This weekend I learned how to squeak by without Internet and about rehydration.

Dear Readers,

I did not forget about you over the weekend. Indeed, I thought about you very much. On Friday I planned to feature what I learned about my mother’s heirloom collection of antique and quirky salt and pepper shakers. (My favorite is a long dachshund with salt coming out its head and pepper out the other end.) Unfortunately, I also learned that day what life is like without the Internet. With my tech support hubby out of town I was sadly without reprieve.

Saturday morning I had planned to go to the local Health and Safety Fair, which I was certain would be filled with remarkable information on how to keep from getting myself killed off. And the Waybums was excited because I would get to take photos of her with Smokey the Bear. Instead, the things I learned were not really reader friendly as I suffered much of Saturday with grave intestinal discomfort, and I’m not much for potty humor. Particularly not at my expense. Although, I realize the coincidence of being so ill on a day when I was supposed to go to the Health and Safety Fair.

Is it just me, or does it seem like between the continuously nasty weather and everyone being sick all the time that this winter is trying to stomp us out?

And since I left my camera at my parents’ house and am now without my salt-and-pepper pictures, I find myself hard-pressed for a lesson from this weekend to share with you, my readers. So, in an effort to pass some grain of helpfulness from my weekend – here is my contribution:

ORAL REHYDRATION SOLUTION

1 liter of water

8 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

If you happen to find yourself in a pinch without any Gatorade, this is the solution the World Health Organization has prescribed to help prevent people from becoming dehydrated, and has saved millions of children worlwide from cholera and other particularly mean outbreaks.

One interesting thing I learned is how much your body depends on salts and sugars to keep in working order. Your body secretes 20-30-grams of salt into your intestines every day and then absorbs it back in as you digest. But when your body is flushing things through the intestines too quickly, it doesn't have a chance to reabsorb the salts. And without the salts, your body does not retain water. So, not only are you not receiving the water you put into your body, but you're also losing what water's already in there. And the sugar works with the salt to help absorption. I got a biology and chemistry lesson from this ordeal.

Here's an interesting link on the subject.
 
And now, I'm off to bed, as ordered by Dr. Hubby.
Off to a healthier week of adventures.
I'll keep you posted.