Now that both my eyes have been operated on, the next task on my to-do list is to get new glasses. Or at least new lenses in my old glasses frame. The doctor has prescribed progressive lenses that will let me see up close (my computer screen, for example) as well as at a distance (when driving, walking the dog, or watching TV) without having to take off one pair of glasses and put on another about a hundred times a day.
That's what I've been doing for the past two months, after my second eye surgery on September 3. It works, but it's not fun. I'm still wearing the glasses I was wearing before the two surgeries were performed but now I can see distant scenes better without glasses at all, and I can see my computer screen better with the glasses that used to be good for driving and TV watching. It's all a little confusing. But it's good to know that my cataracts are gone now.
That's what I've been doing for the past two months, after my second eye surgery on September 3. It works, but it's not fun. I'm still wearing the glasses I was wearing before the two surgeries were performed but now I can see distant scenes better without glasses at all, and I can see my computer screen better with the glasses that used to be good for driving and TV watching. It's all a little confusing. But it's good to know that my cataracts are gone now.
Here's another view of the feudal fortress in the town of Fougères, on the eastern edge of Brittany.
Anyway, a week from today, we are having a load of firewood (five stères or cubic meters — about one and a half cords) delivered. We'll have to figure out where to park the cars, or at least one of them, so that we won't be stranded here during that time it takes us to stack the new load of firewood. That could be two or three days or more than a week, depending on the weather and how our backs hold up. Either way, it will be a lot of work.
Meanwhile, I have to get our second car, the "newer" one — it's 16 years old! — ready for its contrôle technique inspection. The main thing is to put a container of engine cleaner (is that still called by the brand name STP?) into the car's fuel tank and fill the tank with diesel fuel (gazole or gasoil). Then I have to make it a point to drive it nearly every day for a week or two to get the engine's valves and cylinders as clean as possible. It has to be able to pass an emissions test in order to be certified as not polluting the air.
Finally, I have to find a groomer who can give Natasha the Sheltie a good bath and brushing. The woman who groomed 'Tasha last year and the year before has at least temporarily shut down her business. She's expecting a baby in the spring. Who knows when or if she'll ever start working again. She's the one who drove up to our hamlet in a camper van and did the bathing and brushing on site in her van. I have one new groomer in mind, but haven't talked to her yet. 'Tasha won't be happy to be dropped off and left behind, but it has to be done. It'll just be for a few hours.
Never a dull moment around Saint-Aignan, as my late friend Charles-Henry would say. He loved that expression. By the way, it's been foggy, gray, and damp for a couple of weeks now. It's the kind of weather doesn't exactly boost the morale.
Meanwhile, I have to get our second car, the "newer" one — it's 16 years old! — ready for its contrôle technique inspection. The main thing is to put a container of engine cleaner (is that still called by the brand name STP?) into the car's fuel tank and fill the tank with diesel fuel (gazole or gasoil). Then I have to make it a point to drive it nearly every day for a week or two to get the engine's valves and cylinders as clean as possible. It has to be able to pass an emissions test in order to be certified as not polluting the air.
Finally, I have to find a groomer who can give Natasha the Sheltie a good bath and brushing. The woman who groomed 'Tasha last year and the year before has at least temporarily shut down her business. She's expecting a baby in the spring. Who knows when or if she'll ever start working again. She's the one who drove up to our hamlet in a camper van and did the bathing and brushing on site in her van. I have one new groomer in mind, but haven't talked to her yet. 'Tasha won't be happy to be dropped off and left behind, but it has to be done. It'll just be for a few hours.
Never a dull moment around Saint-Aignan, as my late friend Charles-Henry would say. He loved that expression. By the way, it's been foggy, gray, and damp for a couple of weeks now. It's the kind of weather doesn't exactly boost the morale.
