May 24, 2014

Busy Saturday That I Thought Would Be Restful

Saturday, May 24, 2014

No blog yesterday again.  It was a long, busy day and there were very few situations that involved my hearing needs.  Ron had let me sleep a little late.  That is nice, but it just seems to put me behind all day.  I did a little woodpecker watching before heading to work.  I had to go pay the utility bill for the office on the way and ran another errand.

Our grandson was at the office and I kept him busy.  We had some time for talking, but he went out with his grandpa on a job and so that cut down on our time together.  I guess I will have to share.  Ron was out on jobs much of the afternoon.  I made a trip to the bank once he got back and then at closing time I came home, changed clothes and started mowing the backyard.  I noticed the gas cap was coming apart and allowing gas to seep out, so I shut it off and went to buy a new one.  Ron said he would be late since he still had some things he wanted to work on at the office.

When I got home with the new gas cap, he was mowing, not knowing there was a problem.  So we changed the cap and he finished the backyard while our hired yardmen were doing the front.  We just have them do the front and along the side street and I usually do the rest.  While Ron mowed, I finished transplanting the one remaining plant that we bought in Houston.  I was glad Ron took over the mowing.  My right eye was hurting so when we finished outside, I got my bath and settled in to read a book.  Supper was DIY  (Do It Yourself).

For those who have not seen a Royal Poinciana tree up close, here is one of the flowers.  I love this tree!  I love that when God created this tree He didn't just say, "I think I will put some orange flowers on this one."  He put 5 petals in each flower.  Four are a vivid reddish orange, and one is yellowish-white with streaks of orange on the petal.  I love the creativity of the Creator!  Awesome!

Our yard is becoming blanketed with these orange petals and I love it.  The length of time that the trees bloom vary with the weather and each individual tree.  I think ours had some flowers for about 6 weeks last year.  One I saw a few years ago had blooms for about 4 months.

As I had feared, my eye was worse today.  I have a chronic condition in my eyes that showed up about a year and a half or so ago.  It is called Blepharitis.  You will have to Google it to get a description, but it has to do with some dryness in the eye, flaking along the edge of the eyelid and for me, this is the second inflammation I have had with it.  My right eye lid looks like a bee stung me or that I have a black eye.  Last time, it was more like a black eye: swollen, tender, bruised looking, etc.  This time it is not as bruised looking, but is very tender to the touch and swollen.  The condition is here with me to stay.  I need to treat the eye daily, which I have not been faithful to do and may account for this flare-up.  It is not contagious.  It is very scratchy - which happens a lot even when I am not having a noticeable flare-up.

So first thing this morning, after doing a little cleaning, I went to the eye doctor and got a prescription for the inflammation and a new cleanser product for cleaning the eyelids, and a new type of eye drops that are artificial tears.  I have it in both eyes, but the right one is the one that has had both flare-ups.

I had tried to call the doctor's office and only got an answering machine so I went over to the office and got there just after they opened.  I asked if he could see me today.  The young man at the desk said I could wait but no promise of when I would be seen, he said they were booked very heavily.  I said I would wait.  I was called in about 10 minutes later.  The young man is VERY soft spoken and I struggled to hear him, having to have him repeat almost everything at least once.

The doctor was not much better as far as being understandable.  I think he may be shy, but he mumbles, does not face the patient when talking, and is soft spoken.  I found it very frustrating and again, like his helper, I had to have have him repeat most things.  I wish he would give an instruction sheet like our General Practitioner does.  That is so helpful!!  I was out of the office about 45 minutes after I arrived.

When I left there, I went to Kohl's to pick up a couple of things since it was close to the eye doctor's office.  Then I took the prescription to the pharmacy and shopped a little until it was ready.  I brought the things home and treated the eye.  Ron came home and I fixed our lunches.  I read for a bit and fell asleep doing that but only slept about 15 minutes.

It was time to get groceries.  I was about out of everything since we had been out of town most of the previous week with the trip to Houston and then the trip to Dallas.  I had planned to go very early this morning but instead went to the eye doctor.  I did the grocery shopping and got a few more things.  With the eye medications, he suggested using a wash cloth to clean the eyes twice a day and I decided to get a stack of the cheap, white wash cloths to set aside for doing that.  Thankfully Ron was home when I got back with my load of groceries so he could unload them for me.

Ron left and went to help his mom for a while.  Her housekeeper (and mine since we share her) is out of town and so Ron did some things for her as well as being there in the house while she got her shower in case she had an emergency.  I spent a little time working in the yard while he was gone. 

The woodpeckers have been less active today.  I have not seen the male, but I have not watched for long periods of time.  The female has been coming and going with food, but not as often as before.  The baby keeps sticking her head out and is getting closer to climbing out, getting her footing in the opening.  I think it may be any day now.

During the day I got all the laundry done, folded and put away and read for a while.  Supper is now cooking and I think I better take care of it.

This is one of the two beautiful hanging baskets we had last year.  After our harsh winter, I was not sure if they would come back, but both are doing very well.  Both Ron and I really enjoy this particular plant variety.