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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

New thing #54--The Art of the Bath

I have a bunch of sore muscles today after yesterday's snow shoveling. Even though we got a bunch of snow, it was very lightweight. It didn't seem like a lot of work at the time, but my body is telling me differently today! A nice hot bath seemed in order tonight; that always makes me feel better. Tonight, however, instead of a plain bath I made a therapeutic bath mix to loosen up my muscles.

According to my research, the warm water would stimulate the blood flow to my muscles. Epsom salts and (much to my surprise) mustard would help too. According to several Websites, mustard enhances the soothing effects of the Epsom salt. We use a lot of prepared mustard in the house (on sandwiches, fries, and pretzels), so somehow using it in a bath seemed weirdly appropriate. There was a Sams-sized container of mustard powder in the pantry, so I added a couple of handfuls of that in the water along with the salts. I lit candles and laid back to enjoy my soak.

The mustard turned the water a bright yellow color, and added a slight scent. It actually DID seem to work better than just the Epsom salts alone. My shoulders felt much less sore as I put my clothes back on. An added benefit was that my skin didn't seem as dry as it usually does after a hot bath. I asked Tony if I smelled like mustard; he said I didn't.

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