Eye update

Today I went for my 2-week checkup on the right eye where I had the cataract removed last month. According to the doctor, it is doing wonderful and with glasses, they can correct my vision in that eye to 20/20. I can see  20/20 without glasses for reading. Before I had the surgeries, my left eye was corrected to 20/50 and the right eye was corrected to 20/30. Before I get my new glasses, I am going to have the film removed on the left eye by a laser procedure on Aug 9th. With the film, the left eye could only be corrected to 20/30 today. I decided that there is no reason to wait and see if it gets worse and then have to get new glasses after it is removed. I'll just do it now and get it over with. 8-) However the laser will mean I keep doing drops longer and I HATE doing drop because it is so hard for me to hit my eye ball the first time. I have found that practice does NOT make perfect when it comes to me putting eye drops in my eyes. Oh well......

The following Ziggy comic was in the newspaper today. I love it!

I was telling someone last weekend that if I have to evacuate my house and could only take a few things then my trip books are what I would grab!  But if I couldn't rescue them, there would be a mass reprinting of the books. They are so valuable to me because of the memories in them.

Happy July 4th

Dinner tonight: Years ago I used to BBQ on a grill and usually my Christmas dinner when I was in California was a T-Bone steak that I cooked on the grill. Sometimes the plant didn't shut down for Christmas and if the guys had to work then I didn't take Christmas off - to me it would not have been fair.  I didn't work all day but went to the plant at least once during the day or evening and did some paperwork after saying "hi" to everyone. Anyway, after Larry came along, he took over the grill and did a fine job. I haven't grilled since he died until today. You can't have a gas or charcoal grill on an apartment patio or balcony in Overland Park and it's the same in many cities. However, a way to get around it is to have one of the little 14" Smoky Joe charcoal grills and put it out in the yard at least 10 feet from the building on the ground. So that is what I did and today was the first time I used it. I cooked a perfect medium well strip steak and had a salad with it. I could hear Larry on my shoulder giving me instructions... 8-)  My goal is to learn how to cook salmon on the grill.

Weekend: It was a pretty laid back weekend for me. Vivian came over Saturday morning and we mostly just hung out here at home and visited, looked at old pictures, etc. Saturday night we went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant that I have never been to before and had a wonderful dinner. Sunday morning we went down to Union Station for a leisurely breakfast before the crowds got there. We hadn't planned to but the new streetcar was not crowned so hopped on it and rode it for the whole loop down through downtown, to the City Market and back to Union Station. Vivian had never been on a streetcar/light rail before so it was a treat for her. Then we went over to Kauffman Gardens which is probably my favorite place to go around KC. I LOVE it and am always interested in seeing what are blooming. They totally replant it 4 times a year so it is always changing. Here are some pics from the gardens:

Meet Crazy, the garden cat. Yes, that is his name. He is one fat, lazy cat. He has the run of the place and his feeding dish, bed etc are in the conservatory. A sign over his dish, in big letters, says "Do Not Feed The Cat. He is fed regularly and is getting too fat from everyone feeding him." He just wanders around and ignores people although he did come up to Vivian and let her pet him which is the first time I have ever seen that and I have seen him many times.

This is a pink double echinacea. I have never seen one before and it sure is pretty. 

A very large bumble bee setting atop this echinacea having lunch. 

This guy didn't want to be left out so posed perfectly on a limb in the garden. 

It was a good weekend!