eyes of the beholder

 

Thursday 2nd September was an interesting if tiring day.  Rose at dawn for an 8 a.m. doctor's appointment,  attended the monthly meeting at the church hall at lunchtime,  went out to see the Agatha Christie play THE STRANGER at The Playhouse in the evening and finished the day hunting a rogue rooster in the dark in the backyard. Put out the week's trash.  Then a phone call from Keith Curtis.
 I'll go to bed now, I thought.
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Friday 3rd Sept
Woke up still feeling tired from Thursday's busy activities.  I was just finishing my second coffee when some friends arrived to take me to the supermarket.  But first -- lunch.  Agreeing on a venue took quite a bit of time, involving a lot of driving around, discussion and phoning.  We finally ended up at the Carlyle Hotel, which was a good choice because the spacious dining room meant we were able to enjoy our meal without worrying about what people at other tables were discussing.
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A friend asked me how I was doing in the between-eyes period.  Could I read?  Watch TV?
Well, it's a bit difficult for me to read at the moment, but I can do it if I concentrate.  Typing is not easy because my eyes tell me that the letters on the left side of the keyboard are a different distance to the ones of the right hand side  --  even touch typists have their limitations.  Television is fine, everything more than a yard away is in focus, but if I'm reading captions or subtitles I often have to close one eye to stop seeing them double.  After Wednesday I will have both eyes the same so at least I won't be seeing double anymore and it will be a lot easier to walk down steps!
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Sunday 5th Sept
Even without the rooster, I woke up early on Sunday morning and got ready for church.  Helped that I didn't have to carry supplies for the kitchen with me this month when I got on the bus.  The preacher gave a considered sermon on the subject of the two cities on the plain, mentioning fire and brimstone without dwelling on it.  I had lunch in town, then took the bus home, went to bed and slept for four and a half hours (That ties in nicely with something I once read that said we sleep in multiples of 45 minute cycles.)
Made something to eat and watched THE NEWSREADER on ABC TV, a history of the 1980s from the viewpoint of television reporters.  It's not NEWSFRONT, but it has extra appeal because I recall all those things happening.
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Tuesday 7th Sept
Croquet was a bit of a mess for me today.  I got there on time for the first afternoon game, but because of the windy weather and my increasingly unreliable eyesight, I lost 7-2 and decided to go home at half time.  I sat out on the patio, poured myself a cold drink and read some of the new Harley Quinn collection that kicks off a new partwork for comics fans.
In the evening, the Tuesday night quiz team was down to three of us, and we did notably not-so-good in a couple of rounds (music 3/10, sport 2/10).  There were 13 teams playing - unlucky for some! - and  we finished 8th with 64 points, beaten by Minerva's Disciples with 70.  The winners were Walt Quizney who scored 81.  Just wait till next week when I have both eyes working!
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I find it a little unsettling at the milestone tomorrow brings.  All my life I have been near-sighted, but that ends tomorrow morning with my second cataract operation.  I suspect it may take me a long time to stop trying to read small print by holding it close to my eyes!  Once the eyes settle down, I can go back to the optometrist and get a new set of prescription glasses;  till then, reading or writing,  e-mailing or texting, will rely on a pair of $5 magnifying glasses from the discount store.