Sherri, I wasn't keeping an eye on Harper County last summer, or really on anyone else because I was at fires, often multiple fires, daily, or sometimes all night long. Last July and August are just one big blur in my mind. Without knowing how dry y'all got specifically, I'd bet you were in the upper 700s there, and very close to 800. Both the Altus area and the Durant area were the two areas I noted that were the driest on the KBDI, and they both actually exceeded 800 (which I thought was impossible) by 10 or 12 points. The driest our county got was about 770 or 780, and we had been in D4 well before we hit that point. How dry is that compared to previous droughts? The worst previous drought we'd had in our county since I learned about the KBDI was in 2005-2006, and my county topped out around 680 in that one. We never dreamed, never, ever in our wildest imaginings, we'd ever get 100 points drier than that in some future year. On our worst, hottest day, we were at a fire just on the edge of I-35 in 115 degree weather. Firefighters were dropping like flies and I was really concerned about them. A big storm was moving our way. We could tell it was going to rain. We cleared from that fire just as the storm rolled over our part of the area. We had lots of wind and lightning, and enough rain to drop our KBDI maybe 50 to 70 points the next day. That was the beginning of a downward trend in the KBDI for us. But what "gift" did the thunderstorm bring us? Lightning started fires across the river in Texas and we were called for assistance with those wildfires. lol Sometimes the thunderstorms are more harmful than helpful at times like that. I'll link today's map, and we can see what a change a couple of rainy days can make. I know that in my county we were getting close to 500 and now we're down around 100 after the rain last week and this week. That is such a relief, but we're still having grass fires. They're just slow-moving ones now and there's not many of them the last few days. In my own yard, it becomes hard to keep plants happy after we hit 500. By then our clay is hard like concrete and water just ponds on top of the ground and rolls downhill instead of soaking into the ground. It depends on the time of year, though. A KBDI of 500 in August bothers me more than a KBDI of 600 in December. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Today's KBDI Map--Lots of Improvement

The meter reader physically reads our meter monthly, even though we live out in the country. This "plug load power analyzer". Can you leave something plugged to it for hours, as a refrigerator cycles and a short plug in would not be accurate? Can it be plugged into as long as a day? Does it record usages or is all that manual? Does a computer use much electricity? I turn mine on in the morning, 8'ish, and leave it on until about 7 p.m. It is not actively used for more than an hour, I've been told it takes more power to turn it on and off during the day, so it is best to turn it on once , then turn it off at the end of the day. I do turn off the monitor and only turn on the printer when I want to use it, which is not that often. I also keep my toaster oven unplugged except when we are going to use it. I've heard one should do that with other small items, such as tv's and vcr's(yes, we still use vcr's) but that would be a royal hassle.

There is a condition called euthyroid sick syndrome. Any person who is sick, including those with serious heart diseases, can have a thyroid panel that looks like she has hypothroidism. But it is not a true hypothroidism, and when the underlying disease is corrected or treated, the thyroid testing returns to normal. If your daughter has euthyroid sick syndrome and she is placed on thyroid supplements, she could die due to the effects of thyroid hormone on the heart. That is why they did not want to place her on supplements yet. It sounds like they do not know what is wrong with your daughter's heart yet; otherwise she would not have gone home on a monitor. Once they figure that out and get her treated, she should have another thyroid panel run. Then, and only then, should she be placed on thyroid supplements if she is truly hypothyroid. My husband went through a similar incident lately, except they knew what was wrong with his heart at the ER- premature ventricular contractions. It's basically harmless although it annoyed Dave so muh he couldn't sleep and it made him very uncomfortable. But his regular Dr misinterpreted the ECG and thought he had escape beats and a slow heart rate. Then he ran a thyroid panel and the only abnormality was a SLIGHTLY high TSH, so he placed Dave on thyroid supplements. The PVCs got a bit worse over the next month. Dave had a full cardiac workup, checked out fine. During his followup with regular doctor, he mentioned the irregular beats were worse and the doctor doubled his thyroid dose. Now I had been telling Dave for the entire month that he wasn't hypothyroid and his dr was smoking crack or something (I'm a vet student and animals get the same heart diseases and thyroid diseases as people, and they are tested the same as well). Dave didn't believe me until the dose doubled without even having the results of the thyroid panel back. So he stopped taking the thyroid meds. Miraculously, the PVCs slowed down considerably. The thyroid panel turned out normal. 6 months later he had another follow up with a thyroid panel, and after having not been on supplements for 5 months the panel was completely normal. By this time, the PVCs stopped completely. So his thyroid supplement made his PVCs worse. Luckily for Dave, his only problem was the PVCs which are completely harmless and not indicative of any heart disease. Otherwise the mistake the doctor made by putting him on thyroid supplements and then doubling the dose may have seriously harmed or killed him. I hope your daughter gets diagnosed and treated soon. Heart disease is scary... Here is a link that might be useful: Euthyorid sick syndrome

i have a diabolical part time neighbor from hell. he hates my race???? i am very quiet and live alone, no stereo, meditate and do not bother anyone. neither do my two pets. he has tormented me for 3 years, abused me, harassed me, stalked me, bullied me. ways you would not believe someone could be so obsessed with your life and making you suffer. i now have the state attorney involved and aps will soon too for abusing a disabled person. however, i always leave a little recorder on when i go out. it is dated and timed. i then download all the recordings to my pc and keep them on a flash drive and also on an external hard drive. this way if he ever decides to be even more evil, i have proof. my dog and bird are quiet when i am out and when i am home as well. so you might look into a little recorder to start. i do have surveillance cameras now to hear and see him when he tried to vandalize or enter my property and to prove he is intentionally harassing me, which is a crime. sadly, the criminal is always protected and the victim always victimized by the law as well. the recorder i have is OLYMPUS, it only cost me $69. i is really good and very sensitive. it will work fine for you. the web cam is also good but you have to make sure you are not needing to keep internet connection or if you lose the connection while you are gone, you are not going to have a record of your time away. but the recorder never fails. i have rechargable batteries in it. good luck. i know neighbors like that need to not be.