Happy Halloween

    Tonight is the 2nd night in a row that that awful four letter word appeared in the weather forecast.  And when we were out running errand this afternoon it felt like it was possible that it would happen.  I guess that means our long summer is finally over.  Those days of 70's and 80's that we enjoyed a couple of weeks ago are just fond memories now.  It lasted longer than anyone could have hoped for.  In fact, September and October had some of the better days of summer.  July and August were pretty unsettled to be called the 'Good Ol'Summer Time'.  But do you remember wearing your snowsuit under your Halloween costume?  The TV weatherman was advising the kids to wear jackets tonight.
    Tomorrow guys from Pace Windows and Doors will be here to replace the windows in our bedrooms and repair the dry rot around the window frames.  That means we have to move the furniture from my room into the parlor.  Jeff's room is large enough...or he has less furniture than I do...so it can be shifted from side to side as the windows are worked on.  It won't work that way in my room so we'll be moving some of it into the parlor tonight.  I'll take down and wash the curtains in the morning and they'll be ready to put back up when the windows are installed.
    Scheduling at Bassett's Eye Clinic called yesterday and everything is set for Cataract Procedure 2-the Left eye to be done on Thurs., Nov. 16 at Little Falls Hospital by Dr. Lemanski and her team.  Shannon from Scheduling isn't sure if I'll have to have another Pre-op physical or not.  It's too close for her to call (32 days between the 1st pre-op physical and when the 2nd one would be done) so I have to wait for someone else to make that decision. If I have to have it done in Cooperstown I'm going to ask that it be done on the day I'm working in the shop on Nov.8th (Judy has offered to come in and stay in the shop while I go over to the clinic).  If it's going to be done in Little Falls, it will be easy to get to so I won't complain.  I think I'll stop at the hairdresser's next week when I'm in Ilion going to the library and have my hair trimmed and my eyebrows waxed...I won't be hiding behind glass frames anymore.  And I want to buy a pair of regular sunglasses...haven't done that since high school...to use until my reading glasses are ready...they'll be Rx with transition lens.
   When we were out this afternoon, we stopped for a late lunch/early supper at the new Greek coffee shop on N Main St in Herkimer, next to the Van Kirk Apts.  The burgers and fries were so good...and so big!!!  I saved some of my burger to share with the dogs just so I could finish my rice pudding!  It's almost like having Irene back making her rice pudding but not quite!
   
  

Cataract Procedure #1...A Success!

        The alarm clock went off at 5:25am Thursday morning starting of one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had.  We were on our way to Little Falls Hospital by 6:20.  I had forgot how dark it was that early!!  There was lots of traffic and the houses along Rte 5 actually had lights on inside!  We were upstairs and checked in by 6:35am and I was in a hospital gown (open in the back!) and in a bed with an IV in my right hand by 7am.  Signed a bunch of release forms and had blood drawn for an INR (clotting factor...always done when you take Warfarin. I scored a little low at 2.1. because of the Caesar salad I had the day before!)   Doctors started coming in at 7:30 to explain things and the IV was moved from my right hand to my left wrist because the vein in my hand was too narrow/scared (a souvenir of chemo) and wouldn't draw the IV. Nurses kept coming in and putting drops in my right eye.  Someone drew a swiggle next to my right eye and someone else offered me a heated blanket. I was asked my name/birthdate and why I was there each time someone came into the room. Around 8am we were rolling down the hall to the OR where more blankets and pillows were placed around me, an O2 hose was put in my nose and a disposable shower cap put over my hair.  My head was taped to the table and my right eyelids taped open.  A paper drape was placed over my face and taped around my eye. A few more drops and finally a shot in the eye...boy, did I feel that!  OUCH!  Two small incisions and the tip of the laser was in inserted.  The lens was broken up and then vacuumed out. (I could 'see' it happening but not really.) A bath of DSS (distilled saline solution) and then the new lens was inserted and moved around into place.  I could see peripherally around it!  Another wave of DSS and a little pressure on the eye as the doctor secured the incisions. Heard Dr. Lemanski say 'I just want to polish this one a little more' and then another DSS wave and it was over.  My eye was taped shut, covered with a gauze pad and a plastic shield was taped over it.  The drape was pulled off my face and jokes were made about 'free waxings'.  Then it was back down the hall to my room.  One nurse adjusted the bed so I could sit up and another asked if I'd like some OJ.  About 9:30 they ushered Jeff back into the room...I had been in the OR just long enough for him to go down to the cafeteria and have breakfast and go outside for a cigarette.  My vitals were stable (Bp 118/68!).  The IV was pulled and the heart monitor disconnected.  Around 10am a nurse handed me the bag with my clothes and said I could get dressed.  Jeff went to move the car and when I was ready a wheelchair was there to take me downstairs.  We were home by 10:35am.  Cataract Procedure #1/the Right Eye was done. 
   I tried to spend the rest of the day doing 'normal' things but found it difficult one-eyed.  I watched some TV and played cards on line but it wasn't fun and I found it very tiring.  I followed my friend, Tim's advise and treated myself to a bowl of butter pecan ice cream whenever I started to get depressed or nervous.  Jeff cooked supper (pork ribs and rice...very good) and cleaned up after the dogs.  I tried to watch TV again and managed to watch some 'M*A*S*H' repeats but gave up and went to bed around 8pm.
  The next day, Friday 10/27, I was up before the alarm went off.   We were on the road to Cooperstown by 8am.  A stop for gas and to let some deer cross Rte. 28 and we were at the clinic by 9am. (My appointment was for 9:20am)  Jeff had to lead me into the building and the elevator because I was having a hard time one-eyed.  No depth perception and lousy balance!  We joked with some of the staff in the elevator before checking in at the Registration Desk then it was back down to the Eye Clinic.  After a few minutes wait I was moved to an exam room and the shield and bandage was finally removed. YEA!!!  The  pressure in the eye was checked and the eye was cleaned.  Then Dr. Lemanski checked the eye and everything looked ok so while I waited to see her again Jeff went back to the car to let the dogs out.  I was moved to another exam room and saw the doctor again.  She put in my 1st set of drops for the day, explained the rest, and agreed on the date for the next procedure.  I grabbed a pair of their disposable sunglasses on the way out and managed to make it to the car on my own.
  We took the dogs home and went to Mona's in Mohawk for lunch.   We had found a message from Walmart Pharmacy on our phone when we dropped off the dogs that the Rx Dr. Lemanski had ordered that morning was ready so we stopped there and picked up the Prednisone drops and some paper tape so I could continue to use the eye shield at night.  Jeff got me a eye patch(a la a pirate) so I can rest either eye during the day.  It's uncomfortable to wear but I'm trying to get use to it.  I told him the patch reminded me of a 1950's bra...a very pointed cup!
   I'm glad Cataract Procedure #1 is over and was successful, and I'm looking forward to Cataract Procedure #2...the left eye scheduled for Nov. 16th, same place, same cast.  I'm sure I'll have the hee-bee gee-bees again in the days leading up to it.  (It did give me an opportunity to clean the kitchen cabinets.) It was the weirdest experience of my live to look up and see the bottom of the telescopic instrument the doctor was using...3 lighted circles...and see what was happening in my eye.  There really wasn't any pain to speak of!  I was surprised at the number of old friends and relatives who offered their experiences and good wishes.  And when Cataract Procedure #2-the Lt Eye is completed I get to do something I haven't done since high school...buy a pair of regular sunglasses!   

Whatever Happened To....?

   When Maggie and I were visiting at the shop last week she told me that an old boyfriend of hers (Chris Moyer) that I knew had just died at his 50th high school reunion.   That lead to several minutes of remembering other old friends our age(Danny, Debbie, Jay) who have died in recent years and then a couple of rounds of  'I wonder  whatever happened to....?' but neither of us were very good at filling in  many of the blanks.  After supper that night I searched Facebook and Google for some of them but only found one.   I didn't recognize the picture that came up so I PM-ed Tim and asked him if he recognized it.  He did and he suggested sending the guy a 'Friend Request'.  I hemmed and hawed and finally suggest he do it...and he did but he hasn't heard from the guy yet.  It's gotten me thinking.  Our 50th class reunion will be in 3 years and will it be worth attending?
   We did not attend the HCCC campus on the hill in Herkimer.  Our campus was in Ilion:  one floor of the Remington Factory,  a couple of diners on Main St and Central Ave and the State St Bowling Alley(back in those years 18 was the legal age to drink!)  Most of the students commuted either by car or bus every day or rented apartments in Ilion.  (Maggie and Debbie had one on John St.)  We met every morning in the 'lounge' where there were rows of small lockers, went to classes along a single hallway where the professors also had their offices, visited the diners (Panaritis's was on Central Ave) for coffee and lunch, fed bread to the turtles in the fire levee or ditch on the north side of the building from our 2nd floor classroom windows.  The rumble of the forklifts on the floor above us helped many students (me included) decide to get that 4-yr degree and not follow our parents into a factory job!
    Many friendships were made in those 2 years...and a few marriages.   There were always 20-25 kids at parties we gave and attended during that time and the years immediately afterwards.  But where are they now?  I use to see a few of my old classmates around town but now as we've reached retirement age it's fewer and fewer.  And what about the ones who were from Utica?  Or who went out of the area or out of the state to finish their education? (I renewed my friendship with Tim by asking him on Facebook if I had gone to college with him.   He asked if I had forgotten him...it had only been 45 years!)  I really don't look forward to going to the reunion to find out that most of my classmates are dead.  So in the next 3 years I'm going to try and locate as many of my old friends from HCCC as I can.   If you know of anyone who went to The Factory  during 1968-70 please let me know where they are living.  I may actually lose my mind completely and volunteer to help organize the reunion.
Found another one who's died: Frank Handzel, Utica, 8/28/2015.

Oh, What A Day!

    Today the dogs had appointments for mani-pedi's at Olivia's Happy Tails on the corner of Park Ave and Main St. in Herkimer. (That's the old Daffy Discount for those of you as old as I am.)  As usual Fanny didn't want to go into the salon but she settled down and even allowed the groomer to check between the pads on her feet where she's been gnawing.  Seems she's got a bit of an allergy so I'll give her half a Benadryl tonight at bedtime to see if that helps. Zoey wasn't too happy to be there either, but it was over quickly and they were happy to be on their way home with new kerchiefs.

   We stopped at Fat Cat's on the way home because I had seen their menu on Facebook and told Jeff about their prices.  We each had cheeseburgers (his with everything), shared a large order of French fries and each had a soda and the total was $16 and change.  The burgers were 1/3-lbers and too much for me so the dogs got a couple of bites of mine and the large order of FF was too much for us so they got some of them, too.  When Jeff reached for his wallet he came up empty!  Wrong pants!!  But the girl behind the counter gave us our food and told him just to bring in the $$ soon.  (He came home, got his fishing bait and went back to town.)
  My house looks like a cyclone hit it.  Yesterday the refrigerator lost coolant again so this morning Jeff refilled it.  He found a couple of the screws and joints has loosen up...BUT Jeff wants to be sure the refridg is going to work so he didn't turn it back to face front, replace the Berkey water filter or put other things back before he went back to town...just grabbed his fishing bait and left.  I should be use to living like this but I'm not.
  Pace Windows and Doors called today.  We're going to have the bedroom windows replaced by them and have been waiting (not very patiently) for the windows to be built and the financing to go thru.  Everything is ready and they will be here on Monday Nov. 6 between 9 & 10am.  They want at least 3' of clear space on both sides of each window (no curtains/furniture, etc) so I'll have to find somewhere to move the chest on chest, hutch, TV, upholstered chair, table lamp and end table that's on one wall in my room.  The other wall just has a large hassock.  Jeff's room has a desk and I don't know what else that will have to be moved.  Oh, and him out of bed that early in the morning!! But it will be nice to have the dry rot that's overtaken the window frames taken care of and it is a good excuse to wash the curtains.
   I had a nice surprise when I was working in the shop in Cooperstown yesterday.  My friend, Maggie, stopped in on her way home from her job at the Farmer's Museum to check the schedule and find out when I'd be working next.  We had just screened a new member so Maggie and I got to sit outside and talk while Judy found room for the new guy's stuff.  It's so nice to have a friend that you can just sit and talk with and pick up where you left off no matter how long ago that was.  
   Well, my 1st cataract procedure is next Thursday and I have an order for a size 2 hoodie that I should finish before then so I better get to it!  I've got my hat display well stocked for now but if things sell well I guess I'll learn to knit with one eye closed!

And Still More Hats!

   My hat rack was pretty empty when I got to the shop last Saturday.  Luckily,  I knew that in advance

and had been busy for several day knitting hats
and I got it filled up pretty quickly.  I didn't get to make any baseball hats so that's what I did 

today.  I'll take them to the shop when I
work again on Wednesday.  I was surprised that the Autumn Leaves hats were
still there.  This coming weekend is suppose to be warm and sunny so maybe
someone will be in and
see them.  This purple lace edged hat got lots of
compliments but both it and it's twin, a pink
hat, were still there when I left.  The only hat that sold on Saturday was this gray rolled brim cap with the pink rose.  It went quickly!  That was the last of that skein of lt gray but I've started a heather gray hat with a raspberry rose that I should finish in time to take down Wednesday.  Photo to follow.

Another Trip to the Wellness Clinic

   We paid another visit to Tractor Supply for one of it's Wellness Clinics  today. Zoey got her rabies shot and Fanny got tested for heartworms. Jeff bought Zoey a head harness to keep her from lunging when on the leash (she hates it, no, make that HATES it!).  She's tried to rollover and rub it off, but of course it doesn't.  She is learning how to walk properly on leash with it very quickly and we're both impressed.  In fact, we're thinking of getting one for Fanny.  She's terrible on leash maybe this will help with her, too!

Zoey has a 'Big Girl' tag on her collar now.

   We met a chocolate lab who's a month younger than Zoey and twice as big. Zoey wasn't too happy about that!  Fanny wasn't impressed with the

young puppy at all.   I ended up putting Zoey in the shopping cart and that really spooked her! The floor was moving!! She couldn't understand that at all! But that calmed her down considerably.   We went to Burger King for lunch afterwards and the girls shared a 10-pc chicken nuggets because they were good and well behaved. (The choc lab peed on the floor and her 'mom' was so

embarrassed.) The human 'moms' I talked to who's pups were about the same age as Zoey agreed that housebreaking is not easy.  It really is a 'hit or miss' situation!  

  

Hats, Hats and More Hats

 

These are the 2 new baby hats I put in the shop last week when I worked.  I think there was too much sunlight coming thru the window behind me because they're Red Heart Cornmeal...not beige. Oh, well.  The autumn leaves didn't turn out too bad.  I used some leftover sock yarn for them.  The one on the left is a wool blend and the other is a bamboo blend.  Both are machine wash and dryable so they'll do ok on the acrylic cornmeal.  I also left a another

Pumpkin hat, a Baseball hat and 2 Flower hats.  Judy called last night to say one of the Flowers and my last Penguin hat sold yesterday.  Today is CooperFest...Cooperstown's version of Octoberfest...held on Main St, and hopefully we'll reap some of the profits.  I had an almost full rack of hats including 3 pumpkins and 2 apple in the shop in anticipation. I want to put a few more hats and the sweaters that are started in the shop next week.  Then I'll probably have to take a couple of weeks off after I have my cataract surgery on 10/26.

The Cataract Countdown

   The countdown to cataract surgery has begun.  I now have a pre-op appointment in Cooperstown for the afternoon of Oct. 17th, followed by a visit with my cardiologist for the the same day/place.   The procedure on my right eye will be done on Oct. 26 (the only Thursday I was scheduled to work in the shop as I predicted!!) at Little Falls Hospital.  I will see the ophthalmologist at the Eye Clinic in Cooperstown the next morning, Oct 27, to have the bandages removed and have a post-op check-up.  The left eye will be done a couple of weeks afterwards, again at Little Falls Hospital.
   Already there have been problems!  Dr. Lemanksi ordered 2 eye drops to begin 2 days before the procedure and somehow the instructions got screwed up on their way to the pharmacy at Wal-mart in Herkimer.  I'm suppose to use  antibiotic and  anti inflammatory drops but there was only the antibiotic  waiting for me today and it's instructions were wrong so the pharmacist called Bassett to try and straighten out the instructions.  After a few minutes on the phone it was decided not to let me take that bottle home until the instructions get straightened out and the other orders come thru. Instead I got a bottle of Artificial Tears to use until the days right before the procedure.
   I'm going to try and really clean the house...and floors that week before the procedure and then dump puppy care in Jeff's lap for 1 week. 'No bending or lifting' to me means no mopping floors, picking up used pee pads or warm little piles that Zoey leaves around when she misses the pads.  Jeff can also fill the water and food dishes coz that requires bending.  Hey, fastening the leashes requires bending,  so he can let the dogs out, too!  Boy, will he have fun!!   At least 1 of us will and I'm not sure it will be me.