HIMALAYAN SALT LAMPS / ME AGAIN

HIMALAYAN SALT LAMPS

Laurie at the "I love a cloudy day" blog introduced me to these wonderful lamps and my home is now bathed in a delightful ambiance.  Go to this  link to her post to meet the Himalayan Salt Lamp. Thanks Laurie. 

She really sold me.  Careful however, these things are addictive. I now have two and am thinking seriously about a third.

According to wikipedia: "A salt lamp is a lamp carved from a large salt crystal, often naturally colored, with an incandescent bulb or a candle inside. The lamps give an attractive glow and are suitable for use as nightlights or for ambient mood lighting. Mined in Europe and Asia, the salt crystals emit a soft glowing light and are hand-carved. 

My favorite one.

They don't photograph nearly as good as they look

Besides bathing your home in a warm, peaceful glow, they are touted to help clean the inside air by emitting negative ions. Theoretically, that should make breathing easier and elevate your mood. 

One reviewer claimed it helped her cat's asthma. That was a strong hoping point for me as Minnie has frequent asthma attacks. Since I plugged in the lights, she hasn't had any. Wonder if cats understand placebo effect?   

Mine have been glowing away for several days and I do think the air actually smells a bit cleaner, especially in the pet areas. As for mood, I really do smile a lot while enjoy them. Mind over matter? Who cares if the desired results are achieved?
   
The delightful glow is like having a fireplace that doesn't need tending or a giant, flameless candle. It casts a soothing, romantic glow in my home that makes me a bit sorry that the only male here is a 12 pound terrier with breath that would repulse a bear.   

Am possibly saving on electricity for I am either dimming or shutting off all other lights except for reading lamps to increase the effect. 

The only drawback I can see is that they supposedly attract moisture and in the high humidity areas of this country, these would not be a good idea. Also bathrooms would not be  suitable. Arkansas evidently is pretty dry for I haven't seen the first trace of moisture collection.

Check them out. If not for yourself, perhaps a Christmas gift for that person who has everything. Bet they don't have one of these.

ME AGAIN

Since I got my Kindle, I am a reading machine. I now have a library of over 300  "to be read" books all stored in the 8 x 6 light weight device that also holds the 150 books I have all ready read. It truly was the best gift I have ever received. Thanks again sister Jan so very much. Ya done good.

Due to a limited retirement income, I scout Amazon daily for free books, often by first time, sometimes self published authors. Occasionally I get what I pay for but other times, I am absolutely delighted. The latter is what happened when I read "Me Again" by Keith Cronin.  This book got high praise from Sara Gruen who wrote "Water for Elephants."

This is a fictional story about a young man who had a stroke and was in a coma for 6 years. When he awakes, he has no memory of his former life nor the people in it.  He also suffered from aphasia (the loss of ability to understand or express speech) which has made simple conversation almost impossible.  He is virtually a newborn, unable to move or communicate outside of grunts.

Slowly with therapy he regains some of his functions but learns some are lost forever.  As he slowly improves and  tries to discover who he was before, he is not pleased. He learns that he was not that nice of a man.

This certainly sounds like a grim, depressing book but he writes with surprising humor and believability about such a tough subject. I would often find myself laughing out loud  or smiling  while at the same time gaining understanding  and admiration for  the struggle stroke victims face. This very unusual tale of transformation wraps around a sweet love story.

When I heard that 795,000 persons per year suffer a stroke, it is easy to see that most of us will sometime  be affected and know someone who has experienced one.
  
I think by following Linda at  LC's blog of her journey of stroke recovery and being introduced to her sense of humor and courage in her posts, I was better able to enjoy this wonderful book.

I got the book early on for free.  While it is no longer free, it is only 99 cents. A true bargain. The cool thing is that Keith is donating 25% of his sales , including his advance, to the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association. 

Getting to enjoy a wonderful book and helping a great cause at the same time is a "win-win" situation to quote one of his not so lovable characters.

Hope you give it a look.