Texas Fall/Winter thread!

[Western]

I dont know about you guys, but to me this weather has been like March without the storms.......so far!

Last 2 nights coming in from work in Dallas, the fog was atrocious! another more like Spring "thang" I have Sunflowers around my bird feeder grown to about 3" already, where is that proverbial late season freeze????

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I've had to run the A/C a few times already.

 

[bindian]

I've had to run the A/C a few times already.

Shoot............I like it cold when I sleep. So it runs a lot.......at night on weekends and during the day during the workweek.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Western]

Shoot............I like it cold when I sleep. So it runs a lot.......at night on weekends and during the day during the workweek.
hugs, Brandi

Amen sister!! I have been "hot blooded" all my life, if it's dark and 60-65*, I can sleep all day!!

 

[jinman]

Darn! I've felt lousy the last couple of days. About two weeks ago, I caught a head cold. It seemed like the normal cold symptoms. After about a week it seemed to be easing up. Last weekend, I took my wife and two grandkids to see the Harlem Globetrotters in Dallas and even went out to a BBQ dinner afterwards. My nose was still a bit runny, but I didn't feel bad. On Monday of this week I thought I was out of the woods, but overnight my chest became congested and I realized the cold had moved down to my chest. I was coughing and wheezing while not being able to sleep. I fought it for a couple of days, but finally called my doctor on Wednesday and made an appointment for Thurs morning.

So yesterday at 8:30 AM, I was sitting in my doctor's office. She listened to my chest and did a blood oxygen test to find that my oxygen level was low. She sent me to get a chest x-ray and gave me a breathing treatment. The x-ray showed I had congestion in the mid-lobes of both lungs approaching pneumonia. I got a big shot of steroids in one 'cheek' and a shot of antibiotics in the other. I got prescriptions for a Portable Nebulizer, Prednisone series, and antibiotics for a 10 day course. She also suggested Coricidon HBP and mucus medicine OTC that I already had.

The nebulizer works pretty well. I start out coughing when I use it, but by the time the treatment is over, my lungs have opened up and I can breathe deeply without coughing. Of course, taking a handful of pills in the morning and following them with coffee is a sure way to make your stomach revolt. My DW fixed me a couple of dry Eggo Waffles and that calmed my stomach right down. This is not going to be an overnight cure, but I can already tell improvements. My breathing is deeper with no wheezing and my coughing has been drastically reduced. If I follow the instructions of my doctor, I'll be back on my feet soon. My doctor also gave me a lecture on not waiting to come to see her. I deserved both her's and my wife's rebukes for putting things off too long. I'm just not as young as I used to be. I have a great doctor and medical coverage that I should use a lot earlier than I did. My bad!

So, if any of you come down with a bad head cold, just consider that you might have a similar strain of cold virus that will fool you into thinking you are okay and then smack you down hard. I encourage you to see your doctor when it's still a head cold. That's not being a wimp, it's being wise.:thumbsup:

 

[Western]

Jim, I sure can relate. About 6 years ago I went through almost the same thing and kept working. I did end up with Pneumonia and missed almost 3 weeks of work

I have not been sick since:confused3: Not complaining, but it is "weird". The wife thinks I built up some kind of antibody because I have had the flu once a year since we met.

I have had those shots too, on both cheeks, so I am assuming you typed this while "standing":laughing:

OH Edit!! How was the Globetrotters show? I saw them twice when I was a kid, it was a real hoot and those guys where talented.

 

[texasjohn]

So, if any of you come down with a bad head cold, just consider that you might have a similar strain of cold virus that will fool you into thinking you are okay and then smack you down hard. I encourage you to see your doctor when it's still a head cold. That's not being a wimp, it's being wise.:thumbsup:

So right...us guys are taught to suck it up and keep going...do it myself too much...glad you are on the up side now...and can hopefully take advantage of some of this good weather.

I've been out fixing electric fence...lots of green grass showing...and weeds...ugh...gotta do some weed control this year, they are bad after all the drought...which is still continuing...cracks in ground, dust on roads...

 

[Bird]

Glad you're recovering, Jim.

 

[jinman]

Thanks guys! I just finished a nebulizer breathing treatment and almost feel normal. That's a wonderful invention. Each treatment only takes about 15 minutes to use up all the liquid medicine, so it's not an intrusive treatment at all. The medical equipment company bills Medicare about $30 a month for rental. If I keep the nebulizer for 13 months, it's paid for and mine, but medicare won't pay for another one. I know I'll probably keep it for two months at least and see how I feel. I really do hate to have Medicare spend money that's not needed, but I have mild COPD and this just might be helpful on a regular basis. I'll talk to my doctor.

Dennis: The Globetrotters were very entertaining. You have to understand that you aren't going to watch a basketball game, but rather a clown act. They were very funny and kept the crowd laughing for the two hours of the show. More than anything else, I love to watch their drills and ball control skills. Kids really love them and they have very funny mascots. You really miss something if you never get to see them.

It's funny about the shots. The steroid shot I barely felt, but the antibiotic made my hip feel like it was cramping. It stayed that way all afternoon and is still a bit sore this morning. The nurse told me it would be uncomfortable and she was right. It wasn't anything I could not stand, but it was unusually painful. A young kid might really complain, but maybe their dose would be less.

 

[Bird]

I just finished a nebulizer breathing treatment and almost feel normal. That's a wonderful invention.

I've never used one, but my wife has one for her COPD.

 

[Western]

The 1st Nebulizer I had prescribed, I didn't like it, made me cough more that the flu did. When I got pneumonia, I actually enjoyed the treatment, it works. Of course I had a "purdy" nurse to help me out too (wife):laughing:

Jim, your right about the globetrotters, they are magical with a basketball!!

 

[bindian]

Jim,
Glad to hear you are better! I take it DW means Dear Wife?
hugs, Brandi

 

[pacerron]

What did the nurse say about your Speedo's with the Rockin' Anchor Ranch monogram?

 

[Bird]

I haven't had a cold or the flu in awhile, but this is the first time I've had so much . . . hay fever? or whatever you call it. The sneezing and blowing my nose is bad enough, but the worst part is the itching eyes.

 

[Western]

Just when I get on a roll with my "shop" it's going to get nasty again:laughing: I have been struggling to get it done between back pain and back pain, but it's slowly getting done. Only help I've had is putting up the corner post, my wife held'm while I welded them. I will never build a shop with used metal again, I like straight and crooked makes it tough!!

After I built my trusses, i had to figure out a way to get them up by myself, I thought of the hay spike I made years ago and went with the same concept. Quick and easy, this is it on my bucket lifting a 30' 2"x2" truss I made.

 

[two_bit_score]

Good job, Dennis. Thanks for the pic.

 

[ronjhall]

I haven't had a cold or the flu in awhile, but this is the first time I've had so much . . . hay fever? or whatever you call it. The sneezing and blowing my nose is bad enough, but the worst part is the itching eyes.

Same kind of stuff down here in the Valley. Can get it to go away until the weather changes again.

 

[WM75Guy]

Thanks guys!The medical equipment company bills Medicare about $30 a month for rental. If I keep the nebulizer for 13 months, it's paid for and mine, but medicare won't pay for another one. I know I'll probably keep it for two months at least and see how I feel. I really do hate to have Medicare spend money that's not needed, but I have mild COPD and this just might be helpful on a regular basis. I'll talk to my doctor.

[It's funny about the shots. The steroid shot I barely felt, but the antibiotic made my hip feel like it was cramping. It stayed that way all afternoon and is still a bit sore this morning. The nurse told me it would be uncomfortable and she was right. It wasn't anything I could not stand, but it was unusually painful. A young kid might really complain, but maybe their dose would be less.

If it goes out you can get one pretty cheap. My wife just bought a nebulizer compressor at Walgreens for $40. We use a mouthpiece at the hospital that delivers the 3 ml dose in 3 minutes, beats sitting around for 15 minutes. It does take 8 LPM of air flow. The shot was probably Rocephin antibiotic, it does hurt afterwards. It comes in the vial as a powder and has to be reconstituted with a liquid before you inject it. I use Lidocaine when I give a shot of it. It numbs the area for a while after the shot. Many nurses don't know you can use Lidocaine instead of sterile water to reconstitute Rocephin. It is in the package insert, not in the nursing drug books. If you get it in the future it would not hurt to ask.

 

[jinman]

Thanks Randy! That's great info. If I can find the nebulizer compressor, I'll do that. I hate for Medicare to pay inflated prices for things. You can clean and sanitize your mouthpiece and get lots of uses, and that's all available separately from the compressor. That's good info and I'll look into it.

 

[Western]

Thanks Tw0-Bit, I wish the photo was better, but they where after thoughts with my cell phone (was showing my wife I wasn't "goofing" off:laughing It's tougher now messing with long sheets of metal or heavy post by yourself, but should be rewarding when I'm done.

This one is after I got the trusses in place (not welded yet) took less the hour with the boom.

This is the first 2 runs of purlin,