The reply post and things I learned from the bug man

First off I would like to say thank you for the advice on the pillows. Our bedroom closet thanks you too.

Second FARMWIFE we are praying for you and look forward to knowing how Bitsy is doing when she makes her grand appearance into the world

NAN - Congratulations to P2 and Cath! So glad to know the coloring book was hit, feel free to pass my contact info on to anyone else who may want to do something like that for an anniversary or wedding or any other illustration need anyone has.

GRACE - we're praying for you and your family during the move as well

LAUREN - Praying for your friend who lost her baby at 11 weeks. How heartbreaking.

I think that covers the prayers and congrats - if I forgot anything I certainly didn't mean to or I just haven't made it over to your blog yet.


Now on to the WWHLR (what we have learned recently):
Recently we had the Bug Man come out to our house to inspect for and start prevention of termites. It is a necessary evil. They ate our old wood doghouse, we don't want them to eat our house. The guy was from Orkin. He was awesome. Can't say enough good things about him. Anyway... it was just like on the commercial. He really is a vast wealth of knowledge about bugs.

1. I learned how to tell the difference between a flying ant and a termite
2. I learned where ants most like to hide, and what they really hate.
3. I learned that if you have carpenter ants (the big black kind) that it is a good possibility that you will also have termites as they tend to work off of one another.
4. I also learned not to plant my flower beds against the base of the house, at least not where the dirt covers the slab, as that makes easy access to the house for buggums.
5. I also learned that by the time you see termites on the outside of the wood they have probably already been munching in that location for up to 3 years.

So there you go, that is now my vast info on bugs thanks to the bug man.

You all will be happy to know that the old pillows now reside in the dumpster.

And now for something completely different

I don't have a what we have learned today. Well on second thought, yes, I do. But in addition to it, I also have a WWNTLT otherwise known as a "What We Need To Learn Today"
and that would be:

What do you do with old pillows?

Since J and I were both on our own before we married we both had individual pillows... in fact we both had a couple of individual pillows that we brought into this marriage. Then we received pillows as a wedding gift (much nicer ones than our old ones) then several middle-of-the-night-nosebleed stain and unfluffableness later we bought newer new pillows at Sams. All our previous pillows had been accumulating in my closet. And a couple of Christmases ago I used several of them to make the dog a bed. But now that we have the newer new pillows we still have several old pillows in our closet. I figure I'll keep one or two for in case company visits, but then I still have two more and frankly I just don't need those two and they are in pretty bad shape anyway. So what do I do with them. Seems an awful waste and a large chunk to put in a landfill. But maybe that's what needs to be done. They certainly aren't in good enough shape without new batting to donate anywhere. And do any of the donation sites take pillows anyway? I need suggestions. What do you do with old pillows?


And now for the WWHLT or rather WHT (What happened today):

Today we discovered about 8 tiny spiders crawling around on our bathroom wall. We also discovered that J and I have different extermination techniques. I called him into the bathroom to confirm that they were spiders (I didn't have my glasses on and was guessing) he confirmed and disappeared and came back with a bottle of Raid. I on the other hand armed myself with a wad of tissue. I talked him out of spraying the Raid in our tiny bathroom. Mostly because I didn't want to smell that sickening sweet smell, didn't want to worry about the dog licking it and didn't know how it would effect the paint that is on that wall. To me, Raid is for outdoor use. To J it is the answer to all your bug problems... ever. I ended up squishing all the baby spiders with the tissue as I had planned. How do I know they were baby spiders? and not just a small species? Because no sooner had I squished the little boogers who were about the size of gnats did i see a much much larger Mama spider next to the toilet. Mama was big enough to make me jump and squeal. And I am not afraid of spiders. Her size was just startling. She was nickel size- big and black. J came back in sans Raid and stomped on it. And I picked it up with the tissue. Different techniques but a good compromise.

As To Your Questions...

All I will say is that there are 45 days before I can officially comment on what it was I mentioned. So start your countdown tickers. :P

Yeah I know, I know, bad habits die hard

Okay so I was wrong about the WWHLT keeping me here on a more regular basis. Things get busy and I go right back to my bad habits of ignoring this little blog. I do read everyone elses.. now whether I reply or not is another issue, but I do read. I know what's going on with all of you - but I have a bad habit of becoming that most dreaded of all internet presences ... the "Lurker"

Anyway. I will add one WWHLT or rather a WWHLR (what we have learned recently) to try to get back into the habit again.
This is my foot. With a rare coat of nail polish on it. I'm very bad about painting my nails. I think because I don't feel good at it. I get frustrated with my lack of steady hands. But I digress. The reason I post this picture is because a friend informed me that there is a name for the condition of my second toe being taller than my big toe. It is known as Morton's Toe I don't know who Morton is, nor how I got his toes. I always thought I had my dad's toes, which would make them Tony Toes. But if Foot.com say's I have Morton's then I guess I do. And that's what I've learned recently.

Just so that you don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth or forgotten or anything. I am still here and I am still reading. I'm even still learning, I just can't seem to think of anything by the end of the day to write it down, recently.

But since it is Saturday and I am somewhat behind here I will give several WWHLTs:

- Dogs lick their paws for comfort when anxious or because they are itchy.
- They sit on your feet because they want to be near you
- And the lick your face to show you respect.

I found a dog book at the used bookstore today. It was very interesting.

- It is really hard to keep your mouth shut about something exciting even though you know you can't really say anything yet because nothing is certifiably official.

- 2 people can eat an entire meal at Arby's for 6 dollars

- There are no blue plums at the blue plum festival in Johnson City.