A little of this and that

Opened up my blog and saw that it's been a whole week since I posted. And I was going to try and do it more frequently. Like every day or every other day.  I need to work on that. Not that I ever have much to yak about but today I do.  Nothing all that earth shattering or interesting but I guess I can rattle on. Whoops. I set the timer and it just went off. Gotta go wash my hair and then I'll return and tell you about my latest experiments with scalp irritations.  Exciting, huh?

Back again. Boy, it feels better when you wash your hair. One of my nuisance ailments is psoriasis. Lovely skin disease. I got my first tiny patch on my knee when I was 27 and pregnant. That eventually went away (I probably got an injection for it) and it's never returned but.... it has returned to other body parts.  Got one patch on the back of my scalp that is especially onery and uncomfortable. It flares up inside my ears too and now and then on  my elbows. Lately, it's taken to showing up on my shin or forearm. Just a tiny patch but I notice it and I work to try and keep it greased up with one cream or another. I made the mistake of looking at pictures on Google of psoriasis of people REALLY afflicted with it and that was damn scary! Apparently, it's one of those skin problems that affects millions. That's not comforting to me, however. And it's also not comforting that they more or less guess on what causes it...heredity, food, stress...the usual things they say when they don't know.

Anyhow, my battle with the scalp patch pretty much drives me nuts most of the time. Mainly because my hair continues to thin as I age and I'm getting balder all the time.  Makes me sad to see younger pictures of myself. Ones where I was not only thinner but had hair.  But, life goes on. I do have a wig that fits halfway decently and I'm wearing it more frequently; especially if I'm going somewhere and my picture might be taken.  Yesterday, I was surfing the net (again) to see if I could find natural things to use on my scalp to help control the itching. Found a great website so I copied it all down and printed it off. I intend to try each and every ingredient they discussed. Here's the list: 

Apply a small amount of melted coconut oil directly to your scalp, massaging it into the skin. Leave it to sit for at least 10 minutes before washing your hair as you normally would. Not only will this help with dry scalp, it will also leave your hair silky smooth.

Tea tree oil mix a few drops of tea tree oil with a carrier oil, like coconut or olive oil, and massage it into your scalp. Leave it on for 10 minutes before washing it out.

Apple cider vinegar: Mix one part apple cider vinegar with two parts water, and apply it directly to the scalp. Let it sit for five minutes before washing it out with a gentle shampoo and conditioning your hair like normal.

liquid witch hazel, mix one part witch hazel with two parts water or carrier oil. Massage it into your scalp thoroughly and let sit for five minutes before washing your hair as you normally would

Mix equal parts baking soda and olive oil together, and massage into your scalp thoroughly. Let it sit for five minutes before washing your hair well with shampoo and conditioner to remove all the residue.

Mash or blend a banana with a few tablespoons of coconut or olive oil. Blending it will make it easier to rinse out of your hair. Massage it into your scalp and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Use a few tablespoons of plain, unflavored yogurt with no added sugar and mix in one well-beaten egg. Massage it into your hair and scalp, and wait 10 minutes before washing it out. Rinse out the mixture with lukewarm or cold water, or the egg may cook and be much more difficult to remove from your hair.

to use it for dry scalp, you can add a few drops of jojoba oil to your shampoo. This will allow for regular hydration and prevent your shampoo from drying out your scalp further.

You can use both avocado oil or blended avocado topically to reduce dry scalp and its symptoms. If you’re using blended avocado, mix it with a few drops of carrier oil like olive oil before massaging it into your scalp. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes before washing it out. For an extra boost, you can blend both avocados and bananas together to use as a treatment.

Today I tried out the coconut oil. I don't usually have that onhand but I did today and I'm anxious to see if it works at all. I certainly have my doubts.

Now that the new year has started, my calendar is starting to fill up with doctor appts.  I sat my P.A. a couple days ago for IBS. (Yeah, I pretty much share everything)  haha
She prescribed this one pill to take for two weeks to see if it helped ease things up. We also discussed whether or not I might benefit from an antidepressant. Jen's been after me to take one for years and I finally decided ...yeah, I am kinda depressed or at last anxious a lot of the time.  I haven't started taking it yet. The pharmacy didn't have it in so I'll try again tomorrow.  I did take my first pill for IBS, though.  I've got my fingers crossed but don't expect miracles. I've become accustomed to pretty much living my life around it. Does make for an off and on social life, though. Not that my calendar is alive and well but still....there are times when I'd like to leave the house and not have to worry about "messes."  I really don't think my problem is food related, though. I kept a food diary for a while and even went off coffee and ice cream and all kinds of stuff to see if I  improved. Nope. From what I've read online, age and being a woman can contribute to the malady.  Your innards just wear out like your eyes, ears, and joints.

The doctor scheduled an ultra sound for day after tomorrow to see if my gall bladder is acting up. I do have a pain in that area and I've been bothered often with nausea.  Yesterday, I got some intense eye pain and that lasted for hours off and on.  Read up on it and besides indicating various eye diseases, it could just be sinus infection.  I don't have it right now but I am always having problems with my eyes itching so I decided I might as well bite the bullet and see an ophthalmologist.  I saw one in April of 2016 and she suggested I get this eye operation to lift my sagging eyelid and clean out under it. Sounded gross so I opted out. Now, I don't care. Hurt me all you want.  I couldn't get in until March 1st because I wanted an afternoon appt but I switched to morning and she found one for Feb. 7.

Next week will be a little busier than usual for me. Monday (finally) the flooring guys are supposed to show up and get going on the hardwood floors. House has been torn up since the first of Nov so I'm ready.  I also have a meeting in Port Ludlow that day and a casino lunch with friends the next day.
The annual paper mill luncheon is scheduled for March and it's one of the two social things I do. The other being the alumni get together at the Elks Club in June.

I've been scanning in various pictures from old PT Redskin WAWA yearbooks but I'm missing 1965,66, and 67 so I'm trying to round those up.  I had previously scanned decades of graduating seniors (put them on a disc) and if I can figure out how to do it, I may insert them into the folders I've started for the yearbook pages. You can see all the photos on my Facebook page. Look on the left menu for JEFFERSON COUNTY WASHINGTON OF YESTERDAY.  I wish the title was shorter but everything I tried to use as already taken.  I have another page called Port Townsend School Kids and that shows various class photos taken on the gym steps and at Grant Street School from the 50s on.  Lots of fun to look over.

I went into Sequim a couple days ago to meet up with an old classmate who is living in an assisted living place there. We went to Black Bear for lunch. I had breakfast and it was delicious! Gary actually graduated from Sequim High School (I think...or was it P.A?)  Anyhow, he was in my class from 1st grade through 10th or somewhere around there. He always came to our reunions so we consider him part of our class.

My brother, Dana, and his wife, Lill, stopped in on Sunday. I was very surprised to be gifted with his THIRD book. This one is called simply XC. Stands for Xander Castner, who the book is about. He was bullied in 7th grade and this story takes you through his life.  Really looks good too! Dana writes under the name of  DAGE CORVISH and you can buy it on Amazon or on kindle.

My son-in-law, Wayne, is a big collector of old records. Mainly 45s but some LPs too. He's been hitting second hand stores in Hadlock and one guy intends to call him back once he brings his collection into his shop.  I gave him about four 45s that I had (no sleeves) and I had another 78 of Spin and Marty from the Mickey Mouse Club that I wanted him to have.  Since my girls read my blog, I want to say here that once I kick the bucket, I want Wayne to get what albums I have stored away. There's probably only a dozen but I know he'd like the blue vinyl one of Elvis.

Have sure been enjoying my YoutubeTV subscription that Mary gave me for Christmas. I plug my laptop into my tv and can watch about 60 channels. Many are sports but I usually only watch football, baseball, and golf.  Last night I watched three hours of the Nat'l Geographic Channel that carries my favorite show, Life Below Zero.

HBO had a free one week trial to I did that and watched everything  I wanted to look over and then cancelled. I also took Showtime for a month as I needed to catch up on Ray Donovan. I'm thinking I might subscribe to Acorn next. I love a lot of those British shows.  Thank God for Roku!  Speaking of which....I have a large color tv for sale for $30. It's a JVC 27" and works fine. Includes a sturdy
table with turntable and two shelves PLUS a roku device.  I've got it advertised on the Clallam County Buy and sell site but haven't had any calls yet. People seem to prefer flat screens these days. But I'm fine with it not selling too as I'll stick it in the corner of my sewing room and have entertainment while playing on the machine.

I'm trying to decide if I want to put my bookcases against a long wall in the sewing room or maybe the single bed.  (for guests)  That way I could keep the back bedroom as storage for material, boxes of things I'm working on, and other odds and ends.  We'll see. I love the idea of having new rooms to decorate.  Mary Norton gave me this cute tote bag for Christmas. I'm putting one of my stronger grocery canvas bags inside of it and intend to use for grocery shopping. It's so colorful.

A friend sent me this link of how I could decorate my front. I'm tempted to give it a try but now that I think of it, it looks like a lot of work.

And here's a couple cartoons that I saved in my Trump file.....