My friends are having a new kitchen built. This means for several days they will be without a cooker and to bridge the time they were looking to borrow for a microwave not actually owning one themselves. I knew my in-laws had a spare in their so called wash house sitting in the corner on the counter right next to the cat dishes.
So on Sunday we went over to picked it up. The wash house had been smelling quite intensely for a while already and I had spotted a mouse trap in the kitchen earlier. So my husband was not overly surprised when a mouse jumped out of the back of the microwave when he lifted it up.
It was utterly disgusting. There were mouse droppings in the microwave, also inside the casing with lots of mouse urine spread generously abouts and smelling to high heaven.
At home I put the microwave in the yard immediately and went about cleaning it. In the end I had to more or less disassemble the whole thing to be able to wipe it down inside and out. I still haven't tried to switch it on to see whether our little friends haven't nibbled any vital wires.
Tuesday 17 May 2011
Monday 9 May 2011
Drifting
We run an eBay shop. Apart from the general aggro you get with running a business and one on eBay to boot, now is the time of year when activity in the shop is diminishing meaning our income is shrinking from month to month and will not be picking up until October.
I always find this stressful and also demotivating. So from working very disciplined and organised I start drifting, doing a bit of this and a bit that. |At the end of most days though, there is no sense of achievement. This leads to something like mild depression and undermines motivation. Bad combination.
In previous years I made myself start decorating - we have quite a big house and there is always something to do - but I developed carpal tunnel syndrome two years ago and am now apprehensive lest it gets worse again.
I think I'll give myself another two weeks when I'll start making lists again. Good motivator for me, a clear idea what can/needs to be done and when I cross of items I know I've achieved something. And apart from a lot of other things hopefully by the end of the summer my stairwell will shine in a new coat of paint.
I always find this stressful and also demotivating. So from working very disciplined and organised I start drifting, doing a bit of this and a bit that. |At the end of most days though, there is no sense of achievement. This leads to something like mild depression and undermines motivation. Bad combination.
In previous years I made myself start decorating - we have quite a big house and there is always something to do - but I developed carpal tunnel syndrome two years ago and am now apprehensive lest it gets worse again.
I think I'll give myself another two weeks when I'll start making lists again. Good motivator for me, a clear idea what can/needs to be done and when I cross of items I know I've achieved something. And apart from a lot of other things hopefully by the end of the summer my stairwell will shine in a new coat of paint.
Monday 2 May 2011
Herbal Medicine
Only one more day to get enough signatures to stop this insanity. The EU is trying to put in legislation to make it more or less impossible for small companies to sell their well tried and trusted herbal remedies. And we as the consumer will be deprived of choice. For the exact proposals/legislation and for signing the petition please see the link below.
http://www.avaaz.org/de/eu_herbal_medicine_ban/?vl
Why am I writing about this? First and foremost I am a trained practitioner, not specifically in Herbal Medicine but in Acupuncture, Homeopathy and Kinesiology. I have been practising for over 20 years and I see Alternative Medicine as a real alternative, as a choice people should have.
As a person I want to have the choice to decide how I view and how deal with illness. I want to be able to choose treatments where I have control over what I am exposed to, what I swallow and what is happening to my body and my mind.
What I really object to in all these campaigns directed at Alternative Medicine is that as a practitioner I get vilified and as a user I am told I am irresponsible.
Funnily enough since I have started to use Alternative Medicine over 30 years ago I never had to use antibiotics, never needed an operation and have not used any medication - over the counter or prescription drugs - apart from the odd Paracetamol.
You might say I am lucky and I am a generally healthy person, maybe. I have come through quite a few illnesses and complaints other people would have had prescription drugs for without needing these myself at the time. And yes, I am lucky because I have trained in Alternative Medicine and I was able to either treat myself or know who to turn to. It also gave me a very good knowledge of my body, great trust in my ability of assessment and knowing how dangerous the state I was in actually was.
This whole battle is in my opinion not about whether herbs or other treatments are dangerous, it is about profits and control.
Here in Britain with an NHS that gives us the illusion of free medical treatment most people see 'Complementary Therapies'* still as a last resort. This is different in other countries. I know that in Germany where, after a lot of so called reforms, a lot of treatments and medication are not covered by the obligatory health insurance anymore, alternative treatments can be financially more feasible. If I have to pay for my treatment and medication myself I might as well choose the treatment and what type of medication I am taking and how much I want to pay for it all.
This trend is taking profits away from big pharmaceutical and medical companies and they are fighting back. There are a lot of attacks on different types of Alternative Medicine and they are getting worse. I am reminded of previous occasions when women who had medical knowledge were executed as witches or when doctors who tried to introduce proper hand washing and sterilisation of instruments were ridiculed by their colleagues.
The actual problem for us as the patient and ultimately as the consumer is that we are forced to agree to treatments we do not want or to have to forego treatment altogether. In our so called enlightened times this feels like a return to the Dark Ages.
* I prefer the term Alternative Medicine as I see it not just as rubbing alongside and adding and supplementing the generally accepted medical system but as a real alternative with not only different treatments and remedies but also a very different view of medicine, healing and illness. More on this soon.
http://www.avaaz.org/de/eu_herbal_medicine_ban/?vl
Why am I writing about this? First and foremost I am a trained practitioner, not specifically in Herbal Medicine but in Acupuncture, Homeopathy and Kinesiology. I have been practising for over 20 years and I see Alternative Medicine as a real alternative, as a choice people should have.
As a person I want to have the choice to decide how I view and how deal with illness. I want to be able to choose treatments where I have control over what I am exposed to, what I swallow and what is happening to my body and my mind.
What I really object to in all these campaigns directed at Alternative Medicine is that as a practitioner I get vilified and as a user I am told I am irresponsible.
Funnily enough since I have started to use Alternative Medicine over 30 years ago I never had to use antibiotics, never needed an operation and have not used any medication - over the counter or prescription drugs - apart from the odd Paracetamol.
You might say I am lucky and I am a generally healthy person, maybe. I have come through quite a few illnesses and complaints other people would have had prescription drugs for without needing these myself at the time. And yes, I am lucky because I have trained in Alternative Medicine and I was able to either treat myself or know who to turn to. It also gave me a very good knowledge of my body, great trust in my ability of assessment and knowing how dangerous the state I was in actually was.
This whole battle is in my opinion not about whether herbs or other treatments are dangerous, it is about profits and control.
Here in Britain with an NHS that gives us the illusion of free medical treatment most people see 'Complementary Therapies'* still as a last resort. This is different in other countries. I know that in Germany where, after a lot of so called reforms, a lot of treatments and medication are not covered by the obligatory health insurance anymore, alternative treatments can be financially more feasible. If I have to pay for my treatment and medication myself I might as well choose the treatment and what type of medication I am taking and how much I want to pay for it all.
This trend is taking profits away from big pharmaceutical and medical companies and they are fighting back. There are a lot of attacks on different types of Alternative Medicine and they are getting worse. I am reminded of previous occasions when women who had medical knowledge were executed as witches or when doctors who tried to introduce proper hand washing and sterilisation of instruments were ridiculed by their colleagues.
The actual problem for us as the patient and ultimately as the consumer is that we are forced to agree to treatments we do not want or to have to forego treatment altogether. In our so called enlightened times this feels like a return to the Dark Ages.
* I prefer the term Alternative Medicine as I see it not just as rubbing alongside and adding and supplementing the generally accepted medical system but as a real alternative with not only different treatments and remedies but also a very different view of medicine, healing and illness. More on this soon.
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