Rhoda

How soon after cataract surgery will I see an improvement in my vision?

I know you can buy Clinique at department stores but am wondering if Ulta stores sell Clinique.

I don't buy oranges very often so don't know which kind are the best. I bought some recently and definitely made a bad choice ... they were about 3/4-inch of rind with a tiny little blob of orange-meat inside. About 2 bites-worth of edible fruit. So now I'm scared to buy any more. Which are the best kind to buy?

Down in the Hill Country of Texas, when there is a rock ledge and water drops off the rock ledge and the water ends up wallowing-out a pool underneath the ledge, that pool is called a "____________"? I need the word for a paper I'm writing -- and I can't think of the word.

Don't make fun of me ... But I have a cell-phone that works great, but it's about 5 years old. It's nothing but a phone ... no camera ... no Internet ... nothing but a phone. Now my boss (who is admittedly less computer-literate than I am) is trying to talk me into buying an Apple Iphone 3GS. He bought one about a week ago and just loves it. What do you think? Will I be able to figure it out? (My boss lives about 300 miles from me ... we work together by Internet ... I live in a rural area about 50 miles from civilization. Basically no one to help me figure out an Apple Iphone 3GS except myself. Can I do it??)

I have 2-3 unopened boxes of Ritz and saltine crackers that I bought over the holidays and are now reaching their expiration date. What if I just stick them in the freezer as-is? Will they freeze OK? (I always freeze my bags of potato chips and Fritos, just as soon as I get them home from the grocery store, and it works GREAT! Even months later you pull them out and they are perfectly fresh.) So I'm wondering if unopened boxes of crackers will work just as well.

I'm 63 years old. I'm not aware that I have sustained any injury. But over the last couple of weeks, when I bend my knee in such a way that my heel touches my butt, and then when I extend my leg back out straight I can feel a distinct cracking or crunching sensation as I straighten my leg to its full extended position. Not really any pain ... but it's uncomfortable ... maybe just because it's upsetting to me. What could it be? Is there any over-the-counter medication or vitamin that I should take that would help lubricate the joint?

It's not apple pie filling -- it's just sliced apples in a thick liquid.

I live in Oklahoma. A buddy of mine went out on a shrimp boat in Louisiana on Saturday 6-20-09 and got a lot of raw oysters ... iced them down on the boat and them kept them iced while he drove back to Oklahoma. I picked them up from him on Sunday 6-21-09 and have them refrigerated. My question is -- I intend on eating them raw. How long will they stay "good" in my refrigerator? I don't want to get shellfish poisoning!! I have eaten raw oysters in restaurants all my life and love them -- but I don't know their "shelf-life" insofar as my refrigerator is concerned. Anybody know???

I have 2 computers -- one is a desktop and the other is a laptop. I have an HP Photosmart C5240 All-in-One hooked-up to each computer. (2 different printers -- but they are identical) I do a lot of scanning because I have a home-business. About once a week the printer hooked-up to my desktop computer will "lock-up" when I'm scanning something -- requiring me to re-boot my computer and start all over. Then, if I get mad and try to use my laptop computer and its associated printer, it will do the same thing ... i.e., lock-up during a scan and require me to re-boot my computer. This will sometimes go on for hours ... and then all of a sudden everything's perfect again. BOTTOM-LINE: When one scanner is working perfectly, they are both working perfectly. When one is screwing-up, they are both screwing-up. There's no rhyme or reason to this! It's like supernatural! I'm pulling my hair out ... because it always happens at the most inopportune time. Anybody have any suggestions? (I have already gone onto the Hewlett Packard website and ensured that I have the current drivers, etc.) Sometimes I almost think it's related to the weather, but then the same thing will happen on a sunny day.

We live in a rural area and recently had a redbone coonhound about 7-8 months old come to our place. He was half-starved and half-wild. We didn't really want another dog but couldn't stand to see him dying. Bottom-line: He's now our dog. He's about 1 year old now and is different from any dog we've ever had. He's like a wayward kid and unbelievably energetic ... but he's also obviously highly intelligent. It's hard to get mad at him because he's so cute and kid-like. He now spends a lot of time in the house and has never once peed-or-pooped in the house and has never chewed on anything he shouldn't chew on. But then he'll turn around and act so wild and playful that he drives us crazy ... but it's hard to get mad at him because he's so happy. We also notice that he has become extraordinarily protective of us and is making a great watchdog but almost to a dangerous extent. Anyway, I'm interested in hearing from other owners of the breed ... Is he normal? Is he typical of the breed? What has been your experience with this breed?

My sister owns a horse ranch in northern Texas where she breeds and raises show horses. Recently there was an oncoming grasslands fire and since the fire was approaching her horse ranch she stayed behind to try to trailer-up and rescue as many of her horses as she could. In so doing, she was severely injured. The insurance company is saying they're not liable because she should have evacuated instead of staying behind and trying to rescue her animals. Are there any laws which regulate this? Does an animal owner have any legal obligation to try to rescue his animals from an oncoming natural disaster? I need specific cites please.

I went to a doctor on Thursday complaining of extreme vaginal irritation. I had figured out in my own mind that I probably had bacterial vaginosis. But the doctor still did a urinalysis and then told me I have a bladder infection. I questioned her about the logic of this since I have definitely not had any increased frequency of urination. But she still insisted it's a bladder infection. She gave me 4 prescriptions -- 1) Nitrofurantoin (antibiotic), 2) Ciprofloxacin (antibiotic), 3) triamcinolone (steroid cream to be applied vaginally), and 4) clotrimazole (anti-fungus cream to be applied vaginally). I realize I've only been using/taking the stuff since Friday morning but I'm worried because my vaginal discomfort is getting no better and maybe is even worse. To those of you with medical background -- do you think I'm worrying for no reason? Do you think I have been misdiagnosed? I still have extreme discomfort and burning in my vaginal area -- and I still have no frequency of urination or any other symptom that seems like a urinary tract infection. What do you think?

I am currently taking Bactrim antibiotic for a urinary tract infection -- and it has given me a yeast infection.  I have one of those over-the-counter treatments for the yeast infection.  But I don't know whether to use it now or whether I should wait until I am completely through with the antibiotics.  I don't want to "waste" it in other words.  The yeast infection is so irritating that I hate to have to wait another one week when I'm through with the antibiotic pills.  But I question whether the yeast infection medication will "work" if I'm still continuing to take the antibiotic.

It's a no-cook dessert made in a baking dish. It has slices of store-bought angel food cake on the bottom -- plus frozen strawberries. Then on top it has a mixture of cream cheese and half-and-half. After you make it it's stored in the refrigerator -- and when you serve it you use a spoon to scoop the servings out.

I live in a rural area and have adopted a very wild dog that appeared at my house. I have tamed him a great deal after months of working with him, but it's impossible to get him into a car to get him to a vet. (He's a very-very large dog.) So I gave him heartworm medication even though he hasn't been pre-tested. If he already has heartworms what will the medication do to him?

It's about a gallon-size can. It's not apple pie filling ... it's pre-cooked unsweetened apples in a thick sauce. Once I open it, what can I do with all of it?

It's the one that you use in the microwave. Supposedly easier than cooking your pasta on stop of the stove. I keep waiting for them to come out in the stores -- but the fact that they haven't makes me scared that maybe they're no good. (I don't want to order one off TV if they're useless.)