Goodbye, Mary...

Mary Travers died today. Mary was part of the 60's singing group, 'Peter, Paul & Mary'. Their album was the first one I remember singing along with as a kid, it actually belonged to one of my older sisters. We played it over and over...

Their music heavily influenced my singing, although I knew I could never hope to have a voice as pure and soaring as Mary's. My favorite part of her modern performances of 'Puff The Magic Dragon' was when she changed the ending chorus up a bit, making sure to call out, 'Present tense!' and instead of singing, 'lived by the sea', made it 'lives by the sea'. Like Puff, Mary will never truly die.

Thanks Mary, you are much appreciated and missed.

The Finger That Wouldn't Die...

Despite all indications that it would really, REALLY like to.

The spider bite to my left index finger has provided, if nothing else, educational opportunities combined with mystery--what color will it turn next? What's that oozing from under my fingernail? Can it hurt MORE?

All these things have been mine this week, and more! Joy.

On Friday the skin on the end of my finger had formed a hard, plastic-like shell, so I soaked my finger in warm water for a bit and peeled it off. Vast improvement, and I was relieved to see pink healthy tissue beneath. Weird experience though. Now I just have to wait and see if this thing is going to let me keep my fingernail...so far the answer is leaning towards 'not on your life'.

It appears more mystery is still ahead.

I Usually LIKE Spiders...

...they're cool dudes who chill in beautiful webs and keep my garden healthy and pest-free.

I'm currently making one exception--the one who bit me on the end of my left hand index finger yesterday. I never saw him, but I know he resided in my curly willow plant, which I had to duck under a bit to get to the chicken coop (it went nuts while I was away on vacation and needs a trim). As I did, I felt some leaves brush across the top of my head, leaving behind some dead leaves. I pulled them out of my hair--I think that's when he got me.

I now have a painful, swollen, red, ANGRY-looking fingertip, which requires draining every 30 minutes. While I don't THINK it'll get worse, it's gross enough as-is. I'm on a self-imposed regimen of Prednisone, ibuprofen and antibiotics, along with alternating hot-cold soaks. N. was at first intrigued, then disgusted as she was reminded how a spider bite works on flesh--basically dissolving it into liquid so the spider can easily suck it out for it's meal.

I'm...I'm not going to think about that aspect anymore tonight, myself.