What a great idea! Have fun
Feel better, soon, Holly. I started a Zpack this morning. Got a call yesterday saying my sinus culture came back bacterial, sooo.....antibiotics here we go. I ONLY waited 3 weeks before going to the doc.
Your Neck of the Woods part 14
sorry critter not me.
get well everybody!
Gita
Yes its true. Way back when we were living in Franklin Farms in Fairfax and they had just opened the Fairfax Parkway this happened a lot. The speed limit was something like 50 between the Dullas toll road and Franklin Farms then dropped to 30-40 then once through the subdivision picked back up to 50 all the way to route 50. Anyway, people going toward the toll road would flash their lights at oncoming cars when the "Po-Po" were out. They caught on and at times you could see whole lines of people that had been nabbed. In other words, "Flash at your own peril!"
Yehudith
Oh Critter
I am there with you!!! If you want to kill yourself and your family go for it but you have no right to takke others with you. People don't realize that's what they're doing when they don't immunize. It particularly makes me angry when healthcare workers stand around an proudly announce they don't immunize. And if they get it they get it and they'll just stay home. The problem is by the time they get symptoms they've already been contagious for at least 5 days and are usually contagious for about 5 more days after the symptoms are gone. Its worse with things like the measles. By the time their kids show the spots they've already infected most of the school.
Those inocent children's diseases ain't so inocent. Kids die, are blinded, deafened and crippled by them. I'm talking about the straight up measles and chickenpox.
HPV is one of the major causes of cervical cancer which we know is a killer. Now this is the stupid thing. Parents ship their daughters of every weekened night on dates with pimply faced, virile young men (I'm actually thinking of another adjective for them) yet refuse to give their girls the vaccine for fear it will encourage them. They say dumb things like "my kids don't do that". The problem is the vaccine only works if you haven't been exposed What if their daughter marries a guy who did "do that" before they were married and has been exposed. Now she's got it. Both my kids (boy and girl) received the vaccine as soon as they were old enough. Its my job as their mother to make sure they are protected. Its my job as a nurse to protect my patients so believe me I've had every immunization their is right down to plague, smallpox and cholera (the Navy loves giving you the "what ifs")
Off my soap box now.
Yehudith
good to hear your professional opinion, Yehudith. I was glad to hear when the boys began to get HPV vac as well as the girls. what a wonderful thing that one cancer can be drastically reduced with a vaccine. Am I totally off my rocker to wonder if other cancers are being reduced, with flu vaccines reducing viral infections? Can't rule that out, can we?
It's pouring rain in my neck of the woods today.
When I was a child pretty much everyone got vaccinated. I don't think there were many people that didn't want their children to be vaccinated. I am sure there were some but it wasn't much discussed whether to do it or not. We went to the school and stood in long lines. Of course back then these diseases were common and deadly.
Sally
The hepatitis vaccines are helping. One of the major causes of liver cancer is hepatitis. Hepatitis is also one of the viruses that can live outside the body for ages in a dry state. If for instance a healthcare worker helps someone with the virus to the toilet and doesn't change their gloves, and turns off the light when they leave the room they are smearing the virus on the light switch. The next person entering and turning on the light picks it up and your guess is as good as mine where its going next.
This is one of the reasons why healthcare workers need to deglove and wash their hands before they leave the patient's room. I always insist that anyone who is going to touch my family or patient wash and glove infront of me before they get near them. This has caused some problems. One nurse in the ER was upset with me and I just looked at him, told him I'm an instructor at Montgomery College and if he were in my class I'd flunk him on the spot. Failing that, "May I speak with the DON please".
Too many HCP forget these rules are not in effect just to protect them, they are there to protect the patients as well.
Another thing that's scary is the trend, thanks to a few celebrities of not circumcising our boys. Studies have shown that circumcision can reduce a man's chance of contracting AIDs and other STDs by as much as 60%. That's of course if he's not a mainline drug user and isn't having unprotected sex with a multitude of strangers every chance he gets, or engaging in other practices that put him at risk. Now considering women who are married to men who test positive for HIV on average test positive themselves within 18 mos that 60% even 10% reduction is worth getting the snip.
It's almost unimaginable that a HCP would balk at gloves. It must of course be very challenging with patient load to maintain best practices.
Mom was in ICU for a time with C diff, and visitors needed to glove and gown. I'm a science minded person, previous restaurant inspector who had to think about contamination, and had no trouble understanding the principle. My brother, while he didn't balk, clearly could not grasp and follow the practice easily. So many lay people can be very educated and smart yet not grasp "infection". And people want to be different for the sake of being different.
And we've gotten far from the days when people died in large numbers from infectious disease.
Sally
He wasn't balking at wearing gloves. It was my objection to him walking into the room to care for my mother-in-law wearing gloves that he put on G-d knows where or when. I wanted him to take them off, wash his hands and put on a clean pair. I've seen too many people put on two, three, four pairs of gloves at a time and then just take off the top pair when they go to the next patient. UNH UNH! Not on this lady's watch! Maryland state inspectors by the way levy a $35,000 fine when they catch HCWs outside of patient's rooms with gloves on unless they are doing something that requires them. That's how serious this issue is.
A friend of ours and several of his Co-workers came down with Hep from sharing a nail brush at a cleaning station in their work shop.
Took these first thing this morning but I have been running all day and didn't get a chance to post it.
very pretty!!!!
I'm very impressed that you're up and awake enough to take such gorgeous sunrise photos!
We probably have 6"s of heavy wet snow. I'm headed out to see if the blower can move it, I hope.
Nothing falling here...yet....Just all wet.
G.
The blower is a little sluggish but works and the plow is working well too.
SNOW is a four letter word!
This message was edited Jan 24, 2015 11:33 AM
Today--in Baltimore--is the SUPERPLUNGE at Sandy Point Park...
Just under the Bridge...
7000 people have registered...they all dive in...to benefit the Special Olympics.
There is a group called "superplungers"--they started last night...
These people dive into the icy waters once an hour for 24 hours.
Of course--they have a huge warming tent for everyone and plenty of medical
personnel--just in case...
Their goal is to raise a million dollars overall. This includes just donations as well.
Glad the snow waited.
That SuperPlunge was a story on the news here yesterday - showed images of everyone doing that jump in the Chesapeake last year. Good for them!
Here, last night we received our first measurable snow since November. At nearly 4", it overachieved the "Trace to an inch" prediction from yesterday.
Nice to see - especially when I don't have to shovel ANY...
Fortunately ours under-achieved and is basically gone. More due tomorrow night. I'm with Rick on it being a 4-letter word.
What pretty snow pictures.
DS1 did the plunge, or tried to, three years ago. It was so extremely cold they got shut down. That's a bummer.
Hey hey, I was really expecting at least a two hour delayed opening today. Bummer! A busy day instead. Tomorrow probably busy too with everyone coming in for DVDs before next predicted snow- Monday
Sally, which library are working at?
ecnalg, that is the best photo ever!!
VV, what are those shrubs with the berries that birds obviously leave till the bitter ends?
Jan, Small, old, and cramped but mighty Glen Burnie Regional, Anne Arundel Co.!
Muddy, my guess on the shrub is a Viburnum of some sort.
Those are great pics VV
I'm sure you're right. I just noticed the nest in the last picture; it's pretty well hidden.
VV, those are just beautiful pictures. Is that your Barn with the Barn Quilt on it. Ric and I have been talking about adding a Barn Quilt or something like that to the front of the house.
Muddy, The reason that some berries get left till the bitter end is that the freezing and thawing make them sweeter. So that by the end of the season they aren't as bitter as they were at the beginning.
Today's Mantra!
Just 54 days till spring, Just 54 days till spring, Just 54 days till spring.
Someone needs to show me the research on feeding preferences of our avian friends.
This shrub - not native around North America - just may not be as familiar to our local birds as are the plants that hail from these parts.
This red-fruited Viburnum dilatatum - Linden Viburnum - hails from east Asia, but is quite at home in the eastern US. Sometimes far too at home. Check your local EPPC for its behavior in the mid Atlantic states before investing in its charms.
That is NOT my barn, but well-situated borrowed scenery from next door neighbors.
Thanks, Sally.
Ric, how many days til spring? Hhehh
Spring has been making some forays in my yard already.
V-V---
In picture #5 in the above pictures you posted is a nice-sized
birds nest. What bird belongs to that? It looks big...but you are
taking close-ups.
Gita
That particular nest belongs to a Robin. It sits in a nicely hidden spot in that Weeping Larch (Larix kaempferi 'Pendula'), which when in full foliage mostly obscures nest and bird.
Here are a couple shots, first from May 2014 and second from November 2014. The nest sits next to the second post away from the steps.
Quite a nice specimen
Very nice Larch, how old is that?
Wow, that's an awesome Larch!
I had a whole response - replete with photos, chronology, even some misty memories...
Poof!
It'll have to wait. Now I'm going to have dinner and Downton.
everyone loves Downton. Someday I'll watch one. Is any on Netflix?
We visited my aunt in Cumberland today and ate in Hancock at 4:30. I had coffee with the meal, it tasted really good but I'll probably be up all night.
8 ^I
I can see the hole where the Robin enters. That is a super spot for a nest. I read somewhere that Robins prefer to build nests very close to houses because they think they'll be safer from predators.
Takes too many of them to make an omelette...
Robins built a nest right onop of out front door light when we first moved
into out new house here....
We used the side door for 6 weeks....
My neighbors---
Robins built a nest on top of their side door entrance light.
They have a small awning covering the porch where the door is.
The robin built a nest there 2 years in a row.
They like to nest close to homes....