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Unpreparedness

Some site (no, no link, because I don’t think the info is all that reliable, just. . . moderately interesting as a viewpoint to take off from) suggested that the following list was what grocery stores ran out of quickest at inception of the recent pan(dem)ic. *shrugs*

Pasta and tomato sauce
Yeast
Flour
Sugar
Milk
Eggs
Butter
Rice
Beans
Peanut butter

So, folks weren’t already stocked up on staples. Had NO idea how to bake w/o commercial yeast? *yawn* I have bought exactly one of those items in the last six weeks. Had all I needed of the rest (didn’t need any milk, but I’ll admit to buying a couple of gallons of cream. . . ) Grocery stores ran out/low on only one item on my own replenishment list, and I had alternatives for that. But then

1. We have a pretty well-stocked pantry and
2. Our diet is not normal. *heh*

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To Be Determined. . .

Experimental dinner again tonight built around. . . a sweet red pepper. Casserole Sine Nomine: Browned ground beef (salt, pepper, roasted garlic–powdered–, minced onion); chopped sweet red pepper; broccoli, cauliflower, a can of no-name cream of mushroom soup, sharp cheddar (shredded), mixed; topped with more shredded cheddar and chunks of a smoked bacon cheddar cheese ball I had layin’ around. 350°F for 30 minutes. We’ll see how it turns out: save the “recipe” or toss, that is the question. Answer to be determined.

Determined: Good. Due a wee bit of tweaking (more garlic, for one), but a keeper.

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Outright violation of inherent, inalienable rights? Yes.

But do note: this is nothing new, really. *sigh* Doncha know, constitutional “protections” of rights are merely suggestions? And with the Great Toilet Paper Panic of 2020, now that the Constitution is now seen as simply a convenient substitute for TP by governments throughout the land, such quaint, outmoded ideas as “inherent rights” are simply to be dispensed with for convenience’s sake. This is nothing new, though. After all, when Newt Gingrich–that *cough* great defender of the Constitution *cough*–was reportedly asked a couple of decades ago whence the constitutional authority for the so-called “war on drugs” since the only constitutionally-authorized ban on the manufacture, import, distribution, sale and use of _A_ drug (alcohol–Volstead Act) had been mooted by the repeal of the 18th Amendment, Gingrich is reported to have replied simply, “It’s different now.”

Yep. The difference is that the Constitution is viewed as either a document to deliberately twist into saying what it does not (lies, damned lies, and political lies) or as TP with which to wipe one’s lips clean of fecal matter.

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Affliction Becomes Benefit

Some folks are more prone than others to vertical ridges in fingernails as they age. Oh, anyone can experience them because of nutritional deficits or some physical malady, but mine are apparently age and genetics related. I can recall as a young boy times spent with my maternal grandfather’s mother. Spending time with Great Grandmother was an enriching experience for me in many ways, but one lil thing has remained fascinating to me over the years: her hands. She was always doing interesting things with her hands: needlework, paging down pages in her Bible as she read (sometimes aloud for me, though I was close and reading along), sharpening her always-at-hand pen knife, and even trimming her nails with that very sharp pen knife.

And then there were her nails. Yep. Ridged just like mine are now, like Dad-Dad’s (maternal grandfather) were, like my older sister’s are. I have dealt with mine by checking my nutrition (no problems there), by making them less brittle with applications of different kinds, and. . . by trimming them as short as possible in order to minimize the real problem with ridged nails: frequent splitting and chipping.

And how has this become a benefit in recent days? Ease of keeping things really clean under my fingernails (because there’s hardly any “under my fingernails” to clean, for one thing).

So, a lil piece of heritage coming around to being a benefit.

Sweet!

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That’s (Self-Isolated) Entertainment

One cat (Ye Olde Pharte) just sitting and watching youngest cat play–wildly–with imperceptible bits of fluff (or whatever), while “middle cat” sits staring at me over my laptop’s display.

*munches popcorn-sips beer* Now, THAT’S entertainment. . . *heh*

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Mystery Project

Inspiration struck when I was cutting off the first plank of a fairly large diameter, 10′-long sycamore log today. I visualized a perfect application for the 2”-wide planks coming off the log, though I modded that thought immediately and reserved the last couple of feet to make 4”×4” pieces for part of the “inspiration.” I’ll update on this mystery project as it develops.

And yeh, in the interest of simplicity, I’ll be using exact measurements, not “nominal” lumber sizes.

Continue reading “Mystery Project”

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Hand Sanitizer — My Fav Formula

NOT a hard and fast formula, because your available ingredients may vary from mine. For example, I list “melaleuca alternifolia oil,” but what I use is 100% melaleuca oil refined to T36C5, meaning 36% terpinen-4-ol (the active anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral portion of the oil), 5% cineole (the penetrating fraction of melaleuca oil). The “aloe vera gel” I use is also just what is available to me.

In a one ounce bottle:
25 drops of melaleuca oil + aloe vera gel to the 1/4 bottle mark
Everclear™ (95% ethanol).

Shake well before each use.

The resultant mixture should exceed 70% alcohol (CDC, et al recommend 60% alcohol in hand sanitizer that uses alcohol), plus the antiseptic properties of melaleuca oil and the skin conditioning of the aloe vera lotion. Then, of course, there is the pleasant (to me, at least) aroma of the melaleuca oil.

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Sometimes Too Much of a Good Thing. . .

. . . is just too much.

Semi-sorta-annual checkup yesterday (my “permission slip” visit for a lisinopril scrip). My BP and pulse were up a tad, probably due to both recent disruptions of sleep pattern (exigencies calling for me to be up ~0300-0430, at the least, for example) and pain from dislocated knee (it’s getting better w/o physician intervention, but OTC pain meds are ineffective). But still, PA thought it’d be a good idea to try some metoprolol to at least moderate the pulse rate.

I’m not sanguine with metoprolol use, in gweneral. The first warning is “Do not stop taking this drug all of a sudden. If you do. . . in some cases heart attack may occur.” Yeh, I told him it brought about a dependency. . . Oh, well. I know how to taper it off if I have to.

Added 25mg (HALF the dosage prescribed) to my regimen today, and. . . my heart rate is now so low I can barely keep my eyes open. We’ll see how that goes.

“If I should die before I wake. . . ”

*heh*

Oh, good night’s rest last night (before I began the new drug regimen), no 0300 call on my time today, and my heart rate and BP had already fallen into an acceptable range, despite the continued knee “discomfort.”

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Too Little, Too Late

Almost helpful info from “ready-dot-gov.”

First of all, it seems this page was posted sometime after the pan(dem)ic went, urm, viral, so the section, “Before a Pandemic” seems a bit useless, at this time. Then, there’s the actual content of the section beginning with,

  • Store a two week supply of water and food.

TWO WEEKS? That’s not preparation for any sort of emergency. It’s just menu planning for a couple of weeks. And “Store a two week supply of. . . water”? At a bare minimum of one gallon/day per person, that’d be 28 gallons for two people. And then what? Nope. Have multiple ways to purify water and a continual supply source available ( for example, know where a relatively clear natural water source is to start with and have filtration and purification means on hand).

  • Periodically check your regular prescription drugs to ensure a continuous supply in your home.

Yeh, no help for most folks on prescription meds because of restrictions on refills (small amounts covering short time frames, typically a month if not a schedule 1 drug, often less if it is). If an emergency lasts more than a couple of weeks, folks could start dropping like flies, cos no refills on essential meds.

This is good, though–and could apply to homebound (for health reasons) or elderly folks you know on top of family:

  • Talk with family members and loved ones about how they would be cared for if they got sick, or what will be needed to care for them in your home.

The section on “During a Pandemic” is useful, especially for folks who missed out on their ration of common sense, ‘cos they thought they hears “fitty cents” and skipped getting any.