the pattyo

… that our fridge seems to be happy again. Whew! I guess it just got as lazy as I did during that horrible heat wave.
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Today feels better. Whew! Too bad our refrigerator isn’t happy, though. I’m wondering if the power outage did something to it. The freezer works, but the fridge isn’t staying cool enough. Sigh.

But while there’s always something to complain about, I figure there’s always something to be happy about too. And cooler air is a big something! It’s only 74 in the house right now. What a change!
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… for those of you who want to know.

And yes, it’s 1:30 AM. Once again I’m unable to sleep. :-(
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So it appears that women’s purses can be pretty bad for our health. Or so this snopes page says. (Snopes is the place I go to check for hoaxes, so I’m guessing they know what they are talking about.)

Here’s the article:

Bacteria on Purses

A study was performed on women’s purses. A health team went to a local mall and took samples from the bottom of 50 women’s purses. The purses were swabbed with cotton swabs along the entire bottom of the purses and placed into special containers. The swabs were then processed at a local laboratory.

The Health Report also showed where women place their purses: public rest-rooms (on the floor beside the toilet), kitchen counters & kitchen tables, on tables & chairs in restaurants, etc. The results of the laboratory tests contained the following most serious result: 1 out of 4 purses ˘ E COLI

Other extremely serious bacteria also were listed, including Hepatitis.

They recommended that women should DAILY wipe their purses (particularly the bottom) with a disinfectant wipe and to be extremely careful where you sit your purse. Most important, do NOT place your purse on a table (anywhere) where you will eat or on a kitchen counter and do not put it anywhere close to a toilet.

Remember, when you flush a toilet, the spray goes a distance that is unrecognizable by the human eye.

WASH YOUR HANDS as often as you can! Keep an antibacterial hand sanitizer cleaner (no water needed) in your purse and use it often! And as soon as you get home from shopping (or wherever you have been and used your purse), immediately wipe it all over with a disinfectant wipe.

This is from me ˘ MEN who do not wash their hands after relieving themselves should be ASHAMED! Not only that, they are seriously affecting your health and their own. My husband has told me many, many times (over 50% ratio) that he has seen men in public rest-rooms relieve themselves, zip up, and immediately leave the rest-room without washing their hands!! Women get on your men and be sure they are washing thoroughly after using the rest-room.

My hubby also noted that everyone spends all this time washing their hands and then grabs the door handle to exit the rest-room. So DAH! All those other folks who did NOT wash their hands have their germs all over the door handle! And I have seen many women who do NOT wash their hands after using the rest-room. So, use that paper towel you dried your hands on to open the door and then dispose of it in the closest waste receptacle (women, please do not put it in your purse!).

Repeating, this is a factual report aired today on Health News, Fox 5, Atlanta, GA. Please do your part for yourself and everyone else! As soon as I saw the report, I immediately cleaned my purse with my Clorox Antibacterial Wipe and then set it on a paper towel where I normally place it on a table in our den. And I asked my hubby to PLEASE scold me if he ever saw me putting my purse on the kitchen table or counter again!

My reaction? I’m not all that concerned about my purse. I suppose I’ll now clean it occasionally, though; no harm in doing so, right? Opening the door with a paper towel. Geesh, I doubt I’ll do that. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to become paranoid.

What I am more concerned about? Men who don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom That drives me absolutely nuts! I’ve told this story before, but I’ll repeat it: I was in the orchestra room for a show. There was a huge bag of pretzels we all munched on. At least we did until we heard that one male colleague didn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom. As far as the rest of us were concerned, that bag was all his. Yuck.

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… but my sister-in-law, Ruth Ann, and her family are dealing with a lot hotter temps than we are. Jameson’s girlfriend’s family has been without power since Saturday night, and they say they won’t get it back on until at least tomorrow.

So what can I do but deal and be thankful and realize I have it pretty darn good compared to so many. (I heard that 36,000 San Jose homes have no power; I have a difficult time believing that number, but there you go.)

I’m trying to be a good girl, too. We have no air conditioning, so that’s no issue, but I’ve been good about not driving the car. I’ve not used appliances, aside from fans. And I keep telling myself this will be over. Eventually.

But has anyone heard of global warming?
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I felt pretty darn well rested when I woke up this morning. I looked at Dan’s alarm clock and saw I’d actually slept in until nearly nine. (I was up at 1:00 and stayed up for a while, so I didn’t think I’d have slept this well!) Wow. I quickly got up and showered, because a new student has her first lesson at 10:30.

When I went into Brandon’s old room, to check to see how hot it was in there, the clock there said it was 6:43. Hmm. Back to our bedroom. My clock radio agreed with the earlier time. (I should have thunk it; I had my alarm set for 7:45!)

Well. Dan’s clock had stopped for some reason.

Guess I’m getting an early start today.
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I wonder if my iMac is fried. It won’t turn on. We had the power outage yesterday and I’m wondering if that did it.

It’s not as if I don’t have a computer; I use my iBook for most everything. But the iMac has all of our taxes and Quicken on it. I’m not really willing to put those on my laptop, and I can’t afford a new computer.

Guess I”ll have to wait until Dan gets home to see if it’s a goner. Rats.

(I purchased the iMac a good time ago, and then purchased the iBook maybe two years ago. Both are “mine” but the iMac has really turned into the family computer and I have a feeling we purchased extra memory with “our” money, so I guess it’s only partly mine now.)

Weather.com tells me it’s now 85 outside and that it “feels like 84″. How the heck do they decide it FEELS one measly degree cooler? Who are they to say. (Okay, I realize they might be taking a slight breeze into account or something.) Me? I’d say it feels warmer … but then I’m in the house! We have the fans on full blast, and I’m waiting until I’m good and tired so I might, perhaps, actually sleep!

It could happen ….
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When it’s hot, I want things to be empty. This is a good thing, as I clean up a bit (although I move slowly), but I do have to exercise a bit of caution, as I think I could very easily throw things out that, come cooler weather, I’ll want back!

I suppose I want the emptier look because of how closed up everything is. It makes me feel crowded or something. We have the windows closed tightly, the blinds and curtains drawn and, in our non-curtained living room (I actually would prefer to have shutters in those windows, but can you imagine the cost?!) I put up a huge piece of cardboard to keep the sun from pounding on the floor (although the hardwood is already showing signs of wear from the sun).

I’m going back and forth between the Giants game and my lovely ice water, and the bedroom, where I’m going through all my drawers. It’s time to rid myself of some of these things I’ve had but not worn for years. It’s pretty amazing how much junk I have accumulated. Guess I’ll be making another call to Salvation Army soon (they picked up our twin bed … the only place I know that will actually take mattresses).

After church I joined my parents, sister and some friend at Round Table. It was not only cool as can be, but it was EMPTY! What a perfect place to be for a while. (Gee, maybe we should head back there for dinner …? But pizza twice in one day is far too much. I wonder if they have good salad.)

Jameson and I had discussed going over to Monterey, but I believe that getting in the car, contributing to the smog woes we have here, using so much gas (we have the big car while Dan is on a mini-vacation in Yosemite), and … well … let’s face it … being LAZY! … is just too much. So we will stay home. He’ll watch Alias on his computer with Megan, and I”ll keep cheering the Giants on (they are currently ahead, 5-4, top of the 9th).

As long as I have a fan and ice water I think I’ll deal! :-)
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My thermometer tells me it’s 86.2 in my studio. This is a cooler room than some in the house. But anywhere inside is better than OUT. Weather.com says it’s 101 in San Jose right now. Ouch.

Earlier the power went out. I’m guessing it’s due to the heat. No power meant no fans. It meant no opening the refrigerator or freezer (I live on ice water in this heat). And it meant having to manually open the garage door to escape to the mall until the power came back on.

And the power did come on while we (Jameson and I) were away (I call home and when the answering machine clicks on I know power has returned). So we are back home, and a fan is blowing at my face. I’m good for absolutely now! (Some might say I’m always good for nothing.Hmmm.) I did, however, teach four students this morning. So I’ve managed to accomplish something. If I had any scheduled for this afternoon I believe I would have cancelled them. It’s too hot to play.

I know I’ll survive this, but it doesn’t mean I like it.

No one says I have to like it. Right?
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I thought, therefore I was,
but I stopped that thought because
it’s simply just to hot
so I thought “I’d rather not.”
But to think “I’ll stop that thought”
means I’m thinking still … oh rot!

Sorry. I just couldn’t resist. It’s been a while since I’ve written a rhyme.

It was time.

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