Hey Kids it's been awhile since our last SpeedBlog so hang on to something because boring stuff seems more fun if you just run it faster (like home movies!) first of all last Friday I noticed my left index finger tip was sore but WHO CARES since I always have some little cut or puncture but by Sunday it was WAY SORE and quite a bit swollen around the fingernail with maybe some pus YUCK under the nail so I soaked it in warm water and baking soda-or-something after which it HURT WAY MORE OW OW like it was on fire and I couldn't be still and couldn't sleep either but still didn't call the doc because it is SO SMALL and I felt TOO WHINY to call for help but by 2pm Mon I couldn't stand it anymore however Dr Huy Nguyen (pronounced "we win"--nice!) couldn't see me til Tues morn so another no-sleep night then I went and he wanted to try antibiotics first and Vicodin (which I'd never had before but Dr House seems to like it)
so I said OK and filled the order for some kind of special Super Augmento Amox costing about $75 for 10 days--YIKES! this better work!-and generic Vic for $7 hoping that it would be all better in a few hours but barely made it home from KMart Pharm and took pills and curled up in a ball with a blanket (on a 92-deg day--pic #1) and pain NEVER subsided but got a short nap due to Vic, I guess, and a few hours sleep later but started to feel nauseous--and now I'm going to a movie, be right back--I'm back after having just seen "Ice Age" in 3-D-SO fun (I'm an animation junkie) and stunningly beautiful--but quit the Vic after three doses since it was no help and Tom had to drive me to the store because I was too loopy to get food to make for the Goodie Patrol dinner at rehearsal Wed night with orchestra (still intense pain) and still with minimal sleep finger tip was turning all black so Thurs I called and another doc was in and looked-called it "paronychia" and maybe "felon"-and decided to make a cut (w/LOTS of novocaine) and squeezed A LOT of junk out AAAHHHHH!
and I've been a happy girl ever since (pic #2) though it still hurts some and there's still healing to do and just in time because I had to make 24 sandwiches for Friday's rehearsal which lasted til mid-afternoon (pic #3) so I came home to make food for our picnic at the concert which turned out really well (except that I had to wear an American-flag scarf and also forgot my glasses and couldn't see the music!) 
and included Rhapsody in Blue with a noted pianist and lots of patriotic-type songs and thousands of people (there's Tom and his puzzles in pic #4) and an ice cream social for musicians afterwards and now there's no choir til Sept 1 (sniff) and I think my pizza is done upstairs and so I'll go get it out and Tom and I will be watching Boston Pops fireworks on TV this year which is just fine with us (they're the best no kidding and Keith Lockhart is so darn cute) and we'll eat store-bought chocolate cake and B&J ice cream (sweet!) and I hope you all had a fun Fourth too!! all this brought to you with only nine working fingers (one is still resting after a crummy week)!