Monday 7th April 2008

Well been a while since I blogged here! Oops! Actually not so much oops, as I've been really busy.
So what's new? I've got new glasses that's what, varifocals. Frankly right now, I do actually feel like throwing the wretched things away, but I'm sticking with it. They just make me feel drunk every time I look down, or get up to walk anywhere - it's that awful moment before the whole room goes whirling round about you, and you just know you're about to vomit spectacularly. It's not like this all the time - and I haven't actually thrown up, or collapsed in a heap, but they are something of a trial. And they make my eyes quite sore and puffy - I've been giving myself cold water compresses late at night! And I was awfully shocked when I went to get them. I'd expected - well I wasn't thrilled with the frames I'd chosen, but I thought I'd done the best of a bad job, there wasn't a lot of choice. I'd chosen all of my options - I went for the Reactolite lenses, that go black in sunlight. I desperately wanted a pair of sunglasses for when it's strong sunlight out there - I hadn't quite bargained for the quality of overcastness that this imparts to the averagely sunny day, but what the heck, I wanted the sunglass effect and they do go back to being clear really quite quickly. I chose specially thin lenses - I have to with my prescription, I have a minus 10 + in both eyes. I was told I had to choose a bigger pair of frames than I would have normally gone for, because the varifocal effect needs the bigger lens size. What of course, I'd completely forgotten is that even with the compressed lens, at the larger size, they of course look like the bottom of glass bottles. Lord only knows what they'd look like if they weren't the compressed variety. The only thing that I totally forgot was to get them anti-reflectively coated, and of course I now have little light circles appearing all over - I'm a wee bit cross that they didn't pick up that I had this in my old pair, because they'd checked out my old prescription. But you can't expect everything, and I should have remembered to mention it myself. And given that I'd forgotten, I actually wonder whether I could have afforded it - they cost a fortune. Anyhow, they're here now, and I have to persevere. They are great for reading and close work, which is a good thing, and not bad for the computer either - I just have to get used to the walking and moving bit.

So what else have I been up to? Lots of night shifts recently, trying to earn a bit of overtime. I have a holiday coming up, we're taking Mum away for the week. We've hired a cottage in Dorset, a National Trust one, with full adaptations for the disabled, so we're all set. But a bit of spending money will come in handy! I went over to have lunch with the family today, and getting there was a bit of a palaver - the Limpley Stoke Viaduct is closed, so there's a little shuttle bus, and you get off at the old Viaduct pub and walk through the works, and another little shuttle bus reverses up the sharp little incline to the traffic lights - the road is totally closed, nothing can get through, so there's no traffic for it to make it's way through, but it has to be escorted by a workman on foot! You get on and off it sets, along the normal route - it's a bit of excitement in an otherwise mundane journey I suppose!
I'm still working on my image transfer project, and not getting very far - well, I'm getting towards becoming presentable with it, and when I do I promise to do a how to on the blog.

I've been doing a lot of reading. When I came back through Bath, I stopped off at the Heart Foundation Charity shop, and I was lucky enough to pick up a paperback of "The Death of Dalziel" which I'm thoroughly enjoying. No doubt it'll make a splendid tv show in due course! I can't wait to see if they're going to show Dalziel in a coma in intensive care, or dancing at the Mirely Mecca with Tilly Trotter! That one could believe, but the floating and somersaulting through the air would be something to see. Anyhow another cup of coffee is calling my name, I can hear it from here...!