Ouch

the white part is not my shirt!

Well, yesterday was a beautiful day – no question. Today I felt yesterday's sun on my back – no question!. I did put some sunscreen on, I really did, but apparently not enough! Ouch. I have very fair complexion so i"m usually very careful with the sun. And I normally cover up head to toe. Many years ago, when I was 19, I was sitting on the front steps of my apartment building in downtown Toronto, reading a book. I was wearing a mini-skirt while I sat outside, thinking nothing of the May sunshine keeping my legs warm. I was completely engrossed for 8 hours... yeah, those were the days before sun damage awareness. I woke up at 3 am with a high fever and my legs all swollen up. I couldn't walk on them, so I dragged myself to the bathroom... the cool tile floor brought some relief. I was in a bad way. A few days later, I went to the doctor because the pain was too intense to handle. She said I had 2nd degree burn and gave me Flamazine cream to apply 3 times a day. She also told me to take as many baths as possible. When I did, all the dead skin would peel off and float to the surface of the water. Not nice. Ever since then, I've always stayed well away from sun bathing. Kevin and I spent most of the time in the shade for exactly this reason. I wore shorts and when I do, Kevin calls my legs 'milk bottles' because they are so white. I'm happy to report that they are just as white as ever... I guess I lathered the sunscreen more liberally on my legs compared with my back and arms. Kevin, who walks around with a farmer's tan, as we call it, got some sun, too. He's a bit red and a little sore, too. We make quite the pair.

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