Did You Say Snake?

Just something for you to think (I mean squirm) about…….Just before going down to my parent’s home in Texas this weekend, my sister (K) called me and advised that a snake made its way through the garage, through the kitchen, and right into the family room, on the cool tile in our parent’s house.

The snake decided it was going to play tag with my sister (K).  When my sister (K) made the attempt to walk around the snake, it would lunge at her.  My sister (K) made a quick evaluation of the situation, realized there was only one thing close she could use to get past this snake.  It involved using a removable brass table top. She snatched up the brass table top, and placed it between her feet and the snake.  Success!!!!!  My sister (K) was able to get past the snake and to the garage to snatch up the shovel.   I told her she should have used the gun on the little booger and take care of him permanently.  But then again, we are trying to fix up our parent’s home and sell it, so that would defeat the purpose.  Who would want a bullet ricocheting off of the tile or furniture??  It was just an entertaining thought……what can I say, we just needed a little excitement. 

My sister (K) hit the snake once close by its head, just enough to knock him out.    She then proceeded to pick him up with the shovel, making sure her hands were far enough away from his body while holding the shovel.  She opened the back door and tossed him outside on the patio, just before the pool.  She went back inside to get her cell phone and take pictures.  After snapping a picture, one of those big turkey vultures swooped down and picked up that snake for an appetizer.  Bulldog Man identified the snake as being a King snake, last year we had a rattle snake in the garage.

 

The snake on the cool tile in the family room.

 

The snake on the patio with a shovel mark behind his head.

*****

Garden Update, today I harvested part of my red potatoes from the garden.    

My green beans, strawberries, tomatoes, tomatillos, and herbs are still growing.  Everything else in the garden has pretty much died up, or I’ve pulled it out of the garden beds to prep the area for winter.

My first attempt at making salsa Verde with my recent harvest of tomatillos came out good.

 

Only made two pints, and placed them in the refrigerator.  Next time, I will can a batch for winter.

Bulldog Man gave me 4 paws up on the recipe.

My Salsa Verde Recipe

1 ½ pounds of tomatillos

½ white onion

2 cloves garlic (add as much as you like)

½ lime (juice only)

1 jalapeño (seeded and membrane removed)

1 handful of cilantro

2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

Directions

Place everything in a food processor and chop to your desired texture.  Serve with tortilla chips, or place on tacos, or burritos.

Shoot Me Up Doc!

Approximately 20 years ago, I had a severe anaphylactic reaction and had no idea what was going on.  I was sick, and had gone to the doctor earlier in the day.  He diagnosed me as having a bad case of bronchitis, and something else……it’s been so long ago, I just can’t remember, while telling this story.

In order to get better medically, the doctor prescribed penicillin.  I, being the impatient one, asked the doctor if I could have a shot instead of pills.  He agreed, gave me the shot and I waited around the office for 20 minutes to see if I would react to the shot.  No reaction!!!!

I returned home and ate a light lunch; some scrambled eggs, and laid down on the couch.  I fell asleep for a couple of hours, and woke to the sound of my front door opening.  It was my sister returning home from work.  I’m just waking up from the sound of the front door opening, my eye’s a tad blurry, and my chest hurt from the bronchitis (too much coughing).  

My sister took one look at me as she walked in the front door.  The first words out of her mouth were: “what the hell happened to you?”  I of course looked at her confused, because I was startled awake. My sister told me to go into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. 

Half asleep, I walk into the bathroom. I felt dizzy, I was breathing funny, my chest hurt badly, I itched in my arm pits and groin area…………………and then when I looked up into the mirror…………….OMG, my face was so swollen.  It looked like someone kicked the crap out of me.  My eyes were swollen badly, my lips were huge………………you would have thought I was a boxer who had her butt kicked badly. 

Dummy me took a Benadryl and then contacted my doctor.  The doctor told me to go to the emergency room, by that time the Benadryl kicked in.  I told her what I took; the doctor stated if I got worse to go to the emergency room immediately.  My doctor told me I apparently had an Anaphylactic Reaction, and scheduled me to see an Allergist for allergy testing the next day. 

The allergy doctor listened to my story, and then proceeded to lecture me for 10 minutes about not going to the emergency room immediately.  He told me I’m lucky to be alive!!!!  Well, well…….his words got my attention.  The doctor gave me a prescription for an Epi-Pen. 

Then he proceeded to tell me, I had better go directly from the office to the pharmacy and get the prescription filled because the next time I have an anaphylactic reaction, I could end up dead.   The doctor took my blood to test for allergies.  He made sure to test for penicillin and egg reactions, since I had a shot, and ate eggs.

The blood test revealed, I’m highly allergic to penicillin, and anything made of eggs.  The test also revealed I’ve got intolerance to dairy products. 

In the end, I avoided eggs for 8 years.  Then I gradually added eggs to my diet with the help of a doctor.  Now I’m no longer allergic to eggs, and still use dairy products with a slight reaction of constantly clearing my throat. As for milk, I use Almond Milk as a substitute. As for the penicillin, I stay away from it totally.

In our medical supplies/first aid kits, and my personal fanny pack, we carry several Epi-Pens for emergencies.  These Epi-Pens are checked for expiration dates and replaced routinely.

I have a question for you; do you have an Epi-Pen in your emergency medical supplies/first aid kits?    If not, you should; because a shot of epinephrine will give you enough time to get to the emergency room when you’re having an Anaphylactic Reaction. 

*Allergic Reactions Chart by Adam

**I was not asked or paid to advertise for Mylan, regarding the EpiPen.