Ow.

The other night, while working at the restaurant, I closed a large heavy door on my thumb.

Not intentionally, of course--it banged shut, on my thumb, before I could move my hand completely out of the way. But now my right thumb is swollen, exceptionally painful, and my thumbnail is a particularly vivid shade of navy blue.

So, it may be a while before I can use that hand fully again. I'm afraid I'll have a completely disfigured fingernail for a while. Fortunately, the pain is tamping down to a dull roar. When it first happened, it hurt so much I actually got queasy. (And then still had to work a regular shift, opening wine bottles and carrying hot plates and writing things down. I popped six ibuprofen in as many hours.) Today I can at least type without wanting to cry. So hopefully I'll be able to get in the kitchen this weekend and cook like a normal person, with properly-working thumbs.

I'm running low on staples, but I'm trying to put off grocery shopping as long as possible. Here's what's on the docket for the next few days, using up what's around:

Minestrone
Red beans and rice (with Italian sausage)
Chili (with venison)

In other news, I've invited a couple gals I work with over for dinner Monday night--it'll be my first attempt at entertaining in the new place. I'm thinking about making an alligator gumbo, using the frozen alligator and alligator sausage I brought back from New Orleans.