Journal: The Eyes Have It

 

Last Tuesday, the afternoon high temperature was 20° here in middle Nebraska, with a windchill of 2°.  Meanwhile, it was 43° with no windchill at all in Sitka, Alaska!  (I knew you’d want to know.)  There was a skiff of snow on the ground, and the sun was shining.

That morning, I cut my hair, shined up the bathroom, and watered the houseplants.  By early afternoon, I was on laundry load #3.  I paid some bills, did a bit of computer work, and gave the kitchen a cleanup.

I received a letter that day telling me that my name had been drawn as a prospective juror for the term beginning January 01, 2025, and ending December 31, 2025.  I wonder what happened to the note from our family doctor excusing me from jury duty?  They should still have it on file.  Maybe they think I spontaneously recovered of the ‘chronic health issue’ the doctor spoke of.  I still have that note, but it would be better to get a new one from my eye doctor.  Back when I got that first note, most of my doctors, especially the eye doctors, either had never heard of Benign Essential Blepharospasm or acted like I was plumb nuts for thinking I had it.  That’s probably why the family doctor didn’t name this ‘chronic health issue’ by name, though he did seem more inclined to believe me than the eye doctors did.

The eye doctor I have now was genuinely appalled when I told him that my previous eye doctors knew nothing about Blepharospasm.  He’s been treating it for 30 years now.

Blepharospasm and jury duty do not mix.  They’d open the door to let the jury members into the jury box, and I’d accidentally walk straight off the bench and land in the defendant’s lap.

Or just walk into the door before they got it completely open.

Here’s Arnold in the little green outfit we gave him for Christmas.

Early that evening, I heard one or more raccoons crashing around in the garage, chirring and growling like everything.  I wonder how they got in there?  Probably from the unfinished addition.  I did not see them, but there is no mistaking the sound a raccoon makes.  And judging by the fuss I could hear, there were at least two.

By the time Larry came home, there were no raccoons in the garage, and, as usual, Larry doubted whether I’d really heard them out there.  I suggested he look upstairs in the addition, so he did – and whataya know, there was at least one, and probably two (he wasn’t sure about the second one), in there.  They ran to whatever hole they’d made to get in, and escaped.  He saw their pawprints on the deck in the snow.  It was dark, though, and he did not find the hole they’d used either to get into the addition, or to go from addition to garage.

For supper that evening, we had bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches.  Mmmm, those are one of my favorites.  We had rice pudding for dessert.

It was very cold that night, and this old house is drafty.  I had on two sweaters, leggings, fuzzy slipper socks, a denim skirt – and was drinking iced Celsius.  😄

Wednesday morning when I got up around 6:30 a.m. to get ready for my appointment in Lincoln at Eye Surgical Associates, the temperature was 0°, with a windchill of -8°.  Larry had an appointment at LensCrafters, also in Lincoln.  I made a pot of Apple Cinnamon French Toast coffee from Christopher Bean, and sipped it while blow-drying and curling my hair.  Meanwhile, Larry went to work for a couple of hours.

It was about 9:15 by the time we left home.  We’d be cutting it close to get to LensCrafters by 11:00 a.m. for Larry’s appointment.  We crossed the icy Platte River at exactly 9:27 a.m.

We stopped at a convenience store in Rising City to clean the windshield, which was a smudged mess; but it was a useless endeavor, as their washing fluid was frozen solid.

Larry had brought along a container of little oranges, peeled and ready to eat, that he’d gotten at a truck stop somewhere.  The first orange was so juicy we both needed a bath by the time he got it down the hatch. 

He got out a second orange, pulled a few sections from it, took a bite, then made faces and said, “They got mixed up and put a Christmas ornament in this container.”  Another bite, and he changed his mind.  “No, I’m wrong.  It’s a wad of hay.”  😅

The particular LensCrafters where Larry had his appointment is at SouthPointe Pavilions Outdoor Mall.  It’s a pretty and well-kept mall; but why do we always wind up going there on the coldest days of the year?!  To get to LensCrafters, one must walk a couple of blocks between other stores and businesses, and it seems to me that the configuration of the buildings channel hurricane-force Arctic gales right down through the walkways. 

We were glad when Larry’s exam showed that his eyes were healthy; the mini stroke he had in one eye three years ago has apparently healed.

He chose his glasses, doled out over $800 for them 😧, and then we headed off to Eye Surgical Associates, 15 minutes to the northeast.  LensCrafters will call when Larry’s glasses are in.

I got the Botox injections, and we started home, as Larry hoped to get in more hours of work before time for our evening church service.

We got home a little after 3:00.  Larry went off to work, and I headed upstairs to my quilting studio to make Pine Tree blocks.

After the service, a friend gave me a quilt on which she wanted custom quilting done.

Thursday morning, I filled the bird feeders, and soon American goldfinches were busy out there.  Just look at the railing, all covered with hulls.

I loaded my friend’s quilt on my frame and launched into the quilting.

My friend’s teenage daughter, along with two of her friends, sewed this quilt together for the friends’ new baby brother.  My friend cut the squares from an allover print using a template.  The fabric was found in one of the baby’s late grandmother’s stash.

The baby weighed only 3 lbs. 6 oz. when he was born before Christmas; but he’s gained over a pound now, no longer needs oxygen, and is in a regular crib.  As soon as he is able to get all his nourishment from a bottle, he’ll be allowed to go home.  He’s doing quite well.

We had a dusting of snow that day.  It was 32°, and the snowflakes landing on the windows in my sewing room were turning into small droplets of water.

Supper that night was Red Baron Supreme pizza, peach Oui yogurt, and a couple of chocolate-hazelnut Pirouettes for dessert.  Oh, and peach-mango juice, too.

I quilted most of the day Thursday and Friday, and was allllmost finished, when the most revoltin’ development occurred:  I ran out of thread.  Just look how close I was to being done!

I’d known there was this possibility when I chose the thread color Thursday, and had ordered more; but it wouldn’t arrive until early Saturday afternoon.

I made split pea soup to console myself.  Mmmm, it was scrumptious.  I added carrots, celery, onions, and a volley of spices:  Garlic Garden Seasoning, Crushed Red Pepper, Ground Thyme, Paprika, Seasoned Salt, Seasoned Pepper, a dash of Cayenne Pepper, and Ground Mustard.  I have no recipe; I go by sight, smell, and experience.  If the spice smells strong, I take it easy.  If it smells mild, I use a liberal hand.  After it cooks for a while, I taste the liquid, and add more seasonings if it seems to need it.

I love split pea soup, so long as it isn’t mushy.  I can’t stand the canned stuff.

Shortly after 1:00 p.m. Saturday, I got a notification:  the thread was in the mailbox!  Our mailbox is over on Old Highway 81.  It was too cold and windy to walk that far, so I dashed out to the Benz, drove to the mailbox, retrieved the mail, and came home again.  Then I hurried upstairs to finish that last block.  Soon I was trimming the quilt from the frame and letting my friend know I could drop the quilt off in a few minutes.

And then I got delayed, because when I turned the quilt over to admire the quilting on the back, I discovered that a long, dark thread had wound up between the backing and the batting!  So... I got out my little knit picker (it looks like a teeny-tiny latch hook), carefully stuck it in through a thread hole, and weaseled the offending thread out.  The quilt measures 47½” x 47½”.

I managed to drive to town without too much trouble.  My eyes are improving.  Not as quickly as usual, though – probably because while the doctor gave me a bit higher dose in some of the injections, he only put four around each eye.  He usually does five.  In a week or so, I’m supposed to let him know if it’s not working as well, and he’ll put another injection in each upper lid.  This is not as much fun as, oh, say, a picnic in the park.  But I do like being able to see.

I’m back to working on the little Pine Tree blocks for Levi’s quilt.  I have a dozen done, and there are still about four to make.

When we headed off to church at 9:30 Sunday morning, the porch and sidewalks were shiny with ice and frost – and very slick.  I stepped out with my cute little red satin shoes on – and stepped back inside to trade them for boots.  I stepped out again... took a couple of steps... and came back inside to demand – uh, to politely ask Larry, who was still calmly wandering around wondering if he was ready, to sprinkle de-icer on the walks.  I bought some, after all; let’s use it!

He made a token protest:  “Won’t the salt be harder on your shoes than the snow?”

Now there was a new one.  There were so many answers to that, it nearly made me stutter: 

1) I had boots on. 

2) It wasn’t the snow that required the de-icer; it was the ice. 

3) I wasn’t worried over what the de-icer would do to my boots; I was worried over what the ice would do to my karumpasetter (Hester’s word, when she was three) when I landed on it.

4) “Do you or don’t you care if I fall flat?!!!!”

He went for the de-icer.  He sprinkled it, and I sashayed primly out to the Mercedes behind him, cute little red satin shoes in hand.  

Red satin shoes, because, you see, I had on a bright red blazer of soft Pendleton wool that my sister gave me several years ago, paired with a soft wool pleated skirt in navy and red plaid.  The white blouse was short-sleeved, and I would be a tad bit cold in church; but it couldn’t be helped, because that blouse had a design on the collar and placket that matched the skirt, and therefore must be worn.  Right?  Right.

When I was 16, I made myself a suit jacket and vest of burgundy crushed velvet.  I used a fitted jacket pattern from Vogue; I loved their patterns, even though they were usually a lot more work than patterns such as Simplicity or Butterick.  I made a four-gore A-line skirt of a soft wool plaid in burgundy, charcoal grays, and creams to go with it, and had a cute, sparkly, silvery blouse that was evidently made of metal and glass shards.  They didn’t know any other way of making things sparkly back then, I guess.

Being a tough teenager, the glass-shard blouse was the least of my worries.  The big trouble with this outfit had to do with the nap of the velvet.

Nap is not all that noticeable in crushed velvet, but it’s there, all right.  All you have to do is run your hand over it in one direction and then the other, and you will realize that one way is nice and smooth, while the other is rough.

I was careful to cut and sew the nap so that when brushing one’s hand downwards, it was rough; upwards, it was smooth.  When sewn this direction, the velvet has a deeper, richer color, as viewed from a distance away.

But somehow... I’m not sure how, but somehow, the nap of the vest against the silky lining of the jacket caused that vest to slowly squirm itself clockwise, whilst the jacket inexorably made its way counterclockwise.  Trying to unobtrusively straighten either piece of clothing was like trying to rub a piece of the hooked side of Velcro against a piece of the looped side of Velcro.

Why did this happen, when the velvet of the vest was against nothing but that lovely, silky lining of the jacket?!  I could never figure it out.

After our church service (back in present day, now), Larry fixed scrumptious French toast for our lunch.

Today is our granddaughter Joanna’s 22^nd birthday.  We gave her a giant photo album that holds prints up to – I think – 11” x 14”, and a wooden birdhouse shaped like a little ship.

This morning I did some cleaning, filled the bird feeders, and then discovered that a mouse has been grabbing sunflower seeds (how in the world did he get into that tall bag of seeds?!), carrying them into the big drawer of kitchen towels in the laundry room, and using one of the towels for his picnic table.  Ugh!  So a whole bunch of mouse traps have now been set with fresh peanut butter, and towels will soon be in the wash.

I ordered some things for Baby Arnold, whose first birthday is in two days.  He’s been walking for over a month.

Baby Maisie, who will be one next month, is walking, too!  I try to quit calling the little ones ‘Baby This or That’ when they turn one.  I try!  😄

It was bright enough as we were driving last Wednesday that I got a fairly decent picture of the moon – and I even took it through a tinted side window.  

My parents used to tell this story:  I was two years old, and we were traveling in southern Illinois, having been to visit my Grandma Swiney.  It got dark.  The moon rose in the east, big and orange.  I stared out the window in surprised delight.  

“Well, how ’bout that!” I exclaimed.  “They’ve got a moon, too, way down here!”

I need to wash the dishes – but instead, I’m reading news articles about the fires in Los Angeles.  It’s so awful.  Hard to imagine the devastation.  The known death toll is now up to 24.  It will most certainly rise.

Flock after flock of Canada geese are going over, heading north.  They are low in the sky, so they’re probably heading for the Wilkinson Wildlife Management Area to our northwest, where they’ll find water and plenty of food before continuing on south.  Or perhaps they’ll stay for a while.  We do have some flocks that stick around.

I got my note from Eye Surgical Associates excusing me from jury duty:

 

To Whom it may concern:

Patient Sarah Jackson was seen in my office on 01/08/2025 and it was determined that she suffers from blepharospasms.  Which makes it very difficult for the patient to focus her vision.  She is unable to control her facial appearance when a spasm is occurring.  During a spasm she is unable to keep her eyes open.  These are brought on randomly.  If you would please excuse her from any jury duty, that would be appreciated.

Eye Surgical Associates

Lincoln, Nebraska

 

Hmmmph.  I feel offended.  I don’t make funny faces!

Oh, well.  If it gets me off jury duty and the possible tumble off the bench, I’ll just go ahead and make the funny faces.  Instead of saying that, though, he could’ve said that driving can be difficult. 

I did not know that Blepharospasm could be plural – I didn’t even know ‘blepharospasms’ was a word.  But I see Bill Gates knows! – the word is not underlined in red in my Word program.

The doctor also needs to learn about sentence fragments.

No, never mind.  His fingers are skilled enough to put injections around my eyes, usually without leaving so much as the slightest trace.  I’ll just appreciate that, and ignore the sentence fragment.

I’m having Twinings tea – Chamomile, Honey, & Vanilla – that Kurt and Victoria gave me for my birthday.  On the cup is a painting by Kimberly Ropson; she paints scenes from Newfoundland, where she lives.

I went there with my parents when I was 12, in the summer of 1973.  Here’s an iceberg we saw near the Quidi Vidi Harbour east of St. John’s, looking out toward the North Atlantic.

Larry just came in the front door – and immediately sneezed.  😄

I said, “Hi to you, too.”

It’s now 8:00 p.m., and 26° with a windchill of 17°.

Larry was cold, and thought my tea looked good.  Being out of Twinings, I fixed him some loose-leaf Cranberry Orange tea from ‘The Tao of Tea’.

My mother once had some similar loose-leaf tea that looked and smelled so good, I put a spoonful of it in my mouth.

It was, uh... not as good as it looked.  Not consumed like that, at least.

In reading the news, I found this comment regarding somebody’s plastic surgery:  “They pulled his skin back so far that his sideburns ended up growing behind his ears.”  🤣

Yes, of course that comment was on an article out of California.

And with that, I shall toddle off to bed!

,,,>^..^<,,,          Sarah Lynn          ,,,>^..^<,,,