Hello friends! I just learned of a delightful “holiday” that passed us by all too quickly on Friday, April 14th -- National Ex-Spouse's Day! Now, for many of you, a holiday recognizing your Ex might seem like the unwanted proverbial Red Headed Stepchild. Well, I always liked the Red Headed Stepchild! But I understand your skepticism. Bear with me.

You see, the real reason I’m pushing National Ex-Spouse’s Day is for the other discovery I had this weekend. Apparently, there is cake. Divorce cake! And I mean some pretty hilarious divorce cakes. Suddenly I’m all for National Ex -Spouse’s Day! Because of the cake!

It’s true you don’t need to a holiday to try some fine divorce cake, but the holiday makes it all the more delightful. And whenever I write the words “divorce” and “delightful” in the same sentence, I immediately think of Louis CK and his volumes of material on the subject including,“divorce is always good news” and “marriage is a larval stage for true happiness.” Check them both out. Both bits are NSFW but are well worth your five minutes.

According to the folks at foodandwine.com divorce cakes are on the rise nationally, but sadly, have not yet caught on in my native MN. So let’s spread the word. National Ex-Spouse's Day and Divorce cake. Mark your calendar for next year! Make Louis CK proud!

Now that we’ve learned how to eat an all-American diet and build an all-American home, it gets a bit trickier to buy American when it comes to furnishing your all-American home with American-made appliances. Televisions are not entirely made in America, but they aren’t a necessity either. The same goes for computers and smartphones, but you can outfit your home gym with Iron Grip Barbells out of California or recycled fitness equipment from IronCompany.com.

There are still a few audio equipment companies building in America, too. ATI, Milbert Amplifiers, Orb Audio and Rane are all good options. As long as you’re willing to give up your television, computer and smartphone, you can still store and cook your food using American-made appliances.

Picking up a refrigerator/freezer and oven/stove would be a good place to start when furnishing your all-American home. Thankfully, both General Electric and Maytag make appliances in the U.S.A. You’ll probably want to run your oven/stove on all-American natural gas because the average price to install a gas line is under $500. For American-made, natural gas appliances, you can start by looking at Blue Star, Wolf, Capital or Viking. Here's a list of Consumer Reports' best American-made appliances.

When it comes to hot water heaters, Bradford White seems to be a good place to start. Here’s a list of eight more companies. And while washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers are not essential, an American-made version of each is available. The rest of your kitchen needs can be found here, and you can clean your all-American home with HafcoVac, Metrovac or Tacony Corporation vacuum cleaners. GarageVac is an American manufacturing company providing shop vacs, and Bio Green Clean and Scott’s Liquid Gold are American-made cleaning solutions.

So now you can store and cook food, but where are you going to eat it -- on the floor? Thanks to all the American forests we enjoy, the U.S.A. has long been a top five furniture producer in the world. The best way to assure your money continues working to boost your local economy and American job growth is to find a local carpenter. CustomMade.com is a great source to find local furniture makers, and they have a vast selection available.

Even if you walk into a furniture store and buy something, it’s likely made in America. The furniture capital of the world is High Point, North Carolina, so there’s a really good chance any furniture purchase made in the U.S.A. is a purchase of furniture made in the U.S.A.

It wouldn’t be a home without a place to sleep, and there are plenty of mattresses made in the U.S.A. I recommend Tuft & Needle as an affordable, American option, but Amerisleep, CozyPure Organic Bedding, Easy Rest Adjustable Sleep Systems, Jamison Bedding, Live and Sleep, Moonlight Slumber and Original Mattress Factory are all American alternatives. For the money, though, Tuft & Needle is tops.

All of your American-made home decor needs are available here, and you can get American-made bedding from any of these places.Quilting has long been an American pastime, and with the amount of cotton America grows, it’s too easy to find American-made sheets. You can make your own sheets, bedding, blankets, curtains and drapes by visiting these American-made fabric companies. I've heard mixed reviews on MyPillows, which are made in Minnesota.

If you have hardwood or tile floors, a rug can really tie the room together. Cobalt Creek American Made Rugs and Sisal Rugs Direct are two options for American-made floor coverings. When it comes to covering windows, CountryCurtains.com is a good place to start.

Next up in our Made in America series is a look at where you can buy American-made clothing.

--

If you like this, you might like these Genesis Communications Network talk shows: USA Prepares, Building America, Free Talk Live, American Survival Radio, Jim Brown’s Common Sense

Multiple countries use vending machines that offer free syringes and needles to drug users, but this resource will be the first in the United States to help curb the spread of disease in IV drug users.

The machines will be offered and run by the Southern Nevada Health District, Nevada AIDS Research and Education Society and Trac-B Exchange.  Dr. Jerry Cade, who co-founded University Medical Center of Southern Nevada’s HIV clinic, said, “There’s zero downside and lots of pluses.”

Many health agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend offering clean needles to users (200 sterile needles and syringes per drug injector per year).  Offering free needles has not been proven to incite or increase drug use, and “clean needles” will allow users, victim to their addictions, a safer way to inject without being exposed to HIV, hepatitis C and other blood borne pathogens.

Each kit is free and users can receive one twice a week.  Each kit contains the following:

• 10 syringes

• a tourniquet

• a disposal container for used syringes

• alcohol swabs to clean the skin prior to use

• Bandages

• an information sheet about where one could go for addiction treatment.

In order to use the machine, users must “register” without the requirement of giving personal information.  Once registered a card with a code is given that allows access to the machine.

The machines will be located at AFAN (Aid for AIDS of Nevada), the Community Counseling Center and Trac-B on West Charleston Blvd.

The initial steps could deter some from coming forward to use the machines, but many who use IV drugs WANT to get help and prevent further medical complications.  The outreach this provides, offering help to those who are addicted, is a huge step in our fight against heroin overdose and infectious disease spread.

LearnHealthSpanish.com / Medical Spanish made easy

Daliah Wachs, MD, FAAFP is a Board Certified Family Physician. The Dr. Daliah Show , is nationally syndicated M-F from 11:00am-2:00pm and Saturday from Noon-1:00pm (Central) at GCN.