Reflections of katlupe: February 2019

Monday, February 11, 2019

Using A Bottled Water Dispenser

My bottled water dispenser

When I first moved from my house in the country, I had someone bringing water in my canning jars. The city water here in Norwich, NY, does not taste or smell good. It has stuff added to it I am sure. So I knew I needed to have a source of good water. That was a lot of work for the person bringing it to me. He had to fill each jar and bring them to me, which took gas and not to mention the time. What changed my mind about it was seeing how heavy the jars of water were when you put a lot of them into a box and have to bring them to my apartment (even though I have an elevator). He never complained about it but I felt it was too much for him.

Canning jars for storing water

Then I was gifted with a bottled water dispenser. At first I did not want to use it. I was afraid of the quality of the water in the bottles. That it would not be as safe as the water being brought to me from my house. Then I remembered seeing specks of paint every now and then in the water (from my house). Even when I still living there. The pitcher pump which is how we got water since the house does not have running water would drop chips of paint off. So now that I was free to choose........I decided to go with the bottled water dispenser after all. I am very glad I did!

Hot and cold dispensers and storage underneath

The one I have is made by Kenwell and is electric for hot and cold water. I do not use it plugged in. I only need it for the room temperature water. It has a dispenser handle for each. I find it very easy to use and fill a jar with water from it and then take it into my kitchen for whatever I need it for. I keep two bottles of water in the refrigerator for drinking if I want cold water. I keep a container of water for heating in an electric pot so it is always ready if I need hot water. Not difficult at all.

The bottles can be bought filled at any grocery store

My friend who bought it for me, put it in place and set a bottle of water bought from the store in it. I have it in my bathroom since my kitchen is very small and has no place to put something like this. I have two bottles and my friend refills them at his house from his spring water system. So I do not have to buy the water at the store. In the future, I could if needed. It is much easier to have the water like this than all those individual water jars. I will say I use a bottle a week or about that. I never really kept track. It is a good way to have water when living in a city and hooked up to the city water system.

It does not take up much room either

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Friday, February 08, 2019

Growing Greens and Herbs In My Apartment

Herbs growing in my apartment!

Growing salad greens and herbs in an apartment? In New York? In the coldest months of the winter? Well, yes. I am doing just that using the Mircle-Gro AeroGarden Harvest, an indoor hydroponics garden kit I bought online last year. I wanted to grow salad greens for Rabbit, my pet house rabbit. Moving from the country meant I had no way to forage under the snow for greens for him. I used to get him a lot of plants that were down underneath the snow and still alive. So looking for a solution on YouTube, I found a ton of videos on the indoor gardens. I was hopeful after watching them, as it is the one downside about moving here from my house, where I had a large garden.

Set up in a location away from my bedroom

The brand of indoor garden I bought, the AeroGarden has 6 pods, they come with 9 too but is more expensive. There are some that are real fancy with other options. This one was just a bit over a hundred bucks on Amazon and I did not want to go any higher than that. I figured if I want more plants, once I learned how to use this garden kit, I could get another one, but used on eBay. The pods are available on Amazon. They have a variety of seed pods such as herbs, salad greens, tomatoes and peppers, as well as flowers. The herb pods came with the kit. I wanted the salad greens instead, so I ordered them when I bought the kit. Now I just got around to planting the herb pods and they are doing really well.

Seed pods have sprouted!

The seed pods come with a plastic clear dome cover to use when you first plant them for each pod. As soon as the plant sprouts and is touching the top of the dome, take the dome off. They should take off growing! Mine grew very fast and are nice looking plants. If you wanted, you can start the plants this way and transplant into a garden. Since I am living in a city apartment with absolutely no yard, I have to keep them in place where they are. I did not want to have to move them from one place to another. The light though, is very bright and stays on for hours depending on what plants you have growing. It is programmed by the type of plant and the LCD panel will tell you when to add nutrients and other information. A bottle of nutrients comes with each kit and pod package.

Dill

The plants grow in water, not soil. You have to check every few days to see if it needs water added. Then pour it in up to the spot that says "add water to here." It uses advanced hydroponics and is really very simple. As I learn more about this method, I may buy just the pods and nutrients and use other seeds of my own choice. Read the reviews on Amazon and you will get ideas of what you can do with this indoor garden.

20 Watt LED Lighting System

The 20 watt LED lighting system is programmed to allow plants to maximize photosynthesis, which results in rapid, natural growth with abundant harvests. It does too. My salad green harvest was plentiful. I picked handfuls almost daily. Enough for Rabbit and my own dinner salad. The LCD control panel tells you everything you need to do. Just pay attention to it and check your water level. The panel turns the lights on and off automatically. So you don't even have to worry about that either.

Genovese Basil leaves are a good size, smell good and are tasty!

I might get another one, which I would like to, but the light is so bright I have to cover it with a box at night. If you have a separate room to put it in that would be good. It is a useful night light....but a bright night light! I pick the herbs and then try to use them in whatever I am cooking or fresh in a salad. Rabbit is fussy about the herbs and picks at them. The salad greens he ate all of them with no problem. It is pretty nice to have fresh salad greens and herbs growing year round inside my apartment. I would recommend this particular indoor garden kit to anyone who wants to try growing a garden inside. Happy harvesting!

"Mmmmm, I approve!"

Tuesday, February 05, 2019

Surviving Dental Work

I wrote this blog two weeks ago, the day I came home from having my teeth extracted. I did not get back to it after that. I just want to say before you read it that I have been healing and now have not needed the pain medication as much. Maybe once a day in the evenings. I am looking forward to going back to the dentist for the dentures next week.

In 1977, my teeth were great.

Today I had a large number of teeth extracted. I am not sure exactly how many but more than a few. Right now I wanted to lay down while I wait for the numbness to wear off. Except that even if I am well propped up, I can feel the blood draining down my throat, so I am not going to lay down after all. Sitting here at my computer is more comfortable, if I can relax and go to sleep. The numbness has been wearing off a little bit at a time. I started feeling the pain. I have pain medication to take but until the numbness wears off I cannot swallow it. The water runs out the front of my mouth instead of me swallowing. So I have to wait. My boyfriend, Sonny, crushed up a number of the pain pills and put them in separate dishes for me to mix with water when I take them.

Winter weather

Normally going to a dentist would have made me a bundle of nerves. This morning though, our weather was freezing rain and slick roads. So I was concentrating on Sonny's driving to get us there. I guess it was God's way of keeping it out of my mind, thinking about the teeth being extracted. Riding with him anywhere is usually enjoyable since he listens to NASCAR radio all the time. That was also taking my mind off the appointment also.

My appointment was at ten and we were right on the dot. They took me in immediately and the dental technician (I am not aware of what her official title is) was friendly and bubbly and talking to me about her dogs and children. She made an impression of my upper and lower teeth. Soon the dentist came and he was friendly and told her what instruments he would need as he looked at my chart. He came back in a little bit and put my chair back and started giving me shots. I must have made a little moan when he did a couple of them, and he said he was sorry, with a lot of compassion in his voice.

Then he left again, as did the technician also. So I was in the room alone and I started praying for it to go quickly and as painlessly as possible. Soon they were back and I was completely numbed. He put my chair back down and went to work. I must say the actual extractions did not hurt nearly as bad as the shots had been. Once you get them done, the rest of the process is easier. He said we were all done and I managed to tell him that he was fast. Which he was. My appointment was at ten and Sonny and I was on the highway headed home and I looked at the clock and it was 10:47.

Rabbit

Now I am home waiting for the numbness and bleeding to stop so I can take one of those pain pills. I found I cannot swallow with my tongue numb. I still have a mouth full of gauze biting down to stop the bleeding. But I want to take a pain pill now! I figure all the discomfort I am in today is my own fault. Years of neglecting my teeth. In my younger years, I went to my dentist every 6 months and some years, I didn't even have a cavity. Eating the wrong foods, drinking soda instead of water and no dental visits contributed to this day. I can't blame anyone but me. I should have looked and found a way to take care of myself on my own. Which is what I am trying to do now. I have help and support from Sonny though and he takes good care of me.

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