Gag order

I love water piks. They do such a great job and my mouth always feel so nice and clean after using one.

The only problem is that they kick my gag reflex into overdrive. It's worse than using mouthwash, which is bad enough. I don't know why the gag reflex has become so strong over the last couple of years but it's almost a problem. Some days I don't manage to brush my teeth in one session. It takes two or three tries before I can finish.

I have a problem with noxious odors, too. Currently I am making a small batch of compost in a container out on the deck. I swear I can smell it in the house... really. There aren't a lot of things that smell worse than composting kitchen wastes. I have to back off to arm's length, pick up only an edge of the lid and stick stuff in fast, before I start to gag.

Heaven help me if one of the cats harfs something up or the dog has the trots. One of the cats has the unfortunate tendency to eat small animals of various descriptions then upchuck whatever isn't digested. This usually involves fur and claws and suchlike. I try to keep an eye on him so I can toss him outside if he starts acting like something is making a return appearance. The dog is a poop-machine in the first place but when she eats something that doesn't agree with her the results are somewhere on the far side of gross. This happens more often than I'd like because she sneaks stuff out of the garbage can, including but not limited to, paper towels and fat.* Cleaning up this kind of thing is an iron-clad guarantee of gagging.

Changing diapers never bothered me when I had little kids but it sure does now. Some days I will be fine but some days I can't stand to even be in the room when a change is ongoing.** I babysat Dudifers when he was an infant and the diaper-thing didn't seem to bother me even though that kid should have had a biohazard warning on his butt. Man! peeeeeeeee-ew!

Chili or ice cream night can be a bad thing, too. Between beans and a lactose-intolerant male? I wonder why male efflatus always stinks SO much worse than female? Related to this is the bathroom. I have cleaned the floor, the w.c., the walls around the w.c., the sinks, floor mats, everything I can but I still think I smell bad things. Short of bringing in the power washer and a few gallons of bleach, I'm at a loss.***


*She did grab tater peelings and onion skins but now they are going into the smelly compost tub so she hasn't a chance at those.
**Once, I love the babies dearly but those diapers.... mercy.
***The guys were trained to sit to pee but they've decided that takes too much time. Darn it. Still think if they had to clean the biff they would choose to sit down.