Saturday, March 07, 2015

Burnt plums and painful poppings.

I do love stewed plums at this time of year, but twice during the last week I'm ashamed to say I have popped a panful on the Aga and thought :
'Ah! Just time to pop up stairs - my office is on the first floor- an improvement on the attic where it used to be but far enough to keep me fit.  I'll just pop upstairs and see if there are any exciting comments or emails.

Just when I am getting engaged in an interesting discussion on line my nostrils are assailed by a pungent burnt plum smell.  The first time I managed to salvage the top layer but yesterday by the time I had emptied what still moved I was left with an inch thick, burnt black bottom on my normally silver bright pan - my most useful size now its just me.

Sheila found me massaging one of those horrid wiry pads, impregnated with pink soap which create lots of debris but leave the thick scab of burn untouched.

'Try bicarb of soda', she suggested.  I knew I had an ancient pack as we used to be taught to clean the fridge with it.

Just cast your eyes on the pan above.  It works!  But how am I going to make myself stand over the pan with my next lot of plums?.

This week I have had reason to be grateful for helpful info on line.  Although my recent wrist / arm fracture is almost back to normal with 'excellent movement' it has all taken its toll on my left shoulder which was - I now realise - badly wrenched.
This last week on occasion it has popped out and brought me - literally to my knees.  In desperation I googled and got a helpful video by a doc and his daughter who acted as a model.
He illustrated three ways of dealing with it and they made sense.  I certainly don't want anyone else fiddling with it and he warned that forcing anything could actually break the bone.

Meanwhile I am being extra careful dressing and undressing.  As I found massaging my arm and wrist very helpful I'm doing the same with my shoulder.  It brings fresh blood to the area and hopefully sweeps the gubbins away.

Any helpful comment gratefully received.

15 comments:

LL Cool Joe said...

I thought you had a tablet or ipad? Can't you have that in the kitchen with you?

Happy Saturday to you Pat.

Pat said...

Joey: yes I have a tablet and I'm an idiot but a creature of habit so only use the tablet when I'm away from home.
Also not every room has wifi. I have difficulty believing that the tablet could possibly have all my stuff on it. It's an age thing:)

Kim Ayres said...

I was going to suggest using your tablet in the kitchen - Maggie does all the time - but Joey beat me to it.

I'm afraid I have no experience in popping shoulders back into place.

Not a particularly useful comment, but my thoughts are with you

rashbre said...

iPad in the kitchen sounds like a good idea. Its also a good way to cross check recipes.

The BPRT burnt plum restoration time presumably impacted TAFS time available for surfing.

I think some of those booster cleaners must use bicarb as their active ingredient.

And take care with the wrist/arm/shoulder.



Pat said...

Kim: thoughts help:)

Rashbre: bless you for translating the acronyms - not my forte.
I forgot to say I boiled water with bicarb in the stricken pan.
Thank you I am being very careful - my pain threshold is not very high.

angryparsnip said...

I was going to say use a timer ?
and put it next to you upstairs.
I just burned a pot of beans the other day. My first time ever.

cheers, parsnip

Exile on Pain Street said...

Those poor plums. I'll say a novena for them. Happy to hear of your excellent movement. Where would we be without the internet? I wouldn't be here, for one. Advil. Lots of Advil.

Pat said...

Parsnip: that could work. I used to have a timer. I think Alastair tidied it away!

Exile: I assume that is your painkiller. It's always the last thing I think of but it's a thought. Thank you:)

SDC said...

It sounds like you're on the right track massaging the hurt areas. I went to a deep tissue massage therapist for tennis elbow and a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder. You are right, blood is forced into an otherwise bloodless area which promotes healing and the scar tissue is swept away. I would suggest going to a professional for it because they can easily work areas at angles you can't reach. I did and both soft tissue injuries are completely healed, although they remain a vulnerability now and can be re-injured if I overwork them. One thing though, deep tissue massage is not painless, but I have found it to be completely effective.

Pat said...

SDC: that's good to know I'm going in the right direction and so far it seems to be working. Fortunately my right arm is free to do the necessary. I am presently arranging insurance for my next trip so am reluctant to involve further treatment unless absolutely necessary. Thank you for your input.

Granny Annie said...

And if you ever burn your coffee in a glass pot,just put in a few ice cubes and a lot of salt and swirl it around. No more burn residue:-)

Pat said...

Granny Annie: thank you for that. Bound to be useful one of these days:)

Anonymous said...

Do take care Pat

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

I've burnt water, forgetting that the pot's on the stove.

Yes, bicar of soda is my mother's fave way of rescuing burnt pots.

How's your shoulder, Pat? xx

sablonneuse said...

If I leave something cooking I set the alarm on my mobile phone (which is in my pocket). I've lost count of the number of times i've had to resort to the bicarb treatment!!