The Squeeky Wheel Gets the Oil

Reed was complaining, so I guess I'll try to start blogging again (see the comments on my last post.) I suppose the main reason I stopped blogging was because I joined Facebook, but since most of you who may read this aren't on Facebook, I guess it makes sense to keep this up, too.

Ahem.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of canning. It has become sort of my hobby this summer to take produce from various places (the farmer's market, my parent's raspberries, our garden) and figure out different ways to preserve/prepare them. In general, this has been very rewarding (although I honestly have no idea what we will do with all of this jam--PB&J every day for the next year, kids!) However, I did have a canning related injury (does that make it a real hobby if I get hurt doing it, guys?)

On Saturday night, I was making marmalade. Usually, I just use my pressure cooker as a big pot because I just got it and I havn't figured out how to close the lid yet. Well, finally on Saturday, we discovered we had been turning the lid the wrong way (duh) so when I put the marmalade in to process, I closed it, thinking that then the water wouldn't boil over like it has been doing, and also thinking that if I opened the valve up all the way it might still just be a giant pot. Well, after a few minutes, it started whistling like a tea kettle. This made me very nervous. The pressure cooker is about 50 years old and I had visions of the whole thing exploding and sending shrapnel into me and my family and my (nearly finished!) remodled kitchen. So I asked Dusty what I should do (not smart--asking advice from another person who has no clue whatsoever) and we decided to take the lid off. Also, not smart. Very not smart. By releasing the pressure, the water instantly vaporized and created a mini expolsion. Fortunately (or, unfortunately) I was the only one who got drenched.

I screamed for the kids to get out of the kitchen and ripped off my pants (well, step-kids seeing their step-mom undressing---AWKWARD!!!) Anyway, I ran to the shower and started running cold water onto my knee, which was bright red. As long as I ran water on it, it felt okay, though not cold, which you might expect since only the cold tap was on. So, I thought it would be just fine. I stopped the water and patted my leg dry, put on a short (for me) skirt, and went out to deal with the marmalade. And then, it started. Pain. Severe pain. Needles, burning, ouch. So I ran back to the shower and started drenching it some more, but that was the point that we decided that maybe I should see a doctor. Going to the local emergency room is idiotic unless you are on death's door. They won't see you for hours. Fortunately, it was only 7:30 PM so the local urgent care clinic was open. They were really great. They took me streight back, and gave me some shots--pain killer, and anti-inflammatory. They waited a little while for the pain killer to kick in (it didn't) then put some silvadine (the best burn cream in the universe) on it and gave me another shot.

I came home, and gradually the drugs began to kick in. The pain went away. In my leg, that is. I got a horrible stomach ache, but I fell asleep quickly so it didn't matter too much.

Sunday, I just took Vikadin and stayed in bed.

Today, I feel pretty great. It is 85% better. It still hurts after a lot of activity, but mostly I feel fine, if a bit dumb--we learned about pressure cookers in Chemistry this summer, and looking back I know that it was idiotic to take the lid off. But, as my Mother-in-Law said, "Well, you'll never do that again!"