Life in the Bristolwood

I have finally reconciled myself to the place that I can talk about this.

Several weeks ago, I was in the Dollar Tree with the kids. I was just looking around and I remembered that I wanted to buy the Tylenol equivalent as I thought it might be a good idea to alternate that with the ibuprofen that I had at home.

I rarely ever take anything. I am of the mindset that when sick, it is better to let one’s system go into overdrive to rid any illness than to cover it up with meds. Having said that, when I get a head-throbbing, cannot concentrate headache, I need to take something to get rid of it. I do not have the luxury of lying down until it passes. (and frankly, lying down usually does little more than make it worse!) So, while at the Dollar Tree, I grabbed a bottle of acetaminophen and brought it home, placing it in the linen closet.

A week ago this past Sunday, one of those headaches struck. I woke up with it. After a few hours of thinking it might go away on its own with no success, I grabbed the little box out of the closet and opened the bottle, mindlessly taking one of the pretty blue caplets.

After taking the pill, i noticed I was having a terrible time trying to stay awake. I did manage and as the headache subsided, then left. I forgot all about this.

Move ahead to Tuesday. We had to run to the city, and while there, we stopped at Carly’s to drop off a dresser. I mentioned in passing that I had this annoying rash on my elbow that was driving me nuts. I also had little red pimply spots showing up on my body…mainly my extremities. Carly said she had hydro cortisone cream, but I told her that stuff never helps. She said she also had some Claritin that I might like to try as it sounded like an allergy. I thought a bit, then took one of the pills.

After taking one a day for three days, the rash finally quit appearing and by Friday, it was actually getting better.

I kept wondering what caused this rash, but couldn’t think of anything. No new detergent. No new soap. Nothing new.

It was only a couple of days ago that I thought about that acetaminophen. I grabbed the bottle out of the closet and alas! It was a PM version with a sleep aid. I told Carly about it later and she went nuts! Right away, she KNEW that it contained the same substance that Benadryl contains. Huh? I have been allergic to Benadryl for many years! And, every time I tried to take it (only twice) I ended up with a terrible rash! The dosage for Benadryl is usually 50-100 mg. The pill I took only had 25 mg. Carly scolded that I should never take “that stuff” again.

So, from now on I will try to remember to READ the label….IE, I WILL take the reading glasses out and be assured I am buying what I *think* I am buying! And, I will order a medical alert tag saying that I am allergic to Diphendydramine AND penicillin.

So, as the saying goes, “read the labels”! Might I add, “know your enemies, as well”!

You cannot stop spring from advancing! So says my lilac bush from under its heavy burden!

I think I would have turned cartwheels! I love snow for Thanksgiving or Christmas. But this…well, it is a bit hard to swallow……

I decided to wander out for a few pictures, as it seems that people living only a short distance from me have not had the pleasure of dealing with this wet, heavy snow!!! So, here goes!

This is a maple tree located about 20 feet from the front porch. I have never seen the branches hanging down so low. When we bought this property, we experienced the ice storm of 1991. The branches of trees were encased in a glaze of about 3/4″ of ice. It was terrible and we lost a great deal of treetops. This storm, I do believe we will also lose many branches, as they cannot hold this much weight. Ususally, by midday, the snow has fallen to the ground, but the wet snow just keeps on coming, and the branches are getting heavier and heavier. In spending a couple of hours outside shoveling this morning, I heard many sounds of splitting trees in the distance.

The term “whiteout” has taken on a new meaning! *Everything* is white out!!! I was going to venture further down the driveway to take a broader view of the house, but after shoveling through several inches of what felt as heavy as *stones*, my energy level was vastly diminished!It is easy to see that everything is now white!

When I awakened this morning, the trees were swaying back and forth as though the winds were gusting heavily. Praise God, they have lessened and it is rather still outside right now. We are so grateful to have received *only* about 8 inches of this snow, as we were told the potential was for amounts of 2 FEET! Considering the great effort Mark put forth to clear our driveway, I think any more than we had would have been nearly impossible to clear out with the ATV.

As I looked into the woods, it seems like I was surrounded by a sea of white!

I got to thinking about those pioneers who came to this country to settle it so many years ago. Today, with our Doppler Radar and (fairly) accurate forecasts, I cannot imagine how disheartened those folks must have been to see a day such as this. Just think….if their firewood supply was running lean, how would they have felt, wondering if they might freeze to death as they could not get out to cut? The burden of shoveling this messy snow today was greatly lightened by reading the forecast…..highs into the 50′s by Friday, and into the 60′s on Sunday!

This is looking into the woods where I photographed the deer late yesterday evening. It changed so much in just several hours!

Lastly is the lilac bush in the side yard. Poor little bush looks so forlorn as it sags under the weight of the snow.

So, if you are one of the fortunate ones who did NOT have to shovel your way out the door today, consider yourself lucky! And for those like me, well, brighter *warmer* days lie JUST ahead!