Luck of the Irish

We had a crew over for a St. Paddy's dinner.  It 's always a chore to plan and prepare a meal for company not to mention swabbing down the house before they arrive.  All said, we enjoy having guests over. 

Here's a photo of Wifey and Kinzie. .. who, by the way, is 12 weeks old.  She remains a light weight and can't weigh more than 2 pounds.  The two other Poms want desperately to play with her but they're just too big and would surely over power the little girl.  One day we'll allow that but only when little Kinzie can hold her own.

I bring Wifey flowers at least twice a month or more which always is to her delight.  It's nice to suprise her with differing varieties of flowers.  This week is was miniature roses.   Here's several bunches that sat on last night's dinner table. 

One of our guests last night is a therapist and has been trained in "cupping" which she applies to a few of her clients.  In case you're not familar with cupping:

The air inside the cup is heated and the rim is then applied to the skin, forming an airtight seal. As the air inside the cup cools, it contracts, forming a partial vacuum and enabling the cup to suck the skin, pulling in soft tissue, and drawing blood to that area. Alternately, the suction is created by a hand-pump and blood is allowed to collect.

In a typical cupping session, glass cups are warmed using a cotton ball or other flammable substance, which is soaked in alcohol, let, then placed inside the cup. Burning a substance inside the cup removes all the oxygen, which creates a vacuum.

As the substance burns, the cup is turned upside-down so that the practitioner can place the cup over a specific area. The vacuum created by the lack of oxygen anchors the cup to the skin and pulls it upward on the inside of the glass as the air inside the jar cools. Drawing up the skin is believed to open up the skin’s pores, which helps to stimulate the flow of blood, balances and realigns the flow of qi, breaks up obstructions, and creates an avenue for toxins to be drawn out of the body.

Depending on the condition being treated, the cups will be left in place from 5 to 10 minutes. Several cups may be placed on a patient’s body at the same time. Some practitioners will also apply small amounts of medicated oils or herbal oils to the skin just before the cupping procedure, which lets them move the cups up and down particular acupoints or meridians after they have been applied.

In China, cupping is used primarily to treat respiratory conditions such as bronchitis, asthma, and congestion; arthritis; gastrointestinal disorders; and certain types of pain. Some practitioners also use cupping to treat depression and reduce swelling. Fleshy sites on the body, such as the back and stomach (and, to a lesser extent, the arms and legs), are the preferred sites for treatment.

Our guest talked about how she and a native American friend practiced wet cupping hours before arriving for dinner.  There's dry and wet cupping applications as defined here:

In “air” cupping, instead of using a flame to heat the cup, the cup is applied to the skin, and a suction pump is attached to the rounded end of the jar. The pump is then used to create the vacuum.

In “wet” cupping, the skin is punctured before treatment. When the cup is applied and the skin is drawn up, a small amount of blood may flow from the puncture site, which are believed to help remove harmful substances and toxins from the body.

She was a bit light headed last evening and no wonder considering the amount of blood she had lost.

This is not for me but as the saying goes, Whatever floats your boat.