Note to self: Next time you decide to gut the seeds from some hot peppers, make sure you wear plastic gloves.
A little background - This summer I planted and managed to grow some ancho peppers in my containers. I thought it would be fun to make some homemade chile relleno this fall. The peppers took the entire summer to grow, and finally got large enough that I could harvest the last of them before the frost. But I decided I wanted to let them ripen a little bit, so I left them out on the counter for the last couple of weeks. This was my first mistake.
Segue to last night. Being slightly bored, and knowing that I needed to do something about those ripening peppers, I got the bright idea to gut them so I could put them in the freezer for later. I figured I'd done this before with jalapenos, and haven't had any issues, so it should work the same for the anchos. The anchos weren't that large anyway. It didn't even occur to me that I might want to use some plastic gloves for the job. Second mistake.
I gut said peppers. Of course I needed to really use my fingers for the task, so I could get the stray seeds and membranes out without totally mangling the pepper. My task complete, I put the gutted peppers in the freezer, and wash my hands a couple of times, thinking that would be plenty. Third mistake.
At this point it's time for me to get ready for bed. This entails taking the contacts out of my eyes. It stings a little bit, but not enough to cause major trauma. I wash the hands a couple of more times and go to sleep. Silly me. Unbeknownst to me, while I'm dead to the world and dreaming of chile relleno, the pepper juice is sticking to my skin, and aging very nicely - to full potency.
Segue to this morning. I get my 7 and 1/2 hours, and wake up bleary-eyed and not so bushy-tailed. Giving myself plenty of time for the old eyes to work their way open, I read my scriptures, do my thing in the bathroom, and wash my hands again. Then...not realizing there is still pepper juice all over my fingers (by this time fully potent)..., and without so much as a "Danger Tracie Edwards!" to alert me to my impending doom...I PUT THE CONTACTS IN.
And...EYE-CHEE-WA-WA, !@#$%*&^, etc., etc., and so forth. It's as if I've maced myself. My eyes feel like they are going to literally explode. Tears are being shed, and I can't keep the eyes open. I'm staggering around blind and wet and in total misery. I'm thinking I may need to get myself to urgent care, maybe even call the Fire Department next door. Maybe I'll need to take a personal day to recover from my pepper-induced blindness. But thankfully - after crying my eyes out for an hour or so, the remaining pepper fumes had snuffed themselves out, and life goes on.
In the annals of everything stupid I have ever done to injure myself, this even outranks the time I gave myself a black eye with the flashlight (see my post from 9/11/09 for that bit of ridiculousness). And note to self: Next time, wear gloves.
A little background - This summer I planted and managed to grow some ancho peppers in my containers. I thought it would be fun to make some homemade chile relleno this fall. The peppers took the entire summer to grow, and finally got large enough that I could harvest the last of them before the frost. But I decided I wanted to let them ripen a little bit, so I left them out on the counter for the last couple of weeks. This was my first mistake.
Segue to last night. Being slightly bored, and knowing that I needed to do something about those ripening peppers, I got the bright idea to gut them so I could put them in the freezer for later. I figured I'd done this before with jalapenos, and haven't had any issues, so it should work the same for the anchos. The anchos weren't that large anyway. It didn't even occur to me that I might want to use some plastic gloves for the job. Second mistake.
I gut said peppers. Of course I needed to really use my fingers for the task, so I could get the stray seeds and membranes out without totally mangling the pepper. My task complete, I put the gutted peppers in the freezer, and wash my hands a couple of times, thinking that would be plenty. Third mistake.
At this point it's time for me to get ready for bed. This entails taking the contacts out of my eyes. It stings a little bit, but not enough to cause major trauma. I wash the hands a couple of more times and go to sleep. Silly me. Unbeknownst to me, while I'm dead to the world and dreaming of chile relleno, the pepper juice is sticking to my skin, and aging very nicely - to full potency.
Segue to this morning. I get my 7 and 1/2 hours, and wake up bleary-eyed and not so bushy-tailed. Giving myself plenty of time for the old eyes to work their way open, I read my scriptures, do my thing in the bathroom, and wash my hands again. Then...not realizing there is still pepper juice all over my fingers (by this time fully potent)..., and without so much as a "Danger Tracie Edwards!" to alert me to my impending doom...I PUT THE CONTACTS IN.
And...EYE-CHEE-WA-WA, !@#$%*&^, etc., etc., and so forth. It's as if I've maced myself. My eyes feel like they are going to literally explode. Tears are being shed, and I can't keep the eyes open. I'm staggering around blind and wet and in total misery. I'm thinking I may need to get myself to urgent care, maybe even call the Fire Department next door. Maybe I'll need to take a personal day to recover from my pepper-induced blindness. But thankfully - after crying my eyes out for an hour or so, the remaining pepper fumes had snuffed themselves out, and life goes on.
In the annals of everything stupid I have ever done to injure myself, this even outranks the time I gave myself a black eye with the flashlight (see my post from 9/11/09 for that bit of ridiculousness). And note to self: Next time, wear gloves.
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