Couldn't quite get this posted last night, but part of having Alane and the chimps away is getting projects done around the house. So I've been taking lots of stuff out, sorting, discarding, cleaning. That raises a lot of dust -- and I'm allergic to dust.

So last night I was taking up the carpet runners in the hallways. The rubber backing had deteriorated and adhered to the floor, so ripping them up was a hassle -- and the dust it raised was huge. When I was done, I couldn't stop sneezing, my eyes were tearing, and I was a mess. Even an hour later, my left eye was itching like mad -- I checked it in the mirror and what I saw was very disturbing.

Yes, it was red. And there was a lot of tear-duct activity. But in the corner of my eye I noticed that the white part was very puffy. In fact, when I turned my eye in, I saw that the surface would bag up and bulge.

Was that a blister on the surface of my eyeball?

The thought repulsed me. I turned on the A/C and went to sleep on the couch -- hoping it would clear up by morning. Got up at 5:00 a.m. and saw that it was not much better. Found some Claritin in the medicine chest and went back to sleep.

It's better now but has been itchy all day. I dare not rub it. I cleaned up the remaining dust with a wet mop this evening. Now I'm lounging at the computer with a bottle of port wine in front of me and a hard-working A/C behind me. You can call me "Blinky" if you want, but hopefully you won't need to by tomorrow.