3.07.2022 OUCH!!

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 Sunday 3rd 60F, full cloud cover but very uneven. Showers, or even thunder storms possible. The weather radar shows I am on the SE edge of a long strip of rain heading north east. Up at 6am. The blackbirds are fighting over the countless cherries on the huge trees. It is rather comical to watch. Because the trees are very floppy. They sway up and down whenever a bird lands. It seems to be calm at the moment.

 07.00 Time for a walk.day of contrasts. Bright patches on the fields with a leaden sky for a backdrop. I disturbed a female kestrel. Heard lots of birdsong. Saw a deer pretending to be invisible in the corner of a field. Just the slightest hint of raindrops as I returned home.  After three quarters of an hour walking to the lanes and back. 

09.30. I had returned to the log splitting and managed several rounds. Including the largest. Then I took a mighty swing at a last, wedge shaped piece.

 It shot straight at my shin and made two large, ragged holes! The lower one is far worse and was strangely white at first. Very odd! Perhaps the impact pushed the blood out. Then the blood returned. Though not a lot.

 I don't think anything is broken but it hurts quite a lot. It is beginning to sting. I have flushed the wounds [hopefully] clean with the shower head. Warm first and then cold.

  I have absolutely no desire to drive twenty miles to Odense A&E. Or worse, wait for hours. I'll bind up the wounds and try my luck with the nurse at the doctor's surgery tomorrow morning. Except that the council visitor is coming at 10.30. The surgery opens at 8.00. I had better get there early! 

 A couple of Kleenex should keep the wounds clean while I wrap some bandages around them. Or not. The tissue paper will probably stick to the wounds.

 I have no idea where I put the medical stuff. Or even if we have any gauze. I'd better have a search. I found some cotton rounds [rondella] and put those directly over the wounds. Then wrapped bandages around to keep light pressure on the wounds. Not much blood at all. 

 I took a couple of paracetamol too. My leg is aching now. How am I supposed to shower? Remove the bandages and shower normally? Then dress the wounds again afterwards.

10.45  There is an emergency health service in Assens at the weekends. I just tried the number for advice. Waiting times for the telephone were in the region of 25 minutes.

After lunch I spent some time in the observatory imaging the sun. It clouded over and eventually began to rain. No point in continuing.

 
 15.30 68F. I won't have much time in the morning before my visitor arrives. So I decided to do some tidying and vacuumed the floors upstairs and down. My leg is hardly hurting now. Which probably means it will fall off in a week or two. I can continue to blow my own trumpet... but how will I play the bass drum in my one man band? Boom-tiss!

 17.30 Chicken curry for dinner: 17.15 DIY Frozen chick breast still frozen. It is a good idea I looked up defrosting chicken! I originally put it out [only briefly] in the greenhouse to defrost at 80F. Bad idea! I am now using the cold water bath method. With a water change every half hour. The chicken piece is double wrapped in plastic food bags and weighed down in a bowl of cold water. 

 It is supposed to take about an hour depending on the size of the chicken. I shall cut it up into small pieces and fry it well for at least half an hour. Poultry is a major source of Salmonella poisoning. Cross contamination of hands, utensils and surfaces is a serious issue. I'm glad I did my homework! I hadn't a clue until now. 

19.00. 69F. Thunder with rain.  The chicken isn't thawed yet. Soft one side. Hard the other. It ought o be thawed by now. 

 19.15. I cut the chicken into tiny pieces with serrated kitchen scissors. Then into a frying pan with a little oil. Glass lid over and kept it sizzling gently for half an hour while the rice cooked. It was fine. I made the beginner's mistake of putting the curry in the dish before the rice. I usually mix it up together anyway. Next time I must remember to rinse the rice too.

 

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