Thank you to those who have so kindly .posted reassurances about the cataract operation.
I have not actually been worried about the operation, but about managing the drops afterwards, and about rubbing my eye in my sleep over the first week or so.
Happily the nurse at the eye hospital showed me this really easy technique for applying the eyedrops: Lie down or recline, rest the open dropper across the bridge of the nose, with the nozzle over the appropriate eye, pull down the lower eyelid and gently squeeze out one or two drops, which will fall straight into the waiting eye. So simple, no need for a mirror and no manipulating dropper and eyelid.
I have had a practice with drops I bought a few months back for dry eyes, but never used because of not being able to see what I was doing - and it worked!
As for rubbing the eye in the night, it is OK to continue wearing the eye shield for a week or so, not just the one night the instruction sheets says.
Only one person has mentioned a bad experience with cataract surgery, a friend who started to tell me her tale of woe not knowing I had just been referred for surgery, but I was able to stop her before she started on the details!
Now all I have to do is wait (and continue practicing with the drops)
Ouch. Hopefully, the pain will soon abate and be gone...
From to
My former dentist (he retired some years ago) told me that he was *the bad thing that happened to good people*, although he was, in fact, a very gentle man with a light touch IYSWIM.
ION, a night of Phreezing Phogg in Arkland-in-the-Cold-Waste has been succeeded by a mild but overcast day. The Monday Expotition to Tess Coe has been accomplished, with everything I wanted duly bought, except for Bananas. The only ones they had (and there weren't many of them) were rather elderly, or so I thought - I prefer to buy them when they're still mostly green, and let them ripen in the fruit bowl.
The painter coped admirably with the disaster wall behind the former wardrobe. It's still obviously a chipboarded up doorspace, but it's been painted over and will be hidden by the new wardrobe.
Something odd has been happening in the graveyard which surrounds our church. Has anyone else come across anything like this? Someone has been propping small, random signs against some gravestones "Everything is gonna be alright" "Guinness is good for you" "Stay Wild, Flower Child" "Welcome to Wonderland" etc. I've seen 7 or 8. A few objects have also appeared - a child's soft toy, a scarf wound round a gravestone, a beer glass. The soft toy may be something which has been dropped accidentally and unconnected.
It looks as though it might be some sort of student art thing. But we have no idea who is doing it, or why.
Odd, but seemingly unthreatening, with what might be read as positive messages.
I'm reminded of these lines from Philip Larkin's poem Church Going:
Yet stop I did: in fact I often do,
And always end much at a loss like this,
Wondering what to look for; wondering, too,
When churches fall completely out of use
What we shall turn them into, if we shall keep
A few cathedrals chronically on show,
Their parchment, plate, and pyx in locked cases,
And let the rest rent-free to rain and sheep.
Shall we avoid them as unlucky places?
Or, after dark, will dubious women come
To make their children touch a particular stone;
Pick simples for a cancer; or on some
Advised night see walking a dead one?
Power of some sort or other will go on
In games, in riddles, seemingly at random;
But superstition, like belief, must die,
And what remains when disbelief has gone?
Grass, weedy pavement, brambles, buttress, sky...
The part in bold will explain what I mean, I think, although Larkin is imagining what might happen to a disused church.
It's not a disused church, but the graveyard itself is "full." A new cemetery was build in the early 1950s, and the only interments in our graveyard since then have been of family members going into an existing lair. The gravestones range in date from mid C18th to mid C20th.
Yes, I appreciate that your church is indeed not disused, but in full working order.
I wonder if the Mysterious Messages are being left by someone with a rather idiosyncratic view of the afterlife, and who wishes to cheer up those who come to wander (possibly wearing a melancholy aspect) around the tombs?
As I said, it seems odd, but unthreatening. I'd hazard a guess that the Mysterious Messenger actually gets a good deal of satisfaction from their work.
I wonder if the signs are a latter-day type of *votive offering*, although such offerings are usually of an overtly religious form:
It's a long article - scroll down to the Western Christianity section.
Leaving charms, little figures, shoes, ribbons, curses etc. at holy places (not necessarily a church or a graveyard) is not unknown, and is the sort of thing Larkin was referring to. A fascinating rabbit-hole, down which I shall probably now disappear.
After a late Lunch, of course. CHICKEN KYIVS, on a day of mixed haze and Sun Shine in Arkland-of-the-Mud.
What is your churches approach to such offerings @North East Quine . They don't sound threatening to me, but I know such things would be taken away pronto if they appeared in our municipal cemetery.
I met up with some friends in a new cafe today. They've taken over half of what was a very big rambling cafe/bar that has moved elsewhere in town. It was reasonably priced, but the coffee was fairly average and the cakes disappointing. I'd like it to succeed, but I'm afraid they are going to have to inject a bit more pizzazz into the place for it to do so, as we have some rather good places not very far away. Afterwards I went to one of them that has just started up a deli to get a samosa before heading for my Italian class. I'd been very doubtful about whether I wanted to carry on with it after the first two weeks weren't great. I haven't been able to go for a couple of weeks and today was much better as it seems to have got into its stride.
I think the general feeling is that they should be removed @Sarasa. The ones visible to passers-by have been placed face-down flat on the ground. I think the only reason they haven't been removed is that no-one knows where they came from, or why.
I've just been for coffee with a friend and popped in on my way home. The green scarf knotted round a gravestone has been removed. I spotted an empty pink perfume bottle which I hadn't noticed before.
Why would Putin want to bump people off in Quineville? I bet he couldn't find Aberdeen on a map ... 😂
After a very mild start (it was 11° this morning!), it's back to a more seasonal 4°; when I came out after Night Church it felt quite parky.
As I didn't have time for proper cooking, supper was BEANS ON TOAST.
My thoughts went straight to Salisbury too.
I heard report of a warning a couple of days ago, can't remember who issued it, but in the wake of the Salisbury incident:
"If you didn't drop it, don't pick it up"
I find it slightly depressing that people feel they can't pick up litter in case they get poisoned.
Wednesday is Ramblers day, and today's walk was a very pleasant walk between two nearby villages. We stopped for coffee at a village hall where we were invited in for tea and cake. Unfortunately I didn't have any money on me so declined, but probably just as well for my waistline.
Tonight I have two meetings to go to. Hopefully number one won't go on too long so I can get to the second one.
A few public-spirited local people keep the hill leading up to the village, which lieth nigh unto Arkland, clear of litter - they have a working day every so often, and I've noticed that they invariably (and sensibly) use gloves and grabbers (*picky-up thingies*).
I had an early meeting with someone this morning and in order to take time pressure off getting there on time I travelled yesterday and stayed with a friend nearby. For various reasons the "taking time pressure off" the whole thing didn't work in quite the way I'd hoped, but the bonuses were getting to see a production of "Oklahoma!" yesterday evening (can't remember the last time I went to a show) and some quality time with Nenlet1 and the GrandNenling today .
Home and tired. Tea will be Lazy Curry, then I've got a short zoom meeting this evening followed by an early night.
This morning got off to a brisk start as there was a starling trapped in our bird feeder, struggling wildly and making a lot of noise. The sight of me rushing to the rescue in my pyjamas concentrated its mind and it escaped and flew off just as I reached it. There was no chance of going back to bed after that as I was Wide Awake so I got up and Seized the Day!
We have a lovely new carpet! The carpet fitters took off the bedroom door to lay the carpet then realised that the new carpet is too thick for the door, so they've left it propped against the wall till we can get a bit shaved off the bottom. The old carpet was about 30 years old, and the difference between it and the new carpet is huge.
I popped into our kirkyard on the way home from the Post Office today and the latest additions are a pretty egg-sized pink polished stone, a potted cactus and a saltire design disposable lighter. The lighter might just be litter, but it looks "placed." There's an outside chance that the cactus is genuinely somebody laying flowers, but I've never seen a cactus on a grave before. I laid a couple of the signs face down while I was there.
This morning got off to a brisk start as there was a starling trapped in our bird feeder, struggling wildly and making a lot of noise.
I was filling out front garden bird feeders when there was a kerfuffle on the hedge behind me and I turned just in time to see a male sparrowhawk flap across the garden and land on the large bush the spuggies had taken cover on, causing spuggie uproar. I don't think it caught one, though it exited via the other side of said bush where I couldn't see.
How extraordinary NEQ. I do like discovering obscure memorialisations in hidden places but this seems quite showy.
I’ve been busy marking and teaching for a couple of days and have a study skills tutorial tonight. But in the meantime I have cooked up a Syrian hot and sour lentil stew for tea, recipe courtesy of the veg box company.
... there was a starling trapped in our bird feeder ...
Poor little birdie. Glad he escaped!
My parents (who were both from Greenock) would have called sparrows "speugs" too.
@Twangist - was your lurgy a present from Little Twangist? Hope you feel better soon!
I had a nice gentle Wednesday at work, culminating in Getting Everything Done just before five, which always makes me a happy piglet. It was still quite definitely light when I left the office, and when I got home I made a prawn and green thing risotto for supper (further reasons for porcine happiness).
Now for the rest of my glass of WINE, House of Games and then the Grauniad crossword.
But in the meantime I have cooked up a Syrian hot and sour lentil stew for tea, recipe courtesy of the veg box company.
Ooh, that sounds interesting - any chance you could post the recipe upstairs or PM it to me (if it's from the veg box company, you might not want to post it!).
But in the meantime I have cooked up a Syrian hot and sour lentil stew for tea, recipe courtesy of the veg box company.
Ooh, that sounds interesting - any chance you could post the recipe upstairs or PM it to me (if it's from the veg box company, you might not want to post it!).
It’s a very simple recipe, I’ll put it on the recipe thread when I get a minute.
Today I went through the box of estate paperwork- much sorting, filing, shredding.
I was tantalised by the smell from the slow cooker, but somewhat disappointed with the reality, as it was a bit too dry. I had to make extra gravy to add to the portions for the freezer.
Choral society this evening. Our DM was absent, unwell. His substitute was very good, but she ran over time. Our accompanist stopped playing at 9.30pm.
The Filipino adobo last night was quite spicy, so thinking of giving the digestion a break from oriental novelties. A potato, cheese and anchovy frittata tonight, gussied-up cauliflower cheese tomorrow. Though maybe a Turkish salad with the grilled lamb on Saturday if I can rustle up the pomegranate molasses.
Very cold and misty here first thing, sunny but still cold later on. On the way to my lip reading class I called in at the solicitor to see if there was any movement on getting the cheque for the settlement of my mum's estate. Surprisingly (irony light on there) they were just about to post it to me, so I ended up leaving with building with the cheque. Just as well it arrived today as after my bookshop shift I went and paid the deposit on our new kitchen. The bookshop shift was fun as I was re-arranging shelves, something I've done rather a lot of times in my career as a librarian but not for quite a few years.
Fortunately I've not had what the youngest suffered with.
I remember Spugy being a character in Byker Grove back in the day...
Managed a full day of work, sweet and sour for dinner and have just made myself grumpy by watching my team be rubbish on TV...(should know better)
Cold and foggy this morning. I had yoga as usual for Thursday, followed by chat over coffee. This afternoon I did a little work and then some study (politics and print in the 17th century).
Tea was roast chicken thighs with a spicy quinoa and citrus salad. Then out to a local church group.
My wife had a long-awaited hand operation yesterday. The surgeon decided to perform a rather more complex procedure than original planned, which meant a general anaesthetic instead of a local. Apparently my wife, when coming round afterwards, started chattering away in Welsh - so something from those lessons has obviously lodged in her mind! Life will be awkward for a bit as she has to use a large splint.
Hope your wife recovers well. Good to hear all that hard work learning Welsh is paying off.
It was my philosophy group today. We were discussing crowd behaviour and not getting very far.
I've been admiring a ring in a local jewellers for ages and now I have the money from mum's estate I've gone and brought it so I can have a tangible reminder of her. As my husband said its the sort of thing my mum would very much approve of. I haven't been in the shop very often, and there are so many nice things in there I fancy, so I think that's birthday and Christmas presents sorted for the next couple of years.
We've been out for most of the day and are now home and trying to warm up the house on this dull cold afternoon. Just the sort of day for curling up for the rest of the evening with the remains of last night's bolognaise sauce on a jacket potato with a glass or three of wine. Which is exactly what we plan.
Comments
I have not actually been worried about the operation, but about managing the drops afterwards, and about rubbing my eye in my sleep over the first week or so.
Happily the nurse at the eye hospital showed me this really easy technique for applying the eyedrops: Lie down or recline, rest the open dropper across the bridge of the nose, with the nozzle over the appropriate eye, pull down the lower eyelid and gently squeeze out one or two drops, which will fall straight into the waiting eye. So simple, no need for a mirror and no manipulating dropper and eyelid.
I have had a practice with drops I bought a few months back for dry eyes, but never used because of not being able to see what I was doing - and it worked!
As for rubbing the eye in the night, it is OK to continue wearing the eye shield for a week or so, not just the one night the instruction sheets says.
Only one person has mentioned a bad experience with cataract surgery, a friend who started to tell me her tale of woe not knowing I had just been referred for surgery, but I was able to stop her before she started on the details!
Now all I have to do is wait (and continue practicing with the drops)
In other news, I've been to the dentist, who did quite a lot of drilling and filling and stuff ... but it still hurts, so we'll have to see.
From
My former dentist (he retired some years ago) told me that he was *the bad thing that happened to good people*, although he was, in fact, a very gentle man with a light touch IYSWIM.
ION, a night of Phreezing Phogg in Arkland-in-the-Cold-Waste has been succeeded by a mild but overcast day. The Monday Expotition to Tess Coe has been accomplished, with everything I wanted duly bought, except for Bananas. The only ones they had (and there weren't many of them) were rather elderly, or so I thought - I prefer to buy them when they're still mostly green, and let them ripen in the fruit bowl.
STEAK n'MUSHROOMS for lunch, with a BAKED SPUD.
The painter coped admirably with the disaster wall behind the former wardrobe. It's still obviously a chipboarded up doorspace, but it's been painted over and will be hidden by the new wardrobe.
Something odd has been happening in the graveyard which surrounds our church. Has anyone else come across anything like this? Someone has been propping small, random signs against some gravestones "Everything is gonna be alright" "Guinness is good for you" "Stay Wild, Flower Child" "Welcome to Wonderland" etc. I've seen 7 or 8. A few objects have also appeared - a child's soft toy, a scarf wound round a gravestone, a beer glass. The soft toy may be something which has been dropped accidentally and unconnected.
It looks as though it might be some sort of student art thing. But we have no idea who is doing it, or why.
I'm reminded of these lines from Philip Larkin's poem Church Going:
Yet stop I did: in fact I often do,
And always end much at a loss like this,
Wondering what to look for; wondering, too,
When churches fall completely out of use
What we shall turn them into, if we shall keep
A few cathedrals chronically on show,
Their parchment, plate, and pyx in locked cases,
And let the rest rent-free to rain and sheep.
Shall we avoid them as unlucky places?
Or, after dark, will dubious women come
To make their children touch a particular stone;
Pick simples for a cancer; or on some
Advised night see walking a dead one?
Power of some sort or other will go on
In games, in riddles, seemingly at random;
But superstition, like belief, must die,
And what remains when disbelief has gone?
Grass, weedy pavement, brambles, buttress, sky...
The part in bold will explain what I mean, I think, although Larkin is imagining what might happen to a disused church.
It's not a disused church, but the graveyard itself is "full." A new cemetery was build in the early 1950s, and the only interments in our graveyard since then have been of family members going into an existing lair. The gravestones range in date from mid C18th to mid C20th.
I wonder if the Mysterious Messages are being left by someone with a rather idiosyncratic view of the afterlife, and who wishes to cheer up those who come to wander (possibly wearing a melancholy aspect) around the tombs?
As I said, it seems odd, but unthreatening. I'd hazard a guess that the Mysterious Messenger actually gets a good deal of satisfaction from their work.
I wonder if the signs are a latter-day type of *votive offering*, although such offerings are usually of an overtly religious form:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_offering
It's a long article - scroll down to the Western Christianity section.
Leaving charms, little figures, shoes, ribbons, curses etc. at holy places (not necessarily a church or a graveyard) is not unknown, and is the sort of thing Larkin was referring to. A fascinating rabbit-hole, down which I shall probably now disappear.
After a late Lunch, of course. CHICKEN KYIVS, on a day of mixed haze and Sun Shine in Arkland-of-the-Mud.
I met up with some friends in a new cafe today. They've taken over half of what was a very big rambling cafe/bar that has moved elsewhere in town. It was reasonably priced, but the coffee was fairly average and the cakes disappointing. I'd like it to succeed, but I'm afraid they are going to have to inject a bit more pizzazz into the place for it to do so, as we have some rather good places not very far away. Afterwards I went to one of them that has just started up a deli to get a samosa before heading for my Italian class. I'd been very doubtful about whether I wanted to carry on with it after the first two weeks weren't great. I haven't been able to go for a couple of weeks and today was much better as it seems to have got into its stride.
I've just been for coffee with a friend and popped in on my way home. The green scarf knotted round a gravestone has been removed. I spotted an empty pink perfume bottle which I hadn't noticed before.
Sadly I had the same thought.
After a very mild start (it was 11° this morning!), it's back to a more seasonal 4°; when I came out after Night Church it felt quite parky.
As I didn't have time for proper cooking, supper was BEANS ON TOAST.
I heard report of a warning a couple of days ago, can't remember who issued it, but in the wake of the Salisbury incident:
"If you didn't drop it, don't pick it up"
True.
Wednesday is Ramblers day, and today's walk was a very pleasant walk between two nearby villages. We stopped for coffee at a village hall where we were invited in for tea and cake. Unfortunately I didn't have any money on me so declined, but probably just as well for my waistline.
Tonight I have two meetings to go to. Hopefully number one won't go on too long so I can get to the second one.
Pop'n'ping curry as dad's taxi is on overtime on Wednesday evenings.
Home and tired. Tea will be Lazy Curry, then I've got a short zoom meeting this evening followed by an early night.
We have a lovely new carpet! The carpet fitters took off the bedroom door to lay the carpet then realised that the new carpet is too thick for the door, so they've left it propped against the wall till we can get a bit shaved off the bottom. The old carpet was about 30 years old, and the difference between it and the new carpet is huge.
I popped into our kirkyard on the way home from the Post Office today and the latest additions are a pretty egg-sized pink polished stone, a potted cactus and a saltire design disposable lighter. The lighter might just be litter, but it looks "placed." There's an outside chance that the cactus is genuinely somebody laying flowers, but I've never seen a cactus on a grave before. I laid a couple of the signs face down while I was there.
I was filling out front garden bird feeders when there was a kerfuffle on the hedge behind me and I turned just in time to see a male sparrowhawk flap across the garden and land on the large bush the spuggies had taken cover on, causing spuggie uproar. I don't think it caught one, though it exited via the other side of said bush where I couldn't see.
Spuggie is found in Northumbrian English too.
I call sparrows speugs (sp-yug).
I’ve been busy marking and teaching for a couple of days and have a study skills tutorial tonight. But in the meantime I have cooked up a Syrian hot and sour lentil stew for tea, recipe courtesy of the veg box company.
My parents (who were both from Greenock) would have called sparrows "speugs" too.
@Twangist - was your lurgy a present from Little Twangist? Hope you feel better soon!
I had a nice gentle Wednesday at work, culminating in Getting Everything Done just before five, which always makes me a happy piglet. It was still quite definitely light when I left the office, and when I got home I made a prawn and green thing risotto for supper (further reasons for porcine happiness).
Now for the rest of my glass of WINE, House of Games and then the Grauniad crossword.
Ooh, that sounds interesting - any chance you could post the recipe upstairs or PM it to me (if it's from the veg box company, you might not want to post it!).
It’s a very simple recipe, I’ll put it on the recipe thread when I get a minute.
I was tantalised by the smell from the slow cooker, but somewhat disappointed with the reality, as it was a bit too dry. I had to make extra gravy to add to the portions for the freezer.
Choral society this evening. Our DM was absent, unwell. His substitute was very good, but she ran over time. Our accompanist stopped playing at 9.30pm.
A DUCK LEG is cooking in the oven for supper, soon to be joined by some potatoes, carrots and broccoli.
I remember Spugy being a character in Byker Grove back in the day...
Managed a full day of work, sweet and sour for dinner and have just made myself grumpy by watching my team be rubbish on TV...(should know better)
Tea was roast chicken thighs with a spicy quinoa and citrus salad. Then out to a local church group.
My father (from Kent) always called sparrows "spadgers".
Agreed
It was my philosophy group today. We were discussing crowd behaviour and not getting very far.
I've been admiring a ring in a local jewellers for ages and now I have the money from mum's estate I've gone and brought it so I can have a tangible reminder of her. As my husband said its the sort of thing my mum would very much approve of. I haven't been in the shop very often, and there are so many nice things in there I fancy, so I think that's birthday and Christmas presents sorted for the next couple of years.
All the best to Mrs @Baptist Trainfan for a speedy recovery.
We've been out for most of the day and are now home and trying to warm up the house on this dull cold afternoon. Just the sort of day for curling up for the rest of the evening with the remains of last night's bolognaise sauce on a jacket potato with a glass or three of wine. Which is exactly what we plan.