We had to do a few personal chores today, not the least of which was to get Verna’s sutures removed. After that, I took my wheels to the shop for maintenance, so while we were waiting for the work to be finished, we jumped in Verna’s convertible and went over the Palos Verdes Peninsula to look at the waves and feel the gusting winds blowing at near gale force. She got this nice shot of the Point Vicente Lighthouse with Santa Catalina Island in the distance. Whitecaps and choppy seas can be seen in the Catalina Channel. Click the picture for larger view.
California
Verna’s Boo Boo — Update
We received an email from Coconut Commando who is currently enjoying an extended, (extended again) all inclusive vacation package to Iraq. CC responded to the article Verna’s Boo Boo with this advice for gardening apparel when working around thorny vegetation:
I’ve had the same experience with the same palm type as well as Sagal Palms and Elephant Grass. If you’re dealing with these, a denim jacket plus a BDU top seems to work enough to stop the ripping of flesh but you still get the puncture. Do they know Verna by her first name at the ER?
Actually, Verna and another woman needed sutures that day. The nurses didn’t refer to them by their names but as “palm tree” and “dog bite,” respectively. That made us laugh.
The stitches come out tomorrow.
Update: Latest healing progress – before and after stitches (don’t look if stitches creep you out).
Pink Hydrangea
We had a busy weekend; yesterday was the gun show and today we went to the firing range. After shooting and before cleaning the guns, we went to the garden shop for some spring flowers for the garden. I took this closeup of a nice pink hydrangea in the store. Click on the image for a larger view.
After cleaning the guns, we enjoyed a nice baked chicken dinner with all the trimmins’. The nice thing about a meal like that is you can prepare everything early in the day and let it cook in a medium-low oven.
Verna’s Boo Boo
Verna wanted to make sure that people are warned about the potential danger of the Mexican Fan Palm Tree’s thorns. Last Saturday, she brushed past a pruned frond stem and ripped her forearm. There was obviously not going to be a home-remedy first-aid resolution to the injury, so we went to the emergency room to get some help. They stitched it up and sent us home several hours later.
A full-sized view of the offending frond stub and photos of all the gory details appear below when you click on “Continue reading . . .” — Please don’t look if blood and stitches are going to creep you out.
Rolling Thunder
Rolling Thunder showed up at the National Mall last Saturday in Washington DC along with Veterans and Patriots at the “Gathering of Eagles.” They were there in a show of patriotic pride as a counter to the anti-war demonstration planned by the far-left. Rolling Thunder is also the organization that protects fallen soldiers’ families and friends when these crazy anti-war people decide to demonstrate at a funeral.
Good for the Rolling Thunder. I sure do like their Rolling Thunder Special Edition Smith & Wesson .45 caliber ACP Pistol . . .
Click on the gun for the really big image.
Rolling Thunder‘s major function is to publicize the POW-MIA issue. To educate the public of the fact that many American prisoners of war were left behind after all past wars. To help correct the past and to protect the future veterans from being left behind should they become prisoners of war – missing in action. We are committed to helping American veterans from all wars.
Cosmos
These pretty “Cosmos bipinnatus” flowers are growing in a flower pot on our patio. Sometimes called Mexican Asters, cosmos were grown by Spanish priests in their mission gardens in Mexico. The evenly placed petals led them to christen the flower “Cosmos,” the Greek word for harmony or ordered universe. Cosmos, like many of our warm weather annuals such as marigolds, originated in Mexico and South America. Click the image for a larger view.
