Monday randoms

[starburst604]

Sept 16, 2024 13:42:23 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Cat people, help -

This is gross, but I am going to post anyway. The new cat we got a couple of months ago likes to hang out in our bathroom sinks and on top of toilets, which are all white. She's been leaving trails behind her (like, a few specks of dirt) and I've just been thinking that this cat is oddly dirty despite never going outside, and I've just been Clorox wiping after her constantly, lol. But after doing some more research on this I think it's flea dirt, because some of the little specks look bloody. I've never had a cat with fleas (and I will call her vet here soon) but is this something that I can buy over the counter products to deal with at home, or should I not even bother? Ew.

I'd take a close look to make sure she has them, but yes the blood specks are a common sign. There is an OTC pill that will kill all the fleas in a couple of days, BUT if you don't get all the eggs out they will just come back. Our super spicy cat had them and I wasn't attempting to give him a flea bath, so we did the pill and then combed him a couple of times a week until we found no more signs of them. You need a special fine toothed comb that is just for that and keep a cup of diluted alcohol handy. As you comb through, dip the comb frequently to rinse off whatever you're getting, especially when you find a live one. It was definitely a two person job with our cat.  

Wash all bedding on hot and dry it, and vacuum daily. 

[circa1978]

InBetweenDays, It could have been a vendor on the porch. We have work done when we are out of town and we did that a lot before we moved it (but already owned the house). I have never once really seen the person who lives next door to us - moved in about a year ago I THINK to update and flip the house. I think he's also a single guy in his 20s/30s based on seeing the back of him once or twice but IDK.

[litskispeciality]

spindle92 , so happy for you and your mom! My brother's mental health improved SO much when he was settled in to a PT rehab after a long hospital stay. He even started to get his color back, which his friend told me could be considered "hospital gray". Prayers that she continues to get better, and you can finally get some rest!

I put in for a day off in a couple of weeks as DH and I will be staying at a hotel for a night or two (hooray!) and I want the Monday after to relax. We have a general team rule of how many people can/should be out at one time, but we also have use or lose PTO so it's coming up on the time where everyone has to use it. Long story short I had sent my manager a PM to feel out if I could take the day since we were at the limit (I think?) I never heard back so I submitted. Senior manager approved the time, I just hope someone doesn't get mad that signals were crossed and that I put in anyway. Unfortunately the next couple of weekends after that are much worse for DH's schedule so I couldn't move my request. It's also one day, not a whole week or something.

[rubytue]

Sept 16, 2024 14:16:28 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

Sept 16, 2024 13:42:23 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Cat people, help -

This is gross, but I am going to post anyway. The new cat we got a couple of months ago likes to hang out in our bathroom sinks and on top of toilets, which are all white. She's been leaving trails behind her (like, a few specks of dirt) and I've just been thinking that this cat is oddly dirty despite never going outside, and I've just been Clorox wiping after her constantly, lol. But after doing some more research on this I think it's flea dirt, because some of the little specks look bloody. I've never had a cat with fleas (and I will call her vet here soon) but is this something that I can buy over the counter products to deal with at home, or should I not even bother? Ew.

I'd take a close look to make sure she has them, but yes the blood specks are a common sign. There is an OTC pill that will kill all the fleas in a couple of days, BUT if you don't get all the eggs out they will just come back. Our super spicy cat had them and I wasn't attempting to give him a flea bath, so we did the pill and then combed him a couple of times a week until we found no more signs of them. You need a special fine toothed comb that is just for that and keep a cup of water handy. As you comb through, dip the comb frequently to rinse off whatever you're getting, especially when you find a live one. It was definitely a two person job with our cat.  

Wash all bedding on hot and dry it, and vacuum daily. 

This is what we had to do when our cat got fleas. We ended up flea bombing the basement. They somehow were contained there. I had little cups of soapy water on the floor down there to monitor for awhile. 

[beerlover]

Thanks rubytue and starburst604, did you just do this own your own then or did you take the cat to the vet also?

Do you know the name of the OTC pill?

[starburst604]

Sept 16, 2024 14:35:50 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Thanks rubytue and starburst604 , did you just do this own your own then or did you take the cat to the vet also?

Do you know the name of the OTC pill?

Capstar is the pill and it will kill them quickly. You don't need to take her to the vet, they'll just recommend the same things. Good luck! It was PITA but we finally got rid of it for good. I tried giving him the monthly topical preventative but he would react very violently to me putting those drops on him for some reason, so I gave up! 

[rubytue]

Sept 16, 2024 14:35:50 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Thanks rubytue and starburst604 , did you just do this own your own then or did you take the cat to the vet also?

Do you know the name of the OTC pill?

On my own. Capstar is the pill. It kills flea when they bite, but you have to treat every few days because it doesn’t affect eggs.

[mpc]

Sept 16, 2024 13:42:23 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Cat people, help -

This is gross, but I am going to post anyway. The new cat we got a couple of months ago likes to hang out in our bathroom sinks and on top of toilets, which are all white. She's been leaving trails behind her (like, a few specks of dirt) and I've just been thinking that this cat is oddly dirty despite never going outside, and I've just been Clorox wiping after her constantly, lol. But after doing some more research on this I think it's flea dirt, because some of the little specks look bloody. I've never had a cat with fleas (and I will call her vet here soon) but is this something that I can buy over the counter products to deal with at home, or should I not even bother? Ew.

We battled fleas for over 6 months and it was a dark time in my life. I've blocked out the memories, so don't ask me what we did lol. I just remember that it involved vacuuming EVERY SINGLE DAY and culminated in us throwing out our couch and loveseat. 

We buy OTC flea treatment and put the drops on him once a month now. And do our very best to make sure he doesn't go outside. 

[beerlover]

Alright, I have Capstar on the way from Amazon and a Walmart pickup scheduled for a flea comb and spray. Ugh.

Thankfully, neither one of my cats seems to hang out on the furniture. Not saying they couldn't still be on there, but hopefully that helps.

I didn't actually see any fleas (yet). Just these weird dirt spots.

[starburst604]

Sept 16, 2024 14:57:48 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Alright, I have Capstar on the way from Amazon and a Walmart pickup scheduled for a flea comb and spray. Ugh.

Thankfully, neither one of my cats seems to hang out on the furniture. Not saying they couldn't still be on there, but hopefully that helps.

I didn't actually see any fleas (yet). Just these weird dirt spots.

The best place to spot them easily is the cat's lower belly where there's less fur.

[sofamonkey]

Sept 16, 2024 12:03:52 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Sept 16, 2024 12:00:55 GMT -5 mysteriouswife said:

I actually liked the show. H couldn’t get past the first episode. I’m hearing mixed reviews on it.

I just have it on the background for WFH. So far no one has really said it was any good in my circle, but I'm not expecting much. 

I did not read the book, I think I read maybe 1 Elin Hildebrand book and DNF'd a second. It was very mid-life crisis women whining for both of them.

The first episode was clunky, and you had to pay good attention. After that episode, I liked it quite a bit more!!

[mofongo]

This has been a very weird last week. I had my colonoscopy last Tuesday, then Wednesday night we had hurricane Francine. It was, of course, worse than anticipated. We were fine, our best friends (family of 5) lost power and stayed with us for 3 days. While I loved having them it wasn’t fun bc of the circumstances and the parents had to work some. My house is just not big enough for 7 people.

They got power back and then I developed a 2 day migraine, one of the worst I’ve ever had. The amount of meds I took… I think I’m recovered, today my mom had an endoscopy and I was her ride. H and I both go back to work tomorrow, I’m looking forward to some normalcy and routine. It’s been a shit show, literally at first, ha.

I am SOO glad H was off for the storm! It’s luck of the draw who has to stay in house.

[Jalapeñomel]

Although classic names, I need Sophia/Sophie and Isabella to take a seat. I have 7 Sofia/Sophias this year and 5 Isabellas. I can’t keep them straight.

[InBetweenDays]

circa1978, maybe. We haven't seen any work trucks or people going in or out. We live in an urban neighborhood so our houses are about 25 feet apart. We're on a hill and our yard sits 3 feet above theirs so it is usually very apparent when people are home or are coming/going.

[gretchenindisguise]

Sept 16, 2024 15:11:01 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Although classic names, I need Sophia/Sophie and Isabella to take a seat. I have 7 Sofia/Sophias this year and 5 Isabellas. I can’t keep them straight.

L has so many Sophia's in her life - by far the most popular friend name in the 10th grade.

[scm1011]

Sept 16, 2024 15:11:01 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Although classic names, I need Sophia/Sophie and Isabella to take a seat. I have 7 Sofia/Sophias this year and 5 Isabellas. I can’t keep them straight.

So many Sofia/Sophia/Sophies!! Even in my 2nd graders cohort, so get ready for a many years of them lol.

There are 36 kids in DD's kindergarten (2 classes) and FOUR are named Riley. That one kind of threw me for a loop. 

[deadwing]

Good news on the car front. Apparently this is a semi common issue on newer Subarus. The AC drain gets clogged and it overflows into the cabin. I've had my car for under a year, so I guess this is going to be something I deal with annually... rubytue's guess was pretty good. I am very relieved it wasn't brake fluid.

[TR]

Re: Perfect Couple, but not isolated to it - can we just let actors have their accents? Unless the character’s ancestry is crucial to the plot, it is 2024 and people move and live all over the world. Why couldn’t the Bad Sisters girl be Irish and now she lives in the US and is marrying this guy? Come on.

[eb777888]

Sept 16, 2024 16:39:07 GMT -5 TR said:

Re: Perfect Couple, but not isolated to it - can we just let actors have their accents? Unless the character’s ancestry is crucial to the plot, it is 2024 and people move and live all over the world. Why couldn’t the Bad Sisters girl be Irish and now she lives in the US and is marrying this guy? Come on.

I agree. We were watching something recently, can't recall what, and the actor did not do a good American accent. There was no backstory as to why they couldn't have been from England or wherever they're from. It would probably make it more interesting anyway. 

[renna]

circa1978 , I used to be a youth group counselor (back in the payphone era!) and we took junior high kids to Mexico or out of state trips a bunch of times. These were kids who were 12-15. We really cared about the kids and their safety, and we were ALWAYS aware that the parents had entrusted us with precious cargo, LOL. We never took it lightly.

If this helps you, the only time we would have contacted a parent or reached out would have been if there were a problem. We never had to do it, but sometimes no news is good news, and the other PP are right: free time to contact others AND privacy are sorely lacking on those trips. Plus the kids are So Tired from a busy schedule that is nothing like their normal routine.

I would guess the "no" from your son came from being somewhere he COULD NOT take a call and their group was told NOT to use the phone. He was probably worried if he didn't answer his mom's call but also worried he might get in trouble for being on the phone. At a young 13 he didn't realize he could say "Hi, not a good time. Call ya later!" and instead he more or less blurted out what any 13 year old would and said "No." It's actually (possibly) going to be funny later on, I hope. If it makes you feel any better, my super awesome kid at 13 would probably have not answered the phone at all if he had been told you can't use your phone here. Later (when he got home) I would have heard "Mom, they said we CANNOT use our phone," and I would be like "Dude, just say that then." But again, phone etiquette with young teens is usually a work in progress.

I am sure he is having fun, and from a former leader of trips like this I can say the LAST THING those adults want is any kind of problem for their kids or their families. They care. We always cared.

Also, I do think that it would be nice if you suggested the following to the staff for future trips (whether your son is on it or not):

1. A "we got here and are settled in" text from a group leader. (BACK IN THE DAY, LOL, we used to have a parent volunteer as the point person, and every parent gave a phone number to call. We would call the parent volunteer and say we arrived, and that person, God bless them, would call ALL of the parent numbers and let them know we had arrived or were on the way home. So much better now with texting!)

2. [Our son's school does] a daily email to parents whose kids are on the trip. It gives a description of the day, with pictures. So nice.

3. ?? Maybe mention it would be great if all the kids were encouraged to send a text home, like we all take 10 minutes on a bus ride from A to B to compose the text and send it later.

You are a good mom and you miss your boy. I get it. Ours is 16 now and he just came back from a short school trip but we missed him. They are not allowed phones on the retreat so we just winged it, but he is 16. I get it at 13. I really do. Doesn't seem like much, just 3 years, but there is a big difference.

He's doing okay. I hope you are, too. (((((circa)))))

[renna]

Sept 16, 2024 10:05:14 GMT -5 waverly said:

circa1978 , 

Our tour company makes up IDs for the kids and they wear them the entire trip. It's not official like a state ID, but it will work.

circa1978,

waverly, this is such a good idea. Maybe the kids could even do it next time, since they planned a lot of this trip, circa? Just buy a bunch of lanyards and add in the info necessary. 

It doesn't have to look or read anything like this but in a quick search here was one idea:

link

[lostrn]

Sept 16, 2024 12:00:55 GMT -5 mysteriouswife said:

Sept 16, 2024 10:44:48 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

The Perfect Couple is awful and I'm on episode 1.

Nicole Kidman's wig isn't working for me. I swear she looks like she's about to start screaming about wire hangers.

I actually liked the show. H couldn’t get past the first episode. I’m hearing mixed reviews on it.

Overall we liked it. I want to rewatch actually because we went so fast with it I think I missed things.

[mysteriouswife]

Sept 16, 2024 17:31:56 GMT -5 lostrn said:

Sept 16, 2024 12:00:55 GMT -5 mysteriouswife said:

I actually liked the show. H couldn’t get past the first episode. I’m hearing mixed reviews on it.

Overall we liked it. I want to rewatch actually because we went so fast with it I think I missed things.

Same! I do know Tom is and always will be a d!ck

[mysteriouswife]

Sept 16, 2024 16:39:07 GMT -5 TR said:

Re: Perfect Couple, but not isolated to it - can we just let actors have their accents? Unless the character’s ancestry is crucial to the plot, it is 2024 and people move and live all over the world. Why couldn’t the Bad Sisters girl be Irish and now she lives in the US and is marrying this guy? Come on.

The shock I experienced when I realized Rachel Griffiths used an American accent in Six Feet Under is still mind boggling. Obviously, this was before readily accessible internet so I had no clue.

[Jalapeñomel]

Sept 16, 2024 16:39:07 GMT -5 TR said:

Re: Perfect Couple, but not isolated to it - can we just let actors have their accents? Unless the character’s ancestry is crucial to the plot, it is 2024 and people move and live all over the world. Why couldn’t the Bad Sisters girl be Irish and now she lives in the US and is marrying this guy? Come on.

Blood Diamond is the one that DH and I always said this about. Stop with the bad accents!

[macmars45]

One of my duties as a para at an elementary school is crosswalk. Guys I almost got run over today. I was in the crosswalk with my flag! I can't get anymore visible! The driver stopped literal inches from me. Thankfully the kids I was crossing were already out of harm's way.

Please please please pay attention parents doing drop off & pickup! I want to go home to my family in one piece.

[gretchenindisguise]

Sept 16, 2024 16:07:39 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Sept 16, 2024 15:11:01 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Although classic names, I need Sophia/Sophie and Isabella to take a seat. I have 7 Sofia/Sophias this year and 5 Isabellas. I can’t keep them straight.

So many Sofia/Sophia/Sophies!! Even in my 2nd graders cohort, so get ready for a many years of them lol.

There are 36 kids in DD's kindergarten (2 classes) and FOUR are named Riley. That one kind of threw me for a loop. 

Ooooh -when did In and Out come out? Does that timing track?

It's always so interesting to me when that happens - like the uptick in Emma's after Rachel from Friend's baby.

[TR]

Sept 16, 2024 19:03:30 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Sept 16, 2024 16:07:39 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

So many Sofia/Sophia/Sophies!! Even in my 2nd graders cohort, so get ready for a many years of them lol.

There are 36 kids in DD's kindergarten (2 classes) and FOUR are named Riley. That one kind of threw me for a loop. 

Ooooh -when did In and Out come out? Does that timing track?

It's always so interesting to me when that happens - like the uptick in Emma's after Rachel from Friend's baby.

I was racking my brain trying to think of who in the Kevin Kline movie was named Riley until I realized you meant Inside Out 🤣

PS - I highly recommend In & Out, though. Hilarious.

[erbear]

circa1978 if it helps, I take kids on the DC trip and they are busy. You would hear from a chaperone if something was wrong! I do try to post a pic of the kids so parents can see them every day (though once I missed that a kid was in the bathroom for the pic and her mom called me in a panic)

[gretchenindisguise]

Sept 16, 2024 19:12:49 GMT -5 TR said:

Sept 16, 2024 19:03:30 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Ooooh -when did In and Out come out? Does that timing track?

It's always so interesting to me when that happens - like the uptick in Emma's after Rachel from Friend's baby.

I was racking my brain trying to think of who in the Kevin Kline movie was named Riley until I realized you meant Inside Out 🤣

PS - I highly recommend In & Out, though. Hilarious.

bwahahahhaahhaa.

Yes! Inside Out, lol.