Hazard in my home

I still have one of these in my bathroom medicine cabinet. Yep. A health hazard. I cannot even throw it in the trash. I have to dispose of it properly. Maybe I'll just keep it. And here I am thinking if anything was going to be a health hazard it would be the mold in the basement. Or at least, the kitty litter box.

We used to play with mercury in a bowl when I was young. My brother would break the thermometer and we would roll the mercury around in a big white bowl and watch it bead up and separate and reabsorb itself back together. We poked our fingers into it to make it separate. My best guess in late 60's or very early 70's.

Kept us fascinated for an hour or two before just washing it down the sink drain.

And the mercury in my teeth? I have a lot of fillings. I was more fortunate than my siblings (being the youngest). I received the best dental care and was introduced to dental hygiene at an earlier age than they were. I am the only sibling without false or at last partial teeth in my mouth.

Reading about mercury poisoning, I can pretty much blame every problem I have on mercury poisoning. Yep. I love the one about children - a symptom of mercury poisoning is that they do not respond to their name. LOL! Then, every kid I ever knew and know has it!

Anyway, the thermometer reference means I am sick again today. Ear ache and sore throat and tired. I hate waking up tired. I have no motivation at work. Not since the latest incident. Sucked the joy right out of my work. I called off Monday, and wanted to go home yesterday. Another co-worker beat me to it and I said "Oh, heck with it. Just tough it out the rest of the day." 

Advil, coffee and a shower. Hey, I wonder if you can get a false leg with a boot that can kick you in the rear? You know, just attach it to your bathroom door like you would a mirror. Whenever you need a boost, just push a button and turn around - bam! One kick in the rear. Well, it may just make somebody a million. Well, what? There was that pet rock thing! And that god-awful singing fish on the wall!

Celebration

However you celebrate it  (Independence Day) - have a good one.

As for me - quiet today.

A crew is coming in on Saturday (the 7th) to grill. I told them I was not 'doing' the fourth this year. Sigh. They said they will bring everything. Go for it.

I am on some new medication for migraines. And am scheduled for an MRI. I called earlier in the week when I got yet another headache. They are not full blown migraines but my quality of life really sucks. I am trying to find a solution to this "staying home and staying quiet all summer" theme that I have committed myself to. Until I find out what the hell is causing this or what is going on, I am laying low. If it is menopause then I may just have to deal with it until it all passes, but I am not taking it laying down. I will fight but only when I can muster up the energy to do so. I look like shit.

The ones coming in this week-end do not get headaches. I love them and I hope I do not get grouchy. Screw fire works. I hate the noise.

Okay, enough for the negativity. My new med is for seizures but also is believed to help with migraines. Anticonvulsant. Two days in and so far so good. Time will tell. I am certain the MRI will tell nothing, but at least I'll have gotten it out of the way. They seriously asked me if I had any pins or bolts in my head. Really? What am I? Frankenstein? I said the only metal I had were teeth fillings and my mouth is full of that. That is another story. Welfare children do not get to pick much from the dentist arena. Every dentist I have been to since I turned 20 has cursed the dentist that pulled one of my molars at 12 years old.

Okay - back to quiet. Seriously - have a good one. Grill outside if you must but get back into the shade or the Air or a big blue pool. God Bless America. And anything/anybody else who wants to bless us. Every one.

I think I'll go online and try to find an American song by Andy Griffith. I like to hear him sing.

Oh, and wonder of wonders. My computer sputtered on me this morning. I swear! Every fourth of July or close to it (you can go back in my archives and look for yourself) this damn computer crashes. WTF? It is back up and running but it gave me a good scare. I immediately backed up a lot of stuff. I am running out of external hard drive space. Prices are coming down, I think I'll get a 2 TB one.  Newegg has a WD for $129.

Yikes!

I think this photo was taken at the zoo gift shop in Pittsburgh back in '07. Not certain. Oh, that is my daughter in that snake's mouth. 

Speaking of teeth. We were, weren't we? I had a molar pulled Thursday. I have not had a tooth extraction since the late 70's when I had my wisdom teeth pulled out. In the chair. That's right sissies. No nitrous oxide for us back in those days. The dentist used a C-clamp and pliers. My mouth remained swollen as if I had a wad of chewing tobacco in there for a week.

I was a bit nervous with not knowing what to expect. Psshh! It was nothing! Two things bothered me. The first was the sound as they pulled it out. Talk about fingernails on a chalkboard. Grrr! And about three hours later was the intense itching as the Novocaine wore off. That did not last long and I barely needed Advil. I took it more as a precaution than as a pain reliever. I had no pain to speak of.

I am a tad bit worried about the sinus cavity that the tooth root was close to. The dentist told me not to blow my nose for two days. Okay. The dental instructions said not to swish for two days. Can I brush?! How can you brush without swishing a bit of water around up there?

Eh, I made it through. Other than that "weird" empty feeling - things are fine. It is healing quickly and I am hoping that this resolves a lot of (what I hope were related to this tooth) problems over the past years. That upper right region of my sinus/gums/ear has had it's share of misery.

The finger is healing. The tooth (or, rather gum) is healing. My body must be in some kind of "what the hell is happening to us" mode. It must be working overtime healing my wounds.  That is a lot of stuff going on in the body. I think I need to rest all week-end and take it easy and let my body heal. Movies are waiting. Also hovering  ominously close is :   Angry Birds - yes...dammit! I have become slightly addicted. I keep picking the Nook up and playing "ONE.MORE.LEVEL."!!!  OMG! There is a web site titled "one more level". Oh, God. Don't go there.

What is residing in your living room furniture?

This is my nephew's cat and chair. Not mine. I loved this photo.

The ear ache started yesterday. Advil helps the best. The rain is pouring. I know "You don't have to shovel rain", but I am not sure I would shovel the snow either. I would just walk and drive right over it. Big whoop. It's snow. It's natural. Leave it alone.

I also am getting a sore throat. I woke up at 1:30 a.m. after going to bed at 10:30. WTF?! I am on my second cup of coffee and just about ready to go back to bed. It is 3:40 a.m.

Should I take the antibiotics the dentist prescribed for me? Is an infection of the tooth that is splitting causing the ear ache? Should I wait two days to see if the ear ache goes away on its own? Hah! Then it is Christmas day and I could possibly spend the day in misery.

Decisions, decisions.

On a side note. I work in an office where some of the employees are school psychologists. One guy told me that the way to test to see if you have ADHD is if you do not respond to caffeine. My second cup of coffee and I think I can sleep better than without it. Huh. Who knew?

In costume

A co-worker gets into the spirit of the holiday by dressing in a "Clifford" dog suit. I can only imagine how hot it must get inside those things. She did not wear this all day. She was just trying it on. There was also a Curious George but nobody was able to snag pics of the guy that put that outfit on. I was nowhere around but another co-worker sent me this pic from her cell phone.

I am slowly seeing my neighborhood participate a bit more each year. I saw six houses with their porch lights on this year. I had an appointment and came home during the middle of the kids walking around. There was nobody on my street. I think I saw four goblins later while walking the dogs. The kids just do not feel it is worth walking down a street that only has a few porch lights on. I didn't even buy any candy.

The Boxer was mesmerized by the goblins. He stood and stared for as long as I let him. They were across the street and a safe distance away. He would not hurt a fly but he can scare the bejesus out of people when he runs up to them all excited.

I have been having tooth issues (or gum issues) again. This has been off and on since late July. I did something to a molar and at first I thought it was an earache. When the doctor's antibiotics did nothing, I turned to the dentist. His antibiotics either worked or time was the healer. I was okay for a little while. The tooth was still quite sensitive. When I went in for a cleaning at the beginning of October I told him I was still having issues. He filed the tooth down. I think he loosened the filling. It has been irritating me.

I was finally able to pinpoint the exact tooth for him. When I touch it, it is very sensitive. The gums around are all inflamed and itch like crazy. It drives me nuts. I do find that Advil (still my best friend) relieves the itching for a few hours. When I walk the dogs I can feel the blood thumping in that area of my gums. I have been rinsing with a hydrogen peroxide solution. It is like a mosquito bite. It drives me crazy and then I will take my toothbrush and just brush that area for about a half an hour. I know. Not the best thing for the poor gum line.

The Cloudmaker

When I drive to Coshocton I always look for the cloud maker.

The issue with this factory though, is the smell. Ugh! It stinks.Back in the mid 70's I worked as a short order cook in a restaurant. Every Friday we would get steak delivered fresh. It came in a cardboard box and blood always soaked the box. That smell has stayed with me for years. I believe this is the reason I could not eat steak for years after becoming an adult. Well, I also worked at Ponderosa Steak house for one summer after the cook job. (Long before the buffet era). I guess both combined turned me off of steak for about twenty years.

Now? I can't get enough steak! Yum! I'll take mine medium, please. NO SAUCE! If a steak is fixed correctly it needs no sauce. If I get a lousy tasting steak I will add a little Worcestershire sauce, but that is all. And then I won't return to that establishment.

Still dealing with pain but not near as bad as before. In fact I thought the worst was over until I took a swig of my hot coffee this morning. Searing pain! I thought my head was going to pop off. LOL! I can laugh now because the pain has abated. Big sigh.

Tuesday morning I sat here (I had another vacation day - great planning!) and at 8:00 I called the dentist and they told me to come right over. As soon as I got there my pain disappeared. Don't you hate that?! I think the dentist thought I was a nut case. Except he has been seeing me for over ten years and I have never had to come in for an emergency before. Well, they took x-rays and that started the pain. I was near tears. He explained roots and gums and nerves to me and I just wanted to cry. In other words, he could not see anything wrong. He wrote me a prescription for an anti-biotic that aims for the tissues inside the body. I guess I will get that filled today and begin taking it. The z-pack is long gone. My ear still hurts but may just be a side effect of this tooth/jaw issue.

The dentist also mentioned another mouth guard. He made one for me years ago (about $500) that insurance did not cover. I may have used it one week. I hated it. This one would be spongier he said. We decided to wait on this.