I’ve never tried either of those things. They probably work great. I’ll try them.
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We also use a very (very!) small amount of soap dissolved in water as our multipurpose cleaner. If you end up trying that, test it on the floor before doing the whole thing because we bought a different kind of soap one time that made the floors super slippery.
I soak just the peels. My theory is that if I soak the flesh there will be perishable juice in the solution. But it’s vinegar so maybe it’s fine? Please report back.
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That was my lazy way of cutting the peels off. There is just the tiniest bit of flesh there, and I’m assuming it will be ok since the vinegar would kill of anything that tries to grow?
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Looks fine to me, that’s usually the amount of flesh I can see on my peels! You might wanna strain the vinegar first but otherwise should be OK, especially if you’re using it within a reasonable amount of time
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If you don’t love the orange vinegar I do have a recipe for homemade cleaner that smells clean or not at all but it’s kind of a pain. The seventh generation I got instead smells so bad I might go back to it.
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Gift ideas for two friends who are (separately) throwing suck it cancer I’m clear for now parties? One just finished chemo and had surgery already, the other finished chemo and has a mastectomy coming up. The gifts don’t have to be physical objects.
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That’s so sweet! I’m so happy for your friends. I just went to a party like that this past Saturday for my friend who is cancer-free after 8 months of chemo for stage-4 lymphoma. I didn’t bring a gift, and neither did anyone else. But if you want to bring a gift, maybe a self-care item? A houseplant, tasty tea, fancier hand cream/Epsom salts/bath bomb or that sort of thing.
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Are either of them having radiation? I have recommendations for skin stuff for radiation.
All I’m thinking of for the moment is breast cancer/mastectomy specific which may not be helpful (reacher grabber!).
Tea is nice. Bath stuff. Food or gift certificates for food. Maybe a spa gift certificate? Something to make them feel pampered.
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Ooh, the feeling pampered part made me think of a really nice beanie now that fall is coming. Maybe a matching one for friend + balaclava for their toddler who is the same age as TR.
@clare-dragonfly One of them does have radiation coming up so I’m all ears for skin stuff reccos. And it’s the same person who has BC + mastectomy (and funny enough already owns a reacher grabber from C-section) so your ideas might be spot on. Thank you!
@Rosie Stage 4! That’s awesome that they are cancer-free now. I’m curious what the party vibe was like.
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Depending on the friend and the vibe, something like the book “the power of fun” could be good along with a note about how you’re up for any type of fun they want to reclaim as they move forward out of this chapter of life.
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I’m going to actually describe a couple parties because there was more than one. My friend had chemo until August but had a scan before that showing her cancer was gone (but she still needed to complete the full course of chemo). So she had a party earlier this summer. She has an elementary school aged daughter and there was supposed to be a bounce house at the party but that part was rained out. So the party this weekend was the one at which the bounce house finally came out.
Both parties were super fun and had lots of kids running around. The first one she envisioned as a funeral for her cancer. She took a beautiful urn with a lid and had people leave her supportive notes inside. That party was also kind of silly (in a fun way). The theme was princess prom, so we were encouraged to dress up as if for prom or like a princess. There was music. I brought a bunch of temporary tattoos thinking they were for the kids but the adults and kids had fun applying them and we laughed so hard at some of the resulting antics (like my friend’s brother applying one to his lower back, and which he was excited to unveil to his wife who was not present as his “tramp stamp.”)
The party this past weekend was lower key and smaller. The first one was an evening party and this was a daytime party. But everyone was very happy and celebratory. Super good vibes!
My friend has had so much going on. Not only was she going through cancer, but she divorced her ex husband while this was all going on (they had separated two years earlier). The actual divorce happened via a Zoom hearing during a chemo treatment, and I was present for that. She also bought a new house and moved during this time frame.
(I also love the Power of Fun book idea-- I love that book and have also recommended it here on the forum!)
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I have a sink that is always slow to drain. The stopper does not come out and it’s a pedestal sink, so I can’t access any pipes without taking the whole damn thing apart. It periodically gets VERY slow, at which point I stick a cobra hair snake down there. Nothing much comes up but it works better for a while.
WWYD? Is there anything else I can do on my end to make it work better? Is there anything a plumber could do for it or will it just always be slow unless we take it off the wall?
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Can you get a picture of the bottom part and the drain from above?
With most pedestal sinks the pedestal part is purely decorative, the sink is anchored to the wall. You can move the pedestal part away to access the pipes.
If taking it apart turns out to be completely impossible, baking soda and vinegar + pressure works better than drain-o. You tap half a cup of baking soda down the drain, pour in vinegar, and seal the overflow and drain hole so the chemical reaction has nowhere to go but down the drain. It’s a fun job to do with teenagers.
Depending on the type of drain, maybe you can use a normal snake on it.
With more info I can be more useful.
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Honestly, I would pay $100 at home depot for a super cheap “normal” vanity/sink combo and change it all out. It only took me a few hours to switch out the one in the girl’s bathroom a few years ago. It’s super easy.
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The room is SO tiny, if there was a normal sink there I wouldn’t be able to have a stool for the cuckoo to wash her hands. I have to tuck it diagonally under the sink when not in use or the door won’t open and close. Maybe when she is a little taller and doesn’t need it! Goodness knows we could use the storage space as it the boys’ main bathroom as well as being the upstairs and guest toilet.
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The best thing I had for my skin was actually prescription (clobetasol ointment) so you can’t help with that, but Boiron calendula cream is also really good. They also have a gel (and maybe one other preparation) but the cream feels more cooling and soothing. Also, nitrile gloves to apply the ointment, because my fingers were cracking and peeling with all the washing I had to do to get the stuff off my hands.
I have also loved having lukewarm baths with epsom salt. My radiation oncologist did say that was OK, just anything that sticks to the skin (like colloidal oatmeal and probably some bath bombs with flowers and such) needs to be rinsed off.
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Are we tipping for takeout? I started doing it during COVID to support businesses a little more. But it feels a bit ridiculous to tip 20% whether or not I’m actually waited on. Thoughts?
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For me, local biz yes, but a little closer to 15% ish.
Chain place, 10% or round up + $1 (I’m a single person so my orders are always extremely cheap so ymmv on the rounding up and a dollar thing).
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