Death to Dandelions! or... Fateful Weeding Frenzy!

Foretelling Extra title:

How I followed Jo(e)'s resolution* so precisely! 

(down to the expected consequences ;-)

            *at the very end of the post

Last week I had a lot to do on Friday to get the house clean and ready for guests that we were expecting on Saturday. I was very productive and checked off all the items in my to-do list, which is in Portuguese, except for the last item and the one that matters ;-) (probably added after I'd done it!):

My "weeding frenzy" was initially aimed at the dandelions (hence the post's first title) which I had left behind after a previous weeding initiative months ago. I did pull all the dandelions that I could find in a large stretch of flower beds (with the help of a robust spade, to get as much of the roots as possible):

And then I tackled all the vines that were growing in between the hostas and lilies, most of them were wild strawberries, but there was another kind and... of course, poison ivy! I knew what I was doing, but I did it anyway, hoping that maybe my reaction wouldn't be so bad -- but it was pretty bad. :(

Here's a section of the flower bed earlier in the Spring:

 Before (on weeding day):

 During (almost done):

 After, a few days later (the weeds have begun to grow again, sigh...):

On a different day two weeks ago I pulled weeds from our brick patio, before:

 After:

The poison ivy rash is getting better a week later (I think I'm way less allergic than my dad or my husband who had to go to the doctor and take steroids), but unfortunately I got some poison ivy on my boys (through the blouse I was wearing) and... because Kelvin ended up wearing the same t-shirt several days in a row, he passed some more of it to himself. Sigh... next time we know better. I ended up doing several loads of laundry with suspected "contaminated" clothing and bedding and I hope that we won't encounter any more "cross-contamination" with the horrible oil from these "poisonous" plants (urushiol).

I will be more careful when working on the yard in the future, especially because we have not only poison ivy, but also poison sumac (which is probably what "attacked" my husband in another weeding occasion). Like Jo(e) I do want to spend more times outdoor, but if I can be more savvy & avoid itchy and oozy rashes, I will!