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.

Claire Returns To China

Check out her blog to the left.

Writing

I watched a movie this past week that touched me in several scenes. (The Emporer, 2012 - Tommy Lee Jones) Near the end, General Fellers was reading letters written by Aya and saved by her uncle. What touched me was that these were letters, hand written on paper, that could be touched and felt and read and kept. When is the last time you wrote a letter? Received one? A long time for me. How about just writing on paper? These are skills we are losing. I write this on an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard. I could even dictate it if I wanted and would not have to type. What are the chances of someone saving my writings and re-reading them after I am gone on whatever device they may me using? Photographs are facing a similar fate to letter wrting. We've gone digitl from beginning to end of the photographic process. I've got albums of photographs which include photos of my great grandpartents and other relatives. Some I cannot even identify but I can still hold them, touch them, enjoy them. Not so digital images. They end up in albums on my hard drive and on Google+ and Facebook but all in digital form - not something you can touch and feel.

 

Cataract Surgery Stage One

Yesterday I had cataract surgery on my left eye, remove natural lens and replace with an interocular lens. Today I am amazed at my ability to see brighter colors and to see without correction.

I did not realize how cataracts had changed my view of the world. Whites were not white anymore - they were yellow. Today I can look at a white wall or a piece of paper with my left eye and see bright white and with my right eye, beige or yellow. As the day goes on I realize more and more how the cataracts not only changed my visual acuity but also my perception of colors. I didn't know! Whiter whites! Bolder colors!

Original cat trap

Alternative cat tap

I've got some healing to do and my brain has to adjust to my new vision, but so far this experience has gone well and appears to be as life changing as I anticipated. I suspect my photography will change also as I see the world more clearly and brighter now.

 

Home

We are still setting into the routine of home. Sharon has been off to Boulder and now also to Racine. I've been trying to catch up on yard work and moving photos off of the camera's SD cards. Of course the cats are happy we are back and they have forgiven us for leaving them for so long.

Big changes in my life start tomorrow. Cataract surgery day. My left eye is first and I am of course nervous but also ready to do it. I believe I have written about this before, but this is a big step for me. I have worn glasses since I was two years old, and have worn contact lenses since I was 15. My left eye is considerably worse than my right eye, and I also do not have full vision across my left eye - it is as if there is a hole in my vision. Because of this I have alsways relied on my right eye for the majority of my vision - reading especially. Thus the nervousness about the surgery. The big change for me will be not needing to rely on glasses to see. Now, without my contacts or my glasses I am lost and cannot focus on anything near or far. Everything is a blur. After surgery, I should beable to see in mid to long distance without correction and only need glasses for near or reading. This will be a major adjustment.

This past weekend we drove up to St. Paul for a graduation party for Audra and Claire Dunvan. They have been part of our lives since they were infants and it is always a joy to spend time with them. I suspect now that they are college graduates we will se a bit less of them. We wish the best of success to both of them.

At the bus stop leaving Sitges, a rainbow.