Category: Friday Five

Well, here we are, the first week of September. The last few days have been a bit gloomy, with no appreciable rain.

1. The lawns are crunchy and brown, which reminds me of our trip through San Diego.  Poor Max (Our White German Shepherd at the time) had lapped up some ocean water, and on our way to the campsite, Max became ill. We pulled into a parking lot, and there was no grass to be found. Alas, Max had to use the crunchy brown stuff to be sick on.
2. Tuesday, I go back to see my doctor. I sure hope the pressure in my left eye has gone down. Anything under 34 would be fantastic. Even though my vision is good, the pressure will be the next thing to conquer!
3. My car was detailed, and it once again looks brand new. It’s a 2023 Highlander with 6949 miles on it.

   My Toyota Dealer says he knows I will not be a frequent buyer. True. Unless something goes wrong, DACKEL and I will be riding together for a long time.

4. Miss Heidi is happy that I can drive short distances. She’s a real beauty, and she is so good to her mommy.

   I want to get her a safety car seat so I can get her in securely and booster her up a bit to look outside.

5. In the last week, I have had many people drop in. They all say the same thing. “Your driveway is beautiful!”

Have a great weekend!

Some weeks drag along, and you wonder if you will get through them. This was not the case for me this week. It was happily exciting. Here’s what’s happening.

1. We have not had measurable rain since early June. Most of the rain was in May.  My lawn is brown tumbleweeds, with barely a green patch. And since Autumn isn’t usually full of rain, we are more likely to see snow before our next significant rain.

2. I woke on Tuesday and sat up in my bed, allowing my feet to dangle over the edge. I stretched and opened my eyes, and I could see! Now it isn’t perfect, but it was close to clear, and once I jumped out of bed and turned on the TV, I could see the Closed Captioning.

3. I was so happy, and I alerted everyone close by. I knew I would need time to make sure it was real.

4. It’s funny because after a long period of time with little to no vision in that eye, I was skeptical about my eye magically healing.

5. I have been out alone. I drove to George’s Diner to have breakfast and to pick up my mail. Today, I plan to take a trip to the farm to pick up corn and collect the mail.

So, my gentle readers, this is all the good news happening here in New Hampshire. I am so happy and so thankful!

To say it’s been a busy week would be an understatement. Here goes.

1. I started the week anticipating news about my eye. Would I need more surgery? Should we wait a little longer? Would I always be like this? The good news is that a few days before my appointment, my vision had started to clear. It is not perfect, but I am beginning to see some things again.
2. Tuesday dawned, and I got ready for my trip to Salem. I had made a reservation with Uber, leaving an extra half an hour for traffic. To sum it up, they did not arrive. I was standing in my driveway, and my friend Amy drove in. “Where do you think you’re going?” I told her what was happening, and she told me I was not driving and to get into her car.
3. She drove me all the way to Salem. I cannot tell you how appreciative I am. Not being able to drive is a real pain. But Amy got me there!  I think it was all the craziness that kept me from losing my mind.
4. They did several scans on my left eye and then tested the pressure and vision. I can see some of the things on the eye chart, but I’m still legally blind in my left eye.
5. The news is mostly good. They’ve seen such improvement that they want to wait. I will go back in three weeks, and I hope that things will have continued to improve. I swear to God I will never take my vision for granted.

This week flew by for me. Here are the happenings in my wild and crazy life.

1. While listening to the TV, It had it turned itself off. I got up, changed the batteries in the remote control, and tried again. Nothing. I completely unplugged the TV, hoping that rebooting the machine would resolve the issue. It did not. I remembered that we’d gotten this Vizio TV nineteen years ago in January. Nineteen years! Well, so much has changed in nineteen years. I’m not sure where to start. Meanwhile, a good friend took the TV to see if he could repair it. I use a small flat-screen TV in my bedroom.
2. I went to see my Eye Surgeon on Tuesday. I was not at all surprised that he told me my eye is still full of debris. The good news is that the lens that he adjusted is in good shape and the removal of the debris should restore my vision. This makes me feel hopeful. My tentative surgical date is the 25th.
3. My sister and her husband, Ron, along with their daughter, Jin, and granddaughter, April, will arrive on Monday. I am so excited.
4. I’ve been thinking about the things I miss right now. Dropping and going when I feel like it. You know, just grabbing my car keys and driving out to the farm stand. Also in this category is peripheral vision. At first, I was fine, and then I started hitting walls. Talk about frustrating.
5. Does anyone have a feature on their TVs that they look for? I don’t want a super large TV, around 50 inches. My last TV (19 years old) was a big deal because it was an HD TV. Yes, I was genuinely impressed.

Update: After consulting with a good friend, I have ordered a new TV, which is expected to arrive tomorrow. After 19 years, the loss of the other TV made me sad, but now, I am so excited about the new one! Fun, fun!!!

So life goes on, and I’m right in the middle of most things.

This week seemed to fly by. I managed to accomplish a lot, as I can get a great deal done on the phone.  Here’s what’s happening in my neck of the woods.

1. This was my lawn and yard trimming week. Lafe was here, and he mowed and weed-whacked; everything looks terrific. Best of all, it is lightly raining today, helping to water the lawn naturally.
2. I created a home delivery list from the local grocery, and it was delivered. I then put everything away, and tonight I will make an easy dinner.
3. A good friend of mine whose Post Office Box is near mine went in and cleared all the mail and packages. It was like Christmas and my Birthday all in one, as I’ve ordered many new things.
4. Our neighborhood Doe gave birth to twin fawns this year. I haven’t seen them yet, as they avoid Heidi.
5. I have an appointment on Tuesday with my eye surgeon. I am hoping for a good report.

Nurse Heidi is on duty.

It’s been a tough week. But I tell myself I’ve made it through 66 years and I can, and will make it through this. So, without further ado, here is this week’s Friday Five.

1. I went for an Ophthalmologist appointment on Tuesday. It was an early appointment in Salem, NH, so I Ubered down on Monday, stayed at the Holiday Inn overnight, and Ubered home afterward.
2. Since my surgery three weeks ago, I have had virtually no vision in my left eye. I’m still on a lot of drops and meds, and my doctor tells me he is hopeful, but I’m afraid I am starting to lose hope of getting my vision to return.
3. In the meantime, Heidi is taking good care of me.
   

   She follows me everywhere, and I wonder if there is a Dachshund School for teaching a dackel to be a guide dog? I can almost imagine little Heidi as a guide dog.

   

4. It’s incredible how losing the vision in one eye affects your balance and also your ability to navigate the distance between that eye and a wall. Driving is a definite No-No.
5. The next few months will tell if I regain any vision. I’m trying to think positively, but then I start thinking about the alternatives, and it scares the heck out of me. Oh well, life goes on…

Have a happy Weekend!

This week has made me think of my place in this world. I am learning to appreciate things that I have always taken for granted. Here are my thoughts in my Friday Five.

1. I will never take vision for granted again. After nearly five days, I still have no vision in my left eye. I am hopeful that eventually the vision will be restored.
2.  I am fortunate that I have a sound support system. Here in Meredith, I not only have friends who will help me, but I have hired a few people to do the heavy work.
3. Miss Heidi continues to be my little nurse. She follows me everywhere and has such a calming effect on me. I am so lucky to have this little bundle of love!
4. During my recovery, I have been watching a great show on Netflix. It’s called “Somebody Feed Phil!” It stars Phil Rosenthal, who wrote “Everybody Loves Raymond,” as he travels around eating and learning the history of the area he is in. It is a happy, feel-good show and always leaves a smile on my face. There are eight seasons so far, with more to come!
5. Lastly, I feel incredibly thankful for all that surrounds me. I feel so fortunate in so many ways.

 

Here we are. Already the Fourth of July! Another year is flying by us! Last week was a busy one for me. Here’s what’s going on.

1. I saw my eye surgeon on Monday. After weeks of trying to get my records from Tufts, he had finally received them—fourteen pages of surgical notes. My inserted lens (following cataract surgery) is still shifting around. Some days, it is folded up like a taco, giving me double vision in the left eye; other days, it’s just sliding around, giving me somewhat distorted vision.
2. Surgery is set for Monday morning. It is a rather extensive surgery, but afterward, the new lens will provide me with stable vision.
3. The Puppy Nanny is standing by to take care of Heidi. The best part is that she moves right in, so Heidi’s world isn’t too upset when I am away.
4. I had ordered a wooden crate for Heidi. It’s a lovely piece, and it gives her a lot more room. I hadn’t counted on the assembly. I got out my trusty Black & Decker drill, and in no time, the new crate was put together.

   As you can see, it’s pretty, and best of all, she loves it.

5. I finally broke down and got a Keurig coffee machine. Since it was just me having coffee, using a 14-cup coffee maker didn’t make sense. I love having the ability to create just what I want. The 14-cup coffee machine went to a good friend, along with the coffee mill and beans.

So that is all from here. I will try to write on the blog when I can. I don’t know how long the left eye will be down and out.

Happy 4th of July!!!

I was minding my own business, then all of a sudden, 1975 was 50 years ago. I was seventeen then, and now I have entered my golden years!

With this in mind, here is this week’s Friday Five.

1. 1. I had held onto a glass, hand-blown German Shepherd. I inherited it when I married Jack and moved into the farmhouse he had shared with his first wife. I also inherited their White Shepherd, Rex. He was a sweet old boy whom I fell in love with.
   2. I had watched over this piece for 35 years. I was talking to my step-son, and he was happily surprised that the glass dog was still around. I told him that it was his. I’ve enjoyed it all this time, but the dog was made for him by this glassblower. I tucked it away to protect it until Jon came for a visit.
   3. Yesterday, I started looking for it. I thought I had tucked it into my china closet. It wasn’t there. I tried looking in all the other places I put things to keep them protected. No go. I prayed to Saint Anthony for help, but even my prayers didn’t help me find what I was looking for.
   4. So I looked in a place I had never put anything. I opened the drawer and noticed a Ziploc bag that held Katie’s blanket. I opened the bag and carefully felt inside the blanket. Yes, there it was. How it got into that bag wrapped in Katie’s blanket, I will never know.
   5. What this proves is that at 66 years of age, I can now hide my own Easter Eggs!

   

It’s been a crazy two weeks. I finally went in to see my Nurse Practitioner, whom I have been seeing for a few years. Here’s what’s going on.

1. 1. I’ve been hit with terrible vertigo. It’s been going on for over two weeks. I’ve tried all my usual remedies, but nothing has worked.
   2. She found an awful lot of fluid behind both eardrums. Frankly, it’s been like this for a while; only the vertigo is new and quite debilitating.
   3. I’m on all sorts of antihistamines and decongestants. I feel sleepy, but in many ways, I think extra sleep may be what I need.
   4. My exciting news is that my A1C level is down to 5.3 from 9.3. Thank you, Ozempic!
   5. Another brisk wind and Lake Waukewan will be ice out. A Sure Sign of Spring.