major and minor marvels

Yesterday evening I was thinking of two marvels, one major and one minor, but not unimportant.

The major marvel is that my opthamologist zapped my bionic right eye with a laser, cutting a square hole in a cloudy membrane behind the artificial lens that was installed last summer, and making my world look clearer. It seems that getting a cloudy membrane behind an artificial lens is a side effect that occurs in some cases. The good - no, amazing - news is that the problem can be fixed with a laser beam that cuts a hole in the membrane, cutting out a little tiny squarish piece that becomes a "floater." The doctor says the floater will become less obvious with time; in fact, should sink out of sight (so to speak) in a week or so. Even if it does not sink out of sight, it is so minor and the improvement to my visual acuity is so great that I don't care!

(My next appointment with the eye doctor is to have X-ray vision installed. Just kidding, but wait a few years. It might become possible some day.)

The minor marvel is my obtaining a . . . (drum roll) . . . meat thermometer, one of the instant-read kinds with a digital dial, of course. I used it last night on a nice piece of salmon. I waited for it to get to 145 degrees and it was perfect. No more stabbing with a fork, trying to decide if it's done enough, no more bringing it inside to be told it isn't done enough. I've always had the hardest time with salmon because I don't want to burn it or overcook it, and it looks pretty much the same to me whether it's done or only half-way done. No more of that! All I need to do now is replace all the working parts of my grill and I'll be set to grill with the best of them.

Speaking of marvels, the Rays are on a roll. They have discovered that the thin air of Denver seems to allow baseballs to fly out of the stadium easier than at sea level. Or, that's my theory for today.

Saturday

I'm "celebrating" today (Saturday) in my favorite manner: Slept in late, but not too late; enjoyed reading the paper and drinking coffee in bed with my best friend in the whole wide world; fiddled with the computer long enough to transfer photos from my camera into it; got out of the house long enough to clean the pool filter and then sweep the pool manually with a new-fangled brush; trimmed back two bushes that were threatening to take over a wall; came in for lunch with my BFITWWW after doing her the favor of taking a quick shower; and now I'm fiddling with the computer again, thinking about how HOT it is outside.

I'm overdue with the task of sending photos to people. My friends can find me in Flickr, where I will upload some photos of grand-nieces taken in Naples last weekend. I also need to add new photos of our grandson, Quentin, to our iPods. I need to run up to the library to get another book by Randy Wayne White, an author from Ft. Myers who writes adventure/ mystery stories that remind me of the Travis McGee stories written by John D. MacDonald, a Sarasota writer. White's main character, Doc Ford, is like Travis McGee only smarter and tougher. The stories are page-turners and I feel like I've been there, like I could drive down to Sanibel Island and find Doc Ford in his house/lab or on his boat.

I'd take my bike to the library but I also need to go pick up more chlorine for the pool. The house next door has been gutted, right down to the masonry walls, and we've had dust blowing around the neighborhood and into the pool for weeks. Today, the filter wasn't green with algae as usual; it was brown with dirt. That new-fangled pool brush has a big flap that forces the brush into firm contact with the pool wall and bottom, making the job easier. I seldom brush the pool manually but, today, it was overdue.

I need to get back from the pool store in time to get ready to go out for dinner and a movie, bringing this Saturday to a perfectly suitable end.

Before I go, let me digress: The last time I was in Tarpon Springs I drove out to find the house where we lived when I was a kid, in the early 50's. Couldn't find it. I've now figured out where it is and why I didn't recognize it. The city acquired the lot next door, then ran a new street back into what used to be piney woods. Those woods, which used to have old brick streets left over from Florida's boom days of the 1920's, are now full of houses. Progress, Florida style. Disgusting.