Bits and Pieces

The sirocco winds finally stopped yesterday morning, but then the air went muggy-hot. Walking the dogs and grocery shopping was like slogging through layers of damp, invisible gauze.

After lunch I finished a few more chores, then made myself a large glass of sun tea and sat down to read my new book; a book that I won after entering a random drawing over at Paperback Writer. Lynn wrote a very intriguing review of two books (1 & 2 in a new series), which take place in Savannah--a place she loves and I have always wanted to visit, so I was totally excited to be able to win and read both stories.  I got about halfway though the first one ...and am possibly revising my plan to put Savannah on my bucket list.

Okay, just kidding.  Sort of.  There's lots of weird southern stuff going on: Gullah magic and voodoo and creepy crawly mysteries and gory grimness.  In other words, it's a great, atmospheric read, though once it got late in the evening and my house began its usual shifting and creaking as the temp dropped, well, I had to quit reading.  Hey, I live on a mountain, it's pitch dark, no street lights. On a good night I hear weird noises, so freaking myself out is easy enough without reading into the wee hours about the underbelly of Savannah.

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I walked the boys early again this morning, then watered the plants and did some gardening before it got too hot.  One of my geraniums looked so gorgeous, I couldn't resist taking this photo...

Oh, and just after I got up today, I took a great shot of a hawk in the backyard bird bath. It's actually a crap picture because I had to crouch behind the bed and shoot through the screen, but even so, it was a really cool thing to see just a few feet beyond my bedroom window.  Click here to see it...

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The other day whilst ordering some stuff at the Mall of the World (Amazon), I stumbled across a product for joint inflammation, like tennis elbow, carpel tunnel, painful knees and fingers, and other achy bits.

I have a gnarly knuckle on my right hand that will probably bother me a lot when I get old. In fact, it's already bothering me enough that I decide to order a little jar of this stuff just to see what it's all about.

I spend a bit of time reading many of the reviews--there were almost 3K--and then discover this cream is a world-wide best seller.  (Some days I wonder if I live under a rock...or maybe on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere).

The jar arrives yesterday.  I have used it as instructed.  It smells wonderful, is creamy and absorbs well.  And holy crap, in just two days my knuckle is more flexible and less sore. Truly.

I can't quite believe my finger already feels better.  I wonder how it can work, why it works, will it keep working, am I imagining this sudden improvement??

But when I make a fist and my knuckle doesn't hurt, my finger really doesn't care what my head thinks...

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