escape yourself and gravity

So Friday was the day Mom and I planned to do some work on our trail. She's been out of school for about a week now, and we've been working our way through gardening and yard projects over the past week, with Wednesday off for hiking. And Friday was my day. We have about 3.5 acres very far out in the country, and on one corner of our property, we let progression take its course. We stopped mowing for about 5 or 10 years, and in that time, a lot of little trees grew up. Unfortunately poison ivy did too, but we're working on that. Anyway, several years ago, we cut a trail through that little woodlot, from near the mailbox curving around to the very front part of the front yard.

Side story - last week, there was a deer in the front yard, and I grabbed the camera to snap a couple of pictures. We see deer all the time, but we never get tired of them--though we do get a bit exasperated when they eat the garden or important trees! Anyway, the deer saw me coming and ducked down into the trail. Mom and I decided to hurry up and see if the deer was still on the trail, because we thought it would be a neat picture. She went around the outside of the woodlot and I went along the trail. The deer was nowhere to be found! Not on the longer trail or the little connecting trail, not running across the field, not anywhere I could see hiding in the underbrush... Then apparently, Mom went around the opposite direction from how I was going, and suddenly she couldn't find me either. She thought I'd vanished!

Me, I'm just cranky that apparently our trail has a door into Narnia, and I go on that trail all the time, but I've never made it to Narnia. *grumps*

Anyway, Friday I was apparently feeling extra klutzy. Earlier this week, while mowing, I drove an autumn olive brancy into my knee and scratched it all up, then later was attacked by a tulip tree that didn't think I had enough scratches on that knee. Then while we were working on the trail, we hitched a wagon to the mower (not a little red wagon, but a proper hitchy-type wagon). While trimming tree branches and such, I took a step back, hit my calf hard on the hitch, and fell over backwards, scraping my elbow on the way down. I was terrified I was falling into poison ivy, but fortunately the spot where I landed was clear.

As I was getting up, Mom said, "Be careful of the muffler! Don't burn yourself!"

Clever as I am, I replied, "In all the years I've been mowing this yard, I've never once burned myself on that muffler."

Famous. Last. Words.

Two wagon-loads later, we were almost finished with the trail and ready to move out into the open areas to do the sides of the woodlot. That adds just a little more tragedy to the story, because it was only the close quarters along the trail that caused my downfall. I was trying to get between the equipment and a rather large hickory tree. Squeezed between them, paused to look at something, and a couple seconds later let out an ear-splitting shriek as I realized that my leg was melting off.

Yes, I had pressed my calf (the same one I bruised earlier) against the muffler. I looked down and had a five-and-a-half inch streak of bright red running up my calf. We didn't have water, of course--we were drinking Gatoride-like stuff, and I thought the sodium and such would hurt if I poured it on the skin. So I sprinted to the house and stuck my leg in the sink. Which, let me tell you, is an incredibly awkward pose, even though the vanity is pretty big.

I've been fortunate, though, that taking 800mg of ibuprofen whenever it starts hurting (which is sometimes 6 hours and sometimes longer) has kept the pain to a minimum, except when changing the dressing. Showering was especially not fun. Anyway, tonight I'm venturing to sleep without a bandage on it. It's healing pretty well, but I'm worried about the cats, especially Eowyn, because she has a habit of curling up against my legs, especially my calves. I may end up shutting the cats out of the bedroom when I go to sleep. :(

For the curious, I have a picture of the trail and two pictures of the burn behind the cut.

( Large photos - Pretty scenery and then some graphic wounds. Yippee. )

In the meantime, I totally feel guilty for subjecting my protagonist to hot irons when he's being tortured by the bad guys. Then again, he has a blood-drinking sword that will heal him. I am not so fortunate.

Since Mom and I are going to TNT in January, I want to get a blog set up where we can easily post some of the thousands of pictures we will take. I'm going to have the netbook along to get pictures off the DSLR and will hopefully have plentiful web access, but I don't want to spend a huge amount of vacation time online. So any photographers or artists who have online galleries, etc., can you please respond?

NOTE: I want Mom to be able to upload stuff as well as doing it myself. She keeps a nature blog and I want to find a way for her to post pictures easily all the time.

And of course I managed to delete it.  First time that's happened with Semagic.  Go me.  So in brief, here's stuff that's going on:

• The cmrossiprentiss Advent Calendar - I posted fic today called The Most Profound Gifts.  We've got posting lined up for every single day of the month.
  
• The cm_exchange posting - all pairings and both art & fic, and there are some fabulous gifts already posted over there!
  
• Dentist today - tiny cavity filling, which meant a shot. Ugh. Hate shots in the mouth despite numerous tattoos, piercings, and not being afraid of regular shots.
  
• Cataclysm released today.  I spent hours replacing the power supply unit and video card on Sunday. Shouldn't have taken hours, but it did, because power supplies are bitches. It had nothing to do with me being an impatient dumbass, so shut up.
  
• Speaking of Cataclysm, Dad bought it for me for Christmas.  Not sure if I'm getting it now or having to wait three weeks.  *grumbles*
  
• Headache. Ow.
  
• We're supposed to get a nasty snowstorm this weekend in two waves.  Frankly I thought the four-five inches we got all day this past Saturday was bad enough.  I hate getting out and driving in winter.
  
• I'm trying to make my mom's Gateway (ugh) laptop run again.  Last night backed up the hard drive. Tonight running System Recovery...and not having much luck.  Damn Gateway.
  
• Bought a new chair for my computer desk.  It's a Gaiam BalanceBall Chair.  I'm afraid I overinflated it, but I'm going to wait and see how it is tomorrow.  I've already let air out twice.  Also, my back hurts.  But I hear that's supposed to happen at first.  Maybe.  At least it was a cosmetically damaged piece so half price. LOL
  
• Won NaNoWriMo but haven't actually finished the novel yet.  I stopped after validating and haven't gotten the momentum back yet.
  

( [Large] pictures of the new chair and computer upgrade, because I am geeky like that )


And yes, that is a glowing blue LED at the back of the PSU on the CPU, TYVM. *G*

You guys! severity_softly made me something that...makes me not hate winter so much. >.>

( Photos behind cut )
Thank you, wifey! *hugs*

Because I'm getting nowhere on my Big NaNo ComebackTM tonight and the mess in my room is driving me nuts, I am going to clean until 8.

( What's working )

I'll post a set of after shots in 40 minutes.

ETA: Before/After shots

( I feel a little more in control )

I've been bored, so I bought some hair dye today. *G* Nothing drastic, but I did that tonight and have been messing around making icons for mcgarrygirl78.

( Clicky for pics of my new hair color )

Went hiking with Mom today. Dad rode along and read in the car, and was supposed to pick us up at the other end of the trail. Instead Mom and I ended up hiking twice as far as we meant to because he never showed up and his phone was going right to voicemail without a signal. Oh well, had fun. The modern equivalent of the CCC (I can't remember what they called them this year) has obviously been installing signs, and it was fun to discover all of them. They have history of the park as well as natural features and wildlife. Some of those are pictured behind the cut too.

( Clickable thumbnails behind the cut )

Dad bought Mom a Nikon digital SLR last weekend, and we've been playing with it since then. Especially since we're going to Franklin & Nashville in a couple of weeks, we want to make sure we know how to use it. (Not that I won't take my camera too, but still). So today we went out and took some autumn foliage pictures, and also went to the Darlington covered bridge, where I took a few shots I really like.

You really need to click the thumbnails to see why I like the second and third pictures. :)

( Read more... )

So when we were almost home I got a text message from Mom with a picture:

( Ophidiophobes beware )

What may not be immediately apparent in looking at the picture (as it wasn't to me at the time), the garter snake is caught in the netting that we have over the strawberry patch to keep the birds from eating them. And when I say caught, I mean he was caught but good. Two places he'd made it through, then expanded and had the netting dug into his scales. At one of the spots I think it had cut him. So the moment I got home, I had to pull out the pocket knife and use it to cut him free of the netting. Fortunately I'm pretty sure I managed to cut the netting without cutting him. He was very calm the whole time I was handling him, like he realized I was trying to help. The moment he realized he was free, he slithered away...directly into the strawberry patch where my snake-fearing aunt was supposed to pick tonight. I wasn't fast enough to stop him because I didn't want to hurt him worse.

When I got in the door, I discovered that my cat had jumped the screen that usually blocks his room, and then gotten trapped outside his room with food, water, and litter. So there was cat poop on the living room floor. As soon as Dad came into the house, Merlin started rubbing up against him, then bit him savagely and wouldn't let go. So Dad was bruised and bloody, and Merlin got himself a kick. Merlin was pretty unhappy but I gave him quite a talking to about his behavior. It took years, but I finally became the dominant of our little two-animal 'pack'...but Merlin obviously considers Dad to be a lesser pack member. So I spent some time cleaning up that mess, and then devising a gate that he can't jump.

I am exhausted, and it's not bedtime yet. :P

Pictures of Bunker Hill, the flag of the USS Constitution, National Cemeteries at Civil War battlefields, a memorial at Marye's Heights in Fredricksburg, VA, the USS Massachussetts "Big Mamie". Freedom has a high cost, and we owe our eternal thanks to the men and women who have dedicated their lives to ensuring that we are a free nation.







To my family members, friends, and LJ friends who have, do, or will serve in the military, thank you. You have all of my support.