Norovirus - acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis; judicious use of controlled substances; food; out among the masses; Financial Matters; bank account; credit card; Cats; floors; rugs; hydrogen peroxide; Candles and incense; An aside about "incest sticks" and local and state government; Back to candles and incense

When last I wrote, I was talking about having what I guessed was the Norovirus, which is acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis, characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, headache and low-grade fever I'd say that does a fairly good job of covering the symptoms. I was able to avoid some of this by the judicious use of klonopin and Levacet which helped with the nausea and headaches.

As I mentioned before, Wikipedia has a good explanation of the infamous and evil Norwalk virus group - prototype virus of the genus Norovirus of the family Caliciviridae. Note the part about "Only the common cold is reported more frequently than viral gastroenteritis as a cause of illness in the U.S."

I spent the first week eating toast and drinking ice tea. I made one forage to Golden Corral at the end of the week. And that was most definitely NOT a good idea. It took about 48 hours for my system to stabilize.

This week, what I eat has been less of a problem. But every now and then, something will bother me.

The really, really nasty thing about the virus is how it wipes you out. The first week I did almost nothing. I didn't even shave for four days, and it has been years since I've done that. (Hence the reference to the ghost of Hamlet's father in the previous entry.)

For the first part of this week, every action was willful and deliberate. Put the clothes in the basket, pick up the basket, move the basket to the store room, open washer, place clothes in washer, add liquid detergent, set controls, start,..."

From Thursday on was much better, I was able to go among the masses. Although, I went among the masses yesterday, including Hobby Lobby, an Indian boutique, Target and CVS, at the end I was exhausted to the point that my body hurt.

Today I went to lunch; Hobby Lobby, again; and an Indian emporium. But that didn't seem to be as troublesome.

I made it through the merry month of Janus without resorting to overdraft, and there was actually some money in the account at the end of the month. And I was able to keep within the limit of the credit cart.

I'm certainly hoping February will be even better. In January, there were property taxes to pay, but this month there are no taxes or fees. The one difference is that I've had both the car and property insurance spread out over twelve months, which is much easier for me to handle.

On the credit cart, I paid about at least 75% of the balance.

The cats and I continue to have a disagreement about the appropriate use of the litter box. I indicated before that I removed, for the second time, the rug in front of the couch. The floor looked terrible with big black blotches. Reading online, I came across several references to covering the area in towels soaked in hydrogen peroxide, which I did. And it worked. The area in front of the couch has an odd-looking light pattern to it, but that is much preferable to the alternative.

I also had to give up on the area behind the couch. And again part of the floor looks dreadful. I've carefully covered it with paper towels soaked in hydrogen peroxide and covered with plastic wrap which helps to hold in the moisture.

And I discovered a place in my closet with which I've had to do the same.

This is certainly a pain. The older kitties know this is a "no no," so they wait until I'm not looking. Tiger, Tiger is so quick and sneaky about it that even looking right at him, I don't necessarily catch what's he done.

I've been burning fragrant candles on an almost constant basis in hopes in knocking out the lingering order. But the candles seem too mild. I don't even notice their odor. Of course, someone who comes in might find it overpowering.

So I've come to next level: incense sticks.

An aside about Jackson Public Schools. I used to work for a not so bright principal, when I taught, who was concerned about kids burning sticks in the bathroom. So he gets on the intercom and babbles away about the burning of "incest sticks." Someone brings the error to his attention, so he goes through the whole spiel again.

Such a loverly man who was solely interested in making himself look good. His sins came back to haunt him when a teacher came before the school board and said he had asked her to change the grade of a student athlete. And then about a week later, another teacher came forth. What's interesting is that the administration allowed it to reach the board level where it became very public knowledge. Of course, this was only the tip of the iceberg, for he was always asking people to change things. At the end of the year, his contract was not renewed.

There's now a case in the school system, in which a middle school principal has accused the superintendent of making covert sexual advances toward him. The principal reported it to his supervisor and was fired the next day for financial improprities. The principal's wife was up for a promotion. The school system offered the principal a different job at the same salary and the promotion for the wife, IF they would drop the charges.

As the dismissal is winding its way through the administrative process, the principal and his wife have file suit in federal court.

Local government in Mississippi never ceases to amaze. This story is almost a bagatelle with the fiasco at the Department of Health. The spineless board refuses to fire an arrogant director because he threatens to sue them individually. The legislature is in session and is trying to figure out a way to dissolve the agency.

The other day on one of my usual and customary shopping excursions to WalMart, I glanced at the incense selection and wound up choosing a ceramic holder and a couple of packages of sticks.

The sticks were cheap, have almost no smell, burn very quickly and the ash is not contained by the holder.

Next I tried a roughly eight-inch diameter bowl filled with kitty litter. Works much better at containing the ash. But the other problems still exist.

Thursday I went to PierOne, but they no longer carry incense sticks! But the perky sales personage said they were being replaced by "Reed Diffuser," which is a small vase of scented oils: "Place the rattan reeds into the invigorating fragrance and allow the enticing scent to gently diffuse." Somehow that seems a tad different from a ancient tradition of burning sticks.

Friday, I finally found the Indian boutique, and they had myrrh scented sticks. Which are wonderful. I next pushed myself on to Target in hopes of finding a holder for the sticks and a shallow bowl for burning the sticks. Back and forth I went. I found an African-looking ceramic vase for $16. But then by accident I came across a metal wire mesh match holder for around $4.

The shallow blow was more difficult. First I tried the decorative items. Next a special section devoted to more exotic items, where I'd found the vase, with more exotic prices. I considered wooden bowls. Rattan boxes - the risk of fire bothered me. Wire mesh baskets? But how would I cover the mesh - plastic wrap - another fire hazard. Several plastice office in boxes - another possible fire problem. Then by chance I noticed a black and white casserrole dish for $10. Perfect!

Today when I meandered out, I stopped by Hobby Lobby and got some more sticks and six batches of aromatic votive candles which all go into a pottery bowl.

PAX!