Sugar Ants. We get them every summer and find it virtually impossible to get rid of them. I have tried boric acid, vinegar, corn meal and an assortment of other home remedies. Nothing is working. I don’t see paying Cook’s Pest Control $40.00/monthly for a year to do this if I can find one proven way to do it. If you know of some remedies that actually work, please let me know. I've found nothing on the internet that works either. I’m at my wit’s end with these things. I bought a loaf of bread and carelessly left it on the counter. When I came back home two hours later, the bread was black with sugar ants. Any ideas, any at all. I’m beat.

I have decided to go a head and have the back surgery my orthopedic surgeon has been after me to undergo. I made a blog entry last week about whether to go with it or get rid of my Honda Civic which is becoming more and more uncomfortable to drive due to my back problems. I am scheduled for surgery for July 10th. That will be exactly, and I do mean EXACTLY 13 years from the day of my first lumbar disc surgery in 1995. I’m hoping for better results this time. I never really got better after my surgery in 1995. Oh, I felt better for a few months. But, then the pain came back with a vengeance. So, I suspect my July 9th post will be my last for a while. I really dread this. But, I don’t see any real alternative right now. I have to get some relief. For those so inclined, I would appreciate any and all prayers.

Rocky Raccoon is back. I saw him last Saturday night in the back yard. This is a huge raccoon who has visited my back yard for the past two years now. I know it’s the same one because Rocky has a slash just above his left eye that he must have gotten in a terrible fight. I had given him up for dead. Rocky stole peanuts out of the feeder I left for the numerous squirrels in my yard. I put a wire lock on it to keep him honest. He pulled the lock right off the feeder anyway. I made a deal with him. I left a large cache of peanuts in a small bucket just for him at night, locked up my feeder more securely. He left the feeder alone after that. I had not seen Rocky Raccoon in over three months. Glad to see my old wildlife nemesis is doing well.

Finally, I am finished buying any used computer parts off of ebay. I bought a computer power supply three months ago that has already gone out in one Dell desktop computer I have. I have bought three motherboards in the past two years from ebay and two of the three have bit the dust. I try to save cutomers money by buying used parts. And I’m sure there are people that buy good used parts off of ebay. I just have not been one of them, for one reason or another. I’m not sure why. But, unless I can find a site that will guarantee used parts at least three months, I am done buying any used computer parts in the future. In the long run, I think I’ll probably wind up saving money by buying parts new.