Ribs...OUCH indeed. I broke two ribs napping. My dumba$$ sister phoned while I was taking a nap...this was years ago. Got outta bed, stepped on a flash light dh, 'then b/f' left on the floor, and down I went. BTW, I was partially asleep. Fell on the arm of the couch, ended up w/2 broken ribs. Went to the doc...they took an x-ray... Yes, the worse part is breathing...especially when the rib hits the lung..oh God, that's awful! When I was a child, my mother said I woke, 'asleep,' and headed to the basement. Also, as a kid I'd dream I was falling off a mountain, then end up falling off the bed. Weird. I once reading the meaning of falling during a dream..It means one thinks they're life is going down hill. 'subconsciously.' I agree with the shrink who came up with that meaning. Purp, you're biting your tongue?? Does it hurt when you wake? Are there marks? Wonder if you're dreaming??? You might not remember though.. Life is a b**** when awake or asleep. Asleep..that's horrible about your friend. Sheesh, think I'm gonna move any nearby tables near the bed.

Yes, as Duchesse said, I had a rose thorn stab that required surgery last summer. I had two sticks, actually, and my right index finger still isn't right. You'd think I'd have learned, yes? Wrong! I'm very, very good about putting on my gloves when I set out to work in the garden. But the dangerous times are when I'm walking past the garden, on my way in or out of the house, and I just happen to see a weed that needs to be pulled right that second. This is what I was doing yesterday when I took a thorn hit in that same index finger. It nicked a vein, which swelled up immediately, so I was a little concerned. But it's fine now. Whew! I will try to think of my self as wearing blinders when I'm not wearing gloves. I'm glad to hear your mom is okay, Bouquet.

Today , worst canning or cooking injury ever! i was making the super finiky black cherry syrup. i wanted to make sure it was thick enough to use on waffles. so i turned it up towards the end i am constantly stiring and its full on molten its not just boiling its foaming like crazy . so i start getting it into my jars . after hours of picking, pitting , then stirring i want every last drop! so i tip up the hot pan to scoop out the rest. i dont know what i did if i hit the side of my funnel or what. i feel a huge splotch of it hit my hand and i know immediatly im in trouble. i have burnt myself plenty of times baking , canning with steam usually i just put it in ice water use aloe and im fine. as soon as i put my hand under cold water the boiling hot molten sugar turns hard and brittle and is stuck on my hand . i know it has to come off so im scrubbing and washing and its like my skin liquified. i can see it being pulled off with the now hard candy on my hand. im thinking ohhhh sh*t this is bad but ask my son to grab aloe any tylonal . normally aloe is cooling and might feel sticky but it doesnt hurt. this was insane pain im almost throwubg up it stings so bad. i am looking at my hand and around the area thats burnt with no top layers of skin and is red and pissed its turning white and yellow. i gave up went to the ER. they said omg yah thats bad! so i got some cream and pain meds and have to go back daily for a few days so they can change badages and check its ok. weirdly it hurts some places but others theres no pain at all. where the pain is its super crazy bad. No blister! i think i went passed that. weirdly even non stick hospital grade stuff sticks to it.

Paula, Of course it is tempting. Quick fixes always are. However, it is better overall to go with whatever hurts the beneficial insects the least...and I know that you know that. : ) Having said that, I would defend to the death anyone's right to use the pesticide of their choice, whether it is organic or synthetic in nature. Different strokes for different folks, and all that. There are times when even the most ardent organic or mostly-organic gardener may find their back against the wall and decide to use a broad-spectrum chemical pesticide in order to save their plants and their crops. That's doubly true during extended drought. It is hard enough to keep a garden productive in a regular year with a regular pest load. Doing so in a very dry year which also is a year with generally high (in some cases, astronomically high), pest levels...well, it can be incredibly hard and sometimes impossibly hard. So, if someone feels the need to use Sevin or Malathion or whatever, I think they should do so after carefully weighing the risks, and I hope that no one here would make them feel like using a chemical solution was wrong or was a mistake or whatever. I'm always going to prefer to garden as organically I as possibly can because that fits in with my desire to garden in a manner that is as sustainable as possible. However, if I felt like the only way I could save my garden from some sort of a major pest was by spraying it with a broad-spectrum pesticide, I just might make the decision to do so. Does that mean my philosophy has changed? No. It just means I find myself dealing with a pest for which organics do not offer a good solution. You have no idea how much I have struggled this year with the idea that I could buy a bottle of bifenthrin or something "just this once" and spray it and wipe out the pests. What keeps me from doing it? The feeling I would be endangering pollinators and beneficials, for one. Still, if I felt I had to do it or risk losing the garden's harvest, I would do it. I also would not feel guilty afterwards. Even though I prefer to raise our veggies, fruits, herbs and flowers without the use of synthetic chemicals, I certainly don't buy only organic food at the grocery store. So, is it logical to hold my home-grown food to a higher standard 100% of the time? No. Sometimes I think I expect too much from myself in that respect. If I buy conventionally-grown strawberries at the grocery store, it is possible that maybe they were sprayed with various fungicides and pesticides multiple times during the life of the plant. So, even if mine were sprayed once with a chemical pesticide or fungicide, wouldn't mine still be much healthier than those raised conventionally? I don't think anyone here should have to feel bad about doing what they have to do to save their garden or a specific crop, or as far as that goes, to save their sanity. If last summer's weather/climate, followed by this summer's weather/climate, is not enough to drive all of us stark raving mad from the frustration of trying to keep our landscapes and gardens pretty and productive, then what would it take? Dawn