Yeah, unfortunately after i took him to the doc's today, my son does have some form of flu, but i don't know if it's swine. They tested with a swab (quick test) but not the blood test. The reason i took him was yesterday he ran a fever suddenly in the afternoon and said his stomach was hurting. Then is morn he complained about sore throat, so i figured it could be a) strep, b) a secondary infection getting going and causing the fever (he was coughing a lot again), or c) flu. The doc wasn't very helpful as to whether he'd had flu all along and it had gotten worse or he'd managed to pick up a flu on top of a cold. Frankly, the doc had terrible bedside manner overall and i hope we don't have to see him again. He just recommended tamiflu, which i'd read really hasn't helped that much, and when i called around, found out was $100. No way we can afford that right now. So he'll have to let it run its course. He was feverish again in afternoon, but by eve it was gone again. So we'll just wait and see how he's doing. He definitely felt better today with the extra rest until the fever kicked in again, and even then was better than yest. I hate him missing school- because of the block schedule he's on every day he misses is like missing 2 days. Real good way to get behind very fast. To make matters worse, he has some poison ivy from when he felt better the other day & was out weed whacking. Part of it's on his neck because he was scratching skeeter bites. So he looks a fright, poor kid. And tomorrow's our anniversary, which we had planned to spend together, alone, but looks like that's not happening. Oh well. I just want him to get better. So far (KNOCK ON WOOD) nobody else has shown any signs/symptoms at all. Dottie- i would love to see them do some research on those adenoviruses. i remember reading about that but for some reason no one else did. I was beginning to think i'd made it up. people look at you like you're crazy when you tell them they discovered that a virus can make you fat.

Shamae, How big are the bugs? I know you posted a photo, but without something whose size is known (like, for example a dime or a penny or something) placed beside them to provide context, it is hard for us to understand what size your pests are. Spider mites are roughly the size of the dot over the letter "i". They are very hard to see with the naked eye and hard to view in a photo, though once you're used to seeing them, you can flip over a leaf and look at the underside of it and see the tiny mites on the plants then. Sometimes, folks new to spider mites aren't sure if they are seeing spider mites and we tell them to hold a clean white sheet of paper underneath a plant leaf and thump it. Tiny insects the size of a period will fall onto the paper and begin moving, and if that happens, they likely have spider mites. It actually is easier to identify mites on plants by the damage they do than by seeing the mites themselves. If you can tell us more about your pests, perhaps we can help you with an ID. If, by chance, they are the same size as spider mites, I'd suspect chiggers, but the pests in your photo look larger....more like the size of aphids? Not that I'm saying they are aphids, but rather that's just the size they are. Are you here in OK? Was your compost wet or was it dry? The more info you share, the better we might be able to help you figure out what it is that you're seeing. Or at least what it isn't. Dawn

Oh, if there's an I-hate-to-clean club forming, please sign me up! I'll volunteer to bring refreshments, but I won't agree to do the clean-up afterward! Seriously, my suggestion is that you read the book Make The House Clean Itself (by Don Ansalamo). Okay, I know I got the man's name wrong, and I might be a little off on the book title. I don't own it myself, but it's a popular book. I know I got it from the library. He also has a website on which he sells his books and cleaning products. The man is a genius! His big ideas are that you should DESIGN YOUR HOME to minimize messes and avoid the need to clean. Here are a couple of his ideas: Place a good quality floormat at every doorway. Make it long enough that the family is forced to take several steps on it as they enter. This will collect much of the dirt that would've otherwise entered your house. Consolidate dirt and clutter areas. For example, have a place near your back door where your family can stop to leave keys, wallets, etc. Have a mailbox system where they can see what arrived today -- and a trash can so that the junk mail doesn't go any farther into the house. Also in this spot include a place to deposit the kid's left-behind stuff: A barrette, an ipod, school papers. Choose flooring that matches your dirt. So if you live at the beach, you want sand-colored tile. I live in the South, home of red clay, so something with a rusty undertone will hide my dirt better. Minimize the number of surfaces you have. For example, if you have carpet and hardwoods and tile, you're cleaning three different types of flooring -- and it feels like more work because you have to switch cleaning products. In contrast, if you can choose just one and run it throughout the house, it'll be less work. He talks about choosing light fixtures that don't collect bugs and dust. He talks about reducing clutter so that you have less to clean. For example, I remember one illustration in which he shows a tabletop with a lamp and a basket of flowers that need to be dusted . . . and next to it an equally nice illustration of the same tabletop with flowered wallpaper behind it and a pendent light hanging above. But the second illustration could be swiped dust-free in seconds. He talks about getting quality tools to do your cleaning. In one illustration he compares the cost of buying a new power tool for your husband's workbench (which is used twice, then put away) vs. buying a really good quality vaccum (which is used several times a week). Seriously, his book is fantastic. In fact, I'm motivated to find it again and be sure I'm incorporating his ideas in to the new home we're planning to build. Obviously, nothing can take away the need for cleaning, but his ideas can actually cut down on the work -- and I'm all for that!

Khalid: I didn't see your message until I came back to this thread. Thank you for what you wrote: " I regularly use black tea with ginger and cinnamon. Honey (with black pepper if I have a source throat), cardamom (small and large), garlic (as part of all our curries), onions (an integral part of our curry), as well as a few more herbs, spices etc." All those have anti-viral and anti-bacterial .. I agree with using food as preventive medicine, rather than dangerous flu-shot (combining virus). Carol: Glad to hear that you are back on schedule .. I am delighted to hear of your progress & success. It feels SO GOOD to have looser pants, and I wish everyone have that experience with daily exercise. Sam: does your Achilles tendon hurt to wear shoes with heels? I don't like shoes with heels: one of my foot is shorter than the other. I actually do more exercise on the treadmill than outside ... I can wear my husband Walmart open-heel plastic clog, I insert a memory foam inside ... and wear that on the treadmill. I wear size 7 woman, but I need a BIG shoe to insert the thick $5 memory foam. The plastic clog has bigger toe-box than running shoe, plus no need for lacing.