Sunday was a day of physical labor. I emptied the truck of fallen branches and then filled it up again with various piles I'd been making and then with those in the yard that hadn't been picked up yet. Then I cleaned the filter to the turtle pond which was totally gross and nasty as I hadn't cleaned it since early summer. After that I got the long handled nippers and went to the back of the property and proceeded to cut down rain trees from about 6” high to three or four feet. Unfortunately they'll all come back unless I had pulled them up so I'm just going to have to spray poison. Those things are more like weeds than trees. Then I pulled grapevine out of the cedar. Then I went and got the machete and started in on the big rain tree beside the dilapidated shed on the back corner by the wild space. It was about 3” in diameter. I kept thinking for a couple of years I would get the chainsaw and cut it down but I don't think the electrical cord is long enough so hence the machete. I was determined to take it down and hacked at that thing with two handed swings and eventually succeeded. Then I hacked away at one of the thick woody grape vines and got that done too. And then I was done in.
Monday I picked up the debris from cutting down all those rain trees and threw them in the wild space and then about all I accomplished the rest of the day was finishing the book I was reading.
I've been dealing with an ingrown toenail on my left big toe for a couple of years but the last several months it just got worse and worse. Sunday evening it started hurting and by bedtime it hurt so much I doused it with hydrogen peroxide, slathered it with antibiotic ointment and wrapped a bandaid around it. It hurt so bad, throbbing and shooting pains and just the touch of the sheet was intolerable, one of the reasons I stayed up late Sunday night reading because it hurt so bad I couldn't sleep anyway. It finally calmed down enough I got about 4 hours sleep and the next morning it seemed better but I washed it again with antibacterial soap, more antibiotic ointment and another bandaid and as long as I didn't bump it against anything it didn't really hurt very much. Then Monday night after another wash, etc. and I went to bed it was hurting just as bad as before. I finally googled ingrown toenail and following instructions I took some ibuprofen and then soaked it for about half an hour in very warm water, more antibiotic ointment and another bandaid and the pain subsided to let me sleep. Yesterday, soaking the foot in very warm water several times a day and trying to lift the nail corner from the skin (painful!) and of course antibiotic ointment. It's getting better and didn't bother me at all last night but is still tender in one spot. I think it must have gotten infected from my Sunday activities being barefoot or just wearing sandals.
Anyway, yesterday was mundane household activity day...ferrying Robin to and from work, grocery shopping, dishes, library, my night to fix dinner which didn't go as planned because it turned out the leftover sausage I planned to use had already been eaten.
I did make some decisions on Tuesday about mounting the trumpet flower pieces. The plan now is to glue them to a piece of finished birch plywood with about 1/2” showing all the way around and finishing the edges with some small trim which I may paint or stain but not sure of the color.
But I woke up this morning from a weird dream...I was going on a canoe trip with a group and it had been a long time since I had done that (and yes it has been a very long time) and I showed up without a PFD (personal flotation device aka life preserver) and they managed to outfit me and a couple of others with one and then it seems the food had been forgotten so we stopped at a place to get some and also a sleeping mat for a couple of the others which was when I had realized I had not brought my own sleeping mat or a sheet or a blanket or any other clothes for that matter and the trip leader was looking at me like he couldn't believe how stupid that was and then I woke up when I was trying to convince them to go by my house so I could get my stuff on our way out since it wasn't really much out of the way...and what the fuck was that all about? So I've been in a funky mood all day not feeling like doing any of the things I planned, just wanting to go back to bed and sleep which maybe I'll do after I pick Robin up from work.
I am always blown away by all the work you accomplish there, even when you feel like shit and have an ingrown toenail. I am a lazy bum in awe of your stamina and strength. I hope your toe continues to heal and that all will be well there.
ReplyDeleteThat was quite a dream.
I've always been this way. Once I start a project I'm loathe to stop until I finish. Not as bad as I used to be because I wrecked my back on one job that took a couple of years to fully recover from.
DeleteI have gotten NOTHING outside done this week since I got my booster. Maybe tomorrow although I need to go to town to do shopping and for whatever reason, that always seems to take all day which is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteOkay- I'll see your dream and raise you one. How about a large tortoise in the house whose shell came off to reveal what looked like a naked child but it had to be, well, killed, and I couldn't do it and that's thankfully mostly what I remember about THAT? There was also a dream about Costco which apparently I stayed too late in and noticed that the lights were out which led to a whole lot of other stuff.
I'm blaming my booster shot.
I had a dream about a weird turtle like thing that was somehow a child a while back. I wonder what that means, the turtle/child thing.
DeleteOK. How about this for a bit of amusement? his morning, I was sleeping when my phone dinged, as it does when I have a text message. When I looked, it was from Citibank. The message was, "Glad to see you made it home."
ReplyDeleteWhat the what? The URL seemed strange. It only said Citibank, with the .com attached. I laid there for several minutes, wondering: How did Citi know I was home? Was the text based on my last gas purchase? Was I being stalked?
Then, I woke up. I checked my phone, and sure enough: no text messages. I'd dreamed the whole thing.
OK, you've topped me for weirdness.
DeleteI have dreams about being shut in the mall at night. Unlikely since I never go to malls, but dreams, you know, go how they want
ReplyDeleteI had an ingrown toenail (big toe, left foot) in jr. high school. Had to have the nail removed, but months later I wound up having surgery again because the first surgeon just cut a square and left the sides of the nail in -- voila! ingrown toenail again and twice the pain!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really terrible. Hopefully the remedy for mine will be better.
DeleteWhat a crazy dream! It's like those final exam dreams where I've never been to class & can't find the room where they're giving the exam. Unprepared! It feels like you are generally very well prepared, but maybe your subconscious is worried about something.
ReplyDeleteThat's usually how my anxiety dreams go, the school/exam thing. I think probably it's about going on a trip with my twin grandgirls to Ecuador/Galapagos Islands. One is there doing a study abroad and the other is going in December for about 10 days. I'm invited. I want to go but can think of many reasons not to.
DeleteOh you SHOULD go!! (That's my gut response, but I respect your "not to" reasons too!)
DeleteWhat a crazy dream! Maybe you're feeling underprepared generally? Sorry about the toenail -- that sounds very painful. I remember raintrees from Florida. They ARE a scourge.
ReplyDeleteBoy, that's a happy rose bush.
ReplyDeleteYes, you could take that toe nail to a doctor. Yes too, go see your ophthalmologist and see what he says.
Hope your toe is better. Sounds painful!
ReplyDeleteI wish you could go on the trip with your grandgirls. It would make fabulous memories. Get your booster and bring lots of masks so you stay safe.