Vinegar Fridays

TGIVF!

Well, this one snuck up on me! Considering the fact that I thought yesterday was Wednesday, I feel like I lost a day. While most of you look forward to your weekends, I actually prefer weekdays. Alas, Fridays come and at least we can all look forward to Vinegar Fridays!

I am falling more and more in love with vinegar. Last week, I discovered for myself the amazing power of apple cider vinegar to soften feet! I know I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but now I've actually tried it! I simply added one-half cup of ACV to the warm water in this little inflatable foot bath I have. After a five minute soak, I found my heels were no long rough, but were smooth and soft. Ahh.

Not wanting to waste the solution, I looked around for something to do with it. Of course, I didn't want to water my drought-ridden garden with it, as vinegar could hurt the plants. Then I spied my one-earred Ragdoll cat, Theo, who has a sensitivity to bug bites and has chewed his tail practically raw. As a matter of fact, his entire back and neck is covered in scabs. Much of this is from the fleas that have recently hopped on board. You see, I dump a splash of distilled white vinegar to the cats' water bowl to repel fleas. My husband, on the other hand, tends to skip this step when he fills the bowl. Alas, fleas have found new hosts -- my Ragdolls, Vincent and Theo Van Gogh and my Manx, Bella Notte. As a result of the bug bites and his constant scratching and chewing, Theo's fur has become really nasty. It's rough and not very soft to the touch....that was until I got the brilliant idea to dump the ACV-infused foot bath over him. While he resisted a bit, I must say, this strong cat submitted rather easily as I held him by the neck with one hand and dumped the lukewarm water over his entire body. The results? I now have an unbelievably soft and fluffy cat! Seriously. This worked.

After seeing what it did for Theo, I decided to repeat the process with Bella. She, too, submitted to what most kitties would consider serious abuse! After she was dry, I was amazed at how her long black fur felt just like a bunny's! And, of course, another benefit to all of this is the fact that ACV kills fleas!

The chewed off fur is growing back nicely on Theo's tail. I doused him once again this week and he's starting to look, and feel, mighty fine. Now if only I could find a vinegar cure for his missing ear!

While most of you will hesitate at giving your cats ACV baths, you might want to try it with your dogs. It is amazing how soft the fur becomes. I've been using it as a final rinse on my own hair (1/2 cup added to 2 cups of warm water), and my hair's looking pretty healthy lately.

So those are my vinegar tips for today -- foot baths for amazingly soft feet followed by kitty or puppy baths for amazingly soft fur. Let's hear it for all natural, toxin-free alternatives! Let's hear it for vinegar!

Keeping it green,

Hana

This week I plan to see what kind of affect vinegar has on stink bugs. We've been seeing quite a few of them in the house and clinging to the screens lately, so I think I'll try hitting them with a spray of undiluted distilled white vinegar. I'll let you know how effective it is.