nanke's stuff

I so appreciate all the good wishes I got from many of you for a successful eye surgery.  I had it last Wednesday, and it was a piece of cake!  (That's for any of you who might be contemplating having a lens implant in one or both of your peepers).  It was painless and fast, and I could see out of that eye right away.  I mean, I could see really well out of it.  The last time I knew what my vision in that eye was, it was 20/200.  That was years ago, and over time my vision got slowly but steadily worse.  The day after the surgery I went to the doc for my first post surgical check up, and my vision tested (are you ready for this?) 20/25!!!   I have the surgery scheduled for my other eye in mid-November.  My contacts are what is called monovision, i.e., my left eye is corrected to see near,  and my right eye to see far.  I've decided to have the same thing done with my lens implants, so the lens put in my left eye will enable me to see near without glasses.  I'm already used to seeing that way, so I don't think I'll have an adjustment issue.  As I write this, I have one contact in.  After my surgery, No Contacts Or Glasses!!!  I marvel that it wasn't that long ago that cataracts ultimately led to blindness, and now in a 15 minute surgery, voila - near perfect vision!  What a miracle.

So, that's the "Peeper" story of this post.  Here's the Dog part of the story.  Below is my first drawing post-surgery.  Walter is a dog that I copied from a magazine.  I did it wearing one contact, using pencils in the sketch book that I reported missing in my last post.  Yep, I found it!!  All in all, I have much to be grateful for, including all of you!  Thanks again for all your support.

So, because of my impending surgery and the need to keep putting drops in my eye, I'm sticking very close to home .... as in going no place.  Today I was out with the dog making sure she didn't leave the yard (even tho it's fenced, she sometimes decides her acre to roam in isn't enough, so she jumps through the slats in the fence, (and more recently, through the bars of the farm gate), and looking down, I saw a grasshopper just sitting on the sidewalk.  I got down for a closer look ... it didn't move.  So, I picked it up - still not even an antenna twitch.  Carrying it carefully after summoning Abby, we went into the house, where I set it down with a custard cup over it.  (It's pretty chilly outside, and I wasn't totally convinced it was dead).  After quite awhile with no movement, I decided it was, indeed dead, so I carried it upstairs to my studio intending to draw it.

That's when I discovered my everyday-use- it- in -and- around -the house journal is gone!  I've looked everywhere for it. .... drawers, shelves, all sorts of canvas bags, under, over, between, through, closets, boxes, upstairs and down.  It's driving me crazy.  Sometimes I feel like I'm looking right at it but can't see it.  I Will find it, of that I have no doubt.  The larger question is, will I still have any sanity left when I do?

So, in the meantime, here's the grasshopper drawn in my new everyday journal.  It's done with ink and colored pencil,  and the lettering is indicative of my state of mind at the time.  It's written from the inside out.