The Eyes Have Had It!

Wow, it got cold this week!  Most of the leaves are down after the big Halloween storm, but there are a few holdouts in the neighborhood. My daughter says one of her front yard trees has dropped lovely yellow leaves, while the sugar maple has dropped reddish-orange ones. She said they are just too pretty to chop up right now, so will wait til next weekend to do her last mowing/mulchng. My yard is mostly tree-less--a small maple in the front yard, a small oak in the side, and a young dogwood in the back. And a redbud in a pot right now til I decide where I can put it.

When the developer built this neighborhood, which was a really wooded area, they hauled of tons of topsoil--and then brought back only a few truckloads per yard. So I have about 3 inches of topsoil before hitting clay and rock. What a waste. The couple who lived here before us had grown too old and frail to do much, although it's evident she had done a lot when they first moved in. There were a lot of overgrown bushes, and flowerbeds that had tons of weeds growing on top of the landscape fabric. It's evident she liked purple, though--and that's my favorite color, so I'm not complaining!

I have added a few of my own, also in purple, but keeping up with so many  beds is no easy task. I hate to be like a millennial and take it all out, but the thought has occurred to me. We'll just wait and see what the new year brings.

Just when I was beginning to see a little more clearly, and had gotten some inexpensive bifocal readers to use for reading and hopefully sewing, I woke up Wed. with the same symptoms I had last summer-- swollen eyeball, tenderness to the touch, that feeling when you have something in your eye,  hypersensitivity to light, and very blurred vision, like trying to see through vaseline on a window.  Not good. I phoned my eye doctor, but they couldn't work me in til Thurs., so I agreed to see a partner at another office. It was either that, or take myself to the ER at UVA in hopes of seeing my residents from the summer.

The eye, my right eye, is infected again, and we have no idea why. It is on its way to another corneal ulcer. He had me start back on one of the fortified antibiotic eye drops I had from UVA, and got me in to see my regular ophthalmologist on Thurs. She discontinued those drops, started me on 2 others and an ointment, and I saw her again on Fri.  There was a little healing, but also a new abrasion showed up that day, though my comfort level was much better. Apparently I am some sort of self--infector, (wonder if there is a Halloween costume for that?) though why this has started now is a mystery. If they publish an article on me, I want part of the proceeds!   I see one of her partners tomorrow and then she's back in town on Tuesday, and I have strict instructions to call the on-call doc for any worsening symptoms.

So, no sewing yet. I can't see the third line on the eye chart, and I was reading the 5th line two weeks ago. This is driving me nuts. I've decided to finish packing away all the Halloween props in the shed (don't judge, I was doing that when it all went south!), do some heavy-duty house cleaning, and then I'm going to dig around in my sewing room for something else to do with my hands. Maybe I should take up crocheting again. I'd have to buy more yarn, but I still have my needles. I should probably start working on Christmas cards, even though my handwriting is likely to be shaky.

Or, I know I have some Christmassy crafts to paint, and there were some ornaments made with 2 1/2" strips of Christmas fabric and styrofoam balls I had started probably 10 years ago. Found them!

Maybe I'll finish these and make some more. Lord knows I have a ton of Christmas fabric I'd love to use up, I've had some of it so long, I'm tired of it, but this would be fun to work on. I need some more straight pins, and some beads, and more ribbon.... This could get a little pricey! lol! But hey, cheaper than therapy!

Grieving Dog Update and more

Just wanted to let you all know what happened, in case you ever run into this same situation.

Here's what my friend posted on FaceBook:

"Bear update- a friend saw
On tv (I think that’s where it came from) that it helps one dog grieve for another if they witness the burial. That wasn’t an option for us but we did have _____'s collar and it had stayed on him until just before we left the vet office that morning. From all these crime shows I watch I know dogs can pick up the smell of death so easily and I thought at the least maybe some illness pheromones? We had to try something because Bear decided to stop eating yesterday morning....

So we get ____’s collar and go outside and let Bear sniff it. His whole body started shaking like you wouldn’t believe! He was barking a weird kind of bark and just shaking like a leaf and I was scared maybe this was a bad idea! But we went over to the hole we’d made and put _____’s collar in a bag, put it in the hole and covered it up. We sat there a couple minutes and said _____’s name and he kinda circled and barked then we went to the shed steps and just loved on him a while. He went to gate wanting to go to the front yard so I took him out there and he only stayed a few minutes, no crying/whining, and then walked himself right back to the backyard. That was it. He hasn’t whined since and he’s eaten his food! Did he somehow understand the ‘burial’ or did he smell something on the collar? Don’t know- I wouldn’t say he’s a happy, happy dog but I don’t think he’s in distress anymore."....

That's amazing, isn't it? I never would have thought of doing that! And Patty, I couldn't find a way to answer your comment, but I'm glad your story had a happy ending, too.

If you've read my blog in the past, you know I'm a Halloween freak. I LOVE the holiday and I love doing different things in my yard every year. Well this Halloween turned out to be a humdinger.  Not only were we expecing thunderstorms, but they included a tornado watch and predicted wind gusts up to 50 mph from 4-9 pm--right smack dab in the middle of Trick or Treating time. So Thursday I took everything down.  It had already started a steady sprinkling, on top of some rain we had earlier in the week.  As I was taking a handful of rebar to the shed, I stepped onto the greenish slippery ramp--and down I went. My foot slid right back down to the ground, and I bounced my face off the handful of rebar.

Bam!  First black eye I've ever had! It did shake me up a little. I had to sit there in the wet grass for a bit before I could get up. I was feeling every bit of my 68 years for the first time ever. Jack got me a couple of extra-strength Tylenol, and I put an ice pack on it for as long as I could stand it. Even the breeze blowing on my face hurt.  By morning, my eye was swollen shut. But everything got put right back out on Friday, which was a gloriously sunny, chilly day. Temps had gone from 70s on Thurs. to 50s on Fri.

Because the high school football game was Friday night, and they are undefeated, our little town decided to have Trick or Treat on Sat.  By Sat. evening it was cold and breezy. The kids were out early, by 5:30, so I had no time to get pictures. All I have is one from Wed. night, when I was checking my lighting:

Most of our visitors were in a hurry to get back home out of the cold--or to move on for more candy!--but I got great feedback from the adults, and some of the kids, too. One little girl even complimented me on my "make-up".  lol

This is how my eye looked yesterday. Great makeup, right?  lol  My face was too sore to put a mask on, so I just wore regular clothes.

Now I get to take it all down again! Every year about this time, I swear I'm done. I'm not going to do a yard haunt any more. And every year, by August (if not sooner) I'm planning what I'm going to do. I've actually started planning my costume for next year.....

Happy November!

Dogs

Today has been a tough one for me.

Remember my dog, Tandi?

Well, we had to put Tandi down in April, a month before her 15th birthday. Six months ago today, actually.  She was almost 3 years old when we got her from the cocker rescue group, but it felt like she'd been with us forever. She was my heart and soul dog, the one who will always live on with me, the one I miss every day. The last year, we had her at the vet so often with one thing after another, I called her my little Energizer bunny, because she kept going, and going, and going.... Finally it was clear that her quality of life had decreased significantly, and the kindest thing was to give her some relief. It was the hardest decision I've ever made, and the only dog I've actually had to make that decision for. I've had them go missing, get stolen, get hit by a car and die in my arms, die when no one was around, but never have I had to make the decision to put one down. It sucks. 

A friend of mine had to put one of her dogs down this week. She and her husband had rescued two dogs from a neglectful situation about a year ago, and had given them the lives they deserved. The dogs were so happy not to be chained up any more, to have free run of the fenced in yard, to have a large doghouse that was cool in the summer and heated in the winter, to have decent food to eat, toys (they'd never had toys--didn't know quite what to do with them at first!), and so much love and attention. Then one developed cancer about a month ago, took a sudden turn for the worse this week and there were no other options. The remaining dog is grieving, making such a mournful sound, it breaks all our hearts. I've never had two dogs at a time, so I don't know how to help my friend. It has brought me to tears more than once today.


But, there is a happy side to today's story. Meet Ziva, our newest rescue:

Someone dropped this sweet, 6-yr-old cockapoo off at a high-kill shelter in another part of VA, and the adoption agency in a nearby town scooped her up. She was already spayed, completely housebroken, knew a few commands, and will flop over and present her tummy for rubbing if you even look her way. She's funny, smart, quirky, and has blessed us so much in the 5 months we've had her. She makes me laugh every day, and although Jack initially wanted another cocker spaniel, I'm really grateful she isn't full-blooded. I think that would have been unfair to a new dog. The vet's office was so excited to meet her, and we all marvel that she has Tandi's coloring; it's like she was meant for us. Maybe Tandi picked her out and sent her our way. I like to think that, anyway. It makes today a little easier. 

Fall doings

Hallelujah, fall weather has arrived! I thought those 90s were going to last forever! Temps are in the 50s and 60s with night time temps 40s and 50s. We even had a 34 this week!  Halloween decorations are sprouting everywhere--except for the guy where our street "Ts" into another. He put his up in mid-September! To his credit, though, he has a yard full, and even though it's pretty much the same setup every year, it's fun to look at.

Mine are going up this week. I tried to get them all up sooner, but a combination of having the house power-washed and waiting for the guy who cuts my grass to show up (he still hasn't!), I just couldn't put much out.We had some rain earlier, and some MD appts, but today is supposed to be beautiful, so I'm headed out to get more done. This year's theme is Halloween Party, or more accurately, Costume Ball, so all my skeletons are dressing up.  Here is Hazel with Sleeping Beauty:


She is just the age when some of the things I have scare her a little, but dress-up is something she totally understands!  lol  She will be spending the weekend with me, so we will do a little more in the yard.

Went to move a couple of skeletons off the front porch and into the yard, and movement spooked me a little. Skeletons aren't supposed to move!

Apparently my work was being inspected closely!  lol

Here's the house before and after power washing. Such a difference!













 Wasn't that sky beautiful?  It was a gorgeous day to clean up!

 Had my eye appt yesterday. The additional weeks of Prednisone drops have impoved my vision and decreased my scarring. In a month, if there is no more improvement, we'll schedule the cataract surgery. If there is continued improvement, it will be up to me. I can have the astigmatism lens put in and run the risk of over-correcting it as the scars continue to heal, or I can wait a few more months for the cataract surgery.  Part of me, okay, ALL of me, is ready for my vision to be back to "normal", but I do want to give my eye the best chance I can.

Well, we'll see what next month brings. I ordered some reading glasses off of Readers.com yesterday, hoping that may allow me to do some sewing. Every time I walk into my sewing room, my hands just itch to pick up some of my UFOs and make progress, but being unable to see well enough to thread a needle is a bit of a stumbling block! Thank goodness I have plenty of books on my Kindle, where I can enlarge the print, because being unable to sew AND read?  Jack would probably kick me my whiney butt out!

Shards

And the milk glass saga continues.... I shipped 10 boxes, 144 pieces, to my friend 2 weeks ago. She was out of town when it arrived, but got back home that evening. And look what she found:


THREE boxes with every piece shattered, and there was at least 1 broken item in each box. 10 boxes. 35 broken items. The boxes look like they were run over by the truck, not transported in it.

We are both so upset. My mother began collecting milk glass for me when I was 15 years old. Some pieces were older than that, because I found them at antique stores, and they are at least as old as I am. Fortunately, she had not yet mailed the check, as she had been out of town, so we are waiting for UPS to process the claim. I'm pushing for full insurance payment on each box, but will settle for full insurance on the three boxes that were full of shards, and my shipping fee. Some of the items that broke were the least common--the 14" platter, the 5 thumbprint goblets, the scalloped bowl with the "trumpets" that held flowers. And there is no way to measure the sentimental value.

Last winter we ordered Jack a rolling tray and cup holder with storage underneath. He is a high fall risk, especially when not using his cane, and was on blood thinners at the time, so his hematologist insisted he have something to use when he wasn't using his cane, such as when he's carrying food to the den to eat. UPS delivered the box crunched in on the side, and when I removed it, the entire right wheel was bent inward. How do they get by with this? Fortunately, I had bought it from Amazon, so we were able to exchange it for another one, but it took UPS 3 weeks to come get it from my house. They gave me all kinds of hassle about it, until I finally called and told Amazon the difficulty I was having. Then they came out TWICE to pick it up. How does UPS get by with this behavior?  I will not be shipping with them ever again.

Moving on to my happy place. Halloween decor has begun! My theme this year is not a scary one. It's a fun theme -- Halloween Party!  All my skeletons will be dressed in costumes this year. I already have one of my tiny ones in a Supergirl costume Hazel has worn for dress-up. Beginning around the first of October I start pulling out my skeletons one by one and posing them, starting with the porch, and moving out to the yard after a next-to-last lawn mowing. I love playing with them, and I've had some of my neighbors tell me how they look forward to seeing what the skeletons are doing on a daily basis. Little by little, my fall decorations become spookier, and then they all revert to simply fall again in November.

See the skeleton hand on the lantern? My two oldest skeletons, the ones you see here, are falling apart. Some body parts were being held together with zip ties, but even those aren't working any more. Slowly, as they fall apart, they are being gathered together for the bone pit. Sometimes they appear in a wheelbarrow full of dirt, sometimes in front of tombstones, and sometimes in a fire pit. Always useful!

Yesterday and today, the temps finally dropped below 80. Last week we had several 90+ days! So glad fall is truly here!