Be Ye Glad!

The second cataract surgery was this past Tuesday and is a success!  There is still a bit of discomfort if I over-use my eyes (FB, Blogger, email…) but I am amazed at the difference.  

The colors are brighter and images at a distance so much clearer.  The right eye was done in September and I was amazed, but now with both of them completed I am stunned at the difference. 

The vision in my right eye improved to 20/25 and the ophthalmologist said I could possibly get away from prescription lenses and merely use readers!  Who knew?  I have an appointment for next Tuesday and will have the eyes checked then.  I’m anxious to know the measurable improvement.  It will be awhile down the road before the eyes are checked for prescription lenses, however. 

I still have what the doctor calls “a foggy spot” on the lens of the right eye, but he said he will laser that in three months and it should take care of the ‘issue’.  The only difficulty I’m aware of is the night vision halo but he indicated it would resolve itself with the laser treatment.  Still, all in all, I am thrilled and more than amazed with the results.   

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  It will be a quiet one for us this year.  Our daughter lives in Ohio and just began a new (and exciting) job, so she won’t be joining us here in Arizona.  Our son is reconciling with his son’s mother after four years and they will be spending the holiday together as a family unit. That leaves the two of us this year.  That’s probably a good thing since I’ve just had the eye surgery.  

I prepared my very first Thanksgiving meal at the age of 19 and what an experience that was!  I left the packet of giblets inside the bird.  I didn’t know it was there and fortunately, it was in parchment paper and then surrounded by my dressing.  I am still surprised we didn’t get food poisoning!  I believe there were six of us for that dinner and it was a solution to ‘who would go where and leave the remainder of the family offended that we didn’t spend it with them’.   

Those choices have always been difficult in families and combined families with one set getting angry and upset over who you’re spending it with this year.  We determined quite sometime ago that would not be the case with us – we support no guilt family holidays. 

My mother recently had her own medical crisis, so they will be staying in their home and having their own dinner.  They are approximately five hours from our area so the travel is extensive.  We will be speaking by phone, I’m sure as we will with the rest of the family. 

We checked in the community and can find no community meal being served as we thought we’d like to volunteer to help with that.  So, we’re contemplating ordering a “full meal” from our local grocery / deli instead of doing it all up ourselves or we could go to a local restaurant for the meal.  I’m leaning towards the grocery / deli meal as we could have leftovers for later!  I will have to purchase fresh cranberries and make the relish!  It just isn’t Thanksgiving without the fresh cranberry relish!  I also found a recipe for cranberry relish that incorporated fresh jalapeño peppers!  I just might have to try that in addition to the standard one. This is the Southwest after all! I'll let you know the results!

Our church is having their annual Thanksgiving meal this coming Sunday, so we will not be without “family” in that sense.  Our names fall into the dessert category and Dennis is the pie maker in our family, so it’s all him this year!  I have a friend (Roxanne) who makes the most amazing pumpkin rolls!  I’d love to have that recipe – hint, hint!  

That’s all for this edition and blessings to you and yours until next time! 

Psalm 92:4

New King James Version

⁴ For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

Tamara

Post Script 11/22/2011:  I had a check up on the surgical eye today - the vision is 20/20 in it! The vision in the first eye I had surgery on is 20/25.  I am more than happy and so thankful!  I will still require readers and I can live with that!  In fact, I took all my old prescription glasses - 4 pair of them, and placed them in the donation box for someone else to use!