This and that

Yesterday was Veterans' Day. It's a federal holiday, which used to mean I had the day off. Of course, being retired, every day is a holiday of sorts. However, the last few days haven't seemed that way. It's amazing how busy one can be and still not do anything much. Yesterday, I did three loads of wash, ran a couple of errands and went for a long walk with Patty. We found a new trail to walk and walked further than planned. When we had walked 2.2 miles to an old railroad bridge that Patty wanted to see, I realized that it was 2 PM and I had an appointment to get my eyes checked at 3! We walked really fast on the way back and I made it to the office with 5 minutes to spare.

I get new glasses every couple of years (have worn them since I was 10), so I know the procedure pretty well. This was a new doctor, however, and a couple of things were different. He actually took a photo of my eyes. He showed it to me and I could see the blood vessels - not a pretty sight. The other difference was that he dilated my pupils more than usual. When I left, about an hour and a half after the drops had gone in, I was still seeing starbursts around all the lights. Since it was 5 PM by then and getting dark, there were a lot of starbursts on the way home. Weird, but not a real problem. I drove very carefully.

Speaking of lights, one of the things I did yesterday was buy new bulbs for the flourescent light in my kitchen. I tried putting in just one new one. That used to work on some of my lights. This time, no such luck . I had to replace both of them. The bulbs are like none I had ever seen before. Instead of being a straight long bulb, they are u-shaped. As if someone took two straight bulbs and added a connecting curve. Very strange looking and rather expensive, but they seem to last a loooong time. I have lived here for over 7 years and those bulbs never had to be replaced, so I guess they are good ones.

Today I took Patty to an appointment for a MRI. Afterward, she took me out to lunch at TGI Fridays. I told her that anytime she needed a chaufeur, I'm available for just a lunch! Today was sunny and not too cold, so I when we got back, I decided to get a bit of yard work done. I tore the dead morning glory vines off the trellis in the front yard and clipped and pulled dead flowers from the bed. Also took off all the little watering cans and other decorative items hanging on the trellis. Have to make room for the Christmas decorations, which go up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I boxed up most of the birdhouses that have been decorating my deck railings. I think they will last longer if I bring them in for the winter. I only worked an hour or so, but it felt like much longer.

I don't know if Patty and I will go walking today or not. We agreed to decide at 4, when we would have both quit working in the yard for the day. I had quit by three! I doubt if we'll go, as I think we both are tired. If I didn't have her to walk with, I would hardly ever go walking. I'm not highly motivated to do it, but having someone else to walk with helps get me out there.