Thursday, September 3, 2026

Microblogging, Teepee Style: Microbugs and a couple other random things, just because

First of all, I want to apologize for removing my earlier post today.  I came across an old photo of myself and my cousins from the 1970s, shared it with a little backstory, and a couple hours later took it back down.  Just been doing a little too much reminiscing lately.  On that note, here's a few items that aren't exactly blog-worthy in themselves, but all together...

1. This serves me right for buying bananas

I'm wondering if anyone can offer some advice...the other day when I was in the store, the produce man was setting out bananas. 🍌  How come I haven't bought any bananas in awhile?  I love some sliced banana on my morning cereal!  So I got some.  

I remembered why I stopped buying them, when the fruit flies started hopping around my apartment--and into my coffee.  I asked AI what the deal was, it said they come in teeny eggs on your yellow fruit, so wash those nanners right away when you get home.  I did, but was too late.  And now I'm getting assaulted by one whenever I enter my kitchen.

I set out a bowl with warm water, apple cider vinegar & a couple drops of dishwashing liquid this morning (on my stove underneath the light).  It caught 10 of those things, but I don't know where they are coming from.  The kitchen drain?  I'm going to start pouring pots of boiling water down it I guess!

2.  I wish I was this crafty...

My friend Kimberly recently told me she'd signed up for a glass mosaic class, and was creating something on her own for her home.  I asked her to please send me a photo when she was done.  

She sent me this.  I was amazed and told her it looked like something you'd find in a pricey catalog.  Isn't this an awesome piece of artwork?  I'd pay good money for it too. 


3.  This Medicare book came with ham & beans... I think

When I was downstairs getting my mail the other day, one of the other residents was getting hers.  I don't know her name, she's a tall black woman who looks around 60, from the 6th floor.  (She is really tall--I'm 5'7", she's over 6 feet.)  She saw this Medicare book in my hand and asked "You on Medicare?"  I said very soon, in October I turn 65.  She nodded and didn't say anything.  

We walked back to the elevator and she said "You're no spring chicken, but you don't look 65."  I said thanks, I think.  She said "Do you like ham and beans?"  I said er... yes.  She said "That's what I'm making for dinner."  I said it sounded good.  She said "Well, I'm not asking you twice."  Did I miss something?  I said if that was an invite I had other plans, thanks anyway.  Was that an invite?



4.  And finally... someone is paying attention to my butt

A couple weeks ago when my LC symptoms lessened and I was able to join the others at the senior center for a lunch outing, I stopped in the barbershop along the way to say hi to my friend and hair cutter Roe.

I shoved my phone into my back pocket, and we chatted for 10 minutes or so before Roe said "Hey your phone is lit up."  I pulled it out and my most frequent contacts were on the screen.  How did that happen?  I shut it off and went on my way.

I got to the center, we go to lunch, and Paul the Playboy (one of the other seniors) asked if I owned a "vSee Box".  I said I'd never heard of them.  He explained it's a tv box that allows you to stream local channels, cable channels and even paid streaming services on your tv for free, with no cable or subscriptions required.  They cost around $300 and he'd be happy to set me up with one.

(It sounded pretty shady to me.  I'm sure the FCC will be shutting that down.)

When I got home, I heard from my friend Diana who said she got a call from me earlier when I was at the barbershop--my phone "butt dialed" her and she heard us chatting.  (It won't be happening again, I finally activated the security app on my phone so it won't turn on without a pin.)

Later that night, I got back on my phone to watch a couple of YouTube videos before going to sleep and what pops up on my Recommended to watch list?  4-5 videos for vSee boxes!  Coincidence?  Maybe, but I doubt it.

26 comments:

  1. I don’t get fruit fly with my bananas. Of course, Oz has a very strict policy on fruit fly control, so I guess that’s why.

    That’s a fine piece of mosaic glass. I had something similar many years ago (I didn’t make it) but it vanished somewhere along the way. Oh well.

    Was that a dinner invitation or not? Did you go or not?
    I’m a little confused. Actually, I’m a fairly big confused.

    I have a (legal) dongle that does similar things to the one you mentioned. It’s really good.


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    1. Thanks Peter, I'm sure my friend Kim will appreciate the glass Mosaic compliment. And no I did not go to that woman's apartment for dinner! I don't know her at all and I'm still unsure if it was an invite or not. I haven't seen her since. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that free streaming box is not legal here, I've read up on it a little more and it gathers pirated material.

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    2. This dongle has lots of free stuff but there’s also quite a bit you have to pay for.
      Fortunately, the free stuff is enough to keep me entertained.

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    3. Yes that's perfectly legal I have the same, a Roku dongle. The V box gives you access to all the paid streaming services, no accounts or subscriptions required.

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  2. I had been having problems with fruit flies on bananas too, Doug, but they don't bother me as long as they don't go in my mouth when I'm eating a banana.
    That was a strange conversation indeed. I'm not sure that was an invitation or not either. Oh well. I sometimes get a butt dialed call from either my sister Kathleen or my friend Les, usually with me saying "Hello!" repeatedly to scuffling and muffled voices in the background. Very annoying. This never happened with the old brick sized cordless phones.
    Steve from Toronto

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    1. Steve, much thanks--you just gave me my first chuckle of the day, I can just picture you answering that butt-call! And yes my friend, take me back to those first cordless phones please. 1993 would be just fine. 😊

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  3. If they are>/i> coming from your drain, an easy fix is to put the stopper in and leave an inch of water in the sink so that they don't have access to your drain.

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  4. Awww Doug….Im humbled by you including “my artwork”:and your kind comments in your blog! I do think you were invited to share ham and beans by a neighbor that seems to be lacking in the social skills area. I wonder what that dinner conversation would have been like had you accepted her offer 🙄 Kimba🌻

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    1. Hi Kimba! I should've asked first before sharing your mosaic, I just loved it so much. As for the lady on the 6th floor... haha, I have wondered that too. ☺️ Thank you for sharing, my friend. 🤎💙

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  5. You sure do have interesting people in your building! And no, I wouldn’t have thought that was an invitation either. I feel bad for men having to carry phones in their pockets, I’ve never butt dialed anyone from my purse. 😊. I hope your med is helping. I am now on muscle relaxers twice a day and they’re helping a little with this ear, now down the neck issue. Sorry to say, but I am worn down by this. It’s been 10 months, and the symptoms change according to the healing, but I am not back to normal yet. Anyway, I hope you have a good weekend. We are celebrating my oldest daughter’s birthday today and my poor ear is going to have a work out, but that’s ok. Joyce

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    1. Thank you Joyce, I'm sorry you're still wrestling with all the discomfort but it's good to hear from you. My new meds aren't doing anything yet but I'm only on 0.5 MG and have to work up to 4.0mg over 2 months. Keeping my fingers crossed. Anyway, I hope you manage to enjoy yourself today. 🙂

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  6. We had an influx of fruit flies this summer, not sure if they were from bananas or the blueberries that were left out by mistake. In any event, we used the same solution you did, but for the sink drain I used baking soda and vinegar.
    I'm not sure if that was an invite, but if it was, it was an odd way to phrase it.
    The Vsee boxes sound like the gray boxes that were sold in Canada in the early 2000's...they didn't last long. The cable companies, at the time, had them shut down.

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    1. Thank you Maebeme, just poured another pot of boiling water down my drain but will do the vinegar baking soda tonight before bed. And yes, those vsee boxes are already getting noticed by the FCC, I knew they would!

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  7. OK, I'm late commenting (as usual) but yesterday I couldn't find your post and also couldn't publish any comments on anyone's post (blogger glitch?) Anyway, today all seems to be Ok. As for knats, I find them around my sink and sometimes around my inside plants. I will try the boiling water down the drain, but someone also told me to spray baking soda and water around the drain (but not on the plants). I've been doing that and it seems to help. I tried washing my bananas once and they turned dark... not very appetizing.
    As for your unknown neighbor - she may be lonely and thought why not start a conversation with this young man... and I think it was an invitation, just not worded very well. Maybe you'll see her again and just smile. Sometimes that's all that's needed.
    And DH's phone butt calls all the time... ??? (and not always from his back pocket)
    Hope you're having a good week, Dug...

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    1. Thank you Rian! And yes, yesterday Blogger did have a glitch for 24 hours and no one could comment on any blog. As for my microbugs, I did study them up close and they are definitely fruit flies. I did the boiling water down the drain a couple times, but now I am doing baking soda half a cup, white vinegar half a cup, then the boiling water. As for my neighbor, I can't really say what her motives were, I'm sure she was just being friendly but I just wasn't feeling it for some reason. I think I'd like to know her a little better first. Anyway I hope you are doing well my friend, things with me are about the same but I am remaining hopeful I kick this LC in the butt 🙂

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  8. I hear commenting is back! I tried to leave 3 comments before I figured out it wasn't my fault. Let's see if I can remember what I said . . .
    1. I think it was an invitation to dinner. And maybe something else since she verified you were old enough.
    2. The stained glass is fabulous!
    3. Stick with Roku, more programs for free than we will live long enough to watch, lol! And legal.
    4. Fruit Flies - HATE THEM. I cannot stand any insects in the kitchen. I have always washed my fruit and vegetables as soon as I get home from shopping but occasionally they slip in. I try every remedy possible to get rid of them. Yuck. Hope they are gone by now.

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    1. Thank you Miss Merry! FYI, I did the same thing yesterday morning on your 50th Anniversary blog, but my comments wouldn't stick. I should've left a better one today. Big congrats, loved all the photos. :^) As always, you are funny and helpful here, I love your feedback. And the flies STILL aren't gone, but I did go to the store and buy vinegar and baking soda for my drains tonight!

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  9. It appears that blogger is attempting to keep all the rest of us who use other blogging software from sending comments. I have noticed that none of my comments have shown up on other Blogger blogs. Buggers! I had posted that California fumigate all produce that comes in from other places. Our billion dollar ag industry cannot afford to have pestilence .

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    1. It wasn't just affecting outside bloggers dkzody, us blogspot bloggers could not comment on other blogspot blogs either. Looks like it's all fixed now though.

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  10. Gigi Hawaii. Haha! What a life! Well, I hope those fruit flies quit bugging you. We buy bananas every week, but don’t get them, as they are in a plastic bag sealed with a tie.

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    1. Thanks Gigi, today was the first day in over a week I woke up with no flies, I think I finally got rid of them--but I miss bananas!

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  11. That's a gorgeous piece of glass work! I would buy it too. Fruit flies are the very devil. I've had more issues with those small ants; they are a nuisance also. Hope you've managed to eradicate them. That invitation was...weird. Was she trying to pick you up awkwardly?

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    1. Thanks Margaret! I think I'm finally getting the fruit flies under control, pouring baking soda and vinegar down my drains the last couple nights. As for that dinner invite, haha I wondered that too. 😊

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  12. A friend of mine was doing some kind of fruit fly genetics experiment as part of her PhD that involved breeding zillions of them in ostensibly closed tanks all around her apartment and OF COURSE a few got out every time she had to open a tank. The house was thick with them. We came for a visit an when we walked in my husband said "we came to take you out to dinner" - which had not been the plan at all but I thought he was a genius and we spent the night in a hotel instead of her guest room!

    Thought of you today when I read an article about chronic Lyme disease and how it is commonly misdiagnosed (both positives and negatives) when frequently the original Lyme infection triggered a wide variety of physical ills. I was thinking "long covid" as a similar thing and then the author (a MD) made the same observation. Hope your new med has a positive impact and that the fruit flies go away!

    Ceci

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    1. Ceci, you always have the best stuff to say--I so much enjoyed reading about your own fruit fly experience (I am still getting the occasional dive-bomb) and yes, yes! I have often heard that lyme disease IS similar symptom wise, of long covd. Thank you (and fgosh darn it a fruit fly is whining in my ear as I try to type this!)

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