Pool Party and Smoothie Goodness

[magid]

The rash on my legs is.... poison ivy. I now have cream to put on twice a day, and the relief that it's not something more exotic. (Or feeling prosaic that it's something millions of other people get. Hm.Nah.)

I made it to the Diesel later than I'd planned, and had to leave earlier than I'd wanted.
Still, I got to see Cthulhia, and meet a new neighbor (I'm still surprised that I met someone who moved in three houses down from me! The neighborhood becomes more cool.). Oh, and I got to see Cthulhia wearing Bitty's hat, which looks nice in a completely different way on each of them.
I played a couple of rounds of 9 ball, showing off my utter lack of pool technique to advantage. I wonder if I'd play more if there were a table in a less-public space to practice on?
And I realized that I've pretty much forgotten the rules to Euchre (and have yet to learn Mu), so I'm not up to the level of playing Bitty would presumably like... (I'm still shocked at the complete and utter lack of interest in word games, though.)

Dinner ended up being rather later than ideal, but came out pretty well. I made a stir-fry-esque sautee of onions, a bit of garlic, sliced carrot, and a bunch of multi-colored Swiss chard chopped up, then added some soy-strips (purporting to portray chicken) in teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and ginger. It came out better than I'd expected. And there was garlic-sesame mochi to go with. I have friends in Chicago who love the cinnamon-flavored mochi, especially since it's wheat-free, so I decided to try this flavor with dinner. I thought it not bad, but not entrancing.
Later Queue initiated my blender into making smoothies.... yum. A couple of frozen bananas, cantaloupe balls with a bit of lime (and their juice), a container of peach sorbet... just wonderful. Why haven't I been doing this during the *hot* days of the summer...?
s

Comments

The hat

[bitty.livejournal.com]

Isn't it fabulous? One of the best purchases I've ever made.

Damn LJ icon limit, I *have* a great picture of me in that hat that'd be great to put here...

Poison Ivy treatment

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

I had a mild case of poison ivy a few weeks ago, and did a bit of web research. My case wasn't nearly as bad as yours, so the very simple remedy of hot water (http://poisonivy.aesir.com/cures.html) worked very well for me.

I can't really vouch for this personally, but the testamonials for this stuff called Zanfel (http://poisonivy.aesir.com/zanfel.html) are pretty convincing. I managed to track down a CVS in Inman Square that supposedly carries it in stock. I guess it is a bit expensive; you might want to resort to it only if your other remedies fail.

Good luck - I sympathize.

Re: Poison Ivy treatment

[magid.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, when I went to pick up this next poison ivy treatment, the pharmacist was most emphatic that hot water was NOT helpful, but in fact the opposite. He said it feels good for a bit, but encourages the release of histamines, and can cause the welts to grow (he apparently had a case of it all over his legs, so his attempt at hot bath therapy caused noticeable effects...).

Thanks for the name of the drug, though. I'm hoping I won't need it this time: it seems that the methylprednisolone has started working pretty decently already :-). And I admit I hope I won't be needing any more poison ivy remedies, ever (though that may be futile, unless I take a cow orker's advice and stay indoors....)

Re: Poison Ivy treatment

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it has to do with severity; first off, my case was quite minor, so I was able to concentrate the very hot water on a very small patch (a square inch or so); I wouldn't be able to stand a whole bath at the temperature I had the shower head. My experience with the "temporary relief" was that I got about 12 hours itch-free (the folks on the web page said they got 8 hours); that's 12 hours to sleep well, 12 hours of NOT scratching the welts and making them worse. After a couple days of this, the welts had calmed down so much, that I could ignore them. Of course, YMMV.

I seem to have heard a rumor once that there was a prophylactic treatment for poison ivy; skin smeared with this stuff was far less likely to bond with the oil. Ever heard of this?

My accordion player happens to be a bottomless font of information, and tells me that the plant from which chinese laquer is made is closely related to our friend Poison Sumac. It seems that the allergy to this oil is really one of those European things; people of asian descent are not allergic to it. There have been cases of Europeans getting the rash simply from handling laquered utensils. There was even an amusing story about one of our republican presidents, I forget if it was Bush Sr. or Reagan, who was given a VIP suite in China or Japan or somewhere. Fortunately, the Secret Service determined that some of the laquered fixtures in the bathroom were made of this material, and the president was not exposed. One can't help but wonder how they tested to find out if the fixtures were made of just this sort of laquer.

I don't know how reliable a resource accordion players are, but Se non e vero, e ben trovato.

Re: Poison Ivy treatment

[magid.livejournal.com]

If you were able to put the hot water on just that area, then I could see it being helpful. But apparently a hot bath is not only an oppotunity to self-boil, but also for the allergens to spread through the water to other regions not yet affected. Feh.

I haven't heard of any prophylactic. The nurse mentioned that washing with dish soap immediately after exposure helps, since dish soap is designed to cut oil (as opposed to soap). Of course, this is useful only if you know you've been exposed during your walk.

That's bizarre about the laquer, and sounds just odd enough to be true. I know no accordion players, so I have no opinion of the reliability of their information...

Re: Poison Ivy treatment

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

The version of this that I have always hear is to use Fels Naptha, because the Napthalene is particularly good at cutting this oil. Or maybe, it is just because Fels makes Naptha in a convenient bar, so you can take it into the shower with you.

I have had success with this, but you have to catch it fast. If you hike all day, the poison ivy you touched in the morning will be too far along by the time you shower at night.

Re: Poison Ivy treatment

[magid.livejournal.com]

Of course, I didn't even notice the plants as I went through/by them on a Thursday afternoon, so my first intimations of problems were when I found my ankle itching the following Sunday morning.

If I'd seen the plants there, I would've gone a different way, definitely.

PS

[magid.livejournal.com]

I enjoy reading your writing, so I hope you don't mind that I've added you to my friends list.
8

Re: PS

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

Ooh, oooh! Beat me, whip me, pay me compliments about my writing style! Is there no end to the torture you will put me through? You are a cruel, mean woman. Stop it, I say, stop it!

Well, if you really have to, you can pay me one more compliment. Just a little one, though; I can take it. :)

Re: PS

[magid.livejournal.com]

*checks through compliment wallet, finds another*

Well, you write about food and kitchens... how can I resist?

And you play Euchre (plus a host of other card games I don't yet know). What's not to like? ;-)