|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 9, 2010 23:43:56 GMT -6
I dabbed on a bit after reading and my nose is less dry and scratchy already. Suggestion is very much appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Jan 10, 2010 0:47:04 GMT -6
Welcome.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 10, 2010 7:07:56 GMT -6
With a neighbor and daughter who wear slippers in three feet of snow, (BP got out of the car at her friend's house yesterday....I looked at her feet, "What?!!! SpongeBob slippers!"), another daughter who would leave the house wearing a hoodie if I didn't remind her it's below freezing and insist she put on a winter coat, her friend who often wears flipflops, and a friend's husband who wears shorts year round, nothing surprises me. It may make me cold looking at them, but it doesn't surprise me.
Oh! I like it, Siren! Hope you had a great time at the concerts.
Joxie, Vaseline works great. Good suggestion, Stepper! If you're going out in public though, you might want to try ChapStick (a separate stick from the one you use on your lips!). Both protect from the irritation you get from tissues. Vaseline feels better when you put it on cuz it's all thick and gooey, but it leaves that shiney, wet appearance; Chapstick doesn't.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 10, 2010 22:43:48 GMT -6
Ooh. I'll have to put ChapStick on my list. I use Carmex on my lips and I bet the medicine would burn my sore nose. My nose is almost back to new, and it doesn't make me cry "ouch" anymore when I catch it with a non-lotion tissue.
|
|
|
Post by quettalee on Jan 11, 2010 1:01:29 GMT -6
Might I also add "Burt's Bees" chap sticks?? All natural and not tested on animals! Oh...and I also wear shorts all year long...usually just in the house, (except when I was cooking at the cafe; then it was year round--all around!) but I did take the trash can to the street today...through the snow...in shorts and house slippers!
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 11, 2010 9:26:12 GMT -6
Love that stuff, TG. I use their "Lip Shimmer" lip balm. Might want to stay away from that particular Burt's Bees product though from under-the-nose tissue relief. It adds a bit of shine, and color. And already red nose doesn't need added rhubarb-color.
The "not tested on animals" is the reason I pay extra for the product. A bit about the "all natural" thing, if I may? It's a good thing...but it can also be misleading if a person does not take into account that there are naturally occurring chemicals. For example, my Burt's Bees Rhubarb Lip Shimmer contains the following ingredients: sunflower oil, castor oil, beeswax, candelilia wax, lanolin, cocoa seed butter, tochpheryl acetate and tocopherol (vitamin E), peppermint oil, carnabuba wax, rosemary leaf oil. But it also contains: iron oxide, mica, and titanium dioxide.
My freebie lip balm from the dentist's office, (my trophy for surviving the Dental Dominatrix's torture), contains: coconut oil, white beeswax, castor oil, avocado oil, joboba oil, lanolin, macadama nut oil, proplparaben, vitamin E, and kukui oils. The active ingredient is Octyl Methoxycinnamate, which I'm assuming is a synthetic chemical because the chapstick does not mention "all natural" on it.
Which is worse - the natural titanium dioxide in Burt's Bees, or the synthetic Octyl methooxycinnamate. I dunno. Only mentioning it because I know from working at the nursery and dealing with fertilizers, that "organic" and "all natural" does not mean chemical-free or is not necessarily more safe.
* * * *
We had the most gorgeous winter day here yesterday. Lots of sunshine with blue, blue, blue skies. Cemetery roads have been salted, so there goes my new favorite skiing place. I hit the track with its pure not-yet-adulterated by footprints snow. Unadulterated deep snow. Slide-tromp, slide-tromp, slide-tromp; I plodded along for about five laps until I got a trail smooth enough for glide without the tromp. "Man in the Box" - the perfect slide-tromp tunage. Still catching my bliss from your mixes, Sis.
Speaking of bliss, Stepper....I thought about you, this weekend. I remember you once wrote time alone on your motorcycle was how you caught your bliss (ever get those parts for your bike?). Weird association maybe, but watching the snowmobiles reminded me of you and your motorcycle, probably because it'd be impossible to ride a motorcycle around here these last couple of weeks. Snowmobiles are fun; I wondered if it'd be the same feeling as riding a bike? I've spent more time on snowmobiles than I have on a bike; I've only been on a motorcycle once or twice, so I don't really have a good feel for the comparison. Both would have that thrill of danger and speed, I think.
What got me thinking about this was seeing the snowmobiles on some of the downtown streets - that's a new thing that just started with the first of this year. City officials have now opened some streets to snowmobiles in an effort to keep those tourist dollars coming into town - because let's face it, this is a tourist town, and it's our main source of income, which basically comes to a screeching halt once beach weather is over.
This is all very fine and dandy, until you start thinking about it. Snowmobiles can exceed 100mph. Unlike motorcycles, you don't need a license to drive them. Ok, anyone with common sense would assume one can not drive 100mph down the streets of a small town where a great deal of the traffic is pedestrian. But guess where the route the city officials opened up to snowmobiles runs? From the trail (where they were always allowed provided there was a 6-inch base of snow) directly through town to the liquor store, which has been designated as the legal snowmobile parking lot.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm not seeing this as being necessarily a good thing.
|
|
|
Post by quettalee on Jan 11, 2010 16:29:35 GMT -6
Which is worse - the natural titanium dioxide in Burt's Bees, or the synthetic Octyl methooxycinnamate. I dunno. Only mentioning it because I know from working at the nursery and dealing with fertilizers, that "organic" and "all natural" does not mean chemical-free or is not necessarily more safe. Good point, sis. I had to do a little two-minute drill to research. Glad I did, because I learned something. (love it when that happens ) May be easier for me to just quote rather than try and explain... So there you go. I would still go with the natural stuff. I know there are always arguments about how much good it does, but for me, I'll pay the extra, as well. "Man in the Box" - the perfect slide-tromp tunage. Still catching my bliss from your mixes, Sis. Still brings a smile to my face, sis. Makes me feel like I'm right there with you sharing in that bliss.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 11, 2010 19:15:23 GMT -6
And there you go. You did a little research and made yourself a more informed consumer. Smart lady, Sista Q. That's the way to do it, I think. I'd bet people who make their purchasing decisions based entirely on the words "all natural" or "organic" on the label would be surprised to learn what exactly is in that product, how it is obtained, or in the case of many products that it can be just as dangerous to use as a non-organic or synthetic product.
Case in point, and I hate, hate, hate this product, is something used as animal repellent in gardens. "100 Percent Predator Urines - 100 Percent Natural and Safe!!!" There are many predator urine companies and they all advertise it's 100 percent natural. And they advertise a lot.
One company's website says: "DOES IT WORK BETTER THAN CHEMICALS? One thing is certain, it is safer! Predator urines are 100% pure and natural. Customers indicate that, unlike chemicals, animals do not ever get used to the fear that a predator may be lurking close by."
How do you think they collect all the urine from the coyotes, foxes, wolves, and other predators? Chase around after them in the wild with a pail, or do they volunteer to come into the office to pee in a cup? Is it natural that these animals are housed much the same way cattle are, and stand there, their only purpose in life to urinate in troughs all day? Another company's website dismisses any claims of inhumane treatment saying they are benefiting the animals because they are vaccinated unlike others of their species in the wild. They even have "testimonies" from some of the captives saying how humanely they're treated in their cages. It's meant to be amusing. I find it sickening.
Would anybody buy this product just because it's 100 percent natural. You bet. People come in the nursery all the time because they've seen it advertised as such. We don't carry it.
What people don't realize is there are very few chemical deer repellents. A deer repellent is made to repel deer, not kill them. Most are made from putrefied eggs and caspian pepper. 100 percent natural. And very effective.
Sorry for the rant; I'm sure I got carried away. But it does show how an informed consumer is a better consumer.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 11, 2010 22:39:16 GMT -6
I can't remember where I learned this, but ... I've heard that human urine will work in some cases, and that asking for cut hair at the local beautician/barber shop and scattering it will also work. Not sure how true that is though. But both would be natural ... and chemical free. Well, depending on the individual.
Read that scattering used cat litter, non-clumping kind, around the house will help keep mice away too. Not sure how well outside parties would go over though.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 12, 2010 6:48:23 GMT -6
I'm not sure about mice, but used kitty litter works on groundhogs who stop at nothing in their quest to devour a garden.....except cat urine. Kinda of weird conversations result from suggesting this to customers with groundhog problems, but in their desperation, they'll try anything.
Speaking of weird conversations....how'd we go from sore noses to used kitty litter? There is a correlation in there somewhere.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 12, 2010 16:57:41 GMT -6
The chemicals in lip balm ... natural vs. synthetic ... coyote urine .... human hair/urine ... cat litter/urine.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Jan 12, 2010 22:26:30 GMT -6
Gee. I had a different idea than Joxee. What I saw was posts from Joxee, Phalon, tommygurl, Phalon, Joxee, tommygurl, Phalon, Joxee... see? With that combination, I'm surprised you weren't talking about taking left handed smoke shifters out for trash pick up in shorts, and slippers, in the snow, on roller skis, without your keys, because it was the wrong shade of blue and the hot dog attachment wasn't long enough for bun length weenies that TG would cook but not eat because of that dead animal thing.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 13, 2010 7:28:40 GMT -6
Pfft, Stepper! You got it all wrong, my friend. We were talking about right handed smoke shifters. The hot dog attachment bun warmer was long enough for bun-length but the snow-blower chute thingie kept getting clogged and that is the reason it went out to the curb for the trash. Whether it went there wearing slippers, roller-skis, or barefoot wasn't even mentioned. Sheesh, weren't you listening?
I went out to the track again yesterday to get in a quickie - I didn't have a whole lotta time. Surveyed the scene before me with my hands on my hips, and exclaimed in a Dorothy Parkeresque fashion, "What fresh hell is this!" Wind and more snow had erased all my hard glide/stomp work - not a trace of my nice smooth path was visible, and I had to start all over again.
Not so fresh, but none-the-less born of hell are the road buddies on my car. Road buddies that have grown so big that my tires scream in protest every time I turn the wheel. Ouch! Kicking them did nothing but give me sore toes. Chiseling didn't work either, except I bent the paint scraper which was the first implement from the garage I saw that might work for road buddy removal. The butter-knife suffered the same fate.
Sounded like a job for Super Hubs, who I imagined would rig some kind of blow-torch attachment onto his electric drill that would melt them to oblivion. Not so. He chiseled them off. With an actual chisel. A chisel. Who woulda thunk such a tool actually existed? Now someone's gonna tell me there are such things as actual hammers to hammer instead of whatever I grab that seems heavy enough to use as a pounding implement.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Jan 13, 2010 15:14:29 GMT -6
Pfft, Stepper! You got it all wrong, my friend. We were talking about right handed smoke shifters. The hot dog attachment bun warmer was long enough for bun-length but the snow-blower chute thingie kept getting clogged and that is the reason it went out to the curb for the trash. Whether it went there wearing slippers, roller-skis, or barefoot wasn't even mentioned. Sheesh, weren't you listening? I'm sorry...did you say something? You are such a tease! No wonder I like you so much! Pfft! If anyone can stomp, it's you. I'd volunteer to help but you'd have to deal with all the mid-road extra deep body depressions where the skis wanted to continue but my butt wanted to play in the snow again. When ever possible, I used to visit quarter car washes to dispose of those. It's not just the snow and ice...they hold road salt and ice solvents against the metal. That's an evil combination. If ice has been ignored and allowed to accumilate to ridiculous proportions, ice picks work well. But be careful - don't just pick away because you'll end up poking holes in metal and that is another ungood thing. If possible, have someone else do it so you have someone to blame. And you should still take it to a car wash and get the salts cleaned off. Precisely! Yes, yes. I've heard of this! Often possessed by people with thumbs and fingers that are black and blue, and an extensive vocabulary that sounds like a foreign language to gentle souls such as we. And if that $#!* snow plow covers the end of the driveway again, I'm getting my on.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 14, 2010 7:35:09 GMT -6
I aim to please.....unfortunately, sometimes my aim is a little off.
Oh! That could be fun! Kinda like skiing moguls while on x-country.
Yeah, I know. Little old ladies don't drive the cars around here advertised in the used car ads; instead the ads brag they were driven only in places like Texas and Arizona, where salt is rarely or ever used.
My big old Buick, which I miss dearly, (sniff and sob), suffered the effects of salt; that's how it finally met its end after about ten years. Even when I bought it used, (obviously not from an owner who lived in Texas or Arizona), the back floor board oozed moisture because of rust underneath. Last winter, my mechanic said the beast of its engine would last forever....provided it didn't fall through the bottom of the car the next time I hit a large pot-hole. Nearly completely rusted through, they stripped it of parts and hauled the hull to the scrap yard.
Luckily this year - due to salt being more expensive and the state being nearly broke, and salt doesn't work well when the temps are as cold as they have been - they are spreading more gravel than salt. There's none of that white film on the car even. But yeah, Hubs religiously takes the vehicles through the car wash once a week in winter to remove the dangerous residues if the temperature is above freezing.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Jan 14, 2010 22:38:53 GMT -6
I don't know if it'll work, but I can tell you HOW you put it there matters to the home owners, and evidently the cops too! Scheesh!
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 15, 2010 6:57:27 GMT -6
I won't ask, Stepper, HOW you know that, cuz I have a suspicion I really don't want to know!
We're having a melt-down here. It was nearly 40 degrees yesterday! It's driving the dog nuts, which is in turn driving me nuts. Every icicle that falls and crashes from one roof-line to the other; every clod of snow that breaks loose from the roof and falls with a "plop!" causes the clump of fur on her upper back to stand on end. She looks like a hyena. Only she's not laughing. She's growling and barking constantly. This is the same dog who happily licks a seemingly disembodied arm reaching through a cat door. I honestly didn't know she had it in her; I've never heard her growl before this.
It's good to know we are all protected from those savage icicles.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 15, 2010 18:17:48 GMT -6
That reminds me of a dog we had. Never barked when a car pulled in the driveway, or when someone knocked on a door, etc. But when some farmers parked their combine in a field behind our house, that same dog barked nonstop at it all night long. I'd hate to think what a lone, parked, combine would have done to us during the night without his protection.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 16, 2010 7:14:50 GMT -6
The dog most likely saw it as a combine-d threat, Joxie, and therefore reacted in a muttiple double-dog dare ya to enter my house and cause harm to my family kinda way.
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Jan 17, 2010 9:20:02 GMT -6
After temperatures near zero last week, I heard that the high today could be near 60. *muttering to self* "Must...not...dig...in...flowerbeds...Must...not...dig...in...flowerbeds..."
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 17, 2010 10:02:44 GMT -6
BOLL, Siren! If it were sixty degrees here, I'd be muttering the exact same thing!
After a couple days of nearly forty degree temperatures though, it's been below freezing all weekend. The snow that started to turn to mush during the melt-down, now has a fairly thick frozen crust of ice on top. It's kinda fun trying to walk on top without breaking through the crust. Might look funny to anyone who's watching, but still fun.
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Jan 18, 2010 19:22:37 GMT -6
I couldn't resist. I couldn't stop myself. I just HAD to dig in my flowerbeds today! When I heard it was 63 degrees, nothing could stop me. Did a little weeding, breaking back, pulling up, and tidying up..swept the porch. The air smelled wonderful. It was SO good to be outside!
Gams, you be careful you don't slip on that ice and break YOUR crust!
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 20, 2010 5:31:19 GMT -6
I know that feeling, Siren. The first warm day comes along, and it's like Spring Fever hits all of the sudden. Usually around here when that happens, the ground is still stiff though, so digging in the dirt is impossible. Then I have to search for stuff to do in the yard....a little bit of raking last year's left-overs, picking up twigs, pruning...whatever. Anything to be outside in the warm weather.
Still, I don't mind being outside in winter - and we've got a lot of it left; the snow, although crusty, is not going anywhere soon. But there's something about that hint of spring that makes a person want to play in the dirt, or get as close to it as possible.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Jan 21, 2010 0:25:15 GMT -6
We've had our week of winter here. Our lows are in the 50s, and tomorrow is possibly going to hit 80. My live oak is shedding leaves which means it's ready to put on a growth spurt and new spring leaves are right behind. If the tree is any indication, spring has sprung here.
But unlike Siren, I'm not ready to dig in the garden yet. I wait for Feb 14th, then we cut back the roses and set up the bed. That's my mental beginning of spring and here, it works. We may get a frost in March, but all gardens start in Jan or Feb around here.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 21, 2010 8:57:56 GMT -6
Wow! Eighty degrees in January, and spring in February?! It's no wonder our friends head to Texas come October and stay until May - he's from Michigan and can't stand the heat; she's from Texas and considers anything under 60 degrees to be freezing cold.
Hoping you're not getting that tornadic weather I've been seeing on the news, Stepper.
It's bright and sunny here this morning - almost glaringly so, with all the snow; it hurts to look outside. We're still cold and in the low twenties, and those above freezing temperatures they keep insisting are on the way haven't shown up yet.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 23, 2010 1:26:24 GMT -6
Don't mind me. Just going down memory lane.
Hope Joxie's having a good day too, warm and snug somewhere.
Oh, my! Keeping my fingers and toes, which are thankfully warm, crossed that Joxie and hundreds of thousands of those without electricity in KY have heat soon!
www.kentucky.com/787/story/674441.html
I hope my memory is not failing me....I think I remember her writing that her brother-in-law has a generator. I can't imagine being without heat in this weather.
And I can't help but worry about Joxie still being without electricity. Sending warm thoughts down her way.
I'm beginning to worry about Jox. Has anyone heard anything from her? They were reporting yesterday that everyone had power again in the state, but I guess that could be wrong. Knowing Jox, it just seems like she would've found a computer by now--just to check in, if nothing else.
We miss you, FBM!
Same here, TG. It just seems like Joxie would check in if she had the opportunity. I read this morning though, that there were still about 20,000 in the more remote areas of western Kentucky without power, though. Hopefully, she'll check in soon.
My heart goes out to all those there, and now all who have lost everything in the fires in the state of Victoria, Australia. Extreme differences in weather - ice in one place, and fire in another - causing devastating effects in both cases.
I am finally back! Thanks everyone for your concern. 13 days without electricity ain't fun. Mom had the generator at her house, but I didn't want to have to load up the cats, their food, litter box, etc. and drag them down to Mom's house, so we stayed home. My only heat was the burners on my gas cook stove. I wore long underwear beneath two layers of clothes, and had 6 blankets piled on the bed. I turned off the burners at night, and that first snuggle in the bed was really cold. Once the bed warmed up, I was fine.
The couple of nights it got down in the teens I had only the gas burners and then when I went to bed I only had the blankets. The two coldest nights that got down in the single digits, my BIL brought me Mom's kerosene heater and I used it. Then it warmed up and everything went well.
Well... the prez has stopped talking and I'm gonna watch TV for the first time in a long time.
Later.
<runs up and tackles Joxie from behind Chere-style. Plants on her a big, wet forehead kiss Siren-style. Confuses the hell outta her Phalon-style.>
Joxie!!!!! I'm so glad you made it through safe and sound.
Welcome Back!!!
Jox, I can't believe you did the blanket-burner method for 13 days and nights! Oh my god. I only had to do that for one night and day and I was miserable. You are the woman. And you managed to stay healthy thoughout all that?
It's good to have you back. I was beginning to worry. Kinda like Bardling at PT's. I know people do it all the time here, but they don't really post regularly. When a regular just drops off the board completely and you never even see them lurking, your mind starts wandering...
Oh well. Enough. You're home and that's what counts!
Can continue reading from here.
Had lights for 1 day, only to lose them for 2 more days.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 23, 2010 1:39:44 GMT -6
Still going down memory lane.
Okay ... what I've read for the 13 days I was without electricity:
1.) Grave Sight, 2.) Grave Surprise, & 3.) Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris (An ice storm took out the electricity in the third book ... not a good read when you're freezing to death in the dark. )
4.) Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts by Laura Benedict
5.) Sleep Softly by Gwen Hunter
6.) Touching Evil by Kay Hooper
7.) Uninvited by Justine Musk
8.) Uninvited by Amanda Marrone
9.) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
10.) Look For Me By Moonlight, 11.) The Doll in the Garden, & 12.) The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
13.) There's a Bat in Bunk Five & 14.) The Pistachio Prescription by Paula Danziger
15.) The Blue Ghost by Marion Dane Bauer
I didn't read them in the order listed above ... but I did start with 1-3.
Lights on for one day.
. . .
Lights off for two days.
Whisper of Evil & Sense of Evil by Kay Hooper
17 books in 15 days. Whew!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 23, 2010 19:35:13 GMT -6
Good grief. The wind is picking up and it's been known to knock out the electricity. I hope not. I fear a repeat of last year. At least it isn't that cold here as of right now, and the lights shouldn't be off more than a few hours.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 23, 2010 19:43:17 GMT -6
Reading back through your ordeal of last year, I hope there's no repeat either, Joxie.
The ice-storm in Kentucky and wildfires in Australia last January; this year it's tornadoes in Texas and the devastation in Haiti. We humans like to think we are in control of our world, but Mother Nature has a way of always proving us wrong.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 23, 2010 20:00:46 GMT -6
Yeah. Don't mess with mother nature.
|
|