This past week has been a challenging one, especially the weekend. We had planned a yard sale for Saturday. It was to be at a friend's house, and she was going to do a yard sale at the same time. However, some things came up and she was unable to do it. She said we could still use her yard, so we made plans to go ahead with it.
One night (I think Wednesday night), I was trying to change my position in bed and felt something go "pop" in the bottom of my right foot, resulting in some pain and tightness (probably tendonitis). Due to the physical issues I deal with, this isn't really anything strange for me, but it came at what seemed to be the "wrong" time."
Friday we had to take everything out of one of the bedrooms at the trailer and also out of the shed. Thank God we had already sold the trailer and had swept it out. However, the yard sale stuff was still stored there. It was a very hot evening, and Christy and I both got somewhat dehydrated. We were very thankful for the two men who came to help. I didn't know how I would do anything the next day. Sleep did not come easily. Finally drifted off into a deep sleep sometime after 3:00 a.m.
In spite of the effects of the heat and the fatigue, we had to get up early the next morning and get the yard sale going. We were up around 6:00 a.m. A friend had loaned us a Z-up Shade. It was so nice! It is like a gazebo or little tent, and it was great for keeping the heat off of us. Still, it was intensely hot. Quite a few people that stopped at the yard sale remarked about the heat. Setting up and getting out among buyers and packing up really took a toll on us. We both got a pretty bad sunburn. For me it was mostly on the back of my neck. That area is very sore and painful still. On top of that, I had symptoms of heat exhaustion and a heat rash as well. Thankfully, a rescue mission thrift store came and picked everything up, so we didn't have to take it anywhere after the sale. Praise the Lord for that!
On the way home we picked up a Chik-fil-A lemonade and then Christy had ice cream and I had frozen watermelon after we got home. Due to the effects of the heat, our stomachs weren't really happy and it was a while before we felt like eating much. Again, sleep did not come easily Saturday night. About 4:00 a.m. I fell into a deep sleep and didn't want to wake up at 7:00
We were sore and exhausted this morning (Sunday), but I didn't feel as bad as I thought I would. Any sun on the back of my neck, even for a few seconds, was so painful. We found some sunscreen and I put that on, and it relieved things quite a bit.
This evening I was bitten by a spider. Not sure what kind of spider it was, but it could really pack a bite! And it bit me right next to a spider bite I had gotten about a week earlier. The first bite had almost healed though.
Right away it itched really badly and hurt. The itch felt like some bug was crawling around under my skin and was about as intense as the itch of poison ivy. There was some swelling too and also nausea, headache, and dizziness. I rarely react to an insect bite that way, but I did this time. Either it was a venomous spider, or my body was just too run down to handle the bite. Right away I took a natural remedy for allergy and then took it again a couple times later. Also took about 3 grams of Vit. C (ascorbic acid) in one dose. Must have needed it because it hardly even tasted sour. Then I put ice on it for about 20 minutes, as well as some soothing ointment. The inflammation finally started to feel relieved. I took another 1 gram of Vit. C later and also some B vitamins. There is still a little swelling and pain, but thankfully the redness has gone down a lot.
Whew! On Friday night I wondered how I was going to get through the next day. I didn't know all the adventures Saturday and Sunday would bring. I'm thankful that the Lord knew ahead of time. He knew I would have no strength to get through those days and that I would have to depend on Him. Jesus was reminding me, "Without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5, the end of the verse) It is a comfort to know that "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." (Isaiah 40:29)
Some blessings from the yard sale were that it went very well. We were able to sell quite a bit of stuff and didn't have to bring any of it back home with us. We also got to see some pretty flowers that were growing in the grass there. (See pictures below)