PolitiCook.net

24 Comments

• At 2008.09.03 17:18, drchelo said:

  Did the Lizard rescue the pileated woodpecker and scare away the Large Dog? I’m glad to see our colorful friend back.
  We are getting the back hand of Gustave here in Dallas. Little, if any significant rain, but two days of cool, cloudy weather. I’ll take it.
  I am going to have the most fragrant compost heap in North Texas! I have been seriously pinching back the basil (after rollin’ nekkid in it!) to keep it from flowering for awhile longer, and then I decided it was time to take the machete to the oregano/marjoram battlefield, and cut it back. I put those out on the west bed so that those two invasives could just duke it out together. They managed to smother the creeping germander (no easy feat!), but they do dearly love the clay dirt, scorching temperature and dry conditions of the west bed. Anyway, I chopped ‘em back, and dumped the armloads of fragrant stuff into the compost bin! Tomorrow? I’m sharpening my machete to go after the rosemary…
  Happy, sweet-smelling compost bin!

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  • At 2008.09.03 18:31, Kate Petersen said:

    Oh, man, what a lucky compost bin!

    I think my dehydrator would have been running nonstop for days. I loves the oregano and haven’t had too much luck growing it.

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  • At 2008.09.03 20:35, biscuit said:

    Gustav has been visiting us, as well. Rain rain rain rain all day long.

    What’s good, though, is that it isn’t our usual torrential monsoons, but instead, lovely, constant rain.

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• At 2008.09.03 19:09, mango said:

  My toe!
  Saturday morning my big toe hurt and I thought maybe that I had tripped on a cobblestone the previous night. Every day it has been bigger and more tender. I went for a walk this morning and when I got home I was in big time toe pain. I took an aspirin and lazed around today. The pain was all but gone until I walked one block to the store. Now I am in agony again. It isn’t an ingrown toenail but it is mushy with fluid. God it hurts. Just wanted to share a little bit of toe pain this evening. The dogs don’t seem to care.

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  • At 2008.09.03 19:22, drchelo said:

    Is the fluid coming from under the nail? It could be an early infection. Get yourself some Epsom Salts, put a dose in some hot water, and soak that foot in it.
    And, while you’re at it, tell me what the Spanish for “Epsom Salts” is. I have heard it called “Sal Inglesa” from an ex-Peace Corps worker who had been in Guatemala, but whenever I use that term with Hispanics here, they just look at me blankly…
    But, then many of my patients just seem to look at me blankly….
    I hope that your toe gets better, Mangocita!

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    • At 2008.09.03 19:28, mango said:

      Thanks drchelo. It is not leaking. I can feel the liquid squishing inside. I will let you know tomorrow what Epson salts are in Spanish. A trip to the pharmacy will be fun. I had a hell of a time when I needed hydrogen peroxide.

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    • At 2008.09.03 20:05, mango said:

      I found out it is called Sulfato de magnesia. HT to redjean.

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  • At 2008.09.03 20:35, biscuit said:

    Ayiiii!

    Be careful, mango. That doesn’t sound good!

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• At 2008.09.03 19:19, Translator said:

  Is it red and hot? You may have gout. Anything that interferes with walking is probably worth a visit to a physician. Hope you get to feeling better.

  Warmest regards,

  Doc

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  • At 2008.09.03 19:29, mango said:

    Thanks doc. It is red and hot. Damm! Off to google gout.

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    • At 2008.09.03 20:38, biscuit said:

      If it’s gout, try drinking baking soda in water. It works.

      I got gout a couple of years ago when I tried to go vegetarian. ????? It was around the time of the pet food contamination then the soon to be discovered wheat and grain contamination, and I am telling you, every instinct I had said I’d gotten some contaminated grains.

      I studied up on it, after spending a month trying to get rid of the awful stuff, then began drinking baking soda. Within a day … gone! It works, and is much kinder on your pocketbook (and your kidney) than the pharmaceuticals they offer.

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      • At 2008.09.03 20:44, mango said:

        Thanks biscuit. What are the proportions of soda to water?

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        • At 2008.09.03 20:49, biscuit said:

          Oh lordy, I don’t remember.

          Give me a few minutes - I discovered this by landing on a very quacky-looking site a couple of years ago, then researching it and discovering one person after another person after another who had had chronic gout in some cases for years literally curing themselves with frackin’ backing soda!!! then remembering one of my nieces who has a kidney disorder classified as Rare and Expensive (can’t process a couple of the aminos from protein), remembering that she has to take baking soda every day to keep stones from forming …

          :: deep breath::

          … then ending up at the CDC or MEDLINE or somesuch site because my sister convinced my I was going to go into hyper- or hypo- (???) acidosis if even LOOKED at baking soda (omg she’s such a weenie sometimes!!!) and so I debated with myself a long while …

          ::pant pant::

          … then I took the plunge and …

          I. Just. Did. It.

          Give me a few, I’ll find the directions …

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        • At 2008.09.03 20:52, biscuit said:

          Found the site - it’s like a total Quack Fest, but he knows what he’s talking about.

          Avert your eyes, all doctors!!!

          Here it is: I Cured My Gout

          You have to dig around a bit, but he gives proportions of baking soda to water.

          And whatever you do, don’t take aspirin. Instead take ibuprofen.

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          • At 2008.09.03 20:56, mango said:

            Thanks biscuit. I will give it a try.
• At 2008.09.03 20:03, redjean said:

  Translation
  Epson salts in Spanish is sulfato de Magnesio I think…

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• At 2008.09.03 20:39, biscuit said:

  Back to work today. But not a bad day because I was able to go back not completely burnt out.

  So not so bad!

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  • At 2008.09.03 20:47, mango said:

    That is great. You do need to pace yourself and I know that is next to impossible in your situation. Always remember that you come first and if you are not there who is? Take care.

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    • At 2008.09.03 20:53, biscuit said:

      That’s my mantra from now on. I like my job again!!

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• At 2008.09.03 20:54, mango said:

  I have a cooking question.
  Could I do a turkey breast in my slow cooker? I am thinking a little water and the turkey. Will that work? God darn, I would kill for a real oven.

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  • At 2008.09.03 20:55, biscuit said:

    Yes! I’ve done it — not for a long time, but I have.

    I’d definitely keep the skin on, too. Makes it nice and juicy!

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• At 2008.09.03 21:04, mango said:

  ok, I will do it tomorrow.

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• At 2008.09.03 21:58, Translator said:

  In my opinion, gout is a condition that requires competent medical attention, for a couple of reasons.

  First, gout is caused by the collection of crystals in the toe joints (the ones likely with the poorest circulation) that result from defective metabolism of xanthines. So, there is bot a circulatory defect and a metabolic defect, and I am not sure that loading your system with sodium is a good idea.

  Second, those crystals can do permanent mechanical damage to the joints and need to be dealt with rather quickly. As I said earlier, any interference with walking is not a good thing, because that is the first step towards physical inactivity, and that is a slow but sure way to even worse medical conditions.

  I am certainly not diagnosing your over the internet (shades of Frist), but do urge you to get this looked at soon. If it the start of an infection, you need antibiotics to knock it out before you become seriously ill. If it is gout, you need colchicine to knock out the acute attack and prevent joint damage, and diet modification, regular allopurinol treatments, or both, to prevent future attacks.

  And there is the possibility that is neither of those. I recommend that you get competent medical attention like, tomorrow morning.

  I do not mean to alarm you, but pain is usually a pretty good indication that something is wrong. My coccyx is hurting now, but it is because I got my feet tangled in the mess that I call a house and I fell on my ass, bruising it. It will be fine in a couple of days, and the pain is just annoying, not devastating. It has nothing to do with circulation or metabolic disorders, just sloth.

  Please let us know how it turns out for you, our friend. I believe that I can speak for this entire community when I say that we care about you.

  Warmest regards,

  Doc

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  • At 2008.09.04 05:18, mango said:

    Thank you Doc,
    Competent medical care is really not available here. I will go to the free clinic tomorrow and get some antibiotics.

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