Pica was an unusual problem. A few of the patients I took care of during my thirty-year nursing career experienced it. Essentially, Pica is consumption of non-food items. Ice, clay, dirt, chalk are among common substances I have known patients to eat. Constant ice-eating can lead to anemia. I even knew of one patient who snitched a bag of clay from another patient who had dug it from a clay bank near her home. Afterward, the clay bank lady began peddling her bags of clay to other patients. The cause of Pica is poorly understood. It may arise from dietary deficiencies or cultural influences. There is no effective treatment, though patients are usually prescribed multivitamins. I did once have a patient who came in complaining of severe belly pain. During surgery, she was found to have eaten enough clay that it had hardened like a brick. She was totally obstructed and ended up with a temporary colostomy.
Day: October 1, 2024
Knitting
What skill would you like to learn?
I bought some lovely charcoal yarn about a year ago with the intention of learning to knit. That will be my next project. Before covid, I was going to a knitting class. Th leader got us started the first day and had us cast on and do a couple of rows. It looked easy enough, then she gave us an assignment. Bring a few rows to show our progress to the next class. I set to work as soon as I got home. My brain emptied. Bud and I got on a YouTube tutorial. He whipped out a few rows. My rows were deplorable.
I took his work when I went back to class. I couldn’t do diddly. When I ‘fessed up, she asked if he could come help with class. The next class was canceled due to covid.
The Funniest Cowboy Tales From the Wild West
The eastern lady who was all ready to take a
horseback ride said to the cowboy, “Can you get me a nice gentle
pony?”
“Shore,”said the cowboy. “What kind of a saddle do you want,
English or western?”
“What’s the difference?” asked the lady.
“The western saddle has a horn on it,” said the cowboy.
“If the traffic is so thick here in
the mountains that I need a horn on my saddle, I
don’t believe I want to ride.”
Three cowboys of the world are sitting
around camp talking about how tough they were. The tales
kept getting bigger and bigger.
The cowboy from Australia says, “I wrestled a 200 pound crocodile and
made it cry like a baby.”
The cowboy from Brazil shakes his head and says, “I killed a 400 pound steer with my bare hands.”
The Cowboy from Texas just smiled and kept
stirring the campfire with his leg.
The cowboy lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh Amarillo theatre. When the usher came by and noticed this he whispered to the cowboy, “Sorry, sir, but you’re only allowed
one seat.” The cowboy groaned but didn’t budge. The usher
became more impatient. “Sir, if you don’t get up from there, I’m
going to have to call the manager. The cowboy just groaned.
The usher marched briskly back up the aisle. In a moment he returned with the manager. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move the cowboy, but with no success. Finally, they summoned the police. The
cop surveyed the situation briefly then asked, “All right buddy, What’s
your name?”
“Sam,” the cowboy moaned.
“Where ya from, Sam?”
With pain in his voice Sam replied…. “The balcony.
Q: Why
can’t the bankrupt cowboy
complain?
A: He has got no beef.
Back in the Old West three Texas cowboys were about to be hung for cattle rustling. The lynch mob brought the three men to a tree right at the edge of the Rio Grande. The idea was that when each man had died, they’d cut the rope and he’d drop into the river and drift out of sight
They put the first cowboy in the noose, but he was so sweaty and greasyhe slipped out, fell in the river and swam to freedom.
They tied the noose around the second cowboy’s head. He, too, oozed out of the rope, dropped into the river and got away.
As they dragged the third Texan to the scaffold, he resisted, “Please! Would yaw’l tighten that noos
a little bit? I can’t swim!”
Swint and Fess, two Oklahoma cowboys, were
resting their horses out on the range.
“What’d Emmaline give yew for yore birthday?” asked Swint.
“Pair of cufflinks,” said Fess. “But I ain’t got no use for them. I can’t even find anyplace to get my wrists pierced.”
Who do zombie cowboys fight?
Deadskins.
Lessons from a Frugal Childhood
Some things you just can’t get away from. Everyday when I got home from school, it was the same thing.. Mother met us at the door. “Take off your clothes and hang them up. Take off your shoes and put them under the bed. Get a biscuit out of the oven and do your homework. Then you can go play.”
I hated hanging up my clothes, preferring to pitch them wherever they landed. I got sick of hearing how much work went into washing, starching, and ironing them. After all, she had a wringer washer, clothesline, and iron. What else did she have to do anyway? She was a mother, not a person. I got sick of all that nagging about my shoes. I didn’t always have time to go back and put my shoes away when I tried to slip out to play. Many times I’d kicked them off in the yard. Once a dog chewed one up, a disaster, since getting new shoes involved pinching pennies and careful timing. Daddy got paid on Thursdays. Mother went to the bank and did all her shopping Thursdays. There would be no money till the next payday. A Tuesday shoe emergency messed up the whole plan. Daddy also had to be dealt with. When we messed up, she was responsible. It rained on the just and unjust alike.
Finally, the point of the story. Despite my best efforts, Mother’s teaching, or genetic input took control. The instant I get home, I change and hang up my clothes and put my shoes in the closet. If I had one, I’d certainly have gotten a biscuit. This just isn’t right. You’d think after more than sixty years , I’d get a break.
Worse yet, I have to be frugal. I have to use it up. Wear it out. Make do or do without, just like people were directed during World War II. Paper towels and napkins are wasteful, so I use dish cloths and cloth napkins. Buzzy went into a clawing frenzy and scratched a hole in my nice bamboo sheet a while back. He is not frugal. I couldn’t bear to toss those beautiful sheets and pillow cases, so I am making them into napkins and hankies. Bamboo hankies are $19.99 per six pack. Bamboo napkins cost $19.99 per twelve. So far, I’ve made a dozen napkins and a dozen hankies and some sleeping shorts for Bud. There is enough left over for more several more hankies, napkins , dish towels, dust cloths, and doilies for embroidery. I am sick of the carcass of those sheets , but can’t bear to throw them away when all this costs nothing but some work. I think I need therapy.
Nutsrok 