Burned

I am soooo dumb. And soooo sunburned. Why do I forget the misery of sunburn from one May to the next? You would think I would know better by now. For a few years, I did pretty well, building my sun tolerance a little at a time without burning. So I got overconfident, I guess. And here I am, crispy-fried.

Don't get me wrong, I think the sun is very healthy! I do not believe that we should wear sunblock all the time, especially since sunscreen is full of very harmful chemicals. Sun exposure is good for you-- in moderation. It's the very best way to get our vitamin D (forget vitamin D milk)-- cod liver oil is only a second choice for us northerners. But I love the sun so much that I forget to avoid a burn which is definitely not healthy... My usual rule is to allow a half hour or so at one time in the middle of the day (most days at home, I'm in and out, so I don't have a problem with burning), and then put on sun block only for prolonged exposure. And today, I had it in my purse! Duh! But in the joy of soaking up the glorious sunshine and the absorption of auction fever, I forgot. to put. it on. And now, I pay. Ouch.

Anyway, we went to the auction/flea market/farmers market that they have every Saturday in a near-by town. Someone told me they had plants there, and I'm in the market for some fruit trees and berry bushes. And sure enough, I got myself a lovely Dappled Japanese Willow (okay, so it's not fruit. But it was 8 bucks! And the bidding was so much fun!) and a cherry tree ($13, no idea what kind, also much fun bidding).

Also, I was very excited to get some new old wicker furniture for my porch. Nathan threw my old old stuff that someone had given me on the burn pile after my poor father-in-law landed on his buhind while sitting on the loveseat. It has been very much falling apart, but I was loath to part with it. I live on my porch in the summer. So we got a loveseat, table and two chairs for 5 smackeroos. Okay, so the leg is broken on the loveseat and (tell Nathan's Dad not to sit on that one, either!) and the seat on one of the chairs has a small hole, but they're still way better than the stuff I had. I think I can patch them up and make them usable. Also, I will probably try some spray paint to see if I can seal them up and get them to last a leeetle bit longer than they might otherwise last.

So... mission accomplished, I guess. We also met up with some friends there, so we had good company while waiting for my thngs to come up. My friend, S, and I walked around and looked at the animals for sale. I very nearly came home with turkey chicks, ducklings, guinea hens and a puppy. I have to be very careful with myself about those kind of things...

Now I'm off to find some more aloe with which to slather myself...