Art on Main

Yesterday I had some time to just be me in town. ( Far Guy had two appointments back to back) First I visited the sculptures on Main Street.

This one is called Partial Eclipse

This one is called Traveling through life with love

Well that kept me busy for just a bit.  Then I wandered into the Dime Store...and then into the Yarn Shop...they got some new yarn in...especially for socks.  After a purchase there I figured I better find something else to occupy an hour or so.  I went out to my cousins and had a good visit with him and his wife. 

I am feeling much better with my wasp sting the worthless cream seems to be doing a better than expected job controlling the itching which in turn keeps the swelling to a minimum.   Thank you for all your good wishes!

Far Side

Sad Glads

We noticed all these sad Glads  the other day when it was raining.

The rain got the best of them.

I am having a secondary reaction to my wasp sting last week.  All was well until late Sunday/early Monday when my wrist started to swell up and itch like the dickins.  Finally went to the Doctor yesterday who thinks it is a serum sickness and not an infection.  She prescribed some worthless cream.   I didn't plan to go to the Doctor after I dropped Far Guy off at his Pulmonary Therapy appointment...I got the oil changed and gassed up the car and had time to go to the walk in clinic.  Far Guy was walking out of his appointment the same time I was done.  Perfect timing.

I had serum sickness one time when I was little, I recall that I was feverish and my joints were very stiff.  This time I have some joint stiffness, swollen lymph nodes and a general feeling of yuckiness and of course the swelling and itching at the bite site.

Far Side

Run for your life

I can still run...not like in my dreams where I am slow to take off but then soar above the ground only landing every ten or so steps to kick off airborne again.

I run slow like an old lady...but faster than a bunch of angry Paper Wasps/Hornets.  The Internet tells me that a person cannot outrun them...well maybe not everyone...but then again I am not everyone.

It all began after a trip to town for Far Guys Pulmonary Therapy.  A few months ago I bought some stuff called Wet and Forget. it is a moss, mildew and stain remover good for wood or stone. It was there in the garage saying "Remember this project?"  I mixed up a batch to try on a section of patio brick... my sprayer is wonky...but I got it to half ass work.

THEN I decided to go and get the cedar deck and steps out back...on the north side of the house the steps used to look beautiful but now they are looking mossy and dark...I went up the steps and took my wand and flicked a few dead leaves off the deck when I heard buzzing, I was attacked and stung.  I couldn't believe it.  I took off at warp old lady speed with many wasps/hornets chasing me.  Did you know the first one that stings you marks you with something so the other  wasps/hornets can quickly find you?

I dropped my sprayer just outside the front door and went inside and announced very loudly BEES!"

My husband heard "GEES"  he said Gees what?   What ?  BEES!  I was stung.  You were stung?  YES.

He fumbled getting my epi pen but quickly recovered and got me a bag of ice and stabbed me in the leg with the epi pen.   Sometimes I need an extra shot...but I made it by with one and a Benadryl ...which proceeded to make me sleepy.  "You are going to go to sleep aren't you?"  yes...

It was reported that I was cooperative during part of the long sleep by snoring...the rest of the time he had to check my breathing.

Luckily this time I was only stung once on the outer side of my wrist.  It was very painful...the ice helped and I took Aleve.  After my long sleep the swelling is more up and down my arm versus one spot. My right thigh is almost as sore those epi pen needles are pretty big.

I have been allergic to bees since I opened honey bee hives when I was about three years old.

I had a severe reaction to wasps/hornets back in the early 1980's where my tongue swelled so big I had to hang it out of my mouth to breathe...that time I required many many shots and caused quite a stir in the ER in Fargo.

All is well that ends well...although I did have some other things planned for the afternoon other than a long nap.

Lesson learned never be too far from the epi pens.

Far Guy reports that he has sprayed the wasp nest.

Far Side

Wild Ride

Yesterday we had a wild ride.  We had not moved the three wheeler for at least a week.  I wanted to go down to my baby brother’s lake place…Far Guy went along…as he unhitched the trailer from the three wheeler he noticed a few bees.  He said “I wonder where the bees are coming from maybe under the trailer?”  I hopped on and we moseyed down the road…I was driving slow all of a sudden Far Guy  said “Bees!”  I slowed down a bit more…he said “Punch it” well we out ran them…got to my brothers without getting stung or crashing into a tree.  Far Guy dislodged the Yellowjacket nest from under the fender and took care of it.  The ride back home was much calmer.

Good thing too as I am allergic to most bee stings…we have Epi Pens in the house and in my backpack.  Those yellowjackets can sting you more than once and the stings are quite painful.

The yellow flowers are beginning to open. I like yellow flowers better than yellowjackets.

Asleep

I took one allergy tablet.  It made me sleep for ten hours then I was awake for six hours (during which time I laid down twice) and then I had a four hour nap and I am still exhausted.  It makes you dream crazy stuff too…I have decided to stop taking that particular pill.  Onward to a runny nose and itchy eyes of springtime in Minnesota.

I will shelve this information…it may come in handy for my family someday if I am trying to escape the Nursing Home.  One pill and I am conked out and when awake I am calm  although a bit spaced out….did I care what was happening when I was awake…not so much.

Chance is always good company when I am asleep/not feeling well….he stays right by me.  When he was little I slept with one hand in his laundry basket…just to keep him company so he wouldn’t whine all night.

Allergies

Pollen is beginning to get bad.  It makes my eyes itch. 

I have drops to put in my eyes when it feels as if they would feel better if I scratched them right out of my head.  So far it is the Popples and Willows. I can hardly wait for the Pines to begin spewing pollen all over.

I saw Dracula an Allergist about my food allergies and may have results sometimes next month.  A brand new Epi Pen arrived yesterday in the mail…so I am all set.

Bites

Somehow someplace I got a bug bite.  My foot is not liking it at all.  It is swollen and painful.  The swelling is confined to just one foot/ankle and Far Guy says it looks like he can see a small spot where whatever bit me.  I am elevating it when ever possible and waiting for the swelling to go away. Near as I can figure I was bit on Sunday afternoon when I was working upstairs….most likely a spider.

I am supposed to bake today and I will, probably just a little slower than normal.

I will live to see another day.  Rest assured if it gets worse my husband will drag me to the Doctor.

I will share this from a friends Facebook page.

Did you ever hear the tale of the Indian chief who found a rattle snake dying from the cold at the top of a mountain? The snake pleaded with the chief to carry him down the mountain so he could get warm and recover and live. The good hearted chief took pity and took the snake down the mountain. There the snake gave him a deadly bite. The chief asked the rattler how he could do such an evil thing. The rattler replied "you knew I was a rattle snake when you picked me up"!

Morale: compassion should not out weigh common sense.

Me being the smarta$$ that I can be most some days left a comment.

Never trust a talking snake.

What’s new?

New babies in the neighborhood.

Brand new baby and new baby.  I wasn’t expecting them yet..someone said they wouldn’t be here until summer.  I am not thinking summer yet..spring is barely here.

They sure are cute!

Their pasture is greening up nicely in all the rain we have had recently.  The new calves are probably called Ribeye and Sirloin.  Yes, I like a good steak!  Steak and salad  one of my favorite meals.

It was spitting rain last night when I took these photos.  It is supposed to rain and be cloudy this Decoration Day weekend.

We took flowers to several cemeteries.  They were mowed..and look real nice.  Of course one looked better than the other..we didn’t linger long…maybe when we pick up the flowers on Monday night or Tuesday.  We take bunches of silk flowers and stick them in the ground…then collect them and put them back in the cemetery flower box in my garage until next year.  We used to take real plants when we had the greenhouse.  Far Guy would cart water every other day.

I have a ganglion cyst ( Bible Bump) on the top of my right foot. It is painful and making my toes go numb. I have had it surgically removed once..that was a nightmare ( I went into respiratory failure from a reaction to the anesthetic) plus I ended up with a drain tube and a cast.  ( I was in such pain that I bribed the girls with 20 dollar bills for an extra pain pill..they were party poopers and called their Father at work).  The last time it flared up my other baby brother took care of it for me.  He has large hands and is very strong..it hurt like the devil ( I think I may have screamed and said bad word, bad word) but that was ten years ago. His treatment was way better than surgery.  He is in North Dakota..lotta good that does me in my ten minutes of need.  One of his Grandsons suggested that I just drive out and see him. 

I am allergic to the newest blood pressure medication..I woke up the night before last at 4 AM covered in hives and couldn’t go back to sleep and when I finally did it was time to get up.  The bitchandmoan session is now over:) 

Sunflower Field

If you have been following my blog, you know I had some photographic wishes. The Sunflower field was one of them. One day on our way into town off of the main road we saw a field full of sun shiny yellow...what a sight for sore eyes. I got so excited I nearly peed my pants. There are only two very small fields of sunflowers in our area. I took these photos on August 16, 2009.

I wanted to be taller, I stood inside the car with the door open, hanging on to the roof rack..I really needed a step ladder. I was tempted to crawl up on top of the car..but I didn't. Far Guy just said " Would you just be careful."

What a happy place to be!!

There were lots of bees, I am not nearly as afraid of them as I have been other years. I have taken lots of photos of bees this summer and luckily I have not been stung..yet. I have also managed to escape the Poison Ivy and except for that one almost I think he might have been dead snake in the road..I have not been dissolved into a crying, can't breathe panic stricken Ophidiophobic. I have only suffered with my food allergies on one occasion all summer.. and that was a beautiful little strawberry..that caused me to breathe funny for awhile..but I was no where near death this time. So it was a pretty good summer. Back to the sunflowers..

I went back again on September 02, 2009 to the same field. What a difference seventeen days makes. There were still some bees..and lots of grain dust.. the cheerful yellow is almost gone.. I found it kind of sad. This time I was alone, so I tried my best to hold my camera high in the air instead of climbing all over the car:)