I wonder what the DVR has done to the value of television commercials. Who would watch a commercial now when all you have to do is fast-forward through them all? As less people watch them, they can’t be worth as much.
Cataract
We went to the ophthalmologist and she said I needed cataract surgery. After thinking about it a little I realize, of course I need cataract surgery. That’s what the ophthalmologist does. They do eye exams and surgery. They don’t sell glasses. We’ve always gone to the optometrist for eye exams before. I always had perfect vision. At about 40 years old, I started losing the ability to focus close-up. That’s absolutely normal and easily managed with reading glasses. Now I’m losing some vision in one eye due to the cataract, but I have another eye that works just fine. If I cover my right eye, there is a degradation in my vision, but if I cover my left eye, or don’t cover either eye, I don’t notice any decrease in vision at all, except for up close. I’m sure the cataract surgery and lens replacement is a great solution when it’s time, but $6,000, and surgery to my eyeballs, seems like an extreme fix for a defect that is not causing me any trouble. It feels like a $6,000 solution to a $200 problem. I think I’ll go to our optometrist in Colorado (who sells glasses) and see what solution she suggests.
Multi-tasking
We’re still at 99 birds for Willacy County. I made a list of 30 different birds we might see in that County in July that we haven’t seen yet. Saturday we drove back to Port Aransas in the Jeep. On the way, we drove through Raymondville (in Willacy County). Not much time, but we only need one bird. The problem is, most of the birds we still need will be around water and there isn’t any here in Raymondville. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. A flyover would do it. Nothing. Purple Martins. All we need is to drive around town and find a Purple Martin house. No luck. Black-necked Stilt. Maybe if we could find a pond. Found a promising spot. Pulled over to the side of the road, climbed up the berm and looked over. A tiny pond and two Black-necked Stilts! Victory! Mission accomplished. We got the bird we needed and drove on. When we got to Port Aransas I checked our Willacy County list. Oops. We already have Black-necked Stilts. I made a mistake when I made the list of birds we still need. Oh well. We’re still at 99 birds for Willacy County.
Breakfast at Wimbledon
Saturday is our day to sleep in. Once a year though, we set the alarm for Breakfast at Wimbledon. We have watched the Ladies Final through a sleepy haze more than once. It’s a great tradition though, and we love it. We like tennis, but thanks to brother Bill having been in England and affording us the opportunity to go visit all those year ago, we have an even closer connection to the Wimbledon Tournament. There is a sense and feel to being in London that we recall when we watch the coverage. But now things are different. We no longer set the alarm. We set the timer on the DVR. We sleep in. We have morning coffee on the patio. Then we go inside and watch the Ladies Final. Commercial? No problem. Fast forward. Rain delay? No problem. Fast forward. It’s a great tradition. Now it’s a little easier for us. And we love it. Breakfast at Wimbledon.
4th of July
Conner decorated himself for the 4th of July parade. He wore a bright red sparkly cape and painted stars and exploding fireworks on his chest. Below the chest decorations he wrote the word POW. He did all of this himself, while standing in front of a mirror, so in reality he was running around in a red cape hollering “Independence! We’re free!” to applause from the crowd, with the word WOP painted on his belly.