Why Left-Handed Watches for Left-Handed People

Being left-handed myself, I can tell you why it's important to have left-handed watches. It's pretty simple. I want to wear my watch on my right wrist.

For all the same reasons right-handed people wear their watches on their left wrist, I like to wear my watch on my right wrist. If you're part of the minority of left-handed people, this will make sense to you. But, let's help some right-handed people understand as well.

Left-Handed Watches on the Right Wrist

Think about this. You use your left-hand for writing, for holding eating utensils, for cutting, chopping and food prep. Your left hand is more involved in sports activities like throwing, swinging or catching. If you're a crafter, your left hand most often holds scissors, needles, glue, paint brushes, etc.

Now who wants a watch in the way during all of this? Do you really want to drag a watch across what you just wrote? Of course not. That's why a left-handed person wants to wear their watch on their right wrist. Exactly for the same reasons right-handed people wear their watches on their left wrist.

The Dials and Buttons on Left-Handed Watches

Many watches now days work well for both left or right handed people because the buttons are on the face of the watch. Especially digital ones. But many watches with great functions use dials and buttons on the side of the watch.

For me, the big issue came about when I got a watch with a lighted dial. The button to light up the dial was on the side of the watch. I loved the watch, it was a gift from a beloved friend. But, it was a right-handed watch. That marvelous light-up button was on the wrong side.

Luckily for me, and all of us who are left handed, there are plenty of great watches designed with the dials and buttons for use by a lefty. That solved my problem. It can solve yours as well.

So it's time to get yourself a left-handed watch. Or pay attention to a left-handed person you may want to give a gift to. These watches make life so much easier.

Halloween and Left-handers Considerations

Halloween Considerations for Left-Handers

Ah, the joy of Halloween, but also the considerations that we all need to take. For left-handers in a right-handed world, those considerations are important. We want our kids and ourselves to have a safe and happy Halloween so there a few things to keep in mind.

Left-Handed Kids, Halloween and School

For most of us, our kids will be enjoying a day at school that includes costumes, treats and a party atmosphere for at least some part of the day. The rest of the day still involves some school work. And recess time as well. That's when we, as parents of left-handed kids at Halloween need to be aware of issues.

Kids costumes are most likely not created with left-handed kids in mind. Ergo, we need to be on the lookout for problems that might occur for your lefty child.

• Watch for costume parts that inhabit a child's left side. Not just the left arm, needed for eating and writing, but also the left leg, needed for kicking a ball at recess. 
• Pick costumes that don't have sleeve pieces to drag across lunch or Halloween treats. Sleeves that interfere with a child's ability to write in school are also a consideration.
• For Trick or Treating time, be careful of costumes and treat bags that would prevent a left-handed child from walking or seeing properly. 
• Remind yourself of basic safety tips for any trick or treating.

For Left-Handed Adults and Halloween Costumes

Much of the same advice for kids costumes applies to adult costumes as well. If you are attending a Halloween party, you'll want your left hand free to  handle refreshments. But you also want to make sure that your sleeves or other left sided costume pieces won't drag across your plate or across a buffet table.

You may think this is common sense but even right-handed people fail to take some of these things into consideration. Halloween costumes can be loads of fun to plan for the most unique or crazy. But keep in mind some basic considerations and you'll have a more fun time without unexpected mishaps.

Jana DeLeon Grows the Miss Fortune Mystery Series to 5

Redding Fortune does it again. Or rather Jana DeLeon does. As the author of the Miss Fortune mystery series, DeLeon brings about the most charming wit and hilarity to present us with a wonderful series of murder mysteries.

Every one of her mysteries are cannot-put-down books for me. And Gator Bait is no different. In fact, it's the best yet. Which is saying quite a lot!

Gator Bait is the 5th novel in the Miss Fortune mystery series. It brings back our comic hero, CIA agent Redding Fortune along with her fun cast of characters in Sinful, Louisiana, the small town on the Bayou where murder and mayhem abound.

Fair warning here. If you haven't heard of the Miss Fortune mystery series, or haven't yet read Louisiana Longshot, the first in the series, then immediately head to Mystery Book World and get your copies of all five in the series.

Then plan out lots of time for thoroughly enjoyable reading. Honestly, I have a terrible time with

reading these mysteries. Mainly because I hate to put them down. Doing those mundane life things certainly get in the way of reading a Miss Fortune mystery novel.

Oh yes, I have read thousands of great mysteries. Many are hard to put down. But author DeLeon has done the most amazing job of making these the hardest to put down! I'm waiting with baited breath for installment 6 in the Miss Fortune series.

Don't overlook DeLeon's other great mystery series, Ghost-In-Law. Doesn't that title just draw you to find out more? And you won't be disappointed. Another series of the most delightful and funny mysteries on the planet.

Training Chopsticks

I'm one of those people who have used chopsticks for most of my life. Even being left handed, I was taught as a child to use chopsticks with my left hand. But, that's not the case for everyone. That's why training chopsticks are great!

The Edison company makes a whole line up of great choices for both adults and children. And both are available for lefties as well as right handed people. The cool thing is that they have a ring for the index finger to sit in and control the top chopstick.

The training chopsticks are a single piece. The two sticks are attached at the top, so you don't need to learn to control 2 different sticks at the same time. They are naturally positioned to sit properly in your hand.

The kids training chopsticks are adorable. Fun little characters adorn the tops of the sticks and make it easy for kids to learn. They also have 2 stages for kids. As they get better with the Stage 1 chopsticks, they can graduate to Stage 2 which require a bit more control.

Families with both left and right-handed people can all learn to use chopsticks. I know how well this worked for a friend of mine and her whole family.

Thanks to the Edison Company, we can now all learning to use chopsticks properly. No matter which hand orientation we are, or what our age.

The Value of Good Left-Handed Knives in the Kitchen

Yes, I do cook a lot. But it wasn't always that way. In fact, for a very long time, I dreaded working in the kitchen and preparing food. The biggest problem was not the cooking, but the prepping of the foods to be cooked. I hated it!

Of course, I hated it. The chopping, slicing and dicing was hard for me. Duh, I was using kitchen knives designed to be comfortable in a right hand, not a left hand. Rather explains why I also stopped getting good quality and sharp knives. I was regularly cutting a finger along with the food.

When I discovered quality left-handed kitchen knives, lots of things changed for me. First, holding the knife was just plain more comfortable. Good left-handed knives are balanced for the right weight in the left hand. That made chopping and slicing so much more comfortable.

Along with having the best feel for cutting, that also meant much less slicing the fingers. In fact, I was able to use really sharp knives without fear of "missing" my fruit or vegetable. That in turn made the chore of preparing foods for cooking much easier. Faster, too.

You can see that I ended up with a snowball effect. Once I started using good left-handed kitchen knives, I was able to do lots more food prep with lots less effort. Ergo, cooking became fun. No longer the chore that it had been.

Good cooks know that you use good quality utensils in the kitchen. Right-handed people don't even think about it. They get good quality. Most left-handed people don't think about either. I certainly didn't. Not until I got my first set of good quality left-handed kitchen knives.

Now, I don't even remember how I managed without them. Kitchen knives are best when they fit the hand comfortably and that's the same for left-handed kitchen knives. So do yourself a favor and get a good quality set yourself. You can thank me later!

Whacky Excuses for Reading Mysteries

I will admit it. I don't really need an excuse to read a good mystery book. But, there are sometimes when it's fun to set aside time, just because. That's where whacky holidays come into play. Yes, that's what I said. Whacky holidays.

There are literally hundreds of whacky holidays. At least in the U.S. And I mean whacky. Like Bubble Bath Day. That's one of my favorites for an excuse to read a mystery novel. Set aside time to luxuriate in a bubble bath while reading. That's sounds great to me.

With the warmer weather on the way, try Iced Tea Day. Imagine curling up in your favorite armchair, a large glass of iced tea sitting by your side and your latest mystery book in your hand. Aha - the perfect excuse to read.

Are you a junk food addict? There is Junk Food Day. Yep, I mean it. Junk Food Day. I'll bet your imagination is already working out how to set that one up.

April is the month to find some really crazy excuses to read. It's Frog Month, National Grilled Cheese Month, National Brussel Sprouts and Cabbage Month. You get the idea.

My favorite site for finding those crazy holidays, which become great excuses for reading mysteries is BrownieLocks. It's that website that gives me so many ideas for fun ways to read. Right, not that I need an excuse. But I take advantage of it anyway.

Just in case you need an excuse, there are plenty. Get creative a bit with this. Pick whacky holidays where you can really enjoy yourself and enjoy your favorite mystery at the same time.

Sports Season and Left-Handed Players

The season is quickly coming upon us where baseball and softball are popular sports. As parents, we want to give our kids the best advantage to have a good time and learn from these sports experiences. Those of us who have left-handed children are no different. Time to think about getting them the equipment that will help them.

Imagine how frustrating it is to have to force yourself to use the wrong hand? For us lefties, that means our right-hand.

Left-handed kids have much stronger left sides. That means in summer sports, we throw better and more accurately with our left hand. Our arm and shoulder are stronger than our right sides. So catching a ball in our glove or mitt on our right hand, then throwing it with our left hand makes us better players.

Oh, sure, many of us adults grew up learning to do things right-handed and we adapted. But, how much better would we have been if we had learned left-handed?

Give your own left-handed child an advantage. Get them lefty baseball or softball mitts. Especially as they are first learning to play sports. The benefit is a good one for them.

As long as we're at it, encourage your child's coach to help them bat left-handed as well. This is another great advantage in playing baseball or softball. Even t-ball is great for teaching lefty kids to bat with their stronger side.