Mauled - July 15, 2025

I wish you could see my arms.  They look as though they've been mauled, and they have, in a way - by dogs, plants, and old age.

It doesn't take much to draw a bruise on my arms.  A lot of this unsightly-ness is simply from things like bumping against a door frame.  My right arm is littered with spots in various shades of red and purple.  Near my right elbow are a couple of 2"-long scratches, courtesy of Roscoe.  The nastiest boo-boo is on the inside of my left forearm, where I SNIPPED INTO A VEIN with pruning shears yesterday while trying to cut hydrangea limbs away from the air-conditioner unit.

It was just a tiny snip, but I "bled like a stuck hog," as Daddy used to say.  

"Go get me a paper towel and a band-aid," I hollered to The Husband, who was on the back porch.  By the time I got there, blood was dripping down my hand at an alarming rate.  I washed the blood off with the water hose while he went for first aid supplies.  It was not a big cut, just a snip in the wrong place.  The pressure of the band-aid stopped the bleeding, but before long a slight - maybe a hematoma? - developed around the wound.  It's not getting any worse, so I guess I'll live.

That mishap just took the wind out of my sails for the rest of the day.  

However, scattered visits from all 5 of my grandchildren cheered me up later in the afternoon.  The Grandson showed up around lunchtime with a friend, a young man who graduated with him.  I was cooking up a gourmet lunch of Manwich Sandwich, and when I offered to feed the boys, The Grandson looked as if he was about to take the offer, but his visitor declined, and so did he.  They weren't here 30 minutes.  A couple of hours later, Granddaughter #3 came in, and a few minutes after that, #'s 2, 4, and 1 arrived.  #1 came to finish her quilt; she took it home with her last night.  (I was so proud of her!)  

#4 (the LRB) was full of herself.  She required Poppy and me to get down on the floor to work jigsaw puzzles and assemble a Thomas train set left over from The Grandson.   (I bet we have a thousand dollars worth of Thomas stuff!)  She promised to help us up when we finished.  ;)