One Person's Trash Is Another's Treasure

Since I've done some heavy summer cleaning, I've recently begun selling random things on ebay. It was so easy to get started and now there's no stopping. I have my system down now starting with taking digital photos of each item, putting the items up for auction, then printing the shipping label with the postage on it and dropping the packages off at the Post Office or FedEx. I started by selling some Madame Alexander Dolls that have been sitting in their original boxes and unplayed with for the last 16 or so years. I've also sold a 3-year old digital camera, some name-brand jeans, and some old Disney memorabilia. There are billions of people out there willing to buy just about anything. Now, it's like I'm looking for things to sell around the house that we don't truly need. It's not only the thrill of seeing the money come into my Paypal account, but also the satisfaction of getting rid of stuff that I know I'm not going to use. Like the saying goes: One person's trash is another's treasure!

Hunan Hand

I had a terrible night last night. I made salsa with some chili peppers from my garden and about 30 minutes after that my fingertips started burning. It felt like I was holding all of my fingertips on top of a hot griddle. We tried everything, cold water, ice, vaseline, cortizone cream, some organic cream, aloe vera, etc. David looked it up online and found that what I had is a condition called Hunan Hand. They originally discovered it because of people working with the kung pao peppers in Chinese food. I guess the oil from the peppers soaked into my skin. So then the internet said to wash with abrasive soap and lemon juice to cut the oil. I have never felt so much pain! Needless to say, that didn't work much and it just made me cry and shake. At one point I asked David to take me to the hospital, but there wasn't much visually that they could see, just very RED tips. I laid on the couch with ice on them, took 4 advils and finally went to bed with the ice and fell asleep. It was only then when I was sleeping that the pain got better. I woke up this morning and the pain is all gone I just have some very dry, rough fingertips! I'll be using rubber gloves when I make salsa from now on!! The crazy thing is that this happened before about a month ago. I made salsa in the morning, showered, then I was driving to my parent's and that's when my fingers started burning. That time it went away in about an hour. David read that after the first time it happens, you develop a sensitivity and it gets worse with each successive time!! Crazy!! I'm going to buy a box of disposable gloves today!!

Birds, Birds, and More Birds

On a recent trip to New England, I bought a bird feeder that I'd been wanting for our backyard. The first day I filled it and carefully hung it with some wire from the tree outside our living room window. Then I waited and waited and didn't see one bird visit it until 4 days later. One House Sparrow came and nibbled for a few seconds and flew off. Another one came, then another and another and before I knew it there were four birds on the feeder at once and four more lined up on the fence for their turn on a perch. I have House Sparrows and House Finches visiting the feeder now and these birds can sure eat!! I have to refill the feeder two times a week, but it is so worth it as I enjoy watching my birds while sipping my morning coffee. I even feel protective of my birds. Twice I've ran out to the backyard in my robe to shoo away the neighbor's cat off the fence! I love birds!