Life, the Universe, and Everything.

[curiouswombat]

Hmm - well life, anyway.

The good -

• work has been busy, but in a good way. I've been teaching and it tires me out - I have nothing but admiration for those of you who do it full-time.
• S2C and I went out for a very good dinner last night - and then met D-d to go to see comedian Milton Jones.  The tickets were her birthday present to her Dad - and were an excellent gift as we all enjoyed him very much.  Although there was a woman behind us who could have got employment as a one-person laughter track for TV sitcoms...
• I have been busy wrapping shoe-boxes to send Christmas gifts to the children of the Chernobyl area, where life is still blighted by the events of 26th April 1986 - no, not our wedding, the other events of that day!

The bad -

• Those of you who are friends of S2C will know that he went to the opticians for his routine check-up yesterday, knowing his sight was getting worse, and that he would doubtless need new glasses, only to be told that the deterioration in his right eye was so great since last time that the optician is very worried about it and wants to do more tests.  As S2C's eyesight has always been very poor (both D-d and I are used to cries for help if he puts his glasses down somewhere and then they fall, or he moves a little - without them he cannot see anything), then deterioration that worries our optician worries us too.
• The weather this summer has been so bad that the turnip harvest has failed at the 'folk village' of Cregneash - children who would usual attend the fun-days making traditional turnip lanterns for 31st October (hop-tu-naa to us), are being told to bring their own turnip if they can find one... or any other large root vegetable they might be able to hollow out!  Can you imagine a spooky lantern made out of a carrot?
• I almost didn't get home from work tonight as so many of the roads between Douglas and Peel were flooded - and I'd got stuck on the Peel side of the floods.  But I did - so perhaps this belongs in 'Good'!

The ugly -

• The guy who was the support act last night.  Well not so much down right ugly, as really not very good.  Really, really, not very good.  He was called Hal Cruttenden - avoid him if you can, I think.

Comments

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

That is worrisome about S2C's eyes... let's hope it's just the odd sudden deterioration and nothing more serious.

I can't say that I've ever heard of Hal Cruttenden but I'll try to avoid him if I see him on TV. I'm glad the main comedian was good.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

He has to go back and have drops put in and so on - at the moment the optician says he is just borderline for driving. Fortunately he doesn't drive much.

And yes - hopefully Hal Cruttenden will never get as far as you - but if he does, avoid him!

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Eye problems are scary. I hope it's all ok.

Turnip lanterns...I'd love to see those. Carrots are too skinny! Would large potatoes do?

It sounds like you're getting massive rains!

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

Oh, poor S2C... I shall be keeping him in my thoughts!

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

I'm keeping everything crossable crossed the sudden deterioration of S2C's eyes, will prove to be easy to halt. I'm sure it will be.

I really glad you had such fun last night. It was a wonderful birthday present.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

We are hoping the decision will either be that it is just age-related deterioration - although it is to be hoped it gets very little worse... or that it is something easily treated to halt it. We wait to see.

A large potato would certainly be better than a carrot... this is what the traditional turnips look like -




And yes - an awful lot of rain, and the ground already waterlogged. Also high winds that have blown a lot of the leaves off, so blocking drains and making it even worse.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you Rachel. His sight has never been good - and it scares him that it might become too bad for him to read. At least he had up the zoom on both computer and kindle, but hopefully it will be something that can be stopped in its tracks, soon.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

It was an excellent present - although S2c couldn't really see the stage very well - but it helped to stop us worrying. D-d has suggested he gets an eye-patch and a parrot, as the deterioration is mainly in one eye...

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

As I mentioned to S2C, they can do a great deal with lasers and medications these days.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

My fingers are crossed for SC2. I know how scary this must be. And it's too bad I can't mail you a whole passel of pumpkins for the children to carve. I confess I've never heard of carving a turnip-o-lantern.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Yes - my mother has had both - we just have to wait until there is some diagnosis so that it can be treated if treatable.



Of course, being on night shifts, it took S2C quite a bit of calculating to find a time when he will be awake and alert by day to go back for the next tests, or they could have been done sooner than they will be. But at least the optician didn't make a fuss and insist S2C find time in days, rather than almost 2 weeks, so it can't be worrying him that much...

[kathyh]

I hope S2C's eye problems are something easily treatable. They can do a lot more to help now than they used to be able to. A friend of mine had a quite serious problem but with treatment it's stabilised and she can still both read and drive.

A spooky carrot lantern doesn't have quite the same ring to it!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I think there are probably pumpkins enough - but they are seen as very untraditional and would not be encouraged by National Heritage - turnips(rutabagas?) are our tradition just as the pumpkins are yours.

Although, I must admit, I gave in to the untraditional after a few years, when D-d was young enough to have a lantern to take out singing door to door - pumpkins are so much easier to use!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thanks - yes, once identified I am hopeful that they can stabilise the problem for him. He had just expected a new prescription for his lenses. He'll need that too, of course!

And no - carrots just don't cut it when it comes to scary, I fear. (Or, more correctly, I don't fear!!)

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

Oof. Eyes are so very precious. Best to S2C and fingers crossed.

Envious of Milton Jones, but not of your soggy summer. Wet here too of course, but nothing like as bad as more northerly and westerly parts.

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

:( As you may remember (though I haven't mentioned it in a while) my uncle has glaucoma which has progressed quite a bit, and it was found my mum had early warning signs for it though they hope they've stopped that, so I know a little bit about worrying over loved ones' eyesight... My dad is extremely shortsighted - his glasses used to be so thick, and now the lenses cost hundreds to thin down -but luckily his sight has mostly been stable, if poor.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

knowing his sight was getting worse, and that he would doubtless need new glasses, only to be told that the deterioration in his right eye was so great since last time that the optician is very worried about it and wants to do more tests.

I will keep my fingers crossed for both of you.

You are talking about my personal nightmare--vision loss. Now I have glaucoma (they have promised me surgery in a year, which will temporarily improve my eyesight). I also have the beginnings of macular degeneration, which is hereditary and at this point incurable. I keep hoping I will not go blind before they find a treatment for that. Meanwhile for the zoom feature on computers and for Kindle books! Imagine the trouble I would have already if we did not have those tools. I can still read regular books, but it is annoying and not much fun.

[kortirion.livejournal.com]

That lantern certainly looks scarier than the pumpkin ones I usually make... Hmmmmm.... maybe I should take a closer look at Sainsbury's vegetable counter...

Hope S2C receives better news when the optician has done the next round of tests.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

As a glasses-wearer from waaay back I have a lot of sympathy for poor S2C. Scary! Hopefully they'll be able to figure out what the problem is and get things resolved!

Trying to visualize alternative hop-tu-naas. That would have to be one wopper of a carrot!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Scooping out the turnips was very hard work - my grandfather used to take a very large knife and cut into it many times to break it up, then we would use a very big, solid, table spoon to try and get a good empty middle - it would take us a good couple of hours. At the heritage centre they actually use an attachment on an electric drill to get the kids started.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

S2C's glasses are like your dad's. So his sight isn't good to start with. He has been tested for glaucoma in the past as there were worries that he might be developing it - but the eye-specialist said not, at least not then.

But he has developed 'monocular double vision' - he is seeing double even with one eye shut - which could be a sign of glaucoma, or a cataract developing, or macular deterioration, or a couple of other things. Hopefully it will turn out to be one that is treatable.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

And yes - it has been very, very, wet. Although we did have a few really nice days last week - and we were all 'Oh! I remember, this is what autumn used to be like!'

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I have been thinking about you in this context for the past couple of days. You understand his nightmare only too well.

That technology can help is a real blessing though.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Yes - you expect to go and the optician say 'yes, that eye is a bit weaker, it's your age, of course, we'll get your new lenses made...' anything else is very scary.

Unlike a carrot lantern!

[chaotic-binky.livejournal.com]

Keeping my fingers crossed for S2C.

My local ASDA's are having a pumpkin event - in reality they bought in too many pumpkins and are having to sell them off cheap. Not many people around here carve pumpkins and probably even less use them for food.