Above: Selected plates from Margaret Gatty’s “British Sea-Weeds.” Biodiversity Heritage Library/public domain

“This woman…is one of… one of Victorian Britain’s many female seaweed hunters. Beloved by figures like Queen Victoria and George Eliot, seaweed-hunting became a popular way for women to tap into the enthusiasms of their era—and contribute to the burgeoning annals of science.…

…As the seashore itself gained a reputation as a restorative landscape, plenty of women found themselves there, either recuperating from illness or seeking family-friendly summer fun. Many of them were already diehard scrapbookers, and seaweed makes a particularly rewarding collage subject: not only does each specimen’s strange color and shape present a design challenge, its gelatinous inner structure means that, when pressed onto paper, it actually glues itself to the page.…”

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-forgotten-victorian-craze-for-collecting-seaweed

(Came upon this from following up on Kevin Kelly’s tip for using atlasobsura.com for finding “…obscure, very offbeat attractions…” to wherever he is traveling. https://kk.org/cooltools/)

If you’re not interested in seaweed, still check out https://www.atlasobscura.com.

This has been a life changer. No electronic controls or screen. For oven convection, you turn on the fan. It’s such an upgrade from 25 years of a Jenn-Air. A lot of people prefer it to the Wolf Range these days, it seems.

With this model, when you remove one of the 4 ring grates, there’s a well and about a 2″ space down to the burners; a wok nestles down so you don’t need a ring for it.

Both the burners and oven work better than any stove we’ve ever used.

It’s easy to clean, and a relief not to have to mess with touchscreen controls. Made in America. A wonderful tool.

If you’re a Bay Area person: I got it at CG Appliance Express in Daly City, CA (adjacent to San Francisco), the best place I’ve ever seen for appliances of all kinds.

Note: See Kevin Kelly’s (more complete) review of the BlueStar on Cool Tools at: https://kk.org/cooltools/bluestar-range/

I fractured my wrist two months ago. Once I got the cast off, I took these steps to hasten bone healing and restoration of hand strength:

Comfrey

 a) compresses with fresh leaves and/or roots, wrapped in Saranwrap, then velcro bandage, then heat pad for a few hours. You can also purchase dried comfrey leaves and roots.

 b) Dr Christopher’s Tissue and Bone Ointment; check out the 400 customer reviews on Amazon here.

Comfrey is a magical plant. It’s also called Knitbone. I used it years ago on cracked ribs and made me feel better instantly.

Medical Marijuana 

Another miracle: Mary’s Transdermal patches — cannabidol, CBD (the type marijuana that has healing properties, but does not get you stoned). They cost $20 each, but boy, have they worked for me. Left on for 12 hours. Took away pain. The next morning I forgot I’d had an injury. With about 5 days of these two remedies I’ve gone from maybe 50% to 80% of full recovery. https://www.marysmedicinals.com/

Calcium citrate and vitamin D3

My doc recommended.

Prunes

Yes, check them out. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/2015/06/23/07152c22-1909-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html

Bone broth

I’ve sort of done a blitz with these treatments and it’s wonderful to get my hand working again. I haven’t actually gone to rehab yet, because there is so much I do naturally in my daily life with my hands that I’m not sure I need “exercises.” Each day I do more.