Sunday, June 19, 2011

Fried Chairs...Well Almost!

In my last post there was within some snarky words about fleas.  Well, we have some un-mentionable (I will not name the maker.) office chairs at our dinner table and at my desk that have now been infested.  We have wood or laminate floors and I treat our beds naturally, but these little devils are driving me crazy!

So since I use Borax in the laundry with very HOT water to control them in our clothes and my husband suggested today that we should try his dry box for plastic and heat them for three hours above 150 degrees...I'm for anything right now!  So by 5 PM we will have very cooked, chairs!!!  ;-)

Hey, I'm game for anything right now!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Those Cool Summer Breezes

Today was a lovely day.  Low humidity and soft breezes.  That's what June use to be in the upper Midwest when I was a child.  Now, these days are rare and we usually experience the high humidities and heat indices that are the sign of my children's June weather experiences.

During the late fifties and early sixties June use to mean temperatures in the seventies and low eighties with low humidities and lovely cool nights.  Evenings for heading off to the beach with friends and building bonfires to keep warm!  The hot days of summer were restricted to those days at the end of July and August and were actually very few in number.  Each year we'd only get maybe one or two ninety degree days, now they are becoming more and more a common an occurrence every summer that passes.

For me, the mystery and joys that filled those early summer days came from the cool days for wandering down by the creek and catching cray fish, or enjoying the thick black muck areas that often held  the best surprise of those days, the many lady slippers that were spattered across the much and moss like a painter's brush drippings on that field of browns and greens.

I miss those cooler times as the heat increases with each passing day.  But that's summer, I guess.

Monday, June 13, 2011

The Attack of The Killer Fleas!

Flea infestations can be nasty.  Especially since I get bit and react to them all the time!  We've been through all the natural ways (Baking soda, salt, Borax, and so many other thing!) over the past few weeks, which sadly did very little for killing the nasty critters in the house, but I do find that I get a little respite if I rub down with baking soda!  LOL!

I treat my dogs with stuff from the vat and always have.  But I'm outside more in this weather as they are and I'm sure I'm bringing many in myself.  Funny thing is this seems to happens about every five years and it take 2 months to totally rid the house, and me, of these dread invaders!  

Because of the last infestation five years ago we got rid of the wall to wall carpeting.  We now have only small patches of indoor/outdoor stuff which gives the dreaded fleas no real place to hide - according to the experts that is.

All that's left to us are the nasty treatments, and they are getting all too desirable at the moment.  I did the bomb the rooms affected last night, and it did make it somewhat better.  But I seem to be constantly vacuuming these days to get a bit of a respite.  We're now dealing with the hatching (and re-hatching!) out of all the millions of eggs. Hopefully once that is over we'll be free again.

I've bought a LARGE can of Deep Woods Off and flea stuff for walls and furniture as well.  Now, I'm hunkering down and am ready for the long fight, over how many weeks it will take!

 We will win!!  LOL!  ....I HATE fleas!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

A City's Rebellion Against the National Media!

Today, on the way home from Grand Rapids, the big city I live about 30 miles from I heard this crazy NPR story - on of all things the City of Grand Rapids or Gr as many of us call it.  If you haven't heard the story about how Newsweek (yeah, the magazine!) quoted another source and said it was dying and it riled the city every so slightly so they decided to let the world know that we had talent, and fun too!

In the video are all kinds of local celebrities as well as man pain folks too!  So check out the video Roger Ebert says is, "the greatest music video ever made!"  ENJOY!

Lip Dub to "Bye Bye Miss American Pie," by Don McLean