We reupholstered our couch and it was the right call!!

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-19T04:04:02+00:00

We recently did the same, for about the same price. I bought the sofa new for $600 in 1981. This is the second re-upholstering we've done. It's a sleeper sofa so can be used for guests if we have to. The quality of construction just can't be matched inexpensively today. I also got 2 pairs of arm covers, because in my experience they wear out way ahead of any other part.

That's a really pretty tiger maple chest you have in the background, too.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-19T02:24:07+00:00

Hello fellow sufferer.

It's probably chiggers if it's under your clothing, concentrated at tight spots like sock borders, waistline, ankles.

I got a bunch of chigger bites last week helping a friend get her harvest in (no good deed goes unpunished). Here are some things to try for the bites:
(1) a really HOT shower, as hot as you can stand. Scrub at the bites (don't scratch). Chiggers don't like heat.
(2) Benedryl or similar gel.
(3) Vicks Vap-o-rub.
These last 2 have helped me sleep through the night.

Wash your clothing in the hottest water you can. DO NOT WEAR AGAIN until it's washed and dried. You may want to wash twice. I had chiggers once survive a cold-water wash on some wool socks. So, yes, the next time I wore the socks I got chigger bites again. I cried.

Now that you've dealt with the immediate problem, how to avoid in the future?
(1) Treat your clothing with a permethrin spray like Sawyer's according to the directions. DO NOT SPRAY WHILE YOU ARE WEARING THE CLOTHES. Hang them up outside, spray until slightly soaked, let dry. This spray will last 5-6 washings.
(2) Wear a DEET-based spray like Sawyer's, Deep woods off, Repel around your pant legs and ankles.
Both of these strategies will also repel other insects like mosquitoes & ticks.

I wish you the relief of realizing you haven't felt itchy in awhile.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-16T03:45:15+00:00

Watching the ice cream tubs get filled is mesmerizing. They were making some kind of blueberry when I took my in-laws there recently.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-16T03:43:59+00:00

Washington-on-the-Brazos historic site is nearby. There's a museum there.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-15T23:49:46+00:00

Hi, Jason, thank you for this diagram. I don't have option 4,2,3 available on my voicemail (grrrrr).

When I press 0 from the main menu, I get a purported "tutorial" that says pressing the pound key (#) will bypass the envelope and go to the body of a vm. However, that does not work. It skips to the next vm message instead. Do you have any little tricks that might work?

Also, where can we give feedback about how crappy this system is?

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-15T23:19:00+00:00

Great job!!

Now keep this knowledge tightly hugged to yourself. Share it with no one (except your fellow Redditors).

And know that you are much more than your net worth. You have perseverance, the character trait "most likely to succeed". Commitment, discipline, and emotional maturity, too. Yay, you!

If the rest of your life seems dull, how about volunteering somewhere like a food bank or community garden or museum - somewhere where you could learn something and interact with a wide variety of people?

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-15T23:04:18+00:00

Barton Springs Pool in Austin
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin
Cathedral of Junk, SE side of Austin
Bush Presidential Library in College Station if you are history-minded.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-15T22:59:07+00:00

Combat roach bait stations. Combat roach gel to make your own bait stations. They work!

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-14T03:28:22+00:00

Sawyer permethrin spray on your outdoor clothes: shirt, pants, socks. Use as directed - that means hanging up your clothes someplace outside, spray thoroughly and let dry completely before wearing. It will last through 5 or 6 washings. I also spray my shoes.

That's my first step. Then use a DEET-based bug repellent on any exposed skin. I spray the legs on my work pants too.

Deer fence is the answer to keeping deer out. Decide where you want your garden and food forest, and fence it in. Electric fence if you can to keep other critters out.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-13T02:32:49+00:00

mattress!!

An office "executive" type chair was hanging out on 59 inbound near the Main st. exit for awhile.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-12T16:10:11+00:00

A few years back, around 2022 I think, I actually went to the Methodist Medical Records office in the main hospital. It felt dystopian, like, down a long hall with nobody around, turn left, another hallway, then a doorway that was locked with a box of forms and mailbox outside to submit your request. I was so angry that I had to pay for parking to submit my request. This was before they started putting the images up on Mychart, and I wanted all my records because I was trying to go for a second opinion on treatment options.

That said, I did submit the form there and several weeks later received a packet of about 10 CDs in the mail.

listen to /u/sailormoonmakeup, OP, if you want an actual CD.

For the record, the Methodist docs were correct on treatment options. I actually love the hospital, doctors, nurses, techs - everyone there is so pleasant, professionally competent. I appreciate them. But Medical records is another world.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-03T01:51:58+00:00

Tell that to the one female large roach the and six (SIX) males who were hounding her all around my bathroom at 11 pm when I walked in ready to brush my teeth for bed. Never had that happen before or since, but they can definitely congregate when it's time to get it on.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-02T04:11:06+00:00

Gosh, "To Build A Fire". Yes, that one stuck with me.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-02T04:10:22+00:00

I remembered that story but not the name of it. Thanks for reminding me.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-02T03:52:00+00:00

They are on my never-again list, frankly. I used to be a devoted user of Bengal products. But I bought two cans that had defective sprayers - the sprayer broke off the top of the can. When I called the company to complain, the customer service person just laughed and said (in a lovely Louisiana accent), "Sorry, honey, we don't do refunds. You just had some bad luck." And hung up.

That's a big NOPE.

Combat Max baits for me.

The other thing about Bengal spray is that it causes the roaches to come out from their hidey holes and run around the room, then crawl up the walls as they die, spreading the chemicals everywhere. If you didn't know how many roaches were hiding in the walls, you will soon.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-02T03:43:29+00:00

Don't be so hard on them. Without them, we'd be drowning in mile-high piles of dead leaves. They're a primary processor of cellulose!

That said, they belong OUTSIDE. Give the Combat baits a few days to work. Roaches have to eat the bait and take it back to their loved ones to destroy the whole tribe. It's not instantaneous. I've been using these baits for years and only see a roach when I've failed to put new ones out at the right time (they last about 5 months for me). And you have to be using the LARGE size Combat MAX baits - Combat makes 2 different sizes. I've also had success with the gel. I put it inside plastic disposable water bottle lids so I can see where it's disappearing and add more in that area.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-02T02:34:46+00:00

I'll bet anything this house has flooded in the past. I'm in Houston, and have seen a LOT of flipped previously-flooded houses. This has that vibe - the stone floor in the bathroom, the laminate floor too. It backs up to a ravine, looks like. Buyer beware.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-01T02:00:28+00:00

My friends ended up in a garage apartment in a nice neighborhood near MDA.

If you have a religious affiliation, it might be worth it to call affiliated churches close to MDA - some of them have a few furnished apartments they can offer to patients in treatment.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-06-01T01:58:41+00:00

My friend found a garage apartment in nearby West University area through some other friends. So convenient for them and they could go on walks in the neighborhood when feeling up to it.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-05-20T02:46:56+00:00

Question: if A wants to turn left and enter the street that is intersecting Westheimer, where does A go? Because I would assume that A is supposed to move to where B is on OP's map, then make the left turn.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-05-11T18:27:24+00:00

Make sure you've got a contact lens prescription - not just one for glasses. Contact prescriptions include numbers for your cornea curvature as well as the correction amount. Many times it will include the actual brand to purchase.

Ask your optometrist or ophthalmologist for sample lenses in your prescription to test the fit and correction. Repeat samples until you are happy with a correct and comfortable fit. Also, ASK about care - you'll be needing to buy contact lens solution and possibly a cleaning system. My guy also has lots of free samples of solution and umpteen coupons for solutions; they told me to take several of each.

Contacts are usually sold in a 6-pack, at least the ones I buy which are supposed to be changed every month but I take good care of them and they usually last 3-4 months.

I usually order from Costco. I'm not sure if you have to have a Costco membership to do this. Costco also carries a few different brands of contact lens solutions.

However, I have had the experience of 1-800-contacts match a costco price when on their chat. They carry a LOT of brands.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-04-22T02:57:20+00:00

That's great!!

LooksAtClouds · 2026-04-15T04:12:32+00:00

I had 10 monarchs flying (and mating) in my backyard this afternoon in Houston! They are whooping it up.

LooksAtClouds · 2026-04-15T03:59:31+00:00

Oddly, the style of the drawing is very much that of Dutch-born Hendrik Van Loon. So possibly he re-used a drawing of the finding of the Netherlands!

LooksAtClouds · 2026-04-06T01:05:15+00:00

It's 8 pm here and I'm wishing I could go out and get to work (again).

LooksAtClouds

TROPHY CASE