My the year is flying by!

Howdy, folks! I'm glad to see that you came back! And a warm welcome to my new readers, as well. Pull up a chair and visit!

Before we get down to the business of the day, I want to answer for all of you a question posed to me this evening up at the local grocery store.What did I do about the poison ivy situation? How did I medicate it? 

Before I tell you, please believe me when I say I am not advocating any kind of medical treatment (or non-) to anyone now or ever. I would recommend, especially if you are a city slicker (country folk already know this remedy - and use it, I'd wager), going to your doctor for all medical advice. That being said, here is what this country gal did to treat her poison ivy....

First I doused the affected areas with bleach. Just pour a few good glugs (that's a technical term, remember it) of bleach in the bathwater, climb in and soak, swishing bathwater into the affected areas as needed. You know, the cracks and crevices where poison ivy, fleas, ticks, ants, any of that sort of unwanted neighbor might settle in for a stay. After a good long soak in the tub, be sure to just pat the areas dry gently so as not to awaken that wicked itch, which would happen by rubbing a towel vigorously over and over the area in question, making your tail wag but irritating some already angry hide. I dosed up Thelma and Louise with Calamine, real thick-like so it felt really icky. (Another technical term. Man, stick with me and you'll know all the technological phrasings of a cowgirl!) Then it was off to bed for all three of us. The next morning I gave the the girls a good dose of Gold Bond powder to hold the itching at bay. No itching = no aggravated skin, with the added bonus of no embarrassing moments in the middle of the grocery store. You know the ones I am talking about. When you know better than to give in to an itch, but you just can't stand it any more. You look down the aisle to make sure all is clear, then you give a good scratch to the itch and turn around to face the county judge who just sneaked up behind you all quiet-like. Yeah, you've been there, I can tell! And that, my friends, is how you treat poison ivy in the country! Sorry, but there will be no pictures posted of this procedure. The Mann Act and all that legal stuff. Besides, the twins are very shy. 

Now on to the mission of the day....

My weaponry, carried here tonight from that same store (my treatmen insured no such embarrassing moments this evening, thank you), includes a new bottle of Sanivac and Rust Guard toilet bowl tablets.

I pulled the plug on the bathtub and let the witches brew drain away. It  looks absolutely marvelous, doesn't it, compared to how it looked when we started? Still some calcium/lime, but not nearly as much. I will have to work on the rust spots around the drain once I get the deposits out of there. Any suggestions?

I decided to let that mess dry and start again with the Sanivac tomorrow.

So what about that toilet bowl tablet? Well, the toilet, as I have said before, is in pretty good shape. Better than the tub or sink, anyway. However, there are some water stains in the bowl, so I want to see if this stuff will get rid of them, and hopefully keep any more from forming.

See the streaks down the sides of the bowl and the ring at the water line? That is calcium and/or lime deposit building up in the bowl. Not bad, but not real clean looking, either. So first read the directions. Hmm! I never noticed that warning on any of these kinds of products. It says if you use this product, don't let your pets drink from the toilet. So the lid stays down! I would think that warning should be on all such products, but don't know if it is. If it isn't on the product you use and you have pets, keep the lid closed! We don't want to sicken our best friends, after all!

Okay, take the lid off the tank. Got it. Flush toilet and when water level in tank is low, drop in cleaner tablet. Okay, here goes! Flush, wait for it, wait for it. Drop it!

Ta-da! Now put the lid back on the tank, also making sure to close the lid on the toilet bowl! Make note to self to check back on this in a week or so to see how it is doing! As a side note to the ladies, isn't that a good, logical reason to insist the men in the house put the lid down? Yes, that definitely works for me!

There were two tablets in the package. What ever shall I do with the second one? Oh, I know...

We will store it in our newly cleaned chemical storage cabinet! Hard work does pay off!

Uh-oh, I found a new problem. Look at this hinge on the back door.

Two nails and a worked-loose screw. Well, one day when I have match sticks, new screws and some wood glue (perhaps an electric drill would help, as well) and I will show you how to fix that. Since I haven't found any of items on that list but the wood glue, that project will have to go on the 'things to do' list. Meanwhile, I will have to be careful when I open and close that door, as it is just a little wobbly.

And look who invited herself in!

Out, Mama Kitty, you don't need to help me. 

There is a nasty bank of clouds looming on the horizon. I am not sure they are headed my way, but I hate driving in rain, so just in case that particular rain is in my forecast, I am going home. 

Until tomorrow - happy trails, y'all!