I think the medicine itself is up in the millions of dollars per gallon. 20 mcg is how many per gallon, hi hi.
I was using 2 ml of water to get 48,000 bucks per gallon.
As far as printer ink goes, you can buy it by the quart, gallon, or larger sizes fairly cheaply. I know, I bought gallon jugs of each while I was in the tri-fold printing business using ink jets, and this was waterproof ink on top of it too, which was more expensive than normal water based ink jet inks.
I'm sure the cost to make those printer head cartridges is fairly high, so the ink in them is probably not even calculated into the price.
But anything you buy from a retail store you know is already doubled from what they paid for it.
Reeading on Easter Morning
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Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
I'm sure the actual medication isn't cheap in many cases. My point is that there are a lot of other costs and considerations affecting the price we pay, with the actual medication being the least dominant factor.
Printer inks follow the same model. I understand why a gallon of ink would appear to be cheaper. The fluid stays in the jug and no cartridges have to be manufactured. In that case you are pretty much buying the raw product. That can't be done with medications where people's well being is at stake.
Printer inks follow the same model. I understand why a gallon of ink would appear to be cheaper. The fluid stays in the jug and no cartridges have to be manufactured. In that case you are pretty much buying the raw product. That can't be done with medications where people's well being is at stake.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
I don't know Yogi - I've seen the same medications sell for as low as 5 bucks and as high as 400 bucks for the exact same number of doses and strength.
Even my pharmacist will point me to another drug that is identical, and in some cases made by the same company, only packaged differently. Now those little blister packs with 6 on a sheet, with 5 sheets in the box, made by the same company, is super cheap, compared to getting them loose in the little white bottle. It has to cost more to place those pills in the blister packs, and then package the blister packs in carton, than it does to pour them in a tiny white bottle. The price difference is like 18 bucks between the two, with the blister packs being the lower price. I guess some people will gladly pay 18 bucks more not to have to try and get those pills out of the blister packs, hi hi.
Not to long ago I talked about epinephrine.
Since then I've found 10cc and 20cc vials of 1:1000 priced as low as 12 bucks. That's like 5 to 10 doses for 12 bucks.
EpiPens, a package of 2 doses, can run from 380 bucks up to over 600 bucks.
You can find self-injection pens of epinephrine by other makers for around 50 to 150 bucks.
So the price range for epinephrine is like 1 dollar per dose to 300 dollars per dose.
That is one heck of a price swing for epinephrine.
Most other drugs have the same price swings if you can find the lower priced being sold somewhere.
Even my pharmacist will point me to another drug that is identical, and in some cases made by the same company, only packaged differently. Now those little blister packs with 6 on a sheet, with 5 sheets in the box, made by the same company, is super cheap, compared to getting them loose in the little white bottle. It has to cost more to place those pills in the blister packs, and then package the blister packs in carton, than it does to pour them in a tiny white bottle. The price difference is like 18 bucks between the two, with the blister packs being the lower price. I guess some people will gladly pay 18 bucks more not to have to try and get those pills out of the blister packs, hi hi.
Not to long ago I talked about epinephrine.
Since then I've found 10cc and 20cc vials of 1:1000 priced as low as 12 bucks. That's like 5 to 10 doses for 12 bucks.
EpiPens, a package of 2 doses, can run from 380 bucks up to over 600 bucks.
You can find self-injection pens of epinephrine by other makers for around 50 to 150 bucks.
So the price range for epinephrine is like 1 dollar per dose to 300 dollars per dose.
That is one heck of a price swing for epinephrine.
Most other drugs have the same price swings if you can find the lower priced being sold somewhere.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
The pricing roller coaster is not only confined to drugs. I've had some problems with leg blood clots in my ancient past, all of which ended up in me being told I need to wear compression stockings. Not ordinary compression stockings but special (TED) anti-embolism type. The distinguishing feature here is that the compression varies along the leg. They come in two strengths from what I can tell and I only need to wear the lighter compression ones while I'm awake and not asleep at night. About 95% of the TED stockings are white. Blue and brown can be had if you know where to look and don't mind paying a high price. After much experimentation I came to the conclusion that I can get away using the cheaper white TED stockings, which of course come from many different vendors. I settled on a brand called Futuro.
Google is your friend and was quite revealing when I went looking for TED stockings. CVS and Walgreens handled such things, but not very often, which is why I went to Google. After much searching I discovered that WalMart online would sell me a single pair of stockings for $12. Not bad for Spandex stockings, but that was the cheapest price I could find for any of the TED stockings. So, I bit the bullet and ordered 6 pairs. A few months later I decided I needed some more. Again WalMart had the best prices, but my $12 stockings were no longer in stock. However, if I paid $20 a pair, WalMart would ship them from some dealer they contracted in Texas. I could not beat that price so I order a few for that price. It was exactly the same stocking made by the same company with the same UPC, but $8 more expensive.
Next time I needed stocking I discovered that WalMart STILL had the best price. But now those same Futuro TED stockings were just short of $15 shipped directly from WalMart. All three orders were placed within a year, and the prices varied significantly. I happened to be at CVS one day and noted they now had an entire rack of Futuro compression stockings. There were literally dozens of styles, but the size and compression I needed only had one left. The price was $40. I asked the pharmacist if the price was a mistake, but he assured me $40 was correct. Thank you, but no thank you. Well, CVS isn't WalMart but three times the price is a ridiculous markup. Since Walgreens is across the street from CVS, I went there and sure enough, they too were now stocking the stockings I needed. And they too were just under $40 a pair. Thus, the identical stockings can be had anywhere from $12 to $40 a pair depending on how willing you are to look for a bargain.
As an aside, I looked at some of the specialty houses that only do stockings for people with problems such as mine. The cheapest pair there was around $30, if I recall correctly. I ordered a pair to see what they are like since they are not Futuro and not made in China. Plus, I ordered blue for times when I travel and don't want to look like a nurse. Well, these were really well made and much better quality than the Futuro brand. I don't believe they are worth $30 a pair, however. I ordered another pair from another specialty house so that I now have two pair of fancy TED stockings that are not white. But that is more than $50 for two pair of rubber stockings.
I don't know how to explain the price differences.
Google is your friend and was quite revealing when I went looking for TED stockings. CVS and Walgreens handled such things, but not very often, which is why I went to Google. After much searching I discovered that WalMart online would sell me a single pair of stockings for $12. Not bad for Spandex stockings, but that was the cheapest price I could find for any of the TED stockings. So, I bit the bullet and ordered 6 pairs. A few months later I decided I needed some more. Again WalMart had the best prices, but my $12 stockings were no longer in stock. However, if I paid $20 a pair, WalMart would ship them from some dealer they contracted in Texas. I could not beat that price so I order a few for that price. It was exactly the same stocking made by the same company with the same UPC, but $8 more expensive.
Next time I needed stocking I discovered that WalMart STILL had the best price. But now those same Futuro TED stockings were just short of $15 shipped directly from WalMart. All three orders were placed within a year, and the prices varied significantly. I happened to be at CVS one day and noted they now had an entire rack of Futuro compression stockings. There were literally dozens of styles, but the size and compression I needed only had one left. The price was $40. I asked the pharmacist if the price was a mistake, but he assured me $40 was correct. Thank you, but no thank you. Well, CVS isn't WalMart but three times the price is a ridiculous markup. Since Walgreens is across the street from CVS, I went there and sure enough, they too were now stocking the stockings I needed. And they too were just under $40 a pair. Thus, the identical stockings can be had anywhere from $12 to $40 a pair depending on how willing you are to look for a bargain.
As an aside, I looked at some of the specialty houses that only do stockings for people with problems such as mine. The cheapest pair there was around $30, if I recall correctly. I ordered a pair to see what they are like since they are not Futuro and not made in China. Plus, I ordered blue for times when I travel and don't want to look like a nurse. Well, these were really well made and much better quality than the Futuro brand. I don't believe they are worth $30 a pair, however. I ordered another pair from another specialty house so that I now have two pair of fancy TED stockings that are not white. But that is more than $50 for two pair of rubber stockings.
I don't know how to explain the price differences.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
About the only thing I know about compression stockings is when my cousin had to wear them.
After a few years he had some type of operation that stripped veins from his legs.
He said it was very painful for months afterward, but he no longer had to wear those socks he hated so much.
I have to use a self-adhesive paper to make the labels I use on the cartons.
It is a lower quality than the stock the bottle labels are made on.
I found what I thought was a great deal, price was only 1/3 of everyone else.
No complaints about the adhesive they used, it was perfect.
But there are two problems with these label papers.
The first is the backing paper is extra thin.
The second is, it was scored diagonally, which I did know when I bought them.
That wouldn't have been a problem if the backing paper was as thick as it should be.
The thin backing paper makes it very hard to get a spot to remove it started.
It does take the toner really well though and looks great printed in my colored labels.
There are a couple of product I buy quite often that I really have to pay attention to price.
At one store they may be 1.86, and at another 2.45. Sometimes as high as 3.15.
When I first started buying it, it was only 69 cents, then jumped to 89 cents, then almost overnight it doubled in price everywhere.
So it does pay to shop around!
After a few years he had some type of operation that stripped veins from his legs.
He said it was very painful for months afterward, but he no longer had to wear those socks he hated so much.
I have to use a self-adhesive paper to make the labels I use on the cartons.
It is a lower quality than the stock the bottle labels are made on.
I found what I thought was a great deal, price was only 1/3 of everyone else.
No complaints about the adhesive they used, it was perfect.
But there are two problems with these label papers.
The first is the backing paper is extra thin.
The second is, it was scored diagonally, which I did know when I bought them.
That wouldn't have been a problem if the backing paper was as thick as it should be.
The thin backing paper makes it very hard to get a spot to remove it started.
It does take the toner really well though and looks great printed in my colored labels.
There are a couple of product I buy quite often that I really have to pay attention to price.
At one store they may be 1.86, and at another 2.45. Sometimes as high as 3.15.
When I first started buying it, it was only 69 cents, then jumped to 89 cents, then almost overnight it doubled in price everywhere.
So it does pay to shop around!
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
My venous problem first occurred a dozen years ago. I was squatting down doing something with the humidifier and when I stood up again I almost died. I could barely walk four steps without running out of breath. Apparently the legs and ankles of my left leg had a few blood clots. There was some swelling but nothing to be concerned about, or so I thought. When I did the deep bend the clots loosened and traveled up toward the heart. If the lungs didn't stop them, and stop my breathing ability, those clots could have ended up in my brain yielding a stroke. The antidote was blood thinners for a few months, but it happened again a few years later. That's when the blood thinners became a permanent treatment. A few years after that there was some stinging sensations in the legs. That was cause by mini-blood clots near the surface. At that point the stockings were prescribed. I have what looks like those purple varicose veins that can be removed by a vascular surgeon. The blood clots damaged the valves in my leg veins so that there is a reflux action happening and the blood doesn't get circulated as well as it would otherwise. In my case I was told this could be treated by some kind of injection similar to what they do to patients with clogged heart arteries. It's an option, but for the time being the stockings and blood thinners are doing well enough.
An increase in cost of just about anything is to be expected over it's lifetime. They do various things to try and ease the pain and not turn you off altogether. Most of the time not only does the unit cost go up but the quantity of the product goes down. That's a double whammy. I bought some Cheerios (for the dog) not too long ago and was shocked at how thin was the box. It's still the same width and height, but the depth of the box I ate from when I was a kid is about half. The price was no doubt outrageous, but since I've not purchased cereal in a box for about 50 years I don't know how much the increase actually was. That particular technique always bothered me. Either reduce the size of the container to maintain the price, or keep the container size and increase the price. Don't do both.
An increase in cost of just about anything is to be expected over it's lifetime. They do various things to try and ease the pain and not turn you off altogether. Most of the time not only does the unit cost go up but the quantity of the product goes down. That's a double whammy. I bought some Cheerios (for the dog) not too long ago and was shocked at how thin was the box. It's still the same width and height, but the depth of the box I ate from when I was a kid is about half. The price was no doubt outrageous, but since I've not purchased cereal in a box for about 50 years I don't know how much the increase actually was. That particular technique always bothered me. Either reduce the size of the container to maintain the price, or keep the container size and increase the price. Don't do both.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
Ever since my first heart attack, my feet have been like ice. Then after my second heart attack, besides my feet getting worse, even my hands are like ice a lot of the time. I am on blood thinners too! What is scary is when my fingers turn white and have no feeling in them. I guess that's one way to get me to wash my hands in hot water a few times a day. My feet have never turned white on me or lost feeling, but then I rest them on a heat pad for the most part of the day too. I also exercise three days a week without fail as well, and it is getting harder to do them without cranking the O2 up to 4 lpm, and even then I'm gasping for air.
Nearly everything we buy in the way of necessary foods have either doubled or come close to being double the price as they were only 2-1/2 years ago. And it seems the quality of nearly everything has gone way down too. But this is not new!
My mom had to alter a lot of her recipes over the years, simply because the pre-blended ingredients she used kept getting less and less of the secondary ingredients.
One example I can think of right off was her recipe for deviled eggs. Her original recipe was very simple, to the egg yolks she added a tablespoon of Kraft Sandwich Spread. A number of years later she changed it to add 1/4 tsp sweet pickle relish. A few years after that she upped the sweet pickle relish to 1/2 tsp, plus 1/4 tsp of dill relish, plus 1/8th tsp chopped pimento.
That is about how much of those ingredients Kraft began shorting their Sandwich Spread.
Other recipes said, this product no longer exists, use this and this instead, but it won't taste the same. Later she added to those recipes, although they came out with it again, it is not the same stuff so don't use it, it is horrible.
I had more than just a few products I've used most of my life, that suddenly and without warning, they either tasted different or worked differently. One I thought I could never do without, I did some checking. Turns out the company sold the label, brand name, color, and packaging, but not the formula to another company who was making it. To me that is playing dirty pool!
Nearly everything we buy in the way of necessary foods have either doubled or come close to being double the price as they were only 2-1/2 years ago. And it seems the quality of nearly everything has gone way down too. But this is not new!
My mom had to alter a lot of her recipes over the years, simply because the pre-blended ingredients she used kept getting less and less of the secondary ingredients.
One example I can think of right off was her recipe for deviled eggs. Her original recipe was very simple, to the egg yolks she added a tablespoon of Kraft Sandwich Spread. A number of years later she changed it to add 1/4 tsp sweet pickle relish. A few years after that she upped the sweet pickle relish to 1/2 tsp, plus 1/4 tsp of dill relish, plus 1/8th tsp chopped pimento.
That is about how much of those ingredients Kraft began shorting their Sandwich Spread.
Other recipes said, this product no longer exists, use this and this instead, but it won't taste the same. Later she added to those recipes, although they came out with it again, it is not the same stuff so don't use it, it is horrible.
I had more than just a few products I've used most of my life, that suddenly and without warning, they either tasted different or worked differently. One I thought I could never do without, I did some checking. Turns out the company sold the label, brand name, color, and packaging, but not the formula to another company who was making it. To me that is playing dirty pool!
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
It's remarkable the things I learn from you. LOL Way back when I lived in Chicago and mom packed me a lunch to take to school, one of my favorite sandwiches was made of that Kraft sandwich spread (or some similar brand which I believe was Oscar Meyer). There were times when I would just scoop some up with a spoon and eat it. To be honest I don't know how long that went on but my tastes have changed. I'd guess somewhere about twenty years into my marriage I was recalling those yummy sandwiches I used to have for lunch. I searched, and searched, and could not find the spread in any store. The time or two I asked a clerk for it they could not understand what I was asking for. One old timer checkout lady knew what I was talking about and she told me they stopped selling it many years ago. Truth be told, every once in a while I look for it at Schnucks or Dierburgs, but come up empty. I have no doubt it's terrible tasting these days, but that would not stop me from buying a package to see for myself. LOL They just don't stock that kind of thing in a plain vanilla town.
One of the first things I noted about life in O'Fallon was the grocery store prices. They were not cheap, but I could get a bit more for my $20 in the produce section than I was able to get up north. That went on for a few years, but now they are up to what I was used to paying in the high priced market of Chicago. My total grocery bill also seems to have gone up but I don't have any documentation to prove it. The sudden changes in prices of recent years is one of the fallout effects of the pandemic. The supply chains had one hell of a time adjusting to the changes in demand and that played havoc with the prices. Certain items are just becoming visible once again after more than a year of empty shelves. The fact that the food service business crashed and half the demand for food disappeared literally over night is why the regular retail prices have risen. I will say that the commercial and the retail supply chains are two different operations independent of one another, but there suddenly was a lot of hoarding going on in retail and no customers for commercial foodstuff. These situations are in the hands of guys who rely on a 1%-2% profit margin. It's crazy and we are lucky that things are as cheap as they are.
The cold hands and cold feet are related to the blood thinners. Sometimes my toes will feel numb but some brisk walking usually fixes that. The only irksome problem is that I feel cold more often than I used to. It has to be approaching 80F before I don't need to wear long sleeves or a jacket/shirt. I too wash my hands in warm water to get the blood circulating, but that is a surprisingly short term cure. They go right back to cold within 30 minutes. It's a little hilarious when I'm turning on the heat because I'm cold and wife is opening the windows because she is too warm. LOL
One of the first things I noted about life in O'Fallon was the grocery store prices. They were not cheap, but I could get a bit more for my $20 in the produce section than I was able to get up north. That went on for a few years, but now they are up to what I was used to paying in the high priced market of Chicago. My total grocery bill also seems to have gone up but I don't have any documentation to prove it. The sudden changes in prices of recent years is one of the fallout effects of the pandemic. The supply chains had one hell of a time adjusting to the changes in demand and that played havoc with the prices. Certain items are just becoming visible once again after more than a year of empty shelves. The fact that the food service business crashed and half the demand for food disappeared literally over night is why the regular retail prices have risen. I will say that the commercial and the retail supply chains are two different operations independent of one another, but there suddenly was a lot of hoarding going on in retail and no customers for commercial foodstuff. These situations are in the hands of guys who rely on a 1%-2% profit margin. It's crazy and we are lucky that things are as cheap as they are.
The cold hands and cold feet are related to the blood thinners. Sometimes my toes will feel numb but some brisk walking usually fixes that. The only irksome problem is that I feel cold more often than I used to. It has to be approaching 80F before I don't need to wear long sleeves or a jacket/shirt. I too wash my hands in warm water to get the blood circulating, but that is a surprisingly short term cure. They go right back to cold within 30 minutes. It's a little hilarious when I'm turning on the heat because I'm cold and wife is opening the windows because she is too warm. LOL
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
Oh My, we have a few different brands of Sandwich Spread down here, Kraft of course, but also JFG, plus a couple of others I don't like very much, because they taste more like Thousand Island instead of Sandwich Spread.
One of the toilet paper brands I buy is Array. It is still 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 size sheets two ply, and you can buy it at 400 sheets per roll or 500 sheets per roll. They also have a couple of others like the big commercial size rolls. The only place you can get it is at food service supply companies, so they never had a shortage of it. However the price did jump up from 18 to 30 bucks for 48 rolls, and from 20 to 34 bucks on the 500 sheet count.
We buy several things from Gordon's Food Service, since they do sell to the public. They only sell in commercial size case lots though, no eaches of anything, not even gallon sizes, but you can get 4 instead of 6 gallons in a carton. Since I am a company and registered with them, I can get a small discount at certain price amounts, but then I have to worry about use tax later on, so I just pay sales tax and get the normal price.
In my case, my heart don't pump so good anymore, which makes really bad circulation to the extremities.
One of the toilet paper brands I buy is Array. It is still 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 size sheets two ply, and you can buy it at 400 sheets per roll or 500 sheets per roll. They also have a couple of others like the big commercial size rolls. The only place you can get it is at food service supply companies, so they never had a shortage of it. However the price did jump up from 18 to 30 bucks for 48 rolls, and from 20 to 34 bucks on the 500 sheet count.
We buy several things from Gordon's Food Service, since they do sell to the public. They only sell in commercial size case lots though, no eaches of anything, not even gallon sizes, but you can get 4 instead of 6 gallons in a carton. Since I am a company and registered with them, I can get a small discount at certain price amounts, but then I have to worry about use tax later on, so I just pay sales tax and get the normal price.
In my case, my heart don't pump so good anymore, which makes really bad circulation to the extremities.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
The sandwich spread I have managed to find would never be more than a diversion once in a great while. Even if the old time Oscar Meyer spread were still around I would only use it as a treat. I believe the old spread was made from braunschweiger, or a diluted version of it. Braunschweiger is plentiful and some of it is tasty enough to consume for lunch. I don't like liver but this sausage made into a sandwich with yellow mustard and sliced onions are to die for.
We have had the TP discussion in the past and the shrinking roll size is no mystery. It would be nice to get the 4 1/2" squares, but the smaller size I can get easily does about the same job. Single ply paper is probably useful for something, but I don't know what. The only two ply I can handle comfortably comes from Cottonelle, and that has to be the largest double rolls they sell (which are hard to find). Three ply Northern is the preferred paper in this house, but they seem to come in only one roll size. It might have been different before the pandemic, but I don't remember. Things like TP are best bought in bulk because the pricing is better and the shelf life is infinite. Canned goods are also good deals when purchased in bulk, but most of those things go out of date before we can use them.
I haven't had much of a heart problem so far, for which I am grateful. The cold toes n my case are do to the venous insufficiency, the reflux. The heart is pumping but the blood isn't moving up from the feet. The reflux allows it to flow backwards. The brain seems to know about it and is telling the heart to pump a little faster, which makes sense if you are a brain. A doctor, however, doesn't like pulse rates out of the ordinary. Thus some of my high blood pressure is related to those damaged veins and as long as the ol' doctor says the pulse rate needs to be lower I will probably have cold feet. Fortunately that won't be a problem when I die and go to Hell. It's nice and warm down there.
We have had the TP discussion in the past and the shrinking roll size is no mystery. It would be nice to get the 4 1/2" squares, but the smaller size I can get easily does about the same job. Single ply paper is probably useful for something, but I don't know what. The only two ply I can handle comfortably comes from Cottonelle, and that has to be the largest double rolls they sell (which are hard to find). Three ply Northern is the preferred paper in this house, but they seem to come in only one roll size. It might have been different before the pandemic, but I don't remember. Things like TP are best bought in bulk because the pricing is better and the shelf life is infinite. Canned goods are also good deals when purchased in bulk, but most of those things go out of date before we can use them.
I haven't had much of a heart problem so far, for which I am grateful. The cold toes n my case are do to the venous insufficiency, the reflux. The heart is pumping but the blood isn't moving up from the feet. The reflux allows it to flow backwards. The brain seems to know about it and is telling the heart to pump a little faster, which makes sense if you are a brain. A doctor, however, doesn't like pulse rates out of the ordinary. Thus some of my high blood pressure is related to those damaged veins and as long as the ol' doctor says the pulse rate needs to be lower I will probably have cold feet. Fortunately that won't be a problem when I die and go to Hell. It's nice and warm down there.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
Of all the different types of braunschweiger I've eaten, there is only one I really liked!
Both Dierbergs and Schnucks sold it in their meat department by the slice.
Down south here you can't find anything like it, they have this awful tasting liver sausage that could gag a maggot.
TP companies have managed to get two ply tissue thinner than the old one ply stuff used to be.
So I can see it advantageous to get 3 ply now hi hi.
My wife likes the softer brands like Cottonelle, but I like the coarse raspy kind that removes skin, hi hi.
Except for cleaning my nose for an hour every morning. I cob her's for that purpose!
I don't know which of my many pills it is, but one of them is to keep my heart rate down, and it seems to be working.
I do know he had to reduce the amount of blood thinner he had me on, because I would spurt leaks in my skin in a few places.
Since he changed my dosage, that is very rare to happen now.
Both Dierbergs and Schnucks sold it in their meat department by the slice.
Down south here you can't find anything like it, they have this awful tasting liver sausage that could gag a maggot.
TP companies have managed to get two ply tissue thinner than the old one ply stuff used to be.
So I can see it advantageous to get 3 ply now hi hi.
My wife likes the softer brands like Cottonelle, but I like the coarse raspy kind that removes skin, hi hi.
Except for cleaning my nose for an hour every morning. I cob her's for that purpose!
I don't know which of my many pills it is, but one of them is to keep my heart rate down, and it seems to be working.
I do know he had to reduce the amount of blood thinner he had me on, because I would spurt leaks in my skin in a few places.
Since he changed my dosage, that is very rare to happen now.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
About the worst reaction I experienced from blood thinners was massive bruising on my thighs. Apparently that was caused by an antibiotic I was taking at the time. The dose I'm taking is about the least you can get so that if I do have problems it might involve taking fewer pills. So far so good. The only issue I have with the pills is the price, about $400 a bottle retail. I don't pay anywhere near that but it does approach the doughnut hole limit pretty quickly come the end of the year.
I don't know if it's only in America, but the variety of toilet paper is mind boggling. The sizes and the plies come in a wide variety, but they also have paper with quilting and lotion. I haven't seen that stuff with lotion in many years, but I know we were using it for a while up in Chicago. In my old age I've come to the conclusion that TP is a waste. Some day I may get around to experimenting with a bidet instead. They have some portable ones that are cost effective and might be useful for experimentation.
I also believe the stories I've heard about a Sears catalog in those farm outhouses. Hopefully they used different paper in those catalogs back in the old days. It would never work in 2021. LOL
I don't know if it's only in America, but the variety of toilet paper is mind boggling. The sizes and the plies come in a wide variety, but they also have paper with quilting and lotion. I haven't seen that stuff with lotion in many years, but I know we were using it for a while up in Chicago. In my old age I've come to the conclusion that TP is a waste. Some day I may get around to experimenting with a bidet instead. They have some portable ones that are cost effective and might be useful for experimentation.
I also believe the stories I've heard about a Sears catalog in those farm outhouses. Hopefully they used different paper in those catalogs back in the old days. It would never work in 2021. LOL
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
Unless Biden changed things, Trump got rid of the doughnut hole, which has helped out my wife and her Insulin costs tremendously.
I forget where I read this at. But back when TP was 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 size squares, 6 sheets of 2-ply TP had less paper in it than a single sheet of 8-1/2 x 11 20# copy paper, or 5 sheets of 2-ply TP to equal one 24# sheet of copy paper.
I'm sure today there is even less paper in TP.
Making it quilted or heavily patterned does not increase the weight per sheet, but does make for less sheets per roll.
The Sears catalog during that era was printed on newsprint style paper, also called Dodger Stock if colored.
Like the original Old Farmers Almanac and most publications of the day.
Folks who didn't get a Sears Catalog, had to use corn cobs.
You use a red one first, then a white one to see if you needed to use another red one, hi hi.
I forget where I read this at. But back when TP was 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 size squares, 6 sheets of 2-ply TP had less paper in it than a single sheet of 8-1/2 x 11 20# copy paper, or 5 sheets of 2-ply TP to equal one 24# sheet of copy paper.
I'm sure today there is even less paper in TP.
Making it quilted or heavily patterned does not increase the weight per sheet, but does make for less sheets per roll.
The Sears catalog during that era was printed on newsprint style paper, also called Dodger Stock if colored.
Like the original Old Farmers Almanac and most publications of the day.
Folks who didn't get a Sears Catalog, had to use corn cobs.
You use a red one first, then a white one to see if you needed to use another red one, hi hi.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
I guess in my past I've heard about the use of corn cobs in the outhouse. It's difficult to imagine using such a thing, but apparently the cobs were pretty effective. Newsprint sounds better, but I bet the cobs did a better job of cleaning. All I can say is that I'm grateful for indoor plumbing and the invention of toilet paper. I used an outhouse a time or two when I was a wee little bugger and I don't have any good memories of it. Those flies were really bothersome. 
To be honest I don't know what all changes have been made to Medicare and SSA over the past four years. I do know Trump was fond of dictating via executive order, and by definition those things are temporary. I should look at my EOB's to see what's going on; not that they are entirely understandable.
To be honest I don't know what all changes have been made to Medicare and SSA over the past four years. I do know Trump was fond of dictating via executive order, and by definition those things are temporary. I should look at my EOB's to see what's going on; not that they are entirely understandable.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
We had indoor plumbing in our house since I was 2 years old.
But my grandparents on my moms side still had an outhouse when I started driving at age 16.
They still worked from a cistern with a hand pump for water up until I was around 12 to 14 years old.
And they did have running water to an outdoor spigot they used to fill the cistern from about the time I was 10 years old.
My uncle Andy installed the running water into the house at the same time we installed a toilet in the basement.
He ran the lateral from the house to the street after hiring a company to dig the trench.
I'm the one who installed the cast iron from the house to the clay lateral outside, and the stack up through the roof.
I added a T-fitting so he could install a kitchen sink for them. But that was all I did was the cast iron work, and pouring the lead.
And this was long before I started working for Laughlin Plumbing too by about 3 to 4 years.
I should note that when they had the outhouse, the girls got to use toilet paper, and the boys had to use the catalog pages, hi hi.
Currently, the medicare drug plans if you have one, no longer have the doughnut hole that Trump had removed.
This has helped my wife out tremendously with her Insulin. The temporary low cost did too.
You really have to watch the medicare health plans close though, they are always making changes.
I used to have Plan F at first, but then changed to Plan N, and I now see they have discontinued Plan F unless you already had it, you could keep it.
My doctors all told me they never collect on the excess charges anyhow, so no need to be paying for that extra.
And the deductible on Plan N was always coming out less than the higher price of Plan F.
I can't believe people keep falling for the Advantage Plan gimmick. It is a super high deductible plan and pays nothing until you have paid off the deductible part, and the coinsurance part.
Plan N pays 100% of the Part B coinsurance, we only have to pay a 20 dollar copayment on office visits. and many doctors waive this copayment.
But my grandparents on my moms side still had an outhouse when I started driving at age 16.
They still worked from a cistern with a hand pump for water up until I was around 12 to 14 years old.
And they did have running water to an outdoor spigot they used to fill the cistern from about the time I was 10 years old.
My uncle Andy installed the running water into the house at the same time we installed a toilet in the basement.
He ran the lateral from the house to the street after hiring a company to dig the trench.
I'm the one who installed the cast iron from the house to the clay lateral outside, and the stack up through the roof.
I added a T-fitting so he could install a kitchen sink for them. But that was all I did was the cast iron work, and pouring the lead.
And this was long before I started working for Laughlin Plumbing too by about 3 to 4 years.
I should note that when they had the outhouse, the girls got to use toilet paper, and the boys had to use the catalog pages, hi hi.
Currently, the medicare drug plans if you have one, no longer have the doughnut hole that Trump had removed.
This has helped my wife out tremendously with her Insulin. The temporary low cost did too.
You really have to watch the medicare health plans close though, they are always making changes.
I used to have Plan F at first, but then changed to Plan N, and I now see they have discontinued Plan F unless you already had it, you could keep it.
My doctors all told me they never collect on the excess charges anyhow, so no need to be paying for that extra.
And the deductible on Plan N was always coming out less than the higher price of Plan F.
I can't believe people keep falling for the Advantage Plan gimmick. It is a super high deductible plan and pays nothing until you have paid off the deductible part, and the coinsurance part.
Plan N pays 100% of the Part B coinsurance, we only have to pay a 20 dollar copayment on office visits. and many doctors waive this copayment.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
I had an aunt that lived in one of the oldest parts of Chicago. Two aunts in fact, but this one aunt Rose lived on a street that had an interesting history to it. All the two story residences were originally built on flat land without a traditional basement. The story goes that there were sewers in those early days but that they were added many years after the residencies were built. The odd part about that is the sewers were not dug down into the earth. Instead they laid the pipes on the existing street (or dirt trail as it was) and covered it all with soil. Then they paved on top of that.
That odd sewage system left the houses with no way to enter them from street level. The solution was to build wooden sidewalks extending the length of the house and wrapping around to the front door. The front door was actually on the second level of the house. Most people lived on that level and used the lower level as we would a basement now and days. The difference being that the basement was at the original ground level before they added the sewers and streets.
The story goes that these wooden sidewalks served more than one purpose. The outhouses were built underneath those wooden walkways. A family joke was that when somebody from the family was missing and the question "Where is so-and-so" was answered by saying "under the sidewalk." It was stated in Polish and sounded pretty funny to me even as a kid. You had to be there to appreciate it, I guess. Anyway, buy the time mom and I could travel the public transportation to visit these aunts, all the plumbing was inside. Nothing but the empty shell of previous times was left. I'm guessing to this day they still have wooden sidewalks in that section of the neighborhood.
That odd sewage system left the houses with no way to enter them from street level. The solution was to build wooden sidewalks extending the length of the house and wrapping around to the front door. The front door was actually on the second level of the house. Most people lived on that level and used the lower level as we would a basement now and days. The difference being that the basement was at the original ground level before they added the sewers and streets.
The story goes that these wooden sidewalks served more than one purpose. The outhouses were built underneath those wooden walkways. A family joke was that when somebody from the family was missing and the question "Where is so-and-so" was answered by saying "under the sidewalk." It was stated in Polish and sounded pretty funny to me even as a kid. You had to be there to appreciate it, I guess. Anyway, buy the time mom and I could travel the public transportation to visit these aunts, all the plumbing was inside. Nothing but the empty shell of previous times was left. I'm guessing to this day they still have wooden sidewalks in that section of the neighborhood.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
Wow, what you described sounded exactly like the Meacham Park area south of Kirkwood in it's early days.
It was too condensed to have outhouses after the population grew, so they added pipes that were flush with the top of the ground on the side of the dirt roads. Then as you said, came and covered them up with about 30 inches of dirt over the tops of them. Plus gravel that deep for what would later become streets.
If the houses had a second floor, that is where the toilet got installed. If not, they cut a hole in the ceiling up to the roof so they could add a toilet room about 5 feet above the first floors floor. Then they enclosed that and added a short staircase.
As new homes were added, they had to be built similar to river town houses, up on stilts.
But then years later, they came through and installed a proper sewer system about 10 feet below grade, and running water from the city water supply, not the towns own little wood tower.
At my grandfathers house, about every four or five years, he had to dig a new pit and move the outhouse over it.
He always moved it about ten feet, and after filling the old hole he would plant a tree.
As the ground settled over the course of a year, the poor tree was a foot lower than it should be planted, which is technically a no no, but in his case, they all survived. Possibly because they were so young when the ground sank, and he was lax to fill the hole back in again too, hi hi.
Heck, my dad killed a beautiful tree by adding about a foot of dirt around it to help bring the grade of the yard up a little higher.
I've been in a few towns where the stores and shops were all built about 2 feet above the ground, and they had a boardwalk that ran in front of them. I don't think they were more than about 50 to 60 years old when I was there either. If they are still there, they would be over a 100 years old by now though.
It was too condensed to have outhouses after the population grew, so they added pipes that were flush with the top of the ground on the side of the dirt roads. Then as you said, came and covered them up with about 30 inches of dirt over the tops of them. Plus gravel that deep for what would later become streets.
If the houses had a second floor, that is where the toilet got installed. If not, they cut a hole in the ceiling up to the roof so they could add a toilet room about 5 feet above the first floors floor. Then they enclosed that and added a short staircase.
As new homes were added, they had to be built similar to river town houses, up on stilts.
But then years later, they came through and installed a proper sewer system about 10 feet below grade, and running water from the city water supply, not the towns own little wood tower.
At my grandfathers house, about every four or five years, he had to dig a new pit and move the outhouse over it.
He always moved it about ten feet, and after filling the old hole he would plant a tree.
As the ground settled over the course of a year, the poor tree was a foot lower than it should be planted, which is technically a no no, but in his case, they all survived. Possibly because they were so young when the ground sank, and he was lax to fill the hole back in again too, hi hi.
Heck, my dad killed a beautiful tree by adding about a foot of dirt around it to help bring the grade of the yard up a little higher.
I've been in a few towns where the stores and shops were all built about 2 feet above the ground, and they had a boardwalk that ran in front of them. I don't think they were more than about 50 to 60 years old when I was there either. If they are still there, they would be over a 100 years old by now though.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
I am duly impressed with your narrative about Meacham Park. Apparently what they did with the sewers was not unusual but I didn't expect to hear about it being done anywhere else outside of Chicago. The area my aunts lived in was called Bridgeport. That is the neighborhood of Chicago that is near the home ballpark for the Chicago White Sox - it was called Comisky Park after the owner of the team. I attended one game in that park when I was a teenager and that is the extent of my baseball experiences. They tore it down in 1991 and moved across the street to a new park now named after some corporation. At one time in history Chicago was a huge distribution center for beef and they had a giant stockyard run by Armour and Company. The "Yards" disappeared along with the ballpark, but the homes of the people who worked in the area remain to this day. My aunts lived in those old homes because that's where the family was raised. A few of the kids, aunts and uncles, moved to the north side of Chicago which is where I was born and raised. We had normal plumbing and sewer system when I was a kid, which by the way included lead water pipes. It's amazing that I survived all that, eh?
I used to love ridding the trolley and visiting my cousins in that old Chicago neighborhood. It was like going back in time about 100 years, and I was living in a pretty old neighborhood to begin with. My curiosity got the best of me and I did a Google map search of that old house. I'm totally blown away at how modern the whole neighborhood seems to be these days. That house in the picture is where my aunt lived but apparently they replaced all the brickwork. It used to be all red bricks when I visited there. Surprisingly, the remains of the old wooden sidewalks are still there. What you see between the two buildings is where the outhouses were build.
I used to love ridding the trolley and visiting my cousins in that old Chicago neighborhood. It was like going back in time about 100 years, and I was living in a pretty old neighborhood to begin with. My curiosity got the best of me and I did a Google map search of that old house. I'm totally blown away at how modern the whole neighborhood seems to be these days. That house in the picture is where my aunt lived but apparently they replaced all the brickwork. It used to be all red bricks when I visited there. Surprisingly, the remains of the old wooden sidewalks are still there. What you see between the two buildings is where the outhouses were build.
- GradyCt.JPG (191.02 KiB) Viewed 492 times
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
Wonderful recollection there Yogi!
How the houses were raised up like the one in your picture so they could have indoor plumbing was common in Meacham Park, and I'm sure in other areas also.
Back in the 1980's I was contracted to do a tuckpointing job at one of my clients houses.
I was very leery to do it for him, because no matter what I did, with a brand new brick house right next to it, and this old house had a lot of sagged bricks. Even with using a saw to recut the horizontal lines so they were straight, it still looked old, so the scobie never paid me, and I couldn't pay the guys I hired to do the work.
It wasn't a month later, when another person who had a house next door to my client asked me to do their house.
Because his brickwork was much worse, I suggested we put a brick veneer over the existing brickwork. I also told him that I would have to cut the old bricks around the doorway and windows so it came out just right.
There are basically two types of brick veneer, those that look like brick veneer, and those that are real bricks cut down. The latter are naturally more expensive due to the waste and added labor. But this is what he chose after seeing the samples.
As it turned out, I found a brick veneer that matched exactly to the cut down bricks, so this is what I used, and I also reduced the price for the guy telling him it's because we got done faster than expected, and the materials were not as costly as our original quotes from the supplier.
The highlight of this project was the client who did not pay me found out I did the work there too, but not until after he had bought that house from the guy who had us do the brickwork on it. The thing was, I offered him the same option and he said no, he just wanted it tuckpointed.
How the houses were raised up like the one in your picture so they could have indoor plumbing was common in Meacham Park, and I'm sure in other areas also.
Back in the 1980's I was contracted to do a tuckpointing job at one of my clients houses.
I was very leery to do it for him, because no matter what I did, with a brand new brick house right next to it, and this old house had a lot of sagged bricks. Even with using a saw to recut the horizontal lines so they were straight, it still looked old, so the scobie never paid me, and I couldn't pay the guys I hired to do the work.
It wasn't a month later, when another person who had a house next door to my client asked me to do their house.
Because his brickwork was much worse, I suggested we put a brick veneer over the existing brickwork. I also told him that I would have to cut the old bricks around the doorway and windows so it came out just right.
There are basically two types of brick veneer, those that look like brick veneer, and those that are real bricks cut down. The latter are naturally more expensive due to the waste and added labor. But this is what he chose after seeing the samples.
As it turned out, I found a brick veneer that matched exactly to the cut down bricks, so this is what I used, and I also reduced the price for the guy telling him it's because we got done faster than expected, and the materials were not as costly as our original quotes from the supplier.
The highlight of this project was the client who did not pay me found out I did the work there too, but not until after he had bought that house from the guy who had us do the brickwork on it. The thing was, I offered him the same option and he said no, he just wanted it tuckpointed.
Re: Reeading on Easter Morning
Perhaps if I did a little research the facade of my aunt's house in that picture could be explained. Those two buildings in the background did not exist the last time I was at that house. In their place was a factory, the Holsum Bread Company. Their loading docs backed up to my aunt's back yard via an alley that ran along the back of the house/factory. The space between the house and the garage to it's right was also an alley but for some reason the Holsum trucks could not use it. A few times my aunt was approached by Holsum; they wanted to buy her house so that they could have better access to their docks. The problem was they were only offering to pay for the land because the house was in such bad shape and of no use to them anyway. Aunt Rose didn't take the offer. After he married, her son, my cousin, bought the house and moved next door into that house on the left. She moved over too - it was a 4 flat if you can believe it. I recall them talking about getting in touch with Holsum to see if they were still interested in the house or the land. Well, that's all I know about the situation. Holsum is gone now and the old rickety 100+ year old house has been renovated. Both my aunt any my cousin have passed away so that I can't get any information now. However, another cousin who lived down the street is alive and well on Facebook. If I were really really curious, I bet she would be able to fill in some of the details I'm missing.
To the left of that house next door are some railroad tracks. We used to put pennies on the rails so that the freight trains could flatten them out. LOL When the freights came rumbling through, the earth shook. It wasn't all that upsetting, but a whole lot of shaking was going on over the years and those houses next to the tracks still are standing. Beyond those two brick buildings in the background is the Chicago River. This was the branch used for sanitation drainage for the entire city. When the ground was not shaking the air was smelling like ... like sanitation waste water. The good news was that the Holsum bakeries countered all the foul aromas when they got their ovens going. Even back in those good old days I was wondering why in all holy hell ANYBODY would want to live in that location.
Those were the days, my friend.
To the left of that house next door are some railroad tracks. We used to put pennies on the rails so that the freight trains could flatten them out. LOL When the freights came rumbling through, the earth shook. It wasn't all that upsetting, but a whole lot of shaking was going on over the years and those houses next to the tracks still are standing. Beyond those two brick buildings in the background is the Chicago River. This was the branch used for sanitation drainage for the entire city. When the ground was not shaking the air was smelling like ... like sanitation waste water. The good news was that the Holsum bakeries countered all the foul aromas when they got their ovens going. Even back in those good old days I was wondering why in all holy hell ANYBODY would want to live in that location.
Those were the days, my friend.