A Country Visit ~

The sweet scent of Lilac could be smelt every where. They seemed to grow wild and were seen every time you turned around.


The trees were happy to see you too and maybe even encouraging a tree hug?


I loved this old truck! My dream is to have one... one day.


At the end of the year Charlie and I discuss with friends who also have a trailer, what trips we want to take and the dates we want to do them on . We write the dates down on the calendar and make sure we get that vacation time in on the calender at work as well. One of the trips we decided to take was to Columbia, California. It was a short trip; we left right after work on Friday and came home on Sunday. I really enjoy the "pick-me-up" I get from these short trips.

On this trip, after we got the trailers all set up, we decided not to break out the B-B-Q and instead just drive into Sonora and have dinner in town. We found a Mexican Restaurant and conversed over dinner. It was so nice and really relaxing. We strolled down the main street after dinner and admired the old buildings. We noticed there was a Spring Festival to be held the next morning and decided to go to it. There were vendors after vendors lining the main street and down a couple of side streets with road blocks. We parked our truck in a shady spot and debated on bringing the girls with us (our dogs bark at everyone) on our walk, deciding the cool air would a lot us time to traipse the area for a couple of hours and they would be okay. As we were finishing the up with browsing vendor booths, I noticed a booth that had toe rings and was so excited because they were the toe rings that I prefer which encircle your toes entirely. As I sat while the very nice lady was fitting my toe with three stack ables (two plain gold and one sterling silver cut embossed), she would have me walk around to see if I was comfortable with the fit. It just didn't feel right, so we did that three more times and ended up with the first set that I tried on. As this was going on, Charlie reminded me that the girls were in the truck and it started to get warm, we really should be getting back. I slipped on my sock and Ariat Fat Baby boot and we headed to the truck fast. Later that night after we said our good-nights to our friends, Charlie and I went over our day, and he realized that he didn't see what toe ring set I had picked. I took my boot off and then my sock and was shocked to see my toe was all swollen.
He gasped, "Babe, it isn't supposed to look like that. Is it?"
I replied, "No, it is just because she was trying to fit me with a size I was comfortable in."
He then said, "You better take them off, I don't think you should sleep with them on. Give your toe some time to get back to the regular size."
I went to the sink and put some liquid dish soap on my toe to slip them off easier. It took a little time with prying them off, but I did it.

The next morning we said our good-byes and off we were heading back home. After I got unpacked, I took my shower and decided to put my toe rings back on. I noticed that my toe was starting to swell again. I have never had this happen and got a little nervous. I tried to take them off again but couldn't. I decided to put my foot in the pool and soak it in the cold water. My toe just got bigger and then it started turning purple. I then put my foot into ice water; still the swelling didn't go down. I panicked and thought, 'I need to get these toe rings off!' I got some liquid hand soap and tried to get them off and indeed did get one off, with only making it worse for the two other rings. My poor toe was not only the color purple, it was now blue and throbbing. Charlie walked into our bathroom to find me on the floor, crying a little with the pain that I was feeling.

Concerned, he asked me, "What is the matter?" I explained to him what I did.
He looked at me like I was crazy and asked me, "What were you thinking?"
He took one look and said, "You are going to have to go the emergency to get them cut off!"
I said, "No way!"
Charlie: "Ang, do you want your toe to fall off?"
Angela: "No."
Charlie: "Well, you have to get them off now. Do you want me to do it?"
Angela: "Yes."
Charlie: "I have to cut them off."
Angela: Bummed, "Okay." Charlie left to go get the cutters out of his work trailer.
The next one to be taken off was the sterling silver Victorian flower ring. I had to try one more time... I loaded my toe up with soap and just stretched my toe out as far as it would go and pulled and pried with all of my might to take it off. I don't know how I did it, but it came off. My toe could take no more. At that time Charlie came in towards me with one hand behind him. He had a weird look in his eyes, like he was telling himself he could do this. I was more nervous about the look in his eyes than about him cutting my ring off.
He said, "Close your eyes."
Angela: "No."
Charlie: "CLOSE your eyes!"
Angela: "NO! Let me see what you have behind your back!"
Charlie: "NO! Ange, please close your eyes so that I can cut it off."
Angela: "Babe, I want to see the cutters. I need to see the cutters."
He slowly pulled his hand from behind him and the cutters... They were huge! I couldn't understand how he was going to get the blade under the toe ring that was wrapped around my swollen and bruised toe. I knew that I had no other choice, it was now or lose my toe!
I told my husband, "Just do it."
He explained to me that when he cut the ring, the ring itself was going to cut my toe and I was going to have to pull the ring apart as soon as he cut it.
Charlie: "Are you ready?"
I nodded yes.
He pushed the big blade down on my swollen toe, to get under the ring and cut.
I screamed and immediately felt the ring puncture my toe just like he said it would and pulled both sides of the ring so that I could get it off.

Believe it or not, it took all day to get three toe rings off. My poor toe. I was so concerned about the girls being in the truck, I wasn't paying attention to how the rings I ended up with actually felt and just went with it.

Spending all day with my toes, they started to look weird to me like ten little nubs. Then I started thinking about how putting rings on our toes is kinda weird too; rings on nubs. I got over it though, and still love and wear my toe rings.