Random 5 for January 26 – Attitude, aging, rain, opportunity, dry eye

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Today is the best day of the rest of your life – I was reminded of that this week. I’ve been doing small house projects – repairing dinged woodwork and repainting worn areas. In my younger days I was a whiz at painting. I had a very steady hand and could free form cut in. Those days are gone. I don’t have tremors but my hand is not steady anymore. Climbing ladders and doing a lot of stairs (because I always forget something) is tiring. I don’t think there is anything I can do to regain that dexterity and find a fountain of energy. #poncedeleonwhereareyou

Flipping the switch – As I was removing the bird feeder for a refill, it slipped out of my hand and fell on my nose. It was a direct hit. I have a nice bobble between my cheeks. I could have sworn but instead I thought “Thank God I didn’t break my nose!” Switching from negative to positive makes a difference. #gladnotglad

Speaking of which – We are getting the huge storm that was moving across the country. Many places got lots of snow. We are getting lots of rain. Lots. So glad it’s not snow. I’d be snowed in for sure. Maybe without my mocha latte. #nosnow

Opportunity – The rain is good for washing the salt off of my car from last week’s minor snow. I parked my car outside for a good soak. #cheapcarwash

It strikes again – This time of year is bad for dry eye. I had a flare up this week. Paint fumes and dry heat will do that as will extensive research on the computer. My eyes were like coarse sandpaper and I was having trouble seeing clearly out of my left eye. True to form, I thought I was going blind. It was the end of the world! Soonest appointment I could get was next Wednesday. I started putting drops in every hour and doing warm compresses. It improved greatly in 24 hours. (Que me singing a song from Sound of Music while skipping through a field. Yes, I was that happy.) I can cancel my appointment. #hypochondriacentral

So how was your week?

 

 

68 thoughts on “Random 5 for January 26 – Attitude, aging, rain, opportunity, dry eye”

  1. I’ve got the sandpaper in my eye thing going on, too. It’s frustrating because I’ve got prescription eye drops, for a pretty penny, and they seem to be ineffective this year. I want to believe in modern medicine… then it lets me down. On a cheerier note, I like your #cheapcarwash idea. Will be doing the same as the weather permits.

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    • I sent you an email (to your gmail account) asking how you fared with the Bleph Ex. Did the effects last or go away. Yep I use $$ eye drops too. Thinking of discontinuing because I can’t feel a difference.

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      • Kate, the email hasn’t shown up, but I’ll tell you here. The first time I did the BlephEx it was amazing. The second time, one year later, it was nice. I’ll do it one more time to see how I goes, then decide if I continue with it.

        As for prescription eyedrops, I wonder about them, too. I’m using Systane over the counter lubricating eye drops in addition to the script ones. That seems to help…

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        • Thanks. May change my eye doc. The one I had left and I don’t seem to connect with the new one. Every time I go, there is a new ($$) treatment she wants me to try but when I ask about a treatment I had, there seems to be no interest in it anymore. I feel like I’m a guinea pig for new techniques.

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            • Perhaps they should run a few clients through a new treatment (at a discount cost) and evaluate it themselves before selling it as the best thing since sliced bread. Happened a couple of years ago too. They wanted me to get scleral contact lenses. Covers more of the eye and has a fluid reservoir so it makes dry eye less annoying. I didn’t know if I wanted to go back into contact lenses again. By the time I went back for my next check up they had moved on to other “solutions.”

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  2. I no longer paint if a ladder is needed. I will change light bulbs and smoke detector batteries but not happily. I can see the day when I will call someone to do those things.
    Glad you didn’t break your nose. I’ve broken mine twice!

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  3. I’m equally glad we got rain – and a lot of it – instead of snow. Yes, the days have been dreary gray but I can live with that!

    I commend you for tackling all those miscellaneous jobs that seem to pile up. The most I’ve done since the beginning of the year is paint touch ups in the hallway. It’s such a high traffic area, the walls get bumped and marked without effort.
    I also got another batch of potential paint samples for the bedroom. Husband rejected the first batch. At this rate, I might get the bedroom painted by early next year.

    Happy Monday, Kate. May the lattes be rich and plentiful.

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    • I’m not sure where my spurt of energy came from. It doesn’t last long. It’s like foam on a latte. You have to act quick or it’s gone. Choosing paint. Argh! I’ve repainted more than one wall because the paint wasn’t quite what I thought it would be.

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        • When we built our house we spent 3 months picking out siding colors. We drove all over to see different combinations. We picked the bedroom carpet in 30 minutes. It all depends. Was very happy with the carpet. The siding did not look as I expected. Not bad but people call it different colors than what it is.

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          • Sometimes we can overthink the problem and that’s when we get paralyzed by indecision. To me, paint colour should be so easy. It can be changed at relatively low cost compared to the thousands of dollars we spent on electronics and sporting equipment :/

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  6. I love your hashtags–poncedeleonwhereareyou. That’s a good one. I used to be a good painter too. When I was a teenager, my dad, who was a house builder, paid me to work for him a couple of summers. Now I just hire a painter–either I’ve lost my touch or I’m just lazy.

    #gladnotglad–Yes, there’s almost always a positive to switch to.

    I used to have problems with dry eye … maybe 7 or 8 years ago. Somehow it just stopped. Sometimes getting older-still clears up some of the getting-older problems.

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  7. I like the way you turned some negatives into positives, Kate. I have tried to do that this week with some of my frustrations, and I realize I need to be more diligent with that. I am very glad you didn’t break your nose, but any nose injury really hurts! Between your pond and your birdfeeders, you’re diligent and brave to handle the weather, but your little critters thank you!

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  8. I don’t have dry eyes, but my aging body is working on some cataracts for me. Bad enough to give me foggy vision in my right eye, but not bad enough to be eligible for surgery yet. I’m not sure how bad it has to get, but I’m actually hopeful that it won’t be long until it’s bad enough (that just doesn’t seem right somehow). Please be careful when you’re on the ladder! A fall can happen really quick and have very bad outcomes.

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  11. Since I was diagnosed with Blepharitis and MGD I have chronic severely dry eyes. Some weeks are worse than others. Warm compresses do help, but only for a short period. I know being on the computer so much doesn’t help. At my doctor’s advice, I’ve stopped using my space heater at my freezing day job and only use a heating pad. Some days, my vision is so blurred I’m unable to see my computer screen. And the itching! Yikes! It’s so annoying! I’ve been known to do the “cheap” car washes too! 🙂

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    • You may be a good candidate for Prokera. My doc recommended it to me but I’m looking for someone else who has had experience with it. I am much the same as you. I’ve had it for over 20 years. This is typically the worst time of the year because of dry heat (and intensive computer use because there is no outside work). On Friday I seriously thought something was wrong because my vision was so blurred. I was sure I was going blind. Today is good but I’m being good with the drops, compresses and limiting computer screens. Also the stinky painting is done. I’m topcoating but that doesn’t have the bad fumes.

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  12. My goodness…you did have quite the week-hope the nose is feeling better. Your post reminds me that I need to work on painting. Have been confounding by picking a shade of white I will actually like (have painted 4 times and didn’t like any of them-they look different even after doing a patchwork of shades on the wall to see which one would look the best #patchworkpaint). Do you realize how many shades of white there are out there? Holy moly!

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  13. Our car still has some dirt from our trip to the mountains, despite driving through a ton of snow and then rain on our way back. Gonna have to suck it up and wash it. Boo.

    I’ve noticed I’m not as steady on my right ankle as I used to be. And that was my dominant/ spinning leg back when I used to dance competitively! Now I can’t balance on it for more than a few seconds. Boo.

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  14. No dry eye here although my “developing cataracts” better hurry up and become ripe because I’m already anxious to have the surgery! As far as “limber-ness” (is that a word?) goes, this week I was sitting on the kitchen floor in front of my under counter cabinets and accomplished the “clearing out/reorganization” but actually had to call hubby to come help me get up off the floor! Gosh – aging is SOOOOOOOOOOO fun. I do prefer it to the alternatives though!

    Hugs, Pam

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    • Aging is not fun for sure! As for cataracts, locally the docs don’t wait until they are “ripe” as they are harder to remove. Once you get glare during night driving, it’s time to get them out. I’ve had both out without issue. In fact, it was the easiest surgery I’ve had. Took less than 15 minutes and I was out back in the car within an hour. I followed instructions carefully and recovered fast (although there isn’t all that much recovery). I was amazed at how much more clearly I saw. They happen so gradually you have no idea how “yellowed” your vision is until they are removed. They also insert lenses with your prescription which can eliminate glasses.

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  15. Third day of rain for us here – I had thought a walk was possible this morning, not so sure now. I find I cannot hold the camera steady sometimes – even on solid ground so I end up taking extra pictures for good measure. Nothing scared me more than walking down the steps at that lighthouse tour and then across the 50-foot pier over the Detroit River and there was no handrail … my knees were shaking and felt unsteady. I may walk a lot but I am not limber and I have tired to recoup being able to walk up and down the stairs by doing deep knee bends … if you don’t hear from me, I am stuck on the floor in a deep knee bend. Speaking of not hearing from me, I have been having issues in WordPress and my posts are not going to subscribers and showing up in Reader. I know you follow via subscription and so does Joni (Homeplace Web) and she got an e-mail but nothing attached.

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    • Today we finally have some sun peaking out. I will check your blog. I haven’t noticed any difference but when WP goes wonky, sometimes you can’t tell. I have one reader that gets my posts through Facebook. No matter how many times she has subscribed and checked off send email (she’s not a blogger), she doesn’t get them.

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      • It ended up raining all day, third day in a row, so I did my tax stuff to get it done and out of the way until the rest of the stuff arrives. It used to be here by 01/31 but it is later every year. So you did not get an e-mail either then? I think you follow by e-mail. I tried to tell them it does not show up in Reader (for me either) and he sent me a screenshot and a link to say “yes it does” … I said none of the usual people who comment saw it and the ones who get it via e-mail through WordPress (and are fellow bloggers) got a re: line but nothing in it. I obviously have not convinced him anything is awry.

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    • It does help. You have to do it though. After a while it get boring and I forget. I’ve had it for over 20 years so I should know better. Kicks up when it’s dry in winter and then again when pollen is high.

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      • I heat a bowl of water in the microwave while I take my thyroid pill. Then I apply the compresses until the water cools. It’s made a big difference in both comfort and vision . . . but, you’re right, it is NOT the most exciting part of the day. 😀

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        • I have an eye mask that I nuke for 30 seconds. It’s quick and easy but I don’t always make time for it. When I get a flare up I do it twice a day along with hourly eye drops. I also have a spray to clean the lids. I do that every night.

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  18. #cheapcarwash cracked me up. I will drive through the washes that don’t touch your car rubbing in all the other junk from the truck who went for four-wheeling then through the wash before me, but even though I remind myself while I wait to drive slowly over the water spraying the undercarriage, I often fly right over it. I have dry eyes too. Doc, and I say doc because I can never remember the difference in the eye doctor titles Rx 2 products that are not as thick as a stye cream but they do blur your vision for a bit. Both OTC. Expensive little bottles. I can go look at the names if you’re interested?

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