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I Like to Read

I like big-print books, I cannot lie.  Mentally I jump with glee when I find a new big-print book that I want to read at the library. These days, my near vision is a laugh. I read by holding the reading material inches from my face, unless it's a big-print book. It's the most comfortable way for me to read, which isn't comfortable at all. The increasing kink in my near vision may be caused by the cataracts developing in my eyes, particularly the left. Until I got new lenses last year, I blamed the rips and tears in my old glasses for me not seeing clearly. Ha! I only had to put out $600 for the new eyeglasses to find out how wrong I was. The Husband has cataracts too. Worse than mine. He'll have cataract surgery for both eyes (one at a time) in the Spring. Once he's settled, I'll get at least the left eye done. I'm glad that both of us are on a decent Medicare Advantage plan. Fictional Characters I Like Speaking of books, which I was at the beginn

Apo Dios

I don't recall whether Apo Dios refers to God or to the sun. Maybe I didn't ever know. Ilocano was the parents primary language. I understood Ilocano but couldn't wrap my Americanized tongue around Ilocano words to speak it. So, yeah, we were one of those families in which immigrant parents talked to their American-born children in their native language and the children responded in English. Think of interpreters translating in real time. The term Apo Dios is a combination of two languages. Apo in Ilocano means father or grandfather. So, I've always thought. An online Ilocano-English dictionary says otherwise. It says Apo means God. Dios is a Spanish word that means God. Spain colonized the Philippines for over 300 years so of course Spanish is going to seep into the native languages there. That same Ilocano-English dictionary defines Apo Dios as God. Usually, my parents addressed Dios when life was going fine, such as "Hi, God, how are you doing? We'

Cut the Cheese

I wondered what I could do for Say Cheese! Tuesday , which is hosted Jeanna of The Ched Curtain. Why not this, said I. He's totally a cheesy character in my book.

Joyeousness

"Joy, joy, joy." is one of the things that Cu'Pie, our once-upon-a-time dear yellow parakeet, liked to say. Frequently. A wonderful thing to say, I say. And, I wish much joy, joy, joy to you all! I first saw the above joyful sight of a hillside on Thanksgiving Day. It caught my breath in such a way that I made Eliza Does-alot do a wicked swerve onto the road to which I turned that nearly all of the fried lumpia fell from the back seat onto the floor. Fortunately, most fell onto folders and envelopes so none of Filipino eggrolls were tainted. Thank goodness. They were our contribution to a dinner. A couple of weeks later I took the above shot that I painted today with Photoshop art filters. That day I made a somewhat gentle right turn, but came to a halting stop, in the grey rental car, which the Husband and I named Sedgwick. No lumpia sat on the back seat, but Good Friends J & T were. They, the Husband, and I quickly unbuckled our seat belts and tumbled out of

The Year of the Pen

At yesterday's white elephant Christmas exchange, I scored the gorgeous green, multipurpose ballpoint pen that you see in the photo.  Its tip acts as a stylus. Unscrew the stylus cap to reveal a flat screwdriver head, which you can pull from its housing. . .voila, the other end is a Phillips head. Wait, there is more. Along one side of the pen is a ruler that can measure up to seven inches and the equivalent metric units. In the middle of another side, oh my gosh, is a level! Whenever we sit at a crooked table in a restaurant, I can whip out this pen so that we can wedge the right amount of napkin under the table's leg. Ooooooh. Over the last three months, I have come into possession of—count them in the photo along with me—uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque penne! All free. Heee, heee. Beneath the multi-purpose green pen is a fountain pen that I discovered in one of the Husband's parents' boxes. Technically, it belongs to the Husband but he doesn't seem to mind

Molly's Monday #18

Hullo. Missus Lady begged my pardon this morning and said she won't be joining me on the blog today. I told her my Christmas present to her is today's post. Purrrrrrrrrr. I wandered around the backyard earlier for a few minutes. Brrrr. It's supposed to rain big-time today. That's a good Christmas gift, too. I can watch the world from the upstairs bedroom window. Purrrrrr. My Humans are scurrying around the house, scanning shelves and cabinets, peeking into nooks and crannies, and opening boxes and drawers to find gifts for each other. This morning Missus Lady proposed that she and Hero Man exchange five gifts, to which he agreed. One gift had to be a coupon for something that costs nothing, while the other four gifts were things (not heavy nor large) that each found anywhere in the house, garage, and yards. Missus Lady says the fun and joy is in the hunt, along with the opening of surprises. Purrrrrrrrr. A week ago, Missus Lady found a box of angel chimes among

Welcome to Senior Citizen Health Care

Oh-oh, it's the 20th. I wrote December 19 on all the forms this morning at my Hello, Welcome to your Medicare Advantage Plan appointment, as well as later at the laboratory. On the lab forms, I caught myself writing 2019. Hahaha, I wonder if I did that on the doctor's forms as well. The appointment was my official introduction to senior citizen health questions. Very different types of questions. This particular Medicare Advantage plan wanted to make sure I'm not feeling alone and lonely, nor chronically sad or depressed. They also asked questions to determine if I have my mental faculties, including asking me to write in the digits on a faceless clock and draw hands to show 11:10. I had no problem with the questions, but, I wonder if they'll take points off because I wrote the wrong date. hee-heee. I'm actually feeling quite euphoric because of my positive experience. 1. All the healthcare practitioners and support staff I met were friendly and helpful i