Vinegar Friday

TGIVF!!

I spent most of Thursday in the library researching and writing a magazine article on pet nutrition. While I was there, I picked up a nifty little book called, what else?!...The Vinegar Book. It's just a simple book of tips compiled by Emily Thacker. Twelfth Edition. Must have been a popular resource. Much like I hope my own Vinegar Fridays book will be when it comes out.

As I was scanning through the pages, after my article was done, mind you...I was mildly annoyed by the sound of persistant coughing a few rows over. I wanted to tell this poor suffering soul to go home!! The amount of germs she was releasing into the library's atmosphere was startling! And disconcerting. And...well...annoying. She was actually irritating me more than the little boy who was talking incessantly and quite loudly a few feet away from me for a good ten minutes or so while his mother perused the shelves for a book in the crafts' section. Take him home! I wanted to say, every so politely.

You see, I was in the library. A place traditionally known as a quiet zone. I love quiet. I do not like noise...of any kind. When I am at home, I generally do not have the television on unless I am watching it. Occasionally, I will let music accompany my day, but usually, it is just quiet. The way I like it.

Not only was I in the library, but I was situated with my laptop and an array of research books in an area marked 'For Silent Study Only.' Coughing lady...I want silence! Little boy...I want silence! Young man on your cell phone...I want silence!

Well, guess what? You can't always get what you want. Which is probably what you are thinking as you are reading this...you came here wanting to read about vinegar and all you've got so far is the ranting of a somewhat mad woman. Sorry. It's been one of those weeks.

Back to The Vinegar Book. As I searched its pages, looking for a new tidbit of vinegar wisdom, trying not to be bothered by the hack, hack...cough, cough I was hearing, I actually discovered something new and potentially helpful to me in the future. If you, or someone you know, has asthma, this tip's for you!

"Asthma can be relieved by combining the advantages of accupressure with the benefits of apple cider vinegar. Use a wide rubber band to hold gauze pads, which have been soaked in vinegar, to the inside of the wrists."

Hmmm. I am almost wishing I had an asthma attack to try this one out. If any of you get the chance to try it, let me know how it works! Ms. Thacker does not specify how long you are to keep the gauze on your wrists, but I am certainly willing to give it a try. I was wishing I had some gauze and ACV at the library to pass it on to the hacking princess...

So, in addition to the asthma remedy, I discovered some other new-to-me remedies as well. Like this one for nausea:

"Banish the discomfort of nausea or vomiting by placing a cloth wrung out of warm apple cider vinegar on the stomach. Replace with another warm cloth when it cools."

I hope Emily doesn't mind my quoting directly from the book, but since these are such unique ideas, I would rather use her words than my own.

One more, cloth-soaked-in-vinegar tip:

"Soothe tired or sprained muscles by wrapping the afflicted area with a cloth wrung out of apple cider vinegar. Leave it on for 3 to 5 minutes and repeat as needed. For extra special relief, add a good dash of cayenne pepper to the vinegar."

While I am enjoying Emily Thacker's book, I do find one problem with it. She does not specify what type of apple cider vinegar to ingest for its healing properties. This is a major flaw in the book, as filtered ACV does not produce any particular health benefits when taken internally. She does dedicate a small section of the book to apple cider vinegar with the "mother," however.

And that's it for this cold snowy Vinegar Friday. I am looking forward to the upcoming Sabbath, starting with worship, followed by lunch with my children and grandchildren and ending with dinner and pinochle with friends.

Have a lovely weekend.

Keeping it healthy with vinegar,

Hana