And Just Like That!

 And just like that I made up my mind that today was the day. I had a plan. I would start cutting back frost damage and weeding in the terraced garden by the pool because that is the area I see the most when I am outside doing anything-and, it totally drives me crazy when it looks like this. Of course, the millions of fallen leaves don't help but except for on walkways and drives where I can use the blower, I pretty much wait for all of them to stop falling before I tackle that. In any case, my plan was then to head over to the gardens I can see from the sunroom and do the same. It was a little cloudy and a bit humid but I was ready! Until, I wasn't!!!

I started cutting and then put my hand down on the bed so I could balance as I reached to cut some more when it happened! I got the WORST pain in my thumb-the kind of pain that sends tingles up and down your spine. I thought for sure that I had encountered a piece of glass or nail or pointy "something" but when I looked at my finger, I saw nothing. And then I realized that it felt more like a sting. And so I grabbed a tool and dug a bit and there he was-a large, nasty yellow jacket. In all of my many years of gardening, I have NEVER encountered a nest below the ground. I think I knew that they could do this but I never changed my games plans because I had never seen one.

I am a pretty tough cookie and usually I shake things like this off pretty quickly. I have been stung before and it hurts for a bit but I get over it and so, that is what I thought I would do this time. Since it still really hurt a lot, I did go in and wash it and put on some Neosporin and back out I went. But, it still hurt so much that I was having trouble using that finger to hold anything or grab at weeds and so, almost as quickly as it started, it has stopped. And I am not at all happy-with myself for putting my hand down where I did and definitely not with that yellow jacket!

I had such plans for the day but they are now altered as I try to decide what I will be able to accomplish as my thumb continues to throb and swell. And so, let's take a look at the family room and then I'll catch you up on another little-very little-project.

I still love this sequined shamrock that the kids and I made a few years back.

And then a few tweaks I've done since I took the initial pictures. I showed you this addition of the gold tray before.

Daughter #2 always likes to "feed" my holiday obsession so she brought me this pillow the last time she was here. I wasn't sure where it would land until I realized that I didn't really have a place for my small St. Pat's pillow either. So, with this on one end...

and then my small pillow and the addition of the green one I just got, I think the couch is a bit more balanced.

Sort of-LOL

And then there is this:

This was a free image from a blogger that I follow and I love it. A simple download and print and here we are. This is one of the inexpensive frames I picked up at Walmart the other day and it adds to my "gold pops" perfectly.

It looks so pretty at night in this room and even better with a fire!

So on to what I will do with the rest of my day. My finger is still hurting a lot, so I think I am DONE outside for the day. I might work on the peat pots if I can or possibly the small gold egg arrangement. I have already taken it apart so we shall see. But, before I met up with that yellow jacket, I did get this done.

We went from this:

I didn't have a gold spray paint as I thought I did so I used my Martha Stewart metallic paint for this. I have a few spots to touch up because it was hard to see all of the nooks and crannies when the shiny paint was wet. I'm also thinking I might tone it down a bit with my antique wax-we'll see.

I'm off to nurse my wounds. Hoping I will have the fence guy and the handyman here tomorrow so hopefully my day will be full and moving forward. I must admit that I don't like the feeling of not having privacy with all of those empty acres behind me...I like my fence better when it is standing. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.