Incredible Disappearing Acts

Splattered across the printed cotton flannelette top was evidence of a blueberry dance that occurred, earlier that morning, without my knowledge. ... I had been making a bit of jam to catch the berries before they spoiled. Now, the anticipation of homemade blueberry jam was marred by the sad reality of its new application, called a stain, upon a favourite top. ... How could I have been so careless!

These blueberry crystals were not part of the garment's original design or colour swath. ... Following my own dictum of doing nothing or choosing the path of least resistance when confronted with a difficult problem, I took the top to the sink and wet the tiny blue stains, hoping some incredible thought would enter my mind to fix the mess I had created. (Letting a stain dry or using the dryer before removing stains sets the stains forever.) 

I went about the rest of my day. Even 'old' ladies have important things to do. In my world they are called Mr. Wiggles, Miss S, Tiggy our sick little kitty cat and sometimes visiting dognitaries, cousins, Mall Cop and Miss E, his younger sister. ...The afternoon wore on, as afternoons generally do. Each time I passed the sink, I dampened the areas adorned with those dainty bluish dots. ... After several hours, I was left wondering, “Where are those dots?” By the next day, they were gone! The stains I had worried about had simply disappeared. Water's application and patience worked their magic, incredibly and unknowingly. ...It was an absolutely thrilling resolution to a seeming hopeless dilemma created by me. ...

It was a family gathering when my new discovery was verified once again. ... Sliced watermelon was now being passed around the dinner table, a fitting end to a delicious meal. Suddenly, drops of this juicy fruit's nectar began to fall onto his shirt. Without missing a beat, I motioned him quickly into the 'room' to help save his much-prized garment. Another amazing disappearing act was in the process of unfolding. With a few drops of water placed on the characteristic red drops, the random stains began to fade. (“It was important to keep the stain damp”, I cautioned him). Disbelief enveloped us. He left with renewed optimism that his shirt would see another day. ....

We had met at the fair, for a brief moment. His wife and I had been talking before he sat down to eat. His corned beef sandwich covered in mustard; French fries, with ketchup, were the star attractions when the unthinkable happened. ... Down his crisp white t-shirt went the familiar yellow, red trail. His reaction to this newly worn, now stained, white t-shirt told the painful story. “Keep it wet until you get home” I cautioned him as he tried to wipe the condiment rainbow off his shirt. The familiar colourful line slowly began to fade before we left the picnic table. The t-shirt would see another day and water had made its mark, yet again.

Water is a universal liquid. It keeps all of nature and all of mankind alive. It is critical to our survival! It was now being used in a simple and strategic way to address a universal problem facing all of us: stain removal. We were using a gift from mother nature to solve a problem from mother nature's garden. How cool was that! I was not using chemicals, soaps or other reagents, things that can harm us, our children, our pets, our clothing or create allergic reactions. I was simply using water to fix a common clothing problem we all face.

It was late Thursday evening when my husband noticed the wound on the neck of our one-year-old yellow retriever, Mr. Wiggles, as he slept on the carpet nearby. It must have been there for a while. The reddened skin had not been punctured, oozing only slightly, as I attempted to gingerly separate the sticky strands of the matted darkened fur above it. The wound was a mystery to us. How and where had it happened? His playground was a contained, safe wonder world for creatures large and small. In an instant I thought of the remarkable 'antibiotic' I had nearby, a wonder solution, called Silver hydrosol, in its small spray bottle. (This natural 'antibiotic', a natural cleansing agent/antiseptic lotion, has been around, in a manner of speaking, since 400 B.C). Its application this night, was quick, easy, painless, and so readily available and affordable. An appt. was made, the next day, in conjunction with one already on the books for Tiggy, our sick little kitty cat, for Monday morning, a three-day gap in time. In the meantime, I would apply the silver hydrosol solution, steadily, over the weekend and see its wondrous effects on the wound. By the end of the weekend, the wound, its telltale scab gone, seemed to be on its way to healing. Even its location on Mr. Wiggle's neck was hard to find. A medical mystery was now underway, an anecdote in our family's pet history. ...

In the final analysis, keeping an open mind always keeps all manner of information flowing and the wonders of simple, accessible, time-honoured strategies close at hand for all emergencies, large, small or not at all!