This is Melvin. Melvin really likes cat food. Almost every night, sometime between nine and eleven, Melvin ventures up onto our porch to see if the cats have left him any food. If so, he proceeds to tip the bowl over and eat every last crumb. The process is typically very noisy, and takes about 20 minutes. If I shoo him away, he comes back within a few minutes. We suspect that Melvin is the same possum we trapped and removed from the crawl space under our house last summer. Sometimes, he just stares at me when I open the door and tell him to run along!

Wow, so much for those resolutions to take a photograph and post and entry every single day, eh? But I had my annual bout of respiratory/sinus crud, which manifested itself as two ear infections and a sinus infection. After 20 days of Bioxin antibiotic, along with Mucinex DM twice a day, and Tussinex cough syrup with Codeine every night, I think I might live.

And as soon as I got over all that, I had Lasik surgery! Yes, its something I have been wanting to do for several years. Conact lenses are a problem because of all my allergies and the antihistamines I have to take--they dry my eyes out. Glasses on my face give me a sinus headache. So even though my vision has never been really terrible, it's been a real PITA to deal with it. So despite my terror at the idea of lasers being shot into my eyes, I finally did it.

Dr. Loden has an outstanding reputaion here in the Nashville area, so I went to him. He said I was a great candidate for lasik, so we scheduled my surgery for 2:40 in the afternoon on Friday, February 20th. They gave me a lovely blue disposable surgical cap to cover my hair, and two mroe for my shoes. Then they taped gauze pads to the sides of my face and gave me a Valium and an Ibuprofen. They made marks on my eyeballs with a special pen, and took me into the Laser room. Using a cold metal tool, they forced my eyelids open, pinching a few times in the process. Very uncomfortable. Then the bladeless tool they normally use to create the corneal flaps wouldn't fit in my eyes! (Thanks Dad, for those tiny eyes you passed on to me!) So they had to go the blade route to make the corneal flaps. Not fun, as you are literally blind for a few seconds. Then you can see the doc using something like a spatula to move the flap around. Talk about freaky!

After positioning the flaps, they use the laser to reshape the cornea, correcting your vision. Kind of a weird sensation, even though it doesn't hurt at all. The worst part was making the flaps, during which I may have crushed the fingers of a few staff members--sorry guys! Not because it hurt so much (it was uncomfortable) but because I was terrified! But I am a big huge baby about stuff like this, and I know it. Anyway, they put the flaps back into position, and let me close my eyes. After resting for a few minutes, they take another look to make sure everythig stays in place, and send you home with some prescriptions and some lovely plastic eye goggles.

I didn't have to take the pain pills or the sleeping pills they prescribed. I have two different kinds of eye drops to use four times a day. They lovely goggles had to be worn continuously that first night, until my post-op appointment the following morning. At this appointment, they tested my vision, which was 20/20 already! Dr. Loden said I was doing remarkably well, recovering faster than most. I will continue to have vision fluctuations throughout the next week or so, and I have to keep up the eye drops and the goggles for sleeping for the next week. I also can't wear any make-up for a week. Not a pretty sight! My next appointment is Wednesday.

Anyway, I have been limiting my computer time to give my eyes lots of rest and time to heal. But here is a photo of those lovely and fashionable plastic goggles...

The In Box. Ugh, mine is never empty. This is where incoming mail gets piled, along with anything that needs to be filed, like client invoices or info sheets, or receipts. I can never seem to keep up with it. Today's priority on the To Do List is this box...

Anyone need a chemical pump for your well? We've been continuing the tasks associated with The Year of the Purge, and this is one of the items to be purged. We bought it on ebay, and it's in great condition and works perfectly. It just turned out to be the wrong size for what we needed...

I hate having blood drawn. And I have to have it done every 3 months when I visit my endocrinologist to have my thyroid levels checked. Usually, there is a guy working in the lab that does it. He takes his time, and while it's not exactly comfortable, it doesn't hurt and he doesn't leave bruises. But this time, he wasn't there! A new person did it, and this is what I end up with.