I have been keeping this on Twitter, but now I will tell you all: I got a bad poison ivy rash last Sunday (woke up with it on Monday morning) and I've been feeling like a troll ever since. Actually, that's not entirely true: It stopped itching so distractingly after a few days, so by Thursday I felt a lot better. The nasty-looking rash remains, however, and new tiny patches keep appearing. I don't know what to do except keep using the special soaps and creams, and my nightly sacrifice to the gods to deliver me from vegetative Satan. Last week I printed out some photos of poison ivy so I could go hunting for it around the outside of my house. Yesterday I may have found one. I pulled it out using an inside-out baggie as though I were picking up dog shit. And then I scrubbed my hands and arms like in Silkwood and burned everything I had been wearing. Well, not really, but I've done many loads of laundry. I was wearing a pair of leather sneakers when I supposedly got the first bad exposure, and I don't know how to wash them. I am considering throwing them away, which would hurt me and my thrifty nature.

I also did a bit more work on my garden plot, and I am now at full capacity. It's hard to stop! I was thinking of putting in some broccoli and eggplant, but I'd have to dig into virgin soil to get more room. I need to stop.

Random note: If you've got a small spot on your wood floor that needs cleanser, don't use Pledge, unless you'd like to turn that section of floor into an ultra-slippery skating rink. In fact, it would be better to not make the mess in the first place, though that would require going back in time and deciding that after midnight and a couple of drinks isn't the best time for cutting your cat's rear claws. I never thought the bleeding would stop, but miraculously it did, after about ten minutes of horror and guilt...