Watch those supplements

Did you know that taking calcium supplements together with Vitamin C supplements can lead to kidney stones?

The most common form of kidney stones are formed from Calcium Oxalate. "Vitamin C: When vitamin C is used by the body, oxalate is produced. Therefore, if the physician has recommended reducing oxalate in the diet, taking vitamin C supplements may not be a good idea. It should be discussed with the physician. " -http://www.gicare.com/Diets/Kidney-Stone.aspx

This can cause problems worse than pain. For example, a stone can become large enough to obstruct an entire kidney, causing kidney failure on that side. This can go on for years unnoticed, as just happened to someone I know.

The sweet sound of jackhammers

That is what has been reverberating through my house the past 3 days. Am I being sarcastic to call it sweet? No. I have gotten to the point where I miss my neighbors so much, that I'm willing to put up with this. Kind of like a woman in her 9th month of pregnancy. The discomfort reaches a point where even labor and delivery are looked to as a welcome relief.

In the picture above, that adorable-looking vehicle has a jackhammer attachment in the front and has been tirelessly breaking up the concrete on my neighbor's property.

What will her house provide for me? A relief from the strange loneliness that hangs over this neighborhood. And, frankly, a wind-break. When the winds whip up from the east, we call them Santa Ana winds in our area, they bring with them ash and dirt from the burned hillsides. Before the fire my property felt the winds strongly, but since then it has been much worse. My house is now the wind break for the rest of the neighborhood. And my pool has a constant layer of silt in it which no amount of vacuuming seems to be able to abate.

And I am glad it is specifically my neighbor who is moving in. She has been a wonderful neighbor all these years. No more than 2 parties per year, with music and laughter extending into the night. That I can put up with. And she is a civic-minded citizen. Everybody in the area knows her because she allows her garage to be used as a voting place for each election. It has been so nice all these years to roll out of bed at 7am and scoot next door to vote.

I send my best wishes to all of my neighbors, particularly her and the 7 other neighbors who have yet to break ground on their rebuild.

Let's get along

I want to. I really do. I bite my tongue until it bleeds. So forgive me for making posts that mention politics. The United States of America is my country. I care for it very much. And I see it going down, down, down like the DOW Jones Industrial average. Can we stop the madness? Can we stop passing spending bills to the tune of hundreds of billions on a weekly basis? Can we stop socializing the country? Can we just slow down? PLEASE?????

I found some comments on the internet that I agree with:
"I had hopes that 4 years of Obama wouldn't be too terrible and that we could fix his crazy mistakes in 2012... how dumb was I? He has been in office a month and he is honest to God destroying our country as we know it. A month, and he has already spent over a trillion with no end in sight. He looks in the camera and tells us 'no pork in this bill' and it's a blatant lie. He plans to sneak national health care (paid for by higher taxes on people who already pay more than their share) past us and he won't even bat an eye. When will the revolt start? I know there's the tea party thing, but honestly, we need more than that. Our country is being taken from us day by day of this administration."

"You guys have no idea how bad universal health care is. I spent 5 years in Canada under U.H.C and its the worst. Say you went to the hospital with chest pains and the doctor did an E.K.G. 2 months later it happens again only this time the government refuses the second E.K.G or blood test because you had on two months ago..you think im kidding..those of you that think its a good idea had better do your homework and fast!!"

"In a Scandinavian country they factor in the number of people who will die waiting to see a doctor and then the wait for surgery. Try 3 years for heart surgery, 6 months for a pace maker, or try traveling hundreds of miles to the hospital that specializes in your illness. Hope you don't mind family and friends not visiting you as you die in that hospital. Why do you think we have so many Canadian doctors in this country? It isn't because they love leaving their families. Good ones go where the opportunities are and not where they are told how much they will make the rest of their lives. You will become a liability to every doctor you see and not an asset. Doctors will be government workers!!! If that doesn't scare you, you are brain dead already."

"Ya hear that, old people? BO is thinking you aren't really worth that much health care...so prepare to get by with much less."

"Oh, heck folks...millions of dollars...that's not much...throw in a few trillions..and that's not much. Soon, we will print more and more money...and if you want a loaf of bread...we'll be like the other third-world countries...get our wheel-barrows and haul the money to the merchant to get our loaves of bread....not to worry...we will be there soon enough ...no need to be concerned...it's JUST MONEY...WAKE UP PEOPLE..."