It's been a bit of a tough day, all around.
It started for me at 7 a.m. with a call from my tree service (Blanchard's Tree Service of Oklahoma City. I highly recommend this company if you need tree work done.) Anyway, I knew that I'd be getting a followup call to do some work at my house. I just didn't realize he would call me at 7 a.m. the day he wanted to do the work. He picked the right day, though, since I didn't have any outside appointments scheduled today.
I pulled on some clothes, brushed my teeth, washed my face and looked in the mirror. I screamed. Then I brushed my hair. Went back to my room to pull up the covers (more to kill the thought of crawling back in than to be a testament to housekeeping.)
Barely tossed the pillows back in place when I heard a knock at the front door. THEY WERE HERE already! It couldn't have been 15 minutes from the phone call to their arrival!
This was a hefty work day, prompted by the fact that access to my driveway was becoming hindered by the Bradford pear tree in the front yard. It was bad enough that the pizza delivery guy said he wasn't coming back until I got it cut. So what choice did I have?
In the front yard the crew (Jess Blanchard and three of his grandchildren) took a chainsaw to the Bradford and raised the canopy. He is an artist and preserved the shape and wonder of my favorite tree in the world. Now I can love it without bashing my head while mowing the yard! Who knew? Love doesn't always have to hurt! He also did a makeover on the sugar maple standing at the other edge of my plot of dirt, raising it off the roof, removing dead branches and making my postman happy by clearing the path to the next house.
Had the work stopped here, I would have been happy enough. But I bit the bullet and had the back yard worked over as well. I think I had 6, maybe 7 (maybe more) trees removed completely and several others pruned back where they should be.
MAN! I can't believe how much real estate I gained! I'll try to post some photos later this week when I have time to do all the voodoo.
Anyway, the moral of this part of the story is that sharp objects, like chain saws and limb loppers, in the hands of experts, can be a very, very good thing. My home feels lighter and airier. I have room on my patio now for a small table and chairs. And the majorly hefty bill for Blanchard's is much less than the cost of a visit to the emergency room, had I tried this myself. And I kept all my own personal limbs while the trees lost some of theirs.
Speaking of emergency rooms ...
-- A big boo-boo bandaid to E.R. who is suffering with an apparent spider bite on his tootsie. He's missed a couple of days of work, which is a sure indicator that this is major damage to his physique. Here's hoping he's feeling well enough to return to work soon. E.R. is still recovering from a previous injury to a finger which got in the way of some pruners.
The moral of this part of the story is that sharp objects, like pruners, in the hands of homeowners, can be a very, very bad thing.
-- Prayers requested for my partner in knife sales, Ken. Monday I was at the knife shop, picking up some stock, when a couple of huge knives fell from the doors of the cabinet (they are displayed on large magnetic strips on the fronts of the cabinets.) Anyway, Ken was cut badly on the hands when these knives fell. And I was in the blood spatter zone. We got him bandaged and he continued working (such a man thing to do). Later Monday night he started feeling ill and finally went to a doctor Tuesday. Doctor put it bluntly, telling him to "get his ass to the emergency room." He has a severe infection of the leg (cellulitis). We do not know if it's related to the cuts on his hands, but that is my hunch. I asked him if he mentioned it to the doctors or nurses and he hadn't even thought about it. In fact, he had forgotten about the knife cuts. I made him promise to tell the caretakers about his injuries, at least so they will check them out to make sure he doesn't also have a raging infection in his fingers. And I tattled to the nurses' station, just to make sure someone checks him out. He's on IV antibiotics and is very, very sick with a fever of 103.
The moral of this part of the story is that sharp objects, like large knives, in the hands of experts, can be a very, very bad thing.
That's all the injuries I have to report tonight.
My first e-Bay auction ends tonight. Looks like I've got 6 out of 9 knives sold, which is a very nice thing in my book, for the first run. I've learned a few things, but isn't that how it should be? I will do better in the future!
I tell you whut, I'm not touching any knives tonight. It'll be tomorrow before I even think about getting them ready to ship to the buyers. First I have a date with a sharp needle for a blood glucose check at the doctor's office in the morning. Let's hope it's nothing worth writing about!
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2 comments:
The cellulitis wouldn't be caused by the knife cuts. It is from a combination of infection and poor circulation in the legs. If you ask him, his legs have probably been uncomfortable for days or weeks, and it finally got to be too much for him. Have him talk to his doctor about getting some compression stockings, that will help with the circulation. Walgreens carries Futuro brand in 10-20mmHg compression (20 at the ankles graduated down to 10 in the upper leg). For a higer compression, try ameswalker.com. Mine are Sigvaris 863 30-40 calf highs and I love them!
You are right, Fladnag. I was just worried that he might have gotten a strep infection in the cut that went systemic. He's doing some better now. It seems the antibiotics are starting to take hold. At least his fever is starting to come down. My mom had this too. I remember the stockings so very well. And you are right -- I know he has had some previous discomfort in his legs. He has to stand up most of the day in his shop and that's not a good thing. Thanks for reminding me about the support stockings though! I suspect they may try to get some on him while he's in the hospital.
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