Um... just a little booboo...

You know the old saying "Into every life, a little rain must fall"?   In Jim's case, a little staple must fall... right through his index finger!  This was the Sunday afternoon excitement at the Streeter cabin!  We were working on putting the insulation in the upstairs loft bathroom...  everything was working pretty well - Jim and I had a workable plan - I measured the insulation and cut the pieces and then handed them off to Jim who stapled them into place... All was working well until...  well, Jim started screaming and cussing and making a big commotion... actually that is a total fabrication and I took some creative license to make it sound better... Actually, he was stapling along nicely, and then walked over to where I was and simply said, "Cheri, you're not going to like this..."  I looked up and he showed me his finger... all bleedy, and I asked him what happened... He said that as he was stapling, there was a shot and a split 2X4 stud and the staple glanced off and went into his finger...  He looked down at it and tugged at it a little bit, trying to get it out, but it wouldn't budge...  This is how it looked when it first happened... He didn't like the idea that I wanted a picture for my blog the second it happened... giggle.
 

And, then... he cut part of the staple because it was causing too much pressure inside his finger, and he couldn't pull it out...  So, this next picture is with the staple cut...

He was vacillating between going to the hospital and having them remove it, and trying to remove it himself.  So, we had to call for 2nd opinion.  We called my sister in law in Arizona who has a daughter who is a nurse practitioner, and we asked her opinion... She didn't even see the picture and told Jim to go to the emergency room...  So, apparently, a niece trumps Jim, so we quickly packed up and went to the Panguitch hospital...

Before we left, I hadn't yet showered for the day - working with insulation, I figured that I would be totally itchy, so I had decided to shower when the work was finished... But, I wasn't going to go to the emergency room without showering, so Jim sat out he couch and I QUICKLY showed... It was one of those 5 minute showers...  Didn't even blow dry my hair or put makeup on... I looked a fright, but time was of the essence here...

We made it to the Panguitch Community Hospital and Jim prefaced his admission with, "I think you guys are going to want to take a picture of this"... The front end nurse was not impressed and after talking to the doctor, and him telling us that they have more fish hook removals, than nail/staple removals, I can see why...

They took him for x-rays. . . 

....and, when the doctor came in, he said that he was going to give Jim a little shot of lidocaine to dull the pain and said the needle was going to pinch a little.  We determined that doctors have a different idea of what 'pinch' means...  I told Jim to just breath and don't push... he wasn't impressed... I thought it was hysterical...  again, he wasn't impressed.

The doctor pulls out a Home Depot tool box and pulls out pliers, yes pliers, (we said we figured he was a Home Depot kinda guy) and quickly yanks out the two pieces of staple... no stitches since the holes were pretty small, just a bandage.  He thought he was going to get away with no tetanus shot thinking he had his last shot about 3 years ago... BUT, it was actually 6 years ago, and so he got another... with a prescription for antibiotics...

And, the excitement was over.  Kinda killed our work for the weekend, but he's now safe and sound and his finger is still numb, so he's not in any pain.  Friends of Jim asked if alcohol was involved and let me state this.... Alcohol was not involved, but I think as soon as that freezing wears off, Jim is going to seriously consider it!

And, this is what we were working on.  The outside walls have to be insulated and inspected by the county before putting up sheetrock... Here's the right side of the room that we almost finished...

..and, here's the left side... and...

...here's a panoramic of the room... We were working on the spaces below the windows when the little booboo happened...

Our helper, Ben, has been through a rough patch as of late.  A couple of weeks ago, he had pneumonia and had a brief hospitalization. Well, it made it through the pneumonia and was well on his way to recovery, and started having further issues.  He ended up having a major surgery to put 4 stents in his heart. After having covid last year, he developed considerable scarring.  And then, a week later, was hospitalized again.  He is anxious to get back to cabin building, but we are hoping he takes all the time needed to rest and recuperate.  So, everyone... let's get good thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery going to Ben.

Saturday night was the first night we have spent in the cabin this year... It wasn't cold when we got there - actually, it was quite pleasant... At about 3 in the morning, it was a little on the chilly side, but I didn't want to get out of bed and find a blanket and get even colder.  I knew if I was chilly, Jim was freezing - and poor thing actually said he was.  Early in the morning it started to warm up, and finally it was super comfortable.  When we were working in the loft, we had the ceiling fan running, and a fan running - super hot.  So, I think we are just about done with the freezing cold temperatures until the fall!  Hopefully, by that time, we will have the insulation completed, and the duct work in, so we'll have the furnace running.  Little by little, and step by step, we are making progress.

It was late when we made it to the cabin on Saturday night, and Jim heard a coyote howling somewhere nearby.  I don't think we've heard any howling before... so, I guess, Mr. Coyote was impressed with the weather also, and wanted to make sure everybody knew it!

And, on a happy note.... our sweet, happy, smiley little Brea graduated to middle school this week.. These signs announcing the graduation was put all over the front lawn of the school... The kids were thrilled and surprised.. Congratulations to our Brea... As always, we are proud grandparents.

As always, the adventure continues..

Love, Jim and Cheri

"For fast acting relief, try slowing down."