A miracle happened! I found a pillow that gives me great neck support. I can sleep again!
Where did this miracle happen? At the Asian grocery store.
In the past few years, I have had trouble sleeping. The issue was my pillow. Not sure why or when my pillow became uncomfortable, but it did. I needed specific neck support. Most pillows are soft and if they are firm, it’s not specific to support the neck.
Recently, I was at the Asian store buying curry. I decided to see what pretty dishes/tea pots they had when I came across these pillows. It said they were buckwheat pillows. I felt them, I really liked how firm they were, so decided to give them a try.
I LOVE this pillow. The smaller one is better, because it fits perfectly under my neck. Turns out, buckwheat pillows, also known as sobakawa, originated in Japan. They are good for spinal alignment. Now, more people are using them around the world. I had not heard of these pillows. I do want to visit Japan, so now I have a very good reason. First stop, pillow shop!
The big question, as I was reading online, is whether or not these pillows have mites/bugs.
Some reviews said, “No,” but others said, “Yes.” So, it’s interesting, because our normal pillows/bedding can have mites, etc. We don’t see them, but they can be there. Then I thought about our clothing in the closet, moths love to each my cashmere and woolen jackets. Our houses have a lot of dust.
Here I found a pillow I LOVE, it lets me sleep. Do I worry about bugs?
I honestly don’t have neck pain anymore. This is what I am wondering. I don’t know enough about buckwheat, but I do know it is SUPER comfy. I mean it’s a hard pillow, but that’s what I need. I’ll just keep cleaning the pillow covers, and put the inner buckwheat pillow out in the sun.
Anyone use a buckwheat pillow? Share your experience, so we can learn.
If you are looking for one last summer book to read, I recommend Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer, her memoir. I’m listening to it on audio. The Mongol Derby, in Mongolia, is said to be the toughest horse race in the world. Riding 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) for 10 days, using 25 horses along the way. Lara Prior-Palmer, won at 19 years old in 2013, she is the youngest person to have won the race.
Fast forward to 2019, when the oldest person, Bob Long from Idaho, won the race at 70 years old. He said that age is just a number. True; however, he grew up riding horses, so he felt comfortable with this type of rugged race. Still, at 70 years, that kind of race is hard on the body. He made it to all of his pit stops without over riding his horses in any way.
So, I’ve got to say, this was a good summer find.
I’d love to read another memoir like this, one of endurance. Any good reads, share them.
It looks like our mask freedom was short lived. Back to wearing masks indoors even if we are vaccinated. So, with that in mind, I thought I might as well brush up on my baking skills. Fall is coming, who knows what will happen in September. If we are house bound again, back to cooking/baking at home.
I haven’t made peanut butter cookies since I was a child. I’m not a vegan, but I saw this recipe on The Simple Veganista. So easy, seven ingredients in one bowl. Mix and bake.
If you live where there is hot weather, you should let the cookie dough set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes; otherwise, when you put the cookies on the cookie sheet, and into the oven — they melt and all blend together.
I would have been so dismayed, if I looked in the oven window and saw a sheet of peanut butter cake, instead of individual cookies. Another tip, I used a cookie scooper, so cookies look uniform. However, my cookie scooper is medium size and even though I used a fork to press the cookies down, they were chunky and took longer to cook.
Recently, I was thinking of Italy, missing Florence, my grandmother… Don’t they say, when we THINK about something the Universe answers?!
Thank you, Blogger Dave, Life In A Word, who wrote Covering My Tracks. In his post, he talked about his childhood train memories. I smiled, each of his memories, made me think of my own train memories.
ITALY: For me, I can still hear the LOUD train going by my Italian grandmother’s house in Florence between 1-4 AM every night. I first visited her when I was a Freshman in High School. This was my first time getting to know her, she did not come to America. I did not speak Italian; she did not speak English. Good thing Italians communicate with their hands while they talk. Otherwise, I might have starved (smiling, that would not have happened with an Italian grandmother!).
She immediately paraded me on the balcony, so the neighbors could see her granddaughter from America was visiting. She was so PROUD. After a long day, we closed the green shutters on the windows and settled in for a “peaceful” night’s sleep, so I thought.
Imagine my fright. I’m in an unfamiliar place, trying to sleep, when suddenly I sense a rumbling feeling and hear a loud horn tooting over and over. The horn is what made me realize a train was going by. THIS WAS LOUD, like it was in the bedroom. How could this be?
I tip toed to the green shutters. The apartment was small, if I tried to open the shutters it would have made a loud sound. I didn’t want to wake my grandparents, but peeking through green shutters was NOT easy, they are heavy and slant downwards.
Confirmed, it was a loud freight train, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. I immediately wondered if the train went by every night! At that point, I could not sleep. I sat and watched the train go by. Freight trains have a heavy rhythmic sound. It took forever, as freight trains do. So began my nightly train adventure.
What’s amusing, is that often in childhood what annoyed us, brings us the greatest memories later.
Picture courtesy of Pixabay.com (victor893).
MOSQUITOS / ITALY: Another memory came to mind. THAT first night, my Italian grandfather was fiddling with some white netting. Remember, I spoke NO Italian, they spoke NO English. I had an Italian/English dictionary, no iPhone translator.
We were at their tiny kitchen table. It was HOT, middle of summer, no air conditioning. This meant we kept the windows open and had fans. Which meant — MOSQUITOS / FLIES would come in.
My grandfather was a little man with white hair and very intense blue eyes. When I say little, maybe 5′ 2″ tall. I was much taller than him. While he was small in stature, he was a VERY STRONG and CONFIDENT man, not weak at all. He kept working away at his netting and looking at me with a quirky grin. I smiled back, thinking, “WHAT IS HE DOING??” He was acting like a mad scientist.
Soon he was done! He put the netting over his head with a crazy laugh. He had very strong little hands, he grabbed my hand and said, “Stasera, NO ZANZARE! Capisci? NO ZANZARE!”
As he kept stressing ZANZARE, I knew that was an important word. I told him, “Aspetta (wait),” as I looked up Zanzare in the dictionary. THEN I showed him the translation and said, “ZANZARE, CAPISCO.” Basically, I was confirming — Ah, mosquitos, I get it!
I’m still laughing as I write this. My grandfather looked so funny and a bit scary with the netting over his head because he doubled it. I would never have thought about sleeping with mosquito netting on my head. However, mosquitos are awful, when you try to sleep, and you keep getting bitten and hear their buzzing sound. So annoying!
So, Blogger Dave, thanks! Your post, brought back my own memories about trains, grandparents, etc.
I’m sure some of YOU have memories of trains too. SHARE THEM, memories are good!
My daughter suffers from ongoing back pain. So, she’s constantly looking for ways to ease the pain. Recently, I was visiting her and I saw these cute Mama and Baby turtles. I was just about to pick them up, when she yelled, “Mama, CAREFUL, they are spikey.”
What??? As I went to touch them, I yelled, “Yikes, you’re not kidding!”
You definitely don’t want to leave these on the floor for someone to step on – OUCH!
There is NO loving Mama and Baby turtle here, that’s for sure. I secretly thought, THAT explains our relationship sometimes. This would make a good gift for a break up with someone. The card would read, “WISH you WELL! A massage on me! (Hope they would get the joke.)”
They have a travel size pillow/mat. I thought about being on the plane, going to the rest room and my mat falls on the person’s empty seat next to mine. Can you imagine the scream when they are half asleep and sit on it! Hahaha
Of course, I wanted to know more about these cute turtles. They are acupressure for massaging the body. I decided to give it a try. You need to lay down on them – CAREFULLY – the spikes do hurt. Best to have a very light shirt on or use directly against your skin, depends on what pain level you can take. You will find after 10-15 minutes that your back is REALLY red. I only did it twice, so cannot give a review based on long term use. It’s different.
Pranamat ECO has been around 11 years. Product is made in Europe, very good quality. You can read more about it on their site. I’m not promoting their product, just sharing something NEW with you. If you suffer from pains and believe in acupuncture/acupressure, look into this.
Ok, I’m off to give it another try. I’ll be on the sofa, laying on the turtle, legs on the mat, while reading my book. Hopefully, you won’t hear too many YELPS along the way!
Glad we are heading into the weekend for acupressure RECOVERY!
Visiting with friends in Michigan. A cardinal came by, but I was not fast enough to take the picture. We filled up the bird feeder in hopes of seeing more birds.
Later in the day, we wondered why the bird feed was so low.
WELL, look who was visiting. Amazing how athletic these squirrels are. They spook easily, so I had to be quick to take some photos. It was challenging. The wind was making the squirrel twirl around while he was trying to eat. I laughed and thought, “He’s a CIRCUS squirrel!”
I laughed and said… NO, I’m a little old for that, right?!
WELL, that’s going to change! You’re going to LOVE this new movie, LUCA, set in Italy.
So… We watched it.
I have to say, it was a cute film. My ONLY critique is that the main characters should have had Italian accents. I mean, if these are Italian characters, they should speak English with Italian accents. Like the bad guy (Ercole Visconti), he was GREAT, he had an Italian accent along with the typical Italian expressions and hand movements. Super funny!
If life has you down and you need a laugh, a cute film to lighten the mood — TAKE A CHANCE ON LUCA!
Like me, you’ll be booking your next trip to Italy!
When COVID hit last year, we were finding new ways to exercise. Suddenly, virtual walks became really popular. I just did a virtual walk in Ireland with Fleet Feet. I liked it, it motivated me to log my miles every day, not fall behind.
When that walk ended, I took a break for a month. I noticed that without the challenge, I lacked the same motivation for walking. I walked, but not with the determination. It does HELP to have a challenge. Add friends for accountability – perfect!
My friend told me about The Conqueror website. Being Italian, I had to sign up for the St Francis Way challenge. I’m enjoying the walk and looking up new cities on the way from Florence to the Vatican in Rome. Some of the towns are really small, not many people.
In case you are wondering, I am not affiliated with The Conqueror website. Just sharing. The Ireland Fleet Feet challenge was nice, but not easy to log the miles. So, helpful to share with each other. If we are going to spend $$, good to find the BEST virtual site out there.
Now, putting gym shoes on, heading to CONSUMA, ITALY. Looked it up, many things to see/do: wineries, vineyards, castles, zip line, religious sites, art galleries and more.
I was heading out the door to exercise. I needed a pouch to put my headphones in. Look what I found. I knew one day I’d have a use for this crab pouch. My daughter gave me this pouch. I immediately liked it, but wondered when I would use it. TODAY was the day!
I’m on the hunt for good workout headphones. They are hard to find. The simple ear bud ones, don’t work for me. They keep falling out of my ear. So, I found these Powerbeats headphones. They stay in my ear, but they are a little too snug – like a suction cup once they are in. I worry about the volume with them being so snug.
For now, they do work, no question about that. Off to walk.
Brilliant Viewpoint 