1. Been working in the yard, I have, I have. It's so much fun, especially when the Husband and Molly the (wild) Cat are hanging out there with me, doing whatever they do. (By the way, the Husband took my photo.) 2. "How did you get out there?" asked the Husband when he saw Molly sitting on the front steps through the screen door.  "Did you climb the fence?" 3. Oh, oh. I forgot that Molly came out the front door with me earlier today.  I get easily distracted, which means I need to come up with a system to remind me that Molly is still wandering around the front yard. 4. Thankfully, Missy Girl forgave me. So I think. She laid on my lap for a while. 5. Good medical news #1 that I got on Monday: Doctor Eye has me down in mid-May to remove the cataract in my other eye. Whoooo-hoooo! 6. Good medical news #2 that I got this afternoon: The result of my routine mammogram is normal. Yippieeee! 7. The Husband and I voted yesterday by mail-in ballots.  Yaa

1. Pop! went the left lens of my eyeglasses. So much lighter with just one lens. And, when I perch the frame on my nose just so, and hold my head just so, everything straight ahead is clear and in focus. 2. It was one week ago that steady-handed Dr. Eye made that slit in my eyeball, extracted the cataract, and implanted a brand new artificial lens. Hmmmm. What if the science fiction stories about implanting chips into unknowing people were true?  Shudder. 3.  Purrrrrrrrrr. "It's only your imagination," says Molly the (wild) Cat. 4. Yesterday, the Husband drove me to the library. I don't want to drive until I have full vision in both eyes again. That may be May. Was that a sigh I heard? 5. "I'll take that." The Husband carried my bag of books from the house to the car, then from the car to the library counter, and vice-versa.  I'm not supposed to handle anything over 10 pounds for a while. Jiggity-jig. 6. I'm not allowed to bend,

Colors, Oh my! Vibrant and deep. Shades of color, So many Subtleties.  3D! My gosh,  Everything has depth.  -- Su-sieee! Mac This, I tell you, is what I've been experiencing since Friday afternoon when the eye patch was removed from my left eye. Oh my gosh! What will it be like when the cataract is removed from my other eye and a corrected lens inserted. Oh me, oh my!  And, now I can add my pirate photo to that of the Husband's and our dads. Daddy's cataract was removed in the late 1960s, way before the procedure of inserting an intraocular lens was a thing. No doubt, he would've loved having his sight fully back in his left eye.  Arrrrr, mateys!  Come check out one, two, or all three of these memes with me:  All Seasons , Mosaic Monday , and Say Cheese . Many thanks to the hosts, Jesh,  Angie, and Jenna.

Besides important documents, the only thing Mama kept that she brought from the Philippines in 1949 was her gold Maria Clara gown. (So called because of the fancy bell-shaped sleeves.) For as long as I can remember, she hung it in the back of her closet.  Before I was born someone borrowed Mama's gown to wear in a parade. The borrower returned the gown soiled and torn. Mama always shook her head when she told the story, which she did every time she looked at her dress.  When I was a teenager Mama had me take photos of her posed in her gown around the house. I hope those weren't the only times she wore it. I never thought to ask her: What was the story behind the dress? Did Daddy buy it for her? Did she own it before they were married? Did she think she'd go to a lot of fancy dances in America? Back in December I went into a panic thinking I donated the red suitcase in which I stored the gown. Lucky me. I found the suitcase just where I put it behind t

"Knock on wood, said Dr. Eye, who then knocked on the side of a medical supply cabinet. I turned to my left. Nothing but eye examination machines. All metal. I looked back at the cabinet. "About the closest to wood," Dr. Eye said, somehow knowing what I was thinking. "Maybe this," I said, leaning over to tap a small box, probably made of balsa, on the cabinet. "It probably does have the most wood in this room," Dr. Eye said, tapping the box. Someone asked me if I felt confident about Dr. Eye taking out my lens and inserting an artificial one with my current prescription. Totally. Four more days.  :-)   Linking with All Seasons at The Jesh Studio.

1. See the jack rabbit. That's what I saw this afternoon. 2. Yak, yak, yak.  Chat about this, wonder about that. Discuss current events. Reminisce. Giggle, chuckle, laugh. We spent a wonderful afternoon today hanging out with good friends. One of the many fine things about being retired. 3. What else about today? I got to climb the ladder to saw away at tree branches, to be continued on the weekend. 4. By four o'clock, the almost full moon was already saying, "Hey there!" 5. Some call the second full moon of winter the Snow Moon. 6. The California Coastal Redwoods, sequoia sempervirens, range from Monterey county to the Oregon border and may grow within 50 miles from the coast. So, it's possible for redwoods to grow in Hollister where we call our home. 7. Experts say redwoods can be raised in a pot until it's about 5 or 6 feet tall. Hmmmm. 8. The Giant Sequoias are the largest species of redwood, which live only on the western slopes of

We left the fruit on the high branches, and some of the lower branches, of the persimmon tree for the birds and squirrels. I don't know if the neighborhood feral cats like persimmons. Molly the (wild) Cat sniffs her nose at the orange fruit. The other morning good fortune struck. I not only watched a crow in the persimmon tree, followed by a bunch of tiny birds, but also a squirrel. That squirrel was chittering so loud, the Husband and I went out to the back yard to find out what all the fuss was about. I wouldn't be surprised if the squirrel was yelling at the tiny birds to get out of its persimmon tree, because that was where the furry guy headed after it ran down the birch tree in the next yard.  January was a flurry of decluttering, reorganizing, and sewing curtains, along with getting as much heavy stuff done before my cataract surgery next week.  (My gosh, already, next week. Shudder) I was such a worker bee that I became physically, emotionally, and spiritually