We had a 2 week vacation trip planned. And it ended on Day 3. I had thought my sinuses were acting up, but to be careful I decided to have a Covid-19 test. It was a 1-hour quickie. Negative. Okay! Let’s go!
Our first stop was in Independence, CA, along the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, traveling on Hwy. 395. My husband had a cold, mild, some sniffles and a cough. On Day 3, we left Independence, and continued north. Next stop was to be Virginia City, NV. Well, as we moved further north, the air became cloudy and sooty. The smoke from the fires in NoCal was moving east, and I could smell it. So could Tom and Judy, Josh’s parents. Josh couldn’t. We had mints. We could all taste them – except Josh.
And so the decision was made: return home and have tests. It was the ethical thing to do. Josh’s test came back positive; mine was “presumed positive”, and the antigen tests Tom and Judy had came back negative. Ethical decision made, people and places were called, and now we are self-isolating until our next test on 9/13. Test results will be around 9/15.
So, stopped by the plague . . . and ethics. Neither Josh nor I felt sick other than a tad under the weather. Josh has is sense of taste and smell back about 95%.
We have plenty to do, despite being stuck at home. I have a sketchbook, planned to document the vacation, and so the first drawing is the Winnedumah Hotel, built in 1927 for the film industry back in the days when westerns were shot in the Owens Valley.
Well, not perfectly, but I got some new glasses a couple of days ago, and the world is a lot sharper than it has been. I got regular ones with progressive lenses, and a pair of gradated (faded) sunglasses where the coloring is darker at top than at bottom. I prefer the sunglasses as they are easier for me to adjust to, which seems weird, but eyes and vision are not perfect . . . and will never be what I would like. Still, I have nothing to complain about.
For the past month, my ability to see has been drastically compromised because, with each eye surgery and lens implant for cataracts, my old glasses failed to work as they did before. The world became brighter and close vision sharper, but I still needed to use +1.0 readers to see, and just accept the world was blurry – but not as blurry as formerly. The change in my vision went from -3.75 or so in both eyes to -0.50 in my left and +0.50 in my right. Just looking through my old glasses made me nauseous. Now my eyes are corrected to 20-20. There are still some retinal issues, but nothing that is serious (i.e. no macular degeneration) – just need monitoring. I am very lucky to have the eye specialists I have.
The glasses took a bit to adjust to. Balance and orientation can be weird with new prescriptions, as anyone who has gotten glasses knows. Sometimes nausea and headaches are side effects. I was a bit off balance just because of my sense of distance for stepping up or down, as an example; however, details are very clear in the distance.
Dog fur on the floor is very clear, too, so time to get that vacuum out today!
I have a singing voice that sounds more like a bullfrog with laryngitis. Of all the things I wish I could do, singing is it. Particular to my heart is Irish singing, in Gaelic or Irish no less. Music is a big gap in my learning, and while I can read music, I am very unmusical. When my sister and I took piano, the dog would curl up under the piano bench as she practiced; he would go to the back door and whine to be let out when I practiced.
I tumbled across this video on YouTube a few days ago, and I found it to be both educational and entertaining. I never knew what I like so much about Irish singing, and it turns out this video showed me. The way a song is sung varies throughout areas of Ireland (N and S), and vocal embellishments are added to carry the words along. Add to that, the music is so lovely, and in my mind, heaven on aural earth is found.
Outside of the Old World, America has the largest Celtic population. Migration brought traditions, and singing is one. Time, of course, changes the “old” ways and “new” ones become the new “old”! The mountainous areas created their own cultures and traditions. There is a rich heritage here.
The above video is a bit long, but to me it epitomizes much of a culture long gone. My father’s side of the family were “mountain folk” – also called hillbillies (a derogatory term) – from Tennessee.
Besides the Celtic descendants, we also have a rich heritage of Black music, gospel and folk and spirituals. Rhiannon Giddens is a modern singer with wide ranging talents. Above she sings an original song based on an older one, and old traditions.
Altogether, vocalists are my favorite form of music to listen to. Strong voices, good stories. Mahalia Jackson, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Billie Holiday.
I could go on forever, but folk music and singing always bring more to me than most instrumental music alone. That is not to say instrumental is not to my liking, but that is for another time and place. Maybe.
I had the second cataract surgery yesterday, on the left eye, and had the same lens implanted as I did in the right – closer focus vs. distance. The eye surgeon called me one evening to discuss choices, so I went with his recommendation.
Visual Pun?
Today, I had the 24-hour post-op check, and everything is doing very well! Eye pressure = 17 (normal is 12-25 per the optometrist) in both eyes, and I can see clearly between a distance of 8-24 inches. I used to only be able to see clearly if things were within an inch of the tip of my nose, if that gives you any idea of the change in vision.
The other rather shocking – but amazing! – thing is that I cannot wear ANY pair of my old glasses, and have to wear non-prescription sunglasses. My eyes are sensitive to the light, the left very much so, which is normal post-op. Currently I am using the wrap-around cataract sunglasses, and they really do help.
I have another post-op visit in a week, and then 2 weeks later an appointment for new glasses altogether!
I am honestly so pleased with the results so far. I have worn glasses nonstop since I was 8 or 9. Right now, none are on my face, and I can function well enough to probably drive without corrective lenses. In the mirror, I look very strange because there are no frames on my face. I will get them back soon enough – not as soon as I would like, but c’est la vie. Then the world will be even more perfect.
I had my first cataract surgery last Tuesday, and the simplest most basic lens implanted in my right eye. I did not have a fancy lens implanted to allow this or that, such as shifting my vision near to far, but simple and close-focused to about 20 inches. In about 10 days I have the other one done with the distance-focused lens implanted.
Meanwhile, I wear an eye-guard at night. During the day, a pair of old glasses with a weaker prescription does the job. Add a layer of large sunglasses with shading on all sides for outdoors. Indoors, no sunglasses needed. The movie star look, I guess.
My vision is off, but livable. I can drive and read, watch television, and navigate the world as before . . . except no aerobics, bending at the waist, jumping up and down, lifting more than 5 lbs. This means no picking things up off the floor, carrying items, putting items onto the lower dishwasher tier, and any interesting number of things. I need an attendant or a mechanical arm, or “grabber” if you will. I have two of the latter, one long, one short, and they are definitely worthwhile.
I cannot pick up dog fur with them. Sigh.
The first day I had the eye guard on until my first post-op visit the next day. The eye guard is worn for the first 24 hours to prevent my rubbing the eye and to allow it to heal. There was a sense of scratchiness and itchiness, reminiscent of hay fever, but blinking to lubricate the eye, as well as closing it to rest, helped. The eye guard is taped in place at night to keep unconscious scratching and rubbing at bay, but during the day, conscious thought has to prevail. I’ve slipped up a few times, but am pretty good. I try to think “eye drops!” whenever the urge to scratch hits.
The eye guard is weird. It protects the eye, is firm, and has oodles of little holes throughout. As soon as I was conscious from the surgery, I could see. Peripheral vision was there because of the eye guard, and the ability to move around was good. Navigating space and such was rather dicey, but that is partly because of the remnants of anaesthesia.
I didn’t put on my glasses until the day after surgery, but wore them the next day as I was going to have the eye guard removed. I could have worn them the same day!
After about 48 hours, the itchiness of my eye stopped. It feels normal. To promote healing, I take antibiotic drops 3x a day, and 2 different steroids 3 x a day as well – 2 drops of one, and one drop of another. I have a check-off sheet because they go on and on for three weeks, doses decreasing over time.
I live in earthquake country. Catastrophic thinking is my forte. Visions of a major earthquake during surgery and subsequent blindness have wandered through my head.
One done, one to go.
The benefits of the surgery were immediately obvious. Colors impeded by the cataract no longer exist in the right eye. The world is a brighter place! I can see things close up more clearly. Putting a hand over my left eye, without my specs, and 3D becomes more of a reality than it has been in years. Hiding the right eye, I see that my world is dull indeed. It’s like being a little kid again, waiting for that gift you know is hidden in your parents’ closet – the anticipation is great and certainly appreciated. Hopefully no earthquakes on August 4th . . .
One more benefit of the surgery is I don’t have to clean house since I am limited. I got a housecleaning service in, and I am horrified by how dirty my house really is, and delighted at how clean it is becoming.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 