I will not flush, I will not flush, I will not flush!

[Guest guest]

I will be stressed out today, as one of my dogs is having a surgery that

requires general anesthesia. I know the stress level will keep rising until

I hear from the clinic that she woke up. I am drinking cold water by gallons

and try to stay calm.

An email friend of mine, who lives in Alberta, told me that she, too,

suffers from rosacea. I wondered how she survives the brutal winters there

(they still have a foot of snow) as she is a forest technologist and is

exposed to the elements a lot. She said that in winter, her face get really

dry and sore, and cracks to the point it bleeds. When she is desperate for

relief, she uses Bag Balm. It's originally for cows' udders but it's

medicated and a lot of people use it on feet or hands (especially

gardeners). I use it myself on my dry heels. I looked at the ingredients

last night and it's loaded with petrolatum and lanolin (that's pretty much

what it is). She says it heals her. I am not sure if I would dare to put it

on my face.

Somebody said recently that she or he tries to avoid petrolatum. I had to

smile because in winter, I don't go anywhere without a chapstick (or better

yet, two, just in case). If a chapstick doesn't list petrolatum among the

ingredients, I don't buy it. I found out that p. helps my lips best.

Alena