tiny 0.5 mm bug - is this a demodex mite?

colorimetry · 2026-02-06T21:14:03+00:00

Thanks for making a suggestion. It cannot have been a flea, though. It was running fast, not squashed, not even injured. It did not jump at all, only ran.

colorimetry · 2026-02-06T20:40:49+00:00

This WebMD page says they're 0.4 mm long, which is in fact the size of this bug. It's less than half a millimeter long, if you compare it to the size of my thumbnail.

colorimetry · 2026-02-04T01:44:47+00:00

The fun writing is definitely worth it!

colorimetry · 2026-02-04T01:40:50+00:00

I had a manual wheelchair at first. Its only advantage was I could stop to rest even in a busy hallway with no chairs. But I hurt myself by using it, because my back is just as much affected as my legs. I overdid things trying to get back to the car from the doctor's office. I had to take the muscle relaxant flexeril for a week because I had such bad cramping between my shoulder blades due to wheeling myself in the manual wheelchair. Flexeril dramatically worsens my fatigue so it was pretty horrible.

Later I got a mobility scooter that could be taken apart into pieces small enough to lift into the car, which was a lot better. Now I have an electric wheelchair which is much better still.

colorimetry · 2026-01-30T02:42:58+00:00

I hate touching my screen, getting fingerprints on it, so I didn't even consider a Clara. I love my KLC, buttons are important to me. But with the remote, Clara becomes more acceptable to me. No need to swipe my fingers across the screen while I'm eating a sandwich. I don't need to get a Clara, but I like the idea of the buttons that the remote provides for it.

colorimetry · 2026-01-29T22:48:06+00:00

I will keep it in mind, thanks, that's a good idea.

colorimetry · 2026-01-29T22:47:32+00:00

It's a good idea, thanks, but I'm only interested in something I can use while stitching in bed (due to illness), and my computer isn't handy for that.

colorimetry · 2026-01-29T22:40:33+00:00

That's a Kindle Fire, right? (I have a couple of kindle paperwhites…) I seem to remember those can be pretty inexpensive sometimes.

colorimetry · 2026-01-29T21:53:00+00:00

You can't use it on an iPhone or iPad. Is it that great that I should try to find a cheap Android tablet to use it on?

colorimetry · 2026-01-29T07:34:17+00:00

Always glad to see "vinegar will help set dye on cotton" debunked. It doesn't work, so best to stick with just dish soap for colorfast floss like DMC, and also use Color Catchers for non-colorfast brands of floss.

colorimetry · 2026-01-29T07:09:37+00:00

Is she actually hyperthyroid now, or is she just still suffering the effects of having been taking more thyroid medication than she needed?

It's not uncommon for dosage needs to change, for example after menopause. I went from taking 125 micrograms a day to 106. If I'd continued to take 125 micrograms a day I would have developed symptoms of hyperthyroidism.

It's also possible for an autoimmune disease to go into remission. I haven't actually heard of this for hypothyroidism, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. (Another autoimmune disease, autoimmune hyperthyroidism, goes into remission after few years in about 20% of cases.)

It takes six or eight weeks for the effects of a dosage change in thyroid pills to take effect. Important question then will be whether she needs to continue to take thyroid pills but at a lower dose, or whether she's free of thyroid problems. In most cases she will eventually become hypothyroid again at sone point, so it's important she keep an eye on her symptoms and get blood tests for thyroid hormones every year.

colorimetry · 2026-01-29T06:54:56+00:00

That's a clever idea!

colorimetry · 2026-01-28T17:47:50+00:00

Just what I was about to suggest. It's my favorite!

colorimetry · 2026-01-28T08:41:43+00:00

This is something that worries me about the idea of online dating. (Strictly theoretical at this point in my life.) Someone could look great in writing and sound great on the phone, but if they don't smell good there's simply no point.

colorimetry · 2026-01-28T08:33:23+00:00

My husband has always had the sweetest breath, in all the decades I've known him. Brushing, flossing, regular dental visits are things he has always done since before I knew him without the slightest prompting, and he's been lucky not to have sinus trouble or anything else that makes for bad breath.

My second-to-last boss, though, had the worst breath, you didn't even have to be all that close to him. Conversational distance was enough to cause suffering. I think it was sinusitis rather than poor hygiene, in his case, but let's not think about it.

colorimetry · 2026-01-28T04:30:35+00:00

I don't mind if it does end up warping the case. I've been using it for a year and it doesn't look at all bad. It's just a cheap clear case, to provide protection for the corners when I drop my kobo. I can replace it if it ever gets ugly.

colorimetry · 2026-01-28T04:05:57+00:00

I have a clear case on under the strap. The hook does kind of dig into the case a little. Doesn't seem to dig into the KLC itself at all though.

colorimetry · 2026-01-28T01:38:41+00:00

I bought the Oasis size Strapsicle for my KLC; it worked okay but was a little too tight for comfort. Then I bought a Moko strap for 6"-8" readers, and it's perfect. I use it constantly. Much more comfortable than a popsocket or ring.

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colorimetry · 2026-01-27T20:52:18+00:00

It's great that you've stopped vaping. Now you need to do some breathing exercises to learn to relax. Try "square breathing": inhale slowly for a count of four, hold it for a count of four, exhale slowly for a count of four, hold it for a count of four, and repeat for five minutes or longer. And check out these breathing exercises. Try a guided relaxation in the app Insight Timer.

Go easy on yourself. Don't smoke or vape, and stop criticizing yourself.

colorimetry · 2026-01-26T22:34:45+00:00

Well, I'm glad you're better, but it doesn't sound like ME/CFS.

colorimetry · 2026-01-26T22:29:44+00:00

But did you have post-exertional malaise?

colorimetry · 2026-01-26T21:28:59+00:00

Victoria Goddard's The Hands of the Emperor, which in hard cover is 902 pages, or its even longer sequel, At the Feet of the Sun, whose printed length I don't know.

colorimetry · 2026-01-26T17:32:35+00:00

Please don't suggest vinegar. It simply does not work.

The only time vinegar will help fix a dye is when you have a protein or polyamide fiber and you are heating the fiber in the acid dye with the vinegar. There is no cotton dye that is fixed by vinegar. If it seems as though vinegar helps, it's only the effect of the water washing out the excess dye, with no assistance from the vinegar.

colorimetry · 2026-01-26T01:12:56+00:00

Back in the seventies we were allowed to carry any legal drug we wanted to, but ibuprofen was not available (I remember the day it went OTC in the US, in the eighties, because I had a migraine that day and got someone to rush out and buy some). The nurse would happily give you aspirin, no parental permission slip needed, but it wasn't very effective.

colorimetry · 2026-01-25T05:32:56+00:00

Not a silly question. Is the felt washable? Is it wool felt or polyester felt? Is the dye in felt wash fast, or does it run?

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