by Patricia Feager 7/24/2015
We live and we learn… that’s what I’ve always been told. I woke up about three weeks ago with mosquitoes munching on my flesh. Boy! Was I mad! There’s nothing worse than feeling itchy in the middle of the night, especially when you’re in the middle of a good dream and it’s hard to go back to sleep!
I couldn’t sleep. I got up and did what my father always told me, whenever we were in a pinch without anti-itch ointments, he’d say, “Dip a little water and a little more salt on the bug bite and it’ll go away.” I’ve been doing that my whole life and it works! But, that was years ago my father gave me that sage advice. Now, it’s up to me to pass along my own pearls of wisdom. I found that if I don’t have salt on hand, I can always cut a raw potato in two and rub the potato on the bite and the itch goes away too. But then, Benjamin Franklin came to mind:
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” ---- Benjamin Franklin
As I walked around the kitchen, I noticed I left a glass in the sink with some water inside. Then I noticed my cup, the one I use to brush my teeth, also had a little water on the bottom of the glass. With the old spirit of “Sherlock Homes,” I looked around some more and detected other sources of water left in plants dishes too. Then, the light bulb went off!
"Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God!" --- Benjamin Franklin
Advertisers are always telling us to make sure gutters, bird baths, French drains, and other outdoor objects are dry because when they collect water, they make great breeding grounds for mosquitoes. So I wondered. Hmm…. Could I be inviting mosquitoes into my home by leaving little bits of water around inside my house?
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” --- Benjamin Franklin
Well, I love a good experiment, so I immediately put a plan into action. Every night before I go to bed, I make sure there are no dishes, not even a glass to brush my teeth left out before going to bed. I make sure there are no traces of water anywhere! Also, there are no pots or pans left out with water soaking for a morning scrub. Every kitchen and bathroom sink is completely dry! No more vases of water either. I discovered I can store a vase inside the refrigerator overnight, and the flowers seem to last longer too. So far, so good! I have not been woken up, in the middle of the night with any mosquito bites and I’m sleeping better too!
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
--- Benjamin Franklin
This post was written from inspiration by reading a featured post today by Sally Hanson.
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