shopping, for health and charity

[redbird]

I just mail-ordered two spaldeens and a tape measure.

The spaldeens are part of my physical training/knee and posture stuff, recommended by the trainer to press my left foot down on, hard. The tape measure is because the web site of the 5-and-10 that had the best price on spaldeens (when I took shipping into account) had a message that it was often possible to add items without paying additional shipping, and encouraging people to look around. I've had "tape measure" on the shopping list for months, so I took a look, and added that. (I then discovered that if I also added a pair of shoelaces, the shipping would go up, so I stopped with the spaldeens and tape measure.)

I am also bidding on a pair of hand-knit socks, in the fundraising auction for Deb Mensinger's liver transplant. I don't know Deb at all well, but I liked her when we met at Wiscon, and this is something in the auction that interests me, and the bidding was at a level that seemed reasonable for what I'm willing to give and for what it would buy. (I don't need hand-knit socks—most of my socks are 3 pairs/$5.00 down on St. Marks Place—but I think I'd enjoy having them.) Charity auctions tend to have a mix of things, ranging from "why would I want that?" [not the same as "why would anyone want that?" though that question does sometimes cross my mind, in many areas of commerce] or "where would I put it" through definite interest to things that are out of my price range. Sometimes, of course, the bidding goes way up because people believe in the cause: one item I bid on when it first went up in this auction just jumped directly from $213.06, a number I assume was meaningful to the bidder, to $300.

Comments

[bcholmes]

Somehow I managed to read that you'd ordered two spleens. And then you went on to talk about liver transplant and my brain 'sloded.

[tamiroff.livejournal.com]

Spaldeens (and rubber balls in general) are incredibly great for giving yourself a foot massage. You just put your foot on top of one and move it around and eventually stuff happens. The hard little rubber bouncing balls you get in gum ball machines are also good, although the massage is a lot more intense.

[redbird]

That's good to know. The spaldeen hasn't yet arrived, but I might have one of the little high-bouncing balls around here somewhere.