Thursday, October 2, 2008

Way back when...part 1

Way back when...I remember when they installed the street light in front of my house a couple of years ago. I was quite upset as the light was exactly at the wrong level and it shone right into my bedroom. It was an unwelcome night-time intrusion - I accused the light of destroying my view of the stars (not true, but I was angry at it).

We bought a couple of plants to place on the wall in front of the light-beam - and waited for them to grow high enough. They didn't even survive - too much wind in that location for that type of plant. The Allamanda vine gradually started to fill in the space on top of the wall. The cocoa tree got bigger, and its graceful branches mostly blocked the light. Soon I forgot about the street light, although every time the light blew out I secretly hoped nobody would fix it.

The other night I noticed that the street light was out again. But this time I didn't like it. I've been on my own this week, so it's my job to take Loco out. Darn, it's DARK out there without that light! Spooky too!

I noticed tonight that they fixed the light. Thank You, CFE!

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Way back when...I would never touch an insect unless by accident. I hated the sight of them, the feel of them, and the idea that they might jump out and scare me or crawl on me. I can't watch those programs on tv where people eat insects. Yuck!

Here we have teeny ants. Doesn't matter how clean your house is, they are here. I used to get a piece of tissue paper to wipe them off the counter or ledge. That worked if there was just one or two, but sometimes there were more. Sometimes I would spray them, but that isn't such a great idea in the kitchen (although I have certainly resorted to that). My main method of control though is taking my fist and just pounding on them.

This week I've been sick. Started as a sore throat, but yesterday I was clearly not well at all. Last night my throat felt so raspy I was a little afraid it might close up. I decided to sleep downstairs, where my neighbors might hear me and someone might respond if I called for help. (my neighbors really mind their own business, so I am not at all sure about my theory, but I decided it was better than nothing).

I knew I had some Halls somewhere, so I dug around and found half a package in my backpack. Uh oh - rather soft and squishy. And the tiny ants had gotten under the clear wrapping and were embedded in the lozenges. What to do? - these were all I had in the house. Well, I tried rinsing the lozenge under the tap, but the ants were stuck. I think they were dead too. So, the woman who hates insects of any kind, took her fingernail and scraped off all the ants I could see, and popped the lozenge in my mouth. Yes, I was that sick!

5 comments:

Life's a Beach! said...

Hope you feel better soon Sue! That ant story is like Survivor Isla! Maybe the ants will be the cure! :)

IslaZina said...

Boy are there ants! And I know your despair! I have longed for brown rice since moving here and a couple weeks ago in Cancun, found some at Chedraui. I didn't own the box more than a week when I saw the tiny ants inside. So, I put it in the freezer to kill the ants. Today is dry and sunny and I am rinsing them out in the colander and store it in the freezer once sun dried!
Feel better soon!

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear that you are sick. If it makes you feel any better....you should go outside and BAKE the bug out!

It was below 40 here last night and the furnace has been on.

sigh.

be well.

Sue said...

Well, slowly getting better - just that one dose of ants did the trick! Thanks to all for your thoughts, and I am glad I am not where the temperature is below 40!

Zina - several months ago I bought a bag of rice at the tienda down the street. The next day I went to cook it - not boiled, but stirred in the frying pan. I noticed something coming to the surface that looked like ants, and upon closer inspection - yup, that's what they were. Checked out the bag and the devils were crawling around in there. I dumped everything in the garbage and headed back to the same tienda. They brought out two bags, and the first had the ants. The lady told me to immerse the rice in water very quickly and clean out the ants - which might have worked if that's how I was going to cook it. The second bag looked ok, so I took it home and cooked half - putting the other half in the fridge. The next time I went to use it, there were the ants. So now all my rice goes right into the freezer, along with my sugar (can't keep ants out of that either).

Anonymous said...

Those ants drive me nuts. No matter how clean your house or hotel room is they seem to just appear out of nowhere.The ants are not unique to Isla because you see them in Hawaii everywhere too.