I am still working on that! I am close to meeting the diagnosis for a number of different disorders, but I don't meet all of the criteria for any of them. The treatment differs, depending on the diagnosis. My PT guy, Stan, says that strengthening the muscles around the joints is the ticket. It is difficult, though. I think I made the shoulder worse when I tried to move up to six pounds from five on a couple of the exercises. I have learned better how to walk, stand, take stairs, and such. I no longer let one hip thrust out and stand on the other leg! I center my weight on both feet and flex my feet so that my arches don't fall inward. I do some toe rises when standing in lines at stores and some arch flexes. I take an anti-inflamatory and a muscle relaxer and supplement with tylenol. Oh- and I complain a lot - it makes me feel better. Ice or heat can help a lot. DH recently has been using the percussive massager on my shoulder and it is a wonder. I had a lot more mobility yesterday after he massaged my shoulder and back with it. I am also looking to put a big ole' jetted tub int that bathroom in the garage! (to get back on topic). Thanks for asking, I hope that your knee holds out for you for a while longer. Here is an artcle about a newer surgery that they are doing around here. My dad's wife's brother had it done and walked out of the hospital with a walker the next day! MAXIMIZING MOBILITY: New knee replacement technique offers quicker recovery November 30, 2004 BY PATRICIA ANSTETT FREE PRESS MEDICAL WRITER Like so many Americans, Conrad Mallett Sr. delayed having knee surgery. Photos by HUGH GRANNUM/DFP Conrad Mallett Sr. stretches his new knee at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan in Oak Park. Mallett, 76, a former college president and advisor to Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, is an avid skier, who hits the slopes from "sunup to sundown." Surgeons told him that if he underwent a knee replacement operation, he wouldn't be able to ski again. Too risky, once that delicate knee gets repaired, he was told. He skied in pain throughout 2003, delaying his decision long enough to become eligible for a new knee replacement procedure that offers quicker recovery and a chance to return to skiing. Orthopedic surgeons are noncommittal about the minimally invasive knee replacement surgery, awaiting more results. But as word has spread to patients, the procedure's appeal has grown in the two years since the federal Food and Drug Administration approved several new devices used in the surgery. Nationwide, about 300,000 Americans each year undergo traditional total knee replacement surgery. It's performed to rebuild the knee after injury or a type of arthritis, osteoarthritis -- Mallet's diagnosis. Osteoarthritis causes the knees to bow in or out, and makes walking and exercise painful. Dr. Robert Ference's team prepares to close the incision after replacing Conrad Mallet Sr.'s knee at Sinai-Grace in Detroit. Mallett had his first knee replacement operation in June, and the second one Nov. 3 at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, where his son, Conrad Mallett Jr., a former Michigan Supreme Court Justice, is president. The elder Mallett had almost no postoperative pain and was walking with a cane two weeks after surgery. New tools, techniques His surgeon, Dr. Robert Ference, director of minimally invasive joint replacement surgery at Sinai-Grace, says 96 percent of his patients are back to normal activities at six weeks, and half are back in just two weeks. That compares to the three to six months other patients typically require after conventional knee replacement surgery. The timing of the return to activities depends on a person's level of fitness, age and general health. Minimally invasive total knee replacement surgery gets patients back to normal activities more quickly because of two critical differences, says Ference. Surgeons do not cut into the quadriceps muscle above the knee, as is done in traditional surgery. And, during surgery, doctors lift, but don't flip over, the kneecap, as is done in traditional surgery to help the surgical team gain access to the knee. New tools and computer-guided programs as well as lining up the knee to the center of the ankle help surgeons perform the procedure without flipping over the kneecap. Also, the incision is smaller, typically 3 to 4 inches, rather than 8 to 12 inches, Ference says. "What's important is not hurting the quadriceps." Ference has performed 500 of the procedures in the past two years and is considered a leader in the field. He trains many physicians in the technique, both for Stryker Orthopaedics, a manufacturer of a device used in the surgery, as well as at surgery meetings. Earlier this month, Ference taught the technique to doctors at an American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery meeting in Rosemont, Ill. Ference says he expects that in five years, the minimally invasive approach will be the procedure of choice. For now, orthopedic surgery groups are cautious. Waiting for data "The potential benefits, risks and costs of this have yet to be established," says Dr. Brian Hallstrom in a summary of minimally invasive knee replacement on the Web site of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery (www.orthoinfo.aaos.org). "Unfortunately, we won't know if these new techniques affect the long-term function and durability of the knee replacement for 10 to 15 years," Hallstrom writes. "Long-term durability is much more important than whether you were in the hospital for two days or four days after surgery." Minimally invasive knee replacement was developed in 1991 by Dr. Peter Bonutti of Effingham, Ill. Last March, in the AAOS journal, he reported high success rates in studies of more than 200 patients two to four years after surgery. The operation remains technically challenging. Only one of the first 12 surgeons Ference trained still is doing it, he says, and the one who does it, limits the operation to patients of about 150 pounds, as some other doctors do, Ference says. Excess weight can complicate the operation because surgeons have to remove too much fat around the knee to insert the cobalt chrome knee implants into place. Ference is confident enough with his results and team that he "takes all comers." His patients range from 150 to 400 pounds, averaging 262 pounds, he says. Patients with a prior knee surgery who need a second operation, known as a revision, might be eligible for the minimally invasive technique if they don't have too much scar tissue that's developed at the incision site. Many of Ference's patients have had the traditional operation on one knee and seek him out for the new procedure on the other. "The people who've had it done the traditional way can't believe the difference," says Lisa Hypna , one of Ference's two physician assistants. Rehabilitation after traditional surgery is so arduous that patients refuse to get their other knee operated on, she says. With the new procedure, "most patients book the other knee two weeks after surgery." Both minimally invasive and traditional knee replacement surgery cost about $35,000. Insurance covers the traditional procedure but may not cover the new one. The biggest problem following traditional surgery is infection, which occurs in two of every 100 patients, national studies show. By comparison, Ference says, none of his 500 patients has developed an infection. He also uses regional anesthesia in the minimally invasive operation, compared to general anesthesia for traditional surgery. He says his patients aren't as groggy afterward, speeding their recovery. Ference's team tries to lower the risk of infection by mixing antibiotics into the cement paste he uses to hold the joint in place. The team takes infection control in the operating room so seriously that they wear space-age-like operating garb, called bubble suits, with large, masked helmets. Ference advises patients shopping for a surgeon to ask if they cut through the quadriceps muscle. Some surgeons who call their operations minimally invasive use a smaller incision but cut through the muscle, he says. Patients from as far as Connecticut, where Mallett lives, and Colorado are coming to Detroit for the surgery. Ference also has contracted with the Canadian health officials to bring patients to Detroit from Canada. Families who live more than 100 miles away from Sinai-Grace are housed for free in a top Southfield hotel with a shuttle to get them back and forth to the hospital. Patients typically are discharged in two days, compared to three or four with traditional surgery. Mallett is pleased with his results Four days after surgery, he was able to lift his leg straight up. Two weeks later, he was walking with a cane. Ference says Mallett could flex his knee completely the day after surgery. He has "no question" that Mallett will be skiing soon. Mallett is certain, too. "There's already a 25-inch base of snow" in some states, Mallett said a few days before Thanksgiving. "Absolutely, I am thinking about skiing." For more information and a brochure on the procedure, call 888-362-2500.

My sister told me this, and it has worked for both of us. Use whatever your favorite toxic or nontoxic method is to do away with the ones already in the house. They WILL likely come back eventually, though if you don't do something about how they get in. We both found that spraying the outside foundation of the house is a lasting cure. I have not had to do it more than one time in a year, although I don't live where it is warm year round, where you might need to do it 2 or more times a year. Since the spraying is done outside, you don't have to worry about it being in your house. Since it is on a vertical surface it doesn't pool, and isn't laying around where pets or playing children will likely come in contact with it. I just bought an bug/ant spray in a large container from Home Depot, diluted it in a inexpensive pump sprayer like you use for spraying roses or something, holds a gallon or two, dilute according to instructions and wet the entire foundation with it except the garage foundation (no problem with ants there) just until it looked wet, not dripping or anything. I haven't found anyone yet that this hasn't worked for. No matter where the ants are entering, they almost surely have to climb up the foundation to get to the crack, hole or whatever. I guess they just don't make it that far once the foundation is sprayed. Don't forget to do where cement steps meet the foundation and around basement windows and basement entry like a hatchway. At least you don't need to let chemicals into your house or on surfaces that might be dangerous to children or pets and if it needs to be done again even months later, it is quick and the cost is very reasonable. This doesn't get rid of the ones already in your house, but prevents re infestation. If you do it as soon as you see the first sign of an ant or two inside, you can just kill those manually and stop the problem in its tracks. I have only had to do it 2 or 3 times in 10 years because they never get well established inside. Sue

Girl I have several places to fix. Here is where the sink base was. If the new cabinets were the same depth there would be no problem but they aren't so there will be a strip about 2-3" where there is no flooring built up. But I did say I was going to put some lauan on it and I got some self leveling compound to fill in right? In this photo don't even ask why I left that little hole in the drywall. It seemed silly to cut this small a piece and the piece above it was a patch. Its going behind the cabinets but before I put them in but I will fix it. I might not mud it, sand it and paint it though.... This photo shows where I took all the framing off a doorway never to be replaced and the black is the asbestos tile on top of the pine floors, then on top of that is some lauan thae last owner put down, then a layer of sheet vinyl she put down and as you see I ripped off and then the top layer that I put down and getting ready to cover. LOL This photo is where I told you light from the basement could be seen so I filled the hole up with expanding foam. That was when I found the snakeskin in the wall and I was afraid of a critter getting in the house. I plan to cut the foam down and sand it even with the floor. I don't see any reason why this won't work... This photo shows another doorway where the framing was removed. It needs to be corrected as well. It also appears I have to remove the door sills/jambs or whatever they are called and install new ones because the ones there now are too short. :-( I just noticed that super long rusty nail in the photo. So glad I had my tetnus shot before I got all involved in tearing this kitchen apart. ewwwl so dangerous I got construction dust everywhere and I know it looks terrible. It feels worse than it loooks. NEVER AGAIN WILL I GET MYSELF IN THIS PREDICAMENT. I said it before but I mean it this time!! Here is a link that might be useful: here is the progress of my project...I changed my blog address

thanks, MamaG! I love the rug, too. At first we thought it was a blue-green, then it looked green. Now it is green with a touch of blue in it. I think I forgot to answer somebody's question about the lawyer's bookshelves earlier. There were actually seven bookshelves in the lot. Two were 30" wide by 8 ft high. I sold those. We used all five of the 36" by 8 ft ones. I am somewhat amazed at how well built and how good looking the project turned out. That is all Jim. I am awfully proud of having the idea, though. I find myself constantly thinking about how this old piece of furniture or that old thing could be turned into something new. How I wish I could make them myself! (My hands and elbows and wrists and shoulders won't let me do the work.) And how I wish I could do something this creative for a living!