Let Fall Begin!
It's been a nice, lazy, relaxing day at home. We had plans to spend the afternoon at the Renaissance Festival in Shakopee but I had to cancel so I can give my body a chance to recover from some aches I acquired over the past few days beginning with a fall onto some landscape rocks on the side of our house. A fall that no doubt must've looked hilarious or painful or both had anyone been there to witness it. I had my Husqvarna trimmer in hand as I walked back toward the garage to put it away when suddenly my feet came out from under me and I fell on my right side bruising at least a couple ribs. 
I think I tripped over some landscape edging but I'm not sure. I got up, a little stunned and noticed that my trimmer fared worse than I did as it's now in need of a new handle.
Tammy was concerned because of my Factor V Leiden condition and the risk of clotting from an impact such as that but what can I do?
I didn't let my sore ribs deter me from my main project this weekend although I probably should have. It's a project I've been wanting to tackle for at least the last few weeks but one I easily procrastinate about. It seems simple enough; putting a screen mesh around the perimeter of our sun-porch and deck to serve as a leaf barrier so leaves don't get caught underneath the structures and decay. Antonio, who did the brickwork around our sun-porch told me that decaying leaves become awful smelly and to be sure to do something before the fall season. So I did. The job was a lot tougher than it looked.
What the video doesn't show is how tight it became for me under there. My stomach is full of bruises from crawling over rocks with little to no room to maneuver. I'm not claustrophobic but I had a couple of tense moments under there. More than once I thought about Rachel's boyfriend, Tony, and how I'd have loved to have paid him to do the crawling for me because I think he may be even a little skinnier than me. My bruised ribs made the job a lot more difficult than it otherwise would've been but it's done now and I'm pleased that it is. Let fall begin!
I called Mom a couple days ago to see how her eye doctor appointment went. It was a good-news-bad-news conversation she had with him. The good news is that her eye is healing nicely but the bad news is that because of the four surgeries the eye has endured, the likelihood that she'll recover her sight in it is not so good. Understandably she was very dejected realizing that with the loss of her sight in one eye along with orders by her doctor not to drive, she was facing a permanent loss of independence. The thought of having to depend on others (mostly my brother Tim who lives with her) is distressing. I'll need to do more to be there for her as are others.
Surprisingly, her outlook had changed quite a lot when I spoke with her yesterday. She'd talked with a neighbor who has a friend who is also in her 80s and blind in one eye but still drives herself around. Hearing that has given her hope that she too will be able to resume driving before too long.
Tammy and I looked online to find that nearly all states allow for one-eyed drivers. Interestingly, the website states "that outside of about 20 feet, everybody sees the world as if they only had one eye." But it's her peripheral vision that concerns me most. I did a little test with myself out on the road and found that I'm definitely at a disadvantage with only one eye while driving but not nearly as disadvantaged as someone behind the wheel with their head down in their cellphone. Tammy suggested I take Mom out for a drive when she's ready and see how she does. I think that's a good place to start when she's ready.
I think I tripped over some landscape edging but I'm not sure. I got up, a little stunned and noticed that my trimmer fared worse than I did as it's now in need of a new handle. Tammy was concerned because of my Factor V Leiden condition and the risk of clotting from an impact such as that but what can I do?
I didn't let my sore ribs deter me from my main project this weekend although I probably should have. It's a project I've been wanting to tackle for at least the last few weeks but one I easily procrastinate about. It seems simple enough; putting a screen mesh around the perimeter of our sun-porch and deck to serve as a leaf barrier so leaves don't get caught underneath the structures and decay. Antonio, who did the brickwork around our sun-porch told me that decaying leaves become awful smelly and to be sure to do something before the fall season. So I did. The job was a lot tougher than it looked.
What the video doesn't show is how tight it became for me under there. My stomach is full of bruises from crawling over rocks with little to no room to maneuver. I'm not claustrophobic but I had a couple of tense moments under there. More than once I thought about Rachel's boyfriend, Tony, and how I'd have loved to have paid him to do the crawling for me because I think he may be even a little skinnier than me. My bruised ribs made the job a lot more difficult than it otherwise would've been but it's done now and I'm pleased that it is. Let fall begin!
I called Mom a couple days ago to see how her eye doctor appointment went. It was a good-news-bad-news conversation she had with him. The good news is that her eye is healing nicely but the bad news is that because of the four surgeries the eye has endured, the likelihood that she'll recover her sight in it is not so good. Understandably she was very dejected realizing that with the loss of her sight in one eye along with orders by her doctor not to drive, she was facing a permanent loss of independence. The thought of having to depend on others (mostly my brother Tim who lives with her) is distressing. I'll need to do more to be there for her as are others.
Surprisingly, her outlook had changed quite a lot when I spoke with her yesterday. She'd talked with a neighbor who has a friend who is also in her 80s and blind in one eye but still drives herself around. Hearing that has given her hope that she too will be able to resume driving before too long.
Tammy and I looked online to find that nearly all states allow for one-eyed drivers. Interestingly, the website states "that outside of about 20 feet, everybody sees the world as if they only had one eye." But it's her peripheral vision that concerns me most. I did a little test with myself out on the road and found that I'm definitely at a disadvantage with only one eye while driving but not nearly as disadvantaged as someone behind the wheel with their head down in their cellphone. Tammy suggested I take Mom out for a drive when she's ready and see how she does. I think that's a good place to start when she's ready.
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