08 October 2009

where I've been


Please pardon my absence from Tea Leaves. I'm still here. I have been distracted, nearly beyond tolerance, by (amongst other things) :



  • A swarm of wasps in my bathroom. At first, just one, then two, then - many - My husband came in to look. "They're not bees." They were yellowjackets. I'd been swatting them and spraying bleach on them. (I know, I know - not many people in this world use bleach as an insecticide. I'm - imaginative.) We had no idea where they were coming from, so he duct-taped every conceivable opening. Next day, more "bees." And then, I saw one crawling out from behind the shower enclosure. How relieved we were - so that's where they're coming from! The next step was to find out why they were coming under the shower enclosure, so I went outside to look - and saw a pandemonium of swarming yellowjackets climbing under the siding. They have built a nest there. A huge one, judging from the furious buzzing. My husband is, as I write, closing up every conceivable opening into the shower stall. If this doesn't work, I'll have to abandon the bathroom and let the yellowjackets have it.

  • My boss, who is pushing me, none too gently, into retiring as soon as the state decides its version of 30 years. You know something? I'm ready.

  • The first cataract surgery. I replaced the lenses in distance and reading glasses because I was seeing two separate worlds. The second will be in 1 1/2 weeks. Again, I'll replace lenses. 6 weeks later, my eyes will (for the first time in my life) be both usable and stable. Then I'll face another eye surgery - but I can't think about that right now.

  • Proof that I needed cataract surgery. I was looking for eye drops in the drugstore and wondering why they didn't have the brand I needed. It took me a full 5 minutes to realize that I was looking at a shelf of nose spray.

  • A gift card from Borders. What does your average reader use her gift card to buy? Well of course. Looking for Anne of Green Gables and a Devil Duck.

to be continued...



7 comments:

Stacy said...

Sounds like you have more than your fair share of challenges. As far as the bleach...if it works, I'd use it to:) Hope all goes well with your future surgeries and here's to fast healing. Best wishes.

Carrie K said...

Yikes. We used to get an annual visitation of wasps down the chimney flute until the neighbor boarded up the top (closing the flue did not seem to help). Bleach is good. It turns out hair spray is too but quite, quite messy later.

Cataract surgery! And you don't even have to keep your head immobile in blocks anymore. Bliss.

Nana Sadie said...

Ah hon...I was so worried.

Is the Devil Duck for your boss? (evil, wicked, witch-cackle inserted here)
;)
If you're ready, and you can - oh, hon, DO! Retirement just sounds perfect right about now...
(((Hugs)))

Donna Lee said...

I have an allergy to bee stings and this time of year is especially bad for yellowjackets.

I was wondering where you were and I think the eye surgery (while scary as hell) sounds like a good thing.

And I'd take the retirement and run with it.

Daphne said...

Ugh. We have a wasp nest in our roof. It's so annoying. Bathroom is worse. Good stuff about the eye improvements... best of luck to you with all these travails!

Lost City Denise said...

Beware of those wicked stingers!

Retire? Really? More time to knit, read and politic!

Love the duck - LOVE the duck!

PJ said...

..but of course! A devil duck for sure! Sounds like your humor is getting you through some tough times! That was too funny regarding the 'awful books!' An aspect that I haven't even thought about!