beets and miscellany

[arguchik]

for some reason being in west seattle has given me a tremendous appetite for beets. every single day since i've been here, i've eaten beet salad. at first, i got it at the PCC across the street. but today i stopped at metropolitan market on my way back from campus (had to go turn in final grades--a day late, i know...), and got some of their beet salad. it's yummier than the PCC's! the beets have a nicer texture (i think they were cooked a little longer, so they're more tender) and they use more vinegar in the dressing. the one thing i like better about the PCC's is that it has more fresh onion in it. now if i could just get them to put in a little more vinegar...suppose i could just add some extra, myself.

i bought some books at the u-bookstore while i was in the u-district, just some novels i've been meaning to read for a long time. alfred bester's "the stars my destination" (i taught his "the demolished man" last year--that book is the very first *ever* winner of the hugo award!); philip k. dick's "the man in the high castle" (i was about to get "valis," "the divine invasion," and "the transmigration of timothy archer"--a trilogy--but decided to wait); danzy senna's "symptomatic"; and sylvia plath's "the bell jar." *mostly* sci-fi and/or related to my dissertation (all but plath's).

i was delighted to see joe and greg of moonpenny opera playing on the ave. right across from the u-bookstore. (they are also both part of the circus contraption band, for those who don't know them.) wow...so cool to hear a big bass and an accordian--played beautifully and circus-fully--on the ave.! they said they were going to be busking there on the ave. a lot in the upcoming months, so keep your eye out for them if you're around that way!

finally, i have to ask the chicas out there: have any of you tried alternative menstrual protection (e.g. the keeper, or those re-usable sponges), and if so, what did you think? off and on over the years i have worried about the wastefulness of paper menstrual products, even though i use an applicator-free tampon. i'm starting to worry about it again...and if i can, i'd like to stop using paper stuff. there's always the worry about dioxin residues in bleached paper products, too, but i have to admit that i've always been put off by the price of the unbleached paper stuff sold at natural food stores. anyway...just wondering...

Comments

[evacado.livejournal.com]

Ah, I love my "instead" cups. A little hard to get used to, so make sure you wear pads at first. I have found them a little, um, big on occasion, but once you get the right angle figured out, it's great. I feel them less than tampons, and there's none of that awful half-absorbed-is-this-thing-made-of-sandpaper feeling. I read about the reusable sponges, but the infection control nurse in me thinks that unless you're going to boil the things between uses, they could breed toxic shock syndrome or pelvic inflammatory diseases or at least yeast infections.
I was just reading H's American Family Practice journal last night, and in it was a statement from the editors about the safety of continuous birth control or "quarterly" periods. They made the point that women these days hit menarche earlier, have fewer kids, breastfeed for shorter periods and live longer than ever, and so are having more periods than ever. This supports the theory that there's no biological benefit for bleeding monthly. They also cited a well-done study on the efficacy of continuous hormonal birth control, that found it just as effective as the traditional kind.
Anyway, here's a vote for the keeper/instead cups.

caution: menstrual content!

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

aha, thanks. keeper/instead was the thing i was leaning toward anyway. do you have 2+ of them, so that you have a clean one to put in when you empty the one you're wearing? or do you simply put the same one back in? lol--this might be getting a bit "personal" for any men reading...i suppose they are warned...

your feelings about the sponges echo my own. blood is such an excellent growth medium for microorganisms...

as for the pill, or other forms of hormonal birth control: i recently went *off* the pill. for some reason i just don't feel quite right when i'm on it. it evens out my moods and definitely lightens up my periods, but something feels *off* to me when i'm on it--i just feel like my perceptions and my creativity are blunted, somehow. i know about all the studies suggesting that the pill cuts the risk of ovarian cancer; but the pill also gets increasingly dangerous for women to take after the age of 35--it increases the risk of stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer (that last is not conclusive, but the evidence is suggestive, from what i've read), even in non-smoking "older" women. plus, it has made some brown patches on my face that i don't like, and don't want any more of; and it makes me more susceptible to yeast and other fungal infections (my dermatologist recently confirmed this for me, in the medical literature...). i'm currently in no danger of inadvertently getting pregnant, so...figured i would go off it and see how i feel.

Re: caution: menstrual content!

[evacado.livejournal.com]

the instead comes in a package of 24 or something like that. They recommend one time usage, but I think that using the same one for the day and then switching for night is ok. I take it out a couple times a day, rinse and reuse. Unfortunately, they aren't made for multiple-use, so I suppose that sort of negates their value in preventing waste. I think the keeper might be reusable, but I'd wash the thing well (dishwasher?) between uses.

Re: caution: menstrual content!

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

hmm. i just looked at the keeper website. they claim that this cup lasts 10 years so long as you only wash it with mild soap and no harsh chemicals. it's made of gum rubber...seems like silicone might be better...

they recommend simply taking it out and emptying it, then wiping it off with tissues or rinsing with clear water, and reinserting it. then, at the end of your period, you just wash it with mild soap, let it dry completely, and put it back into its handy carrying pouch.

interesting. i wonder if any keeper users have had trouble with infections...

[jennaxide.livejournal.com]

i just wanna say i heart West Seattle and i'm glad you're enjoying it here.

i've heard to reusables are valuable, but i'm too lazy to try them. i had my tubes tied and so will bleed forever without having kids, despite the risks, but taking hormones totally screws me up. i'd rather be sane, thanks!

hope to see you around the town!

[(Anonymous)]

I haven't used them, but I was going to mention the instead cups, but I see a noter already left that advice. Carry on ... =o)

K.

[costco77.livejournal.com]

what may be an interesting correlation - look at this link about beets:

Beets Nutritional Value (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49)

Beets are both high in folate and iron!

H

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

LOL--black beans and kidney beans, too, which i also LOVE.

i find that i often crave things my body needs, which makes me more and more inclined to listen to my cravings and to take them seriously, even if what i'm craving is ice cream or potato chips. who knows what's in there that my body might need? i try to go easy on the fatty, sugary, salty stuff, but when it's something like beets...hell, what harm could overindulgence do??? (do you think pickling hurts the folate at all?)

i'm off to septieme now, where i think i'll have...the beet salad! doctor's orders, after all. :-)