I rarely do “five for Friday” because usually I have too many words and thoughts burbling around in my head to limit it to five. But I’m having a hard time with posting lately, so I’m hoping the Five Things Only structure will be useful instead of restrictive.
- My daughter’s new alarm clock has had some unintended consequences. First of all, it has proven to be both an excellent purchase and a terrible purchase. Terrible because it does not work in the way it is intended to work. Its purpose is to wake up my child; it does not do that. She sleeps right through the sunshine and the birdsong. (You can set it to wake you up with different sounds, and Carla chose birds chirping.) It is excellent, however, because it gently wakes ME up, even though I am in the other room. I greatly prefer it to the blaring of her old alarm clock. The bird noises are cheerful and pleasant, and when I go in to awaken Carla, the room is already light enough that I can easily navigate the inevitable dinosaurs or stack of drawings or tangle of yesterday’s clothing on the floor. My only complaint is that the birdsong is a short snippet that repeats on an endless loop. I do wish that the manufacturers had recorded a longer excerpt. Maybe that’s what you get when you buy one of the more expensive versions. The other thing is that now I feel like I hear birdsong at odd moments of the day. Has the alarm lodged itself inside my brain, only to go off each day in the late afternoon? Are there birds outside our window that sound identical to the alarm clock, perhaps hoping that by mimicking the sounds of the birds trapped inside the house we will release them? Am I experiencing avian auditory hallucinations? I swear that I hear birds chirping merrily on a three-second loop, but then when I go still and silent to try to pinpoint where it is, I can’t find the source.
- Did you know that you can substitute wheat germ for flour? A friend taught me this wonderful secret a few months ago when she handed over her grandmother’s recipe for chocolate chip banana bread. Supposedly, wheat germ has a bunch of good things in it: thiamin, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc. I think it also has a bit more protein than regular flour. What I really like about it is that it adds a different texture to baked goods. Over the long weekend, I made chocolate chip cookies and threw in some wheat germ (I think you can use 1/3 cup of wheat germ per cup of flour) and it gave the cookies a slightly nuttier flavor and a nubbly texture a bit like that of an oatmeal cookie. Yesterday, I made a second batch of banana muffins for Carla and I have been using wheat germ in those, too. I don’t know how much healthier a cookie or a muffin is, just because I’ve added wheat germ. But I like the phrase “wheat germ” and it gives me a very wholesome Laura Ingalls Wilder sort of feeling when I scoop it into the mixing bowl.
- I have had to make too many phone calls lately. Several of these calls are for work. Part of what I do as a freelance writer is interview subject matter experts. Technically, I quite LOVE this part of my work, because there is nothing cooler than chatting with someone who is an expert about something, or passionate about a subject, or loves what they do. It is inspiring and exhilarating. But I get so worked up in advance of our phone calls, and I get all tongue-tied (at least at first) and sweaty, and afterward I am completely spent. I made FOUR PHONE CALLS IN ONE MORNING this week, and it was awful. I mean, I got to chat with awesome people, but I also had to leave a couple of voicemails (HATE. Even if I carefully prepare what I’m going to say ahead of time, I bumble over my words and take WAY too long to leave a message and yet inevitably forget some important piece of information. Like I had to leave a message about a prescription recently and forgot to leave my phone number. Voicemail is almost worse than having someone ANSWER the phone! Although worse even than leaving a message is the long Schrödingerian moment when the phone is ringing and you have no idea whether someone will pick up or not.) And now I have two more phone calls to make: one to the gutter cleaning service that was supposed to clean our gutters in December and one to my dentist. I have to reschedule a dental appointment. I have known I needed to reschedule the appointment since I made the appointment, and didn’t call at all last week, so I put a reminder on my phone to call the dentist this past Tuesday. Instead of just calling, I have found very real and pressing reasons NOT to call the dentist every day this week. It’s so dumb and it will take five minutes, but I hate appointment-scheduling phone calls. Again, there’s the anxiety of being on the phone. But then you add that to trying to look at your stupid calendar at the same time, and going back and forth about possible days and times, and then – as I did last time, hence the need to reschedule – idiotically making your appointment at a time when you were already committed to something else. UGH. It is all the worst. But I guess I should just GO MAKE THE PHONE CALL ALREADY.
- I am doing a new thing where I (try to) soak my feet every morning. The recommendation comes from my acupuncturist, whom I am seeing for my plantar fasciitis. (Would anyone be interested in a Swistle-style report about my acupuncture experience? With the understanding that I realize I am not, nor will I ever be, Swistle.) She gave me a specific list of things to include in the foot soak: Epsom salt, rosemary oil, and eucalyptus oil. She specified that the water should not be boiling, but should be more than warm. While I do find it difficult to set aside twenty minutes every morning to soak my feet, it is quite luxurious. (“Go soak your head” is a dismissive expression of annoyance; “Go soak your feet” is a gentle suggestion for self-care.) It gives me a chance to listen to my audiobook and sip my tea and feel like I am following doctors’ orders rather than wasting time. After I’m done, I slather my feet in lotion (I think Nicole – HI NICOLE – recommended this specific lotion awhile ago and I love it.) and put on some warm socks. The whole thing is rather lovely. Except for the part where the water is too hot and I overcompensate and make it too cold and then I have to heat it again.
- Do you know about LibraryThing? I am sure the website is full of excellent resources for book lovers, but I have used it specifically to help me identify a book I cannot remember. I guess I’ve only used it successfully one time, but I recently posted a new query. The first time, I was looking for a book I remembered reading in fourth grade. It was a mystery, and the only things I could remember about it were as follows: The protagonist was a middle-school aged girl. The story took place at a ski resort. There was a tertiary character named Eunice (I remember this specifically because I can hear my fourth grade teacher saying, “Usually, this name is pronounced ‘yoo-NEESE,’ but in this book it is pronounced ‘YOO-niss.’” and I thought at the time, how could she possibly know that? and to this day I wonder. Did she have an in with the author? This was in the eighties, so there were no podcasts. Mysterious.). (Still, to this day, I have never encountered a real-life person named Eunice. So I still have no idea how to pronounce it. For all I know, it could be Gaelic and sound like “Chelsea” or “Bruce.”) The protagonist couldn’t ski well, and the climax of the book saw her being tricked into going down a black diamond run in a snowstorm. That was all I could dredge up from the depths of my memory. And yet I could not get the book out of my head – for YEARS – and was desperate to know what it was. So I posted my question in the Name That Book group and someone figured it out!!!! The book is called Mystery at Snowshoe Mountain Lodge by Lisa Eisenberg and I keep dithering on whether I need to buy it and read it again. Anyway, it is so amazing to have the answer, finally, to a question that’s been nagging you for years! I am hopeful that my most recent question will find similar success, although my memory of the book series in question is even fuzzier. (A middle grade/young adult series from the 1980s or early 1990s about kids solving mysteries, but maybe there’s a werewolf? Maybe the word “shadows” in the title? It’s really bugging me, but my brain isn’t helping.)
Well, that’s the long and the short it, my dear Internet. I hope you are having a lovely Friday.
I love this post! Intriguing about soaking your feet. I hope it helps! YES I would be interested in the progress of yours, as I continue to work on my own plantar fasch! (It needs a short, cuter name!) Maybe that needs to be an email thread, though, haha, depending on what other comments you get. 😉
I did NOT know Library Thing could help identify books lost to memory! And I, too, have memory of a middle-grades mystery series that I loved, and I don’t at all remember titles or author. Hmmm. Thx for the tip!
Hahaha – plantar fasch. Love it. It does need a short snappy nickname. I have seen others refer to it as PF but for some reason that hasn’t stuck with me.
If you look for a series/book, let me know! I am always interested in reading those posts.
I was trying to convert our favorite sugar-free brownies to vegan, so I could send some to my best friend (her daughter is vegan and I didn’t want her to be left out) and happily discovered that the flaxseed+water combo for egg replacement makes the brownies BETTER. They were fudgier, less crumbly, and just overall delicious. Since they were also already gluten free (with coconut flour), they’re practically health food now, since they have flaxseed, which is supposed to be very good for you. I always liked putting flaxseed on my oatmeal, it felt so virtuous, and now I’m sneaking it into my kids’ diet. Ha.
I have heard of a flax egg before but never tried it! This is super good information, though — anything that makes brownies better is awesome in my book!
Mystery at Snowshoe Mountain Lodge is available in the internet archive. You have to register for an account (it’s free) and then you can borrow and read a scanned copy of the book on your computer.
WHAT. I am going to… figure out how to do this. Thank you!
Okay but I have never heard the name Eunice pronounced any way except the way your teacher said it was pronounced only for that book. Maybe your teacher had been saying it wrong in her head for her whole life (it’s not a name that comes up often) and the book included a pronunciation? Now I’m doubting all my Eunice knowledge.
The whole thing was so bizarre that I continue to ponder it all these years later. And now neither pronunciation seems remotely likely.
The closest I come to experience with the name is from the Carol Burnett show, and the spinoff Mama’s Family, which had a character named Eunice. And it was definitely pronounced YOUniss. I am fascinated by your teacher’s declaration of how it is pronounced in the book, though!
Now I’m wondering if I got it backwards: If my teacher said it was normally “Yoo-niss,” but that in the book it was “yoo-NEESE”? Hmm…
Okay, first of all, loved every word of this post. Second of all, I did not know about that library thing but omg is that amazing. I read so much that half the time I forget the plot or characters or title and this would be incredibly helpful. Just the other day a student told me she read The Choice on my recommendation, recommended it to her book club, and although the subject matter was difficult she felt uplifted. She told me this in class and I could not for the life of me remember what this book was, so I just kept nodding and smiling and “that’s great…yes, it was a hard read but sometimes it’s good to read hard things…” all the while thinking WHAT WAS THAT BOOK ABOUT. Then after class I looked it up on Goodreads and ohhhhh. Right. Surviving the Holocaust. Hard things indeed, Nicole!!!
That O’Keefe’s foot cream is great, especially in summer when my feet get all dry and cracked from sandal wearing. I would be interested in hearing all about the acupuncture.
I hate making appointments too because the schedules never line up right. Four phone calls in one morning is a lot of phone calls!
I used to put wheat germ in homemade granola – it was good but I haven’t done it for so long! No reason, I just haven’t. I should put some on my grocery list.
Heehee – I love the image of you nodding solemnly along while having no idea what book it was. I do that too. Someone will say, Oh I read this because you recommended it! and I have no recollection at all. Whoops!
https://archive.org/details/mysteryatsnowsho00eise is the URL for the book. Sorry, I meant to include it in my first comment.
Thank you so much! This is amazing!
I follow an Instagram account that posts questions from people who are looking for books, and quite often, someone knows the answer! Mostly (only?) picture books and kids books. It’s https://www.instagram.com/myoldbooks/
So fun! Thanks for the link!
I have an experience similar to the alarm clock with daughter’s white noise machine! In my younger years, I used white noise to drown out roommates, street noise, and my own thoughts; however, my guy intensely dislikes white noise and it was one of those concessions I made in life when we moved in together (I didn’t have much of a leg to stand on once the roommates and street noise became lesser factors). When we moved to this house 8 years ago, my daughter was almost 1 and a white noise machine was the only way we could get her to sleep through the nearby train that passes 3x a night (if she slept at all as sleep is not her jam). Because I can lightly hear the white noise from her room, it soothes me, too. Wins all around as far as I’m concerned!
“Sleep is not her jam” could be my daughter’s middle name!
The phenomenon with the phantom bird chirping really really reminds me of the newborn days when I would legit hear a baby crying, even when they weren’t. This would most commonly happen on the rare occasion that I’d shower. Or after they were in their bassinet. But it was so very real-sounding, and yet it appeared to be all in my head!! So I feel your pain!
Your foot-soaking ritual sounds really delightful. It’s nice to give ourselves permission to sit for 20 minutes and do something relaxing. And isn’t it sad that we don’t do this more often?
Lastly, 4 outbound phone calls in a morning is a lot! I, too, can stall on making appointments. I love that I can make doctor appointment for some of my doctors and for my sons’ pediatrician through mychart. It is much less stressful than being on the phone and waiting for them to verbally tell the dates/time available. Inevitably, I seem to forget the agreed upon time between when I say yes and when I go to put it on my work calendar so I have to say – remind me of the time/date again? Ugh. My dentist is now in my building at work so I opted to walk in to book my next appointment. That felt lower pressure/easier than a phone call!
Oh my gosh, I have experienced that phantom baby cry phenomenon as well! Sometimes — also in the shower — I think I hear my daughter even now. Walking in to make an appointment does sound good! I would do that if the dentist weren’t so far away.
There seems to be something about hearing a phantom noise when you’re tired/stressed/after hearing repetitive sounds. When I was 12 my family moved into a new home that was near a railroad track. For the first few weeks after the move I could swear I heard a train ALL THE TIME, even though it only went by a few times a day. Now when I visit my Dad’s house, I barely notice the noise.
Yes, that’s so interesting. Brought on by fatigue or stress. Makes sense!
You know how I feel about making phone calls. Ugh. I dread it so much. Why? I don’t remember feeling this way when I was younger, but I do think that having a phone number that travels everywhere with me is a big factor. Growing up with a home phone meant for large swaths of a day I was unreachable. Now, if I call and leave a message, I know I could get a return call at any time, day or night. While in theory, I’d love to leave my phone at home when I’m out and about, my husband often travels for work and I am the only point of contact if someone needs to reach me regarding the kids/house etc.
Also, I love, love, love that text exchange with your husband. When I vent/complain/lament, almost always I don’t want a solution from anyone, I just want sympathy. So someone saying: “that sounds hard”, or “that sucks” helps me process whatever I’m cranky about and move on.
Being reachable at all times is so unpleasant. I mean, it’s useful. But deeply unpleasant.
Ooo, ooo, I would be very interested in hearing about an acupuncture experience!!
I SHUDDER at the thought of all those phone calls.
And then I called the dentist and THEY ARE CLOSED. So I will have to gather my courage AGAIN and call. Ugh.
Wheat germ sounds like a tasty addition! I like nutty and textured baked goods. I dislike phone calls, especially for appointments. I dither around about whether I’m actually free or what if something important comes up? Every Eunice I’ve ever known has pronounced it YOO niss. Never heard the other pronunciation of it.
I am loving everyone’s reactions to the name Eunice. It seems so clear that it has one pronunciation only! So odd!
Did you know you can substitute flaxseed meal for wheat germ? I can’t use wheat germ (obviously), but when I discovered flaxseed meal as a substitute, I was pumped.
LibraryThing sounds amazing. I read a book about a group of kids who played D&D and they actually became their characters. One of the kids was handicapped (in a wheelchair maybe) and he became a very strong character and when they all went back to the “regular” world, he stayed. I can’t remember the name of this book, but the Name that Book group could be useful for me!
I did not know this! I have never experimented with flaxseed meal.
Phone calls (of any kind) I’ve always hated. But since the world locked down and I never had to answer my office phone; it’s gotten worse. Even talking to people I know involving a subject that I am well versed on; finds me practically incoherent and babbling. I’d rather discuss via email so I can see – in writing – what I am trying to convey and can edit as necessary before sending. All that to say, good for you for getting those phone calls done. Because four in one day should earn you a gold medal.
“Incoherent and babbling” describes me to a tee, Gigi! Email is so much better. The other day, I emailed someone and they CALLED ME. Out of the blue! No preparation! Eek!
Yes! I would be very interested to hear about your acupuncture experience- is it helping?
I HATE talking on the phone! Hate it! However, I am good at leaving voicemail messages- probably because I’m just so glad no one answered.
And… I do know Library Thing. I found it when I was trying to remember the name of a book from my childhood- it turned out to be Mary Jane, about a black girl going to a newly- integrated school in the south. I ended up getting the book, re-reading it, loved it, sent it to my sister so she could also have a trip down memory lane. I love these old books from childhood!
Isn’t it so fun to rediscover books you loved as a child? I *think* the acupuncture is helping, but it’s only one prong of a multi-pronged approach, so I’m not sure. But as I am writing this, I have NO PAIN in my feet. I know it won’t last, but it’s amazing at the moment.
My husband has an Aunt Eunice, and it is pronounced YOU-niss.
I’m not a big foot soaker, it takes too much work and I am too lazy. My cousin loves it, though. When she and I went to France in September, we soaked our feet in Epsom salt every night, sipping wine, which was delicious, and really helped after walking from 8-11 miles a day.
I tried acupuncture for something once, and it didn’t work for me. I know people for whom it has worked very well, though.
I used to make phone calls all of the time, I worked as a concierge at a hotel, and I was good at it and it didn’t bother me. Now I rarely have to make a call and I dread it and it stresses me out. Then I make the call to make an appointment or whatever, and it stresses me out.
A real live Eunice in the wild! Amazing! And yes, soaking your feet after so much walking would be really wonderful and soothing.
The bird singing reminds me of going down the hall to the laundry room in our condo when Lad WA a baby. I would be in there for a few minutes but would be convinced I was hearing a baby cry. Not really the same as thinking you hear birds singing all day, but every time I would rush back to the condo Lad was NOT crying.
I had not heard of the library thing and I think it is so fun that you were able to identify this bok. The Eunice pronunciation is a riot. What a strange thing to explain and I agree- how did she know?
Oh yes! The baby crying thing seems to be semi-common. I have certainly experienced that.
“… the birdsong is a short snippet that repeats on an endless loop.” That’d drive me nuts. I knew you could substitute wheat germ for some of the flour in recipes. My mother was a HEALTH NUT about making food with all the healthy ingredients she could find. I like the idea of soaking your feet, well– anytime. That’s self care I can get behind [while sitting on my behind].
Yes, self-care that involves sitting (and reading!) is the best.
Man, I love the covers of those 80s/90s books. They just bring back such nostalgic memories for me!
I, too, despise making phone calls. I’m glad it’s not something I have to do for my job because I think it would be really stressful! Usually, I have to practice what I’m going to say even if it’s just calling my dentist’s office to ask for them to email me a copy of my receipt from my last visit! (Which I had to do last week… and they never sent it over to me… so guess who has to call them back next week? UGH.)
Ugh! Having to call and then CALL BACK is the worst!
I LOVE acupuncture. I was going TWICE A WEEK before the panny, and I credit it with getting pregnant with Minnie. But then! My acupuncturist moved to Vail, and it was impossible to find a new one in the early post-vax stage of the panny because SO MANY non-western medicine practitioners are not vaccinated, and I was not ready to fully wade into that with a bay at home. I went for hormone imbalance, anxiety, and shoulder pain– ALL CURED when getting regular treatment. Also, yes on the wheat germ. I use it in my homemade granola bars.
baBy, not bay LOL
FOUR CALLS? I’d be in the fetal position.
I’m giggling about Carla sleeping through the chirping birds. I might do the same thing.
What in the Laura Ingalls Wilder are you speaking about Wheat Germ? The muffins look great!
While I don’t love making phone calls, I generally make them…..with the exception of me needing to cancel my eye dr. appointment, which I put off for weeks. I waited until they called me to confirm. WINNING!
“Go soak your feet” is a gentle suggestion for self-care. I love this and I hope you find some relief.
I hope you get some foot relief soon. That part about soaking them reminded me that many, many years ago, back in our 20s or 30s, Beth had foot pain and her doctor had her soaking it in hot water with rosemary steeped in it. I’d completely forgotten about that, but now I remember how nice it smelled when I’d make it for her.
I didn’t even know what wheat germ actually was until this very moment, so this is welcome information. I also need to take a knee after making phone calls, and I will choose all manner of health care or other service places based on whether you can book appointments online.
My feet aren’t terrible at the moment, but my Achilles tendons are constantly aching. I wonder if soaking would help, because stretching isn’t doing much.
I tried Library Thing before I found Goodreads, and found Goodreads easier to use. I recently tried the ‘What’s the Name of That Book” group with no luck, but was able to help a couple of people find THEIR book, which was rewarding.
That’s so funny about the alarm clock… but hey, at least you get a benefit out of it 🙂
I have heard of wheat germ but I have never substituted with it. Now I am intrigued. Thanks for the suggestion.