A Quiet House

The best time of the day is first thing in the morning.  All I can hear right now is the hum of the refrigerator.  Everyone is asleep upstairs.  So far away I can't hear the snoring.  Even our dog is asleep.

Ironman left for the golf course.  He was making so much noise in the kitchen I thought he must be remodeling.  He's a noisy fellow.

A book that I ordered arrived yesterday.  Let me back up and say I was surprised this particular book was not available in digital form.  Thus the ordering.  I saw the author on Dr. Phil.  It's not a relationship book.  Are you surprised?  It's written by one of those doctors from The Doctors.  The one that is the plastic surgeon.  I rarely if ever watch that show.  If I'm in the mood for some health advice I much prefer Dr. Oz.  But back to the book.  Each chapter has "secrets" for looking younger, healthier, brighter skin, fewer wrinkles, etc.  Hey I'm up for it.

Just yesterday I could wash my face with Lava and my skin be smooth and clean.  Now I have to do research and check labels on simple things like lotion and soap as fragrance tends to give me a rash and any other harsh additives can irritate my now dry skin.  By the way, it's the same way with shoes.  In my younger days I could wear any style, any material.  It mattered not.  I don't remember ever even getting a blister!  But now I have to have the exact fit and arch and no man made material.  They can't pinch my toes or slip on my heel or be too high or too low.  It's exhausting.

I have a story about some Clarks Shoes I owned once which explains why I never buy the Clarks brand.  I slipped them off at the back door.  Dancer Girl comes into the kitchen.  Here is the short conversation:

DG:  Is Meme here?
Me:  No.  Why do you wonder that?
DG:  I saw her shoes by the back door.


Okay folks, that was enough for me.  I refuse to wear Meme shoes.

Back to the book.  I flipped through it last night and found a recipe for a sugar scrub.  Yes, please.
Whipped it up in a jiffy.  Flew to the bathroom.  Sat on the side of the tub.  My oh  my..... heaven.  Wow.  My poor feet.  They were so, so thankful and delighted.  I can't wait to use the scrub again today.

Here's the recipe:


3 Tablespoons cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Mix.  Store in air tight container in the refrigerator.  It only takes a small scoop per foot.   I estimate this recipe will make enough scrub to last me 2 weeks easily.  I'm going to keep track.

Speaking of my feet, I'm also following a regime on my left big toe that I saw on the Dr. Oz show.
Quickly:  6 or 7 years ago......... yes, YEARS AGO....... I had a group of friends who walked 5 miles a day religiously in our neighborhood.  I got new shoes.  I noticed that they rubbed on my big toe but I was new to shoe problems and it wasn't a horrible feeling........... I just let it go.  Just those few months of wearing those shoes to do my walking regime damaged the toe.  Within a year I had a full fledged ingrown toe nail.  I tried everything.  I mean, EVERYTHING to remedy the situation.  Years passed.  Sometimes I felt like it was getting better.  Then it would hurt again.  Then the toenail turned an odd greenish awful color.  I knew I needed medical attention.

Skip forward:  After 5 years......... yes, FIVE YEARS...........we moved to a large city and with my new job came better medical insurance and fate intervened.  The job required a physical.  On my nickel.  So since I had to go to the doctor I asked her to take a look at my toe.  Yeppers.  Ingrown.  And a fungus had invaded the nail.  Ugh.  Great.

One week later I returned and she cut out the ingrown part.  WOW!  Instant relief.  She told me it would have never gotten better on its own.  I was so relieved.  I started on an oral laminal.

Lamisil, blood test, lamisil, blood test, lamisil.

The only improvement I noticed was the nail got thinner.  But so did all my other nails.  The fungus never cleared.  And the side effects of the medication were inconvenient.  Headache, bloating, dizziness.  After 6 months my insurance would no longer pay for the medication and I was tired of taking it.

Just last week I was cooking dinner with Dr. Oz.  I mean, I was cooking dinner.  The Dr. Oz show was on turned down low in the keeping room.  I ran toward the TV when a woman in the audience began describing her TOE FUNGUS.  WHAT?  Everyone!  Quiet and still!  I must hear!  What did Dr. Oz say?  VICKS VAPOR RUB. 

Within an hour I was at CVS with VVR in my hot little hand.  I've been using it faithfully now for a week.

Drum roll............. after all this time............ my toe is healing.  There is just a tiny area at the tip of the nail that is still discolored. It will soon grow out.  The rest is clear and healthy.  I've been taking photos every few days and plan to send them to my best friend in the whole world Dr. Mehmet Oz.