Hi everyone on another clear and beautiful 66 degree morning here in South Carolina.  I basically have my normal morning chores done for today and as soon as Pat gets up I will fix her some scrambled eggs and the strawberries she likes as well as her coffee. 

The calendar is clear for today.  However I plan to put together a couple of casseroles that we will freeze to take to the church bazaar next Wednesday.  Pat has a recipe for a Tator Tot recipe that is good.  I will have to brown a couple of pounds of hamburger with two chopped onions and then layer the other ingredients which involves frozen vegetables, cream of mushroom soup and cheddar cheese.  At the first of the week we will fix a cake to take also.  Yesterday after Pat's chiropractic appointment I fixed a meatloaf and acorn squash to go with the coleslaw I had made yesterday morning and we had it for dinner. 

JeanneP,  Mexican Train (at least as we played it) is a very simple game.  Here is a link that describes the game and the rules:  https://www.pagat.com/tile/wdom/mextrain.html
We played it often with two other couples for several years.  We would go out to eat and then come back to one of our homes and play a game that usually took an hour or so. 

Patricia, I hope you get some answers soon.  They certainly can't expect elderly or disabled seniors to be moving their furniture and other large items.  There is certainly a communication breakdown.

MarsGal, we had a similar problem years ago after leaving our cat at the vet overnight.  It took Sears 4 or 5 trips to get the fleas eradicated.  The fleas bite Pat but seemed to let me alone.  I was always concerned about the cat getting outside and bringing fleas back inside. 

Here is your morning newscast from the MMD network (my initials), or, in a more serious vein, two news tidbits I jotted down as wanting to share with you.
While reading TIME magazine last night, I encountered a book review about a new book about Cats.  Cats are big in Norm's, I said, so here is the skinny: The Lion In The Living Room by Abigail Tucker.  Proves cats rule the world.
And on the very next page they have a photograph and a small teaser about a new boat called a ROBOAT.  Yes, it is pronounced as in rowboat, but no humans needed, thank you very much!  A large, barge like thing.  Imagine a raft surrounded by a large rubber roll, like a dinghy only bigger.  Carrying piles and piles of packages and working its way along the canals of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, delivering these packages!
What a world we live in!  Signing off, network shutting down, no telling when we will broadcast again.  Have a happy day!

MaryPage, you put a grin on my face this morning which is hard to do right now what with this infected tooth that has my face puffed up. My root canal went south so I have to get it redone, BUT the earliest appt they have isn't until Nov 4. Not a happy camper. Until then it is painkillers, antibiotic and soft foods.

Larry, my cats were indoor/outdoor cats and wore flea collars, not that it helped much in this instance. Funny thing about the whole thing was that the fleas showed up shortly after new neighbors moved in with their Scottie dogs. For the two years that they were there, I had to contend with the fleas. They moved; no more fleas.

Mars Gal....

You are having problems from a root canal and
they are making you wait three weeks for an
appointment. 

Making you wait like that  is unacceptable,  IMHO.... 

I am so sorry.   

It is sunny and cool here on the rocky
coast of Maine...   It is going to continue to
be lovely refreshing weather.     

Oh how I love Fall. 

Sandy

Well, that was my reaction, as well and all.  Have you called and told them this is an EMERGENCY?
My dentist will take ANY regular patient of his on the very day of their experiencing pain.  He will work through his lunchtime or stay late in order to resolve the cause of the pain.  His wife carefully allows extra time in each days scheduling in order to work in that day's emergency call for help.  I have always had immediate attention.
I admit to having a wonderful, single practice dentist only 5 minutes away.  And a daughter, son in law, and 2 granddaughters go to him, as well as Chip and I.  So we have a great relationship.  I have a small amount, and I mean REALLY small amount, of dental insurance in my Federal Employee Plan Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy.  Might as well be no coverage at all, as far as I'm concerned.  But my dentist does not expect payment on the countertop.  He expects it within 30 days, unless it is for a huge project and payments have been arranged.  What I am saying is, if I get a horrid pain in my mouth, there is NOTHING that stands between me and my being in that dental chair before the day has gone!  Nothing!

Patricia - I'm hoping to hear from you this morning, that some arrangement has been made for Farrah, and also for someone to help you move the items that need to be moved?  Too bad you live so far from all of us here in the lower 48.  I would like to help you. and I'm sure others would too.

MarsGal - Your problem sounds similar to what my youngest daughter is going through right now.  She began to get extreme pain in a tooth, went in immediately and it was discovered that she has something in that tooth called "root resorption"?  This calls for either a root canal or an extraction.  The endodontist didn't think an RC would save the tooth, so her dentist pulled it out on Tuesday, and put in a temporary bridge.  It has been a painful and debilitating ordeal.  I'm hoping to hear from her this morning, that she is feeling better, and the pain has diminished! 

MaryPage - My daughter's dentist sounds like yours. He saw her as soon as she started having pain, and moved forward quickly, until the tooth was extracted.  He and his assistant worked until 6:30, Tuesday night. 

Yes, Our library got Bed Bugs about 6 weeks ago. The closed for the day.  They thought in the books but one of the workers told me it started in the Lunch room where the workers use so one of them must have brought them in.  Made me itch just thinking. I had lots of books at home so took them back. Was told if you put the books in a MW for a couple seconds when bring the home you will be OK. I did at first but no longer doing it. Not going to buy any at the monthly book sale though as they are stored in basement for ages.

I lost my long post but here are the highlights. I called the Anchorage main offices of our company owners. They, in turn, had someone from the Anchorage central offices of the pest company call me to address my concerns. After talking with the pest control man, he is having someone from the local office call me

They will spray three separate, at different times, to make sure they get them all. The spray takes an hour and then an hour after that, he said the spray would have dried, and it would be safe for pets.  It is bed bugs and unfortunately, there are two infected apartments, both for some incomprehensible cosmic reason on my floor. 

One apartment is on the far south side of my floor whereas I am on the far north side with the elevator and laundry, common room, etc. in the center. The other one is just four down from me so he said I would have them too even if I have no bites or physical signs.

Since there are so many physically disabled folks here and some with limited mobility, the apartment company takes an aggressive stand and will have the entire building done as these bugs travel along the heating systems and ducts.

They could have originally come in with moving boxes or even clinging to a visitor's clothing such as a pizza delivery or just a simple visit. He said Anchorage is infested with them. I know there is a severe problem on the local military bases' family housing so this town is probably serious as well. The Anchorage pest company man said it is a national issue. Luckily we have no fleas here. 

I was up from 3:30 yesterday morning until 3:41 this morning and awoke at 6:01 again this morning, so my anxiety is bad, but talking to the apartment offices and the pest people has helped to alleviate my concern.

Angel.   What a mess for you all. Looks like they could tell you to buy the big Plastic Bags and just put all your things into those while they were spraying if the stuff only takes a hour.  I have to even be careful about what I use for spraying here at the house for such as ants.  Have just the one Parrot now but they can die easy from it. Strange how all the birds in the wild live with all the spraying that is done by farmers etc. But then maybe that is the reason now that we don't have Cardinal all over here in Illinois and now as many rabbits,  Things like that.
Even us humans are paying for the chemicals we are breathing in.

That's the thing Jeanne, the spraying does kill birds, bees,and small animals. It is also showing up in the food we eat such as fruit and or grains, stuff like lettuce, corn, animal feed, wheat, etc.

Roundup spray is in our water as well as our food and air


Edit: My dentist sets aside his first two hours daily for emergencies. However, he is strict about paying and will sometimes refer folks to the local hospital emergency rooms that have dentists. But then you pay those exorbitant emergency room costs.

Patricia - My older daughter lives in a large apartment complex near Sacramento, CA.  They had a serious bed bug problem there a couple of summers ago.  It turned out that the apartment owners/managers, are under no obligation to do anything to eradicate them.  It was up to the individual apartment renters to do whatever they wanted!  Such a nightmare it was for daughter and granddaughter.  Long story short, they and people in surrounding units, read up on suggestions online, and then they got together and all followed the same plan. They didn't use anything toxic.  After what seemed like forever, the little monsters were finally gone!  Some people in other sections of the complex, pooled their money and hired professional pest control. 
(On line, it says that they can even come into your apartment through the electrical outlets on the wall!)   

Two measures I saw online, and the guy I spoke to in the pest control office agreed. If you have a steamer such as those for clothes, it will kill those in your apartment, but watch out for new ones. Also, a spray bottle mixture of one part water to three parts rubbing alcohol will also kill them until the alcohol dries.

He told me to wash the two mattresses well and either buy a new pillow or run the old one through a wash cycle in very hot water.

Then put both the two clean mattresses and the pillow in those zip up vinyl mattress and pillow pads.  I have never heard of an apartment company not being liable for the condition of the apartments. Do they have a lease that talks about the condition and upkeep of the apartments by both parties?

Jeanne, I have heavy duty clear plastic bags from the maintenance here.

Next week I send in my new eyeglasses  order and on Wednesday, the 19th, I will receive my new lifeline button.

There were a few houses here in The Villages with a bedbug problem. One way to bring them home is in suitcases when you travel and stay in motels. Some of the best hotels and motels have been infested with them! From what I heard, the way they got rid of them is to somehow use super-heated air for a few hours in a closed up house. This is done by a pest control company.

Fortunately I haven't run into the problem yet. I try to do a check of the bedding and walls behind the bed in the motels and also never put my suitcase on the floor.

Today was a strange day for me. We got ready to drive 15 miles to the dentist to have a tooth extracted. It had been through two crowns and a root canal and then broke off at the gumline. (not the first time this has happened to me!) At the last minute I re-checked my appointment card only to find out I had the wrong day! I had already taken an ativan (for anxiety)! It made me want to sleep all day! It finally wore off late this afternoon. Now I have to repeat this performance on Monday. 

This morning I ran across this quote from Jane Goodall.

QuoteOnly if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help shall all be saved.

Kind of powerful, inspiring words, I think.

Hi everyone on an overcast Saturday morning with mild temperature here in South Carolina.  I awoke at 4:30 this morning and wasn't able to go back to sleep.  About 6 I picked up my phone and started reading the email and then the postings here and in the Seniors and Friends and other discussions that I follow.  Pat got up early this morning and have fixed her a breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham, cheese green onions and peppers.  This was a large breakfast. 

This evening we are planning on going to Pizza Hut for our main meal of the day. Pat likes the chicken wings and I will probably have a pizza or pasta dish.  I plan on having an easy day today as yesterday turned out to be very busy.  We did get the casserole dish made and it is in the freezer until Wednesday morning when I will take it to the church.  I plan on watching college football this afternoon and taking a nap.  Not an exciting day but one for which I am ready for. 

MaryPage, I hadn't heard about the ROBOAT but not surprised.  Not long ago the idea of a self-driving car or semi-truck was unthinkable but now are reality.  I wonder what will be next but suppose robot in our homes to do the cleaning and other chores are not unthinkable as they are now working in factories and warehouses.  I agree with you on what little dental coverage we have with the Federal Employee Plan of Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  However, every little bit helps.  I have used something called Care Credit for large dental bills as when you pay them off on a monthly basis and in full by the end of the designated period there is no interest charged. 

Marilyne, sure hope your daughter is feeling better by today. 

JeanneP, it has been quite awhile since we stayed in a motel but the last few times we did we put all luggage up on a flat surface and stowed it in the bathtub over night.  We have never had a problem with bed bugs.  We are so concerned about bringing cockroaches into our home when wew cleaned out Stacey's apartment that we put everything on our closed in sun room until it would be sorted and, as needed, laundered before we donated anything. Fortunately we didn't have a problem. 

Patricia, the spraying doesn't seem to be as drastic as first described to you all.  It sounds like the mattress covers would be a good investment in peace of mind.  Do hope you were able to get a good night's sleep last night.  The anticipation of things and what will happen is often worse than the actual event. 

Beverly, glad you discovered the mix-up on the dates of your appointment before you made the trip. 

MarGal, surely your dentist would not make you wait so long knowing you are in terrible pain as the result of a procedure he/she had done.  I don't think I ever heard of a dentist who wouldn't take care of emergencies. 

Sandy, enjoy the cool weather before the winter weather sets in. 

Larry, the original root canal was three years ago. Every year I go back for an x-ray because he thought something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't tell from the x-ray because nothing changed from year to year -- until now -- and I wasn't having any discomfort or problems. The office seems to think that I should stick with him since he has been keeping an eye on it even though they can get me in to see another of the doctors if absolutely necessary. The guardians of the gate didn't think it was necessary. I suspect that the same applies for the redo. Anyway, the Amoxicillin is reducing the infection and the painkillers are working just fine -- for now. So I guess they don't think they need to hurry. Perhaps they want the swelling down first? It was getting to the point that it was going down the side of my neck. Regardless, I am not happy about it. Everyone else I know who has or has had problems got into their doctors office right quick. I may call and complain on Monday.

MarsGal, that was a beautiful quotation, and I thank you for sharing it.

Teeth are downright dangerous to have after about age 60.  I think we and our teeth may be evolving in different directions, or we were originally set up to live 40 years or so and the teeth we start out with are unable to keep up with our achieving more than twice that span of time.  Because they rot.  They have a shelf life, and then they rot.  Any dentist can tell you that your teeth, and especially the diseased roots, cause no end of problems in the rest of your body, as well and all.  My solution?  Everyone should have them ALL pulled out at age 60.  Automatically.  And get really good dentures or implants.  If your lower jaw does not work well for that, then get one side down there done and wear a partial.  Result?  Much less chance of nasty infections running through your body from that source.  Do I know what I'm talking about?  Probably not;  but this is what my instincts garnered from life experience tell me.

But then again, the MaryPage School of Medical Advice strongly suggests all women get hysterectomies as fully paid presents for their 40th birthdays.  People frown and stutter or stammer, but I do not waver.  I am utterly convinced removing our uteruses gives us a whole new lease on life!  And what is more, like the matter of teeth at age 60, I believe this gives us a great lease on a longer, healthier life.  Teeth and uteruses are breeding places for a myriad of problems, and we can nip That in the bud by unloading the sources!

Well, as one hears throughout the land these days, everyone is entitled to their opinion!

It's a gorgeous day here on the bay!

My current book (a Jo Nesbo) mentions the opera house in Oslo in such a way as to make me intensely curious.  So, as I cross the living room to the computer to Google it and see for myself, my memories take me back to homework in the 7th grade, when I had to have Buster (uncle) take me to Winchester to the library to look up stuff or go across the street to the Lutheran parsonage to see if Pastor Roof (yes, that was his name!  We later had a Pastor Booze, who was followed by a Pastor Boozer!  I swear!  It is in the history of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Stephens City, Virginia.  Forever and ever, Amen!  I do not lie!) could let me in for a while to look it up (whatever IT was) in his encyclopedia.  What a transition from that to later having a World Book encyclopedia of my own, to still later having both World Book and Britannica.  To this!  This instant font of all knowledge available to man!
So I am telling you this:  if you are not yet familiar with the Opera House in Oslo, Norway, LOOK IT UP!  You will be amazed.

Good morning from a still snowless Interior!

I'm told that now everyone has the bedbugs simply because the two apartments were on opposite ends of our floor and the law of averages. I haven't seen any yet or been bitten, but I've moved out to the living room couch and am religious about repeatedly spraying my mattresses and bedroom walls with rubbing alcohol and water. I never did hear from the local pest company guy. The Anchorage guy said he'd have him call, but I have yet to hear from him.

The books will have to remain as I have no way physically to remove them and the same with the glassware on the top shelves of my kitchen cabinets. Still no word of when they will spray. Since they will spray three separate times and then the cleanup each time, I won't put anything away until they are through spraying and yes I am anxious. I still feel itchy and upset.

Why didn't the two apartments mention the issues long ago? One I'm told didn't want folks to know, and the other apartment was the lady with the eight grandkids. She is now in a nursing home and her apartment stands empty.

That, to me, is the fault of her children. They unloaded on her, she accepted it, and now she needs them to pay for her care. One of the daughters is married to an army guy, and base housing has had issues for awhile we're told, as do a couple of other city buildings.

The shelters here do not. All incoming luggage and any cleaned laundry goes into a "hotbox" they utilize for that reason. It stays in the hotbox for two hours so the name might be a misnomer and the item large. I wish we had one!

Farrah has a new game this morning. She is all the way inside her paper bag and will send one side or the other of the bag bulging out. She then tears out, growling and then returns for a repeat. She growls more in play. I have never heard her growl in fear or anger.

Angel.  You may be interested.

Pesticides to Control Bed Bugs

https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/pesticides-control-bed-bugs

I thought the only sure way to kill/control bed bugs was with the heat treatment, but guess I was wrong.  According to the EPA.

Thanks, Hal, our building, one of seven locally owned by this company, has five floors and a number of common public areas and offices. There are 196 one bedroom apartments so each floor's hallways have two wings leading off from the central elevator, common room and laundry. There are two sets of stairs per floor. While the first two floors have the apartments for those bedridden or needing more constant care, none of us are without disabilities.

After the bedbugs were either discovered or reported, the company decided to spray all five floors. The pest company will spray three times on separate occasions. I was just cosmically unlucky to have both infested apartments on my floor. One on the opposite end and one just four doors down from me on my end. We were told that using a spray of one part water to three parts rubbing alcohol will kill them at least until it dries. Or if you have a steam unit such as those used for steaming clothes.

Evidently, Alaska is new to this game and while Anchorage, 3 hundred thousand population, is infested. The city is determined not to have that happen here, as are other villages and small towns.

On a lighter note, I see that nicotine, Neonicotinoids, are bad for the bugs as well.  Do they have drunk bedbugs or bedbugs on "crack?"

This should be filed under the heading, "The things you learn!" I subscribe to a daily trivia email and today's question was, What color are you afraid of if you suffer from Xanthophobia?

The answer was,"Xanthophobia is fear of the color yellow. While, at first glance, this may seem like a foolish fear, it is real to the people impacted by this phobia. Xanthophobia derives from the Greek word “xantho”, meaning yellow and “phobos” which means fear. The common cause of this phobia is traumatic experiences involving the color yellow, like getting stung by a bee or perhaps getting hit by a yellow car. Sufferers would not eat cheese, mustard, bananas, lemons, or anything that is yellow."

I love yellow!  It put sun in my soul   so I  am a Xanthophile

  I love green, I should look that up! 

You are a prasinophile!

Are you two dangerous?   

Bubble, I Googled and decided I love Issac Swords!  My whole house before here was green, peach and pink.

Now it is green and grey with rose pink accents.

And yes Hal, we probably are!

Quote from: halkel on October 15, 2016, 03:26:25 PM
Are you two dangerous?   

That is funny.

We had 2 young men killed on Motor Cycles the other day. Must be a funeral today as at the moment dozens of Motor Cycles going by my house. Usually they will attend a funeral.  If a Fireman then there will be a fire engine and about 12 firemen in uniform up ahead. Same for the Police. I attended one for my friend a few months ago.  He had been the fire Chief for 20 years.  Very touching . Same at the Grave sight.

Issac Swords???