Been in the sun too long

A wonderful autumn weekend has come to an end. I'll post some pics tomorrow (the ones that aren't blurry, that is). Tapawingo was fantastic, and we got to take a brisk 3+ mile hike along the same Jordan River Valley trail we took at the end of August. Very pleasant with the fall colors and fallen leaf smells. And we got to spend time with our friends in Grayling Sunday afternoon. Dave and Tim hung out in his male clubhouse garage and watched football, and Sharon and I sat in her yard on lawn chairs with a few beers and shot the breeze all afternoon, enjoying the October sunshine and unseasonal warmth. It was all the more enjoyable once we heard the weather forecast for the coming week. Temperatures are supposed to plummet, and the 'S' word was actually mentioned.

But there is still this little ign'nt part of my brain that says, hey, I don't need to think about sunscreen before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. Uh-huh. As I look in the mirror and survey the sun damage (complete with negative raccoon-like sunglass mask), it's pretty obvious how wrong that is. I didn't even think to pack sunscreen or warm weather clothes for the weekend, like I absolutely would have done in the summer (well, the original plan was to sit inside and watch movies). Both were offered by Sharon, and I turned down the sunscreen and took another swig of beer. Stooooooopid.

I ran across an article in a magazine yesterday morning full of simple home remedies, and for sunburn, it said tea is good to ease the burn and the tannins can even mitigate the damage. I sponged a lot of strong cold tea on my face and neck, and most of the red is gone now. But I swear I can feel the age spots forming and the collagen collapsing and the wrinkles deepening. Lovely. OK, I don't care how many zits break out on my face, I'm slathering on the 45 SPF every day next week. And switching to SPF 15 moisturizer for every single day.

But I can now say I tanned my own hide...