The dilemma when you can’t see properly

My absence from the blog postings must have been noticed by now. It is not that I didn’t want to write a post or to comment on some of the blogs we follow. The reason is simply that I had been handicapped of sorts. For quite some time my eyes have been troubling me and my eyesight had become worse to the point that the cataract in my eyes had become so advanced that even with glasses I had trouble reading and couldn’t for any lengths of time and had given up reading books altogether. I should have had the surgery to correct this problem last winter, but my trip to Europe in November and then later on down to Alabama put a hold on that. This spring I had made another appointment with my optometrist in Leamington and I was put on a waiting list to see the ophthalmic physician who would do the surgery in Windsor. Dr. Emara, the surgeon, has a good reputation and seems to be very busy. When I finally got to see him he said to me that I won the “price” that day as my eyes were the worst he’d seen and I was put on a cancelation list to have the cataract surgery done as soon as possible.  That day arrived on May 22^ndand my right eye had the cataract removed and a clear lens inserted. My reaction afterwards was that Dr. Emara had switched on the lights for me. Wow! I cannot believe the difference in contrast, bright light and vibrant colors I now see.  However, only my right eye is that clear as my left eye is still blurry and will receive the same treatment this coming Tuesday in Windsor.

So since the surgery none of my previous eyeglasses will do me any good. My right eye is trying to adjust the blurry vision of my left eye and reading is still a problem at the moment. Thank goodness I can type blindfolded for the most part and don’t have to look for the letters on the keypad. Next week I will catch up on all the postings of our favorite bloggers to see what I have been missing.

Back home at dinner after the surgery

If you are wondering what we have been up to since my last blog post, Benno and I had been busy working in the garden. We wanted to create a pad next to the shed for our utility trailer or create another seating area, put a gravel walkway behind the shed and make a flowerbed next to the pad so the trailer or a get-together happy hour function will be a little bit concealed from view.

I knew I wasn’t supposed to lift heavy objects or bend down from the waist after surgery so we tried to finish up our little project beforehand. However, because the weather interfered again with some rain, the shoveling of the 5000 pounds of ¾ clear stone white from the trailer to the wheelbarrow and then onto the pad fell on Benno’s shoulders. Our lawn was still too soft to drive the heavy utility trailer with the topsoil, sand and stone mix, and then the clear stone white onto it without causing deep ruts in the grass. Most of the heavy loads were done by wheelbarrow from the driveway to the shed. It all looks so easy when done, but believe me, there was some heavy work involved and a lot of trips to get all the materials needed.

We are positioning the shrubs

Digging out the grass

Two loads of topsoil to be added

We planted the shrubs and put a border around

Flower bed is complete

Those shrubs and grasses will fill out over time

The utility trailer is not so obvious now

After applying a garden mat and a full load of sand and gravel

now comes the clear stone white

It is heavy work to shovel two trailer loads and even more heavier to carry it over to the pad

Voila! All done, nice trailer or barbecue pad.

On the subject of the mysterious disappearance of the syrup from the hummingbird feeder several nights in a row, our neighbors’ from two houses down the street found a family of raccoons living in their attic when they returned from their trip to Vancouver. Once $350 were spent to the Pest Control Company by the neighbour, those rascals were being relocated and our feeder has been intact since. I think the mystery has been solved. 

And just for fun, this little garden snake startled me when I was just about to put my ungloved hand into the shrubs.  He was probably as surprised as I was and tried to hide, but he had to peek through the leaves just in case.

Oops, I was just about to put my hand into the shrub

It's longer and bigger than I first thought

Peekaboo!

Thanks for dropping by everyone. Hope you are all having a great time now that we are entering into summer time. See you again shortly...