Did I ever tell you how much I hate bugs and spiders?

I woke up yesterday thinking it would be an easy day. Knock off some easy cafe type curtains, cut a rug to fit the bathroom, get rid of the weeds overtaking the front yard, make a nice dinner and then kick back and wait for the Bishop to call. (I was released from my calling and told to expect a call on Thursday night)

The curtains. What should have taken no more than an EASY hour took almost the entire day. It was just one goof-up or small snag after another. Things like the screws just not wanting to stay put in the wall. Huh? How does stuff like that happen? Where is #4 when I need him? lol. #4, since he was able to hold a screw driver has had the ability to fix pretty much anything. He's a genius (seriously), and my right hand man when I need something tricky done. Bada bing and it's a done deal.

So about 3:00 I decide to scrap the bathroom rug for the weeds, which are haunting me. #5 and her "non-boyfriend" (yeah right!) dig right in with me and in an amazingly short time we are finished. Hey we had to remove a literal ton of ornamental rocks and small boulders to get to the weeds growing between them and then replace them to their spots. Weed whacker, hula hoe and plain muscle were the tools of choice. After about 2 hours the yard was filled with 5 huge piles of weeds and debris from the wind! #4 shows up and begins to help as well.

With the small bed in front of the porch cleaned to perfection I think I should go ahead and re-plant some flowers. For me this means: Sunflowers and alyssum. I am taking a chance on some morning glories and nasturtiums, but I don't hold my breath. I am like Charles Manson to the botany world. My sad little Charlie Brown wysteria is hanging on for dear life, so I just keep praising her and hoping for a miracle. And thinking I might be able to pull it off, I got three Yucca plants for in the corner.

I am down on my hands and knees, very happy at seeing the dirt turn easily and being able to plant some more seeds, and to add some small alyssum sprouts in between the rocks. Everything is going fine. Until I reach for another pod of flowers. My right hand is immobile and stiff and extremely weak and I cannot life even the tiniest of plants without excruciating pain! YEOWWWIE! So I look at my hand and the outside edge of palm, pinky side, is blown out about an inch and the skin is so tight that it has turned completely white. My pinky finger is straightened tight and stiff and cannot move at all. Hummm. I search for a bite or puncture, any wound really. Nothing. Weird. O.k. Well, something is wrong. So I ask #4 to finish planting the flowers taken from the packaging (I don't want to waste the $2.00!!!). He sees my hand and says, "Go call dad, I will take you down to the doctors". (Which for us, is about an hour drive) I tell him o.k. and go inside to tell the other kids and get the dirt off of my hands.

I call Thor and he is almost home, so we drive to meet him and Thor and I head down to the doc's. Along the way, my arm is beginning to ache and stiffen and pretty soon the pain is at my elbow and beyond. Still no sign of why. Thor calls the ER nurse at the hospital. Hands the phone to me and we go through all the pertinent info; she'll call me right back. The call comes back, this time with a Dr. on the line who asks our ETA. About 8 minutes. "I can tell by your descriptions and voice that you are going into neurological dysfunction. If you begin to shake, tremor, or lose speech, have your husband pull over and call for an ambulance." "O.k." I am having tremors in my hands and my tongue is getting thick. But for now I think the car can get us there faster than waiting for an ambulance, and really, other then the ache and stiffness, I feel o.k. I can still breathe and talk, so I am not too concerned.

I get into the ER and the evaluation takes place. "Go down the hall, turn right on the rug, and wait in ER#2." What she should have said was: "Go down the hall, turn right on the rug and wait in ER#2 for about 3 hours until everything goes away. The nurse will call you at that point and then we'll have you sit up in a very uncomfortable exam table for another 45 minutes and then a dr. will exam you, give you a non diagnosis and then have you sit for another 45 minutes while they write you a prescription you will probably never even fill."

What the dr. said was that it wasn't a recluse bite, no ulcerated skin, etc. And that the symptoms were exactly the same as a black widow bite, but concentrated to the right hand/arm only so they are ruling that out as well. I was to go home and come back if the rest of my body began to ache in the same manner as the arm and hand.

This morning the hand has almost gone back to normal size and has an odd reddish bruise(?) on the side where the pain is. Pinky is still stiff, but movable - jerky, kind of- and the stiffness in the arm is still there to a point. It looks more like I was stepped on by a horse than bit by a spider.

All's well that ends well and I am headed outside to finish the flower bed. Perhaps I was only licked by a spider.