what you see here...

....is the making of a back-woods operation room.

we have 2 nimble thumbs (that belong to a hardcore lady friend - weighing in at about 100 pounds, but she has slit the throat of a chicken before and is raising twin boys. i figured she was about as qualified as anyone within a 28-mile radius).

we have a thumb. my thumb. that had a large splinter inside. and i thought the body would just ingest the splinter. nope. it just kept feeling more and more painful despite my wishing it away.

we have a beer. i was drinking it before, during, and after my procedure. let's just say it was supposed to be my anesthesia, but it really wasn't all that strong.

toy story band-aid. makes everything better. hydrogen peroxide makes everything cleaner. (needle not shown).

very strong tweezers - Dr. R uses them not only to tame her unruly brows but to help friends out in their time of need

ice bear. again, was somewhat supposed to be covering anesthesia, but really wasn't that helpful.

and, the dish towel, our operating table.

all in all, a successful splinter-removal overall.