Look, if you’re going to read this blog you’re going to have to put up with a leaf post every fall. It’s what I do. Though I must admit, I haven’t raked any of them this year. Not one. I’ve never been so happy to work overtime while my husband had a week off of work.

These two trees – oh, these trees – have been a nightmare for us. Sure, they’re beautiful and provide us with ample shade in the summer, but come fall? We are buried in their waste. You can get an idea of how tall the silver maple is by seeing it next to the garage. I couldn’t even get the top of the tree in the picture.

These are the 15 bags and trash cans my husband filled on Sunday; the fourth straight week of doing so.

Four days later our yard looks like this.

Does anybody want some firewood? If you have a chainsaw and a crane it’s yours.

Follow

Email

Well, it turns out there isn’t any trapping. Just killing and general shooing-away. But, this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

Follow

Email

Ohio, and particularly MY house is being infested with stink bugs. Each afternoon, I become a prisoner in my own home because there are swarms of them outside. They are everywhere and I’m tired of it. It is SO on.

In the past four hours, I’ve killed about 100 with the hot, soapy water technique. I’ll share the results of the towel and trap tomorrow. One flew in my hair, so I’m not going back out there tonight other than to set the trap. *shudder*

Follow

Email

I knew I had screwed something up the second it happened.

I placed my elbow onto my desk last week and felt a shooting pain from mid-arm to my fingertips. Actually, it was more like I had shocked myself; not so much painful as much as an electrical sensation akin to touching a live current. We live in an old house. That happens frequently.

By the next morning, my ring finger and pinkie were numb, but I worked through it for a few days. After near-complete keyboard rest on Saturday, it was even worse on Sunday.

The sensation is now up my arm, three fingers are numb and my palm feels like it’s waking up after a long rest. When I bend my left elbow I feel a jolt of nerve something that nearly brings me to my knees. It’s like hitting your funny bone times infinity. When I reached back to wash my hair this morning, I felt like there was a toaster in the shower with me.

Pretend you don’t see the stack of papers, the discarded mouse battery, discarded mouse, the book I still haven’t finished, the seed packets, or the dental floss from the piece of apple lodged in my son’s teeth last week. This is about my arm!

It hurts mostly when I bend it or place it on a hard surface, so I’m doing a lot of standing while I type. After a visit to Urgent Care, an anti-inflammatory prescription, some grocery store wrist and elbow braces, and neck pillow under my forearm, this is what I look like. I’m moving a lot like stiff-armed Frankenstein; spilling water, knocking over vases, basically monstrous. So I have that going for me.

This is Cubital Tunnel Syndrome and it’s not pretty. Especially not a week before the biggest event of my work year. But, then again, that’s how I roll.

Follow

Email