Odds and Ends

A few days ago, Jacob and I went out for milkshakes. When we received our receipt, I had to laugh at how the cashier spelled Jacob's name:

I'm going to start calling him Jakeup. "Wake up, Jakeup!"

 * * * 

To the extent of my knowledge, I've never had allergies. But I'm starting to think I might slowly be dying in an allergic reaction to the great outdoors. Or the heat. Or something.

Allow me to explain.

On Memorial Day, I spent the afternoon outside at a birthday celebration for one of my old rooommates. While there, a couple of mosquitoes bit me on my arms and legs. This was a bit of a nuisance, but whatevs. However, the palms of my hands also started itching furiously. I thought maybe a mosquito had bitten those as well, but I couldn't detect any bites. After we left the party, the itching eventually ceased.

Then, last Saturday I went to the park for our library's Grand Opening Celebration/Summer Reading Kick-Off! I was outside for maybe an hour, and again, my hands started itching. This time, the fingers on my right hand began to swell. This was slightly alarming, and once I came home, I held a jar of frozen chicken broth in an attempt to reduce the swelling. Again, my hands eventually stop itching and my fingers shrunk back to the usual size.

Now, on Tuesday Jacob had the day off and we spent the morning going to various stores to shop (and get ideas for his birthday presents). In those few minutes we were walking from our car to the stores, my hands -- you guessed it -- started to itch and swell. This time, it was my left hand that was afflicted. And the swelling was worse than ever. My wedding ring is usually fairly big on me -- to the point that if my hands are cold, I might be afraid of it slipping right off my finger. But at this point, I could barely even twist my ring around, much less remove it off my finger.

You can actually see my ring digging into my skin.

 The moral of the story is, I think I'm doomed to spend the rest of my days inside.

* * *

 Earlier this week, it was so hot in our apartment that I was literally sweating through my shorts. Literally! (After sitting at the computer for awhile and then standing up, a sheen of sweat was left glistening on the chair. [Aren't you glad you just read that?])

The very next day, it was cold enough to warrant wearing slippers and a sweatshirt. And I thought about drinking hot chocolate. Good ol' Utah.