Food

I am so in love with the grocery stores here. Most of them carry mostly whole, natural foods; plus, in the last few weeks I have gotten the following foods for the following prices:

watermelon: 10 cents/lb (is there a cents sign on the computer?)
raspberries: 77 cents/package
peaches and grapes: 39 cents/lb
strawberries: 88 cents/lb
green peppers: 3 for $1

One of these stores also has a great bulk section, so I no longer have to make monthly trips to Costco. I can get whole wheat flour for about 89 cents/lb, brown rice for 69 cents/lb, etc. I LOVE it!

Plus, we can always get milk for $1.89 a gallon. And people think San Diego's too expensive! (Okay, so rent's not cheap, but some things are worth paying for!)

Diseased

Yessiree. Picture this...

...all over my body. I think I have six patches just on my neck. I will now share the information from the handout I got from the dermatologist. Info in parentheses is my own addition.

Pityriasis Rosea

The most important thing about this benign skin disease is to understand the following things:

1. There is no common name for it.

2. Cause is unkown. It acts like a virus in some ways but is not contagious as most viruses are. Two cases in the same family are practically never seen. (And I'm the lucky one!)

3. It is more common in the spring and fall, but it is seen the year round.

4. Usually there is a Herald or Mother Patch which looks like a "ringworm". (See above photo.) It heralds the oncoming generalized eruption of small "ringworms" by hours to weeks. The usual distribution is neck to knees. (Not true. I have at least five patches on my calves.) It is rare on the face in adults (let's hope that's true) but relatively common in children.

5. It runs a natural course of 6 weeks (unlikely) to 3 months (more likely). (BTW, the doctor guesses I'm at just under two weeks right now.)

6. It leaes no marks or scars. (Praise be!)

7. It is extremely rare to have it the second time. (I repeat...praise be!)

8. It may or may not itch. (It may. Especially on my legs.)

9. Soap aggravates. Hot water aggravates. (Sweat aggravates. Scratching aggravates. Clothing aggravates.)

10. Sunlight helps. (I'm supposed to expose the spots, unprotected, as long as I can each day wthout getting sunburned. I'm told this gets tricky as the spots dot your "unexposable" areas. But my neck at least will be really wrinkly by the time this clears up!)

So if you see me coming down the street, please do not turn and run away. I know I look scary, but I am not leprous, and you do not need to scrub yourself down with sanitizing wipes if you walk past me. Just be thankful it's me and not you!