Today's Courier Journal reported that Churchill Weavers in Berea Kentucky is closing after 85 years of operation. Globalization helped close it since it products imported from Asia cost about $20-30 and the Berea operation can cost over $100.
See the story here:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070218/BUSINESS/702180389
The website for the Churchill Weavers can be found here:
http://churchillweavers.com/index.html
It is unfortunate that those craftspeople will lose their jobs. The only way I can see an operation like that working in the United States is tie it to tourism and stress the hand crafted part of the product. I am looking into maybe buying one their handmade products. It is too bad that you do not realize local industries and what they make until they have disappeared. In that vein, I looked around and found a few local operations that should be patronized.
ByBee Pottery has a nice website and has quite an inventory of products. I like their flower pots and I wonder if they could make some of the African Violet pots that are in two pieces with the bottom part containing the water and the top part contains the plant where the water slowly transfers through the material containing the plant.
http://www.bybeepottery.com/welcome.htm
The other place would be Louisville Stoneware founded in 1815. We have a few of their pieces and they are quite nice.
http://www.louisvillestoneware.com/
Another pottery operation is Hadley Pottery which I think I pass by on my way to work in the morning. I will need to visit them some time for a tour. I like the piece that holds rings.
http://www.hadleypottery.com/
A great place to visit it the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory where the famous baseball bats are made. I remember when the factory was over in Indiana for a while. We use to pass the building when we went to my aunt's house. They have now moved to Main St. in Louisville near other museums and the Center for the Arts. It is much more accessible to tourists here.
http://www.sluggermuseum.org/index.aspx
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Grossan Hydro Pulse
After reading on a blog and reviews on amazon.com about a device that will irrigate the sinuses, I asked for one as a gift. When I received it, I was apprehensive about shooting a stream of water up my nose. So it was placed in the bathroom cabinet.
This weekend I started feeling pretty bad and seem to have to blow my nose constantly. So when getting ready for bed I decided now is the time to wash out my sinuses. I found the manufacturers website at http://www.hydromedonline.com/index.html
They now have a video of girl using the device so it did not seem so bad. I found the packet of powder which seems like salt (package contents: sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, xylitol, calcium chloride, potassium chloride). I got some distilled water, poured it in the container to the 500 cc mark and heated it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. I then mixed in the containers packet.
I got the pump going in the bathroom and tested that water would come out about an inch from the nozzle. I put it up to my left nostril and felt the water slowly move up my nose and then maybe somewhere into my forehead. Water then started to pour out my other nostril. It was a somewhat odd view but it seemed to work. After about 15 seconds, I switched to the other nostril. The water did not seem to flow as well, so I stopped the pump and weakly blew my nose. I then started the pump again and water eventual came out the opposite nostril.
The experience left me with cleaned out feeling and the nose did not feel like it needed to be blown out. So the reviews I had been reading seemed legitimate.
I now need to figure out the contents of the packets: the sodium chloride (NaCl)is table salt, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is baking soda, potassium chloride (KCl) not sure if there is a household product for this, calcium chloride (CaCl) I think this is used a de-icer on the roads but it cannot be bought as a cooking ingredient and Xylitol is a sweetener used in gums but has been shown to help prevent infections in the ear.
This weekend I started feeling pretty bad and seem to have to blow my nose constantly. So when getting ready for bed I decided now is the time to wash out my sinuses. I found the manufacturers website at http://www.hydromedonline.com/index.html
They now have a video of girl using the device so it did not seem so bad. I found the packet of powder which seems like salt (package contents: sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, xylitol, calcium chloride, potassium chloride). I got some distilled water, poured it in the container to the 500 cc mark and heated it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. I then mixed in the containers packet.
I got the pump going in the bathroom and tested that water would come out about an inch from the nozzle. I put it up to my left nostril and felt the water slowly move up my nose and then maybe somewhere into my forehead. Water then started to pour out my other nostril. It was a somewhat odd view but it seemed to work. After about 15 seconds, I switched to the other nostril. The water did not seem to flow as well, so I stopped the pump and weakly blew my nose. I then started the pump again and water eventual came out the opposite nostril.
The experience left me with cleaned out feeling and the nose did not feel like it needed to be blown out. So the reviews I had been reading seemed legitimate.
I now need to figure out the contents of the packets: the sodium chloride (NaCl)is table salt, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is baking soda, potassium chloride (KCl) not sure if there is a household product for this, calcium chloride (CaCl) I think this is used a de-icer on the roads but it cannot be bought as a cooking ingredient and Xylitol is a sweetener used in gums but has been shown to help prevent infections in the ear.
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