The Daily Positives

[MandaMe1986]

Raining all morning. Super good thing the more rain we get today the less fires tomarrow 

[dwcrawford]

Right about that...  wonder what's going to happen?

[cariad]

Congratulations, Rookiegirl!

I made my own laundry detergent today. It is something I have been meaning to try for a while, and it really is as easy as they say, and no chemicals. I have been buying essentially the same thing at the co-op for $12/gallon, today I made 2 gallons for about $1. Since I made it myself, I got to pick the scent - I added a few drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil that we acquired many years ago on our honeymoon on Mauritius. Doing laundry will now bring back lots of sweet memories....

[MIbarra]

Ok.. gotta know.. How do you make your own laundry detergent? Sounds interesting.

[marti824]

That does sound interesting, I'd like to know too.

I had a wonderful day.  I went to Manhattan with my family (husband, son, brother and mother). we went to the Chelsea Market, what a cool place.  we had lunch at Morimoto.  Those of you foodies out there will know he is an iron chef.  the food was great, i had never eaten sushi before (probably not real renal friendly, but who cares!)  and he was there in the restaurant. a really nice guy.  the whole day was great, no fights and no dramas.

[cariad]

If you google "homemade laundry detergent" the site that I used should turn up first. This person even does the math to calculate how much it costs per batch.

Basically, you need to have a bar of soap (Fels Naptha is the one they recommend and the one I tried tonight, but you can use basic Ivory) Borax (20 Mule Team, available at Target or similar) and Washing Soda. It is the washing soda that held me up so long, because it is not widely available. I finally found it locally. Ordering via the Internet is too expensive, some people have just requested that stores stock it and gotten it that way. It is made by Arm and Hammer, and not to be confused with baking soda.

Then, per the site's directions, I shredded the soap (used my cuisinart since it is way too time-consuming to grate soap by hand), melted it in a saucepan with 6 cups of water, added the two other ingredients until all was dissolved, then poured it into a bucket with a lot more water. That's basically it, but if you are interested, I would check out various recipes on the internet. There are even video demonstrations on YouTube. 

[rookiegirl]

That does sound interesting, I'd like to know too.

I had a wonderful day.  I went to Manhattan with my family (husband, son, brother and mother). we went to the Chelsea Market, what a cool place.  we had lunch at Morimoto.  Those of you foodies out there will know he is an iron chef.  the food was great, i had never eaten sushi before (probably not real renal friendly, but who cares!)  and he was there in the restaurant. a really nice guy.  the whole day was great, no fights and no dramas.

I'm so jealous.  I loved him on the Food Network Iron Chef.  Love sushi & sushimi.  Now that I'm post transplant, I was told I can't eat it anymore.  I'm so disappointed.  Don't you just love NY.

[marti824]

i was told that too, but i'll worry about it if i ever get a transplant.  New York was great.  we talked about once a month, going in and visiting a different restaurant.  we want to go to del posto, which is Mario Batalli's and one of Bobby Flay's places.  we did go to Bobby's Burger Palace, in Lake Grove, it is really great.  we are a family of foodies.

[thegrammalady]

god bless nocturnal dialysis, i'm currently off all blood pressure medication, would you believe my blood pressure is too low!!!!! we'll give it a week and see what happens.

[cariad]

Love sushi & sushimi.  Now that I'm post transplant, I was told I can't eat it anymore.

I think this is a risk tolerance issue - as in your risk tolerance, not the doctor's. There is a risk involved in eating raw fish for anyone, and I suppose it is greater on immunosuppresants. I was never told not to eat sushi, most likely because sushi was not a widely known option back when I had my transplant. I ate loads of sushi after my transplant, and no doctor ever said a word to me about it. I still would eat it except I am a vegetarian. I also eat grapefruit without a second thought, always have. (They did not even start telling people to avoid grapefruit until about 10 years after my transplant. Before that, people shoveled grapefruit at me because it was low calorie.)

The one food that I would not eat now because I do believe the risk is very high, and the consequences deadly, is star fruit (carambola). There have been several journal articles written about star fruit poisoning in people with even mild uremia. The outcome is usually emergency dialysis or death. Once again, this information had to come from my own investigation, not a doctor. I have eaten star fruit in the past, though, and I would do so again if my kidney function returns after my next transplant.

I think if you go to a high quality restaurant, there should be no problem eating sushi, but I can certainly understand someone not wanting to take the risk or go against medical advice.

[Des]

Hi,

I have just found out that we (me and the fam) are booked for a short getaway next week. YEAH!!!

We are going to go to a warm water resort. So I will be swimming (in the middle of winter) playing mini-golf, table tennis, and lots more.....

I am so happy... I really need this short break.

   

[marti824]

Have a wonderful time Des!  Even short breaks are good.

Well, I finally did it.  the colonoscopy is over!  yeah!  That's about as positive as I can get today.

[Des]

Thanks,

How was your colonoscopy? Do you have pain?

[willowtreewren]

We had a totally wonderful weekend. We got to see many folks that we had not seen for years, met new and interesting people and got to talk with an old acquaintance who has a transplanted kidney. He talked Carl into getting listed on at least another list. Our friend will even recommend Carl to his transplant doctors at Piedmont in Atlanta. I have been trying to convince my husband to do this for months. Sometimes it just takes a little extra push from someone else.

 

[del]

We had some much needed rain on the weekend.  The temperature has changed dramatically!!!  It went from HOT to COLD!!  Risk of frost tonight!!  I have to cover my tomatoes and peppers and bring my potted plants inside!!  Not supposed to get frost in July.  At least we got the shed cleaned up a bit today and I have my laundry done. I even made a wedding card for my niece who is getting married on the weekend.  We are going to the wedding.   Just have to arrange hubby's dialysis so that he has Saturday night off.  It will be an all night trip for us.  it's about a 5 hour drive.

[marti824]

no, Des, no pain.  just relieved that it's over.

May have some other exciting news, I may have a donor!  Don' want to jinx myself, but, we'll see.

[Hanify]

Hey Del, I saw a doco that included a visit to Newfoundland.  It was great to see a bit of your home.  It's a doco about all sorts of different Victoria places - parks, mountains etc.

[cariad]

Yesterday we went down to the gardens to let the kids run around on their gorgeous lawn. Both of my kids love animals of all types, but usually the most exciting thing we would see would be a frog or an inchworm. As we were looking at some of the plants, two deer jumped out of one side of the surrounding trees and darted all the way across the lawn. It was beautiful, and as urbanites, a sight we rarely see.

Today I had my transplant-mandated mammogram. I have one more test, and done!

[Des]

no, Des, no pain.  just relieved that it's over.

May have some other exciting news, I may have a donor!  Don' want to jinx myself, but, we'll see.

I have had all my "work-up tests done and I have been on the transplant list for a year now. I found a live donor and she is is a match, she is going to have her "work-up" tests done next month. It's SO scary and exciting at he same time. I am not on dialysis yet but are heading there fast.

It is a very big process in South Africa if you find a non-related donor. It can take 6months to get permission from the government to transplant.

I hope yours is a match..... I won't jinx it

[marti824]

good luck!  I hope it works out.

[del]

I went shopping today and bought some new clothes - jeans and a couple of crocheted sweaters.  Most of my clothes is too big since I lost weight!!!  Keep telling hubby I need suspenders to keep my pants up!!!  3 sizes smaller than I used to buy.

[dwcrawford]

well, eat woman.  eat.

[Hanify]

Gorgeous hot stone massage today.  I love Wednesdays.

[marti824]

I woke up this morning!

[dwcrawford]

I'm going to start eating Shamwows.  The e-mail says it hold 12 times its own weight in fluids.