Mother’s Got A Dot Com

This blog has been on holiday. I blame it on summer, Brats being home all the time, and a broken ankle.

The Brats are now back to school/travelling/have moved abroad. The ankle is still broken – that is: it’s been operated upon, fixed with several spare parts, and is not to be used for walking for another 4 weeks. Yours truly is moving about in a borrowed wheelchair, as crutches leaves one with no hands. No feet is quite enough, thank you!

I insert a pic taken on the occasion – for the squeamish amongst you: please don’t squeam, just scroll down.

And now, one taken 5 days later, after op # 2. (scroll on, scroll on…)

That was one summer well spent, I can tell you! This happened 3 days before our scheduled holiday, so I was popular with the Brats for a while too. Luckily, I was cooped up in hospital for a week and a half, so I avoided the ritual beheading that is fitting in those circumstances.

We’ve sent #2 Brat off to Denmark, together with a carload of stuff, most of which had no practical use, but loads of sentimental value. I remember the feeling… She’s now installed with her mattress, tiny table and sewing machine in a big, empty room. She has a kitchen with applyances, and a bathroom, so the basics are looked after. She also has to manage her own finances. Did I mention that I remember the feeling?

#1 Brat left for Kenya on Sunday. She is 20, so I had left most of the investigating to her. The result was that I got a name and contact number from her co-travellers at the airport… Back home, I googled the name, and found an amazing woman, Sarah Ngotho, who runs the Joy Children’s home near Nairobi. Please take the time to read her story, and about the home itself. # 1 Brat will work there as a volunteer for 4 months, while paying for her room and board. I believe this is one way these homes (and there are many of them!) manage to keep financially afloat. She’s worked all summer to be able to do this. Anyway – she’s arrived, is safe and sound, and probably in the midst of the experience of a lifetime.

What else? Hubby has a new job. He’s released from the slave labor camp he was in, and has got a job for a company who helps people to get back into the workplace. The pay is OK, and the hours are wonderfully adapted to family life. The bonus is that our little farm may be involved too. We have toyed with the idea for some time, of offering the use of this place for rehabilitation through activity/farm work/socializing. It looks as if this is now going to happen. Fingers crossed.

# 3 Brat has started his apprenticeship to become a carpenter, and # 4 has just started her first year in our equivalent to High School. # 5 is in second grade, and # 6 has just turned 3, and is insisting that he’s being home schooled…

That’s about it from here, I think. Oh, yes – it’s been a wet one.

Done with the research. Boy, was that enlightening. And very, very scary.

My first thought when I saw the words Colonix reviews, was: A new Asterix comic book!

Great! I’ve got them all. Ever since my childhood in France, I’ve chuckled at the names of the characters. In French, they all end in -ix. Assurancetourix (All risk insurance), Aplusbégalix (a+b=x), Panoramix (Panoramic), and so on and so forth.

Colonix, however, was a new one… A Gall with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, perhaps?

What’s more, I was way off the mark. Try googling it, and see all the scary stuff that turns up. With pictures. One guy recorded his experiences during weeks of using the stuff. With pictures. And we’re talking colonic cleansing here, people.

Is the poking and probing compulsory? Or is just flushing the normal way acceptable behaviour? I don’t think I dare find out. By the way – the review isn’t very good.

It seems that my partner in blogging, who provides me with a regular flow of keywords to blog about, has got a spasmodic problem.

This is not a) a medical blog or b) a diet blog. I only very casually touch on health issues – and I mostly do it to complain. You know – about aching joints, saggy skin, other saggy things – whatever my ever-increasing age throws at me.

Dieting is of very little interest to me. I can stretch to nutrition, but I don’t want to get too healthy, as the homes for the elderly are such undignified places in this country, that I really want to kick the bucket before anyone feels the need to put me in one.

The spasmodic problem of my blogging partner? The ever recurring best diet pill. I could probably just pop the keywords in anywhere, and go about my ramblings as usual, but I have this thing about delivering the goods. So now I’ve done it. Please excuse me now, while I go and do some research on the next weird word constellation.

#3 Brat has severe acne problems. From what I’ve seen after his 2 week stint in the jungle (and 3 days of sun and Pacific Ocean dipping), the very best of acne treatments is just that: Sun and sea. Off with the shirts, on with the shorts.
He’s not cured. Far from it. What’s more, he’ll always be scarred, but the improvement is significant. Sadly, the amount of Pacific dipping we get over here is negligeable. If I can get him to see the improvement himself though, I might be able to coax him into letting the sun do its thing on him during the summer. (We have summer. It’s short, but pleasant – sometimes). I understand the self-consciousness, and the need to hide himself, but I hope he can rise above that, at least when only the family is here.

He gets treatment – homeopathic pills of various descriptions. They have an effect too, but it’s slow compared to the sun and the sea.

Oh, dear. I just googled acne, and found a site that sells anabolic steroids. They also give a list of possible side effects – acne being the least worrisome of the lot. They provide a solution for the “most feared side-effect”, though, which is feminization. The solution is more drugs. Excessive levels of testosterone converting to estrogen is combated by ingesting anti-estrogen. Charming.

(Most feared??? How about heart failure, strokes, liver failure, immune system failure? No probs, as long as you don’t develop breasts???)

Anyway. #3 Brat is in the clear. He’s just a teen with runaway hormones.

A necessary commodity – they kinda follow you around…

I’ve had painful feet all my life. Bilateral club feet, that were corrected 40 years ago, gave me feet that weren’t crippled, but that became truly painful around my 2nd pregnancy.

What I’ve been told by doctors is that all they can do is to “stiffen them” – i.e. reduce mobility even more, which gives a 50% chance of reducing the pain, and 50% chance of increasing it. Not good odds.

I’ve come to think that my club feet aren’t the only problem, or that this condition has brought about another one. I’ve read up on Plantar Fasciitis, and the symptoms seem to fit parts of my condition quite well. Excrutiating pain after rest (in the morning, or after sitting down for a while) in the heel and arch area – that’s me. On top of the chronic pain that’s always there, especially if I walk a lot, and during rest as well…

This gives the following status: I can’t walk, sit or lie down without my feet being painful. If I do sit down, they get worse for a while after getting back up, and if I go for a walk, or Heaven forbid, if I grant my poor Hubby a slow dance on an evening out, it haunts me for days afterwards. If i have to get up during the night, I feel like crawling instead of walking…

The worst of it is that this hobbling about is probably what does my back in, too. Painkillers are wonderful things, but I’m only 45, and I don’t want to be popping x-rated drugs just to be able to exist.

I think a very serious talk with my doctor is in order – again. I put it off, because I hate being told that nothing can be done. I’ve got a new doctor, though, and maybe this one has some constructive suggestions. Maybe…

The old name of the area where we live was “Iron Valley”. It’s earned its name. The ground is full of iron ore, and our water contains quite a lot of iron – to the point where we have to dismantle our bathroom and kitchen faucets on a regular basis to get rid of the iron particles that are stuck there.
Also, our house is at the end of the power line, which means that the power tension is… fluctuating. We go through electrical appliances like mad. We’ve lived here for 5 years, and we’re on our second stove, dishwasher and washing machine, and we’ve had to repair them all as well. The TV decoder has died (Tvs are still living, touch wood). As for light bulbs – energy saving bulbs are a joke, and the halogen ones pop on a regular basis.
I know. We should get on to our electrical company. I fear it’ll be a waste of time and energy though – it’s a big company, and we’re just a drop in the ocean to them. I will do it. At the very least we should get a rebate for poor quality service…

There are, however, so many upsides about living the way we do. The closeness to nature, the fact that we can have all the animals we want, that we can cut the grass whenever we like (or not), since no one bothers us about much of anything. People say – how can you bear living so far away from everything? Well, it’s not far, for one. And not a weekend goes by without the impromptu visit of at least one set of friends or family. Which means that they know how to find us, and they like it here too… The good life for us? This is as close as we’ll get!

I’m not health concious. That is, I haven’t been in the past. Now that I’ve turned 45, and probably lived more than half the time allotted to me, I’m getting there. The fact that I’ve still got little kids who need me, well that helps too.
I’ve come across a health blog. So. What else is new? Like they aren’t 13 to a dozen… OK, OK, but this guy talks about the benefits of good health, he doesn’t write with his finger raised. Although he does write about the damage caused by un-healthy behaviour, he makes a point of suggesting alternative behaviour. In a way that makes you want to give it a go.
He also gives recipes. For nice things, like prosciutto-wrapped avocado wedges or asparagus, or a bite-sized breakfast made of scrambled eggs and pancetta. Guess what? I searched the site for the word “tofu”, and it’s not there. Long may it continue…
I’ll be back to visit this healthy fellow, for more snack recipes (!) and tips. Right now I’m off to find myself a humor blog to read – apparently, laughter is good for your health. Literally.

Bloggers Unite! – Today is World AIDS Day. Join in to create awareness about this disease, that kills hundreds of thousands of people globally every year.
Another aspect is the quality of life of those afflicted. They’re not dangerous – you’re more dangerous to them than the other way around.

With all these rave reviews, are the so-called “superfoods” really as efficient as they’re made out to be?
I’m innately sceptical, and when a product (like Lipovox) is supposed to burn fat, rid you of acne and reduce wrinkles – all in one pill – I immediately start thinking of fairytales.
Still – I also believe that a healthy diet can help with most health issues. The difficulty, of course, is knowing what really constitutes a healthy diet. (And don’t tell me you know, because experts disagree so much, it’s ridiculous!)
In those circumstances, one might as well start listening to Oprah. Hm. One yo-yo dieter to another: does it really work?

I think there’s something going on today – far away, over the ocean. Something that will have an impact not only on the United States, but on the world at large too.

I don’t know if you Americans are aware of the amount of coverage your election and election campaign is getting in other parts of the world. I can only comment on Norwegian media, but I’m sure the rest of Europe is just as “au fait” with what’s happening as we are.

Let me say that some of the coverage doesn’t help to subdue the feeling we sometimes get over here that you lot are somewhat weird… Aliens for mcCain? Obamas birth certificate? Palins grandchild? Who can slag the opponent the most times and the most viciously during a debate? It just goes to show that we’re as subjected to the media as you are – they pick and choose what to convey, and more often than not, it’s a slagging or a “juicy” rumor.

Any word on these guys politics?

In one way, I’m glad I’m not asked to vote for any of them – there’s no doubt as to which one is the more charismatic one, but with the baggage the other one has been forced to drag around (George jr), I’m amazed he’s still in the running, so there must be something there too.

Politics, anyone?

Yes, I know there are fundamental differences between Democrats and Republicans. The thing is – they both say they want change. Is that even possible? With the administration running along with business as usual, lobbyists making a (very good) living doing things most people would never consider, concessions always having to be made for corporate interests – is it remotely possible 1. to change anything and 2. to avoid corruption?

I don’t know.

I do know that any election in the US is a global one. As such, maybe we all should be asked to vote. It has impact on world economy, world peace, the environment and world politics as a whole.
One only has to look at history (not just the débacles of the last 8 years) to understand that whoever is elected will have a big say in more than just what concerns the US.
In the meantime, news reporters all over the world are having a field day. Tonight, they’ll get overtime as well – we’re up for an all-night coverage of the Election Day.

So please, people – exercise your right. For yourselves, for the US of A, and for the rest of the world.