Only scarecrows are immune to canker sores. The rest of us are sitting ducks! (photo taken in the Queyras Valley, in the French Hautes-Alpes)
If you are new to this word journal, I hope not to scare you away with an ugly first word. (You could always skip to the story column and learn sores–I mean scores–of flowery vocabulary…)
I've been nursing a burning and painful aphte for a few days now. Is it all those oranges I've been eating? Or a food allergy or hidden stress? Or maybe an acidic mouth? Jean-Marc tells me to sprinkle baking soda on it and there he goes again, citing yet another "remède de grand-mère". His grandma must have been a wizard… or une sorcière…
un aphte (pronounced "unnaft")
: a canker sore, a mouth ulcer or lesion
Terms and phrases found in an internet search:
soigner un aphte = take care of a canker sore
soulager un aphte = to find relief from a canker sore
traiter les aphtes récividants = to treat recurring canker sores
guérir des aphtes = to heal canker sores
un aphte sous la langue = a canker sore beneath / under the tongue
Un aphte est une ulcération douloureuse… A canker sore is a painful ulcer. –French Wikipedia
Le mot aphte vient du mot grec "aptein" qui signifie brûlure. The word aphte comes from the Greek word aptein which means "burn". –capitaldents.com
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE… by Kristin Espinasse
Lackadaisy is not a flower
I woke up Sunday morning in an empty bed. Jean-Marc had left in the night to make it to the Nice airport by 5 a.m. and so begin his USA wine tour.
Beyond the bedroom window the skies were gray and the forest was capped in black clouds. On closer look there was a steady stream of rain, just as my husband had predicted. The cold, wet weather led to a guilty inclination to linger in bed. But if Jean-Marc were here, I thought, he wouldn't be indulging in la grasse matinée or so called "fat morning"—no! he'd be kicking around in the utilities room or the cellar or in his maritime shipping container which doubles as our extra-storage room (I think it is his French equivalent of The Sunday Garage, where husbands tinker and putter on weekends).
Wherever, he'd be getting stuff done! And so would I… with him by my side. But without him would I turn into a couch potato? I found myself seriously considering this fate on Sunday morning while languishing in a half-empty bed. I reached for my IPad, thinking to share my potato-metamorphosis on Facebook… but then—quelle horreur!—if I went over to FB I might lie in bed all morning until I began to sprout little green shoots!
I sprang out of bed and ended up in the covered carport, that mythic hangout of weekend industrialists. Looking around at the piles of wood and the piles of stuff that needed a home, I heard myself nagging my invisible family, "Ceci ce n'est pas un débarras! This is not a junk room!" How many times had I said it in the months since moving to our new old home?
I noticed an old shop table belonging to Jean-Marc's grandfather…. I could use it to set out rows of plastic garden pots and begin filling them with compost and vegetable seeds—lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peas!
Only, returning inside to get the seed packets, another inspiration hit when I remembered Mom's suggestion that I not hoard flower seeds. "Use them!" She recently urged me. Mom is right: why not gather all the soon-to-expire seeds and toss them around the perimeter of the house? A rainy day was a perfect day to sow wildflowers!
There began an exhilarating back-n-forth sprint beneath the gentle rain. As my rubber-soled slippers collected mud and my pajamas grew soaked, I perfected a system whereby I would fill a pouch (whatever could be found in my flower seed box—an envelope, a coffee filter, the rest of a seed packet) with a mix of semences… next, I dashed through the kitchen, out the carport and beneath the wet sky, scattering seeds all the way!
I haven't a clue what many of the flowers were called or what they looked like (some seeds were taken from mixed wildflower packets) but I had fun imagining which ones I was haphazardly tossing….
And so I scattered "pennycress" and "love in a mist" (I guessed) along the path beneath the front porch…
Then up the stone stairs leading to the back yard, I tossed the orange Mexican poppies (in honor of the lovely stranger on crutches) and purple "Granny's bonnet".
I lined the pétanque court with "starflowers" and "physalis" (aka amour en cage) careful that not one seed should hit the special yard (real French men do not like "love in a cage" encroaching on their playing field).
I scattered Cosmos and Bachelor's Button in the dog yard… until it occurred to me that all the tall flowers might attract ticks. Zut, trop tard…
I knelt beside the sweet stone cabanon and covered the floor before it with "pinkfairies" and "roses of heaven", as well as baby's breath and pieds d'alouette, or larkspur. I tucked in several mammoth sunflowers that would tower over the little hut, come late summer. I also planted some artichoke seeds for the vibrant purple contrast beneath the sunny yellow flowers.
As I rested on the ground I could smell the freshly turned earth which woke up all of my hibernating senses. I felt my heart beating and my skin was tingling from the fresh air and the rain. I thought about my bed, the place I secretly wanted to spend my morning. How dead it seemed compared to this!
I don't ever want to be a lazybones, I admitted to the little flowers, still in seed form scattered all around me. And I'm not sure if it was the "baby's breath" or the "love in a mist" or which flowers whispered back first, but I took the hint: Keep coming back... they suggested, one after the other. With water!
I smiled down on the cheering chorus of seeds. Yes, that ought to keep these lazybones out of bed! That plus I can't wait to see what the little cheerleaders will grow up to be, whether Poppies or Soapworts or Busy Lizzies.
***
To comment on this story, click here. Share your own stories of lackadaisy, or maybe you wanted to share a home remedy for canker sores? Click here to read the comments.
French Vocabulary
quelle horreur! = Awful thought!
une semence = seed
la pétanque = game of petanque or boules
zut, trop tard = shoot, too late
"Flowerboy" Among the seeds tossed out on Sunday were camomile, the actual plants were gifts from the Dirt Divas. I had save the flower heads (unsure of where exactly the seeds were…) I tore up the flower tops and threw them round… hoping they'll turn into what you see in the photo above (our garden back in Sainte Cécile).
Brother-in-law Jacques and I, weaving lavender wands or les bouteilles de lavande. Have you planted lavender in your garden or in pots on your window sill? You, too, could make a lavender wand this summer! Watch Marie-Françoise make one here. Photo taken in 2008.
Space-saver gardening, for when you don't have a field to scatter seeds–this is just as sweet!
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Diane, It occurred to me a little late in the activity… to loosen up the soil. I did this in front of the cabanon as the earth there was so soft that it was an easy chore. I think those seeds will have a better chance than the others. When we planted wildflowers in Ste Cecile, the first year we were there, we had a thriving field of them! That is because the earth there was so loose, as the dirt was brought in to fill in the land.
Diane, It occurred to me a little late in the activity… to loosen up the soil. I did this in front of the cabanon as the earth there was so soft that it was an easy chore. I think those seeds will have a better chance than the others. When we planted wildflowers in Ste Cecile, the first year we were there, we had a thriving field of them! That is because the earth there was so loose, as the dirt was brought in to fill in the land.
Kristin . . I received you email notice at 6:18 AM this morning ….tout va bien
Kristin . . I received you email notice at 6:18 AM this morning ….tout va bien
Well, I’m sorry if I am repeating someone, but I MUST tell you something that works, period, on “cold or canker sores”. Mine is a family that was plagued by “fever blisters” and I had tried everything. I researched what I found and it is a total cure, IF you maintain enough in your system. People who have insufficient lysine, made by the body, often get these blisters. I take 1000 mgs of L-Lysine a day. It’s often on sale at the grocery store.. (I hope you find it in France.) But, since I started it years ago, I’ve had no sore make it to the top of the skin. If I feel that little itch or burn, I take a couple of extra tabs.. and that sucker backs down in a day or so with no eruption. I believe, also, since these creepy things are caused by herpes simplex, a virus, that it’s a good preventive for other, more evil, viruses.(Yep, that’s the plural!
God bless you and KILL the virus!
Well, I’m sorry if I am repeating someone, but I MUST tell you something that works, period, on “cold or canker sores”. Mine is a family that was plagued by “fever blisters” and I had tried everything. I researched what I found and it is a total cure, IF you maintain enough in your system. People who have insufficient lysine, made by the body, often get these blisters. I take 1000 mgs of L-Lysine a day. It’s often on sale at the grocery store.. (I hope you find it in France.) But, since I started it years ago, I’ve had no sore make it to the top of the skin. If I feel that little itch or burn, I take a couple of extra tabs.. and that sucker backs down in a day or so with no eruption. I believe, also, since these creepy things are caused by herpes simplex, a virus, that it’s a good preventive for other, more evil, viruses.(Yep, that’s the plural!
God bless you and KILL the virus!
Thanks Herm! I will now stop trying to force the automatic delivery feature used to send out out the blog posts via email!
Thanks Herm! I will now stop trying to force the automatic delivery feature used to send out out the blog posts via email!
Kristin,
Canker sores and mouth ulcers thrive in an amino acid most commonly found in nuts and chocolate. The same virus is inhibited by an amino acid found in tuna and steak. I read an article about this when I was a student a long time ago and have found that it is true. As soon as I eat something with nuts, within 12 hours I’ll have a cold sore and/or mouth ulcers. If I eat tuna, it helps prevent them when I’ve eaten something accidentally with bits of nuts. Hope this helps. Have a tuna casserole or a big steak!
Kristin,
Canker sores and mouth ulcers thrive in an amino acid most commonly found in nuts and chocolate. The same virus is inhibited by an amino acid found in tuna and steak. I read an article about this when I was a student a long time ago and have found that it is true. As soon as I eat something with nuts, within 12 hours I’ll have a cold sore and/or mouth ulcers. If I eat tuna, it helps prevent them when I’ve eaten something accidentally with bits of nuts. Hope this helps. Have a tuna casserole or a big steak!
You write so beautifully and have clearly inherited your talent from your lovely mother! I so look forward to your posts, too. I almost feel as though I’m right there, right next to you, in France.
And let’s hear it for all the other Virginia followers – I’m in Ashland (about 20 miles north of Richmond, a charming, tiny railroad town) and we also have about two inches of snow – and its three days before the first day of Spring!
You write so beautifully and have clearly inherited your talent from your lovely mother! I so look forward to your posts, too. I almost feel as though I’m right there, right next to you, in France.
And let’s hear it for all the other Virginia followers – I’m in Ashland (about 20 miles north of Richmond, a charming, tiny railroad town) and we also have about two inches of snow – and its three days before the first day of Spring!
Sounds weird, but a drop of hydrogen peroxide on the sore works for me every time. Looking forward to seeing your pictures of the beautiful flowers you are going to be enjoying come summer!
Sounds weird, but a drop of hydrogen peroxide on the sore works for me every time. Looking forward to seeing your pictures of the beautiful flowers you are going to be enjoying come summer!
Thanks, David. I have had both peanuts and tuna this week… but I always exaggerate on the peanuts. I love shelling them and eating them.
SuSu, that is wonderfully encouraging. Merci beaucoup!
Thanks, David. I have had both peanuts and tuna this week… but I always exaggerate on the peanuts. I love shelling them and eating them.
SuSu, that is wonderfully encouraging. Merci beaucoup!
I’ve had few canker sores, but I’ve always used salt on them and that seems to offer nearly immediate relief. (And, yes, I do imagine that all of the oranges could have something to do with your getting one.)
I’ve had few canker sores, but I’ve always used salt on them and that seems to offer nearly immediate relief. (And, yes, I do imagine that all of the oranges could have something to do with your getting one.)
Hi dear Kristi,
I’m so sorry that I have no suggestions on how to get rid of that painful aphte, only hopes and prayers that it will be gone, and SOON!
Your post today was wonderful,and I especially enjoyed seeing those beautiful pictures (such cute scarecrows!),though(as always) your words painted pictures to take us right there with you.
I know how it is with your hubby away on business (my Rod was gone a lot) and you are so right to do fun,and beautiful projects! A “Girl’s Day’ is also great!
Love, Natalia XO
Hi dear Kristi,
I’m so sorry that I have no suggestions on how to get rid of that painful aphte, only hopes and prayers that it will be gone, and SOON!
Your post today was wonderful,and I especially enjoyed seeing those beautiful pictures (such cute scarecrows!),though(as always) your words painted pictures to take us right there with you.
I know how it is with your hubby away on business (my Rod was gone a lot) and you are so right to do fun,and beautiful projects! A “Girl’s Day’ is also great!
Love, Natalia XO
I’ve done a bit of off-handed reading on canker sores (pain is a great motivator). If the various articles I’ve seen are correct, it seems the sores have at least five possible causes. This may be partly why there are so many home remedies, and why everyone swears by a different one:
1) Allergies to certain foods (nuts, chocolate, cinnamon, etc.);
2) Lack of some nutrient or amino acid (Lysine, Vitamin B12, etc.);
3) Auto-immune disorder such that the body’s immune system attacks itself;
4) Systemic response to environmental situations (stress, lack of sleep, etc.); and
5) Acid-mouth theory, which may not actually be a separate cause, but related to (3).
For a long time I thought the cause in my case was bacteriological, similar to the h pylori associated with stomach ulcers. I could control my sores using anti-bacterial mouthwashes (Listerine, Peridex, and hydrogen peroxide for some people). But those stopped working after a few years, and that theory went out the window for me.
My current “acid-mouth” theory may stop working someday, too, but I have high hopes.
Incidentally, some of the other suggestions here are similar in nature to baking soda, in that they change the chemistry of the mouth: sauerkraut juice is high in salt and probiotics; Alum and black tea bags are all astringents; and Milk of magnesia and any other antacid (Tumms, etc.) neutralize acids.
I’ve done a bit of off-handed reading on canker sores (pain is a great motivator). If the various articles I’ve seen are correct, it seems the sores have at least five possible causes. This may be partly why there are so many home remedies, and why everyone swears by a different one:
1) Allergies to certain foods (nuts, chocolate, cinnamon, etc.);
2) Lack of some nutrient or amino acid (Lysine, Vitamin B12, etc.);
3) Auto-immune disorder such that the body’s immune system attacks itself;
4) Systemic response to environmental situations (stress, lack of sleep, etc.); and
5) Acid-mouth theory, which may not actually be a separate cause, but related to (3).
For a long time I thought the cause in my case was bacteriological, similar to the h pylori associated with stomach ulcers. I could control my sores using anti-bacterial mouthwashes (Listerine, Peridex, and hydrogen peroxide for some people). But those stopped working after a few years, and that theory went out the window for me.
My current “acid-mouth” theory may stop working someday, too, but I have high hopes.
Incidentally, some of the other suggestions here are similar in nature to baking soda, in that they change the chemistry of the mouth: sauerkraut juice is high in salt and probiotics; Alum and black tea bags are all astringents; and Milk of magnesia and any other antacid (Tumms, etc.) neutralize acids.
Brent, that helps clarify things and sheds light on why the different remedies work at different times, for different people. Thanks and I hope your current theory lasts for as long as possible. 🙂
Brent, that helps clarify things and sheds light on why the different remedies work at different times, for different people. Thanks and I hope your current theory lasts for as long as possible. 🙂
Kristi–thanks for the link to the petanque court photo that I missed in an earlier FWAD. Perhaps some day Jean-Marc will give me a “lesson” on that court some day…
Yes, keep working on the flowers. that was something i loved about your previous house.
Kristi–thanks for the link to the petanque court photo that I missed in an earlier FWAD. Perhaps some day Jean-Marc will give me a “lesson” on that court some day…
Yes, keep working on the flowers. that was something i loved about your previous house.
Thanks for noticing and remembering the flowers, Gary. And the petanque court is waiting for you!
Thanks for noticing and remembering the flowers, Gary. And the petanque court is waiting for you!
Kristin .. Your energy is “Peaking Out” today … it is obvious you jumped out of bed and just kept on jumping! If any of those seeds were infused with your personal super charged self today, I won’t be surprised if some sprout and break the surface tomorrow .. You go Girl! Aloha!
Kristin .. Your energy is “Peaking Out” today … it is obvious you jumped out of bed and just kept on jumping! If any of those seeds were infused with your personal super charged self today, I won’t be surprised if some sprout and break the surface tomorrow .. You go Girl! Aloha!
You have unleashed the ‘writing spirit’!
There has been a change of voice – this one is confident, honest, entertaining and truly Kristin. You are sharing your ‘whole self’ and we are uplifted by those moments…..happy, angry, excited….
We have all been there; want to be there or arefascinated by something alien to our own lives.
Shall we continue on your journey…….
May the flowers grow with the life and vitality as your life stories!
You have unleashed the ‘writing spirit’!
There has been a change of voice – this one is confident, honest, entertaining and truly Kristin. You are sharing your ‘whole self’ and we are uplifted by those moments…..happy, angry, excited….
We have all been there; want to be there or arefascinated by something alien to our own lives.
Shall we continue on your journey…….
May the flowers grow with the life and vitality as your life stories!
My daughter gets frequent canker sores and swears that black licorice is the best remedy she’s found. I bet it’s the best-tasting of all those mentioned, anyway!
My daughter gets frequent canker sores and swears that black licorice is the best remedy she’s found. I bet it’s the best-tasting of all those mentioned, anyway!
Over the years, I’ve found taking some (inexpensive) L-Lysine pills over a day or two does the job. It’s an amino acid and is widely available. Sometimes it’s seemed related to stress so I always take a small pillbox with L-Lysine in it when traveling. Laura C.
Over the years, I’ve found taking some (inexpensive) L-Lysine pills over a day or two does the job. It’s an amino acid and is widely available. Sometimes it’s seemed related to stress so I always take a small pillbox with L-Lysine in it when traveling. Laura C.
Yes, I got my e-mail on Monday (still Monday where I live), at 8:16 am Central Daylight Time. Opened it about 12 hours later, being slow.
Sowing seeds in the middle of March — how different is your climate from where I am! If I still had my own garden the only seed I could put out is snow peas or sugar snap peas, which grow and fruit before the summer heat. Any other annual flower seeds to wait for far warmer soil. Even too early for greens, which also like cooler weather.
Sounds like so much fun to sow flower seeds all over your new place, and then watch what comes up.
The whole time in your pajamas, too!
Yes, I got my e-mail on Monday (still Monday where I live), at 8:16 am Central Daylight Time. Opened it about 12 hours later, being slow.
Sowing seeds in the middle of March — how different is your climate from where I am! If I still had my own garden the only seed I could put out is snow peas or sugar snap peas, which grow and fruit before the summer heat. Any other annual flower seeds to wait for far warmer soil. Even too early for greens, which also like cooler weather.
Sounds like so much fun to sow flower seeds all over your new place, and then watch what comes up.
The whole time in your pajamas, too!
A jump shift in topic! Sorry about your waking up to an empty room but Jean-Marc will be in a good place tomorrow–my hometown of Charlottesville, Va. A lot of interested people will be there–including my wife and me–and we’re looking forward to a fine time at the Clifton Inn. Very sorry we won’t have the opportunity to meet you then, too. We’ve followed you for years and really know him mainly thru you. Looking forward to closing the loop.
A jump shift in topic! Sorry about your waking up to an empty room but Jean-Marc will be in a good place tomorrow–my hometown of Charlottesville, Va. A lot of interested people will be there–including my wife and me–and we’re looking forward to a fine time at the Clifton Inn. Very sorry we won’t have the opportunity to meet you then, too. We’ve followed you for years and really know him mainly thru you. Looking forward to closing the loop.
Kristin,a sage leaf will help tremendously. I discovered this about a year ago, and it is the very best canker sore remedy. Just hold the leaf on the sore with your tongue for about fifteen minutes and the pain will go away, and the canker sore will shrink in size. It’ll be gone in a couple of days.
Kristin,a sage leaf will help tremendously. I discovered this about a year ago, and it is the very best canker sore remedy. Just hold the leaf on the sore with your tongue for about fifteen minutes and the pain will go away, and the canker sore will shrink in size. It’ll be gone in a couple of days.
Hello Kristin,
I am wondering why I am now receiving only one post at a time. I can’t always check my emails or get to my computer on a daily basis and enjoyed being able to read at least three posts at a time. I really liked when we could read several. Is there a particular reason only one shows up now. Is there a way to see more like five at a time (when I go away for a week I don’t take a computer, I need to get my husband away from them)
Thanks,
Sharon
Hello Kristin,
I am wondering why I am now receiving only one post at a time. I can’t always check my emails or get to my computer on a daily basis and enjoyed being able to read at least three posts at a time. I really liked when we could read several. Is there a particular reason only one shows up now. Is there a way to see more like five at a time (when I go away for a week I don’t take a computer, I need to get my husband away from them)
Thanks,
Sharon
Oh, Kristi! I am still smiling. You begin with canker sores, scarecrows and fat mornings, feeling your reluctance to even lift your head, and by the end you have us dancing through the rain casting seeds with the lightness of spring.
This lazybones, who loves to lie in bed, is simply delighted by your sweet story. I so love your conversation with the future flowers. Yes, for me too, it is Mother Nature who greets me each morning (and a farm full of animals)and makes me thankful I got out of bed. xoxo
Oh, Kristi! I am still smiling. You begin with canker sores, scarecrows and fat mornings, feeling your reluctance to even lift your head, and by the end you have us dancing through the rain casting seeds with the lightness of spring.
This lazybones, who loves to lie in bed, is simply delighted by your sweet story. I so love your conversation with the future flowers. Yes, for me too, it is Mother Nature who greets me each morning (and a farm full of animals)and makes me thankful I got out of bed. xoxo
My husband often would get canker sores, we never could figure out why,however, by rinsing his mouth with milk of magnesia,coating the cold sores before retiring for the night, helped relieve the discomfort and eventually went away.Hope this helps..
My husband often would get canker sores, we never could figure out why,however, by rinsing his mouth with milk of magnesia,coating the cold sores before retiring for the night, helped relieve the discomfort and eventually went away.Hope this helps..
My dental technician gave me a possible new remedy for canker sores this week, a gel product from a company called PerioSciences. It’s a rather “granola” sounding technique, but I’m open to anything, like many sufferers. The baking soda and alum techniques I’ve been trying work to reduce pain, but they don’t seem to speed up the healing process. This new gel is supposed to “oxgenate” the gums and somehow do that. I tried the sample product she gave me, and it seems to be helping. I’ll be curious whether it works longer term.
https://www.periosciences.com/product/gel_15
My dental technician gave me a possible new remedy for canker sores this week, a gel product from a company called PerioSciences. It’s a rather “granola” sounding technique, but I’m open to anything, like many sufferers. The baking soda and alum techniques I’ve been trying work to reduce pain, but they don’t seem to speed up the healing process. This new gel is supposed to “oxgenate” the gums and somehow do that. I tried the sample product she gave me, and it seems to be helping. I’ll be curious whether it works longer term.
https://www.periosciences.com/product/gel_15