Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

I have been out of academia and the workforce for several years now and while I do make an income, I consider myself semi-retired.  There days I go full tilt and get nothing done.  I came across this video that really explains my condition.  It sums up my days to a 'T'!  Quite frankly I have always displayed signs of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) but have never been officially diagnosed even though it is quite apparent.  The inability to concentrate and focus on one task combined with dyslexia really made earning my post secondary degrees a challenge and then some.  The only way I got through academia was by religiously following a very rigid schedule.  That made it difficult for our home life raising kids because I was not as spontaneous but it is what I had to do to survive long enough to earn my degrees.

Folks not affected by ADD have no clue how challenging and frustrating it can be.  It has nothing to do with being forgetful although I may have a bit of that now that I'm getting up there in years but I take thiamin to help with any memory issues.  The real problem is not being able to focus on one task.  I seriously cannot sit and watch television without doing something else at the same time.  I knit, crochet, blog, and the list goes on but I never just watch television.  If a commercial comes on, I am up puttering, emptying the dishwasher or doing whatever pops into my mind that needs doing.  If I am online and this one really drives my husband nuts, I have a multitude of tabs open on the browser bouncing between them.  It could take me well over a day to write a blog post because I'm up and down puttering between thoughts or checking out tangents online.  The distractions never end and it is not as simple as telling me to focus because there is just too much sensory overload for me to focus on one task.

Having ADD or even ADD symptoms does not mean you have dementia and with proper health care mixed with good genes you may never develop dementia as you age.  ADD really is an issue that if you have it, you likely have had it from birth and have dealt with it for your entire live.  It isn't something that just suddenly manifests itself.  Many with ADD tend to be perfectionists which feeds into the ADD because you either do it perfect or you are off on tangents to find out how to do it perfectly.  Many are also high end achievers - scoring in the upper tenth percentile academically, climbing that corporate ladder and basically to the outside world, everything is perfect.  But it isn't.  Along with  ADD comes an incredible amount of frustration, a healthy dose of low self esteem, and a feeling of being somewhat disconnected or disorganized.  It can lead to those with adult ADD to alienate or disassociate from people because they are tired of being judged for being a bit different.  It can lead to self medication via drugs or alcohol which can complicate the problem.  At the same time, those with ADD tend to develop some rather impressive coping mechanisms but then that is the same of any disorder.  You do what you have to do to get by in life.  ADD is not funny, it isn't fun dealing with it but I can so relate to this video!

Onto Round Two

Well, I really shouldn't say round two as round one is still hanging in there.  There is a horrid cold strain going around and I managed to catch it despite avoiding people like the plague, frequently washing my hands and not touching my face.  This is what at best I can describe as being a cold/flu hybrid as it has symptoms of a cold, the worst coughing fits ever producing a burning searing pins and needles sensation, mild gastointestinal upset, overall achy and yet no fever.  There's been some night sweats but that's it as far as fever and since I've had them before, I doubt they are related to this illness.  My cheeks are a bright red and according to others I look sick (nice complement) and the best compliment ever is I look pasty.

I am taking a tremendous amount of dietary supplements so now we wait and wait for this blasted illness to break..................

The Sick Factor

During the worst of my recent cold symptoms, I called my doctor to get evaluated, actually as soon as the coughing led to vomiting.  It was an odd week with her away for a funeral so I could either go to the walk-in clinic (30 minutes away) or to emerg.  Now the thing is I was not running a fever, the classical sign that you are sick.  My cheeks were bright red but no fever so I continued treating at home.  I figured sitting in the comforts of my own home with hot tea was a bit more pleasant than sitting in an emergency waiting room.  So, I called my doctor with an update of my status and the symptoms yesterday.  To which, apparently, there is now a great need to be evaluated.  Go figure!  Most of the symptoms are gone.  My body is beyond sore from the searing pins and needles, my skin is tender to the touch but other than that I feel just fine and I'm looking good too. At any rate, she would like to see me NOW.  Honestly, I feel no reason to go but perhaps there is something I am missing.  So I will humour her just a tad and hopefully in the end find out what caused that horrible searing pins and needles sensation!

The Cold From H E Double Hockey Sticks!

I'm just getting over a cold.  It didn't present like a cold.  In fact, it presented as a sore neck so I thought I had aggravated an old injury.  The sore neck gave way to a horrible sore throat.  A week ago Monday, the coughing started and there came my nightmare.  The coughing started suddenly making me feel my lungs were going to explode along with a beyond painful sensation of searing pins and needles (paresthesias) throughout my body.  For the next two days, I experienced that horrible sensation with each coughing fit followed by vomiting.  The sensation was a bring tears to your eyes worse than childbirth pain.  Once the cough settled down somewhat the residual effects of that searing pain remained so even today, I have some rather tender to the touch spots.  I'm still troubleshooting to find out what caused the pain.  I'm telling you this was the worst cold I have ever experienced and believe me I have had a few doosies.  And it was a cold because over the 11 day duration, I did not have a fever.

Be warned, there is a horrid strain of whooping cough going around.  Now this was not whooping cough as there was no fever or the tell tale whoop sound but it was brutal!  There is also a very nasty and very aggressive flu strain going around.  So do take a few preventative measures to stay healthy and happy during this cold and flu season.

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Getting Back to Normal

This past week has been rather hectic between my husband being in the hospital, trips back and forth to the hospital, trying to work home canning around that and life in general.  I am beyond exhausted but so very pleased that my husband was discharged from the hospital earlier this week and is well on the way to a full recovery!  What a wonderful blessing! Oh, and I did manage to home can chili sauce and tomato stock while he was in the hospital.  The past couple of days, I canned salsa and seafood sauce with more tomato stock to be canned today.  It is a blessing to be able to stock our pantry with delicious, additive free, home canned foods!

Blog posts have been rather hit or miss on this blog lately.  I'm working on changing that so you should see more regular posts for the last quarter of 2012.  The biggest change is I have changed from a text based blog signature to an image based one.  It will take me a day or two to remove all the old text based signatures from older posts.  I think the image signature looks a bit classier.  Quite some time ago, I was going to eliminated the Blog Your Blessings Sunday posts.  Most of the original members of the meme have moved on and are no longer participating.  However, it is a good way to remind me to stop and count my blessings so I will likely continue those Sunday posts.  I'm working on a few other changes for this blog just to help get my blogging mojo back as well.  Here's to a strong blogging end for 2012!

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Dodging the Bullet

Last week I was sick, not deathly sick but definitely sick and not the best when trying to do a couple of road trips.  The thing is it wasn't a definite cold and I still think it was more allergies but at any rate, high doses of Vitamin C with extra rest helped a lot.  This week my husband was fine one minute, went out for the morning and came home sick.  His was more of an obvious cold but still not a cold given the presentation.  It was fast onset, no temperature but major chest congestion.  We went to the pharmacy where I stocked up on three cold & flu remedies including my husband's old stand by, Nyquil.  I made a nice hot cup of tea for him, tucked him in on the couch and started a batch of homemade beef noodle soup for the next day.  It will be a couple of days of him taking it easy.  All in all, while we aren't out of the water yet, both of us are on the mend and that is a blessing :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Allergic Reaction Troubleshooting

We had a very busy weekend filled with a bit of shopping, bake and craft sale, entertaining for a large group which translates into me doing a lot of extra cooking and basically just enjoying the weekend.  I woke up with that feels-like-a-cold is coming on ick feeling.  My throat was scratchy, I was feverish and my ears itched horribly all day Saturday.  I didn't feel much better on Sunday, just considerably more tired from the night before.  Mid-afternoon I had a lovely asthma flare-up, the first one in a few years.  I forgot how much fun those can be <sarcasm>.  Today has just been a blah, asthma threatening, ears itching, scratchy throat, one eye constantly leaking, itching/burning mucosal membrans, feeling to cruddy to swear, deer in the headlight perma look - in short a horrid mess of a day.  However, this is not a cold.  It is an allergic reaction and like all allergic reactions with each exposure they get worse to the point of becoming life-threatening.  The problem with any allergic reaction is troubleshooting for the cause.  The huge problem we are up against is we bought a home with all hard flooring meaning allergens have no place to hide and be slowly released.  Instead they immediately become airborn causing faster, stronger and more severe allergic reactions.

Thursday night I ran a load of laundry using the new Era HE laundry detergent my husband bought because they were out of All Free and Clear and I used what I thought was Fleecy fabric softener as the store was out of Purex.  You know I should know better!  Laundry detergent and fabric softener are two things we seldom experiment with because sure shooting one or the other will trigger an allergic reaction or asthma flare-up.  In fact, according to my allergist the worst triggers is the Tide/Downey combination and he said if you can still smell the product on your clothes, not to use it.  Today I started reacting rather strongly in the laundry room and realized the fabric softener wasn't Fleecy, it was Snuggle!  The only thing I can think happened is in our haste to get the shopping out of the way we accidently grabbed Snuggle.  I've always reacted horribly to Snuggle including an itchy rash and asthma.  One of our kids breaks out in a very nasty rash using Snuggle so we are usually very careful but I could have sworn I grabbed Fleecy.  Now I have to go back and rewash everything that I washed using Snuggle or anything that has the smell of Snuggle on it so now I have extra laundry to do :(

Compounding the problem is I know I'm reacting to the remaining pet dander in the house.  We are lucky that there is no carpeting and we have been rather ruthless at vacuuming to get as much of the pet dander as we can.  I'm vacuuming daily not only the floors but anywhere that pet dander can hide.  We don't have pets and won't have them in our home still it will take a good six months to rid our home of pet dander from the previous owners.  We have arranged to get our HVAC ductwork cleaned after our winter vacation and we have special filters on the furnace and vents that should help filter out the dander until the ductwork is cleaned.  Good gosh, can you tell I'm having a lot of fun with this one?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Well It Could Have Been Worse

We have had a rather peaceful yet productive week.  We took one day off to renew our Nexus and passports that aside from a bit of rain went well.  Saturday we did a bit of electrical work, well actually a fair amount then Sunday while I was working in the kitchen my husband put the new pool winter cover on.  I'm getting things ready for my husband's upcoming hunt trip so decided to make the sauce for lasagna and moose meat chili.  Both freeze nicely and making them ahead of time means no rushing closer to his trip.  I use mainly fresh cooked or home canned foods but because of the move and fall vacation I missed the busiest of the tomato season meaning I am getting low on a few home canned tomato products.  I bought a few cans of tomatoes.  As I was opening one of the cans, the can slipped a little causing the lid to slam up into my thumb.  The resulting cut spans the width of my thumb less than a quarter of an inch below the nail on the underside.  It likely needs stitches but the reality is that close to the nail they won't stitch unless absolutely necessary.  I cleaned the cut, applied pressure to stop the bleeding then tightly bandaged.  Doning on a pair of latex gloves, I continued working. 

After both sauces were finished and into the cooling stage, I sat down to do a bit of blogging.  Dang my thumb hurt for typing and it was throbbing but it reminded me of how lucky I was.  The cut could easily have taken off the top of my thumb!  In that case the treatment would be pretty much the same as what I already started for the cut.  So for the next few days I will keep it tightly bandaged, clean and dry while watching for any signs of infection.  In the meantime, I'm thanking my blessings!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

The Number Three

The number three has a lot importance, coming up over and over again in conversation, superstition and simple daily life.  One belief is bad things always happen in threes and quite often that is the case.  In decorating, the three rule is used for displays usually organized as a short piece, a medium piece and a tall piece.  Photos on display look better grouped as three as do candles or any other like grouping.  On the ominous note, the sign of the devil is 666 a multiple of three containing three numerals.  The number three appears in nursery rhymes (eg. three little pigs, three billy goats gruff) and children's stories (eg. The Three Musketeers).  Then there are three strikes you're out in baseball, chances to stay in someone's good graces or stay out of legal hot water in the judicial system.  Even certain gambling is based on threes!  Older slot machines were based on three, using three coins and three wheels.  There are six sides on a die (a multiple of three) and the highest score you can get on a pair of dice is twelve, another multip of three.  Some genetic disorders are caused by an extra chromosome.  These are the trisomies (eg. Trisomy 21 aka Down's Syndrome).  Have you ever noticed plant leaves ordered in threes?  That can be a good thing or a bad thing.  Clover, a benign and beneficial plant for bees has three leaves yet the saying is leaves three leave them be when refering to poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. 

The number three has a bit of a personal meaning to me.  Unless I am exhausted, I wake at three each morning just like clockwork and my normal sleep pattern is a three hour stretch on any given night.  There is a physiological reason for this.  During the body's normal circadium rhythm, the corticosteriod level is lowest between 3 - 4 AM which is why those using corticosteriods for asthma control are told to take their corticosteriod inhaler/tubohaler around 4 PM.  An asthma flare-up is more likely when corticosteriod levels are lowest and for most asthmatics it is when the are more apt to be exposed to dust mites that can trigger an asthma flare-up.  I haven't used my turbohaler in almost four years which is a good thing but it does mean I never sleep through the night.  At some point I may have to go back to using corticorsteriods but for the meantime my body is enjoying the rest from the side effects.  I'm sure my bones will thank me at some point!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

My APO-Sulfatrim Nightmare

I was prescribed APO-Sulfatrim last Tuesday to treat my infection.  I read all the side effects and what to look for.  The next day with two doses into me, I noticed what appeared to be an insect bite on my left leg along with four smaller bites and a couple on my ankle.  I didn't think anything of as we have a few biting insects here, some that do bite.  Thursday afternoon with now four doses into me, I saw a couple of insect bites on my right ankle, again nothing to be concerned about.  I had been making and canning roasted tomato sauce on the outdoor grill that is surrounded by English Ivy.  Friday morning I woke drenched and running a fever that I attributed to the infection.  By lunchtime I felt fine so we were on our way to Lexington, Michigan by boat for a couple of days.  Saturday I noticed the original bite marks were a bit larger and there a few more of.  Spider bites always evoke a strong reaction for me so again I didn't think anything of it.  Sunday morning I took my final dose then snuggled back down to get a bit more sleep.  My husband poked his head in the cabin to tell me there were eight to nine feet high due to the strongs winds that started the night before.  I could not believe what I saw when I dressed.  I was covered from head to toe with one of the nastiest rashes I've seen.  I called my pharmacy who told me to get Benedryl going immediately and if there was no sign of improvement to go the ER.  We hurried up the hill hoping the drug store was open.  It was so I got the Benedryl and took two tablets as soon as we were outside.  That was at noon and by the time we went to grocery store for water before heading down the hill to the marina, the drug store already had a closed sign.  So we were quite fortunate we didn't get there later in the day. 

Lexington is a small village, very much into tourism from the marinas.  Arriving by boat means we have no land transportation There is no taxi service or car rental.  There is no hospital but they do have a medical clinic.  There is an emergency response team consisting of police, firemen and ambulances.   We would have no choice but to an ambulance so it's a good thing we have travel insurance.  The next alternative was to get one of our friends or family to pick me then drive me back to Canada.  So we started the waiting game.  The first dose of Benedryl had litte effect.  The second dose showed a bit more improvement.  The third dose saw a bit more improvement so I decided to see what the four would do.  I was taking 50 mg for each dose, four hours apart even through the night.  Each dose brought a slight improvement.  I called my doctor when we arrived home this afternoon.  She said to keep taking the Benedryl until all symptoms of the reaction are gone.  Tomorrow I will reduce the dose to 25 mg per dose at 6 hours apart. 

What a scare!  My doctor and pharmacy have noted my file as 'allergic to all sulfa drugs".  That's one more thing I react to.  It's just too bad that I had to find out this way!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - My Doctor

Being sick is not normally seen as a blessing but physiologically it is one of prominent indicators that your body needs attention.  I've been having what I though was benign symptoms prior to the past week so when they escalated the first of the week I foolishly did not pay attention.  I stress foolishly because I make it a point to listen to my body.  Anyway, mid-week there was no ignoring symptoms because they were right there giving me a hi five followed by a whack across the head and a boot in the butt with a healthy dose of "I told you so".  I broke down and called my doctor then crawled back into bed. 

This is not something I do unless in desperate mode.  My doctor and I have a great relationship.  She knows I will not use pain killers unless absolutely necessary.  She trusts my judgement, knows I do my research and am qualified to do so, knows I know my body and at the same time guides me but can be insistent if necessary.  She knows I don't call for an appointment unless absolutely necessary and is very accommodating when I do.  I respect her and she respects me.  It is a great relationship!

So I call my doctor, asking for an appointment telling reception what was going on.  Reception patched me over to my doctor's health practitioner.  My health practitioner is a wonderful person as well who meshes well with my philosophy of holistic and natural health care.    Based on the symptoms, tests were arranged and I was given strict guidelines as to how to manage the symptoms until the test results come back.

I'm still under the weather but am very grateful for having the doctor I do.  She is a true blessing!  She is a team mate in my health care not old school or not willing to listen to my viewpoints about my body but a partner in my health care.  I am very blessed to have a doctor who treats me like their equal, realizes I am quite knowledgeable and respects me.  Besides I really like her :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Health Care

We arrived home from our spring vacation after being away from May 8 to 25 with about eighteen hours at home on the 14^th.  During our brief period at home between the two legs of our spring vacation my husband was seen in emerg.  He was again seen in emerg not a full two days after being home and again a day later when he was admitted to hospital.  We are so blessed to have adequate health care in Canada!  Despite some viewpoints, health care in Canada is not socialized.  Rather health care access is available to all but even that is a bit of a mis-statement as there are many under serviced areas in Canada.  Now access to health care does not mean you can afford the recommended prescriptions or treatment.  We experienced first hand just how much our health care has erroded.  Still when my husband needed the emergency help it was there.  Now we are going through the multitude of tests and the help is there.  So we are blessed, very blessed!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

My Husband's Health

Things are going at a slow crawl here and while I have plenty of great blog fodder, we have been dealing with my husband's health problems since arriving home from vacation on May 25. He was been hospitalized for a couple of those days. He saw his doctor today who ordered more tests. He had viral gastroenteritis contracted likely during the last day of our vacation in one of the airports. The ongoing problems have a tentative diagnosis that will either be confirmed or disproved by the new tests. He is feeling better. It appears the viral infection has pretty much run its course or at least the worst is over.  Now it is the issue of getting to the bottom of the new problems that have popped up.  Next week is riddled with medical appointments but that's ok as long as we find out what is going on. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Bone Chilly to the Cold Bone

Time has a way of marching on bringing new signs of aging each day.  The cold bothers both of us more than it used to.  We tend to hibernate indoors out of the cold as much as possible during the winter months.  Our winter vacation is spent in the sunny south out of Old Man Winter's grasp for the most part.  My biggest problem is getting a chill to my feet or wrists that goes right to the bone resulting in a dull, burning, achy sensation for several hours.  Unfortunately our below grade kitchen floor is ceramic tile, just the perfect antagonist to keeping feet warm and toasty.  Even in the midst of summer the lower level floors are cold.  Ah well, spring is here so at least things are warming up outside so we will be able to get a bit more without dealing with the effects of the cold.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

The Hundred-Year Lie

The Hundred-Year Lie

March 12, 2011

I have a rather extensive book collection that at some point would like to use one room in our home as a library.  We shall see if that is possible in our next house if we ever get this house sold.  The vast majority of the books in my collection are non-fiction.  I've never been much into fictional literary works so my book collection reflects that.  Like many books in my collection, I am re-reading The Hundred-Year Lie by Randal Fitzgerald.  This is a documentary style account of how food and medicine are destroying our health.

Over the past couple of weeks while nursing the worst of my injury, I had ample time to ponder the pharmaceutical aspect of this book.  Let's face facts.  In North America we have an abundance of over the counter drugs for everything imaginable, many of them pain relief oriented.  Heaven forbid if we feel any pain, our body's natural signal that there is something wrong!  We seriously numb every single little pain right down to a mosquito bite!  When our kids were teething, they got a wet wash cloth to chew on and unless spiking a fever, that's it.  Fast forward to our grandkids teething and they are given medication to stop any pain.  I really fear this is a negative thing though.  Kids have gone through teething since the beginning of mankind.  A mother's loving arms to sooth a teething baby seems to me the better choice than medications.  The problem is the pharmaceutical companies have brainwashed us into believing pain is bad. It isn't.  Pain serves a specific purpose.

It is not in the best interests of the pharmaceutical companies to cure any disease with their drugs.  If they cure the disease they lose a market for their high priced drugs aka they lose money.  Have you ever noticed that some of these drugs actually do a lot more damage than good?  I'm sorry but if getting a bit of pain relief from symptom X is going to cause me to go cross-eyed, bald, walk pigeon-toed and cluck around like a chicken then that drug regardless of any benefit cannot be good for the human body.  The worst part is the doctors as in those who took an oath to do no harm buy into the pharmaceutical hype by prescribing drugs to their patients that ARE going to do harm on some level.  Think back on the drug thalidomide given to pregnant women for nausea.  My gosh those children affected by the terrible side effects of thalidomide have paid a huge price.  Have we learned nothing?  No!  On a personal level one drug I was taking for asthma results in decreased bone density and another one increased risk for depression and suicide along with a myriad of other side effects.  I upped my dosage of Vitamin C and D then gave both drugs the boot.

There is no doubt the pharmaceutical companies are killing us.  How much we buy into their propaganda is up to us though.  There are a lot of ways of dealing with illnesses, diseases, and minor discomforts without resorting to these powerful drugs that are doing more harm than good!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Natural Remedies

This has been a rather funny week spent somewhat under the weather but not all out sick.  'Tis the time of the year for sickness to be going around so I've been relying rather heavily on a few natural remedies.  I've brought out the steam inhaler, upped our Vitamin C and Zinc, been making a lot of green tea and ensuring we get that magical 64 oz of water daily.  In fact, a new thing we are trying is drinking 1 - L (about 32 oz) of water first thing in the morning to help clear toxins from the body before even having a cup of coffee.  The body is a miraculous thing that if given the proper nutrition will heal itself.  So meals have been healthy, homemade focused on high nutrition.  This plan of attack seems to have halted whatever I was coming down with without having to resort to OTC medications.  Natural remedies really are the way to go if at all possible! 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Under the Weather

The warmer fall has meant a lot more illness in our area.  The problem is the weather didn't get cold enough, quick enough to kill off the germs.  I have been under the weather for the past month.  It started with what I thought was a cold with the main symptoms of severe itching of mucosal membranes and sneezing.  When the symptoms continued I decided it was allergies rather than a cold.  The symptoms moved onto heavy congestion, more sneezing and a bit of dry coughing.  A few days ago I developed a sore throat that is considerably worse at night.  So I'm back to my original idea that I have a cold.  Or perhaps I caught a cold on top of a cold.  At any rate, I'm under the weather ;)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

My Doctor Has Issues

I have been doing a fine job of avoiding my doctor for the past year or so.  Apparently this tactic is not sitting well with my doctor at all.  I take my time and trouble to grace the office with my presence for one simple prescription refill.  Note the one as I decided to eliminate the other two prescriptions as long as things continue to go smoothly.  I feel reasonably well considering and don't have to deal with the side effects.  It took a bit of persuading giving my reasons for stopping those medications but my doctor finally agreed to trust my judgement.  Then, my doctor asked rather innocently whether I would like a flu shot.  Apparently I'm considered high risk so should have the shot.  Say what?  Would I like a flu sho?  What kind of question is that?  It's not like I haven't watched This Hour Has 22 Minutes as to what's in that flu shot.  I don't need more mercury floating around in my body given that mercury was one of my favourite childhood toys.  Besides I'd rather have my eggs sunny side up instead of pumped into my arm via a needle 2 miles long!  As a well informed patient I told my doctor 'no thank-you very much'.  Well at least I got a chuckle followed with a 'you need to come in for a physical'.  Well quite frankly I'm not a physical type person so I really don't need to be checked to find out if I am.  I'm pretty sure my doctor could take my word for it that I'm not physical.  But no, my doctor insists on clinical proof that I'm not physical so I ended up with an appointment for gathering all that lovely clinical proof via all kinds of inhumane pokes, prods and other insults too insidious to mention.  On the day of the so called fact finding mission for signs of my lack of being physical I cannot eat or drink anything.  Hey that should really help my cause significantly, don't you think?  I will have to drag my poor old, weakens and immaciated body from the germ laden waiting room and I'll bet to add insult to injury I will likely have to stand on the scales and pee in a bottle not like I will have any pee without drinking anything before.  I tell you my doctor has issues!  I had best get a couple of sparkle stickers and a huge lollipop for this one...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Snot Factory

I am pleased to announce The Snot Factory is working overtime.  Production has been so much so as to interfere with daily activities and sleeping of laypersons not working in the factory.  What is surprising as how The Snot Factory can almost instantly go into overtime at the slightest mention of a pollen grain or gawd forbid a virus flickers by.  Not once have I ever heard even so much as a murmur of a strike on behalf of the workers.  They don't flinch at cohercion techniques like netti pots or saline sprays.  They hold a parade if sinus tablets are thought of enjoying the thought of blowing kleenex flags.  I'd like to know who is exactly paying their wages because it certainly isn't me.  Now a hostile take-over to control these millitant works would be welcomed but I best not say too much as just in case the workers rebel!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

My Nemesis

Golden Rod

September 26, 2010

Golden rod is a very pretty but aggravating weed especially for those allergic to it.  As someone who enjoys allergies year round I can't tell you how much I look forward to the enhanced symptoms from various pollens, grasses, ragweed and golden rod.  I love the wonder red, swollen eyes that look like I've been crying for days but what I really look forward to is the nasal congestion at night followed by constant drainage during the day.  Oh wait, I also get extremely excited at the sneezing fits!  They are awesome!  Thanks to those I get to try on several outfits in a day.  Yes siree, there is nothing like seasonal allergies to brighten up your day!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010