So yes. After considering it for the last 6 years, I finally went in and had my Lasik surgery yesterday. I would have written yesterday, but my eyes weren't up to focusing at short distances. Turing the ringer back on after turning it off during surgery took really careful concentration. The surgery itself went fairly well. They cleaned the outside of my eyes with antiseptic, and put a blue hairnet on, with little gauze pads over the ears (to catch any dripping saline) and gave me a valum. I don't know if it did anything, but I figured it couldn't hurt. From the point where they cleaned my eyes, I kept my glasses off. After about 20 minutes, while someone else had his surgery and I got to hear the sounds and watch him walk out. They had an observation window where his wife was watching through -- but they didn't have a video of the surgery. I had elected to have the "custom lasik" with the flap creation by laser. The guy who did my free appointment to see if I was a candidate had mentioned that my eyes were a little small and I might have to do PRK. Dr. Bartlett checked just before surgery and said I was right on the margin. For Lasik, if they do both eyes, they first cut both flaps. So they put a patch on my left eyeball and used the suction device on my right eyeball, to life the eyeball a little out of the socket so they could do the flap. They did this, and I lost vision in my right eye for a second and then saw black with hundreds of little sparkly white pinpoints. They swiveled me over to the laser that created the flap, then the nurse counted down from 20 as I saw some reddish blurry stuff.. Then they put a patch over my right eye and centered my left eyeball under the suction machine. And the marathon began. No suction. Then they tried again, got suction and swiveled me over to the cutting machine, and were about to cut, but they had lost suction. So back to the vacuum -- got suction and lost it. Then one last time, got suction, I saw the black with sparkles and got me over to the flap cutter, saw reddish blur and yeah -- they had two flaps. Then I got to watch the little red bouncing light. I watched it while they did each eye. It was painless, but the laser sounded staticky clicking and had a weird smell. After he finished each eye, he smoothed down each flap with a little squeegie-type thing. They inserted my first set of drops, then had me get up and walk to a litle anteroom, where Dr. Bartlett peeked into each eye, and then he pointed out that my left eye would have a lot more trauma, but it should probably heal in the next three weeks. I was seeing after images of black and white rings. I put on my sunglasses and David was there to pick me up and drive me home where I napped for the next couple hours. They also gave me a sleeping mask so I don't rub my eyes while asleep. My eyes look pretty ugly right now, with partial red circles around the left and right eyes, but the left is much worse. I woke up and could see my alarm clock and at my appointment today I was measured 20/20 in my right and 20/25 in my left -- not as good as I saw with my glasses, but they cleared me to drive and I can definitely see well enough to function. I am not looking at my computer much as I type because close vision is still a little iffy, so please exuse any typos. I'll come back and fix them later.
On Sunday we headed out after church and lunch and tried out some local hiking trails. We ended up stopping on the sledding trail we were on in winter. It was so beautiful. The entire hillside was covered with wildflowers, lupines, daisies and many I cannot name. Also, the ground cover was a mixture of grass and wild strawberries. Yum! We had intended to go to a hike around a Lake, but driving away from the "Snow-Park" David mentioned that part of the hiking/biking trail that crosses Washington State from Seattle to Spokane was at that park - - and that it consisted of a three mile underground tunnel. We couldn't resist. The tunnel was about half a mile from the parking lot.. so we went to peek. The day was quite warm, but as we neared the tunnel we felt blasts of arctic air blowing towards us. The tunnel was huge, and the entrance had scaffolding - -the ceiling was dripping like crazy and it was just about pitch black. We decided to come back someday when we had a flashlight. The plants along the side of the trail were a mix of thimbleberries and cottonwoods, but the berries were at the flowering, rather than the fruiting stage. When we got back to the car, B came up with a flashlight -- my grandfather had given it to us when I was in VA and it hadn't been unloaded. We also had three umbrellas -- so back to the tunnel we went.
We came across bicyclists and equestrians in the tunnel. The flashlight wasn't terribly bright, but it gave enough illumination to avoid the walls. It was originally a train tunnel, so it was probably about 15 feet wide, though it seemed narrower. When we got a ways down, a small light appeared -- the one at the end of the tunnel -- 3 miles away -- and it never looked any closer. We probably walked a mile and a half in -- but it was getting really cold, so we turned around. It was fun and we enjoyed the echoes, too.
B and J had tennis camp this morning, and afterward we stopped and picked thimbleberries near the house where we stayed last summer. They are a berry that will never be comercially viable, as they fall apart within seconds of being picked, but they are delicious in jam, and the bushes have no thorns. We picked about a cup. The recipe for jam is 1 part to 1 part berries, bring to boiling -- and then it is done. We'll have PB&J sandwiches tomorrow.
I just got back from VA after dropping off my oldest for a week with her grandparents. After a call or two over the last couple days she does not appear homesick at all and is having a fabulous time. We got back Wednesday and have been enjoying playing with the younger two. We went on a hike this morning and I finally got to experience the joy of the Northwest nettle. We got down part of a path that was slightly overgrown and didn't realize it was infested by nettles until we were a good ways down it. A couple weeks back someone pointed the type of plant out to us, as well as a palliative measure -- rubbing fern spores into the affected area. So my hand still is a little sore, but not too bad.
Our blueberries are bluing up, not quite there but you can see potential. The huckleberries have enough ripe berries to make pancakes tomorrow. I most likely won't partake -- since I'm still trying to "stickk" to my goal of losing a pound a week. I picked up season six of "Monk" at Target yesterday, but before I watch I'm going to re-watch Season's 1-5.
My six-year old can now ride a two-wheeler without training wheels!
We might try going to the Highland Games this summer, but the previously planned time conflicts with a cousin's baby shower, so we'll see.
At last, we have a trap and David and I watched the Video "How To Get Your Mole" -- They demonstrated how to set all the major model traps and showed fresh caught moles. Very furry, BTW. I had read earlier they were the size of chipmunks, but the ones in the video looked more like large hamsters. The weather today is gorgeous! I went outside earlier followed the tape directions and found a fresh mound, dug down and applied a trap. It looks like two sets of scissors - one on either end, so no matter which direction the mole is coming from, he should be a goner. I think I'll make David check the trap, though -- I don't enjoy dead furry animals much. J just had her tennis camp this past week and did fairly well. To get better, she needs more practice. R and B started their T-ball/baseball leagues last week with the YMCA and their coaches are so nice. B should probably be in the next league down, but there was not room, but he's a good sport and his coach is great. Next week we head out to VA.
So I finally went in and had a consulting appointment for Lasik. I'd been putting it off for the last couple of years after being done with the pregnancy/breastfeeding thing. Both my parents and my sister-in-law have done it and had no troubles and I am really ready to be done with the glasses thing. Having your children draw pictures of you with glasses as a matter of course is a blow to one's vanity. I vastly prefer myself with no glasses, and swimming is a big pain with glasses or contacts. In any case, they say I am a candidate for all three things they offer, regular lasik, custom Lasik and PRK -- though they say my eyes are a little small and if they can't get the device that holds the eyes open on them, they'll have to do PRK (the one where they don't cut a flap) The custom Laisk is about $500 more per eye, but in studies where people have had one eye custom, and one eye regular/traditional the custom eyes always turn out better. PRK is the same price as custom Lasik.
They did do the traditional eye exam where you look through the two lenses and they switch out the lenses and say which is bettter 1 or 2, etc. I despise this test. Sometimes the difference between the two isn't clear, one is better in one way, one the other -- and the choises tend to go on forever. I am glad they are able to figure out prescriptions and get people accurate lenses, but surely I hate the process.
When we moved into the house we got, in the bargain, a few rows of various cane fruits; namely thornless blackberries and raspberries, though we bought it at the very end of the season so we didn't actually see much of the fruit. So back in the fall I pruned back some canes. It started blossoming and fruiting in the last few weeks and I discovered some of the big healthy raspberry bushes, were actually salmonberries. Which are all very well and good in their place (one or two on a hike are okay) , but they are really fierce and thorny not that delicious unless you're a bear and were blocking out the light to the raspberries. So I have been methodically pulling them out. The branches with actual salmonberries on them were very easy to identify, but I had to figure out which stems went to which plant and how the leaves were different. What I found was that raspberries have teardrop shaped leaves and salmonberries have an extra little point on each side of the leaf. I also cleared out some ferns, lots of salal -- which apparently makes a very yummy jelly and its leaves make a great tea , but it is an extremely agressive and invasive plant and it is hard to keep it from taking over. Our blueberries are still green, but are getting plumper by the day, and the huckleberries are starting to make little berries too. There are even a few strawberry plants around with tiny green berries. Bring on the ice cream!
Had our first *real* emergency room visit the other night. (I'm not counting the one where dear little son had stuffed about five peas up his nose) Guess who? -- my four year old. She had been running in a portable at church, slipped and banged her head on the metal ... after some web searching "threshold" is the word I'm looking for -- the opposite of lintel. She struck it firmly with her forehead and was brought to me, bleeding and crying and it was very obvious she needed to go to the emergency room. This was around 8 pm. Fortunately we were all there and so we bundled into the minivan, me applying a wad of paper towels to the area in question, and by the time we got there the bleeding had stopped. Her face, clothes and my sweater were quite bloody, but she had ceased crying. The ER was fairly empty but it still was about 30 minutes before we were seen. She was worried about the spots of blood on my sweater and her clothes, but I reassured her that cold water would take them out just fine. They weighed her and took blood pressure and showed us to the room and applied some numbing cream and left us with a stack of picture books for another 30-40 minutes, then they came and put down some chux pads around her neck and two nurses held her arms and the third gave her some numbing shots and reopened the cut and washed it out with saline. She was such a brave little girl. Whatever they gave her made her forhead puff out a bit so they could get the needle through -- the cut was up near the hairline and there is no flesh there to speak of. She had 5 stitches.
I've, in the back of my mind held onto the idea of doing a nursing course someday -- probably from all the Cherry Ames books I read. And I generally don't mind blood too much, but I must admit after about the first 3 stitches, I needed to take of my sweater and sit down, as I felt just a bit woozy. I wonder if it is just because of the surgery -- or that I was emotionally invested in the patient??
:( Afterwards she came over to me and I held her while they described the after care and applied a bandaid and bacitracin. She was cold and clammy, with sweat on her brow and complained that her tummy really hurt and wanted to throw up, plus and her eyelids kept wanting to close -- like you do if you're really tired. However, it was either a reaction to the medication, or reaction to the pain itself. The doctor was a little concerned so we were to stay and keep her awake until her color was better -- so we waited another 10-15 minutes, and she was feeling a little more like her old self. We left at 11 pm. She fell asleep on the way home, and I carried her up to bed, but upon her head hitting the pillow, she popped up like a cork, asked to have her clothes off and reminded me to soak them in cold water and that she wanted to wear her nightgown. The stitches should come out in five days -- but that would be Memorial day and everyone is closed, so we have an appointment Tuesday.
I take the younger two kids to pre-school library storytime on Mondays, and this last time they had a really neat project that can be done by the younger crowd. You need: a sugar cookie on a stick (stick not necessary, but it is cute), a tablespoon of white frosting, a yellow or orange M&M and a large standard size marshmallow -- and a pair of scissors. Spread cookie with frosting, put M&M at center and then using scissors, cut the marshmallow into 5 "circles" -- Of course, being a squishy object the circles will come out more like ovals, which is all the better. Then place the 5 ovals evenly around the M&M on the cookie, and you'll have a lovely daisy. They really do turn out cute.
Oh, and in Reader's Digest this month I came across a website called StickK.com which is a free service that helps you keep your resolutions by offering to force you to put up a stake which will be donated to charity, or an anti-charity (you choose a cause you personally hate) if you don't keep your goal. I went ahead and signed up to try to lose a pound a week and wagered some money on it -- not a lot, but enough to keep me mindful of what I put in my mouth. If it works for the whole time I will be very pleased and will get my money back.
I heard back about the library job; mostly more details of the position and the compensation; and I talked to the principal and found that it *is* a requirement for staff to send their children to the school. The salary is about half of what I could make as a Librarian I substitute in the public library and the hours are 9-5, so I'd never see my kids except for the commute and an hour or so before bed and if you take the job compensation before taxes and subtract the tuition for three kids minus the small tuition break for staff, I'd about break even. If you include the taxes, tithe, gas for commute, wardrobe, extra money for dining out because I'd be too tired to cook meals, it would be a loss of several thousand dollars; plus, I'd hardly ever see my children, they'd not see each other much and they would never be home during daylight hours for most of the year. If it were a 9-3 job, paying a bit more, I'd be tempted, but really it wouldn't be a good fit for the moment.
The things that intrigue me about a "real" school are the extra stuff: speech meets, plays, book clubs, etc. Otherwise I'm quite happy homeschooling and with three children there is plenty of social interplay and we can even play a good round of three or four square, too.
The other day we decided last minute to attend the school play at Benjamin's school. The play's title was completely unfamiliar and I wasn't expecting much, though it being a Christian school I knew it would be appropriate for children, however About two minutes into the first scene I got the funniest feeling I knew the play, and then five minutes in I was sure of it, but it wasn't quite the same. It reminded me very much of "Hello Dolly" -- but in the following scenes no matchmaker was to be found. At intermission I checked out the program and sure enough, "On the Razzle," the name of the play was the English version of the original German play which both "The Matchmaker" and "Hello Dolly" were based upon. Gone was the music and instead it was rife with spoonerisms and puns and other wordplay, most of which went directly over the heads of anyone under the age of fourteen, and some of which went over mine as the amateur dramatists tended to rush their lines occasionally. The script can be read in part at "google books" and was cleaned up a little for production at a Christian school, but it was enjoyable.
Having a nice weekend here. Benjamin did his jog-a-thon fund raiser at school, and I even joined in for several of the laps, as did Rose. In her dress shoes and velour dress she ran the whole time with the kindergartners, then proceeded to run with the first and second graders as well. Her motivation? Well, after the initial couple laps it was the occasional promise of a ride in a wheelbarrow decorated with pink feathers around the track -- a provision for the younger grades who were tiring. For every series of 20 laps they were allowed to take two of them as wheelbarrow passengers. After the jog-a-thon Benjamin ducked out to attend T-Ball practice, then back to school for the school-wide barbecue and staff/parent baseball game. The kids and I played four square instead, and Rose attempted to fly and fortunately ending up completely unhurt despite a fall of 10 feet. Her intended goal was to slide down a pole, but she missed -- that after skinning both knees. She slept fairly well last night.
The kids are doing crafts today -- a paint by numbers seashore scene for the two older. For Rose we pulled out a sand art set, a sticker surface with built in stencils. She did a pretty good job finishing the scene.
Oh, and the title phrase. We did get our refund direct deposited the other day. No sign of any stimulus check, but not really holding my breath.
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