Ramps, Regina and Robots

Bonnie and Steve were in town this morning and we had a nice visit before Mardi and I headed to the greenhouse, she to deadhead Geraniums and me to work on a ramp for Sean.  I lasted about an hour before my body (and my lady) told me to cut bait and run.  Hope to finish the first ramp tomorrow.

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 I lost interest in the monarchy years ago.  But Tuesday's throne speech changed my mind.  The King and Carney put together what may turn out to have been a turning point in our history. 

And Poilievre is still playing politics the way he always has.  Glad we didn't elect him!

Carney appears to be heading towards a Progressive Conservative focus, something that the Reform Party took away from us.  The left wing of the Liberal party may not be happy, but I am.

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I have started to book our next winter's holiday in Florida (I did pay for a cancellation clause just in case).

Ironically, with the upgrade we purchased, our two timeshare weeks should net us at least ten weeks in 2026, more than we have ever been able to enjoy.  Well into March!  Fingers crossed that the U.S. gets Trumpf under control by then.

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Tonight we attended our Optimist meeting, which featured Orchard Park High School's robotics team.  They finished third in an international competition.  Very bright young people, and they put in 30 hours per week, on top of their regular school hours, to make it happen.  Each team is given the same problem to resolve..........

This year the robot can catch balls...........

..........and pick up tiles........

...................................which it can see, maneuver rapidly to pick them up, and place them at a specified height and location.

We help to support their efforts financially and it's money well spent.  I'd like to see where these young folk end up in their careers!

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Stay well.

Back In Harness

 We're about three weeks in, as far as the retinal surgery is concerned.  Small improvement in vision each day.  At the moment my vision in the left eye is about equal to looking through a layer of greenhouse plastic.  

This is pretty close to what I can see out of that eye as long as there is no glare.  If there is glare, the whole scene disappears.

Shapes and colours pretty good.  Objects can be identified but still blurry.

On track I guess.  The official instruction book says:

"You should start to notice improvements in your vision within 4–6 weeks after the procedure. However, it can take months for your vision to stabilize. Your retina may take a year or more to fully heal."

This past few days have been really frustrating.  But, Saturday I decided to try to cut the grass.  Kept at it for an hour.  No problem, and it made me feel independent and alive again.  

Back on Sunday to cut some more.  Managed two hours this time.

Kathryn helped me by raking up the grass cuttings.

I took four wagon loads back to the compost area.

But the three weeks off have put me way behind.  At this time of year Mother Nature is in a hurry and the gardens all need some work.  It's going to take a while to catch up but I'm looking forward to the challenge and Kathryn wants to help.  We'll get there!

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 The pathetic Blue Jays  lost to Tampa Bay, 13 - 0 today.  I quit watching in the 6th inning when it was "only" 9 - 0.  They are worse than the Leafs for Pete's sake!

Take care and stay well.

Reunion, Retuning and Revolting

Mardi attended her nurse's reunion at the Innsville yesterday.  It was supposed to be a much bigger event at Michelangelo's but when that place closed her Class of 63 decided to proceed anyway.  Well done!

That was yesterday's excitement.  Today's was our visit to the greenhouse.  I managed to put in an hour, starting to make new ramps for Sean.  Tomorrow I'll try sitting on the mower for a while.

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Had a nice visit from Kathryn today.  She's pretty excited about a planned Alaska cruise with Jo-Anne in August.  And about their winter vacation on Vancouver Island near Sarah-Jean.  Lots of fun.

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That's the end of the good news.  Jays lost an unexciting game and I lost two unexciting hands of Skip-Bo at the hands of my lovely, but nasty lady.

Stay well.

Back In Harness

 Had an appointment with Dr. Armegon today and passed with flying colours.  I go back in a couple of weeks for another laser treatment.

In the meantime I can drive again, and take a drink (not at the same time).  My left eye vision will slowly return to normal over the coming months.  And, best of all I can fly, so our planned trip to Scotland in August is good to go!

The doctor is quite a genius, responsible for a couple of world firsts.  But he is also a bit strange - his pink velveteen suit today was quite spectacular!  But who cares?  Although I wish that I had had the courage to take out my phone for a picture!

I can go back to work next week, but nothing strenuous.  Hey Sean, could you park the tractor and wagon alongside the soil skids and have the young guys load the broken bags of soil from behind the skids on it and move them to the skids behind the "Road Closed" sign?  That way I can cut the grass behind the skids.   Thanks.

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In other news, I got my updated Nexus Trusted Traveller card in the mail today.  Hopefully I will be able to take advantage of it and return to Florida next winter.  I will book my timeshare weeks next month.  And, ironically, this time my two weeks plus upgrade will get me eleven weeks of Florida time.  Sure hope that I can put it to good use!  We'll have to see.  

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Watched the Blue Jays defeat San Diego 12 - 0 tonight.  Lots of fun.

But then we watched the Oilers lose to Dallas, mostly due to stupid penalties.  Let's hope they improve next game.

Stay well.

Not Totally Usekess

 Congratulations to Sue and David, who today celebrate 35 years of marriage.  But they are celebrating separately - Sue is in Campbell River, B.C. helping Sarah-Jean get settled in her new community and nursing job.  And David seems to be pretty busy at the greenhouse.  Quite a milestone nonetheless.

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Not much has happened over the past few days.  On Thursday, Jo-Anne Kempe visited and the three of us played cards.  And the ladies let me win a game!

Then, on Friday  Maureen and Matt stopped by and we got out the cards once again.  Boys 2, Girls 1.

My vision has been slightly improving each day.  Now, I can see the big numbers on the cards, up to about three feet away.  The one and the eight are foggy but OK, the twelve is still pretty questionable.

Not clear by any means, but it does help.  The trajectory is going in the right direction.

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As you might expect, I've been feeling pretty useless for the past three weeks.  But today we made an excursion to the greenhouse.  Being a nice Victoria Day weekend, the place was gangbusters.  Cars were parked all the way to the street - the driveway was completely filled at times......

.......... and I spent the next four and a half hours directing traffic and having nice repartee with the customers.  Currently nursing a sore back, but it felt good to be able to contribute once again.  Hopefully, after my doctor visit on Wednesday I'll be able to take on even more.

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David's sign down front says "Grow Leafs Grow".  Unfortunately, it now just applies to the plants and not the hockey team.  Are we surprised?

And the Blue Jays, while displaying more offense recently, are still not able to get above .500 ball.  But I'm still hopeful.

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I probably publish again until after the doctor visit on Wedesday.

Stay well.

Dense But Not Dopey

 Yesterday, I had another medical appointment.  This time for a bone density test that had been booked last December.  Won't know the results for a couple of weeks, but I'm pretty confident - you all know how dense I am.

Today we ventured out again.  A visit to the greenhouse where Mardi bought an Orchid that was on sale because it was not very happy.  A new project for my lady.

And we attended our Optimist meeting.  The club was recognizing grade ten students that had been nominated to participate in COLS, the Central Ontario Leadership Skills weekend.

After the dinner, the students cut up the cake dessert.

And on the way home, we were treated to a sunset light show of the Toronto skyline.

A nice way to finish the day.

Stay well.

Fresh Air

I didn't post yesterday, so I missed wishing Joyce a happy birthday.  Hope your day went well Joyce.

Grandson Kyle dropped by for a short visit.  Haven't seen him for a while.  After leaving us he was doing a truck delivery to the Sarnia area on the night shift.

That was my excitement for the day.

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 But the warden let me out for a while today.  First, we walked about a mile in the neighbourhood.  Then we headed to the greenhouse.

The parking lot and driveway were packed with Mother's Day shoppers.  And David has the garden centre really well stocked for the occasion.

Said hi to Sean and Alex before checking everything out.

It appears that they need me.  The weeds are taking over!  And the grass needs cutting.

I will have to be very persuasive with the doctor on the 21st.  I still have full vision, but focus is very slow to recover.  We'll see (eventually).

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Blue Jays came from behind to beat Seattle 3 - 3,  their third win in a row.  Nice to watch.

Stay well.

Update

 We headed to the OCC Eye Clinic yesterday to see how the surgery had impacted my vision.  The doctor declared success for Dr. Armagon's work.  The retina has been successfully reattached.

My vision is improving a bit every day.  Right now, if you are within five feet of me I can make out your features.  Farther away and your face is just a blur.

We have been told that steady improvement will result in my being to see as well as before in six months.  Should be an interesting, probably frustrating ride!

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Although I spend most of the day and night turning from side to side every hour, there have been a few better moments.

Grandson Malcolm and Esther visited on Saturday.

But it seemed to me that the eye drops that I have been taking three times a day must have shrunk me.  He's a big boy!

The part of the conversation that I enjoyed the most was hearing about their goals.  Malcolm is an Engineer, and Esther is working towards an advanced nursing career.  Exciting times for them!

On Monday, brother Roger and sister Judy visited.  Being old people, our conversation centred mostly on family and our ancestors, although the current political situation certainly was discussed.

Yesterday, our upstairs neighbour Jo-Anne dropped by.  And tonight, Kathryn and Anna visited.

These moments help to make the hourly day and night, turn from left to right and back, bearable.  But, I'm probably going to need a rehab period to get back in shape when these early weeks are over.  

Stay well.