Itching to Clean

I was so excited to update yesterday and show what I did Wednesday all afternoon and part of the evening, but Wednesday night I got a horrible case of itchiness that I have yet to explain. I itched like a fiend all day yesterday. No rash. Just itch. It was everywhere but particularly on the more delicate skin of my wrists, underside of my arms, inside of my legs, neck and chest. I beat my brain over anything unusual I might have eaten of gotten into and came up with nothing. The only thing it could possibly have been is...

I cleaned my basement quite a bit. I got dusty and spider-webby and generally dirty. It's not like I haven't dealt with such grunge in the past, but it's the only thing I could think might have caused such a bad case of itchiness. I showered afterward, so I rather doubt that's what it was either, but who knows. I'm not nearly as itchy today, so it can't be that serious.

What is serious is how well I did on the basement that day. I was feeling a little wishy-washy earlier that day, and I thought I better just go do something rather than fall into the same old funk I found so comfortable in the past. So when I went down to do some laundry, I figured I'd just stay down there. It was hot and humid out anyway, and the basement offered a bit of relief. It's as close to air conditioning as I could get.

I was on a mission. I threw stuff out and put stuff in the donation box without all the emotion. I have three overflowing boxes of things to donate and two big boxes of garbage. I still have one of each box in the basement to pack just a few more things, so the pictures would be even more dramatic had I pulled those out as well. Still, take a look at this�

And this�

We can actually sit on the futon. We can walk through the basement. As a matter of fact, I did Tae-bo down there that evening. That's as far as I got, and I haven't been back down there since then. As you can see from this�

I still have a lot to do down there. I won't even bother with the rest of the basement, because it looks the same. I didn't shuffle things around either. I actually got rid of the piles of junk. The only thing I shuffled was the set of shelves, which can't be seen in these. It was a good move. It's much more out of the way now.

It is so much nicer down there now that I am itching to do even more, so maybe that's why I was so itchy yesterday. I didn't do any more cleaning.

I didn't do much of anything yesterday except read The Hobbit over again and start on The Fellowship of the Ring. It's been many years since I read these books, and since the movie is coming out, I thought I might refresh myself. I forgot a lot more than I thought I did. I'm not a total geek when it comes to these books, but I do dig them. I even read The Silmarillion when I read through the series the first time, and I equate that on par with reading The Bible, not that I'm trying to compare the two in content, but the excitement factor is very close.

It was good for me that I had another day off exercise yesterday, because I think sweat would have only exacerbated my itching problem. The only time I found relief was lying in an oatmeal bath. The rest of the time I spent willing myself not to scratch my skin off, much like when I lay in the hospital with severe chicken pox.

Today I only itch a little where my clothes, namely my bra, fit snugly. That will make for a better run and strength training workout this evening. I'm supposed to go see John play tonight, but I'm thinking of backing out and staying home. I'm not much in the mood to go out. I'd rather hang out at home where the air is clear of both smoke and hormones.