Here We Go!

Meg's uncle called tonight to say that they want to start on the garage remodel project on FRIDAY!  Uh...no!  Can't be done because the garage isn't cleaned out...but it can be cleaned out by Monday, so that's the plan.  Monday.  Hmmm....looks like I'll have a busy weekend!

This morning when we got up, Meg informed me that she got an email with her final grade for the class she almost gave up on: 97%!  What a relief!  Not only that she finished the class, but that she finished it with flying colors!  Tonight, I took the children out for dinner and then to the park so she could take an online test for her other class, and she aced it, too!  We are celebrating this evening with a feeling of general "ahhhhh..."   My contribution was the proverbial kick-in-the-pants that it took to keep her from giving up...and freeing up her time by helping with the children and tackling weekend work without her so she could do assignments.  Was it worth it?  Big time!  

I am without a vehicle for the next day or two while it is in the shop for a cam positioning sensor.  This is the reason for the intermittent non-starting...or so I'm told.  If everything goes well, it will ONLY cost me $200.  If there is a "magnet" problem, it could be a lot more.  Money is tight, but I am hoping for the best.

So here we go.  This project will not be "done" for months, but at least it is beginning!  

Floating

I am floating in vitreous floaters!  For the uninitiated, vitreous floaters are little moving dots and strings in the field of vision, inside the eye.  They usually look like little pieces of lint floating on top of your glass of water.  Everybody has them, and everything I've ever read about them says they are normal and nothing to be concerned about.  Right!

On Friday, I was driving to Kohl's in the bright daylight.  There was a hair in front of my eye--or so I thought.  Nothing would make it go away.  I was on the ham radio and mentioned that I had "little black things" dancing in front of my eyes--something my mother used to say indicated that we were lying.  N9XOQ told me that I needed to pay attention because it COULD be a sign of retinal detachment.  On Sunday, everything was cool.  The floaters were still there, but only really noticeable when I was out in daylight.  Sunday, I drove to the gas station and went, "Whoa!"  I had THOUSANDS of little black dots in the vision in my left eye!  I decided right then to stay home today and find an ophthalmologist who could take me. 

The diagnosis, after a thorough eye test, is that I have posterior vitreous detachment, "a normal consequence of the aging process".  Well, thankyouverymuch!  This is not to be confused with retinal detachment, which would be a bad situation, indeed.  There is nothing to be done for the vitreous deal.  The doc said it would "probably" settle down in a few weeks, but that there are no guarantees...and that it could happen to the other eye, too.  <sigh> 

The vitreal detachment CAN lead to retinal detachment, so I am to keep checking my peripheral vision, watching for flashes in vision...and go back to the doc in six weeks.  Truth be known, I needed to see an ophthalmologist after the craniotomy of last summer.  Fortunately, I keep coming up lucky.  The good news is that I'm not going blind.  The bad news is that I am getting old--and I can't do anything about it!!  Like I needed confirmation of that!

 

Nice Day

I somewhat slept in today until almost 9:00.  It felt like Sunday all day because I had Friday off.  It was a nice feeling to know that I still had another day in my usefulness!

Meg is at the final deadlines for her writing class at IUPUI.  As a teacher, I can attest that the class is ridiculously complicated.  I have helped out wherever I could, but it is a test of patience and repetition.  I worked on a tiny portion of her assignments this morning, then endeavored to work on stuff at home.  Along about 2:30, I took the failed table covers back to Kohl's and shopped the sales for children's clothing.  Came home, took a nap, bought supper.  When I got up, I tackled mowing the dandelions down...then started a fire in the patio burner, hoping to get rid of a few items around here.  There was an entire garbage can of twigs from the yard...and some branches that had been dragged to the back yard months ago.  Gone now!  

It was a nice day.  Cool, but sunny.  I will take all I can of sunny!   I have five more weeks of school.  I just keep plugging!

Snow Day!

I have a three-day weekend, thanks to a built-in snow day that we didn't have to use at school this year.  Yay!  And, wonder of wonders, the weather is nice!  Meg managed to get the front lawn mowed the other day, but we couldn't mow the back because the back had too many obstacles, including lawn trash by the wood burner that hasn't been burned yet.  I took advantage of the weather today to work on the patio, cleaning up broken glass (from a box of ornaments that got blown over).  I got MOST of the yard mowed in back, but there is still a lot to do back there to make it "playable" for the children.  In any case, I have enjoyed the process of discovering the back yard again.

Meg is seeing light at the end of the tunnel for her writing class.  She almost gave up but needed to stick with it for a lot of reasons.  Just getting through this class has been a weekend-consumer for her.  We will BOTH be glad to see it over!

I went out to buy tablecloths for the patio tables.  Have looked everywhere for some that I like, to no avail.  Finally found a couple at Kohl's today.  Got them home and found out, in true Peggy fashion, that they aren't vinyl!  Back to Kohl's they go!

I'm going to run out of good weather this weekend, but at least I had this one nice day!

Welcome Sunshine...but Wait...

The weather has turned warm and sunny for a few days.  Yeah!  Love it!  HOWEVER, there are some problems with that.

Problem #1:  Robin got back to day care from Kindergarten on Friday...and no one had put any "sunscream" on her before she went out to play.  She came home with her face and the back of her neck quite burned.  Meg talked to the day care gal about it, even supplying a bottle of sunscreen on top of what they already have there.  Okay...problem solved...or so we thought.  Monday, Robin came home from day care with both arms sunburned, and the now-peeling back of her neck re-burned.  Meg was put in the situation of having to tell the day care gal AGAIN that Robin must have sunscreen put on before she goes out to play.  The day care gal said, "Robin will just have to remind us when she gets back from school."  Meg said, "We've talked about that, but she's five.  She isn't the responsible adult."  I applaud my daughter's fortitude!  I don't think the gal appreciated the criticism, but she was clearly in the wrong.  The proof was in the sunburn.  Guess what?  She got sunscreen today!

Problem #2:  Dandelions and a growing lawn!  Mine is the only lawn in the neighborhood that is yellow and unmowed!  Maybe I can fix it tomorrow... 

This is "Turn Off the TV" Week".  The Kindergarten Center is hitting it hard, making us feel guilty because we haven't complied.  We don't have the TV on all that much here, but I won't be held hostage by someone else's schedule.  My grandchildren prefer to be playing outside more than anything else in the world.  The TV is on for background noise when we are all inside.  Maybe next week!

Meg and I had a talk last evening about frustrations.  She indicated--and I agree--that SHE needs to be the disciplinarian around the house.  We both act as parents, and that isn't always right.  I remember my mother telling me, a zillion years ago, that sister Shari was being watched by mother and grandparents...and maybe an aunt...back when Dad was at war, saying "I have too many bosses!"  Mom realized in that moment that Shari was enduring discipline from several angles, not knowing who to obey.  I honestly don't think Robin and Ryan suffer from that, but it is a consideration.  These children actually have a bunch of people whocare for them and act to make them follow the rules.  Even after almost a year post-divorce, they are still trying to figure things out, but they know they are loved and that there are no negative vibes from here about Daddy or Daddy's girlfriend.  They like her a lot.  Things could be worse!

I am taking tomorrow off...so the weather will probably be crappy.  'Tis ever thus!

 

 

A 'Possum Kind of Day

Woke up this morning to cool and rainy.  Of course!  That's because I have so much to do around here!  I went to McD's to get breakfast for Meg and me, noticing that the garbage cans had been knocked over and something had been gnawing on the bags.  There has been a stray cat around here, so I figgered the critter had been rummaging.  A little while later, I went to get something out of my car and noticed the kitty in the turned-over can.  "Get out of here, kitty-cat!"  Kitty-cat scurried off...and while it was scurrying, I noticed it wasn't a kitty at all, but an opossum.  Now, I'm an animal lover (although you can't tell it by the posts I have made about the former-resident canine) but I don't like 'possums.  They are ugly and sneaky and downright nasty.  This was in broad daylight, so I decided we were done with him for the day...but no!  Not too long thereafter, he was climbing on the split-rail fence in front of the house, probably trying to figure out how to get to the garbage cans that I had rigged to be out of his way.  Hey!  I thought 'possums were nocturnal!  Maybe not when they're hungry? 

So far today, I have done laundry and assessed where we are in the scheme of things.  The garage project is pushed off until early May, possibly.  Next weekend is a 3-day weekend for me.  Maybe I can get everything done then!

Earthquake!

Just a few minutes before my alarm clock was to ring this morning, my grandson crawled in between Robin and me on the waterbed.  Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle.  Just a few moments later, Megan appeared at the bedroom door saying, "We just had an earthquake!"  I think she thought she was crazy (and maybe just a bit disappointed that the rest of us didn't experience it).  Meg isn't exactly an expert on quakes, but she got the picture on this one--even standing in a doorway because of it.  She was a bit shaken (no pun intended).  We turned on the early morning news, and sure enough:  the news folk felt it, too and were hot on the trail to get the details.  'Twas 5.2 on the Richter Scale and lasted about 15 seconds, epicenter in southern Illinois, just 40 miles north of Vincennes, Indiana.  There has been virtually little else on the news.  Why?  We just don't get earthquakes in the Midwest!  There have been palpable aftershocks.  Welcome to the real world, Indiana!

Meg is preparing to head for Muncie with the children.  It will be a busy weekend...but for now, I need a little rest!