I guess every grandmother's nightmare is having her grandchild hurt while on her watch. That happened to me tonight. Em came for an overnight and he loves to help in the kitchen. I had just pulled the pasta off the stove and drained it and was reaching into a cabinet to get his drink thickener when I heard a scream. He had taken the lid off the marinara sauce to give it a stir and I'm sure the steam probably rose out of the pan, throwing him off guard, and he turned the lid of the pan right into the fleshy part of his palm. I screamed, "Drop it, drop it," and he immediately proceeded to set it down gently and then promptly fell off the chair he was standing in. My first reaction was to make sure he hadn't hit his head or his back on the tile floor or the table behind him, only to realize that his hand was badly burned. I grabbed him up, put a cold, wet compress on it, quickly made an ice bag and called his dad. His dad had dropped him off just a scant half-hour before and I knew his mother had guests arriving at that very moment for a party. His dad was was about 30 minutes away but made it back to my house in 20 minutes and we took him to Phoenix Children's Hospital where he was immediately moved to the head of the triage list. We were very lucky that it was a quiet night at Phoenix Children's and we were seen right away by a variety of nurses, social workers (just checking I'm sure to ascertain that he was not a victim of abuse or negligence) and other hospital personnel but it seemed forever before we saw a doctor. Through it all he kept his chin held high, never whimpered, never cried, even though he suffered a second-degree burn to his hand. Only after they gave him a heavy dose of Tylenol with codeine in order to take the edge off the pain before they cleaned the wound and dressed it did he finally break down and shed dragon tears. When given the option of whether to go back to grandma's house or go home, he opted for grandma's, which helped her feelings tremendously. It was 10:30 before we got to bed after dinner and a couple of bedtime stories. He went fast asleep. I'm trying to stay awake until about 1 a.m. to give him another dose of pain meds so he doesn't wake up hurting. On Monday he has to go for a consult at the Maricopa County Burn Unit, which is located in the Maricopa Medical Center (county hospital). Although county hospital is old, often crowded with indigents, the pediatrician at Children's informed us tonight that it is considered the number two burn unit in the country. His burn should heal without incident and we are lucky that it happened in an area of the hand that generally heals rapidly and he should not have any permanent injury. We had planned to make an apple crumble dessert from a recipe he found on the web and printed off himself as a fun project tonight. That will have to wait. Instead he got a chocolate Blue Bell dixie cup!
Today's News: The House of Representatives passes a health care reform bill.
Today in History: 1908 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are reportedly killed in San Vincente, Bolivia.
... but still very raw.
Long before my neighborhood was developed, when it was on the outskirts of Phoenix more than 50 years ago, it was a combo pecan orchard and citrus grove. This house two doors to the east of me has descendants of both those trees in the front yard.
Another photo trip to Whitfill's! If I go by there, I stop!
I specifically went out looking to take a picture of a flower this evening because I've been cooped up all day inside with proofreading. The short walk yielded a bonanza of some of the most beautiful roses I've seen. I had trouble picking one photograph. This rose (which I think is probably a Peace) is the size of a tea saucer.
My favorite flowering shrub, thorns and all!
... one of the all-time comfort foods! 
There is just something about Tonka trucks that most little boys are drawn to! Today Em and I went Target browsing and the toy aisles were big on his list.
I had a salad tonight with the lettuce from my salad bar garden. Notice the daffodils and other narcissus are coming up right alongside the lettuce and tomatoes. Home-grown lettuce is so succulent -- tender and much more tasty than what you get in the grocery. Soon I'll have ripe tomatoes. I counted nine tomatoes on one plant today -- with more to come. I think I'll plant some nasturtiums (my favorite flower) in one area of the salad bar where some kind of critter ate all the lettuce plants. They will add some color and their leaves and flowers (both of which are edible) will add some peppery flavor to wintertime salads. I have spinach and carrots growing in another bed but they are not doing so well. The salad bar bed is close to the patio and receives lots of due diligence every day, whereas the spinach and carrots are tucked away near the west wall and I sometimes forget to check on them!
I finally got the little baby African Sumac planted. Even though both Em and the tree will continue to grow, we'll see who grows the tallest in the next year!
Another trip to Treeland Nursery in Chandler.
I love these new warning devices which are being added to our traffic lights in Phoenix. The City experimented with them a few years ago and then they disappeared, but now they are making their way back into most traffic signals in Central Phoenix and everyone I know really loves them. Now there's no guessing when the light may turn yellow.
Anthurium may be fire engine red, pale peach, or the entire spectrum of pinks. You may also be lucky enough to find a bright lime green or an ominous black flower. I gave up on houseplants years ago but after seeing these beauties along with orchids in the local nursery greenhouse, I may have to give them another shot!
Superman thrives despite being injured!.JPG)
Thank GOODNESS his mousing abilities have not been compromised!
I guess every grandmother's nightmare is having her grandchild hurt while on her watch. That happened to me tonight. Em came for an overnight and he loves to help in the kitchen. I had just pulled the pasta off the stove and drained it and was reaching into a cabinet to get his drink thickener when I heard a scream. He had taken the lid off the marinara sauce to give it a stir and I'm sure the steam probably rose out of the pan, throwing him off guard, and he turned the lid of the pan right into the fleshy part of his palm. I screamed, "Drop it, drop it," and he immediately proceeded to set it down gently and then promptly fell off the chair he was standing in. My first reaction was to make sure he hadn't hit his head or his back on the tile floor or the table behind him, only to realize that his hand was badly burned. I grabbed him up, put a cold, wet compress on it, quickly made an ice bag and called his dad. His dad had dropped him off just a scant half-hour before and I knew his mother had guests arriving at that very moment for a party. His dad was was about 30 minutes away but made it back to my house in 20 minutes and we took him to Phoenix Children's Hospital where he was immediately moved to the head of the triage list. We were very lucky that it was a quiet night at Phoenix Children's and we were seen right away by a variety of nurses, social workers (just checking I'm sure to ascertain that he was not a victim of abuse or negligence) and other hospital personnel but it seemed forever before we saw a doctor. Through it all he kept his chin held high, never whimpered, never cried, even though he suffered a second-degree burn to his hand. Only after they gave him a heavy dose of Tylenol with codeine in order to take the edge off the pain before they cleaned the wound and dressed it did he finally break down and shed dragon tears. When given the option of whether to go back to grandma's house or go home, he opted for grandma's, which helped her feelings tremendously. It was 10:30 before we got to bed after dinner and a couple of bedtime stories. He went fast asleep. I'm trying to stay awake until about 1 a.m. to give him another dose of pain meds so he doesn't wake up hurting. On Monday he has to go for a consult at the Maricopa County Burn Unit, which is located in the Maricopa Medical Center (county hospital). Although county hospital is old, often crowded with indigents, the pediatrician at Children's informed us tonight that it is considered the number two burn unit in the country. His burn should heal without incident and we are lucky that it happened in an area of the hand that generally heals rapidly and he should not have any permanent injury. We had planned to make an apple crumble dessert from a recipe he found on the web and printed off himself as a fun project tonight. That will have to wait. Instead he got a chocolate Blue Bell dixie cup!
