WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED MUCH!

I last posted on Tuesday afternoon, awaiting out new mattress. It arrived, it fit (barely, barely, barely - I think we'll have to peel back the quilt and top sheet to bring in the slide), and it is a vast improvement over our worn out RV mattress. Nice!

On Wednesday morning, I had cataract surgery. It was so easy: nice drugs to painlessly soothe the patient, friendly, calm staff. I went in at 8:30 and was home around 11:30. By 2 pm, the anesthetic and calming drugs had worn off, and things weren't quite so rosy, but it still was not bad. I couldn't see much with the patch on what is my best eye - certainly couldn't read a book or the computer - so I spent the rest of the day and all night doing nothing but laying around on the (comfortable) new mattress.

By Thursday morning, I was SO READY to get that patch off! This was how I felt, pre-followup appointment.

The patch came off at 9:30 am on Thursday, at the eye surgeon's office. On Tuesday, the smallest letter I could read on the eye chart with my right eye was the huge capital E at the top (20/200 vision). On Thursday, when the patch was removed, I could read 5 or 6 lines down - we didn't check it thoroughly because my eyesight is supposed to improve for the next few weeks. Whoopee!

I put on my big, dark, goggle-eyed glasses and we came home, me reading street signs aloud as Odel drove. I could see them! I could read them! This is a good, good feeling.

So, my distance vision is greatly improved. My glasses are now useless, so my near vision is terrible! I'm borrowing Odel's drugstore reading glasses for reading, and read/write on the computer by putting my nose 12 inches from the screen. I might end up with prescription glasses for near vision but, for a traveler trying to figure out which street to turn on, it is great to have distance vision back!

We were back home from the patch removal in time to meet the mobile repair guy coming to fix our water pump, which had stopped suddenly. It turned out the pump (under warranty) is faulty, so has to be sent back and replaced. It's a top of the line Shurflo, and I think this is the fourth time we have returned it, under warranty, for a new one. We definitely don't recommend this brand.

After that, I was feeling so good that I got out my hoop for a little play/practice. This was the last day for this hoop; my hoop teacher, Allison, is making me a new one with much prettier tape (including glow-in-the-dark tape). It was fun to be out in the sunshine (75 degrees) practicing.

Today, Friday, the "sight and sound" guys came to rewire our TV and replace the in-dash radio receiver with the newest technology. HOURS of work!

After dealing with all the issues related to the analog-to-digital change, we ended up with great over-the-air local digital stations and satellite TV on our big, old (analog) front TV, and analog and digital over-the-air local programming on the new back TV. Couldn't get the satellite to work back there, but gave it up as not important. What a pain in the patootie all of that was.

The new in-dash sound system is incredible! We can listen to AM/FM stations; Sirius satellite radio (hardwired); either of our MP3 players; CD's; and (get this) music on a flash drive that fits into a USB port on the front of the radio! It all plays through the 8 speakers that run from front to back of the motorhome. All we need to do now is learn to use it - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

The last thing we did tonight was to pick up my beautiful new hoop from Allison. It has purple sparkle tape for daytime, glow-in-the-dark tape for nightime, and orange and blue "grippy" tape to make it less slick. I'm heading out now to give it a nightime twirl.

New mattress, new lens in my eye, fabulous new sound system, TV system straightened out, new hoop... I'm almost sweaty from spending so much money so fast, but happy, happy, happy with the results.