A Different Life II

[Lily&Me]

I have wanted lately to give each of my grands a full sized, crocheted Afghan, made by me, as they rapidly approach adulthood and living away from home.

It’s going to happen, and in the blink of an eye.

They’ve had numerous fleece blankies with crocheted edging over the years, but I want them to have something different, as well…so, I’m working on it.

The oldest I offered up a few weeks back one already completed that I thought he would like, that he had used on many overnights at Grandma’s when he was younger…and, he immediately wanted it, so he now has it and hauls it around the house for various uses depending on his activity.

He is a young man who clearly hears a different drum, has some special needs and decided some months back, after some serious thought and discussion, not to go on the Glacier trip.

Too many variables, too many restrictions particularly with the train, that he just didn’t feel he could deal with, and that’s okay, as Grandma wants nothing more than the truth.

I secretly suspect he is looking forward to a week with his parents all to himself, as having been a very excellent big brother for 16+ years being an only child for a week will be kinda nice for him.

So, he has his, and I’m working on this one for the girl-child in that house…the colors will go beautifully in her room.

This is a favorite pattern, which I recently posted so won’t again , and a yarn I love so much that I could crawl inside it and just stay there.

It’s going to be a beautiful, bed sized Afghan.

[Nelson428]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

I have wanted lately to give each of my grands a full sized, crocheted Afghan, made by me, as they rapidly approach adulthood and living away from home.



It’s going to happen, and in the blink of an eye.



They’ve had numerous fleece blankies with crocheted edging over the years, but I want them to have something different, as well…so, I’m working on it.



The oldest I offered up a few weeks back one already completed that I thought he would like, that he had used on many overnights at Grandma’s when he was younger…and, he immediately wanted it, so he now has it and hauls it around the house for various uses depending on his activity.



He is a young man who clearly hears a different drum, has some special needs and decided some months back, after some serious thought and discussion, not to go on the Glacier trip.



Too many variables, too many restrictions particularly with the train, that he just didn’t feel he could deal with, and that’s okay, as Grandma wants nothing more than the truth.



I secretly suspect he is looking forward to a week with his parents all to himself, as having been a very excellent big brother for 16+ years being an only child for a week will be kinda nice for him.



So, he has his, and I’m working on this one for the girl-child in that house…the colors will go beautifully in her room.



This is a favorite pattern, which I recently posted so won’t again , and a yarn I love so much that I could crawl inside it and just stay there.



It’s going to be a beautiful, bed sized Afghan.

Treasures to be treasured. I have them from my mother, both grandmothers and a quilt my great grandmother made for me.

What a treasure and I always keep them close.

Thanks Maggie for sharing

[Lily&Me]

Hi Nelson, and that’s exactly what I want…for them to look at these things, touch them, use them and think “my Grandma made this for me”.

I won’t be around forever, but want them to remember, always, how much their Grandma loved them.

When my paternal grandmother was in her 80’s and in a nursing home, she did a painting for each of her grandchildren, and that has been framed and hanging in my home for 50+ years, at this point.

Life. It eventually goes on without us.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Seeing that you’re from Collins, Mississippi, Nelson, I have to tell you that my Mother’s people (6 brothers and their spouses) in the early 1800’s settled particularly Amite County, Mississippi.

They all had passles of kids, and I like to say that I’m related to half of Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

My mother was born and raised in Greenwood.

Maggie

[Nelson428]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Seeing that you’re from Collins, Mississippi, Nelson, I have to tell you that my Mother’s people (6 brothers and their spouses) in the early 1800’s settled particularly Amite County, Mississippi.

They all had passles of kids, and I like to say that I’m related to half of Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

My mother was born and raised in Greenwood.

Maggie

Life is about making memories, because it’s our memories that makes our life ours and unique to each of us.

It’s a small world as you know, the more we know the closer we become to each other.

[Lily&Me]

Yep, you are exactly right.

I have met three people since I’ve been traveling by myself, all also descended from the old Colonial Virginia families, who I am related to.

It’s pretty fascinating really, and I periodically have to pull myself away and take a break from genealogical research, as it can consume one.

I was just looking at and filing electronically away a copy of my great uncle’s enlistment in the Washington Artillery in New Orleans.

According to this record, he was born in England…tho his “parents” and the other children who emigrated were from Germany.

There’s a story there, somewhere, but darned if I can figure it out.

Always interesting.

I have just finished “Ashley’s Sack”, where the near impossibility of tracing black families once enslaved in this country is emphasized.

As difficult and time consuming as record searches can be, at least for most of we white people there are records.

Maggie

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

I had the “capsulotomy” (laser removal of post-cataract surgery scar tissue) on my left eye this morning…about 30 seconds in a chair, click-clicking like he was taking pictures, and it was done.

Right eye scheduled for next week.

Pretty darned amazing technology.

Maggie

Yeah I had to have that done in both eyes too. Wait to see how much the doc bills Medicare for that procedure. It's almost as much as the original cataract surgery!

According to the doc it's quite common. The way he explained it to me was after the cataract surgery your new lens sits behind a skin capsule that holds the new lens in place. For some folks that capsule clouds up and so the laser burns away some of the capsule to allow your vision to become clear again. Enough of the capsule is left to keep the lens secured.

Jack

[Lily&Me]

Hi Jack,

They told me I had scar tissue, and the right eye was done this morning.

Actual time in the chair is a matter of seconds.

Maggie

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Hi Jack,

They told me I had scar tissue, and the right eye was done this morning.

Actual time in the chair is a matter of seconds.

Maggie

Interesting Maggie. I've heard about 3 different explanations of what this procedure is for. So it apparently It takes care of a few post op complications. Like you it took seconds. No pain just the pop pop pop of the laser. They did both of my eyes in the same appointment. There was a bunch of us sitting in chairs in the same post op area for those who had their cataract surgery. I don't believe any of us were in the procedure room for more than about 3 minutes total. Doc said about 20-25% of the folks getting cataract surgery have to come back for this treatment. My sister had to have it done too and Patty had to have it done also.

The good side within 24 hours the vision clears up quite a bit.

Jack

[Lily&Me]

Yep, the laser-ing is apparently very common.

For a person who has been legally blind since I was a small child, it is delightful to get up in the mornings and not have to immediately reach for contact lenses.

I don’t have to worry about knocking them out of my eye, which has happened innumerable times, getting dirt or sand in them…nothing.

I have 20-20 vision for probably the first time in my life.

Maggie

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Yep, the laser-ing is apparently very common.

For a person who has been legally blind since I was a small child, it is delightful to get up in the mornings and not have to immediately reach for contact lenses.

I don’t have to worry about knocking them out of my eye, which has happened innumerable times, getting dirt or sand in them…nothing.

I have 20-20 vision for probably the first time in my life.

Maggie

I've worn contacts for about 20 years. Started with a close up lens on the right eye. Then the left eye got started getting distance issues so I wore a distance lens on the left eye. The surgeon who did my surgery said I was fortunate since when he replaced the left and right lenses due to cataracts, he put a close up lens on the right eye and distance on the left. That means I'm glasses free for both reading and distance. Typically if you haven't done it with contacts they won't do this with the cataract lens replacements.

The benefit to me is that Medicare does not totally cover the cost of dual vision cataract lenses. In my case they cover distance and/or close up lenses.

Jack

[sterlinghick]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

The grands weeks ago got my assurance that we would start this trip with a bag of homemade cookies…because this Grandma has always baked cookies, when I was raising my children and with which to spoil my grands and others over the years.

It’s what my mother did, it’s what I have always done.

So, double chocolate chip cookie dough is in the freezer to bake the day before we leave, and I also made this homemade granola bar recipe the other day and stashed them in the freezer, as well.

These are very good, not too sweet, hold together nicely because of the addition of eggs, and are packed with oats and the protein of the peanut butter..so will have some staying power for active teenagers.

And mini chocolate chips within, the last of the bag sprinkled on top.

What’s not to love, right?

https://therealfoodrds.com/5-ingredi...-granola-bars/

This is the authors picture.

Hello Miss Lily-

When you make the granola, does it come out smooshy/soft or firm? I tried the recipe, using flax for eggs, and it is very soft, almost crumbly. It may be a casualty of under baking.

Thanks,

Mary

[Lily&Me]

Hi Mary,

My bars came out firm, and hold together just fine. Sounds like you may have underbaked.

I used jumbo eggs and Jiff creamy peanut butter.

I forgot to mention that I added a cup of dry roasted peanuts, too.

Wanted them protein-packed, stick to your ribs kind of bars.

Maggie

[sterlinghick]

Thanks, I’ll give it another try next week. I’m always cautious about over baking, and it appears it got the better of me.

[Lily&Me]

You can always serve this batch in a small bowl with a spoon, pour a little milk over them and call them cereal.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Look what I found at TJMaxx today!

After taking Lily into PETCO this morning, I went in there to get dehydrated chicken strips for her…nearly always available there, and a favorite treat of hers.

One always has to look around in TJMaxx, as you never know what they might have, and I perused the travel items section because, of course, I’m planning a trip.

Found this little item targeted to women’s supplements, which will easily hold a weeks worth of my am and pm meds, as well as my supplements.

Each section snaps shut, and is a small, zippered, no spill case.

My usual, week-at-time, am & pm, meds case is much bigger than this and has to be scotch-taped shut when I travel as it easily disgorges its contents all over everywhere.

Inexpensive, and so, of course, I bought it.


Now, if I could come up with a solution for the half eyebrow over my right eye.

The swelling is nearly gone, but the incision still quite apparent, and I can’t quite fathom drawing on the rest of the eyebrow to try to round out my usual, travel-makeup-ed self.

There seems no good solution, so I might just make up the rest of my face and not worry about it until all of the swelling is gone and the eyebrow grows back.

Nothing I have read of nor can imagine doing to create the half eyebrow that isn’t there will look as if there hasn’t just been surgery over my eyebrow.

It’s not a red carpet, after all, so I’m going to just pretend it isn’t there and roll with it.

[Hittenstiehl]

Love the small zippered case and wouldn't worry about the eyebrow or slant the hair or wear the pretty new hat in all the photos [emoji4]

[Lily&Me]

Of course! The hats!!!

They arrive tomorrow.

The scar will feel most conspicuous on the train, tho I’m running around doing whatever here without any kind of camouflage, and just don’t think about it, so I need to put on that mindset and I’ll be good to go.

I will also have my big sunglasses.

Maggiw

[sterlinghick]

My mom fell some years ago and caught her forehead on the corner of a chair rail. The resulting wound required many staples and stitches to close. She was left with a pretty good scar. I’m proud to say she isn’t the least self conscious about it and I don’t think you should be either, but I do understand. You could always make up a good story if someone happens to ask and you think they have exceeded their boundaries.

[Lily&Me]

Thank you.

I haven’t really been self conscious about it, more thinking about wearing makeup…which I do not do every day in retirement, because, why ..and what to do with my right eyebrow.

I do look like I walked into a door.

It will just have to be, and I will not think every time I look in a mirror…”what’s wrong with this picture?”

I’d thought about trying to cover or camouflage it, but there’s really no doing much to it, it’s just too fresh.

And, it’s okay,

Maggiw