Flowers at a Restaurant
Taken with an iPhone!
My Time: 4:37
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Taken with an iPhone!
My Time: 4:37
Click on the image or here to go to the puzzle.
I recent ran across this article: The Dirty Dozen Chemicals in Cosmetics.
In the article, Catherine Zandonella, lists 12 chemicals you should avoid in cosmetics:
It’s scary to think that some of the items in the list are actually in our cosmetics. But, they are. And many of them will have a worse effect on growing babies and children. It pays to read your labels.
Another Morning Glory puzzle
My Time: 4:53
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I just found this article online that should be helpful to many of us. I always see suggestions to use vinegar in cleaning, but this article - Good Housecleaning: Five Non-Toxic, Get-the-Dirt Out Basicsa by Annie Berthold-Bond includes her seven favorite recipes. I especially liked her recommendation:
My rule of thumb about nontoxic cleaning is this: use only ingredients that have been used without harm for so many years that they are “generally regarded as safe”; otherwise they would have long since been abandoned.
I think my favorite is her oven cleaning as I’ve been struggling with how to clean our oven lately.
Gotta run for now so I can print the article!
One Saturday last July, we were headed to my dad’s house to go to lunch. He called and told me I should bring my camera. And I did, but it was so out of character for him to call and tell me that. It seems that a Morning Glory vine had nearly taken over a bush in his backyard and he thought I should get pictures of them.
I was reminded of this and the pictures I took that day when I recently drove by some Morning Glories in my neighborhood.
My Time: 4:08
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This is part 3 of a series on preparing for the MCS house guest:
This week is about loose ends. Just a few more things to consider if you’re expecting a house guest that has MCS or any other health issues exacerbated by fragrances.
I’ve been thinking about this topic as I go through my days lately and it’s reminded me of things I need to mention.
One thing has to do with soap. I have traveled with my own soap and shampoo since I was in high school. (Back then I traveled on a T.Rex’s back.) So I always have soap in the one bathroom that I occupy. But that isn’t always enough. There are a lot of soaps out that I refuse to use. Especially the liquid hand soaps that are so popular. They leave their perfume smell on your hands, and it stays for a very long time. I just cannot use them. They’re so penetrating that the smell is actually absorbed by the plastic container that you put them in. It can be awkward dealing with this issue. When I travel, I like to be a good house guest, but I also like to be migraine free. (And so does everyone around me b/c I’m not a lot of fun with a migraine!) This is likely the type of issue you might want to work out with your future house guest in advance.
Another problem area is the dishwasher. I’m still totally puzzled at the fact that when you go to buy detergent for your dishwasher, you have to choose a scent. Why? What in the world for? I really don’t want my dishes to smell like flowers, or lemons or anything else, thank you. Not to mention that I am then ingesting those fragrances when I eat off the plate! But it’s a fact of modern life that everything you find in your average grocery store has a fragrancce. Before I found fragrance free dishwasher detergent, we had rules. First, no lids to travel mugs were allowed in the dishwasher. They absorb the fragrance and then I have to smell it with each sip. Second, and most important, never run the dishwasher when I’m going to be near the kitchen. In our house, that means we only ran it when we went to bed or when we left the house. It may seem petty to you if you don’t have an issue with fragrances, but the entire time the dishwasher runs, it emits those fragrances into the air. Something to keep in mind with your house guest.
There is one topic that I haven’t covered yet, and that is Pest Control. If you live in Colorado, you can likely ignore this because you may not know what I’m talking about. But here in South Texas, insects are a problem. You cannot avoid having them come into your house. But pest control chemicals can be particularly nasty. We had one man doing our house for years and I had no problem with it. Sadly, he passed away. The next ones we brought in caused a three day migraine. I tried one more, recently. He said his products were “green”. Well, I didn’t have a migraine, but I was allergic to his products. So I sneezed and such for days. I still haven’t decided which is worse - allergy or migraine. Besides, five weeks later the ants are back in our kitchen.
I bring up pest control here because you may want to ensure that you don’t have pest control service very close to your house guest’s arrival.
On a side note - if anyone has suggestions on safe pest control, I could use them.
I have just a couple of points left to make here. First, some of us have diet problems that go along with the MCS. I know I do. I can’t eat msg, nitrates, most nuts, plus a few other things. So, you may want to ask your house guest about diet issues. After all, you wouldn’t want to plan a pizza night only to learn that your house guest can’t eat the pepperoni. (BUT, Whole Foods has nitrate free pepperoni!) And lastly, be considerate of your house guest. I’ve had people roll their eyes and act like I’m crazy. I may be, but I’m still super-sensitive to smells and am likely to notice things that others dont. So, if your house guest mentions a prolem, trust that it is a problem.
Well, I think I’m done with this series on the MCS House Guest. Unless someone has questions. Please leave your comments and questions on this post and I’ll try to address them.
Print This PostI’m not sure what inspired me to take this photo of water flowing over rocks. Maybe it was just to see how it turned out. But it makes for a serious puzzle challenge!
My Time: 6:58
Click on the image or here to go to the puzzle.
This blog has made it to the big time. No, not the cover of the Rolling Stone. It’s the Fashion & Style section of the New York Times: Sickened by the Office (Really)! Breathe Free is mentioned in the seventh paragraph on page 2. (Hopefully they won’t make you log in, but their registration is free and they’re pretty low key about mailing you stuff.)
If you’re looking for the discussions mentioned in the article, follow this Susan McBride Lawsuit link.
This is a continuation of a post started last week on preparing for the MCS house guest. As I said last week, this information is based upon my experiences and my health issues. Mileage may vary for others. Please check with your future visitor for their specific needs, they’ll be glad you asked!
This week I’m going to cover house cleaning and laundry issues, plus a bit more.
House cleaning can be a real issue since most of the brand name products are full of fragrances, VOCs, and who knows what else. I generally buy all such products at Whole Foods or a local health food store. Although, I confess to using a brand name toilet cleaner because it does such a good job. Might not be a good idea b/c I can definitely smell it, but still - I like clean toilets, too!
If you’re like most of us, cleaning your house is on the list of things you’re likely to do before someone comes to visit. And that’s ok. If you can, choose some less toxic, less fragrant products. But if not, it works for me if you clean a few days in advance. (But I can’t stress enough that this approach won’t work for all.) That will give the chemicals some time to clear the air.
If you want more on cleaning products, see these 2 posts:
What about your linens - especially for the bed where your guest is staying? You can reference this post I wrote earlier on my laundry recipe. BUT, if you’ve been using scented fabric softeners or dryer sheets and scented laundry detergent then those smells may not come out. I’ve read that it can take 20 - 30 washings. And I believe it. What are your alternatives? It’s rather awkward these days to hang sheets outside. That may work for towels, which is good because any fragrance left in the towels will transfer to the person using it! Another alternative for sheets is to talk to your visitor. I have sheets in every size and I am not above traveling with them!
What about your car, though? Hopefully you don’t have any type of “air freshener” in your car. Or if you take it to a car wash they don’t use one in your car. If so, a few days of open windows in the sunshine are in order. And hope that it works.
That’s all for now, I do have a couple of other things I’ve thought of. Plus, I’ve found as I go about my daily routine I think of other things. So, tune in next week for part 3.
As always, your comments, suggestions and questions are welcome!
The MCS House Guest
The MCS House Guest Part 3
Last week, we had an image of a Texas Wildflower. And here it is again. This time, more of the blooms are open. Still have no idea what it is, but I like the way it looks!
Enjoy!
My Time: 4:51
Click on the image or here to go to the puzzle.
