The gals have re-started our weekly Ladies Lunch, one of those events to help stave off cabin-fever as winter sets in.  Always on a Thursday because Bob plays poker on Thursday and that’s the only day he lets Tedi do something by herself.  Geesh, they’ve been married for 45 years, you’d think they’d want some space, but then he’s a control freak.  Now the other Bob (and Kathy) have such respect for each other it’s a joy to be around them.  Dawn and Guy… I don’t know them real well, not yet anyway, but Dawn seems to do what she wants and Guy goes along with it.  I’m the only single in the group and the longer I’m alone, the more I like it……. Usually.

About two months ago, Dawn approached me about prepping!  Their daughter turned them on to it.  I’ve given Dawn what advice or suggestions I could, and they’ve run with it, but then, they’ve got the $$ to do anything.  Sitting on their deck having cocktails, I asked them if they had any weapons and Dawn quickly said yes, Guy did.  Then I asked Guy how much ammo he had, and before he could answer, I said it wasn’t enough… lol.  Then Dawn said she didn’t like guns, I told her to get over it and how was she going to protect those four grandchildren if she was the only one there during a break-in?  That really made her pause.  Dawn also has extensive medical knowledge; I think her mom was a surgical nurse, so she could be a real asset, and lives within two miles, an easy walk.  I just wish she didn’t smoke.

I’ve continued to add to my own medical stores all these years.  Starting with the Bird Flu scare, though masks and gloves can be used for so many different situations, I really went heavy on those two items.  At first I wasn’t sure about what kind of masks, so I got a variety: regular surgical masks; respirators; N-95, even N-99; and a gas mask.  Gloves range from surgical, some latex free, some not, and several packs of ‘food handlers’… those are REAL handy for cleaning the wood stove!  Just enough to keep the hands clean and free of the gunk… or peeling beets, lol, I went a whole day with pink palms, but only once.  I got a bonus at work two years ago, so I added two stethoscopes (plus repair parts), a BP machine, sealed goggles, scalpals and a variety of sutures to my kit.  I even split an order of cast compound with Rick from the MI group.  I know I don’t have everything, but its way more than most.  I set much of this up in a ‘little black bag’ (a purse) to grab-n-go. A doctor with nothing would be impressed with my med kit.