Wednesday 5 February 2014

Vireos, Vinegar and Nish Skin

I am sitting at my table, the one pushed up next to the big bow window in the living room.  I have a view of the feeder in the birch tree and the ground beneath and here is what I am watching.
It is a flock of white-eyed vireos that make an early morning visit to my feeder.  I've counted about thirty of them at any one time.  A pretty little bird, they have noticeable white bars among the black wing feathers and their overall colour varies from mustard yellow to sage green. 

 My skin is nish; that is an old word common in Newfoundland and used to describe skin that is sensitive and easily bruised.  I am reminded of it often because I have to do so much hand-washing here living with two dogs, digging in a garden, handling wood, etc.  I have mostly resorted to baby soaps and use the baby wash for my kitchen sink hand soap.  I don't know why but I hate wearing rubber gloves to work around water and sometimes thought they made my skin feel worse.  Last year I was pleased to find a formula for cleaning that was easy on my hands.  It was baking soda, vinegar, and dish detergent and I use this now for cleaning my fridge and cupboards. 
I do believe many beneficial uses of common products get dismissed because they are unpatentable (sorry, unsure if that is a word!).  This means no big drug company can make money from them because, sadly, it is like the old saying "whatever subject we are talking about, we are talking about money." Just last month, I was reading about wonderful results for certain skin conditions obtained from using common household bleach.  Yes, bleach.  The list of healthy uses for apple cider vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda are endless.  There are a number of books available and any of the Old Farmers' Almanacks have lots of ideas for using these common items.  By the way, did you know you can buy an Old Farmers' Almanack that is for kids only?

No comments :