The Color of Your Eyes

THE COLOR OF YOUR EYES many determine more that you think. I was surprised. When I was young, my eyes were jet black, just like my mother's Aunt Jettie, I am told. 

At about 40, they turned to a dark brown. I guess I am fading away. 

What color are your eyes? Do you think any of these characteristics apply to you or anyone you know?

Click on Your Eye Color Means Way More Than You Realize – Here's Why (msn.com)

When I was young and sitting for a photographer, he left the camera and came and put his face very close to mine. As he walked away, I asked him what he was doing. He said he could not focus because there was no evident demarcation between my pupil and iris, the place where he focused. 

Friday This and That

 Friday, we cooked two pounds of bacon in the oven and had BLTs. Yum! A bag of salad and Roma tomatoes were used. This was lunch and will be lunch tomorrow. Tommy sat on his walker and looked in the oven every three minutes. He did not enjoy throwing away bacon when we burned it a couple of weeks ago. So, he guarded it with the promise of a BLT. 

The best part was that I now have a cup of bacon grease. Maybe in the morning I will have scrambled eggs cooked in a tbsp of bacon grease. The skillet is non-stick, but a taste of oil or bacon grease or butter is good.

Using one little vial of the eyedrops has kept my eyelashes from being sticky. However, my eyelashes hurt, not the lashes, but the base. It feels like they are bruised and swollen. I imagine this is from incessant rubbing of my eyes. If they are not better after a few more days of not rubbing, I will ask my eye doctor what is happening when I get a new eyeglass prescription. 

It was overcast and a pleasant temperature all day until about 3 pm when we were out. After heavy sprinkles, the sun came out and the air was palpable, muggy. However, even with the mugginess, we sat in the park and ate Drumsticks, enjoying the freshly washed scenery and the sky. 

We made a trip to shop from the bedroom, removing a box of Wheat Thins, tomato paste, unsweetened Jello, and Ziploc quart storage bags. All this was bought on sale. The storage bags were Christmas clearance. I wonder what the price is now. I like shopping from the bedroom. I did get the 48 can of tuna moved into the room. I will get it in place another day as my back was hurting and it was late. 

Tonight, I realized I have not been bitten by one mosquito, and I only saw one in February. Have you seen mosquitoes or have been bitten? Do they sing about, threatening to bite you? 

For dinner, I sliced the kind of ham that is in a roll and cooked those slices even though they are fully cooked. We had ham, coleslaw and sliced tomatoes. 

Are you shopping from your pantry stash? Mosquitoes about? 

Thursday Relapse and a Bird

The doctor visits were cancelled. I had no sleep until about 10:30 am. It appears I had a slight fever last night. And, my congestion and cough were worse for about two hours this morning, So, I will have to try again.  

We went out for one thing--eyedrops. The retina specialist told me to get artificial tears with no preservatives for my eyes that get sticky along the lashes and make seeing difficult. Tommy went into Publix for them and could not find any without preservatives so decided we could go elsewhere. Since I could not imagine they had none, I told him to ask at pharmacy. Someone showed him. In his defense, he said these were separate from the other eyedrops. These drops sting and it takes about 30 minutes before I can see better. 

On the way home, we cross a creek right near his house. People fish from the banks. It looks so polluted I cannot imagine eating anything caught there. Tommy exclaimed, asking did I see the big white bird. As we drove along nearer the creek, we saw a beautiful, tall, white bird, a Great Egret. It was exciting as I cannot remember having seen a Great Egret. 

There were other pictures of the Great Egret, but the pose is like the one we saw. The all-white bird was majestic, about three-feet tall.

Tommy is watering. I think it rained everywhere else but here! I suppose with the forecast and recent past rain, it looks like this will be a three-week rainy period. I know some of you need rain, but I just don't like so much and especially when I need to go places. He is dead-heading flowers and will drag the garbage to the road. We do get an average of 58-60 inches of rain per year. But, I am ready for a little drought. 

There are so many little, piddling chores to do around here. I just don't feel like doing anything. Sooo, I took another nap...lol. Maybe I can get a few chores done after the nightly news...lol. 

On the news--Alabama is first in the nation in per capita deaths. Usually, we are dead last or next to last in measures.

What is happening at your house? Excess rain? Drought? Ever seen a Great Egret? Do you ever suffer from dry eyes? 

Eyes and UV Light

 I have been telling Tommy for as long as I have been here that this bare curly bulb was not good for my eyes. I already have a wrinkled macula. But, he was yelling and adamant that the bulb would not be replaced and he liked the bare bulb and no shade for his lamp beside him. 

When I told Tommy that the eye doctor said to avoid fluorescent bulbs and wear sunglasses outdoors, he did not say anything.  That was Thursday. I placed an led bulb on his table. 

Friday, when I went shopping, I bought a shade and did not take it out of the bag. I asked him when he was going to change the bulb. He said "later" and finally did. Late Friday night, I brought the shade in, put it on the lamp. He said nothing. Much later, I asked him how he like the shade. He said it looked really nice. 

When he makes such a fuss and takes a stand, he does not know how to change his mind. He just hangs in there with his mean attitude, willing to die on every hill. 

By the way, uv light even from bulbs contributes to cancer risk. 

I wait until after dinner to expose him to new ideas or items. 

So, why all the caution with ultraviolet light? It can damage retina, cause cataracts, macular degeneration, alter DNA and cause cancer. Besides protecting our skin, we need to protect our eyesight. I worry about school children studying under fluorescent lights. Some people cannot learn under school fluorescent lighting. Yes, the last bit is true. I have read the research. 

Speaking of lights, I bought another cheap floor lamp to move about the dining room so I can see food and can sort the junk in there. He did not say a word when I put it near him and asked him to put it together, but no hurry.  Well, he did say, "Okay." 

I am writing this early Saturday morning, 5:30 am. Friday night, I went to bed at 10 pm. I even willingly missed the news. Then, I was awake at 4 am. I was too hot to sleep, so I got my laptop. We have to get up at 7 am, so I do need to sleep. 

Yes, this did not get published when written.

Do you avoid fluorescent light?

Easy Easter Salad Recipe and Eye Appointment

This salad can be for anything, not just Easter. I often make it for company. But, I will not touch it. 

can green/English peas, well drained

diced cheese, I use cheddar

diced tomatoes or grape tomatoes cut in half

Tablespoon of Miracle Whip or Mayonaisse 

Put all in a serving bowl and stir, chill or not, serve. Use more or less dressing or another kind of dressing if you prefer. This is always eaten. 

I hate peas and have found I am allergic to peas. So, this is just an easy dish for company. I dice the cheese, but you could as easily buy diced cheese. I always make this the day of the meal. It is best that way.  However, it is not so complex that you even have to think. A sous chef who is ten-years-old can probably make this, but maybe not opening a can or dicing. Don't overstir and mush the peas. You can even mix other three ingredients and add peas last.

From my oral surgery, I had hydrocodone pills left, five. So, I took one Wednesday  night and slept from 10:30 pm  until 8 am or so on Wednesday. Don't worry, I only have four more, so there is no danger from opiod addiction. 

Thursday morning, I went for eye exam and a medical eye appointment. My vision has barely changed. But, I am getting new lens since I can tell I do not see as well. And, I am to wear sunglasses outdoors and avoid uv light as in bulbs for the sake of my macula, I think. Now, I have an appointment with a Retina specialist. Oh, there are no changes in my eyes due to diabetes. I am thankful for that.

I could not go and look at frames because of covid. Two other people were ahead of me. Since I did not want to just sit, we came home. I can buy frames anywhere. 

I may not have mentioned it, but I had a little swollen place near the inner corner of my eye on the top lid. It interfered with my vision at its largest. The doctor said a year ago that it was a sty. Nothing seemed to help. Well, as soon as I got the medical eye appointment, it started getting smaller. The doctor said it was hard to diagnose when he could not see it. When he stretched my eyelid, he said he could see something. So, that is that, except for the fact it has receded before and then become larger.  

Even though I had the glasses inserts after having my eyes dilated, the sun was too bright on the ride home. 

Now that the second covid vaccine is in sight I am going to make appointments that I have postponed for a year. I have two lined up already.

While I was in Cullman, I found out that someone I have known for a long time, but not well had a stroke, is blind in one eye, and had to move in with his mother. That is sad as he was about 20 years younger than I. Hopefully, he recovers and can resume life. But, I suppose going bling after a stroke means he will not recover his eyesight. 

Dinner is in the oven--meatloaf in bell pepper and cooked in tomato sauce with diced tomato. Tommy will have peas and tomatoes. I will have a bit of salad greens. 

Does the salad above sound good to you?

Hard Wednesday

 Wednesday, Kim came to clean. After 3 hours, she still had not finished the kitchen. So, she will work on it next week. She uses 3 paper towels at a time! Eeek! I had plenty of cleaning rags. But, next time, I will put them closer. 

I had turned on the dishwasher before she came. However, there were items on the counter that should have gone into the dishwasher.  Oh well. Happy day anyway!

There are lids for the pyrex that I did not want in the dishwasher or for her to wash. So, there are plenty of dishes for me to take care of tomorrow. The kitchen looks neater and brighter. 

Tommy's little breakfast table did not get cleaned. The floor did not get mopped. However, the window sill, walls, and wall behind the stove is sparkly clean. She cleaned the crisper where blood from chicken ran. I took all the vegetables out so I could store possibly leaky 3 package of chicken in a place where blood would not ruin everything. 

One day, Tommy put a package of frozen chicken on top of everything on the top shelf in the refrigerator. He said there was no room on the bottom shelf where I told him to place it. Thankfully, I found it an hour later. He did not think it was a big deal where he stored it in the refrigerator because it was frozen. ???

After she left, the guy from the study in which I am participating came and wore me out! But, it is all over. He thought I misunderstood the fact he wanted me to squeeze a grip. No, I just cannot squeeze much. 

So, from 11:30 until 4:30, I was up and on my feet or sitting which hurts my back, too. 

Wednesday, it has rained hard on and off. Now, it 50F outdoors. And, it feels chilly.  Tonight, we are having baked chicken and a salad.  Tommy wants bbq sauce on his chicken. Okay, I could not find a chicken breast for me, so I had salad only. I put too much Russian Dressing on it and kept choking...lol. But, it was delicious.

Thursday

Wednesday night,  I slept from 10:30 pm until after 8 am. I will explain tomorrow. Right now, I am off for an eye exam. I srongly expect I will need a new prescription.