Where Are The Germs Hiding At Your House? The Dirty Top Thirty...

The answers might surprise you. An article found at WebMD lists the
Top Spots for Bacteria at Home
More Bacteria in the Bathtub Than in the Garbage Bin, Study Shows

Researchers visited 35 U.S. homes, swabbing for bacteria in 32 locations in each home.
Here's how those spots ranked, in terms of the average number of bacteria per square inch. Spots with the same average number of bacteria have the same rank.

1. Toilet bowl: 3.2 million bacteria/square inch
2. Kitchen drain: 567,845 bacteria/square inch
3. Sponge or counter-wiping cloth: 134,630 bacteria/square inch
4. Bathtub, near drain: 119,468 bacteria/square inch
5. Kitchen sink, near drain: 17,964 bacteria/square inch
6. Kitchen faucet handle: 13,227 bacteria/square inch
7. Bathroom faucet handle: 6,267 bacteria/square inch
8. Bathroom sink, near drain: 2,733 bacteria/square inch
9. Pet food dish, inside rim: 2,110 bacteria/square inch
10.Kitchen floor, in front of sink: 830 bacteria/square inch
11.Toilet floor, in front of toilet: 764 bacteria/square inch
12.Kitchen countertop: 488 bacteria/square inch
13.Bathroom countertop: 452 bacteria/square inch
14.Garbage bin: 411 bacteria/square inch
15.Dish towel: 408 bacteria/square inch
16.Toy: 345 bacteria/square inch
17.Kitchen tabletop: 344 bacteria/square inch
18.Home office phone or refrigerator door: 319 bacteria/square inch
19.Toilet seat: 295 bacteria/square inch
20.Bathroom light switch: 217 bacteria/square inch
21.Microwave buttons: 214 bacteria/square inch
22.Kitchen chopping board: 194 bacteria/square inch
23.Child-training potty: 191 bacteria/square inch
24.Infant changing mat and infant high chair: 190 bacteria/square inch
25.Kitchen phone: 133 bacteria/square inch
26.Bathroom door's inside handle: 121 bacteria/square inch
27.Toilet's flush handle: 83 bacteria/square inch
28.TV remote control: 70 bacteria/square inch
29.Home office computer keyboard: 64 bacteria/square inch
30.Home office computer mouse: 50 bacteria/square inch

The CDC recommends washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water aren't available.

The FDA recommends mixing 1 teaspoon of chlorine bleach into 1 quart of water for a homemade sanitizing solution -- or using a commercial sanitizer -- to help keep kitchen surfaces clean.

Visit WebMD to read the complete article

this morning's Gift

My blog entry for this morning was already written and waiting in the draft folder to be plugged into place - when this arrived in my email.
The first newsletter I've received from my (free) subscription to the Support4Change Newsletter.
A gift. And I'm paying it forward.
Please - be kind to yourself and subscribe !

To subscribers of the Support4Change Newsletter:

Here is the link to the latest newsletter finished on July 9, 2007

If you need to copy the URL and paste that into your browser, here it is: http://www.support4change.com/general/newsletter/04-Jul-9-07.html
This is what you’ll find inside the newsletter:

· Happy Summer to Paris Hilton—and Everyone Else

· Q-and-A Club Questions: Superlatives – Memorial Day – Fashion, Fame and Fortune – Being “American”

· Today's gratitude: Tree trimmers and power tools

· Ideas worth considering: Vacation take-a-breaks

· Books for children and grandchildren: Meet an enchanting team of author and illustrator

· Books for Adults: Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) and The Know-It-All

· Blog entries you may have missed: On “The Secret” and the use of humor

· Getting a different perspective: Solving problems next to a fishing hole

· Five Articles You May Have Missed: From a safe environment to healing families

Enjoy!!

If you have any questions or comments, use the Contact Us form on the website or send a note to the address below.

Arlene

----------------------------------------------

Arlene Harder, MFT, Founder and Editor
Support4Change.com
arleneharder@support4change.com
2522 Boulder Road
Altadena, CA 91001
626-797-8914

50 Ideas For Filling Your Water Bin (51 if you count Water

Like much of the country, Connecticut is experiencing a heat wave. We've been playing with the water bin a lot - filling it with ice cubes or water and large blocks of ice "iceburgs". We've added jungle animals and dollhouse people, plastic fish or dinosaurs, small boats. We've given the dolls a bath and washed clothes and dishes.
Other than early morning, it's too hot to play outside. We get bored with water, so I've been pulling out all those old sensory bin ideas and putting them to good use.

The bin doesn't have to be anything fancy - it can range from a container as simple as a shallow dishpan all the way up to a pre-constructed sand and water table


I'm using a clear rubbermaid storage container – one of the shallow ones – about 18” wide, 36” long and 4” high – set on the floor with a plastic tablecloth underneath.
I do want to offer a caution before I get started with the list of fillers –
Young children must be closely supervised when playing in the bin.
The water should be shallow (even then, if the child is younger than three, you must sit beside him while he plays. A young child can fall face first into a very small amount of water and be unable to stand up )
Choose the fillers for the bin according to the age and ability of your child.
If there is any danger of the child putting small objects into her mouth and choking – avoid small objects.

With those less than cheerful images out of the way, Let’s get on with the fun!

50 Fun Fillers
1. Sand
2. Uncooked pasta shapes
3. Rice
4. Pine cones
5. Corn meal
6. Dry cereal
7. Oatmeal
8. Beads
9. Playdoh
10. Feathers
11. Goop
( a mixture of ½ cornstarch, ½ water)
12. Fresh clipped grass
13. Dried peas, beans, lentils
14. Different scraps of cloth
15. Cotton balls
16. Colorful yarn scraps
17. Birdseed
18. Coffee grounds
19. Hay
20. Colored aquarium rocks
21. Bubble wrap
22. Pine shavings
23. Shredded paper
24. Valentines or Christmas cards
25. Potting soil
26. Seashells
27. Instant mashed potato flakes
with or without water
28. Cooked spaghetti
29. Shaving cream
30. Plastic drinking straws
cut to different lengths
31. Knox gelatin
32. Aluminum foil
33. Ice cubes
34. Cornstarch packing peanuts
(not styrofoam)
35. Buttons
36. Magazine pages
37. Plastic Easter grass
38. Frozen peas and carrots
39. Snow
40. Dog biscuit bones
in different sizes and colors
41. Unpopped popcorn
42. Bubbles
43. Dried corn cobs and corn husks
44. Small lengths of curled curling ribbon
45. Dry autumn leaves
46. Sunflower seeds
47. Flower heads and petals
or old potpourri
48. 6” or less lengths of cut
Mardi Gras beads
49. Construction paper scraps
in lots of different colors
50. Clean Mud

Clean Mud Recipe
1 roll white toilet tissue
1 cup soap flakes
1 ½ cups water

Mix soap flakes and water in the bin
until soap is dissolved.
Help your child to tear the toilet tissue
into small pieces and toss them into the bin.
Mix with your hands to make mud –
the more you mix,
the softer and squishier
your mixture will be.

The mud can be stored
in a covered container
in the refrigerator
for reuse.



30 Tools and Toys to Use with Your Bin
1. Scoops
2. Tongs
3. Sieves
4. Pitchers
5. Spoons
6. Ladles
7. Small dinosaurs,
farm and jungle animals,
insects, etc.
8. Toy cars, trucks , tractors
9. Plastic flowers or aquarium plants
10. Squeeze bottles
11. Tub toys, ducks, fish
12. Watering cans
13. Whisks
14. Basters
15. Old fashioned egg beaters
16. Rocks
17. Eyedroppers
18. Children’s scissors
19. Plastic knives
20. Empty plastic jars and bottles with lids
21. Muffin tins
22. Egg cartons
23. Aquarium nets
24. Net sponges
25. Spray bottles
26. Plastic berry baskets
27. Shovels and pails
28. Small pots and pans
29. Foil candy cups
30. Sand molds

Five For Friday

A Great Deal for Summer Reading!

At The Park

Fireworks! 4th of July

Maybe you can't make it to the fireworks this year, or maybe you've already been and you want more?
Here's a list of virtual fireworks - some you have fun creating yourself, others put on the show for you and provide music too!
Enjoy.

Phantom Fireworks
It's easy to create your very own Phantom virtual fireworks show!
Shoot fireworks over beautiful skylines including NYC, Miami, Louisville,
Denver, Cleveland, Paris, France and more.

At this site you can click your mouse repeatedly in random areas for an awesome display of fireworks

Virtual Fireworks on Nova OnlineWatch video clips of fireworks bursting in air

Click on the sky - The faster you click the better the fireworks!
Fireworks images and sounds-Create a fireworks display over Rochester Castle, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, more

Let them put on the show for you – just sit back and enjoy!

a video of the fireworks display in Osaka, Japan -
taken from the roof of a four floor building nearby

Stars and Stripes and the 4th of July - a history of the American Flag in pictures

American ships in New England waters flew a "Liberty Tree" flag in 1775. It shows a green pine tree on a white background, with the words, "An Appeal to Heaven."

The Continental Navy used this flag, with the warning, "Don't Tread on Me," upon its inception.

The "Betsy Ross" flag. The Flag Resolution did not specify the arrangement of the stars nor the specific proportions of the flag. So many 13-star flags were used, as seen from the next several pictures.

The Guilford Flag.

The Serapis Flag.

At the Battle of Bennington in August 1777 were two famous flags. One, shown here, is called the Bennington Flag or the Fillmore Flag. Nathaniel Fillmore took this flag home from the battlefield. The flag was passed down through generations of Fillmores, including Millard, and today it can be seen at Vermont's Bennington Museum. The other (not pictured) has a green field and a blue canton with 13 gold-painted stars arranged in rows. General John Stark gave his New Hampshire troops a rallying speech that would be the envy of any football coach today. He said, "My men, yonder are the Hessians. They were brought for seven pounds and ten pence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight, the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!"

Cowpens Flag. According to some sources, this flag was first used in 1777. It was used by the Third Maryland Regiment. There was no official pattern for how the stars were to be arranged. The flag was carried at the Battle of Cowpens, which took place on January 17, 1781, in South Carolina. The actual flag from that battle hangs in the Maryland State House.

Vermont and Kentucky joined the union in 1791 and 1792. This flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes, was adopted by a Congressional act of 1794. The flag became effective May 1, 1795.

By 1818, the union consisted of 20 states. A Congressional act mandated that the number of stripes be fixed at 13 and that one new star was to be added for each new state, the July 4 following its admission. However, nothing was written about what arrangement the stars should be in. This and the following two flags were all used simultaneously.

Another 1818 flag (see above).

And another 1818 flag (see above). This was called the "Grand Star" flag.

To see examples of later flags, see our Flag Timeline
Starting in 1819, the updated flag becomes legal on the Fourth of July following the date of admission

September 11, 2001 — The Flag from the World Trade towers survives and becomes a symbol of sacrifice in service, loss, and determination

The United States flag today. The 50th star was added on July 4, 1960 for Hawaii, which entered the Union on August 21, 1959

This material is copyright by, and used with permission of, the Independence Hall Association, on the web at ushistory.org.