Bacteria to go . . .

Paying for reusable bags? Grocery store reusable bags? Pet Supermarket gave me a great reusable bag the last time I shopped there.

That is how it should be done, Publix, Winn Dixie, etc. Don't charge the customer who is willing to help you go green by toting your reusable bags back to your bricks and mortar location. Give away those reusable bags and watch the gratitude in operation.

I will take my reusable (and free) bag back to Pet Supermarket every time I go. I was amazed by the gesture and said so to the cashier. He told me that they travel well. They should travel with me when I shop elsewhere, too. We both laughed but he was speaking truly.

I will wash my bag, however. A recent study(click here) of reusable bags (which were being carried by actual, live shoppers) randomly tested them for bacterial contamination. The testing was carried out in the Los Angeles area, in San Francisco and in Tucson.

High levels of bacteria were found in all locations - high enough to be a serious health hazard. E.-coli was found, ugh.

The kicker is that 97% of those who were carrying the bags did not know that reusable bags must be washed or bleached. This action will kill nearly all bacterial accumulation in reusable bags, according to the study.

I understand that reusable bags are not made from the best materials. Some of them are more loosely woven than others. I suppose we will learn by trial and error which bags hold up to washing. I know I will wash them separately and not with anything I care about.

But, I will wash them because I do care . . .

Sparklers maybe . . .

At last, the world has cleared up. Thank goodness. I sometimes think about getting my eyes stuck in the dilated condition. So nice to have clear validation of the promise to have vision return to normal after a few hours.

Plus (and it is a plus) one eye does not have any extra fluid. I mean more than it should have normally. So I will skip next week's appointment and return next month, instead.

Not that I mind going, y' understand. It's just that, now? I don't have to. I believe the whole country will set off fireworks on Sunday to celebrate with me.

Or not . . .

It's Only a Daaaay A-waaaay!

Because of the heat and the crowds, we had planned some early shopping for home supplies. This was supposed to happen this morning. I was the only one who listened to our collective. Our consensus. Our - oh, forget it.

I agree with Annie: Tomorrow, Tomorrow.

Can you hear me, now?

We were peeling shrimp: pink ones which had been cooked in vinegar, water and crab boil. They were partially split and deveined but still with the shells on. It was messy but fun.

However. However when the phone rang, I could not get to it with cleaned-up hands before the machine took it. It was Zeta who left the message and as soon as I could clean up, I telephoned back and left a message, on the cell phone, for her.

Shortly thereafter, BigEd came into the room asking what was this? He played my message to Zeta on his phone. The automated system had informed me that the number was not available and to wait for the tone to leave a message. So I did.
After dialing the wrong person.

I haven't told Zeta yet that I left her message with someone else. I did speak with her and it just didn't come up.

I guess she will know now . . .

Happy, happy . . .

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

To all the dads, stepdads, adopted dads and dads by intent - we moms appreciate you.

Print 'em and Save . . .

We take the paper and every Sunday, there are, ta-daa, coupons which we cut out. I discovered that our stores take coupons that are available for printing on the web. The ones we print out ourselves are usually of much greater value than the ones from the newspaper. We now use both kinds.

Below is the section from our last Publix register receipt which shows our latest savings. I am not bragging y'understand, but:

Thank you, o1 Doc, for this:

I came home last evening and it was sitting on the couch in its Amazon box. It was winking at me and waving.

It is a most welcome new addition. o1 Doc is the person who told me about Stieg Larsson's first book which was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. We both fell for the whole idea as well as the characters. So did much of the rest of the world.

Since it was my own fault for being dilatory, I was willing to wait for the library to get around to issuing a copy in my name, but now I don't have to!

It was a generous and sisterly gesture which I gratefully and sisterly appreciate. New books have an addicting smell that rivals that of the interior of a new car. I savor the unspoiled cover, the unopened pages.

Instant gratification is always nice to stumble across. This one will occupy my time for a while and, if you need me, you'll have to follow me into the pages of my new book . . .


PS: I removed my name from the reserve list at the library this afternoon. I was number 129 out of 355.

Hand me the paper(s) . . .

Today, our Sunday paper had an Office Max advertisement section. And another - and more - I counted seven complete ad sections for Office Max.

Now why, I ask you, could we not have received seven of the coupon sections, instead? That would have been more appreciated. At least we will recycle the multiples we did get.

That is not as rewarding, however . . .

GPS for shopping? Anyone?

Has anyone discovered how to map a Target? Huh? Yes?

I have mapped Publix and Winn Dixie. When I make a list, I put it in order of the aisles in the store. I only have to walk through once and can skip aisles that don't have items on my list. Very annoying when they move things around because I have to redo the master lists on the computer.

I feel like an expedition member. I guess I will have to tackle Target on my own by navigating its coastline (so to speak). Aisles don't have numbers that I can recall.

They should, though . . .

When they have to track you down . . .

Every once in a while, I enter a contest on the various web sites that I follow with Live Bookmarks. I love the Live Bookmark idea and never miss a new post since I began to use it. The downside to this is that the older posts don't demand that I go back and revisit them again. They acquire a small icon next to them, in my bookmark list, to show that I already have read them..

So when this post appeared in The Thrifty Things, I entered. Contrary to expectations, I was one of the winners. But, I never went back to check. Pam, of The Thrifty Things, had to track me down and leave a comment to tell me about it.

Wasn't that a kind thing to do?

And don't I feel like the most inept of bloggers?

We miss our coolth . . .

When the evening storm hit and the power flickered off, it came back on with a surge that stopped our main A/C from working. We reset the breaker repeatedly and reset the button on the A/C plug, as well. Nothing happened except that we became warmer as the evening progressed and dug out the small fans to place strategically.

Next morning, I reset the plug one more time before calling a repair man. The A/C decided it wanted to cooperate after all. We had a miracle cure, the kind you hope for with appliances.

Believe me, with the first sound of thunder, that A/C will be silenced until the storm passes . . .

Is knowledge power?

Newsweek Magazine maintains a presence on the web. Today, there is an article about the oil spill that leaves me sick with dread for Gulf of Mexico species and for the oceans as a whole.

Oil does not necessarily float, according to the article. It is difficult to imagine the scope of the unseen damage and the consequences to the gulf and ocean inhabitants.

We can not hide from it. We have to know.

Define destruction using just two letters . . .

I like, I like, drat, don't know what I like.

I try to be careful when I comment on the blogs of people who don't know me, personally. The Coupon Goddess is a site I like and follow regularly. I have the site in my RSS Bookmarks so as to find new posts in a timely manner and not miss knowing about the excellent deals listed there. Plus she is an interesting writer.

Melanie, who is the Coupon Goddess, did a podcast of especially good and numerous coupons and deals. Then she asked readers to comment on how well they liked the audio format.

Being the dinosaur that I am, I said that I preferred the written word (among other things). She was so gracious in her reply and put me somewhat at ease about being different from the other folks who stated opinions in the comments.

I feel rather of two minds. I do prefer the written posts as I think they make it easier to select relevant items from the contents. But, I also like the podcast because her personality (which is charming) comes across well.

Today, I believe I embody the definition of: *conflicted*. Yep, that's me . . .

Hail no . . .

We had to put the Camry into a body shop to have the bumper repaired and repainted. Plus the trunk suffered some surface damage when we were rear-ended so it was painted, too. The work was finished yesterday afternoon.

The rented Dodge Charger was returned to Enterprise. Then we brought our newly restored baby home and parked it in the driveway.

Last evening the weather went crazy. We had hailstones falling which were the diameter of a quarter. The back door to the west side of the house was drumming as if someone was playing a very bad tune on it. The hail was hitting the ground and bouncing high to land twice. I expected little dents all over or maybe a cracked window. At the very least, the new paint job would be ruined.

No damage is visible. Can't explain it. But, thank the Lord.

Earth to . . .

For some reason, I found the music from the Lincoln MKS commercial which begins with a female voice singing "Ground control to Major Tom," stuck in my head. So much so that I looked up the original lyrics and then proceeded to listen to "Space Oddity" on YouTube.

Knowing how the song ends, with Major Tom floating away into nowhere, makes it an odd choice for a commercial which is trying to persuade the public to buy the subject vehicle.

After all, it didn't end well for Major Tom . . .

A few Catku . . .

Someone tripped and fell,
Catching himself on the bed.
Mew tried the window.

If window is shut,
Can panicky cat get out?
Not in this lifetime.


Outside, a wild cat,
Shaking his tail at the fern,
Was marking his place.

Field mice running free,
Over our daily Herald,
Were grist for that cat.