garden98011's Blog

Tomorrow is Compost Day
Mar 17, 2011 | 6:34 PM PST

or so I thought…..I had a truck scheduled to blow in ten yards of beautiful black compost tomorrow afternoon.  I kept today & tomorrow completely open knowing full well I would be in the garden getting everything ready – rain or shine.  When I woke up this morning the sun was out and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. 

One of my least favorite things to do in the garden is trimming the hedges & shrubs.   I decided to trim first so I could enjoy the majority of the day/evening doing the fun stuff.  ….Anyway, long story short, you know when you do something and immediately say to yourself “Oh no, that’s not good.    I can’t believe I just did that.  Reallllllllly stupid, stupid, stupid”  Well, that’s what I have been saying for several hours now.  You see, I was stupid enough to use my left hand to pull some branches back while I came from underneath with the stinkin electric trimmers….Yep, almost cut off my left thumb.   Just another reminder of how fast YOUR plans can change. 

My DH will be attending a men’s retreat with others from our church this weekend, DD will be away house-sitting …boy was I going to enjoy the garden and a list of other things which did not include cooking for others!!!  Now, I have to keep my left hand elevated for three days…grrrrrr…no tidy garden today, no compost tomorrow, house will not get cleaned tomorrow morning, no lifting weights,  no hike on Saturday, have to spend time w/a hand surgeon next week.  On the bright side: I did not cut the thing off!!! The nerve damage kept me from feeling the local anesthetic and I have no pain(really hard to make nerve damage a positive!), instead of a hike w/my friend on Saturday we will have lunch then hit Christianson’s Nursery in Mt Vernon (bonus), I will have time to read, I can type almost as fast w/one hand, I knew the nurse, her daughter graduated with my youngest daughter, the doctor had taken care of my late husband multiple times and we had an interesting conversation about ALS & MS research, I am insured, I know how to remove sutures, my slip up might serve as a reminder for others,  I realize this is just a blip in my day. 

The experience showed me what a sweet kid my daughter’s new boyfriend is; he was helping me outside when it happened.  He was a jewel.  He was so helpful-even tied my shoes & offered to drive me to the ER (I drove myself.  He initially wanted to call 911!)  

In closing, the giddy excitement for spring garden clean up is quickly replaced by nausea once you see something bloody & mangled on your body....so please be careful when you are using your garden tools!!!!  Wear work gloves.....I did not ...stupid stupid stupid. 

It’s starting to rain again, tomorrow might not be the best day for compost anyway…..it all works out ;)

~Andrea