The Daily for Thursday December 02, 2021

[mamaofami]

Good afternoon everyone. As a learning disabilities teacher, I also had a license in Special Education. I worked in the NYC inner school district and also had a private practice. So many children have small learning issues that result in challenges to their learning and so many of them are very smart.

Stay safe everyone. Looks like we have a new variant to be concerned about.

Carol

[StLouisCruisers]

42 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

It is a dry day finally here in the Pacific NW.  Today is a palindrome - 12/02/2021.  It is also my 82nd birthday.  Plan to do some work on my log house property and then barbecue a steak for tonight.

I am almost completely over the kidney stone thing.  Still have a few medications that were prescribed and have to have another CT scan next week to look closer at something the original scan found.  Guess when you are in your eighties you have to expect your body to be less than perfect.

Ray

 

Happy Birthday Ray!  And yes, our bodies are more "less than perfect" every day it seems!😄  It's the price we pay for living this long.

[Heartgrove]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

Please, please tell us more about this.  Where did you get it?  What is it called?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen it and that would be a big help for us.

 

 

I have a Stihl Leaf Blower and purchased the attachment for Gutter Cleaning. It works well on single story homes. I'm sure there are other brands as well.

 

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/blowers-and-shredder-vacs/blower-accessories/gutterkit/

[StLouisCruisers]

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

FYI, in case you haven't heard about it before the cream is Imiquimod 5% cream.  I had her spell it for me because it's new to me. 

[Himself]

18 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

FYI, in case you haven't heard about it before the cream is Imiquimod 5% cream.  I had her spell it for me because it's new to me. 

I have had MOHS surgery on my back and on my nose.   My last one was almost 5 years ago.  I think you are making the right choice.  I hope and pray all goes well.

[JazzyV]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

Please, please tell us more about this.  Where did you get it?  What is it called?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen it and that would be a big help for us.

 

 

There are attachments for leaf blowers, but the sections that attach tend to fall apart as the blower is aimed up to the gutters. I had looked into this for my front porch gutters, but didn't get one due to such poor reviews.

 

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

It is a dry day finally here in the Pacific NW.  Today is a palindrome - 12/02/2021.  It is also my 82nd birthday.  Plan to do some work on my log house property and then barbecue a steak for tonight.

I am almost completely over the kidney stone thing.  Still have a few medications that were prescribed and have to have another CT scan next week to look closer at something the original scan found.  Guess when you are in your eighties you have to expect your body to be less than perfect.

Ray

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAY! Also good news on almost being over the kidney stones.

 

20 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

 

Prayers for a successful MOHS surgery. With so many people having issues, now I'm paranoid about any little skin lesion.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

 

  It is also my 82nd birthday. 

 

Happy Birthday!

 

 

 

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

After a very long wait, I managed to get through to a lovely lady at the Mariner Society and have multiple issues fixed. Thank you, Marlene.

 

 

Very good news 👍 

 

26 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

I have a Stihl Leaf Blower and purchased the attachment for Gutter Cleaning. It works well on single story homes. I'm sure there are other brands as well.

 

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/blowers-and-shredder-vacs/blower-accessories/gutterkit/

 

Thanks.  Our home is a two storey, sadly 

 

24 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

FYI, in case you haven't heard about it before the cream is Imiquimod 5% cream.  I had her spell it for me because it's new to me. 

 

Good luck with the surgery!  Not he best way to celebrate President’s Day 😔 but good to get it done.

[smitty34877]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

It is a dry day finally here in the Pacific NW.  Today is a palindrome - 12/02/2021.  It is also my 82nd birthday.  Plan to do some work on my log house property and then barbecue a steak for tonight.

I am almost completely over the kidney stone thing.  Still have a few medications that were prescribed and have to have another CT scan next week to look closer at something the original scan found.  Guess when you are in your eighties you have to expect your body to be less than perfect.

Ray

Happy Burthday Ray.I am glad you are over the pain from the kidney stone  but sorry there are further tests.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, JazzyV said:

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Daily.

Interesting days. I don't think I've ever eaten a fritter. Special education is vital. And mutts can make great pets.

Good quote.

I like the meal, but it's too soon for turkey again. I like the wine. Pass on the drink.

I haven't been to today's destination.

 

It's very windy here today, but warm into the 50's. I might try to rake some leaves to the curb for the final pickup, if the wind is blowing the right way. Today was trash/recycling day, so I got my cans back in right after pickup. I can hear someone's blowing down the alley!

 

Thank you for all the support regarding my friend's surgery. My uveitis seems to have quieted back down with the stronger drops. I sent a message to my Rheumatologist about the recent flare ups; 2 within the last 2 weeks. When I had my cataract surgery there was a long-acting steroid injected under the conjunctiva. I think it's worn off now, so we need a game plan. My friend is doing fairly well. He seems to have less pain today. He could even joke that he looked like The Phantom of the Opera with his bandages. They come off tomorrow and I hope he's not too upset by what he sees. I worked in healthcare so I've seen lots of wounds and post-surgical outcomes.

 

@rafinmd I hope things are going well with the radiation treatments.

@grapau27 I didn't think you got much snow where you are.

@cat shepard Sorry to hear that Maddie is still missing.

@kazu Prayers for you and Jose.

@dfish Oh my on Tim's fall! It's good he didn't break any bones.

@StLouisCruisers Have a safe and fun trip!

@smitty34877 Prayers for you and Tana and the rest of the family. Sometimes it's hard to be strong, but you have a lot of people pulling for you all.

@Heartgrove How exciting. I hope your tests are negative, flights are easy and then enjoy the cruise!

@durangoscots Wow, llamas! That's pretty exotic.

 

Prayers for the care list and cheers for the celebration list.

Stay safe everyone.

 

We get a lot less snow than we used to when I was a kid when we would get 2-3 feet of snow.

We are only just over 50 miles south of Scotland.

Graham.

Edited December 2, 2021 by grapau27

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

There are attachments for leaf blowers, but the sections that attach tend to fall apart as the blower is aimed up to the gutters. I had looked into this for my front porch gutters, but didn't get one due to such poor reviews.

 

Thanks.  Guess I need someone on my roof, still.  I will do some digging in case there is something with good reviews.  I won’t hold out hope, though.

[smitty34877]

25 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

FYI, in case you haven't heard about it before the cream is Imiquimod 5% cream.  I had her spell it for me because it's new to me. 

Sorry that you have to wait until February  for the surgery. I hope you have a wonderful  time with your family while in Florida. 

[AncientWanderer]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

It is a dry day finally here in the Pacific NW.  Today is a palindrome - 12/02/2021.  It is also my 82nd birthday.  Plan to do some work on my log house property and then barbecue a steak for tonight.

I am almost completely over the kidney stone thing.  Still have a few medications that were prescribed and have to have another CT scan next week to look closer at something the original scan found.  Guess when you are in your eighties you have to expect your body to be less than perfect.

Ray

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY and Bye-Bye Kidney Stone!   

         

                             🎂   🎉   🎈

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

It is a dry day finally here in the Pacific NW.  Today is a palindrome - 12/02/2021.  It is also my 82nd birthday.  Plan to do some work on my log house property and then barbecue a steak for tonight.

I am almost completely over the kidney stone thing.  Still have a few medications that were prescribed and have to have another CT scan next week to look closer at something the original scan found.  Guess when you are in your eighties you have to expect your body to be less than perfect.

Ray

Happy 82nd birthday Ray.

[cruzn single]

Third day of the 4-hour class.  Also had 3 Zoom meetings this morning!  Think that wine is on the menu this evening.

 

Interesting days today.  I have only been around purebreds (3 German Shepherds) and they have been smarter than their owners.  They had us very well trained.  I so miss having an animal, but at this point in my life, that is not in the cards.  Corn fritters are a favorite of mine, and I used to make them frequently when DH was alive.

 

@StLouisCruisers, sorry about your BCC diagnosis.  Glad your MOHS is scheduled.  I have a couple of spots that I will have checked by the dermatologist in my appointment in two weeks.  Think that more MOHS might be in my future!

 

@dfish, sorry about Tim’s fall.  In my seniors complex they were using blowers to remove leaves from our gutters.  Don’t know if there was some sort of attachment.  Hope he recovers quickly.

 

Think I had better start paying attention to class.  Have a great rest of the day, everyone!

 

 

[AncientWanderer]

12 minutes ago, JazzyV said:

 

With so many people having issues, now I'm paranoid about any little skin lesion.

 

Right, Vanessa?!  So many skin problems.

This is so gross that I've never mentioned it before.  DH had a skin cancer on his actual eyeball.  We never thought that was even possible.  He had a great doctor.  It was removed and never came back -- no loss of vision and no disfigurement.   That was a real scare, though.  Surfing since nine years old...I guess it happens.

[grapau27]

38 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

FYI, in case you haven't heard about it before the cream is Imiquimod 5% cream.  I had her spell it for me because it's new to me. 

Sorry to hear about your BCC Sandi and the near 3 months wait for surgery.

Graham.

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

This has been a quiet day, mainly spent relaxing on the balcony.  Since we are at berth 3, our view is of the resort area out of town.  A few vendors set up tents in the parking lot.  I made a quick trip down to see what I wasn't going to buy.  🤣  I have to purge some t-shirts before I can get anymore.

 

Normally, I don't pre-book the speciality restaurants to avoid the hassles of getting our Mariner freebies and discounts. Because of a post about difficulty getting reservations, I did breakdown and pre-booked this time. Let's just say their accounting still cannot get the discounts correctly.  Between that and a couple of sub-par dinners in the Pinnacle, we've canceled our remaining reservations.

 

The guys and gals at Guest Services have been wonderful working to get things straightened out.  BUT, neither should they or we have to jump through hoops after every evening in a specialty restaurant.  When we went to Canalleto after booking on board, no problem at all.  I even cornered the Hotel Director the last time, and he agreed it shouldn't be this way.

 

BTW, the system is still showing reservations we canceled.  At least, we haven't been charged for them. 🤞

 

Sorry for venting, but I knew everyone would understand the frustration.  Now, I feel better.  Thanks for listening (or is it reading?). 😉

 

@durangoscots  Great news that the macaws have a good home and are doing well.  Oh my on the lamas.  Just watch out for the spitting. 😱

@JazzyV  Good news that your eye is better and that your friend is doing better too.

@USN59-79  🎂 HAPPY 82ND BIRTHDAY! 🎉   Glad your feeling better.  Hope what they saw on the scan isn't serious.

@*Miss G*  WOW!  That poinsettia is something else. Glad you got things straightened out with the Mariner Society.

@StLouisCruisers Sandi, sorry you have to have MOH surgery.  The good news is it must not be too serious since it can wait until February.

 

Lenda

 

[Seasick Sailor]

We had a gutter cleaning wand for years 2 homes ago. It was so easy to use. The thing looks like a shepherd hook and you can extend it for a 1 story or 2 story. You hook it up to your garden hose, turn the water on high and "let 'er rip" We would take turns. One would hose while the other piled leaves and pine cones into garden bags. 

 

Buy the high pressure nozzle one if you're doing a 2 story.

Edited December 2, 2021 by Seasick Sailor
add on

[Cruzin Terri]

Greeting from Miami.  We are staying at the Marriott Biscayne Bay overlooking the cruise port.  We are happy to be here and be on our way tomorrow.  Yesterday we had another itinerary change and shortened port hours in almost every port.  No explanation.,

 

Special Ed is near and dear to my heart.  Having just recently lost my brother-in-law, Eugene, who was developmentally disabled due to a mastoid infection at the age of four.

When we moved from New York, we found a letter in the attic (we lived in the house where my husband and Eugene grew up) from the New York City Board of Education stating that there was no place for him in the New York City School System.  Mind you that was many years ago before they had special ed programs.  The recommended that he be institutionalized.

 

Things are so different now.

 

Here’s a picture from our hotel room:

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Cruzin Terri

[cat shepard]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

It is a dry day finally here in the Pacific NW.  Today is a palindrome - 12/02/2021.  It is also my 82nd birthday.  Plan to do some work on my log house property and then barbecue a steak for tonight.

I am almost completely over the kidney stone thing.  Still have a few medications that were prescribed and have to have another CT scan next week to look closer at something the original scan found.  Guess when you are in your eighties you have to expect your body to be less than perfect.

Ray

Happy Birthday, Ray!
 

The CC gremlins allowed me to post in your honor!

[cat shepard]

51 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

FYI, in case you haven't heard about it before the cream is Imiquimod 5% cream.  I had her spell it for me because it's new to me. 

Sorry to hear this, Sandi. All of these different types are new to me, so thank you for sharing.  
 

A cream sounds too easy, and unreliable. Anyone else ever hear of this?

[Seasick Sailor]

@USN59-79 Wishing you a very happy Birthday!

[StLouisCruisers]

I started a multi-post but it bit the dust mid way.  So let's do this another way.

 

Thanks to all including@Himself, @JazzyV, @kazu, @smitty34877, @cruzn single, @AncientWanderer, @grapau27, @Quartzsite Cruiser, and @cat shepardfor your concerns and wishes.  This is my second MOHS as far as I can remember.  First was for melanoma on my back, second for a basal cell on the forehead again.  This spot seemed like a dry flake of skin, so be on the lookout for any new bump/pimple/rough spot.  As for President's Day, it was the first appointment and I'm looking on the bright side.  There could be fewer cars on the road that day and this is a very early appointment so we will be out during rush hour.  I'm just glad it's not on my eyeball now that I've heard that is a possibility from @AncientWanderer!  Mine seems minor so the wait until February isn't worrying me.  I feel safer with the surgery rather than a cream, too Ann.  And @cruzn singlegood luck at your upcoming appointment.  Hope that covered it all.  Thanks again friends!  And don't forget to see your dermatologist regularly!

[JazzyV]

10 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Sorry to hear this, Sandi. All of these different types are new to me, so thank you for sharing.  
 

A cream sounds too easy, and unreliable. Anyone else ever hear of this?

 

There are 2 creams for early basal cell skin cancer, Imiquimod and 5-FU (fluorouracil) . My friend that just had the MOHS has used them on his head before (He shaves his head anyway, so it could go on the scalp easily).

[TiogaCruiser]

55 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Finally heard from the dermatologist's office a while ago.  It was 13 days since the punch biopsy on the forehead near the hairline.  It is the most common skin cancer, basal cell.  They wanted to know if I wanted MOHS surgery or use a cream on it for 6 weeks.  I said MOHS.  The same surgeon we've had in the past will do it for me, and we have a connection because his hometown is DH's hometown in the St. Louis area.  The date is Feb. 21 (President's Day).👨‍⚕️

 

FYI, in case you haven't heard about it before the cream is Imiquimod 5% cream.  I had her spell it for me because it's new to me. 

Aldara. I used it. It was part of a negotiation with the surgeon. I was there for a third BCC in essentially the same area. (I got a quickly growing lesion about a half an inch from the previous one, 3 years in a row. All MOHS had achieved borders…. It turned out the morphology was such that the lesions were totally separate, but “scattered”. So there was reason to expect more in the future.)

Anyway, Aldara was new, and reportedly 75% of people have success. It works at the gene level, and can cause BCC to become very red and dissolve. I insisted on MOHS, which she did, and she recommended Aldara to the area after the site healed, then a light treatment after that. I had lots of “activity” in the area treated. So far, some 8 years later, no BCC THERE, only some AKs.