Playing Hooky

I'm kind of playing hooky this evening. (Is that how "hooky" is spelled? Is that even what we say in America - play hooky? uh oh. I'm losing it!)

Prayer meeting time was changed to 5pm instead of 3 pm. I don't know why for sure, but 5pm for me today is a lot harder to get to than 3pm. I think it's because I have this fear of walking in late afternoon/early evening sunlight, or lack of sunlight. It was a lot brighter than I was thinking it would be, but still - - sigh. My cataract surgery went very well almost 2 years ago. Hard to believe it's been that long! I had almost 20/20 vision in that eye afterward. Sometime about a week before we left to come back to Ukraine I bent down to pick something up (it might have been Eithnee) and I felt something "give" in my eye. I don't know how else to describe it. Immediately I lost part of my sight in that eye again. I've described it to Mel and he thinks I just need glasses. Stupid silly me - I did NOT go to the dr. before we left. I don't know why, other than the fact that I was already stressed out to the max at that point. The last week or two before we leave the States is always a very difficult time for me - no matter how much I try to be ready, there is still always way more to do that I have time for. This time was no different, with the added family stresses piled on top. So, now I cannot see clearly out of my bad eye again. It's like my eye has a smear of vaseline or something. Plenty of light comes through, everything is just totally not in focus. So, in a way, I'm almost back to where I was before I had the surgery, except the cataract actually did block some light. Now, I could go down and get a pair of glasses here - probably should. But I can't tell that my reading glasses make any difference at all. None. Mostly I am just using one eye now ..... which makes my depth perception off kilter ..... which gives me the heebie jeebies about walking in low light because I might trip and fall again and break my knee caps. So, I am playing hooky (or whatever) tonight and staying inside. I've got a blanket in the washer and it will soon be ready to hang out on the balcony. Hopefully the neighbors on the 4th and 5th floors will not sweep their balcony dirt on to it early in the morning because it will be outside all night. I'm a chicken, I admit it. It's really pretty outside today, cool but not cold, not a cloud in the sky. The far distance that I can actually see above the rooftops outside the office room window is beginning to turn pink. I probably should have gone. I won't go next week because I'll be alone. But the week after, I won't be alone and there will be even more light. If Christ doesn't return between now and then, I'll go then.

(The 1st and 3rd photos were taken from the bedroom window, not the office room window, the sunset light on the wall is in our bedroom. The rest were taken from the balcony this evening.)

I'm Still Here

I've been hanging around, reading other people's blogs and the news and all the other stuff I like to read during the week. Plus I finished reading The Fellowship of the Ring and am about half-way through The Two Towers now. Plus I've done a lot of reading about Isaiah (the prophet man, not the book) and looking up on the internet for pictures and puzzles and mazes and whatever to use in teaching about the prophets and the Trinity (no pictures of the Trinity, I promise!). It's been a quiet week but a busy week, altho the noise level has been quite high due to all the banging and sawing on the sewer pipes - but more about that in another post. We also started watching the second season of "24" and I confess - this show makes me laugh. I know it's supposed to be serious and scary and whatnot, but good grief! He's got a very disobedient and wilful daughter, everything that can go wrong does go wrong and boy, for a "good guy" he sure is wicked and bad. How American (dripping with sarcasm there). We also walked over and took a look at the new church building and I'll post some of those photos in another post, too. All this to say, I'll be back with more writing and musings later. Maybe even today after church and Sunday School. For some reason, my thoughts have been quite busy, but my brain and fingers have not wanted to do much writing.

No snow yet, altho we did see a lot of flakes yesterday - but then it poured rain. So everything is still dark and gray and muddy and gray and muddy and gray...in other words, like usual here in the winter minus snow.