God Morgon

It was time to change the dishes on my hutch. I seem to like change. This week when I dusted, the ship dishes got tucked away and the Var sa God dishes came out. And the Dala horse table cloth was put on the table. Maybe I was thinking a bit about Melissa arriving and how she speaks Swedish and loves so much of the Swedish culture.
She was our St Lucia girl for so many years. Coming into our room in the darkness of the early morning, each December, crown of lights on her head, with fresh St Lucia buns and coffee on a tray serving us while we were still in bed. Good memories. All this reminiscing prompted me to listen to my Swedish language tapes as I did my chores so that when Melissa gets off the plane I can say a few things to her in Swedish.
All this reminded me of a Doctor I met long ago when working at a hospital. He was a Swedish doctor and very much into hydrotherapy and would spend hours talking to me about it. He was in his late 70's but looked about 50 and had the most beautiful skin I had ever seen regardless of age.
He was the youngest healthiest looking elder I had ever met and so full of energy.
One of the things he convinced me to do at least once a week and I have for well over 30 years now, is to do a cold mitten friction rub in the shower. Take your regular shower but at the end after you are all rinsed off, turn the water to just COLD, in winter it takes some fortitude to do this, but its worth it in the long run. Use a Luffa mitt and rub your skin until it is pink using just the cold water. I use a not so soft wash cloth on my face, the luffa seems a bit rough for my face. This practice of a cold mitten friction rub is fantastic for the circulation and good for your toning your body. It certainly gives you an invigorating feeling. In the summer here, our water is never very cold, its cold but not freezing cold like in winter, but still cold enough to make you feel it.
Of course the luffa sponge is rough enough that it is probably doing some exfoliating too.
Give it a try, be brave.
This very same Doctor is the man that got me started on taking a big spoonful of Swedish Bitters every day. The recipe for Swedish Bitters is in the February archives I think, around the first part of the month if I am remembering correctly.