Gin, Gym, Carol Burnett

I recently took a hiatus from the gym. Admittedly, this does not take much for me. I can usually come up with a reasonable sounding excuse to skip a workout, even if I'm just telling it to myself. However, I was experiencing excruciating pain in my right knee. I couldn't walk up and down stairs without wincing. I finally went to the doctor when it hurt to pick up my foot from the gas pedal to the break pedal. Much to my relief, I was not given a referral to a orthopedic surgeon. He told me it was bursitis. He suggested Aleve for two weeks & then maybe some Osteo-Biflex.

Um, what? Isn't that for old people? Great. First my hairstylist, now this guy. I'm about four highlights away from needing all over gray coverage and now I'll be taking long leisurely strolls in matchy-matchy Walmart sweatsuits...like those old folk joint commercials.

Enter Wacky Abi. My sister does some investigating for me. (She already has me taking garlic pills once a day, which she claims all thirty-somethings should be doing...research this yourself.)
She told me the craziest thing...soak raisins in gin and then eat nine a day. Huh? She thought it was too wierd to tell me so she waited until it was confirmed at her knitting circle. Perfect. Then I Googled it and found lots of other wackadoos out there doing it so I thought I'd give it a try.

I bought two small bags of organic raisins...have to be golden. Then I made my mom go with me to the liquor store. (I make her go with me everywhere. She is perfect for situations like this. If she doesn't know what to do, she will figure it out.) So, I've never really been to the liquor store. I buy wine at the grocery store...it seems less intimidating. All I could think about was Carol Burnett singing about bathtub gin in "Annie." I don't know...maybe this old Baptist girl has issues...another day, another blog.


Ok, so we walk in and I literally said "where is the gin section?" This very kind older lady pointed me in the right direction. She stood quite close to me; I suppose I looked like I didn't know what I was doing. They had an unbelievable array of gins to choose from. I finally looked at her and said "you're gonna think I'm crazy, but could you suggest a gin to soak raisins in?" She replied "oh, for joint health?" Wow. Ok. She told me she has (and I quote) "senior citizens" who come in twice a year to buy gin for their raisins.

So, I came home, soaked my raisins as instructed by Abi. My house smelled like a saloon for a week. Ick. I tried the raisins a few times before they were ready and I felt like I was eating fingernail polish remover. After seven days, I began eating nine a day. I can't really taste the gin anymore and I can't really tell if they are working or not, but I'm going to keep doing it. My knee has been so much better after the week and a half of Aleve regimen. I am hopeful the raisins will keep me going. After a week back at the gym, I actually ran today. Not long, not fast, but I was running.

Brad thinks I'm totally nuts, but then...foxnews.com had an article about gin-soaked raisins this week! I couldn't believe it. Click here to read it!

We'll see how it goes. I also recently read that pineapple is good for joint health and lower back pain...hmmm.