonings with salt, black pepper, and other spices of choice.

If soup is too thick, water it down with water (for those who must avoid dairy) or with whole milk.





Hat tip to Sue's blog. 
Thanks for the yummy suggestion!

The Conundrum of Healthy Eating

When you most need the good food,
when you most need to avoid store-bought products with their additives,
when you most need vitamin-packed whole foods,

is when you're sick or weak
and cannot prepare the usual wellness-instilling fare.

Red Leaves

Katie and the girls walked to the library yesterday.  Katie tells about the 3-yr-old's trip on her blog.  But I didn't see 1-yr-old's tale written anywhere yet. 

So Zoe had a brown, dry leaf that she could carry.  After a while, she dropped it.  When she noticed that she no longer had her leaf, the barely-talking child indicates to Mom that her leaf had gone missing.  She needed help.  So Katie picks up a red leaf and hands it to Zoe.

Zoe looks at the red leaf and says, "Hot!  Hot!" in that way babies do. "Hwwwwhhwww; hhwwwwhhww!" she blows to cool it.

I don't know about you.

But I think that's pretty

good deductive reasoning.

Wrong.  But good thinking!

President Hamilton

A local high school is celebrating its 50th anniversary.  This week's newspaper contains a history of the school district.  In 1959 or '60, a contest was held for naming the new school.  One person suggested naming "Hamilton High School after President Alexander Hamilton."

So now we wonder: Is this what they're teaching the kids in the public school?  That the school is named after President Hamilton?  Or was this just the newspaper's own botch-up?

Don't you wish this were a joke?

FALL Flowers?

Goldenrod and wild asters.  Mums and fall roses.  Wildly red sumac.  Yup.  Sounds like September and October.

But daisies and sunflowers?  Tender young milk weed and new Queen Anne's lace?  Dandelions and bird's-foot trefoil?  And a profusion of wild snapdragons, like I've never seen before!

Not sure what to make of this crazy weather....

Oh, Those Children and Their Comments!

So after chapel each day, the headmaster talks to the student body.  Today there were some geography questions in preparation for December's geography bee.  But the initial question was whether anyone knew the location of last night's presidential debate. 

First guess: North Carolina.

Second guess:  Well, not really a guess.  First-grader Cole starts talking about the debate, and how it was "between Barak Obama and ... and ... and ... uh ...  well ... and ... uh ... well, that OTHER guy, y'know, the one we're cheering for."

(Lots of quiet snickering ensued from the adults.)

And What "Issues, Etc" Said

Pastor Bender was on IE today, talking about his Monday night fun: singing at Wrigley.

Close of the Commandments

"Punishing the children ... to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me."  Unfortunately, I always imagine this with a wagging finger and a scolding tone.

"But showing mercy to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep My commandments."  It was recently pointed out to me the difference in numbers.  "Third and fourth" versus "a thousand." 

How overwhelming is the mercy in comparison to the punishment!

Pastor Bender at Wrigley

Rachel took video last night from the stands, and hers turned out well too.  But John (Pastor's son) was down on the field, so this is the close-up version.

For those who haven't heard the story:
As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, the congregation attended a Cubs/Brewers game.  Brewers won; Cubs lost.  But Josh Vitters hit his first major league home-run that night ... right into our section of the bleachers.  The church janitor was the one who nabbed the ball, and he handed it to Pastor, who is a loyal Cubs fan.  (He jokes that it's very Lutheran to be a Cubs fan, you see.  It's all about the theology of the cross.)  When the Cubs approached him, asking what they could offer to encourage him to return the memorable ball to Mr Vitters, Pastor said he wanted to sing the National Anthem at a home game.  They'd never been asked that before.  But they agreed to try to make it happen.  And when they heard his audition tape, they gave him the opportunity.  And here he is ...

Sunbeam Mixer

For years I had a KitchenAid mixer.  I loved it.  It beat my cookies, kneaded my bread, and whipped up birthday cakes. When my standard-sized mixer died after about 15 years, we bought a larger one that could handle enough bread dough to make two full-sized whole-wheat loaves.  When the motor began to shed metal shavings, we knew the bigger machine wouldn't have the longevity of the older, regular-sized machine.  But we let it keep grinding away. 

In April it died.  Good-n-dead.

Option A:  Buy a replacement for $500.
Option B:  Buy a Bosch, which has a reputation for being a multi-decade machine-of-durability.  But that's more expensive yet.
Option C:  Buy a standard KitchenAid, which is $200 if you can find one on Craigslist or wait until the pre-Christmas sales. 

Y'know, if I believed that a machine would actually last 10-15 years or more (!), I might find a way to afford a new one.  But at the rate things are going, I'm not sure I can count on more than 5-8 years, and possibly less.  As a stop-gap measure while I decided what to do (or maybe as I waited until the pre-Christmas sales) I decided to buy a hand-mixer.

At Fleet-Farm I found a Sunbeam Heritage mixer* for thirty bucks.  It has whips, beaters, and dough hooks, powered by a pretty decent motor. When I first bought it, Maggie was at a loss.  She'd never operated a hand mixer before.  It took a while to figure out the machine.  We needed to slightly tweak how we made bread, as the mixer didn't have enough power to knead 8 cups of ww flour.  Because the bowl doesn't spin itself, you have to bother to hang onto the mixer and move the beaters around the bowl [gasp].  And yes, it can even make cookies, not just breads.  As an added bonus, we can whip the mashed potatoes instead of just smashing them up with the potato masher -- yummy.  As I was running $30-50 per year for my KitchenAid's depreciation costs, it looks like I'll be ahead if my little Sunbeam mixer lasts me just one year.

I wish I could have confidence that the quality of merchandise would be better if I forked over more money for a reputable brand known for quality and longevity.  But I don't.  So for now, I will just ask God to give me decent tools, and see what He provides.  Over the past five months, this Sunbeam has gone far beyond my expectations.





* I'm suspecting it may have been discontinued, as it's no longer available on the Sunbeam site, is expensive on Amazon, and is down to $22 at Fleet-Farm.

Matthew 6:25

Do not worry about your life, 
what you will eat or what you will drink;
nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food 
and the body more than clothing?

It was pointed out in Sunday School opening this week that, in the Church, we eat something.  And we drink something.  And we put on something, something --Someone-- more than mere food and more than mere clothing.

Matthew 6:25

Try looking at a crucifix while reciting our memory verse for the week:  "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

Jesus on the cross.  What does He have to eat or to drink?  Nothing.  Neither does He clothing.  He won't even hang onto His life for much longer.  But ...

He is life.

 

Pay Attention, People!

Early during choir rehearsal, the director enjoins us to focus, to pay attention, to knock off the chatter, etc.

Later, the choir director [in an ADD moment] grabs a music stand, shifts it to a spot in front of his mother, and suggests that she can put her music there when her hand tremors get bad.  It will hold her music without shaking.  And she can put her small water bottle there.  And hey, she can put her teeth/dentures there too.

A moment later, he strikes a chord on the piano so that we can start singing the next stanza.  Virtually nobody starts singing.   "Hey!  Focus!  People, pay attention!  Why can't you focus?" 


We laugh.

Sprouts

During late summer's fresh-tomato season, Maggie and I made a lot of alfalfa sprouts and a few tries at other sprouts.  Years ago, when I first heard about making sprouts, people made it sound like rocket science, with pitfalls hiding here, there, and everywhere.  But I found that it's easy-breezy when you have a screen lid for a wide-mouth canning jar.

Place a tablespoon or two of seeds in a one-quart jar.  Add water and soak for 12-24 hours.  Drain.  Rinse well with water and drain immediately, 2-4 times a day for a few days.  Keep the jar covered with a thin cloth so that the little seeds think they're in the dark. 

Screen lids are available online if you can't find them available at a health food store nearby.  I haven't tried the plastic ones (available for purchase, or the ones you cut out of plastic embroidery canvas) but it just seems too closed for airflow to me.  I have not had luck with making my own screen lids out of window-screen from the hardware store (too floppy) or using cheesecloth (doesn't allow enough water to drain off cleanly).  There are, however, instructions online for making a lid out of a spatter-screen for a skillet.  As those are available at dollar-stores, it might work well. 

Although it takes only a few seconds at a time to tend to the sprouts, you do have to rinse them at least twice a day.  If you're going to be gone for a few days, don't start them yet; the poor little sprouts will just dry out and shrivel up.  The biggest trick is remembering to rinse: we put an index card by the kitchen sink (where we see it often!) with a note to "rinse sprouts."  Pretty soon we'll have more batches started and enjoy loading up our sandwiches with sprouts.  Avocado, onion, tomato, cheese, sprouts, maybe some thin-sliced meat....  Yummy!

Freedom of the Gospel, and Power of the Gospel

In Kleinig's Grace Upon Grace, he talks about the power of prayer.  "Only if we begin and end with our spiritual weakness can we safely appreciate the true power of prayer" (page 193).  "When we pray, we do not tap our latent spiritual potential, nor do we even exercise the power that we possess by virtue of our Baptism or conversion" (pages 193-194).

He says it's not about the power Christians have been given in their regeneration.  Even though we have been called "God's sons," even though we have been declared holy, even though we have the Holy Spirit working within us, our "power" is not ours; it is something we receive, not something we possess.  We are weak.  Really really weak.

On a related note, it makes me wonder about those who sputter objections about "too much Gospel."  Some people keep bringing us back to the Law; they want "enough Law" to be preached so that Christians will be encouraged to do good works.  It sounds like they think we are able to harness some power within us to Be Good.

It makes me wonder if such people do not themselves know the freedom of the Gospel and the power of the Gospel.  Maybe they think "all that Gospel" cannot possibly "work" because they cannot begin to conceive of people actually doing good except to earn a reward or avoid a punishment.  But if a person believes in the Law, if a person lives by the Law, then it's no surprise that he would think the Law is where we find our motivation.

Discerning the Lord's Body

Pastor Stuckwisch writes about the importance of discerning the Lord's body and blood in the Sacrament.  In the article, he points out things that pastors can do (beyond what they say) to help the parishioners understand that this cup and this bread IS Jesus' blood and His body.

I remember the friend who told me that some in his congregation complained that he elevated the host at the Pax Domini, and that he knelt at the altar.  "Pastor," they said with a little bit of derision, "you act like it's really Jesus there."

Ummm...

How does a person respond to that?  "Exactly"?

Who Needs to Listen to the Lord?

Pastor has been pointing out in stories how often people know what the Lord says, know that it's true, and yet keep acting in opposition.  This happened over and over again in the stories of King Saul.  He knew that David had been anointed by the Lord.  And yet he was determined to get rid of David and make sure his own sons were lined up to be the next king.  He knew what God said; he knew it was true; and yet he had no intention of listening to it.

Another example is 2 Samuel 3.  Abner (who had been the commander of Saul's army) had fought against David all along, as Saul pursued David.  Saul died.  Abner set up Saul's son as king, in opposition to David's kingship.  Abner fought against David.  Then, lo and behold, Abner got ticked at Ishbosheth (Saul's son who was ruling Israel) and said in verse 9 that God should zot him [Abner]  if he doesn't go and help set up David as king over all Israel "as the Lord has sworn to him." 

Seriously?  Abner knew all along that the Lord had sworn to give the kingdom to David.  And still he was scheming, warring, and rebelling.  He thought he would thwart GOD? 

Yup.
(Ain't it amazing that we can be so dense?)
(And why is it so easy to see when it's other people doing it?)

Canning Circus

I may never can again.

Things did not go well when I attempted to put up some incredible chili last week.   So yesterday I made chili and froze it.   The goal for today was to can either salsa or plain tomatoes.  Taking the lazy way out I decided to can the tomatoes plain.  However, it failed to be "the lazy way."

1.  Accident with the pressure canner which was supposed to be doubling as a water bath.  Boiling water.  Exploded.  On me.  (Lots of cold showers and many applications of fresh aloe mean that I ended up with only a few blistered areas.  The treatments resulted in most places settling down to bad first-degree burns.)

2.  Broken handle on the canner lid when it hit the floor.

3.  Lots of water all over the floor.  When the shower was colder than I could stand, I'd get out and would make attempts to mop up the kitchen's puddles.

4.  Then Maggie accidentally dumped the mop bucket.  All the water from the canning accident --plus the water that had been in the bucket from mopping earlier-- was back on the floor.  I'm glad I could laugh at that instead of cry.

5.  One of the canning jars broke.  The canner was full of tomatoes floating around in the canning water. 

6.  Water boiled out of the canner onto the stove, extinguishing the flame on the burner, while the natural gas kept pumping out into the kitchen.  Hooray for open windows!!!

So what all else went wrong?  I can't remember at the moment.  But this list seems mighty short compared to how the day actually went!

I now have
a) very clean kitchen counters,
b) a floor that's been mopped three times since Monday, and
c) some nice tomatoes in the freezer.

Moral of the Story #1 -- Quit canning.
Except for jelly.
Moral of the Story #2 -- When I forget this lesson, make sure I never can anything in quart-sized jars again ... unless I buy a regular water-bath canner.  Pints will be the limit for water-bathing in the pressure canner.

I'm going to have to wear real shoes to work later this week.  Flip-flops are really a lot easier on my burned foot.

Remind me again why this is supposed to be worth it?