So the cooler is working great. Everybody is happy. I need a haircut so I ask Ruth to get up early one morning before I go to work. She happily agrees.
The next morning we go out to the kitchen and there are ants everywhere. Instead of trying to squish them all or clean them up with a washcloth, I say "Let's break out the vacuums and suck them up." This works really well, avoids that nasty, squished ant smell and I didn't have to rinse off an ant-covered washcloth a hundred times. So instead of a 15 minute haircut, we spend 45 minutes cleaning up ants and 5 seconds blocking their entrance, a wonderful little drain hole in a window. So the haircut waits. Which is okay because we need to get a new blade for our clippers because they are getting dull and don't cut all the hair!
We like to visit our families as often as possible which we did for the first weekend in August. We travel to my parents on Friday night. Saturday morning comes and I request a haircut which Ruth gladly provides. Then we throw each of the boys up on the hair-cutting stool and run the clippers over their heads. An what wonderful surprise does Ruth find, but a louse on Aaron's head! Then a few more. So what do we spend the rest of our Saturday morning doing? Shampooing and combing hair. After some contemplation we decide we know the source of the infestation and make some phone calls to warn other parents.
If there was ever a reason for girls to have short hair this was it. Trying to comb long hair with a nit comb is, to me, an exercise in futility. I combed Aaron's hair and was responsible for Emily's hair. I only hope I did a satisfactory job on Emily.
We get to throw all the bedding we have used at Grandma & Grandpa's house down the laundry chute (easy, thankfully) and clean all the bedding at home and whatever else the kids may have put their heads on, along with retreating all the kids' heads in 7-10 days. Well, the dryer didn't think that all this laundry was necessary and quit halfway through the day. I get home from work Monday evening and there are two wet loads of laundry and several loads left to wash.
As I have mentioned before we live on a well traveled dirt road. This is not conducive to having a clothesline as wet clothes hanging in a dust cloud don't stay clean for very long. But Monday at 9:30pm I was putting up a clothesline on our back deck so our wet laundry wouldn't mildew. This was after I took the dryer apart to figure out why it was being so disagreeable. I suspect the belt is broken. And after working on the dryer for an hour I find a broken belt. ask me about the symptoms if you care to know.
Ruth is able to find a belt the next day ($30!?) and after I get home from Scouts we get the dryer put back together and it works! And I only lost one screw in the disassembly!
So here's hoping that you'alls houses and all their gadgets are working properly for you, and that your homes are louse-free, forever.
to be continued...? (I hope not)
4 comments:
Ants aren't supposed to like vinegar or mint...spray diluted vinegar and/or dip bay leafs in mint mouthwash. They won't cross over chalk either. I have also read that ants are attracted to the dead ant smell...so killing them isn't necessarily the best solution...I like the vacuum idea. I also read somewhere that dish soap kills fleas. Just make sure to rinse really well!
Luckily I'm married to someone who has connections with a pest control business!
...he sprayed around the house a few days later and no more ants!!!
Hey, I have some clippers that I never use. I've had them for several years, thinking that since my hair is simple, that I would cut it(or at least trim it) once in awhile. Never happens! I'll bring them up to mom and dads next time I go up there if you want them.
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