We are making progress on our patio!!! See?? The first layer of sand has been laid down, and the drainage ditch is lined with rocks. Now just add a bit more sand, throw some pavers down, and voila! Or something like that.
And so far, only one minor casualty... my arm. I'm not sure what it is about me and bug bites (any kind of bug bite, spider, mosquito...doesn't matter), but my body does NOT respond well. After I get a bug bite, it swells up and turns red immediately, and lasts for at least 2 days, but more likely for an entire week, if not longer. Sometimes they swell up to the size of a golf ball, sometimes double that. And of course, itch like craaaaaazy.
Well, last night, I purposely put on pants and a sweatshirt while outside (I already have 4 bites on my legs and basically my legs look awkwardly lumpy from the swelling), and sure enough, I got bit on the HAND. Ok great, whatever, no big deal. Except for then it felt like I was getting bit on the wrist, and then the forearm, and so on and so on. So I went inside, took off my sweatshirt, and there was a red swollen bump right between my thumb and index finger, and the redness had spread in a blotchy line almost all the way up to my shoulder. It started to fade right before it reached my armpit. Now this was something new. So of course, what did I do? I googled it. Which was maybe not the best idea, because here's what I found. Basically most things said either (1) poison or (2) severe allergic reaction... the majority said poison that was apparently spreading up the vein in my arm and going to my heart. Danger. Get to ER. Must have IV antibiotics.
So what did I do? Throw an ice pack on my entire arm, and wait it out. I figured, the redness hadn't gone all they way to my armpit, so maybe it would stop there and then just... go away? And guess what... I was right! I did not die from bug poisons of some sort, the redness has *mostly gone away, and I'm never googling a medical symptom again. Basically my body just has some freakish reactions to bug bites, and that's that. So then I just waited, and of course this morning, my hand is all red, swollen, and painful, which is pretty typical for me, and there is no redness up my arm, so I think I escaped the poison. :) Ohh but, in one of my pregnancy books last night, I read that pregnant women are twice as likely to get bit by mosquitos (might explain why I have 5 bites now and Mark has none, when we were outside in the same place for the same amount of time).
More pictures of the patio to come as the work progresses... although, the pavers haven't actually been delivered yet, so it's pretty tough to really see what it will look like when finished, but all in good time.
Well, last night, I purposely put on pants and a sweatshirt while outside (I already have 4 bites on my legs and basically my legs look awkwardly lumpy from the swelling), and sure enough, I got bit on the HAND. Ok great, whatever, no big deal. Except for then it felt like I was getting bit on the wrist, and then the forearm, and so on and so on. So I went inside, took off my sweatshirt, and there was a red swollen bump right between my thumb and index finger, and the redness had spread in a blotchy line almost all the way up to my shoulder. It started to fade right before it reached my armpit. Now this was something new. So of course, what did I do? I googled it. Which was maybe not the best idea, because here's what I found. Basically most things said either (1) poison or (2) severe allergic reaction... the majority said poison that was apparently spreading up the vein in my arm and going to my heart. Danger. Get to ER. Must have IV antibiotics.
So what did I do? Throw an ice pack on my entire arm, and wait it out. I figured, the redness hadn't gone all they way to my armpit, so maybe it would stop there and then just... go away? And guess what... I was right! I did not die from bug poisons of some sort, the redness has *mostly gone away, and I'm never googling a medical symptom again. Basically my body just has some freakish reactions to bug bites, and that's that. So then I just waited, and of course this morning, my hand is all red, swollen, and painful, which is pretty typical for me, and there is no redness up my arm, so I think I escaped the poison. :) Ohh but, in one of my pregnancy books last night, I read that pregnant women are twice as likely to get bit by mosquitos (might explain why I have 5 bites now and Mark has none, when we were outside in the same place for the same amount of time).
More pictures of the patio to come as the work progresses... although, the pavers haven't actually been delivered yet, so it's pretty tough to really see what it will look like when finished, but all in good time.
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