Get on outta here gout....

I am still in pain and the meds prescribed for the condition of my toe have torn my stomach up. I feel like there is a little man in my stomach throwing darts. Ow- ouch. My stomach hurts. So I am off the meds. And sending Will to the store for cherries. An old remedy that supposedly works well for gout. Still assuming gout is what I have.

I also read to put 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 8 oz. of water and drink that several times a day. So I will give that a try. I'm desparate to get this toe better.

I don't even care that I have a horrible home pedicure and toe hair. I just want y'all to look at that swelling and feel my pain. This dang thang has stopped me in my tracks. I can hardly walk across the house....much less hit Target or TJ Maxx. Do you know how depressing that is?

I promise to blog about something else when I get in a better mood and the pain subsides. Until then, kiss your toes and don't take them for granted. One bad toe can bring a girl down.

Here's your chance to practice without a license...

The skinniest thing on my body is the toe next to my big toe. Well, my eyelashes are skinnier, but next to those, it's the toes. So when my toe started hurting...more like nagging... on Monday and got worse on Tuesday, I noticed it was swollen. And red. And while it hurt, it wasn't unbearable enough to keep me home. But by last night, it was really hurting and I have decided/self-diagnosed it is gout.



I just spent the morning at the doctor's office and he sent me for blood work and an x-ray. He says it could be gout, but it could also be a bug bite. You would think I would remember getting bit by a bug but I don't. But he threw that one out there.



I've noticed when you tell a doctor what you think it is, they have to act like "maybe, but maybe not..." You know they hate Web, M.D. and the internet in general because now all patients are self-diagnosing. But guess what? When they step out of the room and say, "I'll be right back."....they are running to their office and looking up your symptoms on the internet.





Here's the dilemma.....he prescribed a medicine for me to take for gout...and some pain pills. And then sent me for blood work and x-rays to verify it's gout. But the results won't be back for 3 days...or Monday. So, what if it's a bug bite and I have an infection? Do I get the gout medicine filled and start taking it, while a rapid infection is running through me? And if it's not gout, could it be good for me to take gout medicine? Do you think I thought of all these questions while I had the doctor in front of me? HELL, no.









Because no one likes to read a blog without pictures, I took photos of my normal toe and my swollen toe. Do not pay attention to the home pedicure. And yes, that might be hair on my toe. Maybe, maybe not. But look at my right toe and tell me what you think? What you can't see is that it hurts like the dickens. Today I am limping. And as I type this post, my toe is throbbing.

Exit now if you don't want to look at my toe.

But if you, like me, like to play doctor....I would love your diagnosis.

Both feet for your viewing....

the toe in question is the toe next to the big toe on my right foot.

I know what you're thinking....I should have been a foot model.

You weren't thinking that?

Normal, pain free toe.

Swollen, red, tender to the touch, throbbing toe.

Doctor, doctor.....Give me the news!

4000 Trips Up and Down the Ladder Later

The master bedroom/bathroom redo is done. It was the major project on my summer to-do list and thank goodness, it's over. I hurt all over and the house is a wreck. But the room is finished!

If you visit here often, this is where I left you on Monday....

BEFORE

AFTER



This is your friendly reminder to click on photos to enlarge for detail. Some pictures are taken with a flash and others are not....those are the ones with a yellow glow about them. The ones with a flash seem to show the truer color of the new wall paint.

BEFORE

AFTER

This is called redecorating. Not to be confused with remodeling. My sister and a couple of my good friends are in the midst of remodeling and I'm not gonna lie..

I am envious.

But sometimes new paint, new bedding and a new ceiling fan will suffice. One day, I hope to gut the bathroom and remodel...

but for now here is what happened to it this week.

BEFORE

(Really this is an "after" from last summer when I rewallpapered in here and hung the 3 shutters as window treatment. But it's a "before" because I changed the window treatment and painted the ceiling...the shutters are now in the bedroom)

AFTER

Basically, I painted the walls in the bedroom, the ceilings in the bedroom and bathroom, bought new bedding and bought a new ceiling fan. I also made a curtain for the big arch window over the tub and hung a couple of old shutters on either side. While I loved the other 3 shutters in here...it was just way too dark. This room needed more light. My neighbors' kitchen sink window is right across from our bathroom window so we have to cover it somehow. And the window is just plain glass...not frosted.

See that tub? One day it will grow up and be a double shower with a bench.

And see that shower? It's going to grow up to be cabinets. Just got to get a kid out of college first.

I am going to show some more pictures of the overall project so you can see why my neck, back and feet hurt. Going up and down a ladder to do the cutting in on the ceiling is way too much for this old chick. Take my advice....call a painter. Save money somewhere else. Chuck took Friday off to help...and he was alot of help...but I still worked hard.

Pause for a short sermon: Manual labor should never be underestimated. When you hire your work out....pay for it cheerfully. Be glad you don't have to do it...and think of how you're doing your part to help the economy and put food on someone else's table. In all my years of decorating for people, I learned not to question the cost of labor. Anyone can find a good deal on a product....but it's the labor that you are really hiring "out." I tended to give my labor cost away and Chuck would have to preach to me about that. If you don't want to pay for the labor then do it yourself. Enough about this....I didn't hire this job "out"....I was the worker. And a cheap one at that. Free.

Back to the bathroom. This house was built in 1993 and all the fixtures are gold/brass....you know, 1993 called and they want their gold fixtures back. I just work with them and hold on to the hope that either gold/brass will come back IN....or we will remodel one day.

Close up of the colors....






Another old shutter, and an over the door hanger...for our towels. If you know me, you know that I am extremely modest. I lock the door to the bathroom before getting in that shower....because it's clear glass. The shutter and towels do a great job of covering up some of that glass. Am I the only one who feels that way?

(The cat's bowl is behind that candlestick. The dogs love the cat food and this seems to keep them away from it. )

Looking up to the top of the curtain...I hung an old mirror top above ...this came off of an old mirror that belonged to my grandmother. All the shutters are from Roundtop through the years.



This is last year's project....wall treatment and curtain that I did.

Bamboo shade from Target. Clock from Ross.

My sink ....cleaned up just for you.

His sink....and a view of the painted ceiling..same color as the bedroom walls.




Heading out of the bathroom into the bedroom.







There's the shutters that used to be over the tub. I love them in here. The throw at the end of my bed is my old comforter. It's a Ralph Lauren ...Aubisson rug print (I think) and I just took the backing and stuffing off and folded it for some color. The new bedding is from JC Penney...American Living collection. It's a comforter with a quilted top. So comfortable.

Below is a close-up of the comforter so you can see the quilting.

New ceiling fan from Lowes....you can't tell it here, but the blades are crackled paint and are the exact shade of the walls....Sherwin Williams Whole Wheat. The ceiling is SW Contented....a muted blue-green that most would call a Robin's Egg blue...or Tiffany Box Blue.

This is the wall opposite of the bed with the MANdatory television.

This is my side of the bed....and I'm fixing to get in here and go to sleep. Ahhhh. Paint fumes and a new, quiet ceiling fan. Life is good. Thanks Chuck.