21 May 2024
I’m trying to wean myself off the sleeping pills (Temazepam) even though they are only 15 mg. Unlike most, they don’t give me a morning hangover. I haven’t taken them the last two nights and consequently haven’t slept as well. The result is a very slow start to the morning and low energy. What’s worse, I wasn’t able to get in a nap yesterday.
I made the ophthalmology appointment at noon and got out of there by 1:30. Cataract surgery looms but I opted to postpone for a change in prescription. He said the new prescription will help for a little while but surgery is the only answer.
Medicare will pay for most of the surgery but it will not pay for laser surgery (only with a scalpel) and it only pays for the monofocal lens (distance), not the Panoptix that’s all the rage these days. The panoptic lens, unlike the monofocal lens, corrects for nearsightedness, farsightedness and computer distance so you don’t need any glasses. Of course, there’s the added cost for laser surgery and panoptic lenses. Years ago, a friend told me the cost was approximately $1500 per eye. I’m sure the cost has increased. He said they would do one eye one week and the other the next week. Very little recovery time with laser surgery.
From the ophthalmologist, I headed to Costco and purchased a new set of glasses with all the bells and whistles (antiglare, UV A and B protection, blue light correction, and transition lenses). This will be my first ever transition lenses! I also got everything except the transition with a new pair of sunglasses. The total for both pairs were somewhere around $450. That is much better than at the Emerald Eye at the ophthalmologist which the same two pair would be around $2200.
This is my second morning of walking before my first breakfast and first coffee. I drag for the first little bit of the walk but then get into it. That’s two mornings in a row. It was cooler at 74°F but the humidity was 89%. By the time I finished 1.4 miles I was sweaty.
Even though I’ve walked this route for years, I’ve never noticed a neighbor’s ponytail palm until today. It’s huge!
It’s native to eastern Mexico but has been planted almost everywhere as an ornamental. Its characteristic is a swollen base (caudex) to store water.
I’ve never seen one this large before. I have one in my side yard but it is nowhere near the size of this giant. It belongs to the Asparagus family of plants and is not a true palm. It produces a beautiful panicle of white flowers. Mine has bloomed two or three times in the 30 years it’s been in my yard.
It’s funny how you can walk a neighborhood for 30 years and still notice something that has been there all along. It’s kinda like walking in the woods and stepping on a snake you didn’t see.
Today is my “off” day with no appointments. I plan to take it easy and get that nap in that I missed yesterday.
Stay tuned!
