OT July Chit Chat

[agate]

Susie, sometime when I have not spoken to anyone in a couple of days, I find my voice just doesn't work right or sound right. As I talked more yesterday it seemed to get a little stronger.

Agate, do you take magnesium with the chewable calcium that you take? I am going to try and make it to the drug store this afternoon.

My voice is always rusty too if I haven't used it in a while.

No, I don't take extra magnesium except for whatever is in the Centrum Silver. I take one of those every day and it seems to have everything in it.

Is your burn looking and feeling any better?

[Howie]

I got a steam burn this morning. From my shiny new red coffee maker, and I reached to do something, right into this narrow little stream of steam. It hurt, but now I couldn't tell you where it was. I guess a steam burn is the best you could have, it puts moisture into the burn at the same time it burns you.

I wonder if lobsters feel any pain when you drop them in steaming hot water?

[agate]

No, the lobsters feel no pain.

This place is just magnificent as a source of valuable information if you ask me....

[Howie]

I dun lernt a heep o' thangs cince I'z bin cumin heer.

[Jeanie Z]

:) Yesterday Andy found some fleas on Lacy so he gave her another flea bath. He also put some stuff on the back of her neck that is supposed to kill fleas and make their eggs not good.

I have two bites on my left arm which is the side Lacy sleeps on in the bed. I bought some more yard spray and some more fumigators to set off in the house. I can't believe we have not eradicated the fleas yet. Jeanie :)

[SuzE-Q]

Agate, I think it's inconclusive whether lobsters feel the pain of being boiled alive.

There's apparently movement, but it's never been determined if it's a pain response or not.

Unless you have something better than I was able to find?

Jeanie, hopefully it'll be over with soon. I too can't believe how resilient these fleas are being!

[Howie]

Jeanie, that's a good med you put on the back of their necks. Advantage is the only name I can think of, but that may be the name of my green beans for all I know. But I do remember it works well.

Fleas are really tough to get rid of. But treat the dog or cat first because the fleas will find them. Then do like you're doing.

A friend of my brother's found a kitten with fleas, and got a little pan full of water, mixed with some flea killer. As they lowered it into the water, it turned red as it was killing the fleas, and they would pull out of the spot they were eating on.

It was sad to see how infested that kitten was, and she took it to the vet for additional treatment. The girl did end up keeping it. That was ages ago.

So Jeanie, it can and will have a happy ending.

[Catdancer]

This has been a terrible year for all sorts of insects....warm and damp is "but heaven". Here we have to watch for ticks. Even though our furkids don't go outside, TC does....and brings them in. We do body checks on humans and beasts, once a day. And mosquitoes are loving it! Hornets and other stinging insects are also happy.

As for lobsters, I was watching a cooking show the other day where the chef was stabbing the lobster in the "neck", killing it, before dropping it in boiling water....I've never attempted to cook lobster....but I sure can eat a bunch of it!

[SuzE-Q]

I think you're right, Cat. Ticks, and mosquitoes carrying West Nile, are especially bad this year, I think due to global warming. Fires are worse this year, there seems to be more storms, just weather generally seems to have had more extremes. I admire how hard California has been working to combat climate change, there are always stories on my news about their efforts. I'm so pleased to see so many individual states commit to the Paris Climate Agreement.

Yikes, that definitely doesn't make having lobster sound appetizing, I've never heard of a chef doing that before! We humans can be a strange group sometimes. I wonder why the chef did that. Ironic that the word "humane" defines a certain amount of care being given when humans oftentimes are the least likely to afford that very standard we attribute to ourselves which we've embedded in the actual word we use to describe it.

[Sunshine]

Geez Howie, were you channeling your inner Virginia when you burnt yourself?

What's next, channeling Jeannie and getting flea bitten?

[agate]

Agate, I think it's inconclusive whether lobsters feel the pain of being boiled alive.

There's apparently movement, but it's never been determined if it's a pain response or not.

Unless you have something better than I was able to find?

...

SuzE-Q, more studies are needed on this. We need a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study next.

I've never seen a live lobster being slaughtered. I've dealt only with frozen lobster tails. They're fun to cook because they turn such a spectacularly beautiful red. And they taste magnificent with melted butter and lemon juice.

Not sure I could eat one after seeing it die. But then I've managed to eat fish that have been impaled on hooks and I've been part of that process (as a kid, watching in the boat while the fly fishermen caught the fish I later ate). A friend of the family's was an expert fly fisherman and I was privileged to be able to watch him in action sometimes. A very graceful activity, fun to watch.

There are large numbers of spiders in my place these days--every day I find several. Ticks are no fun at all. I recall the daily body checks from childhood. You went over yourself and picked off the ticks and dunked them in something to kill them--a cup of ammonia maybe or alcohol? You also dabbed the many chigger bites with something to relieve the itch, probably calomine lotion. They itched like crazy and were unsightly. All summer long you had them all over yourself. I haven't heard of them anywhere except in the northwest Arkansas, and so maybe they're one of that area's specialties. The tourists certainly aren't told about them.

[Howie]

No way, I wear a flea collar.

[Virginia]

I have eaten a lot of lobster that I knew had just been killed. However, when I would go to one of those places where you choose the live lobster yourself and they kill and cook it for you, I just couldn't do it. I always said they would have to choose. I am afraid that doesn't make me any nicer, because I knew the lobster had been alive just a few minutes before I ate it. Funny until you guys started talking about this it really hadn't bothered me, now it kind of does.

We had to check ourselves for ticks when I lived in the house I sold to move here. It was set in the woods and the dog would run through the woods and bring them in. We were ALWAYS checking her in the summer.

Jeanie, I wish there was a sure fire way to get rid of all those fleas that are assaulting Lacy and thereby you. It is a shame that she has to suffer so much and you have to watch.

My burn is not going to leave a bad place on my finger and I think it is because I kept it in ice water for an hour and then kept Witch hazel on it for another 1 1/2 hours while talking on the phone.

Agate, I had forgotten about jiggers until you mentioned them. When I was in late teens I went to the lake with later to be husband. While he fished, I propped up against a tree. It was extremely hot that day and I tied the bottom of my blouse around my waist and I was also wearing shorts. I had so many bites around my waist and on my legs, it was awful. I thought they would never quit itching. I tried everything anybody mentioned. Not fun!

[Howie]

Virginia, are you a vegan, or do you eat meat?

[Virginia]

I eat meat Howie, why are you going to send me some of your pasta dish?