Two things make a post?

[kate]

Maybe three. Or four!

1. Today's solstice_calendar is locked, so if you want to see the recipe, you will actually have to join the community (instead of just subscribing). No biggie if you don't want to, but no obligation if you do join - really, really. And you can always UN-join later.

2. I finally put Four Funerals and a Wedding up on the AO3. I hope the new formatting is helping SOMEBODY out, because it sure is a pain in my ass. Clearly my section markers are not good section markers, they screw things up every damn time.

3. Secret Santa started today at work. It's $1 gifts for four days, and then a $15 gift on Friday. These people do not understand the meaning of $1, let me tell you. It's pretty freaking annoying to those of us who actually stick to the monetary values we're supposed to. We look like massive cheapskates. (The gift I got was more like a $5 gift, so that's nice, but... but... (ugh, I'm so sorry to be a scrooge).)

4. Inlaw function yesterday was relatively painless (fun, actually) and got us home with several pounds of cheese, chorizo, wine, crackers, and other goodies, as well as a bit of cash tucked into some books. All that and a pleasant visit with the sister-in-law, which was quite nice.

Oooh, and 5. My brother is sick. I hate it when he's sick (almost as much as he does). Any good home remedies for colds besides chicken soup?

Comments

[fox]

Hot tea, and lots of it. Ideally a kind with "spice" in its name or description - spiced chai, Constant Comment, etc., the ones that are full of cinnamon and its ilk. (I don't know what the other spices are, and the tea people usually don't tell us.) These all come in decaf if the quantities involved will be problematic at full caffeinated strength.

The important thing is to keep the lungs and sinuses as steamed-up as possible, for minimum discomfort and maximum loosening-up of the crud. Chicken soup does this and also replaces electrolytes (yay, sodium), but one can't swallow soup all day long.

Hot showers as well, and a humidifier in the bedroom isn't a bad idea.

[reginagiraffe]

I like drinking hot water with lemon juice and honey. IMO, it's even better than chicken soup at making everything loosen up and feel better. And you can make it in two minutes in the microwave.

[mumblemutter]

I think the parser doesn't like center tags. If you just do a find-and-replace on the whole thing and replace them with <p align="center"> or <p class="align-center">, it should give you less grief next time?

Sending healthy thoughts in your brother's direction!

[beachlass]

I agree with the above hot tea advice.

[facetofcathy]

Tom Yum soup--I think it's way better than chicken soup. Spicy and garlicky and a clear broth that's easy to digest and keeps you hydrated. If that doesn't clear your sinuses out, nothing will.

Also, I agree with the comment about the parser not liking old-style center tags. Also, I followed up on the bug report on their Google code page for the horizontal rule bug I submitted, and it looks like any code not within p tags, so a hr tag or a centered set of characters, needs to be on a separate line in your document or it mangles it.

[meansgirl]

The only thing I can think of other than chicken noodle (seriously, it sounds like blasphemy but Lipton Instant Chicken Noodle is MAGIC) is steam. Sitting in the floor of a hot shower helps me IMMENSELY when I have a cold. If you can get those melty eucalyptus tablets for the shower, those are great. You just can't sit in the shower when you use those because um...sensitive places, menthol burns, eek.

Give your bro some snuggles for me <3

[mashimero]

2. More fic I have to read over the holidays! (this is a good thing!)

3. The $1 limit is a bit ridiculous. What can you even buy for $1 anymore? Besides like, cheap gas station candy? But I mean, if that was the agreed on amount, no one can fault you for sticking to it!

5. I swear by mung bean tea. It actually works best to stave off a cold, but it's good for when you're actually sick too. After boiling the mung beans and drinking the water, you can keep boiling the beans down until it's like a porridge, and it's supposed to be really healthy for you too, although I can't bring myself to eat the stuff.

I hope your brother gets better soon! Being sick is the worst, especially around the holidays.

[watersword]

Hot ginger lemonade is magical.