--226 days.

--First off, my finger...short and sweet. Tendon is torn, but as long as I keep the knuckle straight (in either the custom splint or removable cast), it has an 80% chance of healing itself. For those more interested, it's called a boutonierre deformity. You can look it up online, probably...it's pretty common.

--More importantly, much much more importantly, please, if you're so inclined, drop a prayer in the mind-prayer box for my cousins and uncle...they stand to possibly lose everything...depending, of course, on Hurricane Rita's track:
From my Mom (with some edits):
"Tim and I have continued to email back and forth with all the Texas cousins during the day today and I just thought I'd let you all know the latest. Marty, Michelle and kids have packed up their cars with everything they can possibly fit and are on their way to San Antonio. Marty expects that their house in Dickinson will not survive if Rita hits as expected. I just saw a projected flood area on the news and he's probably right. The flood area does go up into Dickinson. They have been thinking about moving back up north here since Katrina, so maybe this will speed up that process. Lynette, Jordan-- heading somewhere, I forget, to one of CJ's friends. Her apartment is in League City, which is just a bit north of Marty's. They have moved everything to the second floor. Rhonda, Robert and kids and dog--as of this morning, they had no clue what to do as they had no expendable money to evacuate to anyplace. Rhonda was contemplating coming up here, but that had not been definitely decided on. Then Tim talked to Marty later in the afternoon who said that Rhonda, etc. were planning to get out sometime today but we're not sure where they are going (UPDATE: They're actually going to a motel in Tulsa, the closest they could find with openings). Maybe they'll turn up on my front porch. Baytown is a little further away from the gulf but they will probably get hit with Rita anyway. Uncle Ron--was not going anywhere as of yet, but who knows (UPDATE: He went hunting this morning and will be leaving, but probably only after they force evacuations, which is expected soon--he is also in Baytown). I'm linking a map that shows all these places and their relationship to Galveston. The driving distance between Baytown (at the top, just right of center on the map) and Galveston is about 45 min to an hour and Dickinson and League City are in between (dead-center on the map)."