I was shooting for "grand champion" this year but apparently there weren't enough entries so blue was the highest ribbon.
I finished this piece awhile back but the frame I had bought would not let me drive nails into it. So long story short, I hot glued the backing on and it fell off the wall. I was able to repair it and used command strips to put it on the wall this time. It's nice to have it hanging back on my wall!
I was a bit naughty and picked this up at Build a Bear..... I had a coupon for $10 off so I added the sound effect. It was buy one get one so I got Luna the My Little Pony too.
I also finally finished this great piece "Trimming the Tree" from Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. It turned out great with the bells and fusible fleece.
In not so great news, I discovered at the beginning of the month that my oldest had head lice. Eeew! My youngest also had it, I had some and so did the stepdaughter. Everyone but my husband! Fortunately, I think we've killed them all.
My suggestions for dealing with lice!
- Don't panic. Lice can't jump or fly. They are spread by head to head contact.
- Lice can be anywhere on your head but look for them by the ears and back of neck. You can tell nits from dandruff because nits don't just brush off but you can slide them off with fingernails.
- Tea Tree Shampoo. My husband thinks he didn't get them because he had been using tea tree soap in his hair and I didn't.
- Hair Dryers. Lice can't stand heat so blow drying your hair is a great way to kill them. My hair dryer is the kind with the brush attachment so I thoroughly ran it through my hair after each wash.
- Combing. I suggest a good leave in conditioner (I'm loving Ion Moisture Leave in from Sally's Beauty Supply) and detangling comb because a lice comb needs to have tangle free hair. A comb with metal tines is essential. I got a nice double sided one at Walgreens with a light. Combing works best if the hair is wet and conditioned. A spray bottle like beauticians use is great for wetting down hair (under $5 at Sally's). There are good videos on how to comb on YouTube.
- Benadryl Cream. Lice can cause a rash around the ears and neck (I reacted pretty badly). The cream helps with the itching.
- Gin. A cheap and effective alternative to Nix/Rid/pesticides. Put the gin in the spray bottle. Wet hair thoroughly and put on a shower cap to prevent evaporation. Reapply every hour for 4 hours. Wash hair. If you can't get the person to wear the cap, you'll have to keep reapplying every 15-30 minutes for 4 hours (Zoe wouldn't wear it).
- Prescriptions. Adele would not let us comb much due to her sensory issues so I got a prescription from her doctor. It was $161 but it did kill everything and didn't require nit combing.
- Clean up. After treatment, you'll need to clean stuff. Fortunately, lice don't survive long off the human host (24-48 hours). Boil any brushes/combs that have been used. Wash all bedding and towels. Pop anything that cannot be washed in the dryer for 15 minutes. Vacuum carpets and mattresses. Put anything that can't be washed or dried in quarantine for a few days (or vacuum it if possible).
