Marc Vetri

A well written piece on "G.I." - "I'm Gluten Intolerant...Intolerant"

 

What No Pictures?

The blog has been lacking in photographs lately. Here are some from my ride today.

 

Adjustments

Tomorrow willl mark one week since my final cataract surgery. I am still adjusting to life without glasses and contacts. Most evening I have an urge to remove my contact lenses and then realize I don't have contacts.in my eyes. When I wake during the middle of the night before I get up I reach for the night table for my glasses and then realize they are no longer there.

I am seeing better and more confidently each day post surgery. An example, I am writing this on my iPad on my portable keyboard. I can clearly read the text on the iPad screen and clearly see the keys on the keyboard without reading glasses. Oh, I do find myself putting on reading glasses when I do not need to. A habit I will need to break. I don't want my eyes to get lazy.

Tomorrow I see Dr. Sarkos and hopefully she will tell me I do not need to wear the eye shield at night and I can cut back on the three eye drops I am using. I also will ask for a recommentation on a eye drop for lubrication. My left eye sometimes feels as if I have something in it, though Dr. Lindenmuth says there is nothing there. Perhaps just a lubricating drop from time to time will make that feeling go away.

Yesterday I was back on my bike on both the Illinois Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail. Glen Ellyn to Elmhurst on the Prairie Path then up to the Great Western Trail from Villa Park to Lombard, then back to the Prairie Path to Glen Ellyn. Just under 14 miles. Next step 20. I did create bicycle problems for myself yesterday. I decided to "Slime" my tubes to prevent flats. The front tire went well but not the back. The tire valve remover tool that came with the Slime broke in the valve of the back tube and I could not get it out. I finally had to pay a visit to the downtown Glen Ellyn bike shop for a replacment tube. I now have a Slimed tube in the front tire and a new tube in the back tire and half a bottle of leftover Slime. I suppose the experience was good for me in several ways. It is possible that the stubborn valve was defective and would have failed wile I was riding and I would have been walking. I found my old tire levers in one of my tool boxes and got to use them to replace a tube. And, I got practice in repairing bicycle tires!

Last night I considered my route on this year's road trip. After spending the weekend with Lee and Peg and Sharon in Estes Park and then two more nights with Sharon in Boulder I head to Redmond. I decided to visit Moab, Utah and Arches National Park on the way. I will have one day to beautiful scenery and mountain driving from Boulder to Moab on Interstate 70. That will give me an afternoon and evening at Arches. Then the next day will be all driving with a target of Ontario, Oregon. I'll to a little sight seeing on the way as I will pass by the Great Salt Lake. From Ontario to Redmond will be an easy half day of driving.

Cataract Surgery II

Yesterday was cataract surgery - this time on my right eye. The procedure seemed routine since I had my left eye done last month. This time though, I told the anesthesiologist That it seemed the last time I was too aware of the procedure near the end and wanted a bit more anesthesia. He told me he would, but even though I believe he did, I was aware through the entire procedure. That was freaky! However, I was not concerned, just aware. I could hear everyone in the room talking, I could hear instruments I could see light and things going on around me eye. I wanted to ask for music but had been told not to move or talk - so I behaved. It seems it took longer for the anesthesia to wear off this time, likely because I got a bit more. I was pretty much out of it on the drive home and then took a nap shortly after arriving home. I wasn't really functional until around 5:00 p.m and then I was in bed before 9:00 p.m. with lights out shortly after.
Today, my vision is amazing. Everything is crisp and clear and bright, perhaps a bit too bright. I am seeing with both eyes uncorrected by glasses or contacts for the first time since I was two years old and it is quite amazing. Naturally I am pleased. I will probably need to continue to use reading glasses but I do not mind that at all. Being able to wake up at night or in the morning and be able to see is a wonderful gift.
My brain has some adjusting to do - colors and clarity and balancing my eyes, but I suspect that within a week or so I will be adapted to this new life. Thank you Medicare and United Healthcare and Dr. Sophia Sarkos!

 好吃多吃 (hao chi duo chi)

Random Observations

Today as I was sitting in a doctor's office waiting for an exam it occurred to me that never have I avoided seeing a doctor because I was concerned about the cost. I do know that some people do not see doctors because of the cost of care and that has never been a concern of mine. Now, most of my life I have been covered by health insurance but even in those few times when I had a lapse of coverage, health needs have come first. I suppose I am luck or blessed in this regard because many people have not had this luxury.
Tomorrow I have my second cataract surgery. This time on my right eye. I am apprehensive but I don't believe that I am as nervous as I was the first time. I do have high hopes for the results of the surgery and hope I can read and use my phone and iPad soon without any corrective lenses.
Colorado and beyond. I am planning another road trip this year. First stop Estes Park, Colorado. Lee and I will be driving to Estes Park on August 6 where we will meet Sharon and Peg. Sharon has been spending lots of time in Boulder at the Boulder School District and she and Peg planned a few days of hiking around Rocky Mountain National Park. Peg is flying in on a Thursday evening and Lee and I are scheduled to get there the same day. After a few days in Estes Park, Lee and Peg will fly home to Chicago and Sharon and I will spend a couple of days in Boulder together. While she is working I can get a few loads of laundry done for both of us and explore Boulder.Then, I will head to Redmond to spend a couple of weeks with my grand kids, and son and daughter-in-law and ex daughter-in-law. I will head towards Glen Ellyn on September 2 after Avery starts school. Sharon will fly to Boulder and spend Labor Day weekend with us. I plan on stopping to see Mt. Rushmore on the return trip. I have managed to ignore Mt. Rushmore during a number of trips past it. This time I will stop for a visit as I did Devil's Tower a couple of years ago. I hope to find a few other attractions/distractions on my way to and from Oregon.
Kids on bicycles are to be feared on the Prairie Path. It matters not whether they are four or fourteen, watch out for them as they are unpredictable. Adults are much better - as long as they on on the street or on the bike path. Let them get on a sidewalk and be very afraid as they seem to forget that they cannot simply ride acros the intersection without stopping or looking. I did find the official Illinois "Bicycle Rules of the Road." Of course they are like rules for motor vehicles - most people simply ignore them.

Friends And Independence Day

Larry and Dave visited us for Independence Day holiday weekend. We had a very nice visit focused on shopping, eating, and drinking. We've been out to breakfast at Jucy-O and Butterfield's. We had a fabulous breakfast at home. We've had dinner at home and Bien Trucha. We've had coffee at Starbucks. We had cocktails in the back yard. Sharon and the boys had cocktails at Weber Grill. We've been to Steinmart and to Von Maur. I scored a seersucker sport coat and two shirts at Steinmart. Sharon and Larry both got great deals at Von Maur. Larry bought a wallet at Louis Vitton and he is VERY proud of it. They went to the iStore and Larry got a new iPhone cover and Sharon took over his old one. Today Larry and Sharon are cooking gravy. One of Larry's talents is making really good Italian gravy. It will be great.
We managed to not go to the Glen Ellyn parade or fireworks (though we could not avoid the noise from the fireworks and the cats did not like the noise at all.)
Last night we had a very tasty early dinner at Bien Trucha. Sharon and the boys had sangria and I had a Tomatesta made with tomatillo, lime, mint and smoky vida mezcal. Yum. I also had a Michelada. Wow, never had one of those. Kind of a Mexican version of a bloody mary - but better. We sampled a number of Bien Trucha's small plates and all were delicious. Bien Trucha is an extension of A Toda Madre - which will open its second restaurant in Glen Ellyn sometime this summer. I am excited for their appearance here. We finished our evening with a trip to Von Maur, ice cream at Oberweis, and then trash TV at home.

Biking

Almost a month ago I decided to get back on my bicycle and get some exercise. I've worked up from once a week to twice a week. From about five miles to about twelve. In fact, my time to do twelve miles this week was about the same as doing five my first week. I am feeling stronger and I have dropped a few pounds. Now to see if I can keep it up. I need to lose 40 pounds before our next trip to Spain so that Sharon will let me wear a Speedo.

I've been going east and west from Glen Ellyn on the Prairie Path. Going west I go to and beyond Wheaton. Going east I have gone past Hwy 83 and Salt Creek to Elmhurst. They are both interesting rides and each very different. West is mostly along the Union Pacific tracks with lots of train action. East is mostly through residential areas. The people I see on the Prairie Path are much the same, but downtown Glen Ellyn seems to have more unsupervised children. Of course there are also unsupervised adults who need to be curbed. It seems a big portion of the bicycling population, both adults and children, were never properly taught the basics of riding. They ride on the wrong side of the road or path. They ride on sidewalks. They ignore traffic rules. They assume that if they are on a sidewalk they have the same rights as pedestrians. As someone who is largely a rules follower, I find this behaviour aggravating.

My next adventures will extend past the Prairie Path. North along the Great Western Trail and south to some of the Forest Preserve sites along Butterfield Road and beyond.