Thursday Thirteen - Cough Remedies

 

As it turns out, I don't have COVID (but my mom does, bless her heart). But I have this lingering cough.  I thought it would be fun to see what other cultures have used to remedy coughing.

1. Gogol Mogol -  This is a drink that starts with half a cup or heated milk.  Stir in a teaspoon of butter.  Add a teaspoon of honey or sugar.  Last, whisk an egg and pour it into the other mixture. Originated in Russia and the Ukraine.  Sound so gross to me!

2. Ai Ye - In Chinese culture,  the dried leaves of the Artemisia Argyi plant are burned in a bowl.

3. A Dirty Sock - This involves greasing the throat with lard or chicken fat then placing a dirty sock around the neck.  Personally, I think the sock around the neck was more a warning for people to stay away!

4. Lizard soup - You may be able to find this if you know a Chinese Health Practitioner who specializes in Chinese herbal medicine.  Or just go to your back yard to find a lizard and dry him completely out. The soup consists of dried lizards, yams, and Chinese dates.  Yuck!

5. Hot Cocoa - Hot cocoa contains theobromine. Researchers believe this ingredient acts on the Vagus nerve which can suppress coughing.

6. Sour pickled plum - The "plum" is umeboshi which in actuality is more of an apricot than a plum. It can be eaten plain or steeped in hot tea with ginger and honey.

7. Turnips - Can you believe it?  Turnips!  It is common to eat turnips in Iran.  They have multiple vitamins in them and are said to work as an expectorant.

8. Tallow Poultice - Yes, Tallow.  That's right... beef fat.  Add herbs like mustard and mint. The tallow is placed in a cloth and laid on the chest.

9. Onion - Not to eat!  Cut it up and place on a dish by your bedside.  This technique is actually used in Spain and France.

10. Marshmallow Root - Make a syrup of water, sugar, orange juice, dried marshmallow root, thyme, and ivy.

11. Slippery Elm Tea - Native Americans would take the bark of the slippery elm tree and add it to hot water to make a tea.

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2. NOT Vicks Vaporub - A mixture of sweet almond oil, syrup of violets, candle wax, saffron, and nutmeg was placed on the stomach.

13. Snail Syrup - Treat mucus with mucus!  If you're ever in Germany, you may be able to find authentic snail syrup, and if you're lucky, it will have pineapple flavoring.

Bonus!  And this is one I have tried.  Rub Vicks Vaporub on the soles of the feet, cover with socks, and go to sleep.  Nah.  It didn't work well, but I can't say it didn't help at all.

For more fun list visit Thursday Thirteen.

Today's Random Nonsense

Linking up with Sandee and Stacy.

I had a horrible headache and was feeling lightheaded and dizzy all day last Wednesday, and I knew I had to take my mom to the doctor the next day, so I did an at-home COVID test.  Negative.  I woke up the next day with fever, body aches, headache, sore throat, cough, congestion, headache, and so on.  Side note:  my throat is fire engine red.  I don't think I've ever had a sore throat like this in my life!

Needless to say, I cancelled mom's appointment, and I went to take a "real" COVID TEST for which I still have no results!  I'm worried it's going to get lost.  I worry about whether I put my correct email. What if my test number got written down incorrectly?  I just worry!  I talked to the doc today (unrelated to my COVID test), and she said it could be either COVID or the flu.  It's way too late to start Tamiflu, but she did give me something for my wheezing and my cough.

Turns out, mom's assisted living facility has at least 4 confirmed cases of COVID right now, but luckily, the ones that have it are having mild symptoms. They are on lockdown, so they cannot use any of the common areas, and my mom just doesn't seem to understand why.  She was also given a COVID test, and of course, her results aren't back yet, either.  Why do they take so long? I'm going on my 6th day after my swab.  Based on the chart below, I think I have the flu, but I need to know for sure.

And as I sit here typing this, someone's car alarm is going off across the street.  Didn't people figure out that the purpose of those alarms is not to deter criminals but to annoy your neighbors in the middle of the night?

And speaking of neighbors... (These are true, but they didn't happen to me. borrowed them from Bored Panda.)

I Adopted The Neighborhood Stray Cat. My Neighbor's Cat Got Her Pregnant. Woke Up To This

This cracks me up!

Well, this is awkward...

"My sister and her husband who live in a small town came home to find this taped to their door..."

Remember this show?

And last, but not least...

Awwwww.

Have a great week!

Fun Photos

 Water/sun photos on different days, different places, different times of day.

There is just something soothing about a fountain.
This was at my daughter's wedding venue.

For more fun photos visit image-in-ing and Wordless Wednesday.

Random Tuesday-Toast

 

Not that kind of toast with clinking glasses. Actual, real, made-from-bread toast.

Toast is highly under-rated!  Why?  Well you can make it with a piece of bread.  Just one piece (or more if necessary).

Lately I have been eating a piece of warm, buttery toast along with a small glass of chocolate milk made with sugar-free Nesquick.  It really hits the spot. It keeps you full and satisfied while taking away the feeling of wanting more.

Toast is a gentle food.  People often eat toast when they aren't feeling well instead of eating something heavy and getting sick again.  It helps absorb gastric acid that often comes from a queasy stomach.

You can put any kind of topping on it:  peanut butter, avocado, chicken salad, tuna salad, an egg and so much more.  Lately I'm just eating it plain with butter.

A former co-worker of mine used to keep bread and a toaster in her classroom.  Who can work well on an empty stomach? The fire marshal made her get rid of it. 

Toast is low in fat, sodium, and sugar.  It contains zero cholesterol.  It contains iron which is good for the brain and carbs which is good for energy, so my co-worker was on the right track allowing students in her first period class to eat a piece of toast if they were hungry.

As you can see, we don't give toast as much credit as it deserves.  But the way, quick poll.  How do you like your toast done? The top four are 1-4 left-to-right and the bottom is 5-8.  How do you like your toast done? Please take a minute and answer in the comments!  Thanks!

And now...

Speaking of toast... Here is an ironic sign.  Always open, or closed?

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So true!
Below is more accurate than this, though, in this time of Covid!

Have a great week!

I'm linking up for Random Tuesday Thoughts and Happy Tuesday.

Sunday Synopsis-Year in Review

 My first Sunday Synopsis was September 17, 2016.  I had no idea I had been writing these for so long!  My current read is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  It's a re-read, and I'm loving it all over again!

Today is my year-in-review. I achieved my Goodreads goal of 30 books.  Out of those 30 books…

Two are considered classics.

12 books are part of a series.

I read 23 different authors. (So there were 7 authors whose books I read more than once during the year)

21 fiction and 9 nonfiction.  All 9 NF were true crime rather than informational.

Best fiction book I read all year- A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult books often present a moral dilemma, and this one is no different.  Set in a Mississippi women’s clinic whose services include abortion, Picoult manages to show several different points of view, thereby demonstrating why abortion is such a controversial issue.  We get to know a protester, a hostage negotiator, several different types of patients and nurses, and who you think you will dislike, you end up liking.  Picoult creates suspense, builds characters, and pens stimulating and thought-provoking content in this real-world yet fictional account.

There is a movie adaptation of this book that is in pre-production.  I hope they do it justice.

Best nonfiction book I read all year - In Plain Sight:  The Kaufman County Prosecutor Murders by Kathryn Casey

This is about an event that made the national news in 2013.  Even though it happened just hours north of my home, I don’t remember it being in the news, and the case is fascinating:  Eagle Scout turned Texas Guard Captain turned Justice of the Peace turned murderer.  Three members of the prosecuting team were killed over the course of 5 months by the same man.  The author did her research well and also conducted interviews with the killer and his wife as well as many of the other key players.  Bizarre case… yes.  She takes every detail and weaves it into a comprehensive, interesting account.

There should be a movie about this case, even if it's a TV movie.

Most Disappointing Book – The 15 Lives of Harry August by Clair North

This book did not live up to the hype on the book jacket!  Imagine a person who dies and comes back to life each time.  Intriguing, right? He is not alone in this.  Apparently there is a secret society of people who come back to life.  But Harry August is going to change the world for the better.  The characterization is incomplete, and the writing either waxes philosophical or becomes terribly disjointed.  It’s complexity and unnecessary descriptions often make it difficult to understand.

This book has been adapted for a movie that is in production and being directed by the man who directed the Mazerunner movies.  I wonder if it will actually follow the plotline.  For the movies' sake, I hope there are many differences.

In case you're interested, these are the books I read. Feel free to read my reviews or ask questions. The * indicates a book in a series.

1.       In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

2.       The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas *

3.       The Guardians by John Grisham

4.       The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris *

5.       The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

6.       In Plain Sight:  The Kaufman County Prosecutor Murders by Kathryn Casey.

7.       Killer Cupcakes by Leighann Dobbs

8.       The Reckoning by John Grisham

9.       American Predator:  The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21^st Century by Maureen Callahan

10.   A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

11.   Target Alex Cross by James Patterson *

12.   My Mother, a Serial Killer by Hazel Baron

13.   Body Movers by Stephanie Bond *

14.   Fatal Vision by Joe McGinnis

15.   In Good Faith by Scott Pratt *

16.   Lust Killer by Anne Rule

17.   F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton *

18.   Criss Cross by James Patterson *

19.   The Wanted by Robert Crais *

20.   The Night Fire by Michael Connelly *

21.   Brothers in Blood: The True Account of the Georgia Massacre by Clark Howard

22.   Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

23.   Mulholland Dive by Michael Connelly *

24.   The First 15 Lives of Harry  August by Claire North

25.   The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

26.   The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

27.   Mania:  The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer by Harold Schechter

28.   The Judge’s List by John Grisham *

29.   American Saturday by Clark Howard

30.   Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling *

Also linking up with Writer's Workshop at Mama's Losin' It where one of the prompts is Book Review Time!