Quick update

Today is my first day back on my computer for almost two weeks.  As many of you know, I had eye surgery on the fifteenth.  My eyes were swollen shut except for a tiny slit.  My last thought in the world would be to get on the computer.  I couldn’t see to do anything.  This included reading and watching TV, so I listened to music while I iced my face.

My husband said I looked like I had gone a dozen rounds with Mohammad Ali.  I felt like that too.  The whole idea was to get rid of this constant eye drip and the only way was surgery.  I have to use eye drops and ointment for another ten days.  The ointment is like looking through a foggy cloud.  Imagine putting Vaseline in your eye.  You get the picture.

I’ve iced my face for at least fifty hours now.  Everything is getting better slowly.  Tomorrow is my first day back at work after this ordeal.  I’ll be wearing sunglasses for a while and have permission to do so.  Otherwise, I would have to talk about my face all day.  No thanks.

This time of year probably isn’t the season to undergo surgery like this, but I have no family close by so I wanted to get it over with.  I could still talk to them by phone and it doesn’t matter what I look like then.

So for anyone who receives cards from me, I apologize for falling off the wagon this year.  I didn’t even put out holiday decorations nor do any cooking.

I’m sleeping in a recliner until my stitches come out on the second.  Actually, I’ve found this arrangement to be much easier on my back, which is a good thing because exercise is out right now too.  Usually that’s the only thing that can get me moving in the morning.

I’ll give you more of a story on this whole trial when I can see well.

I hope you all had a very Happy Yule and Merry Christmas, as well as a great upcoming New Year, which is right around the corner.

More updates from the desert

Sorry for my sporadic posting.  There never seems to be enough hours in a day for everything.  I’ve been working as much as I can because I’ll be having eye surgery on the fifteenth to correct my dripping eyes.  I’m looking forward to this as it gets very old after several years with a runny eye situation going on.  I’m constantly asked “why are you crying?” at work.  I get tired of explaining to all the customers and carrying Kleenex in every pocket. 

I have to admit I had this situation under control for a short while by using the correct formula of eye drops for my dry eyes, but my bottom eyelids have tipped outward just enough to let the tears flow down my face all day long, instead of into my tear ducts.  This surgeon is going to tack my bottom eyelids up.  I’ve been waiting about three months for this surgery, so I’m looking forward to having this problem solved, but I’m nervous at the same time.  I’ve watched a lot of You Tube videos on these procedures.  The doctor told me to stop doing that because it was too scary, but actually all the disclaimers I had to sign were much scarier than the videos.  Of course doctors have to cover themselves for any scenario.  Hopefully, none of these possible bad things will happen to me.  I’m going in with a positive mind.

I’ll be off work for a minimum of four days due to swelling and black eyes.  I have to sleep in a recliner for the first four-five days because I have to sleep on my back all night and there’s no way I can do that with my back issues.  The recliner will be much better for me.  I can’t turn over if I want to and it’ll remind me not to.  I did sleep in a recliner once years ago when I broke some ribs.  It’s actually not that bad.

After the surgery, I’ll have to apply ice packs to my face all day long, as well as use eye drops and ointment on the incisions and stitches.  It’ll be an ordeal, but I’m hoping all goes smoothly and I’m back at work soon.  I got permission from my boss to wear sunglasses while I have black eyes and stitches because it’ll sure look better than my bare face.  I’ll have to update this situation later.  I’m hoping the sunglasses I found are light enough to be acceptable.  It’s very hard to find ones that are barely tinted.

I’m sure I’ll receive other instructions on Thursday and Friday.  Right now I’ve collected all the stuff I’ll need, supposedly, so I’m ready to get this over with.  I’ll be off the computer for a few days, at least, because my vision will be blurry due to the ointment.  I’m sure I should rest my eyes anyway and not be looking at a computer screen.  I did buy an audio book to listen to because reading will be out of the question too, as well as TV, at least for the first few days after.

 This is from Pinterest and is like the fox in the backyard

On another note, a few days ago we had a gray fox in the backyard.  It was beautiful and looked so well-groomed and perfect.  It came to drink water from the pans we have all over the yard for the animals that happen by.  Water is hard to find, in the desert, so we help them out.  We really wanted to get a picture, but the camera wouldn’t shoot through the glass windows and we knew he would run if we opened the door, so we just watched him.

We’ve had a few days in the forties and nights in the upper twenties, but nothing horrible yet, thank goodness.  I really hate the cold.  I know bad weather is coming soon though because December and January are the coldest months here.  I was shocked when my sister told me it snowed in south Texas on Friday.  They were colder than it was here.  Snow is a rare event there.  That makes only the third time it’s snowed there during my lifetime.  I remember the first time I ever saw snow.  I was about nine and it snowed only enough to cover the grass and dirt, but we kids were bundled up and out there trying to build a snowman out of whatever snow we could salvage.  It was a muddy snowman, but we were very proud of ourselves for all that effort.

I can’t believe Christmas is almost here again.  The years go by faster all the time.  I’m so unprepared this year and, due to the circumstances, I’m not putting up a tree.  I don’t have the time and I’ll be on bed-rest after this surgery anyway.  I can’t bend, or do anything much for a few days.  I hate to deprive the cats, but I have to.  They love that tree so much, but I’m not up for sweeping up broken ornaments every day and putting the tree back together.  I’m sure the rest of you are a lot more organized than I am.

Stay warm and well everyone.  I'll be back as soon as I can.

Cold weather is coming

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  Our weather has been lovely for this time of year, but by Monday we have a cold snap coming in and it’ll be quite chilly for the immediate future.  Our lows will be in the twenties, but feeling more like the teens the weather station says.  This is devastating for me to hear because I hate cold weather.  I’ll just be glad to get it over with.

 This sunset is from a couple of weeks ago

 

We have been enjoying some nice orange and gold sunsets almost every evening.  That keeps me running for the camera.  I don’t have the photos downloaded yet of the latest ones.  I’ll have to post some later.

A whole new set of “blow-up toys” has appeared in the yard of the house three doors down from us.  The people who bought that house moved in last summer along with one of their kids who has kids.  So I imagine all these toys are to impress the grand-kids.  You would need a whole bay in the garage to store this stuff, but hubby mentioned they probably rented it.  That does make more sense.  While driving by in daylight, I did see a big dinosaur in back by the pool.  I imagine he’s there all year and isn’t a rented toy.

In other news, my hand is recovering slowly from my “big ouchy” I received on November 1^st while preparing for the tile job in the bedroom.  I damaged a tendon so now I have a gigantic cyst about the size of a quarter on top of my hand.  I went to the doctor again this week.  He told me years ago they used to call them “bible bumps” because the missionaries would get into accidents and they had no medical treatment for things like this, so they would drop heavy bibles on the cysts to make them go away.  He said this doesn’t work and I’ll only end up with a sore hand if I try it. 

He told me he could drain it, but there was a 30% chance of it coming back.  Of course I told him to go and get the stuff and do it.  But he wants me to wait another six weeks and see if it goes away on its own.  There’s a slim chance of that happening.  Then he told me it wasn’t so bad, but I let him know I didn’t intend on becoming friends with it and I want it gone.  He told me since the gash was barely healed he didn’t want to lance it yet because I could get an infection.  I personally felt he just didn’t want to deal with that right then.  So I guess I’m going back in there in six weeks to have it lanced.  No one seems to understand I just want to get things done and over with and move on.  I don’t want to have to keep going back for the same thing for weeks, not if I can help it.

In the interim, I’m to be careful for another couple of weeks and then I can resume my usual duties at work.  I do notice this hand cramps a lot so maybe that will resolve itself at least.

I’m also preparing for eye surgery on the 15^th.  That’s kept me running to get all the stuff I need for that because I’ll be confined to the house for a while.  It took me the longest time to pick out a lighter pair of sunglasses I can wear to work once I go back.  I’ll have stitches and bruises on my eyes so my boss told me sunglasses would be okay while they’re healing.  Part of my surgery will be paid for because the reason I’m having it done in the first place is to get rid of my running eyes.  That situation is driving me crazy.  So while I’m not looking forward to two black eyes, I can’t wait to be normal again and not have Kleenex in all my pockets to wipe my eyes every two minutes all day long.

I’ll be off work for four days because I have to keep an ice pack on my face.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get on the computer at all during that time because of the swelling from the surgery.  I’ve watched a few eye surgery videos and it seems I can expect for my eyes to be heavy and sleepy and I’ll want to rest them.  So thinking ahead, I bought a mystery audio book I can listen to with my eyes closed.  We’ll see how that goes.

Naturally, with all this going on, I’m not putting up the tree again this year.  I hope the cats will forgive me.  I only do it for them and will actually be glad to get the holidays behind us again.  They roll around way too quick for me.