In keeping with a frequent holiday and post-holiday occurrence, several members of my household came down with sinus and respiratory ailments. With a bevy of over-the-counter cold remedies, eucalyptus aromatherapy, and strategically placed vaporizers, I set forth to do battle with the rampaging virus.

And virus it was. No one had a fever, sputum reports were consistently clear, all signs pointed to viral upper respiratory infection.

From past experience as a nurse, I know that rest, increased fluids, and symptomatic care with over-the-counter medications is all that can really be done for the basic viral upper respiratory infection. Antibiotics don't do anything for viral infections. See the CDC publication "If You Have a Cold or Flu, Antibiotics Won't Work For You."

I was at Group Health the other day on an unrelated matter, and I saw a waiting room full of coughing and hacking people, most of whom undoubtedly had a case of the same virus afflicting my family.The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that you should call your doctor if:

• You continue to wheeze and cough for more than 2 weeks, especially at night or when you are active.
• You continue to cough for more than 2 weeks and sometimes have a bad-tasting fluid come up into your mouth.
• You have a cough, you feel very sick and weak, and you have a high fever that doesn’t go down.
• You cough up blood.
• You have trouble breathing when you lie down.
• Your feet swell.

I know I am new to the area and there is much I have yet to learn, but when I received my first full sewer/water bill today, I was shocked at the amount. The bill is literally about three times what I am used to paying.

The breakdown: 1) city sewer charge, 2) LOTT treatment, 3) resident base rate, 4) water consumption, 5) storm water, 6) utility tax.

Essentially this seems to mean that we pay to transport the sewage material from our residences, to treat the sewage at the LOTT facility, an obligatory "base rate" which has not been fully explained to my satisfaction, general water consumption, storm water, and finally a utility tax as the grand finale.

If I didn't know better I would think that either we have a brand spanking new waste water treatment plant and the facility is passing startup costs on to the consumer, OR there is some sort of sewer treatment Cosa Nostra profiting mightily on Oly effluent.

Here is the incredible sunrise over Oly for 24 November.

Little Boxes
by Malvina Reynolds

Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course and drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
Where they are put in boxes and they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

29 days and counting until my family arrives in Olympia! My mind is racing with thoughts of everything that I have been reading on OlyBlog and in other places...I'm excited!!