Back to our regularly scheduled blogging... not!

OK, this is weird. Every Sunday, I try to work a little bit in the yard, trimming things, pulling weeds, whatever. Why Sunday? Monday is trash day, and it's just nice to move the clippings right to the pile of trash.

So last week, there were a few out of control Chaste Trees that needed serious attention. If you've ever been around a Chaste Tree, you know they smell like... well, they stink. It's a miserable job, as soon as I finish trimming those, I usually run inside and take a shower to get rid of the smell.



But this time, I kept trimming and plucking - a couple of palms, a dead yucca, even the lantana that had taken over. I finally made it to the shower, and noticed a couple of red welts, vaguely remembering the fight I got into with the palm tree thorns.

Oh well, these legs are never going to be used in a swimsuit ad, trust me. Just a couple more scratches to look at.



By the next morning, one of the welts had turned into a full blown something - volcano is the first word that comes to mind. I won't sicken you by putting links to pictures of similar bites, but suffice it to say that after some medical consultation, we've figured out that I was bitten by a brown recluse spider.



Now we've had some weird things turn up at our place ... we found this swimming in the pool.





And this...



I'll get back to posting about the Arched Door Project in a day or two, as soon as the Benadryl stupor wears off. Meanwhile, just be glad I didn't include any pictures of my bite.