New Glasses At Last!

Aaah! New glasses! And just in time.

One of the lenses in the old glasses I was using, from putting them on and off all the time, was loose. At first I could not even see (with another old pair of tri-focals) whether the screw was still there or was gone. But the next morning in daylight, with magnifying glass and under a strong desk lamp, I found the screw head and with my tiny eyeglass-repair screwdriver was able to tighten the frame.

I have new insight into how frustrating and debilitating not being able to see well can be. Finally I can put on my glasses in the morning and not have to even think about them until I go to bed. And I can see fine. It took a little adjustment to the new lenses but I have adapted quickly.

Another good piece of news. Since I had paid for a lens protection program when I got my new bi-focal semi-tinted sunglasses, they changed the prescription in them for FREE. How nice is that!

I had promised my Aunt Jean I would come visit her and that visit got delayed much longer than I intended, due to cataract surgery. So I determined I would visit her in Virginia Beach for Thanksgiving. It’s quite a trip out there so I started thinking of other visits I could make since I was going that way.

It didn’t take long to realize I would be going through Richmond, VA, where they have a terrific library with lots of archival material, so that visit has been added into the mix. I will stop on the way going, as the library will be closed from noon the day before Thanksgiving through the rest of the weekend.

This really bitter cold weather is making excursions outside exceedingly uncomfortable. Even with my nice warm winter coat and scarf, my errands yesterday were no fun and by the time I came home my back was aching, just from the tension produced by the cold and wind when I was walking between car and buildings. The first thing I did when I got home was sit down and relax with a heating pad on my back. Within a few minutes, all the back ache was gone.

The Muro 128 2% finally came into the pharmacy so I have added that to my medicine cabinet, but I have only used the eye drops once. The warm compresses the doctor suggested work just as well, if not better.

It’s a good day to stay inside, though the sun makes it look so pretty out. I am just hoping this artic blast runs itself out before I take off for Aunt Jean's.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving. I, myself, have much to be thankful for.

Be seeing you... with my nice new lenses.

Not So Simple Pleasures

I was thinking on one of my drives to Cleveland, as I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, how fortunate we are to have eyesight. I know that vision evolved to make us aware of our surroundings, along with hearing and smell and all of our senses. But how miraculous is vision! I was counting the attributes of vision as I drove along. What is it that makes the scenery so wonderful? There is color, of course, but there is shape and line and depth and contrast and variety. I noticed how scenes with variety pleasured me to a greater degree than those with less variety. And of course, light and shadow.

Then I thought, what is the source of pleasure? Where in our body-mind does pleasure originate? For me, pleasure is a distinct feeling inside, in the middle of my chest, a warmth there that quickly diffuses my whole body. How is it that a sight can be transformed into a feeling? How does that happen?

It happens with our other senses too. I’ve been wafted away into the air listening to a concert. I can’t pass the vase of roses without taking a whiff, and that induces that same feeling. I remember the pleasure of the warm blanket tucked around me just before my surgery. Along with the pleasure comes a sense of well being. Or is the sense of well being synonymous with pleasure? (Webster says no, not quite.)

I tend to explain my feelings as coming from my thoughts. But the only thoughts I can decipher at the time of such pleasures are “Isn’t that beautiful!” or “That is so wonderful”. I don’t think this experience of pleasure is something I learned or copied from my elders; I think it is innate. I may never understand how it works; I am just so grateful that it is part of my experience, in this body, on this earth.

My rose bush is still putting out buds in spite of the cold nights. I hear the ducks and geese overhead. I bundle in layers to go walking. All the signs of impending cold weather are upon us. Yet even the crisp air brings pleasure.

The leaves are raked and piled at curbside, a pile about 3 ft. deep and 20 ft. long. I hope the city comes soon to scoop them up, so they don’t blow all over someone else’s lawn. And thereby reduce their pleasure, perhaps.

I’ve ordered my new glasses. They had to be sent away to have the anti-glare coating put on them. It will likely be another ten days before I have them. I am hoping I might be able to drive more easily at night with new glasses.

Be seeing you...

Day of the Dead

Cold the last couple days, but not as cold as Saturday when Amy and I were out. We attended a latino Festival Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) in one of the western communities of Cleveland.

It was 40 degrees out and there was a strong northwest wind. We dressed warmly but we could only stay out in the wind for a short time before the need to seek cover became a burgeoning priority. Luckily there was a parish hall and a old church that provided a place to get inside. We found a series of “altars” sponsored by the Cleveland Arts Council in one hall and vendors and a venue for performances that would take place after the parade in the other.

When we ventured back outside, the parade was forming up. We enjoyed watching the many people with costumes and/or great face painting. Probably about 65 people marched in the parade. It was so windy that when the stilt-walkers came to intersections, they had to cross them sideways in order to stay upright until they once again got some shelter from the buildings along the streets. But they all looked like they were having a wonderful time.

I had never been to a Day of the Dead festival before. Amy explained the significance of some items in the altars we saw. We did not stay for the performances, but we did look at the “cemetery” where people had erected "tombstones" or memorials to honor loved ones. And at the gates of the cemetery were Dia de Muertos notes available for people to write to, or about, their loved ones and tie onto the gate. This was a popular site.

We saw snow flurries on the way home, just a few. As a child, we would say it was “spitting snow”, letting us know winter is coming - as if the bitter cold wind was not enough.

Three days ago I saw Dr. Lass for a final checkup on my left eye. He said that most of the swelling was gone; the pressure in both eyes was okay. Regarding the irritation in the right eye, I was told that there were oil ducts in the edge of the upper eyelid and it was not uncommon for the ducts to get clogged; the one in my right eye was clogged. They recommended warm compresses and gentle rubbing of the lid ONLY, not the eye. In addition Dr. Lass said not to use the "dry-eye" drops for irritation but instead to use Muro128, a solution with a little salt in it to help draw fluid through the cornea.

At the pharmacy to get the drops, we found there were two strengths of the Muro drops so we had to call back to the doctor’s office to determine which to buy. The pharmacy did not have the 2% that we needed, so I will wait until I get home and try again or have them order it for me. Using the warm compresses has relieved the irritation completely today.

I will be heading back to Covington in a few days. I will be back to Cleveland for Christmas - and that’s not that far away!  I feel like I have been in some kind of time warp and lost a few months. How can it possibly be November already?

Be seeing you....