Have you ever been caught in a lone star dilemma?

Ok so maybe the heading is a little confusing, but I'll get to the dilemma in a minute.  First a little background information.  Years ago when I visited Texas I noticed how proud everyone was of the state flag.  The lone star flag was proudly on display just about everywhere. When I asked about it I was brusquely told to get with the program, It's the lone star state.

Today I had my dilemma (Told you I'd get to it) brought on by a tiny little bug called a lone star tick.  I am wondering if those proud Texans are aware of the lone star tick, a creepy, crawly, and vampire-like insect.  To be fair the name does not refer to Texas and this bug does not originate in Texas.  It only bears that name due to the prominent white spot on it’s back that resembles a star.

Now I'd like to mention that I am basically an indoor type girl.  I hate camping.  I don’t like the summer heat and while I enjoy walking and hiking at times, I stick to the well-defined paths. So after four days of steady pouring rain and me barely walking off the porch it caught me completely by surprise that somehow a lone star tick decided I would be a tasty treat. I mean seriously my husband constantly works in the yard, mowing, trimming bushes and trees and has never, ever had a tick. 

Growing up in rural Virginia and owning many pets, I’ve seen ticks before. This, however, is my first encounter with a lone star tick.

So yesterday, I felt an itch on my lower back.  It felt like a tiny lump.  I twisted and turned and tried to get a better view.  It is virtually impossible to twist in that way at my age.  Heck it's hard to do that at any age unless you do a heck of a lot of yoga.  I was, however, starting to think that it might be a tick.  Ewwwww!  I know you are saying that and believe me I was too!

I dug in the magic Hermione Granger like sack I call a purse and came up with a magnifying glass. Still no luck.  I searched my purse for a mirror and I tried to get a better look with the reflection, and I bombed on that as well. I was coming to the conclusion that in order to identify what was causing the itch I had to work in a circus as the amazing rubber woman.  It was situated in just a spot that was really hard to get a handle on. And I was at work.  I was ready to close the store and head to the doctors when luckily a familiar female customer came in the store and I explained the situation.  She offered to take a look.

She looked and, yes, it was a tick.  I got a pair of tweezers from my purse (Told you it was a magic bag) and she promptly removed the offending insect.  That is when we noticed the white dot.  Thanks to Google, we quickly identified the Lone star tick.  Fortunately it doesn’t carry Lyme disease.  It does, however, carry a disease that is a bit unsettling.  And I had to check it twice to see if I read it right.

The lone star tick can cause an allergy to red meat!  Are you kidding me?  That had to be a misprint.  So let me get this straight.  I will never be able to eat a burger, have a steak or a pork chop ever?  Of all the off the wall things in this world a tiny insect that can cause a person to be allergic to meat!

After a little more research I found that evidently it is true.  Seriously, though,  I don’t eat a lot of red meat, but making it a big giant taboo makes it all the more desirable.  Still, not every tick is a carrier and It couldn’t have been in me for very long. So I guess it's just wait and see. 

I visited the doctor that very afternoon and got a prescription for antibiotic salve.  So unless I develop this life-threatening allergy to meat, I will go on a little older and wiser, imagine something crawling on me every second,  and continue to be indoor girl. 

When it comes to food what are your least favorite vegetables?

So when it comes to food what are your favorite vegetables?  And if you have favorites, it stands to reason you will also have those that you detest.

In my particular case I love almost all vegetables.  There are two, however, that I have never been able to eat.  My veggie nemeses are beets and cooked carrots.  I don’t know why but something happens to a carrot when it is cooked.  Eaten raw, they area crisp, sweet, and tasty.  Cooked, well I wont 't into detail but in my case they are definitely unpleasant.

And this distaste has been the bane of my existence since I was a tiny tot in a high chair.  My dad tells me that we were the only house in the neighborhood that had walls decorated in chunks of orange.  Why they continued to try and feed me strained carrots I can only blame on my pediatrician.  They are good for you.  I get it, but how much good is it when they are splattered on floors, walls and unsuspecting passers by?

So I assume my parents eventually had to give up feeding me carrots.  Always thinking of good nutrition, they moved on to beets.  Let me say that while carrots on clothing, walls, and more are not exactly pleasant; beets on the other hand, have been used for centuries to dye many things.  And back when I was a tot, they didn’t have the heavy duty stain removers of today!

Recently, at a restaurant I ordered roasted vegetables since the regular vegetable mix contained carrots.  Much to my surprise the roasted ones had a considerable amount of beets.  (Never thought about asking if they were part of the mix)  After 40 years, I put on my big girl pants and tried a beet.  Amazingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought and I did eat about 1/3 of them before I lost my steam.  Still, while they weren’t as detestable as imagined, I seriously doubt that I will be going out and buying beets for home meals.

So I will still pick out the cooked carrots from soups, stews, potpies, and more.  I’ll set them on the side of the plate in a lonely pile.  I’ll toss them to the dog.  And I will never serve them to my poor carrot-loving husband.  He will just have to wait to order them from a restaurant.

And while we are at it what are your favorite and least favorite fruits?  Hmmmmm well, I can’t stand the taste of mangoes, but that discussion is best left for another post.  So what are your favorite vegetables?