Thursday, June 17, 2021

Marking Time

Brilliant deck flowers that winter over

I had my one-week follow-up with my eye doctor this morning and he says things look good. Still not all the way healed but getting there and that eye is seeing "20/20-ish". Of course, the other eye only sees that well with corrective lens but it will be fixed soon (Monday) and the two eyes can stop fighting each other. In the meantime, I've been able to read without glasses more than I anticipated and even took the short drive to the grocery store 4 days after surgery, albeit using glasses for better far vision. I really appreciated Kathy Loomis' comment that jogged my memory about being able to increase the size of text on our computers and tablets. That's one of those features I knew about but put to the back of my mind as I never dreamed I'd be in a position to use it. Much less squinting at the computer screen! And as she says, who could go for weeks without being able to read a book - or blogs - or newspapers - or any number of things that keep me entertained and informed. I only wish I'd been thinking more clearly when I picked out a book from the library and didn't even think about a large print version. Luckily, after a few days I found I could read normal text in books, at least for short stints.

I do feel like I'm just marking time though. I slept a lot the first few days (reminding me that this is my standard solution after or during stressful events). I watched on-line so many motorcycle races over the weekend (World Superbike Series at Misano, Italy). Made that shopping trip on Monday. And have slowly figured out what I can and cannot do in this space between surgeries. Not trying any sewing or quilting yet, not even sewing in the signatures of that blank journal. Think it would be too much squinting. (Had to laugh at my first thought when the clinic doc said things might look smaller since my current prescription is a "bug killer" - think kid with magnifying glass on a sunny day. What? Needle eyes will be even smaller???) No drawing or painting or writing yet, although I may give a letter a go. What I find I CAN do is:

  • Watch tv, although not tackling the few foreign mystery programs with sub-titles
  • Do most of the daily on-line stuff like reading e-mails, blogs, articles and of course, Facebook
  • Prepare meals, although some of my recipes' type is tiny - is that 1/4 or 1/2?
  • Take walks, leaving the glasses at home
  • Continue with a not very strenuous yoga practice
  • Balance my checkbook and figure the month's budget - a bright desk lamp helps
  • Shred shred shred! I specifically saved this post tax preparation job for now since there's no reading involved
  • Do light housework like laundry and cleaning bathrooms - have a weight lifting limit so am saving hauling the vacuum out.
  • And best of all, enjoy the brilliant flowers in my deck garden.

Replacement geranium

 

6 comments:

Michele Matucheski said...

Ah--I planted some pinks this year, too. Sweet William!

Speedy recovery to you with the eye surgeries. Yes-- increasing the type size is a great help. One of my favorite features of my Kindle!

"Bug Killer?" I'm picturing Piggy from that awful book about the kids stuck on a desert island ... You could start fires, too, I guess.

Take care!

Anonymous said...

It's almost Monday, so you're getting closer to being finished with your surgeries! How about listening to audio books? That's something to add to your can-do-while recovering list! Wishing you well tomorrow-is your driver someone I know? She'll take good care of you! Jan in WY

The Idaho Beauty said...

Jan, I did think about audio books, but when using them in the past, I've found my mind wanders and it's so difficult to go back and listen to a passage again. Have been sitting on the back deck with my flowers and good light to read a bit in the afternoons and that is working out fine. I've got some podcasts saved - I often listen to those ok while I work in the studio - and when given the option have used the listen to option on some articles on the internet. I will be very glad when seeing isn't such work!

As for a driver, the clinic where I am having the surgeries is about an hour and fifteen minutes away and have a free shuttle service. I very much enjoyed my driver, chatted amiably both directions and will have him again tomorrow. As for a driver you know, yes, dear Rebecca is shuttling me to my followup appts here in town as well as to pick up prescriptions and mail (which in a most inconvenient timing is being held while we wait for a new mail locker on our street). I am so fortunate she is back in town and willing to help me with all this.

sylviaweir.wordpress.com said...

I was fortunate in some ways that my two eyes were done on a Friday and a Monday---it was a hectic ttime for all with a lot of rescheduling due to our deep freeze here in Texas. It did take some time to get used to the new vision---and that I will never need a new or different glasses prescription. I see better without glasses---but then have to keep up with them for reading ss it seems we read a lot more than we realize.

I am not familiar with the block--idaho beauty--New york Beauty---but looking that up will be a fun task for later today.

The Idaho Beauty said...

Lucky you, Sylvia, to not have to struggle with the incompatible eyes between surgeries very long. After a little over a week, I was more than ready to get the second eye done yesterday. It still feels funny not to have glasses on my face as I walk around, having worn them pretty much all my adult life. I feel like I should be squinting!

The Inside Stori said...

I’m sure you will be happy that you decided to do the surgeries……some folks breeze through, others like me do not….but in the end I CAN tell the difference and feel it was worth it. Hang in there!!!