Life happens fast. All I had to do was bike eight tenths of a mile home from my friends' house after dinner and art class. Similar to Nick's deer incident, this animal came right at me! At my bike! As burnt and pungent as a skunk's defense chemicals are, I definitely prefer that it spray me to knocking me unconscious and resulting in a brain contusion!
It was too dark to see the skunk before it was just about to go under my front wheel. I felt wet drops all over my right exposed shin where the pants were rolled up, then BUMP I went right over the animal. "OMGosh!" I looped around but the little stinker had run off the road.
I walked into the house, and told Nick that I had just got sprayed by a skunk but he would have figured that out on his own! I had to shed my clothes, put everything in the garage- which we have since labeled the "Toxic Garage" and rubbed tomato sauce all over my shin, which apparently is an "Old Wives Tale." Nick got online and started finding web resources for cleaning up skunk odor. There is no information about cleaning up your wife from a skunk incident, just cleaning up your dog! I guess normally you don't get sprayed unless you go chasing and barking after a skunk- which I most certainly did not do! But I should have.
Next step was to try a concoction of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, dish soap and water all over my shin. My skin smelled fine after this, but as I was moving everything outside, walking back and forth, suddenly there was an invisible force field between my husband and me! And he had such distaste on his face! A few minutes of a life of being an Untouchable.
Nick stayed downstairs while I showered, brushed my teeth, and grabbed PJs, my book and a blanket to sleep on the couch. Somehow we switched floor levels and he told me from the top of the stairs that Wikipedia describes the skunk smell "as odors of rotten eggs, garlic and burnt rubber". At that point, I been up since 4:45AM, too sleepy for the odor to bother me, and was wondering why he had to Wiki the smell that he was experiencing first hand!
This morning was the fun activity of mixing a large volume of solution of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, soap and water in a big trash can and covering all of my affected possessions with it. So far, only the shoes still stink- even after bleach-water too.
Anyone who knows my luck with cell phones, will not be surprised that I removed everything from all the pockets of the bags but forgot to get the cell phone out of the pants pocket before dumping them into the cleaning bath! I soon noticed a solid, vibrating object at the bottom of the trash can. It keeps turning itself on and off. Poor phone! I am sorry for the ill-fate of all my cell phones.
"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." -John Lennon
Photo from: http://www.gifmania.us/Looney-Tunes/Pepe-le-pew/_XXLmisc1.gif
I secretly love the smell of skunks--reminds me of the country and living in MO. I would never say I'd love to be sprayed by one, though! I may not like the smell after that.
ReplyDeleteLove the quote!
Cool! I wouldn't choose it as a perfume, but it didn't really bother me either. Another country smell that country folks dont' mind but city folks do is cow patties. My great-grandparents had a dairy farm. There was a little painting on the wall in my grandfather's house with images of cows in a field that said "Some days you step in it, and some days you don't." =) My parents have some "Gardner Dairy" milk bottles. Some of my friends here take turns driving to a dairy farm each week to get raw milk with all the layers, and it's in a glass bottle. Last week I started buying local 100% grass-fed milk, but it's pasteurized.
ReplyDeleteThey sell local milk in bottles at a couple grocery stores in NC. I cannot WAIT to go to farmer's markets or to actual farms to get my milk and fruits/veggies. I am so ready to leave DC. I think I am going to fall in love with NC quickly. Glad you're enjoying where you are. I am sure Portland will be cool, too! At least from what I've heard....
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