Funny thing about pain....

There are times that I can push past the pain. When I was dragging my laundry to the laundry room and walking back to my apartment, I had face "zappers" of electric shocks across my right cheek and upper jaw. Once I got preoccupied with hanging my tops, putting clothes in the dryer, then running back to check the air mattress, I didn't experience any zappers.

Now I think I'm just too tired to care...but I truly wonder if I can push past my pain when something else has my compete attention. I'm going to try and think about that over the next few days.

(In all honesty, I possible could have caused the zappers myself. Before starting laundry was grocery shopping, and when I tried to sling my purse across my shoulder, the strap whipped across my right cheek. It wasn't too hard, but it felt as if I was whipped with a live electrical wire. It's possible that the zappers had to run their course until the insult recovered.)

Okay, bedtime!

Well, I was somewhat productive...

Okay, I did get laundry done, but not the ironing. I did get the grocery shopping done (and I manage to get everything on my list). The last double batch of peanut butter and jelly cookies are in the oven (for another three minutes).

Tonight, I also double checked to see if my inflatable mattress was in working order (along with the pump). Magnum did not like the pump, but was scared enough to not attack it. But he complains very loudly about it. I feel like such a yuppy for taking an inflatable mattress camping. But with the arthritis in my lower back, this is the compromise I was able to make with my doctors.

I didn't get any of the foil packages started, but can do that tomorrow. I'll do whatever ironing I need to do (and maybe more in the morning). That just leaves dinner...does a wine cooler count?

About time!

In case you missed the news this winter, we had a lot of rain in Arizona the early part of the year. Which we desperately needed - but not in the sudden quantities we did get. The extra rain caused a proliferation of brittlebush, California (or Mexican) poppies, lupines, and other wildflowers and bushes.

There's only two problems with this scenario: one, allergy season was terrible and two, after the winter rains, it doesn't rain again until July. A lack of a sustaining source of water, and intense heat cause all those bushes and plants shrivel up and become the fuel for a terrible wildfire. As of today, it's is illegal in most of Arizona to smoke in a state park unless you're in your car or have cleared a three foot radius around you (I don't know about the north rim part of the state).

But that's not enough to stop wildfires. When I'm on the road, I see people all the time toss out a cigarette butt out the window when they're done smoking. While I realize that people have the right to smoke, that does NOT give them the right to start a wildfire. The sad thing is that tossing a butt out the window does not immediately spark a fire, so by the time the fire is visible, they're long gone and didn't give it a second thought. I bet they would if they did that a mile from home, only to have the fire spread and burn their house down.

This Memorial weekend, officers will be on the lookout for speeders, drunk drivers, and people tossing butts out the window. The article brings up a couple of good points including that fact that even if the cigarette butt doesn't start a fire, it takes forever to decompose, causing potential illness to any poor animal that picks it up.

All good things must come to an end?

I'm seriously bummed about how close the Suns came to winning Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals only to come up a little short. Maybe it's time for some chai to lift my spirits...

I'm going camping for Memorial weekend. I'm hoping that Friday after I finish what needs to be done at the lab, I can get ready to go. Every time I woke up last night, a random thought popped into my head like "don't forget to get garlic for the meat" or "don't forget your swim suit". I suppose that on top of everything I have to worry about, I'm nervous about meeting someone when I get there. He's the best friend of my best friends spouse. I get the impression that they think we'll hit it off or something. Although very encourged that he asked if I'm still coming, I've never been "setup" before. He sounds like a nice enough person, and I'll be arriving in my own car, so if things are REALLY bad, I can hit the road. I trust my best friend enough not to do that to me.....I think....

Let's see, tonight I must:
Do laundry (and subsquent ironing)
Go to the grocery store (AGAIN) and try and remember what was on my list (which is at home)
Prepare some sort of gluten-free dinner
Start preparing foil packages of camp food
Make of batch of peanut butter and jelly cookies for the trip

At least I learned a valuable lesson this AM: double wrap the foil package, then place in Ziploc bag. Once a signficant amount of ice melts in the cooler, the water has to go somewhere. I'm going to try and put the cooler in the backseat to slightly reduce the amount of melting on the trip.

Ah well, more later I guess. I have to track down someone from animal care.