Vitamin D, Northanger Abbey and Winter

I woke up to a sunny*, frigid day. The nighttime low was 19 degrees (that's -6C). I won't deny that the sun is very welcome - we're up to a whole 9 hours of daylight now. But I could do without the nights being quite so chilly.

I went to the doctor's for a checkup the other day, and my Vitamin D was WAY low. Apparently it's not uncommon for us northwesterners to have very low D during the winter months, and everyone they've checked lately has been low. And I drink gallons of milk! So I'm on 50,000 IU once a week for 10 weeks, and then they'll recheck me. By then it'll be March, and I'll be outside working on the veg garden, so I'll assume that I'll be ok by then.

Vitamin D helps get calcium and phosphorus into your bones, helping to prevent osteoporosis. It also helps prevent cancer formation. It's rather a catch-22 situaition: We put on sunscreen to prevent UV from giving us skin cancer, yet at the same time, we're also preventing Vitamin D formation, which is preventing it from preventing cancer. Personally, the last couple of years, I've been in the old-fashioned, sun yourself slowly, avoiding the peak hours of the day during summer, camp instead of slathering on greasy goop all over myself and daring the sun to burn through it.

I read online that they think the USRDA of Vitamin D is too low anyway, and Canada is suggesting that everyone there take 1000 IU daily from October to March, which is 2.5 times the RDA here. I bought Mr. E a huge supply, as he doesn't drink much milk, and doesn't get outside much anymore.



Northanger Abbey:

OMG, was that good, or what? Absolutely perfect casting, and very little to complain about in the script. My friend, J, wanted to see the scene in the baths, but since it wasn't central to the story, I don't blame them for cutting it. I didn't like the vilification of General Tilney at the end. Well, no more than he deserved at least. But the whole "he killed off my mother with his cruelty"? What was up with that? It wasn't necessary at all. At least I don't remember it in the book. I thought Henry said they really loved each other.

Did the passages they read really come from Udolpho? Hi-yi-yi! Talk about needing to fan myself after hearing that! Whew! Is that how they kept themselves warm in those flimsy dresses? I'll bet there'll be a run on Udolfo in the library!


In other news:

Yesterday I loaded up the wood storage area with the end of our woodpile. We didn't get any last fall, and we'll be out well before spring. I also covered all but two of the crawlspace vents with some bubble wrap we had laying about. It's not much, but it does help our floors downstairs from getting quite so chilly.

Thing 1 has been layed out with a nasty virus that shoots your temperature up to 103-105 for four days. He's been a saint, staying in bed, listening to The Goblet of Fire on cassette. I'm thankful that we had a three-day weekend for him to recoup, but I think he won't be going to school again tomorrow.

I finished one of Mr. E's wool socks. It fits him divinely, and although he's dying for the other one, I'm kind of sick of the tiny needles for now and am cranking out a merino wool sweater for me to, if I finish it in time, wear to a fancy-schmancy party at Mr. E's boss' house. But to get it done in time, I need to get about four inches a day done.


*Hey, there was no school today, okay? I'm allowed to sleep in a little once in a while....