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I have new glasses.
Could have sworn I'd had the last pair for over two years, but apparently it just seems that way. Having thought about it, I must have been living in this house at the time, and that's less than 2 years, so makes sense.
Prescription hasn't changed much, but opted for new glasses anyway because the old ones have been driving me nuts. They're heavy and keep sliding down my nose - so not only have I acquired the habit of constantly adjusting them, but if my hands are busy they will eventually fall off. Which is how they came to be scratched fairly early on in life.
I had Transitions[tm] lenses, which I've not been impressed by. The sunglasses bit was handy when outside, but coming back inside on a bright day they could take 10 mins or more to clear again. This lead to an unfortunate dilemma, wear the glasses when I came back into the office building and be unable to see much of anything, or take them off and be unable to see much of anything.
Also found them weirdly difficult to clean.
Got to see what the back of my eyes look like on the screen as the optometrist examined the images, which is a first for me. Apparently some people don't like looking at it, but I quite liked having a guided tour of all the various red bits you hear about.
New glasses are nice and lightweight. Now I just have to stop myself from adjusting them when they don't need it.
Health-wise, annoying cough is persisting even 3 weeks after the initial onset of the cold. Will probably see a doctor if it persists a couple more days, make sure nothing has developed into an infection.
The painters I had through to give a quote have not been heard from since. I think it's the exterior that has scared them. May see if I can find someone who specialises in scary exteriors.
It's not that there's all that much to paint, just that a lot of it is hard to reach and will likely require scaffolding or very long ladders.
We've picked up some wall-shingles to put along the front where we replace the rotted timber. Will paint those in the carport before putting them up, which will be a good way to test our colour sample.
Since it doesn't look like we'll be paying for painting immediately, I've ordered the cabinetry for the Walk-in-Robe instead. This has actually come in cheaper than expected, which is a nice change.
We're still waiting for the smart-meter to go with the solar panels. Yes, that's 7 months now.
The backyard is extremely muddy this year. Partly because we've been getting a lot of rain, but I think it also means we've succeeded in redirecting a lot of the water that was going under the house. The workshop is still too damp, but no longer floods with every passing shower.
The kittens are well and looking very healthy with glossy coats. At some stage the cat-flu legacy which meant they kept getting dirty noses seems to have passed, which I'm relieved about. Not that it seemed to bother them, but the vet had indicated that with getting the flu so young there was a chance they'd always have the slightly runny noses.
At around 9 months old, Abby has finally filled out a bit, still skinnier than Ella but she has now grown into her ears and is looking more like a regular tabby cat than an oriental. Both still have stunning long tails though, and Abby struts about with hers held up perfectly straight, showing it off to maximum effect.
They're still experimenting with different routines. The only real constant is that Ella likes to be cuddled at chest height while I'm on the computer (and hugs back with her paws over my shoulders), while Abby likes to lounge on my lap when I'm reclined on the comfy chairs. They almost always get excited by raw chicken necks, and are reliably appalled when I give them the Hills Science Diet canned kitten food. Ella with her thicker fur is particularly fond of the brush, but Abby likes a bit of grooming as well.
They can both easily jump onto the kitchen benches now, but mostly respect our delicate sensibilities and refrain from doing so while we're in the room. David does however need to remember to put the cover on his butter dish if he doesn't want to find it covered with kitty tongue imprints.
Toddled along to another NA4 committee meeting on Sunday. David has got himself elected as membership officer, for several reasons I have no intention of being officially anything.
Er, I mean, I didn't intend to. Now that I write this I vaguely recall agreeing to be the Gopher Mum (organiser and carer of at-con volunteers) if nobody more enthusiastic is found to do it. And we all know what that means.
But volunteers have to be looked after, they're important, you can't just leave that one on the too hard pile. It's almost 2 years away, I might be mentally competent again by then...
Unofficially, or at least less officially, I'm also sitting in on the programming sub-committee.
I'm not sure why we've picked this con to get involved in committee stuff. I think we just want it to do well, and are vaguely worried about it in a non-specific way that makes us want to keep an eye on it.
I'm currently giving the occasional fencing lesson in our library. It's not ideal, since you can only take about 3 steps, but works well enough for beginner and remedial work.
I still get surprised at how much my mood improves after giving a fencing lesson. Come home from work just wanting to curl up in front of the TV, but if I'm dragged into fencing action then I end up with a productive night. Only trick is winding down enough for sleep.
Finally, had a random surprise encounter with my brother on the tram coming home tonight. We're not what you'd call a close family, I think it's been nearly 2 years since I last saw him, and we don't keep in touch. Apparently he's currently working just around the corner from me, although neither of us are planning to be in the area much longer.
Could have sworn I'd had the last pair for over two years, but apparently it just seems that way. Having thought about it, I must have been living in this house at the time, and that's less than 2 years, so makes sense.
Prescription hasn't changed much, but opted for new glasses anyway because the old ones have been driving me nuts. They're heavy and keep sliding down my nose - so not only have I acquired the habit of constantly adjusting them, but if my hands are busy they will eventually fall off. Which is how they came to be scratched fairly early on in life.
I had Transitions[tm] lenses, which I've not been impressed by. The sunglasses bit was handy when outside, but coming back inside on a bright day they could take 10 mins or more to clear again. This lead to an unfortunate dilemma, wear the glasses when I came back into the office building and be unable to see much of anything, or take them off and be unable to see much of anything.
Also found them weirdly difficult to clean.
Got to see what the back of my eyes look like on the screen as the optometrist examined the images, which is a first for me. Apparently some people don't like looking at it, but I quite liked having a guided tour of all the various red bits you hear about.
New glasses are nice and lightweight. Now I just have to stop myself from adjusting them when they don't need it.
Health-wise, annoying cough is persisting even 3 weeks after the initial onset of the cold. Will probably see a doctor if it persists a couple more days, make sure nothing has developed into an infection.
The painters I had through to give a quote have not been heard from since. I think it's the exterior that has scared them. May see if I can find someone who specialises in scary exteriors.
It's not that there's all that much to paint, just that a lot of it is hard to reach and will likely require scaffolding or very long ladders.
We've picked up some wall-shingles to put along the front where we replace the rotted timber. Will paint those in the carport before putting them up, which will be a good way to test our colour sample.
Since it doesn't look like we'll be paying for painting immediately, I've ordered the cabinetry for the Walk-in-Robe instead. This has actually come in cheaper than expected, which is a nice change.
We're still waiting for the smart-meter to go with the solar panels. Yes, that's 7 months now.
The backyard is extremely muddy this year. Partly because we've been getting a lot of rain, but I think it also means we've succeeded in redirecting a lot of the water that was going under the house. The workshop is still too damp, but no longer floods with every passing shower.
The kittens are well and looking very healthy with glossy coats. At some stage the cat-flu legacy which meant they kept getting dirty noses seems to have passed, which I'm relieved about. Not that it seemed to bother them, but the vet had indicated that with getting the flu so young there was a chance they'd always have the slightly runny noses.
At around 9 months old, Abby has finally filled out a bit, still skinnier than Ella but she has now grown into her ears and is looking more like a regular tabby cat than an oriental. Both still have stunning long tails though, and Abby struts about with hers held up perfectly straight, showing it off to maximum effect.
They're still experimenting with different routines. The only real constant is that Ella likes to be cuddled at chest height while I'm on the computer (and hugs back with her paws over my shoulders), while Abby likes to lounge on my lap when I'm reclined on the comfy chairs. They almost always get excited by raw chicken necks, and are reliably appalled when I give them the Hills Science Diet canned kitten food. Ella with her thicker fur is particularly fond of the brush, but Abby likes a bit of grooming as well.
They can both easily jump onto the kitchen benches now, but mostly respect our delicate sensibilities and refrain from doing so while we're in the room. David does however need to remember to put the cover on his butter dish if he doesn't want to find it covered with kitty tongue imprints.
Toddled along to another NA4 committee meeting on Sunday. David has got himself elected as membership officer, for several reasons I have no intention of being officially anything.
Er, I mean, I didn't intend to. Now that I write this I vaguely recall agreeing to be the Gopher Mum (organiser and carer of at-con volunteers) if nobody more enthusiastic is found to do it. And we all know what that means.
But volunteers have to be looked after, they're important, you can't just leave that one on the too hard pile. It's almost 2 years away, I might be mentally competent again by then...
Unofficially, or at least less officially, I'm also sitting in on the programming sub-committee.
I'm not sure why we've picked this con to get involved in committee stuff. I think we just want it to do well, and are vaguely worried about it in a non-specific way that makes us want to keep an eye on it.
I'm currently giving the occasional fencing lesson in our library. It's not ideal, since you can only take about 3 steps, but works well enough for beginner and remedial work.
I still get surprised at how much my mood improves after giving a fencing lesson. Come home from work just wanting to curl up in front of the TV, but if I'm dragged into fencing action then I end up with a productive night. Only trick is winding down enough for sleep.
Finally, had a random surprise encounter with my brother on the tram coming home tonight. We're not what you'd call a close family, I think it's been nearly 2 years since I last saw him, and we don't keep in touch. Apparently he's currently working just around the corner from me, although neither of us are planning to be in the area much longer.