100 Years Ago

One hundred years ago today

On the eleventh hour

Of the eleventh day

Of the eleventh month

The guns fell silent



And the birds began to sing.  

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.  Joel 1:3

So that we may never forget.  

I Know, I Know

I said I wasn't going to post unless something interesting happened, but something interesting did happen!  Well, it's interesting to me, at least.

And what was this interesting thing that happened?  I got stuff!!

First, a bit of back story.

When my sister was little, someone gave her a book called The Monster At The End Of This Book.  Or maybe it was my brother.  I don't remember.  Either way, I loved that book, and read it more than my sister did.  Or brother, I don't remember.  I loved it so much I bought it for my own son when he was little.

One day last week, my coworker was telling me something cute her almost 4 year old grandbaby did.  His antics reminded me of the book, so when it popped up in my Amazon suggestions, I knew I had to get it for him.

While I was on the website, and because I still had Christmas cards to seal, I tossed some of those wax beads into my cart as well.

The set I got has three hundred multicolored wax beads, plus three little drawstring bags to store them in.

It also included a melting spoon, which is much larger than the spoon I already have.

I put on a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie and spent the morning happily melting wax and sealing envelopes.

After stamping several, I started experimenting with putting multiple colors into the spoon to create a marbled effect.  Naturally, I did red and green.  For Christmas, you know.

The wax looks bubbly because I got it too hot.  It'll take a lot more practice before I can make the beautiful stamps I see in YouTube videos.

Next, I mixed purple and gold.

I'll just let you guess who is going to get that card.

Then I mixed maroon and white-- or as close to it as I could get. 

I'll let you guess who is going to get that one, too. 

And at least one of you is going to receive a fouled anchor in the Navy blue and gold.  Or as close to Navy blue as I could get...

I sealed so many cards, I ran out of friend and had to beg a few addresses.  If I didn't ask for yours and you want a card, please don't hesitate to let me know.  I'll be happy to send you one.  Oh, and if you got a card last year, you're already on the list, so you're good to go. 

What I really want, and I found it on Amazon, is a stand for melting wax.  It has a space to hold a tea light, and a metal bowl over it.  You can fill up the bowl with wax, and once it's melted, just scoop out what you need.  That will make doing a bunch of cards at once go a lot faster.

In other news, I think I'm getting the hang of using my wood stove.  I was able to keep the house at a comfortable 72' all day, without letting the fire go out.  I still haven't turned on my house heater -- other than testing it to make sure it still works, and to burn the dust off the coils. 

I wonder how long I can keep that going...

Finally, I still don't know if Cody is going to be able to come for Thanksgiving.  Right now, it looks like he's not.  I haven't decided if I want to fix a big dinner for just me, but I bought and boiled down my sweet potatoes anyway.  I put them into the freezer, so I can keep them until Christmas if needs be. 

Then again, if I cook a big Thanksgiving dinner, I can put it all into the freezer and it'll be all ready for Christmas. 

I don't know.  I'll figure it out next week.

Going To Take A Break

When I'm at work, working away at my no - brainer job, or puttering around the house, or driving to the store, or whatever I'm doing, I mentally compose long, eloquent posts.  Oh, they're beautiful posts.  They'd made you laugh.  They'd make you cry.  They'd move you.

But when I sit down at my keyboard to type them out, my brain suddenly goes numb, and I stare at the screen and say to myself, "Wut r werds?"  It's why my posts have been so dull here lately.  Well, that, and there hasn't really been anything happening...

Therefore, I think I'm going to be taking a little break.   Oh, I'll still post from time to time, but it won't be every day.  BTW, Sunday's post is already written and scheduled, so after that...

So, the most interesting thing I have to tell you today is that I replaced all the innards in my toilet in the half bath.  Seriously.

I'd bought the parts over a year ago, and they'd been sitting there on the floor by the toilet ever since.  Any time I went into that bathroom, I'd look at that fill valve and flapper and say, "I really need to get those parts replaced."  Then I'd walk right back out without doing it.

Yesterday, with the lack of any major home renovations going on, I finally broke down and got er done.  Once I finally got started, it didn't really take long at all, and the best part is that toilet flushes so much better now!  And that's a bit of a sad statement of my life that I get so excited by a toilet flushing.  Sigh...that's why my blog is so boring...

After repeatedly flushing said toilet and squeeing like a fan girl, I went out back and split some wood.  That is a work out, I'm telling ya.  I hauled some up to the house in anticipation of the first frost of the year, which is supposed to happen tonight.

Also in anticipation of the first frost, I brought all my potted plants inside.  Then I cut some Zinnias and brought them in, too, to brighten up the place. 

I expect the cold will get the ones outside.  It's expected to get down into the 20s-30s at night for the next week, but I'm ready.  I've got firewood, hot chocolate, and plenty of knitting.

Speaking of knitting, I finished a Jayne hat except for the pom pom and weaving in ends.  I just tucked them out of sight for this picture.

The only thing is, I used a knitted on cast on instead of twisted German, and I'm not happy about the way the ribbing looks.  It keep trying to flip up.  I was hoping the ear flaps would keep it laying flat, but it doesn't look like they will.  Also, where I picked up the stitches for those ear flaps, it left big holes.

I'm hoping when I wash and block the hat, it'll cover those sins, since blocking covers a multitude of them.  Either way, someone next year will end up with a very special hat in his Blessing Bag.  Maybe more than one someone.  Read on, dear friend...

Determined not to let that cast on beat me, I cast on another hat -- this time using the correct cast on.

I was just very careful to cast on very loosely this time.  Now that I've kind of got the hang of that cast on, I might use it for all my charity hats. 

One last thing, I found the baseboard and chair rail I'd pried off the wall by my wood stove and put them back up.

I have some trim that goes against the bricks as well, if I can find it.  Then, of course, getting the mantle back up, and my little wood stove will be done.  Just that little bit makes the area look neater, and more finished -- despite the stains on the wood.  And the peeled paint.

And the floors that desperately need replaced...

But they'll have to do for now.  I'm not doing any more remodeling until I get my credit cards paid off and a significant bit of savings built up.   I just need to beg for overtime at work.

I Voted

I voted.  And you know, if you don't vote, you have no right to complain...except...

I've been good, y'all.  It hasn't been easy, but I've been good.

See, last month the city had a special election to levy a new tourism tax to they can raise revenue to build a new sports complex.  I even blogged about it.  Someone commented on the very low voter turnout for that special election.  I remarked that turnout might have been higher if they'd put it onto the general election ballot, but I strongly suspect that there is a good reason they didn't want to do that.  It might have had a completely different result.  Now everyone is saying if you didn't vote, you can't complain.

The thing about it is, this sports complex is going to be built right on the city limits.  A lot of people who live nearby, but aren't inside city limits will be affected by it.   I'm one of them.  I'm not in the city.  I'm in the county, so I couldn't even vote in that election, even though this monstrosity is going to be built a just over a mile from my house. 

As the crow flies.  It's a little longer if you go by the roads, but it's still very close. 

I was very vocal in my opposition to the new tax, but in the end, the levy passed.  Since then, I've kept my mouth shut, or rather, my keyboard quiet about it.

When someone posted about the brown water coming out of her tap, I wanted to say, "But hey!  You're getting a new sports complex!"  But I didn't.

And when someone else complained about the potholes on her road, I wanted to say, "But look on the bright side.  You're getting another sports complex!"  But I didn't.

When someone complained about the taxpayer funded wheelchair access van being broken down for months, and she couldn't get her father to his doctor appointments, I wanted to say, "But you're getting a new sports complex!"  But I didn't.


When they complain about lack of good jobs, or how bad the hospital is, or our below average school systems...I don't say anything. 

Because you know, if you don't vote, you can't complain. 

Dear Coworker

I appreciate that you need to go really badly, but can you please let me get out of the stall before you come barging in?

Thank you.

That is all. 

Busy Saturday

It's November now.  I reckon that means it's time to take my Halloween decorations down.  We're not big on Halloween here, so these were the only three things I'd put out to begin with.

That little pumpkin on the right used to have an air plant in it, but it died.  The luminaria Jack O' Lantern I've had so long, I don't even remember where I got it, and the mug in the middle was given to me by a coworker several years ago.  That's about it.  Since Cody is grown and gone, I don't even put out my fake light up Jack O' Lantern any more.  Well, I do, but I put the plain side out so it's a general Fall decoration. 

We are all ready for Thanksgiving now.  The plant usually gives us a Turkey, and I'm thinking, if Cody isn't coming home, I'll just put it into the freezer for Christmas.  I may just do gumbo or ribs in the Instant Pot for Thanksgiving.  I'll still make a pumpkin or a squash pie.  Maybe Cody can come home around Thanksgiving time, if not on Thanksgiving day itself.  Planning is half the fun, and I hate not knowing what to plan for. 

Speaking of my freezer, I got my plants all safely tucked into their winter home.

What has that got to do with my freezer?  That's where I had all my Christmas cacti -- on top of my deep freeze.  It's supposed to get really cold -- well, for the South -- next weekend, maybe even freeze, so this seemed like a good time to get them moved inside.

Next up, my project for the day.  When whoever installed this bathtub installed this bathtub, they didn't to a very good job.  The drain actually sits about 1/8" above the bottom of the tub.  Over the years, water has collected in that gap, and caused the tub to start rusting.  I put some silicone down to try to keep the water from pooling, but I didn't think it was providing much protection.  It seemed to me the water was getting under the silicone, because it wasn't stuck to the tub very well.  I guess because of the rust.  I needed to do something better.   

This morning, I got the old trusty wire brush out and scrubbed all the silicone and loose rust off.

For what it's worth, I may not be the best housekeeper in the world, but my tub isn't normally that dirty.  It's from scrubbing the rust.  Except for that hair in the drain.  It's always there.  What can I say?  It's like it grows right out of my head or something.

Also note, there are quite a few bristles missing from that brush.  I wore two of those down like that, scrubbing fireplace bricks.  So glad to be done with that. 

Anyway, as soon as it was clean and dry, I painted it with a bit of Rustoleum oil based enamel paint.

I'm going to put a second coat on tomorrow, once this one is fully dry.  The can said to wait about 24 hours to re-coat.  Since this is my only bathtub/shower, I'll shower in the AM -- after the 24 hour drying period -- then put the second coat on.  That'll also let me see how this paint will hold up.  It's supposed to be waterproof.  We shall see. 

This is only a stop-gap until I can get the tub either re-finished or replaced. I really want to get all my bathroom fixtures replaced eventually, including the plumbing.  But that will be a long time coming...

I finally broke down and ordered some mounting things for my mantle.  I put it off for a long time, because I didn't really know what I'd be getting before I ordered.  I'd have much rather have seen these in person before buying them, but nobody local had anything like I wanted. 

They arrived this morning, and I find myself just a bit daunted by the prospect. 

What I'm having trouble with is drilling those big holes in my mantle.  The rest is easy.  Those posts are 6" long, so I have to drill a perfectly straight hole at least that long.  I'm going to have to buy a drill bit...and one that size won't even fit my little drill.  So, that means I buy a new drill...I may have to ask for help with this one, folks. 

Maybe I'll get my shutters painted, then hire someone to install both the mantle and shutters at the same time. That'll work.

On the bright side, a free level came with the mounting brackets.

Today is one of those days I can't seem to decide whether I'm hot or cold.  Kind of like the day itself.  It started off in the 30s, and ended up in the low 70s.  I keep opening the windows, then closing them, then putting on long sleeves, then taking them off...ad infinitum. 

However, it did stay cold enough long enough to put me in the mood to play with my new wax stamps, which also arrived today.

This one has Christmas designs.  Six of them.

If you can't see the picture, there is a Santa, a deer, a Merry Christmas, a tree, a snowman, and bells.  I spent a couple of happy hours signing and sealing Christmas cards while watching cheesy Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel.

I had fun trying different things, like marbling the wax.  I'm telling you one thing, though.  When it comes time for me to buy new wax, I'm definitely getting the beads instead of the sticks.  Trying to cut that stuff is hard!  I've also got the kind you light a wick, but I don't like those.  It takes so long to get enough wax melted that way, the first bit you've dripped onto your paper has already cooled.  Plus, the fire keeps going out, and ash from the wick sometimes drips into your pool...I just don't like that kind.   BTW, if you got a card last year, you're getting one this year, too.  If you didn't, and want one, make sure I have your address, and I'll add you to the list.

Lastly, I gave Cody what I thought was my last Jayne hat.  Turns out it wasn't, as I found another one in the closet.  But you can't have too many Jayne hats, so I cast on a new one.

The pattern I use calls for a Twisted German Cast On.  It took me three tries to get it right, then four rounds in, I decided it wasn't stretchy enough.  I ripped it all out and started over with a knitted cast on this time.

Now, if I could only figure out how to make a decent pom pom, I'd be all set. 

P.S.  I know how to do it, but mine never turn out right. 

Scrambling Eggs

I'm not sure what I ate yesterday that disagreed with me, but something sure did.  When the alarm went off way too early this morning after half a night running to the bathroom, I seriously considered staying in bed.  I mean, I didn't have to go in, because of my vacation day yesterday.  But I remembered how broke I am, so I got up and went to work. 

Just a couple of hours in, I was wondering what I was thinking -- then I thought again about how broke I was, and remembered what I was thinking.  It was only an 8 hour shift, but it seemed as long as a 12 hour shift.

Be that as it may, I made it through the day, and still have a whole weekend to look forward to, including four brand new cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.  I'm going to have to figure out my DVR, and see if I can record two at the same time, because LSU plays Alabama also play at that time. 

Or, I'm sure one of the movies will be re-run, if not both. 

But that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about tonight.  See, yesterday morning before he left, Cody was looking for something for breakfast.  I was telling him what quick and easy things he could fix -- cereal, oatmeal, and the like.  The last thing I mentioned was, "Or you could scramble some eggs in the microwave."  He looked at me quizzically, and said, "You can scramble eggs in the microwave?" 

Yep.  I gave him a quick lesson, and he fixed himself some breakfast.  While he was eating, I posted the following on my Facebook feed:

I was surprised at how many people commented that they also did not know you could scramble eggs in the microwave.  In the spirit of the season, I will now present to you a quick egg scrambling lesson.

First off, crack two eggs into a microwave safe bowl.  You might be able to do larger quantities, but I've never tried it.  These instructions are for two.  Adjust your times accordingly.

OK, back to my lesson.

Crack two eggs into a microwave safe bowl.  Add milk, or cheese, salt and pepper, or whatever you usually add when scrambling them in a skillet, and whisk them until they are well blended.  The prep part is exactly the same as cooking them on a stove top.

Put the bowl into the microwave and cook for 30 seconds.  Gently stir the eggs, then cook for 15 seconds.  Stir, and cook for 5 more seconds.  Repeat until eggs are close to being done.  When the eggs start looking close to being done, reduce cooking time to 10 seconds between stirring.  You will want to take them out of the microwave before they are completely dry, the same as if you were cooking them in a skillet. 

Let them set a minute before eating.

There you have it.  You now know how to cook eggs in a microwave. 

Bon apetit!

November Day

The expected severe weather passed through last night, and turned out to be not as severe as expected.  Either that, or I was much more tired than expected and slept right through it.  That has been known to happen.  It has been chilly and rainy all day, but not too cold.  That is supposed to arrive sometime tonight.

In anticipation of said expected cold, I went ahead and filled up the wood box.

As soon as I had finished, my friend texted and said sub-brazers are working tomorrow.   My first thought was, "I'm not going!"  I don't have to, since I have vacation today.  Then I remembered how broke I am, and how deeply in debt I still am, and I've still got to pay for my dental work, and I've got car insurance due at the end of the month, so I decided to go in after all.  I went into the bedroom and turned my alarm on, took a shower, and went to bed. 

And realized it was only 3:30, so I got back up. 

Oh, well.  I get some overtime, and the wood box will already be full for Saturday morning, which is supposed to be even colder than tomorrow. There is an old weather folklore that says if the deer turn gray in October, it's going to be a harsh winter.  Mine have been gray for about two weeks now.  Between the deer and the spiders, I'm glad I've got a lot of firewood.  And blankets.

BTW, I do need to get a slipcover for that chair, so it won't get dirty if any wood falls out of the box and lands on it. 

In other news, Cody took his clothes, his shotgun, and his snake, and left back out to go to his new apartment.  It's weird.  Even though I didn't see the snake a whole lot, the house feels kind of empty without him. 

The good news is, Cody says he's not even through with his 90 day probationary period and they're already talking about recommending him to be the manager of the frozen foods section, provided the old manager takes the new job he's considering.  It's purely speculation at this point, but if he could get that job, he could quit Home Depot and only work one job.  So, yay for that.

The bad news is, he doesn't think he'll be able to come home for Thanksgiving, but does want to come home for Christmas.  He'll just have to see what his schedule is.  He mused, "Now, I understand why you want to move back to Texas so badly.  I can see myself moving back here eventually." 

Yep, it's where he grew up.  To him, this is home. 

Remember the hat I was knitting from the ball of mystery yarn I found?  I finished it a few days ago.

I was playing a serious game of yarn chicken with this one, and actually left out a row of decreases at the end, but it worked out.  By the time I was done, I had about three inches of yarn left over.  Yes, you read that right.  Three inches.  I was really sweating that outcome, and even thought about making it a ponytail hat, but I made it.  Barely, but I made it.

This afternoon, I cast on a new hat.

This is just a basic beanie pattern, and the yarn is Cascade 220.  It's supposed to be worsted weight, but it's very thin, almost a DK weight.  I used an 88 stitch cast on because of how thin the yarn is.  I've already knit one hat out of this ball of yarn, so I guess I'm starting another game of chicken.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Speaking of my deer, one of the fawns is a little buck.  I spotted his nubbins this evening.  The other one appears to be a doe.  I didn't get as good a look at her, but I didn't see any nubbins. 

The bad news is, antlerless primitive weapons hunting season starts Monday.  Hopefully, mine are close enough to a residential area that nobody will hunt my deer. 

Except that 2 year old spike.  He does need to be culled.   

Halloween Surprise

I got me a nice little Halloween surprise this evening.

Cody and his roommate have found a new apartment, which allows aquarium type pets, so he came home to get his snake.  And the rest of his stuff, of course.

He won't have to go back until tomorrow, so I'll just leave you with my traditional Halloween prayer,

and bid you all a good night.

Random Thoughts Of A Tuesday Evening

1.  Due to possible severe weather tomorrow, and it being church night, kids here are trick or treating tonight.  In the 24 years I've lived here, I've had exactly two trick or treaters, and none since I've moved into this house.  I bought candy anyway -- just in case.  One year, I didn't buy candy, and wouldn't you know it, that was the year I got trick or treaters.

I apologized profusely, and the kids were very gracious about it, but I still felt bad.  Ever since then, I've always made sure I had something to give out.  Even though I usually end up eating it all myself.

2.  Somebody at work wrote on the bathroom wall:

Every time I see it, I think, "Well, you've come to the right place."

Someone also drew a couple of pictures of male genitalia, and wrote something somewhat obscene, which I won't repeat -- this being a family friendly blog and all.  Classy, huh?  But I guess when you only pay $8/hour, you kinda have to take what you can get.

3.  I don't post about work as much as I used to.  Someone from HR has been searching my LinkedIn profile.  They're supposed to have an open door policy, but those are largely a myth anyway.  Despite what they say, they do retaliate.  They're just a bit more circumspect about it.

4.  For your PSA for today, do not, I repeat, do not chase your honey lemon cough drop with Diet Dr Pepper.  You will regret it.  Trust me on this one.

5.  I forgot what I was going to post here.

6.  I wish I could figure out how to hide the traffic stats on my blogger dashboard.  I get so discouraged sometimes.  I try not to care about the numbers, but I do.  I wonder why my hits dropped from over 100 a few days ago to around 40 these last few days.  Such a drop always makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong.  Or maybe I just got boring.

7.  BTW, I don't make $8/hour.  That's what they pay the temps.  I make a bit more than that, which I think is why they're trying so hard to get rid of us older folks -- so they can replace us with someone they only have to pay $8/hour.

8.  For the love of all that is holy, floss, people, FLOSS!!!

9.  I guess that's it for now.  Goodnight.

Spiders (No Pictures)

They say when spiders come into the house, it's a sign of a snowy winter to come.

I've killed five in three days.

Five. Spiders.

In three days.  In my house.

Take that for what it's worth, but me, I'm going to start splitting all this here firewood up.

Two More

It kind of felt weird this weekend, waking up without a home renovation project going on.  I almost didn't know what to do with myself.  It was actually kind of nice, being able to relax, and do just enough puttering to keep boredom at bay.

It isn't supposed to get cold again until next Thursday night, so I moved some of my plants back outside.   While I was doing that, I went ahead and cleaned the moss off my back porch, and pulled up all the little plants that had sprouted between the bricks.

That very last row of bricks had rolled over and had dirt and gunk built up behind them.  I cleaned all that out and got them lined back up.  I put a couple of landscape timbers there to hold them in place.  I wish I'd taken a before picture, so you can see how much better it looks now. 

Once I'd finished that, I said to myself, "Might as well get that closet door painted while I'm up, so I did.

I first put a coat of Kilz primer on it, and let me tell you, cleaning that up was a mess.  The more I washed, the more there was.  I started off with just a couple of spots on my hands.  I started washing, and it started growing, and spreading, and getting everywhere.  Before it was all over, I had both hands completely coated up past my wrists.  I scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed, and got my hands almost clean.  Then it would start growing again -- like oobleck.

I even said that at one point.  "This stuff is like oobleck,"  I said.

I was frustrated and confused, and wondering what the heck was going on, but I persevered kept scrubbing -- thankful all the while I had bought the gallon jug of mineral spirits instead of the quart--and finally got myself and my tools clean.  Well, mostly clean.  I've still got a few spots of primer on my hands and arms, but they'll wear off eventually.

It was a lot easier when I got to using the paint.  Two coats, easy clean up, and it was done.  I have a few spots to touch up, but it looks really good.  At least I think so.

Oh, and yes, as a matter of fact there are four knitting bags sitting right there.  And no, that's not the half of them.  There are many, many more knitting projects scattered throughout this house.

With my living room finally finished, I'm pretty much done with painting projects for a while, so I toted all my painting supplies out to the shop (keeping just enough out to do my shutters) and moved my furniture back into place.  And by furniture, I mean this chair and the wood box -- which isn't a box at all.

I've been debating.  When it's time to remodel the kitchen/dining/living room area,  I'm thinking about closing this door off and making this into a reading nook.

Then I would widen the door between the kitchen and living room.  The back wall of the living room is about even with where that scarecrow is hanging.

I'd take the wall out to there.  It wouldn't be completely open plan, but it would be more open than it is now. 

I don't know yet what I want to do.  I'm not a big fan of open concept, but I'm thinking resale value here, and that's all the rage.

It'll be a while before I can afford to do anything that major, so I have plenty of time to decide.

Books and Horses

When I was a little girl, books and horses were two of my very favorite things in the whole world.  My dad was also an avid reader, and frequently took us to the public library.  It was from him that I acquired my lifelong love of reading and libraries.

One of my favorite books to check out of the public library was one called Big Black Horse.  It's an abbreviated, children's version of Walter Farley's The Black Stallion.    I checked it out so much, they might as well have given it to me.  My name was just about the only one on the card.

I mentioned once that used book stores are going to be the death of me.  Well, of my budget, at least.

Yep, I found it.

I had the tracking number, and it was supposed to have arrived today.  However, the mail carrier came and went, and no book. 

"Oh, well,"  I thought.  "They'll bring it tomorrow or Monday." 

Then, along about 3:00 PM, I heard my door bell ring.  It was the mail carrier!  She'd completed her route and was headed back to the post office, when she discovered she'd overlooked a package.  She drove all the way back out here to bring it to me!  Now, that's what I call service!  I so appreciated that, I went to the local Facebook page and gave her a shout out. 

In other news, I gave in to peer pressure and bought some poison ivy medicine.  I found this:

It is Benadryl and calamine lotion combined into the same tube.  It took about half the tube to cover all my spots, but after I put it on, I ... still itched.  Sigh.  All it will take is time.

But it's been a whole week now, so we are on the down hill side.  I'm looking forward to not itching any more. 

Dear Everyone

If you would stop interrupting me every two seconds, and actually let me -- you know -- finish a sentence, you just might find I will have already answered the questions you keep interrupting me to ask.

So, please stop.  Just stop.

Interrupting, I mean. 

The world will be a better place if people would just shut up and listen once in a while.


Thank you.

That is all. 

Poison Ivy

My thanks to all of you who expressed sympathy over my plight -- or should I say my blight -- with poison ivy.

I also appreciate the suggestions from those of you who seemed to think I'd never encountered poison ivy before and was huddled in the corner whimpering and wondering what to do about it.

I got news for you.  This ain't my first rodeo.  And believe me, everything you recommended I've tried before...except for the one of you who told me to go to the hospital and get a shot.  Um, no.  I am not rushing myself to the emergency room for this:

Annoying, yes, but hardly life threatening. 

Anyway, I've been around this block before, and I know once the blisters form, there is nothing for me to do but to ride it out. 

And maybe invest in a Hazmat suit...