The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2017

[kashmir64]

My monitor bit it. Would not stay on for more than 5 seconds without shutting off. It was so very annoying. So my son felt sorry for me and went and bought me a new 19" LED monitor. He said I looked pitiful.
So, I got on FB real quick and saw this. If you love Doctor Who and The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy, You are going to fall over laughing.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Daleks..... Enjoy

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Iceberg lettuce is only a carrier for salad dressing. I don't care for it at all. Other than that, anything on a salad is pretty ok in my book, except radishes. I like the taste, but they hurt my gums.

LOVE that video! What fun. Thanks, kashmir64 !

 

[Margret]

kashmir64 , it sounds like you raised your son properly! Hilarious video. Thanks.

Margret

 

[segelkatt]

I had never heard of iceberg lettuce until I came here and I did not like it, it was like crispy water, no taste at all. I still don't care for it and it has been decades. I grew up with butter lettuce, plain with a vinaigrette. We had no mixed salads, we had cucumber salad, tomato & onion salad, radish salad made from a huge white radish similar to a Daikon radish but more round instead of long, looking like a turnip; potato salad, meat salad, fish salad, it was always just one kind of veggie and onions did not count. And never any mayo, just a vinaigrette, although meat, fish and egg salads were dressed with a creamy dressing which had sour cream or mayo added to it sometimes. No carrot salad, never heard of that, only ate carrots that were cooked, but we had cole slaw which had to sit overnight before it was good. There were veggies and fruit we had heard of but had never seen: eggplant which we called aubergines, squash which we called curbits, artichokes, melons of every kind, avocados, limes, broccoli, corn (the only kind we knew of was fodder for animals, not the sweet corn for people), lima beans but we had plenty of other kinds of beans including green beans which grew on trellises. I have learned to like most of these although I still don't like eggplant or squashes. Food really depends on where you live and its climate although by now we can get everything even out of season from someplace else. I don't indulge in that as the carbon footprint of food that has been shipped from who knows where is humonguous and we need to keep our Earth and bees healthy or there won't be any food. I will survive just fine without cherries in December or broccoli in August. Living in California most food stuffs grow year round anyway and the ones that don't then become a treat when they are in season.

 

[segelkatt]

So I watched the video, sorry, I don't see anything funny. I tried reading the Hitchhikers trilogy and gave up and I have not watched Dr Who in over 20 years so I guess I just don't know what's going on. Maybe I'll try Dr Who again but I have never been a fan of shows that go on and on with cliffhangers or the like. I don't mind the same characters but I like the episode to be finished after not more than 3 continuations.

 

[kashmir64]

So I watched the video, sorry, I don't see anything funny. I tried reading the Hitchhikers trilogy and gave up and I have not watched Dr Who in over 20 years so I guess I just don't know what's going on. Maybe I'll try Dr Who again but I have never been a fan of shows that go on and on with cliffhangers or the like. I don't mind the same characters but I like the episode to be finished after not more than 3 continuations.

That's O.K. Everybody's different. Which is what makes this world so interesting.

 

[arouetta]

This post is going to be a bit of a serious one. Scroll right past if you want lighthearted stuff.

One time, a few years ago, my grandmother told me that she had a picture of my favorite aunt, the last picture taken of her. To understand the photo, I need to tell you of my aunt's death. She was 40 years old, this was 15 years ago, not 16, not 14, exactly 15 years ago. My aunt had chronic back pain, some pretty serious stuff, and she had narcotic pain pills. She had been on them since she was a teen following back surgery, and I doubt it was a case of addiction as she had been told that someday soon she'd be in a wheelchair because the scarring on the inside of her vertebrae was pressing on her spinal column and it was growing and eventually it would start to paralyze her. She was at my grandparents' house since a Brady Act order required my grandfather to be checked out at the hospital 48 hours earlier and it was determined he was never going home and she and my dad were telling my grandmother that she wasn't allowed to check him out of the hospital. He was an alcoholic that had gone on the wagon when I was a little girl and had fallen off the wagon when forced to retire and he was a mean drunk, violent, and it was a threat to shoot my grandmother that got the deputies and the Brady Act involved.

She decided to take a bath on a cold winter night when my grandmother wasn't home, was at the hospital with my grandfather. She passed out while in the bath, while the water was still running. The hot water ran out, the cold water going into the heater ran straight through and the bath water ended up just above freezing. Her core body temperature was only 88 degrees when she was found and she had aspirated some water. She was taken to ICU and someone, I don't know who, found her pain pills and counted them. There were three or four more missing from the bottle than the fill date showed should have been in there so the assumption by medical doctors at the hospital was that she took too many and fell asleep in the bath and they were too strong for her to wake up.

Three days later she talked the doctors into letting her out of the hospital when it was safe for her to leave ICU. The picture was when she came home. Grandma said that she was wearing a hospital gown since she had been taken into the hospital naked and no one brought clothes because conventional wisdom was that she should have stayed longer, and she looked terrible, wan and wasted. My great-grandparents had a trailer maybe 15 feet from my grandparents' trailer and everyone was at Ma and Pa's the next day. My aunt said that she didn't feel well, stood up, and literally dropped dead. The EMTs did CPR for half an hour and were actually talking to a doctor on the phone requesting permission to stop CPR when her heart finally started to beat again. But the damage was already done, lack of oxygen had pretty much destroyed all her organs. She was taken off of life support three days later. There was no autopsy, the doctor said there really wouldn't be a way to tell what was pre-heart stoppage damage and was was post-heart stoppage damage. However a couple of years later, I guess from reviewing all the medical stuff, it was determined she was in late-stage kidney failure, probably had around 10% function and it was the waste toxins in the blood that made her pass out in the bathtub, not the pain pills.

When my grandmother told me about the picture, my aunt looking absolutely terrible less than a day before her heart gave out, I wondered why she kept it. Who would want such a photo?

The vet that told me Shadow's days were basically numbered, I think she was thinking it was going to be a few weeks, that with sub-q fluids and tempting baby food and canned tuna we could keep her hydrated and eating for a bit. I don't think she realized Shadow was just going to give up so fast. She told me to take pictures weekly as Shadow's face would change, that through comparing the pictures I would see when she was ready to give up. So when I got home I took a couple of photos. Shadow looked terrible, nothing at all like the b*tchy kitty she became after settling into our home and realizing we weren't going to send her away. They are still on my phone, I don't have the heart to delete them.

I think I finally understand why my grandmother kept that photo of my aunt.

 

[arouetta]

To late to edit, one final detail, meaningless to you all but meaningful to me, I guess I really haven't dealt with this stuff instead of shoving it away into a corner of my mind. Only my great-grandfather was alive. He was the one that called the cops because he finally got tired of my grandfather threatening and hurting his daughter and ignored her pleas for him to drop it. My aunt died in the same hospital room that my great-grandmother had died in three years earlier.

 

[Margret]

arouetta , I have pictures that were taken when my dad was dying -- the whole family, my mother, both brothers, one brother's wife and her daughter, Roger and me, even my dad's dog lying across his lap. I keep them because it's the last time the whole family was together. But they live in a drawer, face-down, because of the way my dad looks in them, all thin and wasted and tired. I can't and won't throw them out, but I hate looking at them.

I have not watched Dr Who in over 20 years so I guess I just don't know what's going on. Maybe I'll try Dr Who again but I have never been a fan of shows that go on and on with cliffhangers or the like. I don't mind the same characters but I like the episode to be finished after not more than 3 continuations.

Lately, Dr. Who has had a few two-parters, but most episodes are complete in themselves. They can do that now because it's now usually an hour long, unlike the earliest shows.

Now, I'm distinguishing here between multi-part episodes and shows that add to the entire story arc; there are a lot of those, and they make the show richer without cliffhangers.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It seems that I'm getting a new back door next Monday. They measured for them months ago, and they will finally be installed. On Tuesday, the exterminator comes, so anything that crawls in will get dead. SIGH...I have to get up early TWO DAYS next week! I do not function before noon. I have NEVER functioned before noon, to the point that my mother would talk to the class scheduling committee ever year and make sure that I had English and humanities type classes in the morning (my easy stuff), and any math or science after lunch when there was a chance that I could concentrate on them. But a new back door will be nice. I only hope that it is glass again. I'd hate for Hekitty to lose her bird watching station!

 

[foxxycat]

Well I avoided a bad situation. I have a bone spur and was seeing this so called world renowned orthopedic. Well I talked to the people face to face who had surgery with him and they all said AVOID and run. They were not impressed. I fired the doctor on wed after hearing a horror story from a good friend of mine who had a surgery go bad. And another person came up to say the same thing. two people had bad surgeries.

So I am in the process of getting records from them to send to a new location. I only hope I don't have to wait another 6 months to get this stupid issue resolved. This is really testing my nerves and I miss the gym. I was told to sit down and don't do anything for the next 6 months. Oh and maybe they will remove it. I said no. I said I have already seen you twice and with xray proof the only way to get rid of it is to go in and buzz it off. So now it's August almost September. Really annoyed with their treatment of me-the big crowd to see me-never got the doctor one on one-always 2 other people in the room which I felt disgusting. I don't want to divelge medical stuff to any of the office staff etc only the doctor needs to hear it. So I fired him Wednesday. I don't recommend this place. Which is sad because not all the doctors there are bad. My shoulder doctor there is exceptional and several of coworkers also had shoulder repairs without issues.

So on to a new doctor and start all over again. and $$$$ spent for NOTHING. oh and these inserts they made me buy are $75. 0.020" thick shim stock glued on a piece of felt. I could have made my own out of stainless steel for $22. Good grief.

 

[kashmir64]

My son and I spent hours yesterday cutting limbs off a Juniper tree yesterday. Had to do it, before APS (the electric company) came and charged us an outrageous price to do it. It was covering the meter and almost to the wires above coming in.
I don't mind doing it, except for my shoulder. If I thought I couldn't move it before, this made it worse. I can't even move it high enough to pick up my coffee cup without dropping and screaming in pain. I have pain meds, but I really, really, really don't want to take them. It's not the muscles, they are fine. It's the shoulder itself. There is no cartilage in the rotator cup/ball joint, whatever it's called. My doctor refuses to even consider surgery until I go through physical therapy. (like that's going to make it grow back).
According to him, the x-rays clearly show it's rubbing bone on bone....so, get a grip you moron. (o.k., I'm done complaining now)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It seems that my roof may be fixed. Or at least, the roofers came today. THAT SAID, it was the crew who didn't even bother to look in the attic to see where the water was coming in, so I am reserving judgement until the next hard rain with wind. Crossing my fingers. I'm so tired of buckets and pots all over the kitchen. Now we just have to get the ceiling repaired if the leak is gone.

SIGH...I have to go over to Suzanne's apartment tonight to try to get her antenna working. She can't manage it. I have absolutely no idea what to do, but she's certain that I can fix it all. Wish I were that certain about it. And I'm taking her an onion or two. However, since she's getting a new sofa in a couple of months, and giving me her old one, I can also take my tape measure so I know what size slip cover to order. There is nothing wrong with the sofa, but the color and pattern just aren't right for my living room. Slip covers are so much cheaper than new sofas!

It looks like replacing the cable in the apartment itself has worked! I've only had to reboot once since it was done, and that was yesterday morning after a brief power outage the night before. Other than that, I've had no issues at all, AND my computer is running much faster now!

 

[segelkatt]

Well I avoided a bad situation. I have a bone spur and was seeing this so called world renowned orthopedic. Well I talked to the people face to face who had surgery with him and they all said AVOID and run. They were not impressed. I fired the doctor on wed after hearing a horror story from a good friend of mine who had a surgery go bad. And another person came up to say the same thing. two people had bad surgeries.

So I am in the process of getting records from them to send to a new location. I only hope I don't have to wait another 6 months to get this stupid issue resolved. This is really testing my nerves and I miss the gym. I was told to sit down and don't do anything for the next 6 months. Oh and maybe they will remove it. I said no. I said I have already seen you twice and with xray proof the only way to get rid of it is to go in and buzz it off. So now it's August almost September. Really annoyed with their treatment of me-the big crowd to see me-never got the doctor one on one-always 2 other people in the room which I felt disgusting. I don't want to divelge medical stuff to any of the office staff etc only the doctor needs to hear it. So I fired him Wednesday. I don't recommend this place. Which is sad because not all the doctors there are bad. My shoulder doctor there is exceptional and several of coworkers also had shoulder repairs without issues.

So on to a new doctor and start all over again. and $$$$ spent for NOTHING. oh and these inserts they made me buy are $75. 0.020" thick shim stock glued on a piece of felt. I could have made my own out of stainless steel for $22. Good grief.

I assume you have a bone spur on your heel. That hurts as if there was a nail coming in through the bottom of your shoe. About 15 years ago I had that and my orthopedist made custom-made orthotics for both feet and told me to wear sneakers all the time with them in them. I could also wear high-heeled shoes without any problem. Wonderful, no more pain! After a while I tried walking barefoot around the house, I could do that only for a short time and I would feel that bone spur again, so back to the sneakers. Over time it got so much better that I could walk around barefooted for quite a few hours but also noticed that flat shoes didn't quite make it. Now that I don't wear heels anymore I always get shoes with a wedge, maybe just 1/2 inch, and that works out well. I still wear those orthotics in my sneakers or any boots and I have a pair of clogs that has a huge arch support in it that serves the same purpose. The clogs are made of real leather and had been quite expensive. I had worn down one side of the heel after about 6 years and actually had the shoemaker put new heels on the clogs which are now 12 years old and are they ever worth it. No surgery for me, I just have high arches and a high instep, both on size 5 1/2 feet, and I was overweight to boot, no wonder my feet hurt. I'm glad I had an orthopedist who did not believe in surgery unless it was absolutely necessary. Yes, the orthotics were expensive, $150.00 at that time and insurance did not cover them, but they surely were worth it. Now I can walk on the beach without shoes for hours and anywhere else for quite a while.

 

[NewYork1303]

Carrot went in for his dental today. He is back home and seems to be feeling good. He demanded food and is drinking. I guess his temp was high after surgery, but he seems normal so far.

Problem, Angua absolutely is not happy with the way he smells. She is hissing and slinking around fearful of him. We have her in the office now, secluded so that he can start smelling more normal before she comes out again.

 

[arouetta]

I had the MRI today. No report yet.

I'm hoping I can see my doctor this Monday as she works only on Mondays. I want my bike back. I don't want to wear a sling anymore.

Google Images is freaking awesome for MRI pictures. Back when I was having the brachial neuritis, first thought was a bad cervical disc. I was given my images, compared them to Google Images, and between all the comparisons (normal, herniated cervical disc, mine) I thought there was something wrong with the disc between C5 and C6, but it looked super tiny, like nothing major. Sure enough, according to the report I have very minor herniation between C5 and C6 that had absolutely nothing to do with my symptoms.

However today was a "let's see what's going on" not a suspected diagnosis. The pain is in the wrong spot for it to be the same problem according to the doctor. So I dug up Google Images normal, my April MRI results and today's and did a little comparison. I think I finally see why in April the doctor who did the reading thought my clavicle was broken when it was a tendon, the area looks fuzzy, like there's something wrong. But as far as comparisons go, there's a ton of white stuff covering a couple of areas that look like near where muscles would be connecting to something that wasn't there in April and isn't in the normal images on Google Images. I'm wondering if I tore a muscle or two. Well, hopefully I can find out this Monday, not next Monday if that white stuff is the problem and what it is.

 

[Margret]

NewYork1303 , . Carrot goes to the dentist, and Angua suffers for it! Odd what cats find traumatic, isn't it?

kashmir64 , foxxycat , Joint and foot pain are horrible.

arouetta , that's good. It's always useful to have some good questions when you visit the doctor. I hope she has some answers for you.

Well, the power is out in half of our house, and cycling the circuit breakers didn't fix it, so it looks like a weekend call to an electrician. Oh, joy. I had to move the router and computer into the master bedroom so I still have internet, and I'm on the verge of moving the microwave and coffee maker in here, too. And I need to go to the grocery store and buy some ice in the morning, since both the fridge and the chest freezer are in the part of the house that's without power.

Margret

 

[NewYork1303]

NewYork1303 , . Carrot goes to the dentist, and Angua suffers for it! Odd what cats find traumatic, isn't it?

It doesn't shock me considering as Carrot is exceedingly mellow, the most mellow cat I've ever met. Angua is .... well ... a bit strange.

She is hiding under an end table now afraid to come out. Carrot is rolling around the ground ripping apart a catnip toy with his mouth.

 

[Margret]

It doesn't shock me considering as Carrot is exceedingly mellow, the most mellow cat I've ever met. Angua is .... well ... a bit strange.

She is hiding under an end table now afraid to come out. Carrot is rolling around the ground ripping apart a catnip toy with his mouth.

Perhaps the smell of catnip on Carrot will reassure her.

Margret

 

[Margret]

Well, I'm sitting here catching my breath and cooling off with a cold cup of coffee (leftover from a couple of days ago, but still tastes just fine). I just ran a heavy duty extension cord from the master bedroom to the back bedroom, where the chest freezer resides, then moved the microwave and coffee maker in there on top of the old dresser. The freezer, coffee maker, microwave, and a lamp are all powered at this point. Unfortunately, I can't do the same with either the stove or the refrigerator; I think I still need to buy a bag of ice for the fridge, but any excess can be stored in the chest freezer until needed, and I can use ice packs from the chest freezer to keep some cashew milk cold in my little 6-pack cooler for use in my coffee. Maybe we actually can wait until Monday to get an electrician. No longer than that, though. Outlets in the master bedroom are seriously overloaded at this point.

I guess it's a good thing our old microwave died a few months back; it was too large for me to move by myself. This one came from the basement, where the house guests from hell left it behind, and is much newer, fancier, and more lightweight.

Time to feed Jasmine and call it a day.

Margret