I'm Jammin'! Bob Marley and Peach Jam.

This has been the year for canning. I am now a canning expert. I've scalded myself, figured out that you need  filtered water for lactofermentation, decided that homemade jam is a gift worth giving.

There is comfort in receiving a homemade gift.  I think it's the realization of the time put in, the fact that the gift is not perfect, and that it's personal. I made potholders for Christmas last year as gifts. People loved them. I give jam and pickles as "I appreciate you" gifts, or for housewarming gifts, or for hostess gifts when I'm invited to someone's home. Usually the people who receive the homemade gift are blown away.

I think homemade things make one think of their grandmother's kitchens, snapping beans and shelling peas on the front porch, sweating in the kitchen while the water bath is sterilizing/canning the pickles and jams and chutneys that are being put up for the winter. Comfort. Warmth.








Listening to a patient and letting them talk is akin to a homemade gift. 







Most patients have a story to tell around their illness. Not all of the details are important to the doctor, but if the story is interrupted, important details may be lost. We doctors are taught to let the patient talk, to tell their story, and if we do, it should only take about 3 minutes. Then we are asked to say, "Is there anything else? "


I hope to give you the homemade gift of a few minutes to tell me your story.

DoctorDiva
9/2/14