it has been a really rough 24 hours for me and my left hand.
I was working in the garden sunday afternoon, laying black fabric over the soil getting ready to lay pavers and stones and I think this is when it happened. while unrolling the fabric, I suddenly felt a bunch of little pricks on my palm, like touching glass fibers. oooh, worse than nails on chalkboard… and my hand started to itch.
by 10pm my left hand was hot, itching like crazy. it was hard to focus on Splendor, our favorite family board game. but it is a father’s day tradition that mommy beats daddy. every year 🙂 so I persevered through the increasing itch.
when I woke yesterday morning, my left hand was so swollen, hot itchy, horrible. I had to cut off my wedding band at 9am. almost 21 years for that platinum band, thankfully I know a good jeweller.
here is a lovely photo of my hand at noon. 
I had my hand covered in Rockstar RollOn, Extra, hence the blue hue. after this i wrapped my hand in a cloth and alternated between an ice wrap and a hot water bottle for the duration of the day and eve. all the while fuming over the loss of time at the anvil. have a big piece promised this week.
this is my hand 24 hours later. and no, I didn’t mess with lighting or filters. 
I still have no idea what really happened, is happening, with my hand. but there is noticeable improvement 24 hours later and my wrist never became swollen. if it had, I would most likely have headed for professional help. and whether my hand would look as good today and be as functional (I’m typing, that in itself is an improvement!) I couldn’t say. but the swelling and itching are going down. and just maybe, mommy will stop behaving like a harpy