My delinquency in updating is getting embarrassing. The scout camera, hunting season, my "weigh-in pledge"... none of those provide ample incentive, apparently. I'd like to thank my good friend Roger for hurling an epithet or two my way and nudging me out of my blogging torpor.
What's happened since early October...? Well, the incident that ended up throwing off my schedule occurred shortly after my last update. I took the girls up to Thorndike with me to check on the field camera on a Sunday afternoon. The kids spent much of October obsessed with going into the woods with me to look for deer. Unfortunately, the area where I had put my camera had become exceedingly moist. The girls weren't deterred at all, but having left my extra SD card at home, I was forced to carry my whole laptop into the woods to retrieve the videos from my camera. As we neared the tree where the camera was strapped, we came to a spot that was so boggy that I didn't dare let the kids navigate it themselves. I should also mention that this was an unseasonably cold day. I picked up the 4 year-old (who is close to 6 year-old sized) and had her in one arm and my laptop in the other. As I stepped over a seemingly shallow puddle, I slipped and ended up with my left leg completely submerged in the muddy morass; my arms splayed upward and outward to keep the laptop and the child from sharing my fate. Somehow, I managed to keep everyone else dry and we were able to get to the camera, pull the videos and get back to the van without further major incident. However, I pulled a muscle in my leg during the fall and had to miss hoops that night. No big deal, I'll take a week off and play the next week. Not quite, it turns out.
A couple of days later, I felt an itching in my left arm pit. I went to the mirror and pulled my shirt up to find that I had a bunch of angry red blisters there. I also had one on the right side of my chest (which was actually welcome, as having the breakout on both sides of your body pretty much rules out shingles). All I can think of is that I had somehow contracted poison ivy on our trip into the woods. How it started near my armpit, though, I have NO idea. Unfortunately, I have a history of really bad systemic reactions to poison ivy, so I immediately went to the doctor to get some prednisone. I warned them that in the past, I've had to have several schedules of steroids to get rid of it, but they only gave me a five day dose. The first 3 days were ok, and then it started popping up elsewhere on my body. Called the doctor and got another prescription (this time with a refill). Five more days of prednisone and then it started spreading again. Got the refill, stopped it again, and now 3 days after it's over I think it STILL might be making a comeback.
Even though my blistery patches aren't contagious, I knew that *I* sure as heck wouldn't want to play defense against myself so I've skipped basketball for the past month or so. Fortunately, though, I've curbed my evening snacking and still managed to lose a little weight. Last I checked, I was at 204, which is much slower than I'd like to see, but I'll take what I can get.
In other news...
Halloween was fun. Big sister was a spy; she had a trench coat, shades, fedora and notebook. Little sister was Thumbelina, which had much sturdier wings than Tinkerbell the year before. I took the kids up to my old, old neighborhood and we walked the same streets that my aunts Wendy and Marilyn took me on when I was wee. That particular neighborhood hasn't really changed all that much in the past 30 years, and it was nice to see some familiar faces that still live there.
The first full weekend in November, we had our "boys" hunting trip. One of our regulars was unable to attend due to work (and maybe partly because he's a father now!), but the rest of us soldiered on. In the four years since we've been making this trip, we had our first taste of success. I shot the smallest 8-pointer that has possibly ever been shot - just 134lbs field-dressed and antlers that would make very nice kitchen cabinet pulls. It's just as well that he wasn't big enough to have mounted on the wall because I couldn't afford it this year anyway. It was cool Saturday evening when we hung him up, but quite warm on Sunday so we packed him up with ice for the ride home. I couldn't find the info for the butcher I had used in 2006, but got a tip about a retired meat cutter in nearby New Gloucester. I dropped him off Sunday afternoon and picked up two boxes of beautiful venison the next evening. I pan-friend the tenderloins that night. The next day, I slow-cooked a roast all day and it came out amazingly well - with the tomatoey-sauce, it was very reminiscent of pulled pork. Later in the week, the kids and I had deer burgers. Angela wouldn't touch any of it, though, and the kids were far less enthusiastic about it than in the past. However, that just means more for me (and our friends). I was lucky enough to be drawn for a bonus doe permit for the Waldo County area, so I'll hopefully be able to harvest another deer this year. With that buck being so small, I'll be able to be really generous with the venison handouts if I manage to get a second one. I'm also legally permitted to take several deer in the Cumberland area with my bow, but the chances of that are FAR more remote. I'll be trying when I can find the time, though.
This past weekend, my firstborn celebrated her 7th birthday. She had her first ever "classmates" party at Clay Play in Yarmouth and we hosted a family party on Sunday. With eleven second grade girls and one little sister, The Clay Play party was crowded and chaotic, but she loved it. Sunday's family party had a breakfast-for-lunch menu. I was surprised that every single pancake request was for chocolate chips despite having blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and bananas at the ready! I made blueberry and raspberry scones from scratch using the Cooks Illustrated recipe and they were absolutely the best scones I've ever had. I guess I'll try them with chocolate chips next and watch them REALLY fly off the plate.
That's it for now - I'm all caught up. Here are some decent deer videos from the past 6 weeks:
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