Since my last post I've finished getting new lenses in both eyes.  I can see a major difference.  Driving at night has become much easier as the glare from oncoming headlights doesn't blind me any more.  Last night my roommate and her boyfriend and I were sitting around talking when Patty all of sudden said "What's wrong with your eye?"  A blood vessel had broken in the eye.  This is not a serious thing, but it is the first time it has happened to me.  Very scary looking, the eye is filled with blood and the eye is swollen.  Pretty frightening.  Luckily Patty knew about it and was able to talk me into just calling the doctor rather that head for the emergency room.  Today the swelling is gone, but the blood remains and looks horrible.  No degradation of sight though.

Two days ago I was able to get out on my new cross country skis.  Wonderful feeling and the possibility of an exercise that I find fun.  The lake in front of the house is a wonderful place to ski.

I have now been given notice that my last shift at LLBeans will be Feb. 22.  I am glad.  Maybe I'll have more energy to do things around here now.

Back after a long absence

When I returned from the last trip I stopped blogging.  I had always thought of the blog as just a record of my trips.  Now I think I'm going to record some of my thinking about everything.

Since I returned from that last trip life has just changed completely.  I had open heart surgery to bypass some clogged arteries, am in the process of cataract surgery (one eye done and the next in two days), bought a different house with a friend and moved fifty miles from the place in Brooks, and became a slum lord.

I have a friend who wants to buy the house in Brooks.  She is living there and paying the rent by cleaning and fixing the place.  I am going to sell the place for a rock bottom price because it is in such rough shape.  I had never kept up with the maintenance the way I should have and when Jeannette died I just quit doing anything to the place.  This is a win/win deal for both of us.  I have hopes she will be able to get financing in the spring or summer and I can be done with a place I don't care for.

The new home is on a lake fifty miles from Brooks.  The house is very small and there is a large garage.  The garage is going to be a woodworking shop where I may build some boats.  A small dinghy is in progress right now.  This past summer saw some sailing, some kayaking, and some canoeing.  I'm still planning long trips, but that was put on hold until things settled down.

This fall and early winter I have been working at the LLBean call center taking orders over the phone.  The pay and hours are reasonable and I can put money aside for the next trip.

Let's see if I can follow through and add to this blog on a regular basis.