Tuesday with a clearer picture

[blessedw2]

d donna praying for your blood pressure to go back down!

CATs congratulations!!!

hello all.

went through the 3 boxes I found of filing that I didn't realize was still there. it took me almost 2 hours to shred file and look at

[Twins' Mom]

Yes, Donna, you need to get that BP under control! That's crazy high.

I've been stamping a bit and I uploaded two cards to the stamping website and pinterest. I'll post a link to my Pinterest board in members only.

I realized I already have 6100 steps, that's what errands and grocery shopping will do for me! I don't need to walk around and around our circle this afternoon, a loop with the ddog and cooking supper and usual activities will probably do it.

I am going to water plants and perhaps make chicken salad for later in the week. I have chicken breasts thawed for supper tonight and will try Chicken piccata, with a spinach salad and black bean pasta. (DH bought enough black bean pasta at Costco to last forever.... )

[Harmony]

Thank you, LadyM for sharing your eye journey. See that is the very reason I opted to not have that RK or lasik to fix my astigmatism. Even my information from the dr. said they do not know the long term effects of that surgery. I wasn't willing to take the chance simply because one of my eyes is very weak so I figure that's one strike already. I've read if they do not get every little bit of the old cloudy lens out a new cataract will re-grow.

But anyway, I got some answers today with the optometrist. Very nice guy, by the way. He said some people simply need more sedation than others. I now have a tear (diagonal) across the capsule. Apparently that is causing some of my difficulty, the feeling of being under water, the red blotches where the sun comes in, the odd sensation that isn't quite exactly pain...but something...

It occurred during surgery. He said it is rare but he has seen it. Thankfully there is enough of the capsule left that my new lens is still perfectly positioned. And thankfully they fix this tear with YAG lasar, after the new lens is completely fused to the eye, not before that. 4 weeks at least. In the mean time I will have a jagged dark line or shards of lines or lights. I cannot get new glasses until all this is done so I won't be able to see correctly for a long while yet.

My eye is swollen and pressure is up. Normal after surgery sometimes. I also have a dark circle under that eye. Because of the extra deep exam they had to dialate more so I'm back to seeing things fuzzy in a glare of light.

He put a couple drops in my eye, the first one I felt, the 2nd I didn't. I felt it on my cheek. I asked him if it went into my eye and he said yes, the first one deadens it and that's why I didn't feel the drop. Ahhh, so that's why I didn't feel those drops Monday. Girl probably did them just perfectly. Boy if they'd just explain things to me along the way.

So that's where we are with all this. Oh, Dr. also said it sometimes takes up to 6 days for our brains to be fully awake and active from being sedated. So, a reason why I'm not thinking clearly and forgetting stuff. It's really hard to not see right and think right at the same time. One problem at a time, please!

Dee, I'm glad you're not going to try to get your eye done in a hurry before your DH leaves. That sounded bad to me.

[lucylee]

I am much too far behind on today's posts to try to respond to everyone -- but I do have hopes that I will survive this crud! Last night, if I had started feeling just a little bit worse, I would have considered going to the ER, just b/c my throat was hurting so bad.
Today, I did feel some better, and now I am home after having received a steroid shot, a rx for a Z-pack, and a fresh supply of Nyquil, daytime cough syrup, and throat lozenges. I better feel better soon! With four rx's for dh, plus a coke and some candy, I have spent well over $100 today.

Dgrands were here for about an hour, but they were both very good. DGD will be back tomorrow, and dgs after school, but I'll only have the two of them together for an hour or so.

All this talk about eye surgery... now I'm thankful I just have a sore throat and cough. (((HUGS))) for Harmony -- and Dee, for future surgery!
And (((Donna))) with the BP problem...
And (((Dee))) for your cough! My dmom had a cough like that for quite some time; she have spells of coughing when driving where she had to pull over on the side of the road! When she saw the ENT (after the fall she had in November) she told him about it and he told her he suspected Lisinopril, her bp medicine. He said it was a very common cause of coughing like that. She had been taking it for quite a long while, but she stopped and -- much to her surprise -- her bp stayed DOWN and her cough DISAPPEARED! But, dh OTOH, tried this when he started coughing like he was a few weeks ago, and I don't think leaving off the Lisinopril helped him much at all. I don't know if he has started taking it again or not.
* I know people should NOT stop taking BP meds on their own like this, but dh checks his twice a day and said he would certainly go back to it if his bp started going up. Dmom checks hers fairly often, but not as obsessively as dh.
Also thinking of Norma and LadyM, who have been under the weather a lot lately... and I'm sure there are others. We've just been a sick bunch, lately, haven't we?

He is such a darling, I love him to bits. But I'm exhausted.

Yes... yes... Kathryn, I certainly resemble THAT statement!
I think I've told y'all this before -- I'm sure you've heard it anyway -- but one of our dfriends used to say, "There is nothing so wonderful as their headlights coming, and there taillights leaving."
BTW, good for you, taking care of the bully!

Hey -- -- What do y'all think about this:
Our local high school is having a trophy give-away for the community this weekend. Anyone who wants to can come up to the school and just get whatever trophies they want. Mostly from 1990-2013, I'm told. As y'all know, I and my family put a lot of value on history and tradition and school pride... so we are a bit disappointed in the Powers That Be who decided to just junk all this hardware. Some people say, "Well, they can't keep EVERYTHING, can they?" I don't know... It seems there should be SOME way to preserve all these accomplishments of past students, rather than saying, basically, you graduated; you don't matter anymore. It also seems to me that it sends a message to current students that we have nothing to be proud of, no tradition to uphold, no heritage here, nothing to see, move along.
Do any of you have any idea what happens to old trophies at your local schools?
This is the second time that I am aware of that this has happened at our high school. I did rescue a bunch of them before.
Personally, if someone consulted with me, and I knew there was NO SPACE to display all this stuff, and no money to build cabinet space anywhere, then I would say, take the title plates off the trophies and mount them on separate boards -- like all band together, all golf together, etc, in some organized fashion -- county titles, district titles, etc.
But. No one asked me... so ds and I are going to go see if we can find any pertaining to his school years or dh's career. Adding to the clutter in my house, I guess, but we're just sad to think about stuff like that going to the dump.
Shaking my head...

[LadyMaverick]

I'm ready to slow down. I had 8 things on the schedule that were locked into a time block. DGD7 is at piano lessons for another 20 minutes then my schedule is clear the rest of the day.

On the way home from 4H meeting this afternoon, DS10 asked: "Can I play outside with my friends?"
Me: It is raining!
DS10: So, does that mean your answer is No?
Me: It means you are not playing outside in the rain.
DS10: said with a sad voice.... Oh. Okay.

DS10 doesn't care what the weather is. He just loves to play outside. Rain, snow, cold, hot doesn't seem to matter to him.

I did an inventory of things I have planted. I didn't count how many plants but just the different kind of plants. I was a bit surprised how much there is when I see it written down. I typically add one (or more) things every day.....but but but .....how could it accumulate so fast?
** Growing in the indoor garden containers -
1. Radish
2. Celery
3. Tomatoes (4 varieties)
4. Peppers (2 varieties)
5. Peas - Sugar Snap
6. Onion
7. Broccoli
8. Ginger
9. Turmeric
10. Parsley
11. Rosemary
12. Basil
13. Mustard Greens
14. Lettuce (6 varieties)
15. Beets
16. Sweet Potato slips
** Growing in outdoor garden containers
1. Garlic
2. Onions
3. Radishes
4. Turnips
Microgreens in progress -
1. Radish

The thing that gets me.....I am resisting (mostly) the desire to plant things because it is still over a month away from our typical last freeze.

[LadyMaverick]

Do any of you have any idea what happens to old trophies at your local schools?

The really old trophies (50-100 years old) were moved to our Community Center. They also moved (and refinished) an old cabinet from the old school building before it was torn down. I'm sure they didn't keep all the trophies but I know they kept the ones from each time they won state. There is a picture next to each trophy showing the team players. I'm sure none of this would have happened without many hours of volunteers working on this project.

The newer trophies are displayed in the gym entry area. I know there are trophies there from when DSon was in high school (they won state). Oh my....thinking that was in early 90's so those trophies are over 20 years old. Time passes quickly.

[DeeClutter]

The conundrum comes in that my driver's license expires on my birthday and I won't be up north until after that and I have to have an eye exam first. Complications, complications!

I was telling dd about this bump in the road and decided to go look at my driver's license again. Wahoo! It doesn't expire until my birthday NEXT year. I'll have to take things into account before then and perhaps go home a little earlier. I was very relieved (after saying a quick prayer on the way to get my wallet). Could have sworn it said 2019.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

LadyM: out of interest, why can't ds play outside in the rain if he wants to? It is a cultural thing, I'm sure. The year we were in Denmark in November, it was pouring down and the temperature was in the 40's and yet the students were out in the school yard playing. And later in the day, I'd see parents biking home with their kids in bike seats without rain gear on. Which, in a way, makes sense. There's no way rain gear will keep you dry so why waste the time getting in and out of it?

Dinner is done. It is my turn to clean up but apparently we are practicing music next.

[LadyMaverick]

why can't ds play outside in the rain if he wants to?

Several reasons with the top one being safety. It is raining and cloudy with low visibility. The #1 thing DS10 and friends like to do is ride their bikes. We don't have sidewalks. No one expects children to be riding bikes on the road in this type of weather. It is dangerous.

AND there is the factor of having several children in the house dripping water everywhere they go. In out.....in out....in out. Sometimes I think we should install a rotating door.

We did have 2 sets of children come to our home this afternoon so it isn't like DS10 and DGD7 did not have play time with friends. One came with their parents and played inside. The other neighborhood kids came to deliver birthday presents to DH and then played indoors for about an hour.

[Harriet]

Oh, well Happy Birthday to dh, LadyM! That's nice the children brought him something.

Twins' check your post in MO for omissions.

cats, what delightful news. Doctors knew my dgd3 would have to have kidney surgery at about a week of age, she did, and everything is fine. Isn't it wonderful the information they can learn quickly.

blessed, that was a funny paragraph! Thought provoking, too!

I would have to say we kinda ARE an art studio here, right now. Dd tries to contain all her homework to her room, but she needs certain light and space, and not always the same light. So we look kind of studio-ish. She just completed a large color autopsy sketch in the dining room. Yes. Yes she did. Asked her why she chose a thoracic autopsy and she said, "It wasn't so much the color I could use in the organs, as the subject - I just think this guy looks so relatable". Oh well, Relatable Guy is her professor's decor now. If we're lucky, he'll like it enough to keep it in his class studio. Her bedroom walls are covered in "art a professor thought would be interesting, but no parent would want hanging in their home".