My First Real Post of My New Life :-)

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day. ~Author Unknown

So. Glasses. Who knew what a difference they would make? Not only can I ... yanno... SEE again, but I'm not getting my daily headaches. For the past several years, I've fought a headache everyday. I'm not sure why I didn't connect that with my poor eyesight, but I always blamed it on something else: I slept wrong, I didn't sleep enough, I'm tense, etc. But, no, it appears to have been directly linked to my eyeballs not playing nicely with each other.

Now, I just have to decide whether I wear them all the time or not. Distance vision has been fine thus far, it's just the up close stuff that bothered me. Still, things are a bit crisper far away with the glasses on (though I get a bit of motion sickness still, blech).

Problem is: there is no surgery to correct this problem, and there are no contacts to wear. So, if I go with the glasses for distance, too, then I'm glasses forever. And since I plan on living to 107, forever is a long time.

Anyway, for now I'm just enjoying being able to use the computer again!! YAY!! And, yes, I'll post a picture eventually. I just haven't remember to take one when, oh... my hair is brushed. Or, I'm not in my jammies. But I will.

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Note to people who buy stuff from spammers: JUST. SAY. NO.

If spamming wasn't profitable, people wouldn't do it. So. STOP. For the love of all that's holy... STOP!!!!

I hate spam.

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Allie comes up to my neck of the woods next week! I can't WAIT to see her again. It's good to gab with someone in person... woot! Still looking for a sitter for my DD, but hopefully something will pan out.

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"Funny" story: Remember the yellow-jackets nest I found? Well... a few days later, I found a second one on the other side of the yard, against our house. Same scenario... I was pulling weeds and at one point, when I tugged and the grass peeling back a bit, it buzzed. I dropped it, and stepped back to wait. Sure enough, within seconds the troops were alerted and came pouring out of the nest! YIKES! I grabbed the dog and went inside.

Well, even "funnier"... two days ago, I was moving the plants in front of the house. DH is going to replace the steps he demolished when fixing our front door, but he wants to make them a little bit wider, which will cause them to overlap my garden a bit. So everything needed to scoot down about 8 inches.

I started on the left and dug up the echinacea and replanted it, then headed for the chives (my SIL thinks it's funny I plant chives for their flowers... do you?). DD had mentioned, in passing once, that she'd seen a bumblebee in the dirt by the chives. So, I cautiously stabbed the area with my shovel and lifted the chives a little.

No buzzing. Cool.

Did the other side. Waited. No buzzing. Phew. False alarm.

Now, chives have these tiny, hair-like roots that don't just pop out of the ground, so I needed to do some tugging. I put one foot on either side of the plant, grabbed the base and pulled. And pulled. And pulled.... and they started to move a little.

And then I saw bumblebees. Just one or two at first, but I still stepped back, with the chives all but pulled up. More came out of the dirt, and more, and more... Holy cow!

I found a bumblebee nest. AND, I discovered that they go for depth, and can make their nests a couple feet deep. There is no easy way to destroy one, even if I wanted to, which I didn't. I like bumblebees. They're very non-aggressive (my SIL likes to pet them, lol) and they pollinate my flowers. I just wanted to move the bushes.

In any case, I waited until the sun went down and it was raining, and I went back out and moved everything, leaving the bees their happy home, now underneath a huge seedum plant instead of chives.

Still, I'm just flabbergasted at the number of nests I'm finding this year! What are the odds?

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Enough gabbing for now, I've probably bored you to tears! LOL... I'll fill you in tomorrow or Saturday on DD's foot.

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You Are an "A-OK"

Your life philosophy can be summed up as, "Whatever will be, will be." Your greatest wish is to live each day a little better than the next. You are naturally calm and stable. Some people would call you a rock. You feel one with the world. You are a spiritual person, though no one who knows you would guess it.

What Hand Gesture Are You?

The Eagle... er the Eyeglasses Have Landed!!!

I'll post pictures later. Now, I have BLOGHOPPING to catch up on!!

And, yes, at least thus far they really, REALLY help!!

WOOT!!!!!!!

Still Blind Tuesday

A quick rundown...

Me = no glasses, still blind, still massive head- and eye- aches -- missing my computer fun days something fierce.

DD = still has stitches, must soak foot, air it out, let it heal for four more days. We go back to the doc on Friday.

So... I leave you with the latest installment of "Simon's Cat":

PSA and Howdy!!

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

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First, a public service announcement:



I can’t believe it. The Long and the Short of It is almost ONE YEAR OLD! Who would have thought that last year, when I said to Judy, “I think I want to start a reviews blog... do you want to help a little?” that we would be where we are today???

It's been so much fun, and the best part has been all the truly amazing, gracious and talented authors we've worked with.

We knew we had to do something special to celebrate our birthday, so we are having a blowout party and you are all invited. We have a month of fun planned... and some of our very favorite writers are involved.

Every day, from August 1st to the 26th, you can visit one of our author sponsors to find out how to win her special prize. Not only that... but with each daily entry you’ll also be entered into the drawing for the $50 Amazon Gift Certificate we’ll be giving away on our actual anniversary date of August 27, 2008.

You can also get an entry for the grand prize just by telling other people about it on your website and/or blog... just enter the link on Mr. Linky on the anniversary page. If you have a daily entry, your Mr. Linky will also count as an extra entry for that contest.

You can see all the authors that are participating on our anniversary page. The question and link to their site will be on our anniversary page on their designated day. Be sure and check every day, because once the link is gone.. it’s gone and you’ve lost your chance at that particular prize (and for your entry that day for the Grand Prize).

So... tell your friends. Tell your relatives. Tell your blog buddies. Tell your loops. Tell the strangers in the street. The Long and the Short of It is ONE WHOLE YEAR OLD!!! And giving away twenty-six prizes from twenty-six great authors AND a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate. How cool is that?

;-)

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My eyes are still bugging me, and I had to use my limited computer time to build pages for next week's LASR stuff. I admit that Judy helped me write the above post (which is nearly the same as the one she put on her site... I had to change a little just cuz that's how I am).

In any case, I'm going to call the eye doc today and see if they have an ETA on the glasses. I hope they come in soon AND I hope they help. I can't function without the computer.

I've been typing with my eyes closed most of the time, in an attempt to ease the eyeball pain, and DD asked me how I knew what I was writing. LOL... she was amazed that I knew where the keys were!

Speaking of DD, she goes in this morning to get her stitches out. It's been a rough week, and she's still not completely healed, but it's getting there. Still, she'll have to wear either a bandage or a sock for a few more weeks. That's going to drive my barefoot baby nuts!

We released more butterflies, and are down to two more chrysalis'. I hope they aren't going to over winter. Blech.

Anyway, that's all I can do for now... the telltale ache is beginning behind the eyeballs again. But I missed you guys!!

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Brief Break

My eyes are really, really bothering me today so I'm going to severely limit my online time over the next day or two.

No posts here.

No comments there.

It's not that I don't WANT to blog hop, it's just that my eyes ache, and it's making me dizzy and nauseous.

K?

Hopefully, I'll be back on Monday.

Eyeballs

An eye can threaten like a loaded and levelled gun, or it can insult like hissing or kicking; or, in its altered mood, by beams of kindness, it can make the heart dance for joy.... One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, yesterday I mentioned headaches... and also mentioned that I might have a remedy for them. Over the past year or so, when I get tired, my eyes won't focus together. I spent my evenings reading with one eye (typically my left eye) closed or covered. Even when I'm NOT tired, I frequently have to look away from something to "reset" my eyes before they'll focus.

I finally gave in an scheduled an eye appointment. The last time I got glasses (about three years ago), they really didn't help much. They were, essentially, reading glasses. I don't need things magnified -- that isn't the issue. I see things fine, up close AND far away.

DD needed her appointment anyway, so I scheduled one with her. This doc discovered the problem almost immediately... my eyes see at different angles. My left eye actually sees higher than my right, so I basically have double vision. He told me that I've probably had it my entire life, after noting that I tip my head to the left. He asked to see picture ID, so I showed him my drivers license and warehouse club card. He pointed at the photos and said, "See how your head is tipped?" -- and, honestly, if you look at 90% of pictures with me in them since the day I was born (just look at the profile picture in my Blogger profile!), my head is tipped to one side. He said it was my unconscious way of making the vision field level and helping my eyes focus together. But, now my eyes are getting old and tired (and, no he didn't put it like that, lol) and don't want to work together any more.

So I'm getting glasses with a special "prism" in them that will level out my vision field. And, maybe I can stop winking at the computer...

Better, maybe I can go through a day without massive headaches. We'll see... I should have my glasses next week.

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I picked three more squash yesterday, and a "mess" (that's for Judy *G*) of green beans that even DD enjoyed eating (she doesn't usually like green beans). I have about fifteen more baby squash that will be ready over the next week, and twice that many blossoms. Still, the squash doesn't worry me nearly as much as the cucumbers. I think I'm making pickles this year!

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What Your Sunglasses Say About You

You are spontaneous, open minded, and optimistic. You are very youthful and free wheeling, no matter what your age happens to be. You need to be shaded from the darker, more depressing aspects of life. You feel sunniest when everyone around you is up for a good time.

The Sunglasses Test

Um... no. Not even close...

But they were pink :-)

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A Quickie for Wednesday

The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one. ~Erma Bombeck

Just thought that was funny :-)

And, the cliff notes version because I have a guest blogger, below -- please read and comment! Let's see...

Eye: better, but the skin is peeling off my eyelid, which is a little icky.

Sleep: Managed to "sleep in" until 4:20 !!

Pillar Place 2008: Three more pillars are on their pupa walkabout. Thank heavens. They are eating me out of house and home.

Reading: The same. Writing: The same.

My Garden: The milkweed is a bit perked up, despite massive amounts of rain and hail again yesterday. Also, my squash plants have baby squash on them, and the cucumbers and tomatoes all have blossoms!! yay!

That's it for now... go forth and read about writing with music (something I CAN NOT do, lol)...

Doctor, My Eyes Have Seen The Years...

All profoundly original art looks ugly at first. - Clement Greenberg

That quote explains all of my first drafts. *G*

(Extra point to the person who can identify the singer of the song I quoted in my title.)

So...Yesterday, I went to renew my drivers license. Ugh. We won't talk about the 60 minute wait, or the fact that they only have 1 1/2 people to wait on the ginormous line -- though they had THREE people at the registration place that was empty. Go figure.

Anyway... when I finally got my turn, I did the little eye chart whoosie in the fancy-schmancy view master and, badda-boom... read them off like a champ.

I thought.

"Ma'am, there are three boxes of letters to read."

"No there aren't," I said. "There are only two. One in the middle and one on the right."

"Do you wear contacts?"

"No." Should I? "I've always had perfect vision."

She favors me with a pitying look. "You have a weak eye. You must, or you'd be able to see all three boxes."

**sigh**

I'm OLD.

But I still got my drivers license. Ha.

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So Jen got back to me yesterday about the bit of "Queen and Assassin" (my NaNo Fantasy) that I sent to her.

She liked it! She really liked it!

Okay... it wasn't perfect, but I knew that already. And there's a lot of brainstorming work to be done (some of which she helped me with this morning -- God bless Instant Messaging), and she thinks it deserves to be much longer than I had planned. That, at least, shouldn't be a problem if you consider it was originally intended as a 20,000 word novella for an anthology submission and I'm 16,000 words in and nowhere near done, or even halfway.

So...

Good news is: She liked it. It has legs. Yay.

Bad news is: I have a LOT of work ahead of me.

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Hey... how cool is this? Find out which libraries carry your book or books (or, if you're not a writer, which libraries carry your favorite novels)! Go to www.worldcat.org; and type in the title. Then you can type in a location to find out which libraries are carrying it.

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Your Daily Dakota... Where could she be? AHA! She's eating the couch!



Bad dog! Get down!



Dakota says, "You must have been mistaken. I would never do something like that. I am innocent of all charges."



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Your Vibe Is Secretly Sexy

Sexy isn't exactly a word you'd use to describe yourself But you have a quite allure that certain men feel appealing You don't need to flaunt your stuff to be sexier A little more confidence in yourself, and you'll really light up a room!

What Kind of Sexy Girl Vibe Do You Have?

Look out world... *G*