Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Full moon and splinter

Brilliant full moon with a halo last night. Bit tricky to photograph though. Tweaked it a bit but it still isn't anywhere near as impressive as the real thing.

Er, it was a bit tricky to photograph not only because it was night time and I didn't have a tripod, but also because the end of my right index finger (the camera shutter finger) was covered with an Elastoplast. This was the result of a self-administered operation to remove a quarter inch splinter gained when hurriedly picking up a log from the woodpile without gloves. I knew the splinter had to be removed immediately so I fitted a new blade to my scalpel and got stuck in. Cutting the skin in line with the splinter proved a bit difficult because I'm not left-handed. The operation was made even more difficult because I'm squeamish and therefore kept pulling my finger away from the shining blade. However, I eventually cut through, squeezed the embedded end of the splinter towards the entry point, grabbed the emerging other end with a pair of tweezers, pulled, and out the little bastard came, followed by a trickle of blood. Washed the cut, applied Savlon and then a plaster. Operation successful. Celebrated with a well earned scotch.

 
 

2 comments:

  1. Gracious me, that must have been quite a sight! We also saw a halo round the moon last year but my camera would not work because it said the light was too dim. Your camera, therefore, must be a goody. Hope you are well and in good spirits. I know that you have a lot on your mind at the moment.

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  2. Tommo, I am squeamish too, and I never could have performed that minor operation....with a new scalpel blade no less.
    Here, we use an ointment called candle grease, which is essentially molten candle wax in a jar. Just dab a bit on the splinter and apply a plaster overnight, and by the following day, the splinter has "walked" out, since the candle grease more or less draws it to the surface.
    That well-earned scotch will cure anything...hope your finger is all better soon.

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