Japanese Beetles

Eek.  We see Japanese beetles on our rose bushes these days.  I’ve been hearing horror stories about these voracious devouring bugs who destroy gardens and lawns.  David met me at the door, “We’ve got Japanese beetles on the hibiscus tree.”  Since then, we have found the beetles on several of our bushes and trees.  Being the computer savvy person that I am, I looked up how to kill Japanese beetles from the US Department of Agriculture and printed off the information.  I asked for help from my Facebook friends and received several helpful suggestions.

The info said pluck off beetles that you see and drown them in soapy water.  Easy enough.  We did that wearing gloves (of course) and wondering how many more would fly into our yard.  A few days into this battle, we find daily inspection and spraying isn’t too much. 

David went to our local store and bought the appropriate treatments and we’ve been inspecting and treating bushes, flowers and small trees.  Apparently you have to deal with the adult beetles and then there are the larvae which eat the lawn grass.  He bought the granular insecticide to treat the larvae so they don’t destroy our lawn grass.  We see some ‘lacy’ leaves on our plants but so far, the plants still look good so we think we’ve caught the situation early. 

For a couple plant-lovers like us, this is worrisome and stressful. These beetles can fly and just when we think we’ve got them all plucked and drowned, more fly onto our plants.  We like our flowers and we’ve made it a part of our ‘care for ourselves.’ We get good exercise while working in our flower garden and we enjoy looking at the beautiful flowers.  We hope our plants will survive this beetle season. Time will tell. 

Clean Water

We in America are very blessed.  We can turn on the faucet, drink the water and suffer no ill effects.  Many parts of the world deal with water teeming with germs and parasites, waiting to make the person who drinks it sick. 

Several years ago David & I went on a mission trip to South America for two weeks.  We were told by our missionary hosts, do not drink the water unless you want to be sick.  Do not use tap water to brush your teeth and do not swallow water while in the shower.  (That brushing your teeth without using tap water was tricky for me.)  They provided us with filtered water which we drank throughout our stay. 

I was a part of the kitchen crew.   I quickly learned a lot of effort went into cleaning the fresh fruits and vegetables we were all going to eat.  Because the tap water wasn’t safe to drink, preparing the food was a multi-step process of cleaning, making the food safe and then preparing.  Our meals were excellent with lots of fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables.  However, I knew how much work we put into the preparation. 

Clean water—we take it for granted.   At any time, I can drink a glass of tap water at my home and know that it is safe and I won’t get sick.  I’m thankful.

Strep Thoat makes the rounds

Yahoo News recently reported that strep throat (scarlet fever) has been making the rounds, especially in China where 21,000 cases have occurred this year.   The Chinese version of strep throat has alarmed medical experts because they believe the germ has mutated and has become more resistant to antibiotics and more difficult to treat.  However, Strep throat can happen anywhere and should not be ignored because it can damage a person’s heart (rheumatic fever), kidneys, and cause arthritis, and/or toxic shock. 

Strep throat is caused by the bacteria group A Streptococcus and has the following symptoms:  a very painful, sore throat (may be reddened and bumpy or have a white coating), a sunburn-like rash over the body with small red bumps, a fever of 101 or higher, swollen glands and sometimes vomiting and belly pain.  The Strep bacteria also causes toxins which increase the person’s sickness and can be life threatening. 

If caught early, treatment of strep throat involves penicillin type antibiotics, rest and fluids.  If however, treatment is not begun in a timely manner, the toxins may begin attacking the body and causing damage to heart, kidneys, etc.  That person probably needs hospitalization and major supportive treatment. 

How can you protect yourself and your family from strep throat/scarlet fever?  The Center for Disease Controls recommends “washing your hands frequently and avoiding sharing eating utensils, linens, towels and other personal items.  It is particularly crucial for anyone with a sore throat to wash his hands frequently in warm water to reduce the risk of spreading the bacteria.  The germs are most easily transmitted in close quarters, putting family members at risk if there is an infected person in the household.  There is no vaccine to prevent scarlet fever or strep throat.”  More information can be found at Yahoo Health article, “Scarlet Fever Outbreak:  should we worry?”  at http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/scarlet-fever-outbreak-should-we-worry   WebMD information about preventing strep throat can be found at  http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/understanding-strep-throat-prevention

Do bugs need drugs?

Do Bugs need drugs?

You know about lady bugs, beetles and bees,
There are other bugs, very much smaller than these, 

Called bacteria, viruses, microbes and germs,
As microscope viewing so clearly confirms…

Please take a minute to read the rest of this poem presented by medical doctor and microbiologist Dr. Blondel-Hill at this website:  http://www.dobugsneeddrugs.org/public/poem.html

This past week I’ve battled a sore throat/laryngitis/bronchitis and steadily got sicker.  A visit to a nurse practitioner (my doctor’s day off) turned the tide for me; I’m now recovering with medications.

Did I have a virus or a germ (bacteria)?  I don’t know.  The nurse practitioner listened to my lungs and looked at my throat and said I needed antibiotics.

I’ll be honest with you; often I’m not sure when I need antibiotics and when I don’t.  You don’t need antibiotics for a viral infection; you do need antibiotics for germ (bacterial) infection.  It is hard to be objective about myself and sometimes it is hard to know the best treatment.  That’s why I have a good doctor to help make that decision. 

Do you utilize your medical resources when you are sick (and when you are healthy)?  It is a good idea to have a family doctor/internal medicine practitioner who will help you make the right decision when your throat is sore and you question whether you need antibiotics or not. 

5K Results

Saturday morning David & I participated in a 5K walk/run for Safe House for Women.  Safe House for Women provides shelter and help to victims of domestic violence.  It’s a worthy cause and we have been signed up for weeks. 

David asked me earlier in the week, what did I plan to do about the 5K on Saturday (since I’ve been sick with laryngitis and bronchitis)?  I told him I intended to show up and do what I could.  It’s a great cause, we had paid our entry fee and I needed community service hours for my job.

We had the perfect morning for the 5K.  It was cloudy, cool (temps in 70s) and low humidity; wonderful weather for June in Missouri.  David has been preparing for this race with exercise, walking and running.  Not me—I’ve been vacationing last week, lazy and skipping my gym visits for several weeks and this past week I’ve been sick.  Soooo, I was thinking I did well to finish the walk. 

Well, we did ok; we both finished with a 1^st place trophy for our age and category.  Pretty cool.  My first trophy for a sports event—ever.  I did need a long nap afterwards because I had used all my energy.

If you need an incentive to exercise and get in shape, training for a walk/run is a good incentive.  You can support a charity you believe in while getting some exercise.  Everybody wins. 

Are you a good patient or a patient who needs to do better?

I have news for you:  This week I have been a bad patient.  When I woke up with a sore throat last Saturday morning I was concerned that it would turn into laryngitis and bronchitis.  That seems to be my weak point (and I don’t smoke). 

Anyway, I’ve worked all week but barely made it through the days:  I was so tired. 
Wednesday David said to me, what are you doing to get well?  My mumbled answer, ‘nothing’.  In his diplomatic way, he asked, what would you be telling me if I was the sick one?  Good point.  I was being a bad patient.

Thursday my boss let me leave over lunch hour to see a nurse practitioner (my doctor’s day off).  She listened to my chest and looked in my throat and immediately said, ‘you need antibiotics, Mucinex, and a Proventil treatments.’  Within 24 hours we were seeing progress in my hoarseness and cough so I’m headed in the right direction.

Are you like me—just struggling along, trying to get well?  Do you use the medical resources you have?  Take a lesson from my week's struggle:  choose to be a good patient (not a bad one) and get medical help when you need it. 

Recalculating

On our recent road trip to Minnesota we navigated using both instructions from Kim and my trusty Garmin GPS.  If you’ve dealt with a Garmin (a great piece of equipment), you probably have noticed the female voice who gives you directions.  I always interpret her “Recalculating” to mean ‘ok dummy, you’ve missed your turn and now I will give you directions to get back on track.’

Peggy & I laughed quite often because we heard ‘Recalculating’ quite often.  We were following our instructions from Kim.  We knew the big picture and planned to follow Kim’s directions.  The Garmin’s plan would no doubt get us to Minnesota but we didn’t always follow that plan.  So we heard that “R” word quite often which made us laugh.

Don’t you wish we had a GPS plotting our life direction?  Or maybe not.  Maybe we would just hear it and ignore it there also?

Freedom of Choice

I knew it!  We thrive on freedom of choice and independence.  A recent Health Day News report talks of research from New Zealand which shows “personal independence and freedom are more important to people’s well-being than wealth.”

The researchers looked at three big studies involving over 420,000 people for a period of almost 40 years.  They concluded that money gives autonomy but not happiness.  Happiness comes from personal independence and freedom of choice.    

I can believe that.  What choices have you made lately that contribute to your happiness and well-being?  Now you know the key.  More information can be found at http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/hsn/freedommoreimportanttohappinessthanwealthstudyfinds

Introvert or Extrovert?

One thing I noticed during our Minnesota time together is the peaceful haven Kim and her husband have created.

Do you have a peaceful place?  Do you need one?  We talked one day about ‘are you an introvert or an extrovert?’  Kim shared that these two terms can be defined by answering a question, ‘do you gain new energy when you have quiet time alone (an introvert) OR do you gain new energy from being with other people in a social setting (an extrovert)?’   Good question.  We gain insight when we consider our answer to this question.

I personally need quiet times and a peaceful place to recharge.  Some people are the opposite; they thrive in a social setting and gain energy from interacting with others.  What do you need?  Consider what you need and add it to your life, thereby improving your health and wellbeing. 

Oriole

Beautiful Minnesota Oriole eating grape jelly
We loved watching these birds.  My challenge was sitting still and being patient so I could capture a picture.

Family time

Sister Peggy and I spent several days in Minnesota with family.  We enjoyed our time at Kim’s house.

We did lots of visiting; sharing details of our lives.  We agreed that overall our family members are doing well and we are thankful.  We hiked Minnesota trails.  We visited the beautiful Minnesota Arboretum with its 1000+ acres of flowers, shrubs and trees.  We drove to Coon Rapids to visit nephew and his wife, enjoying pizza supper around their fire pit.  No mosquitos (We’ve heard tales of large and voracious mosquitos.  I’m glad to report that we’ve no up-close and personal encounters with them.)  We’ve been rejuvenated by our family time together.  Thanks for a wonderful vacation time. 

Father's Day

As I mentioned before, my sisters and I were raised by hard-working American farmers.  I remember following Pop through the woods and over the hills because he was going to the back pasture to check on cattle.  He would tell me to follow him and stay on the path.  If we encountered a snake, he would meet it first and protect me.  This memory made me feel safe and protected. 

What did Pop teach us? 

He taught us to work hard to provide for our families.  Many years he worked two jobs; his day job and in the evenings and weekends he took care of the farm and the animals.   By example he showed us that you can accomplish more if you work hard. 

He taught us the value of money.  He and Mom lived through the Great Depression and it shaped their attitude toward money.  He said don’t spend everything you earn; save some.

He taught us to be honest; that a person’s word says a lot (good or bad) about one’s character.  

He showed us how to persevere; (some of my cousins claim stubbornness is one of our family traits). 

Thanks Pop for teaching us many things, three of which involved working hard, being honest and persevering.