Secret Diary. Do Not Read

Precisely. You can either pay for a subscription or watch the ads. This reminds me of Photobucket; get everybody's stuff and hold it for ransom.

 

We have been having really windy weather for the past couple of days. A determined little spider keeps building a web on the driveway security camera, setting off the motion detector about 50 times an hour because the wind is flapping the web around.

 

It is getting ready fer Halloween

 

My personal take on things.

 

Last week we went to the optometrist to get eye exams and new glasses. I have been having more large floaters in my right eye so I was not surprised that I got a referral back to the ophthalmologist. This is worrisome but last time they didn't do anything except "wait and watch." The optometrist still believes my cataracts are not large enough to have surgery but my sight is blurry, so I hope the ophthalmologist will disagree about that.

Had a great weekend. Our son and DIL drove down to visit and to pick up a few things from my MIL's estate. He wanted her grandfather clock and a nearly-new recliner from her den. Daughter-in-law picked out some pieces of jewelry, some metal lawn furniture and a few pots and pans. So now all the children except our son in Oregon have picked out things they wanted from their grandma's estate. Next is the public estate sale and then selling the house.

We spent most of yesterday at MIL's house and then had mexican food for dinner. They spent the night and left after breakfast. Hubby went back over to MIL's to mow and blow leaves off the driveway and I've been puttering. Did some laundry, reset clocks on Aerogardens, etc. Speaking of Aerogardens, I sent son home with a gallon zip-lock bag of banana peppers, some tomatoes, and some fajita peppers.

 

Today I cleaned out my Aerogarden Farm which holds 2 gallons of water. I used plastic tubing and the pump to siphon the water out into a bucket, then discarded two cucumber vines and a huge tangle of roots. The vines still had lots of tiny cukes but I didn't care for the texture of that variety (watery and not good for pickling) and the vines were looking a little ratty so out to the compost heap they went.

I removed the 14"x 20" x 6" deep water tank from the stand and took it to the kitchen sink to clean. Made the tactical error of cleaning and refilling the water tank, adding nutrients, then carrying it back to the dining room to place in the stand.

O. M. G. I was "seconds from disaster" with each step, and got a scary slosh when the tank seated in the stand. That's when I realized how far it is from the kitchen sink to the dining room, having to carry over 16 pounds of water in an open tank (water level about 2" from the top) and maneuver around the kitchen island. It didn't help that I had to fit the filled tank between the posts of the stand, then plug in the pump and light behind the tank. It sits about 6" off the carpeted floor.



WHEW!!!! I won't be doing that again.

 

Here's my 2 cents on cataract surgery, FWIW...

I never saw an ophthalmologist in my life, just optometrists. Mine said there is no good reason to wait any time for cataract surgery, once you know cataracts are there. They will only get worse. You need a doctor willing to recommend you to a good surgeon, and the surgeon willing to recommend it for Medicare to pay. You know that already, I'm sure.

Find out who your doctor will recommend for the surgery. Choose the best cataract surgeon you can find. Most experienced with newest laser equipment. Mine had done 1000s of surgeries and had the latest equipment. This surgeon performed the surgery as long as he could see signs of cataracts. No waiting for months until they are ready. There is no such thing.

Be careful about choosing the lenses. When I got mine done there were too many bad reviews on the multifocal ones. OTOH most people are more fussy than I am. I might have been fine with them. They were a risk I wasn't willing to take. I got the single focus lenses. The multifocals are no doubt much better now. That was 10 years ago.

[ Yes, I know, the optometrist gets a kick back, so they both want more business sooner, rather than later. (not) ]

 

I agree! There is no reason to wait on cataracts if they are effecting your vision in the slightest. I got the single focus lens since I like wearing glasses to protect my eyes and any changes in vison such as the double vision that started last winter, are easily corrected. The thing is, any secondary cataracts are easily removed with a laser. Nothing to it. I have had it done in both eyes and wish I had years earlier when my glaucoma was not so restrictive.

All a cataract is, is a cloudy natural lens. Regardless of how bad the cataracts are, that lens is removed so cataracts cannot come back except as blood clots called secondary cataracts. They are easily removed and totally painless. As Nancy said, no reason to wait.

 

Thanks, y'all. I have seen 3 optometrists and an ophthalmologist and every single one of them says my cataracts are "not bad enough" for surgery. I don't know what else to say except I can't force a doctor to operate on me. This has been going on for a few years now. My latest issues are not cataract related; it's still the vitreous detachment causing a bleed in the back of my right eye.

 

In my humble opinion, it's best to avoid any kind of surgery if you can.

 

I agree.

 

Ugh, I don't feel well today and I'm crabby. Husband picked up hamburgers for dinner and I ate about half then threw it up. I feel kind of dizzy and out of it.

Lots of family mini-dramas going on lately, mainly around MIL's estate. Amazing how a bit of money brings out the worst in people. We just want this to be over with so we can never speak to any of them again. My husband hasn't even had time to grieve for his mother and I know he misses her terribly.

One thing that this has taught us; we will be very specific with where financial documents are stored, and we are updating our wills to include more detail.