Wow, that was a long day. My part of it was very short.
The good news is that the drops the Wally World optometrist gave me work great. By whatever measurement they use, the pressure in the worst eye dropped from almost forty points to something like 25 in less than a month. The bad news is that I’m still going blind far faster than I’m dying.
So I got a referral to a glaucoma specialist, and (armed with all that money you guys gave me) will make an appointment for ASAP and do it all again.
Spent most of the day either schlepping heavy boxes of tile for D&L (who arranged their schedule to ferry me to my appointment) or standing around and waiting to do so. It is financially very dangerous for a guy to spend that much time in Home Depot, but I was a pretty good boy. Finished the rush of dogs/chickens/store groceries to keep them away from Zoe just pretty much this very minute, and now I’m going to kick back.
I’m thankful that there is good news!
My continued good wishes as far as your eyes are concerned,as we get nearer to the end,we start to wonder whether we’ll outlast our money,pets ,health,etc.Here’s hoping that you do.
Speaking of chickens,how do you handle,wash,store the eggs?Room temp or cooler,wash or not,do you worry about how old they are?
Bill
The eggs don’t need any particular prep. I keep them in an 18-count carton, load it from the left and take them from the right. That way the oldest eggs get used first – though with three chickens they never get very old. It never occurred to me to wash them – after all, I don’t eat the shells. Eggs are best at room temperature, and really do have a pretty good shelf life – though you want to be careful of that in summer.
I only asked,because I buy eggs from the farmer sometimes,and recently a friend explained how he washes them.This led to surfing the idea online,and there are several horror stories of salmonella ,etc,due to chicken feces and general dirt on the shell (which is porous)getting into the egg.I wasn’t worried before,now I’m more careful.
Bill
I generally buy eggs from a couple local producers. The story I’ve heard from both of them is that they don’t do much to the eggs other than a quick wipe – that the stuff (poop) that’s on them is nature’s way of sealing the egg and protecting the contents – that to wash them removes this ‘protective’ coating and actually makes the egg less resistant to bacterial infiltration. No idea if this is true or not – this is just what I’ve heard.
I don’t bother to wash them myself – and if I were to – it’d be right before use. Besides – I really don’t like eggs all that much so I usually hard boil them. Not much is going to survive that environment.
I did have a little run-in with some undercooked eggs in a chorizo casserole a couple years ago. That was a horrible three days – most of which I really don’t remember. When I was finally able to eat and was hungry – I first asked for cranberry juice and then yoghurt. The juice to ease the aching kidneys and the yoghurt to restore the good bacteria in the gut. Nasty stuff – that salmonella!
“The bad news is that I’m still going blind far faster than I’m dying.” The worser thing might be to have the order reversed. I am facing a situation similar to yours, so you have my attention, sir.
As for eggs, here in WI the sellers are allowed to repackage and redate the egg cartons with no notice to the consumer; mine are in the fridge just waiting for their chance to do me in…
According to my vet, and other sources, the egg has a coating on it to help protect the embryonic chick from diseases. This is usually sufficient even if fecal matter or other environmental hazards are encountered by the egg. Washing them before storage is not recommended, but washing with a wet soft cloth before using is.
Because of health regulations, commercial egg operations must wash their eggs prior to storage and sale (aside from the law, who wants to see chicken droppings and broken egg residue at the grocer’s?). Because they do, people are warned to not eat raw egg products. The egg no longer has nature’s protection and disease can get inside the shell. Ask your supplier if they wash their eggs prior to sale. Some do, some don’t. I’d get the unwashed ones.
Aboard sailboats headed long distances over open bodies of water the eggs are washed and then oiled with plain old cooking oil. Replaced into their cartons and stored at room temperature they will last for a month or sometimes more. I have eaten fried and hard boiled eggs that were over six weeks without refrigeration of any kind.
Apparently the oil reseals the egg shell and stops the influx of the bad bacteria.
Who knew? Those old timers …. but nobody would listen.
gooch
the sea salt encrusted curmudgeon