How Not to Die

They call Jan Garavalia, M. D., by the nickname "Dr. G" because her last name is hard to pronounce. She was a guest speaker at Sleuthfest, where I happened to pick up her book. The intriguing title is HOW NOT TO DIE. You can purchase a signed copy by calling Murder on the Beach at 561-279-7790. Tell them I sent you!

Okay, you can't REALLY look inside. Not here at least! Hmmm. But Dr. G looks inside, doesn't she?

Since we mystery authors specialize in killing off people, this seemed a bit out of place! But I zipped through most of the book last night, and I thought I'd share a few key points with all of you.

1. Your home can be deadly. "Believe it or not, more than fifteen thousand people suffer fatal accidents at home each year in America, and the greatest proportion of those die from falls," writes Dr. G. That reminds me of an author friend whose husband fell off a ladder while at home alone performing some household chore. She called him. He didn't answer. By the time she arrived at their house, he had died. The moral of the story? You might want to wait to change that lightbulb until you have a friend or spouse with you.

2. Clutter (and your pets) can kill and maim. A portion of those falls happen when people trip over strays (fur-covered variety) and stray belongings. One "home alone" victim fell on an uneven rug. She landed onto the pointed handle of a hairbrush she was holding. Dr. G's autopsy showed that the handle went right through her eye and into her brain. A friend of mine tripped over a pet, landed on the cutlery basket in her open dishwasher, and cut herself badly on a protruding knife blade. Ugh.

3. Driving with the window rolled half-down can be hazardous. Dr. G writes that "windows rolled halfway down can cause the most traumatic injuries if you get partially thrown from your car." She also notes that one of her victims was distracted when a bee flew into his truck.

4. Your doctor's tie is a health hazard. Think about it. The tie dangles. It touches surfaces, sick people, and dirty tables. No one washes a tie after its worn. Ask your doctor to tuck his tie inside his jacket before examining you.

Of course, there's more. It's a fascinating book. One that will get you thinking about the small decisions you make daily. They might not seem like they're "life and death," but they are.

What smart safety habits do you follow? For example, I always buckle my seatbelt. Always. I always direct the shower water down through the tap before I turn it off. (Otherwise, you could get scalded.) And I always put my forks and knives sharp ends DOWN in the dishwasher.

What about you?

Relax and Renew with Natural Remedy Baths

I've visited England twice. I am in love with London and the Cotswolds! My favorite things to do are to visit gardens and of course all the historic sites. But one perk I wasn't counting on was the fabulous bath tubs in my rooms! For some reason these tubs were high and long (I'm 5'10 so this is a big plus for me) which allows me to really luxuriate in the bath. My favorite bath salts are lavender (I have lots of lavender in my garden too). So, I thought you might enjoy these recipes for different kinds of baths that can help you rest, renew and heal your body. You will look and feel better!

Flower Power Bath: Let the stress drain away with a bath full of fresh flowers, orange or lemon peels. You can also use lilac, dandelion, daisies, honeysuckle, jasmine, camellia, or lavender.

Dry Skin Bath: Herbs can have a soothing lubricating effect on the skin. Moisturize by adding to the bath calendula flowers, chamomile flowers, comfrey leaves, elder flowers, fennel seed, jasmine flowers, lavender flowers, oatmeal, rose buds, and violet leaves.

Baking Soda Bath: This alkalinizing and detoxifying bath can help calm allergic reactions, chicken pox, eczema, hives, itchy skin, insect bites, poison ivy, sunburn, and fungal infections. Baking soda baths also aid weight loss. Use one pound per bath.

Cold and Flu Bath: Try these natural remedies when you want to soothe deep muscle aches that often accompany viral infections. Add Epsom salts, ginger root, marjoram, mustard seed powder, pine needles, and thyme leaves to your bath.

Detox Bath: Consider these cleansing herbs in the bath to help the body get rid of toxins. Try apple cider vinegar, cypress essential oil, Epsom salts, ginger root, grapefruit, juniper, lavender flowers, lemon peel, rosemary leaves, sage leaves, seaweed (buy in a natural food store unless you live close to the ocean), and tea tree essential oil.

Epsom Salts Bath: Relax sore muscles, soften the skin and detoxify. If you have diabetes, hypertension or heart disease rinse off after the bath. Follow package directions.

If you have any medical conditions and are not sure if you should try any of these baths, please see your health practitioner. This is in no way meant to be medical advice.

You'll find more natural remedies in my new book Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery. Visit www.chrystlefiedler.com.

Wound Up in Yarn

I had two knitting books with me. One book described the process of picking up a dropped stitch, complete with drawings. The trouble was the drawings didn’t resemble my work. And when I tried to read the words describing the process, they lost all meaning and my head spun in confusion. The other book didn’t even cover picking up dropped stitches. The author seemed to think the only way to fix mistakes was to tink, which is the word knit backwards and means to unknit.

The nice think about being alone was there were no interruptions as I doggedly went about the task of not only following the directions to pick up a dropped stitch, but understanding what I was doing, so that eventually I would be able to do it without having to read directions.

I have to say it was very hard deliberately knocking a stitch off my needle and then watching it come undone and disappear into all the loops below. The good part of that is it gave me a lot of empathy for Casey, since she has to do just that in the book. The difference is when she does it, she has a group of experienced knitters around her to help. I was all alone. But the funny part is that it is up to me to write the help that group of knitters offers her.

There is no need to go into the boring details of how I finally got to understand how to pick up a dropped stitch, but now when I think about it, I wonder why it seemed so hard. Isn’t it always that way once you learn things.

It was with great relief that I went back to crocheting on the plane ride home. I finally came up with a plan for the perfect travel project. I wanted something that wasn’t too big. There is just no room to handle a big project, plus who wants to lug it around. So, I started making granny squares and when I get enough I’ll sew them together and make a blanket. On the flight home, I finished one I’d started before and made two complete ones.

It is still a thrill for me to make them. I have loved them since forever, but had no idea how to make them. When I finally learned it was much like learning how to pick up a stitch in knitting. I had to follow the directions a lot of times before I finally understood what I was doing. Now, I just know how to make them, with no directions or even hesitations. They are second nature to me. Even so, it still amazes me to watch a little chain of loops become a circle and then change into a square. The best part is, I still adore the finished product.

Morning Glories, Pink Kitchens, and Pinterest

One of my new passions (and distractions) is Pinterest. Some people call it a virtual scrapbooking site—others say to think of it as virtual pin board. I sort of think of it as somewhere in between. In any case I love it. A new statistic suggests that I’m not the only one: it just reached 11.7 million unique users.
As you go around the web, reading websites or blogs and if you see a picture of something you like, you can pin it to your board on Pinterest. I think a lot of people are using it to keep track of things they like and want to get back to "someday." But it can be a mine of creativity for writers, artists, and other creatives.
One of my boards is titled Scrapbook of Secrets: Where I mess about with the things from my first novel. Some of the items I have pinned are morning glories, Beatrice’s house, and Annie’s pink kitchen. Another fun thing I added is what actors I would cast in parts for a Scrapbook of Secrets movie. Now, this all came after the creation of my book—so it was really just a fun exercise for me. If you'd like to visit, click here.
But some writers are using it for inspiration—or a board to help them out during the writing process. Therese Walsh, for example, has a board that she calls “The Next Book, visual inspirations linked with my work-in-progress.” It’s just beautiful.
Emilie Richards, author of countless wonderful novels that have quilts in them (including my favorite Shenandoah Album series) has a quilt board —among other things that are fun and inspiring.
Historical romance author Emery Lee has a board called “Historical Costumes,“ which is so fascinating to peruse.
Pinterest opens up a whole new of way communicating with our readers. I think of it as just another one of those social media elements to use (or not) that helps reach out to readers. We all have to pick and choose which ones work for us—or not. I can’t get into Google + for example, and I’m not going to sweat it. But Pinterest, I love. I’ve even heard of people having parties for their characters on Pinterest. I’m not sure how that would work—but you know me, I’m always ready for a party, providing that I can wear my red shoes, of course.
Have you explored Pinterest? What do you think?