I get annoyed when I’m trying to put on my socks and my jagged toenails catch any loose thread, forcing me to bend over and reach down even further to pull on my socks — when I have the flexibility of a 6-foot 2x4. It’s not fun.
My problem is I usually ignore my feet because I can hide them — no flip flops during the summer! I mean, why worry about something no one will see? It’s not like my face, which I do worry about every time I look in the mirror and scare myself.
I imagine in the future I will be visiting a pedicurist—which I used to think were only for women, but now learning are also for “mature” guys like myself. But until then, how do I cut my toenails, so my toes look and feel better than they do now?
To care for your feet, the American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society suggests the following so your self-inflicted pedicure is safe and effective.
1. Soak your feet in warm soapy water for approximately 10 minutes. This helps soften and clean skin and nails — and is soothing for both your feet and your mind.
2. After the foot soaking, gently remove calluses with a clean pumice stone or emery board. This gets rid of dead skin cells as well as calluses. Some body scrub products can help exfoliate dead skin between pedicures.
3. Push back the cuticles with a wooden cuticle pusher (orange stick) to avoid damaging your cuticles. A normal part of the nail, cuticles offer protection from bacteria and infection. Any cuticles clearly overhanging the nail margins should be trimmed carefully. Any trimming which goes further than the nail margin or draws blood is unsafe.
4. Trim toenails straight across rather than in a curved pattern and avoid trimming the nails too short to prevent ingrown toenails. Nails should not overhang the edge of the toe. Refine the nail edge with an emery board, maintaining the straight edge.
5. Apply cream and moisturizing lotion to the skin and nail margins. You can find several creams specially formulated for the feet. Massage the cream or lotion into the feet. A foot massage can help relieve tension and tired, aching feet. You can get a good massage at home by rolling your feet back and forth over a rolling pin.
6. Space your pedicures apart by approximately eight weeks.
If you have foot problems, be sure to talk to your doctor; your foot health can be a clue to your overall health.
To learn more about foot health: what are normal and not normal changes, how to evaluate your feet, how to find the right shoes, and why do your feet stink—if your grandkids ask, go online at medlineplus.gov/foothealth.html.
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Brain Tease. I’ve tried to avoid any tease that gets within 20 miles of algebra, but for you engineers and math majors in the audience here is one I was even able to solve — but then I could check my answer!
On the first five days of vacation, the Williams family drove 1,427 miles. They left on Friday, and the minimum and maximum distances for one day’s trip were 200 and 355 miles. They arrived at their destination late on Tuesday.
1. Since they left late, they drove the least number of miles on the first day.
2. They drove 105 miles more on the second day than on the first.
3. On Monday they drove the most.
4. On Tuesday they drove 68 miles less than on Saturday.
How many miles did they drive each day?
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I received several different answers for the term used for when you were absent from school without an excuse: Truant — Mike McFarlane, Donna Mollet; ditched—Debbie Medina, Doug Nelson, Pat Evenson-Brady; and the answer I was thinking of “playing hokey”— Judy Kiser, Julya Hoffman, Ken Jernstedt, and Dave Lutgens, this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket.
And the little rascals I missed last week were Becky Podvent, Craig Terry, and Doug Nelson.
Over his six-decade career, Ron Howard has received numerous awards for directing, producing, and writing, but he started his illustrious career as a child actor. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of the character he played as the son of Andy Taylor, the widowed sheriff on the Andy Griffith Show? E-mail your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788, or send with a picture of Mayberry, North Carolina.
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Well, it’s been another week waiting to see when the road ahead turns to gravel. Until we meet again, the end is just the beginning.
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“Don’t believe everything you think.”
— Byron Katie
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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) — Wednesdays with music on second and fourth Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Town Hall (541-308-5997) — Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
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