Archive for July, 2015

Goodnight and don’t let the bedbugs bite. That phrase has become a dreadful reality.

It seems like we have heard more and more about bedbug infestations taking place in hotels and apartment complexes across the nation. The terrible stories always leave us feeling like something creepy is crawling on us.

As we travel this summer, it is good to know some facts and prevention measures to keep a home invasion of bedbugs from taking place.

Bedbugs are tiny bugs that do not fly. They are found all over the world and live in hotels, houses, and other places where people rest and sleep. Despite the name, bedbugs aren’t just found in beds. They are found in your mattress, clothes, walls, and sofas.

Bedbugs are small and usually hide during the day. Adult bedbugs can grow to about the size of an apple seed. Bites usually take place at night, but can happen at anytime of the day. Exposed areas of skin are at risk the most.

Most people do not feel it when they are bitten; the bites themselves are painless. The bites show as small, red, and swollen areas of the skin. Bedbugs are not known to carry diseases with them, but excessive scratching of bite marks can lead to an infection.

Certain measures can be helpful for preventing bedbug infestations. Visual examination of hotel rooms or lounging areas for bedbugs prior to use is helpful. Pay particular attention to mattresses and crevices in box springs. Use a luggage rack if available and keep luggage zipped up when not in use. Carefully examining items purchased from garage sales or resale shops should be done before bringing them into the home.

Bite care should include keeping the area clean at all times. It usually takes three to six weeks for complete healing of the wound. You can use an anti-itch cream or a steroid cream/ointment to help with itching. These products are available in the pharmacy. If the wound continues to redden, get more swollen, or has pus or any liquid coming out, immediately visit the doctor.

The only way to stop the bites from reoccurring is eradication. Eradication of bedbugs is difficult. Experienced pest management professionals should perform it to ensure complete eradication. Before calling the pest company, clean and vacuum your home thoroughly. Launder your clothes and bedding materials and dry them on the hottest setting possible. If you want to get rid of your clothes or bedding, do not give them away to anyone else. This will help reduce the chances of spreading the bedbugs to others.

The best prevention for bedbugs is avoiding them all together. There are many resources that alert us from staying in hotels that have had a history of bedbugs. Links to two of them are listed below. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the pharmacy.

Bedbug Registry

Bedbug Reports

References:

Elston, Dirk, Kells Stephen. Bedbugs. In: UpToDate, Post TW (Ed) UpToDate, Waltham, MA. (Accessed on July 18, 2015.)

The Dublin Irish Festival dances its way into the heat of August this weekend. The Festival runs from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2. You can find a complete schedule of events online: Dublin Irish Festival

Tickets are $12 for adults at the gate. But if you purchase your tickets online, they are only $10. Children 12 and under are FREE. To buy online tickets, go HERE.

I have lots of memories of the Dublin Irish Festival. It has grown tremendously since we first started going there in 1996 (or close to it). It used to be a relatively small event, but it is so large now, you have to be bussed in from area parking lots. We actually haven’t been in a few years, because the crowds have become so massive and I also tend to wilt in the August heat. But I do love all things Irish!

One of my favorite things to do at the Dublin Irish Festival is watch the Irish dancers. The Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance always features wonderful children and young adult dancers.

Additionally, if you enjoy traditional (and sometimes not so traditional) Irish music, there are always a ton of wonderful artists performing on various stages throughout the Festival. For a full list of groups that will be playing, please go HERE.

Looking for a kilt, Celtic artwork, or some lovely crystal? Now is the time to find it without crossing the pond. The Festival has a huge number of vendors selling anything and everything Irish. To see a complete list of marketplace vendors and what they sell, go HERE.

May the sun shine warmly on your back this festive weekend (and it undoubtably will-so pick up some sun block at the pharmacy before you head to Dublin).

LIKE the Dublin Irish Festival on Facebook HERE.

For a festival map, go HERE.

For the complete 2015 Schedule of Events, go HERE.

As you all may already know, if you have read my bio on the blog, I love to fish. Anytime I get a chance, I hit the water. More often than not, I do a lot of shore fishing, but when I get the opportunity to catch a ride out on a boat, I take it.

Summer is a great time to be out near or on the water–the weather is nice and near the water is a great place to grill out with the family. Today’s blog posting is all about fishing tips and a touch of boating safety.

My favorite type of fish to go after is the largemouth bass. These crafty predators patrol the shallow waters in the early morning and later in the evening, usually to feed. These times of day are perfect to go out if you are a shore fisherman like me. In the heat of the day, bass tend to move to deeper, cooler waters. They also like to hang out around fallen trees and any place they can find shade or cover. Drop offs from shallow to deep water are excellent places to look for them.

Bass usually attack in two ways: they lie in wait or they cruise the open water. My favorite lure is the Bass Stopper. It is a 6” long purple worm with a pink tip on the end rigged with 3 hooks. It can be used to fish deeper waters with a small amount of weight attached about a foot or so up the line or in the shallows. The worm usually has a twirling motion through the water and it flicks the pink tail to attract the eye.

Additional proven baits are spinners, buzz bait, weedless frogs and crayfish, and my other personal favorite, the Rapala. Other baits can work, but these are some of the best.

Bluegill and Crappie are a bit different. Bluegills tend to hang out near structures and are much more aggressive throughout the day. Some of the bigger ones can be found deeper, but the little ones are everywhere in small farm ponds (if they are stocked, of course). They are fun to catch, even if they are small.

I normally use a very small hook with a wax worm or piece of night crawler with a bobber attached. Change depths from the bobber to the hook if the fish aren’t biting. This strategy can help when the water is changing temperatures.

Crappie tend to move to deeper water under structures and around fallen trees. Schools of them can be found using a depth finder if one is lucky enough to be on a boat. Jigs with a minnow attached are good ways to catch crappie. You can also use spinners or anything that swims. These make excellent meals when you catch a bunch and fry them up (make sure to clean and cook them properly).

Once the day turns into night, it’s time to get out the weights and the chicken liver, because its channel cat time. Catfishing time can be a very relaxing part of the night where you get out the chair and favorite beverage (adult or other, it’s your choice). The catfish move into shallower water to feed late evening and into the night. They are scavengers and like things that smell and are located at the bottom of the water.

The best ways to fish for catfish are large hooks, usually baited with chicken liver, shrimp, minnows or cut up bait fish, either using the tight line method or using a slip bobber that slowly drops the bait to the preset depths or the lake floor.

Boating safety is another concern altogether, but I will touch on it here.

Make sure to wear a life jacket and avoid alcohol while driving the boat.

Make sure that there are safety protocols in place and that the driver of the boat has taken the proper courses to operate the boat.

Always use common sense in maintaining proper speed in certain areas and obey all posted limits.

Fishing is a wonderful experience and I am very excited to share some of my passion with you today. I hope these tips help as you venture out into the fishing world this summer. Now get out there, bait some hooks, and enjoy the life of a fisherman, my friends.

References
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/gone-fishin/2014/05/summer-bass-fishing-tips-tactics-and-gear-you-need-your-biggest-bass-ever
http://www.scout.com/outdoors/wired2fish/story/1469017-5-tips-to-catch-more-shallow-summer-bass
http://fw.ky.gov/fish/documents/summerfishingtips.pdf
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/2013/05/welcome-your-perfect-summer

The motto is: “Don’t just go to church. BE the Church.” And on Sunday, August 2, that is exactly what the twenty-one churches of the Plain City Church Fellowship are asking their congregations and the Plain City community to do. Be the Church. Many of the churches are canceling their services to instead carry out charitable activities within Plain City and the surrounding areas.

If you would like to get involved, you can gather with other participants in Plain City at 9:30 am at Jonathan Alder High School, 9200 US Route 42 South, in the main gym on Sunday, August 2. There will be a brief period of worship and prayer and then participants will spread throughout Plain City to partake in service projects.

There will be special projects at the Green Meadows and Canaan Community trailer parks, the Plain City Food Pantry, and at Edgewater Place Assisted Living. Additionally, this year, the “back to school clothing store” will be held in the Daily Needs Assistance (DNA) Community Center in the old elementary school (340 West Main Street). Donate gently used kids’ clothing and shoes to DNA on Wednesday nights from 6-8 pm or Saturday mornings from 8-10:30 am. These clothes will then be given to those who cannot  afford to buy new back-to-school clothes.

DNA is also holding a school supply drive and is asking for people to donate NEW backpacks for kids 4-18 years old beginning on August 1 (see the flyer below). You can also keep up with what is going on with DNA on their Facebook page HERE.

To find out more about Be the Church Sunday and read the complete list of projects, visit: Be the Church 2015.

To read an article about Be the Church in the Madison Press, go HERE.

Take a look at the Lovejoy’s ad for July 27 to August 2.

Lovejoy’s is now on Facebook! Take a minute and LIKE them by going HERE.

Lovejoy’s is also now open until 10 pm 7 days a week! WOW!

For more information on Lovejoy’s IGA, visit their web site HERE.

Remember, we hope you will shop locally and support locally owned businesses here in our community!

Click on each of the pages of the ad to enlarge them. When they show up on a separate page, click again to make the pages even bigger. You can also print them out and take them with you when you go shopping!