Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 18 December 2022

Sorry about the eye problems, bjane. No fun. Thank you for your Christmas wishes. Take Care of yourself.

I've been for my haircut, and a quick grab of food provisions. We needed to rethink as my OH naturally asked his recently bereaved sister if she would like to share our Christmas dinner with us. As her daughter & son in law are now going to be here, we asked them, too - so we've grown from two for lunch to five. So extra wine bought today and some nibbles. The meal will be just the same, except extra everything. And complicated only by my sis in law declaring that she doesn't like turkey, or sprouts!! We'll have to throw a bit of steak in a pan....

The sun has come out now and the birds are very excited about my offerings today. I have, I'm afraid, been chasing off some of the greedy starlings so that the smaller birds can feast, by tapping on the window.

LINDY That is nice of you and much appreciated I am sure. I know sprouts are a love/hate thing.......I just love them and eat them with just about everything in the winter months.

LINDY

Glad you managed to get a dental appt.. I have finally thrown in the towel and got myself a private dental check up. I have had so many cancelled NHS appts that there was no option.

I don't think I mentioned that the driver of the lorry that ran over my friend has been charged. He was meant to appear in court in early August....he didn't turn up, ditto the end of August. Finally we thought it would be third time lucky yesterday, but his solicitor said he needed more time so he is to appear in court again on the 27th Jan....it just goes on and on!!! It is now one year and 9 months since the accident. grrr

Lindybird:  No turkey or sprouts?   Good thing SiL isn't coming to our house.  Are you including Covid-self-tests along with the nibbles?  :-)

bjane:  Yes, saw that the winds will only add to the problems.  Re macular degeneration, following is a link to an NIH-funded study on PreserVision AREDS2, which apparently slows the progression.  I don't have AMD, but a few years back my eye doc noted hint-of-a-hint of the first tell-tale signs and suggested I take the supplement regularly.  https://www.nei.nih.gov/research/clinical-trials/age-related-eye-disease-studies-aredsareds2/about-areds-and-areds2.

OG:  We don't have a lot of chocolate but tend to keep it in the fridge, especially during the summer, but I agree some does need to be room temperature to get the full flavor and texture.

On the news here:  Orange Menace's tax returns; problems on the southern border; media announces a "surprise" (!?) visit by President Zelensky.  

At our house:  Handyman due at 9:30 to complete repair to ceiling fan, local techy person due at 10 to replace old modem and router with brand new combo (we decided to have someone else do it rather than have OH fretting over my shoulder while I did it); new, lower box spring for new bed arrives around 10.  The one that came with the set had the bed sitting so high you'd almost need a step-ladder to get in; besides it made the bed dominate the small spare room.  Off to clear pathways, desks, etc....

Hello from a mild suffolk.

Once again its is great to hear all you news but sorry to hear that some of you still have problems to sort.

I hope Diane and Bjane can hunker down and can avoid the worst of the storm.

Also I read about a large earthquake in California - so I hope Annette and family are all ok.

To continue the antibiotics saga - my other Granddaughter in Northhamptonshire has an ear infection in both ears and was being sick. The doctor saw her and prescirbed antibiotics but told Mum that there was NO liquid antibiotics available so gave them a prescription for tablets and told them to crush them into orange squash.  It feels like we in the UK are living in a 3rd world country and out leaders are useless.

I truly hope that all those that need ambulences or hospital treatment get them in good time.

Well just a few days to go - i will finish work at mid day Friday and then travel after church on Christmas morning.

Take care all and enjoy the break.

Annette-yes, I took AREDS2. When I had my cataracts out the Macula, which was directly behind the cataract was already degenerated. One week after I was done with all the drops, I had noticed that all the horizontal lines of my vision, such as window blinds, roof lines, etc. were zig-zagged. I called the eye center and they told me to come immediately as they knew I had developed "wet" AMD, which is an extremely fast degenerating form of AMD.. I have to get a shot in my eye every month in the hopes that it will dry up the blood behind the eye. It doesn't cure it, just hoping to slow it down. The distortion has stayed and gotten worse but the vision is better. Everything is so distorted that the neighborhood looks like a circus funhouse. The words on a page jump all around and the letters are so distorted that I can't always make them out. It's kind of crazy but after almost 2 years with it I have learned how to live with it. There is more to be thankful for than not!

bjane:  Oh my, that must restrict you to some extent (beyond not being able to type on here!).   And the idea of a shot in your eye every month.......  arghhh.  Wonder if the distortion might clear up too after a while.....?  

Harelady:  That earthquake was quite strong and lasted about 20 seconds - very unnerving.  But it happened at a point where three tectonic plates of different types meet so not surprising; however, we are sitting just miles away from the San Andreas Fault.......    Re lack of antibiotics; just awful....  Be safe on your travels.

Some of you may be interested in this

South end of Shetland today
The sun rose at 0906
The sun set at 1500
This gave them 5 hrs and 54 mins of daylight

however summer solstice they get nearly 19 hours of daylight

What an amazing place to live.