Building a Better... Clothes Hanger

Closet organization is always a challenge... There never seems to be enough closet space.

Not long ago, my daughter asked me to be on the lookout for a new kind of clothes hanger - one that was textured - so that clothing wouldn't slide off. It was also thinner than the current plastic hangers we were using, so more clothing could be hung in the same closet space.

I didn't know such a hanger existed, though I had experienced the problem of silky tops sliding onto the closet floor. Eventually I found what she was looking for - and bought some for her, as well as for myself...

My thoughts turned to the various types of hangers I have known over the years...

Not that long ago, thin metal hangers were the norm... I got rid of most of mine, but still have a few.

When plastic hangers first came onto the market and a friend told me about them, I replaced all my metal ones - and loved the fact that I could hang garments on them to dry without creating a rust spot.

(My mother solved the rust problem by using thin stretchy fabric, like old nylon stocking, to braid a cover on her metal hangers. I still have a few of those in my closet, too.)

As an aside, the mother of a friend of mine mentioned that, after her stroke, she was told she'd need physio to get her hands moving normally again. Waiting for her first physio appointment, a few weeks hence, she braided a few clothes hangers every day for something to do.

When her physio appointment date arrived and the physiotherapist examined her hands, she was told: You don't need physio. Your hands are just fine!

So braiding is good physiotherapy, too!

The evolution of clothes hangers - from thin metal to fat plastic to thin, textured plastic. Creating a more effective way of hanging garments is an ongoing challenge.

Parking Apps

It has taken me years...

After struggling for years with city parking in Toronto and Montreal, I finally downloaded Montreal's street parking app. It allows me to pay for street parking online using my phone - and extend it from my phone, as well, if necessary.

It worked so easily that I immediately downloaded the Toronto street parking app as well.

Then I looked for Ottawa's city parking app... But I couldn't find one!!

Is Canada's capital city that far behind the times?!

Inspirational Title

I'm gathering up books that I may never read - to give  to the public library's second-hand book store.

Here is one I remember fondly - I leafed through it many times, but never actually read it.

It was the title that inspired me... I didn't need to read any more...

In my working days, life was often chaotic - too busy, too demanding. So much of life was beyond my control.

So when I saw this title, I bought the book: Was it really possible to have comfortable chaos? To accept the messiness and frustration I could do very little about - and actually be happy and comfortable with my situation?!

Those were the thoughts that the title inspired in me then... And I still derive comfort from that thought, even today.

Accepting Each Other

It has taken me a long time to realize, as a parent, that my children were all born with certain innate traits that I can't change...

I always thought that, if we gave our kids piano lessons, our house would be filled with the sound of music - that they'd entertain me every Saturday morning while I relaxed in my lazy boy. But that never happened, Terry sometimes laments.

Piano playing wasn't their passion, I conclude... Just as it wasn't mine. But we gave them an opportunity to discover if it was...

In his book, Let Your Life Speak, Parker J. Palmer writes: Watching my granddaughter from her earliest days on earth, I was able... to see something that eluded me as a ... parent: my granddaughter arrived in the world as this kind of person, rather than that, or that, or that.

She did not show up as raw material to be shaped into whatever the world might want her to take. She arrived with her own gifted form...

But - I would add - there is some shaping going on. Parents, family members, teachers and friends can encourage and enjoy!

Even now, with adult children, I sometimes ask myself: Why do they like this... or that. I don't... I can fill in the blanks with many things - interests, clothing, furniture, friends...

The answer is simple: They're simply not me!

Sugar... in Salt??

I was grocery shopping with my daughter not long ago...

She was hunting for salt - with no sugar (or dextrose) on the list of ingredients.

Really?! They put sugar in salt?! I had never noticed. I guess I assumed that a box of salt contains... just salt!

I don't add salt when I cook or bake, so our box of Sifto salt has been around for a while... No sugar listed in the ingredients - though it does contain more than salt!

I wonder why some salt has sugar in it...

Virginia Creeper - is Toxic?!

Our yard has an abundance of two native vines that return year after year - wild grapes and Virginia Creeper.

Every year, we pull them out - and every year they return...

In fall, the Virginia Creeper turns red - so it looks pretty.

But I had no idea that it could be toxic.

When I told my friend Janet about the terrible rash Terry had for several weeks after clearing thistles out of a neighbor's yard, she replied: That sounds just like the rash one of my friends gets from touching Virginia Creeper. She claims she can roll around in Poison Ivy, but whenever she touches Virginia Creeper, she gets an itchy rash. And every year the rash gets worse...

So maybe - just maybe - Terry's July rash was from Virginia Creeper.

In any event, I will make sure that I never pull any out unless my body is well covered - and I'm wearing gloves.

Diabetes Medication

I have had high blood sugar for at least 15 years. In all that time, I've managed to avoid using Type 2 diabetes medication - until last spring.

Six weeks before my surgery, a surgical nurse told me that I needed to lower my blood sugar - or risk not healing properly.

I immediately asked my doctor to prescribe Metformin - something he had mentioned doing a while back - and I had resisted.

Metformin did lower my daily early morning blood sugar readings, and the healing went well.

But it also had a few unpleasant side effects.

Then try this other medication, my doctor suggested on a recent visit.

So I have the prescription, but I'm waiting a few days to get the medication. I'd like to see how high my glucose readings would be now, without medication. Experience has taught me that when my body is dealing with a medical problem, even a cold, my blood sugar goes up. But now that I've had the hysterectomy and that problem is gone - how high will my readings actually go?

It would be so nice to - again - be able to manage my blood sugar without medication... but not at a risk to my health.

Alas! My fasting blood sugar readings went up again... So I'm on my new pills. Perhaps the time has come to accept the fact that I'll need medication to stay healthy - and instead of resenting the fact, appreciating the fact that these drugs are available!