Cataract Surgery

First of all, I have the most terrific sister and brother-in-law.  They picked me up earlyTuesday morning to take me for cataract surgery.  Let me tell you, I am not a stranger to being cut on and various parts of my body removed, fixed, and replaced.  I can handle all that - but the thought of never seeing again terrifies me.  I can do without hearing the crap that comes out of intelligent mouths, but the thought of never seeing my girls eyes sparkle or see my grandson wiggle his eyebrows at me and smile is beyond my comprehension.  So needless to say I was a bit on the nervous side.  Sis and Bro were right there with me with all the comforting words and gestures. 

I didn't have a long wait before I was called back to my out patient room and given my darling attire for the morning.  My nurse was a friend from High School and we chit chatted a bit then down to business.  Eye drops in the case of this surgery is the key to it all.  I think I experienced a total of 5 different types of drops all with their own little agenda and these little diamonds must go in every 30 minutes or an hour.  We did the drop regimen and then a very pleasant young man picked me up in a neat chair bed.  We zipped down the halls to the operating room and there I was met by another friendly group of nurses and doctors who explained all the steps and tried to make me comfortable. 

I was not asleep for any of this procedure and I am so glad I got to see from the inside out.  The nurse advised she was giving me some happy drugs via the IV pigtail; the Doctor put a little drop in my eye and then moved a ominous looking machine over my face; and instructed me to watch the lights.  I then watched the little "razor" move across my eye and cut away the old crusted lens and its casing all the while a beautiful array of colors played across my eye.  A new lens was dropped in, a patch taped over the eye and the adhesive sheet was removed from my face and it was all over.  A cup of coffee and muffins from the nurses and a chicken sandwich from Sis and Bro were waiting on me in the room.  I consumed most of both, but did share a muffin with Bro, got dressed and sat and waited to go home.

Easy as pie!  When the patch was removed I wanted to shout with joy.  I could see again and everything looked so clean and new.  I could actually see the leaves on the trees, not a green fuzzy glob.  This week i am getting the left eye done and then the depth perception will clear even more and I will be able to walk with fumbling around.  Can't wait!

Until next time  . . .

Happy Reading!
Belle

It was absolutely wonderful!  I had a week with all my grandchildren and it was the best vacation I have had in a long time.  I can't wait to do that again and hopefully the older two can return for a few extra days before the summer is out.  I learned new things about the personalities of these kids and each one of these four always have something new to surprise me with.

Sunday was my daughter's birthday and we had a wonderful cookout and swim party.  Lot's of fun with family and friends!  Even my 87 year old Dad got in the action, but we couldn't get him in the pool.  He did enjoy some delicious barbecue and Brunswick stew though and even some of those delicious friend green tomatoes!  Sis and hubby got in on the action too.  Mom must have been hiding from the camera.  I can't find a shot of her anywhere! 

 

A local church had a good fireworks display around 10:00 so we all trekked over and watched the sparkles and listened to the booms.   We were even serenaded by the "3 J's" (my daughter-in-law,daughter, and other daughter).  It was a fun filled day. 

When my daughter was a toddler and terrified of fireworks she ask that we don't do the fireworks for her birthday anymore.  On Monday night after their return north this same daughter was taking her children to town to watch the fireworks. 

I hope that you had an enjoyable July fourth weekend and celebrated our declaration of independence with much joy and thankfulness. 

Now on to more work, play and daily living!

Until next time . . .

Happy reading!

Belle

Innocent - I Don't Think So!

My granddaughters range in age from 8 to 5 to almost 4.  The two older girls come directly to me with their requests for candy, popsicles, cookies, drinks or whatever they think they must have at the time.  The youngest however, stands back to get my reaction and if it is a negative response, she bypasses me to either her Dad, Mom, or Aunt Jenn.  (PawPaw gets bypassed also as he thinks just like Nanna). 

As I sat rocking while watching and listening to their play, the older girls came running to ask for a fudgesicle.  Having just finished dinner with desert, I told them they could have one later, but not right now.  They ran back to their play passing little bit on the way.  Apparently they advised her enroute that the answer was no.  she bypasses me and headed for the door only to be met by Mama.  Trying her best to keep Mama inside rather than out, she started with "I want" only to be rudely interrupted by Nanna.  It didn't work this time. Her Dad was sitting at the patio table and we laughed at her attempt to outsmart me which really made her mad.  Off she went to play with the older girls, crestfallen that she didn't win this time either.  By the way, they did get their ice cream later.

I want to point out that it isn't always the youngest that is the manipulator.  It swaps around as to what is wanted and who feels like the best negotiator at the time.  Sometimes they even recruit the grandson as the negotiator and at twelve he has experience and knowledge the other three are lacking. 

I can see that their parents are in for a hard time as they get older.  Girls have a tendancy to stick together and try to reason things out, whereas a girl and a boy pretty much go their own way and they get what they get. Conspiracy against adults is not a new thing.  My sister and I did the same thing.  Our only problem was our interest did not follow the same routes. 

I always loved to ride and Mom and Dad's Sunday afternoon jaunts were exciting for me, however my sister would get car sick and didn't enjoy the riding at all.  Our annual trips to Daytona Beach were all started at night so Sis would go to sleep leaving Mom and Dad to enjoy the long ride.  But that didn't mean that we didn't conspire on other issues.

It is a pleasure to watch them grow, to experience the expansion of their minds and their desires for their future.  It will be interesting to see if they follow their dreams or find other areas of interest that side tracks them from their goals.  Of course at this young age, they are limited to their exposure to what the world holds.

Thanks for sharing with me this morning and until next time . . .

Happy reading!
Belle  

Chicken Gumbo

Our family refers to this as my sister's Chicken Gumbo, but in reality it was shared by a close family friend. My sister makes this according to the recipe as I do or my mother does, however, hers is different. It is just one of those things, no explanation! My children will tell you, Mom's is good but . . . I feel the same way and as a result, this has become her recipe!

This is great for those cold winter nights or when you have a crowd to feed. Warm and nourishing, it is a pleasant detour around the chili or vegetable soup meals.

Boil a large fryer or hen in salted water until the meat falls from the bone. Remove hen from broth, remove meat from bone, returning meat to broth.

In a small skillet, fry 4 slices of bacon and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Stir 1 cup of chopped onions and one clove of crushed garlic into the bacon drippings. Saute until brown, then stir 1/3 cup of flour into the onion and garlic mixture. Stir constantly until flour has browned; pour mixture into broth. Also add 1 pint tomatoes and 2 tsp Gumbo Filet to the broth. Cover and let simmer. Add 1 pint okra, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce to broth. Simmer at least 45 minutes. Serve over rice.

Delicious!