Here's Looking at You, Kid!

 Hello, is that you looking in at the Stress Pool? Good to see you again!

Well, sort of. 

Not that it isn't good to see you, but that you are just a little fuzzy. Let me get a little closer.

It has been an interesting summer, that's for certain. It wasn't awful; it wasn't great, but mostly because of the eye surgeries. I am driving again, and are you ready for the scary part?

In the state of Pennsylvania, you only need one good eye to drive, and that good eye should be 20/40 or better. So be assured, my good eye is 20/20!

Not the other one.

Yes, I did get glasses, and already I fear the eye has changed a bit and the glasses don't work. The eye doctor was pleased with how it went - it was really bad, and he said that sometimes an amblyopic eye doesn't bounce in right away, if at all. So, when you see someone going through red lights, or stop signs, or driving over the line, perhaps they don't have 20/20 vision in either eye! Scary, right?

So far, I've done just fine. With driving. I bought some readers for close-up work, and I'm still reading books with large print. Not as much strain that way, so I was able to do some reading. I'll get to the final list before the end.

We also got away for a couple days - DH and I went to Berlin, Ohio, which is Amish country. There are a lot of stores and plenty of places to eat. It was hotter than you-know-where! We brought home a peach pie - best peach pie I've ever had in my entire life. Ms. Business is also a fan, and agreed that it was second to none. We crossed through an area called Tappan Lake - if you've ever stayed there, let me know what you thought. I'm going to look into possible cabin rentals in the area. Just beautiful.

So, pool time (thank you 90+ degree days for heating up the water!), reading, and a little painting (but not much). Am I ready to go back to school? I would like to say yes, however...reasons.

Now, back to the reading list, picking up from where I left off in the last missive:

3 more Denise Domning books: Winter's Heat, Summer's Storm, and Spring's Fury. They feature some of the same characters from the other five books of hers I listed from June;

Of Fire and Lions by Mesu Andrews. We are going to see Daniel at the Sight and Sound theater in Lancaster in the fall. This book is a fictional rendition about the Babylonian exile and Daniel, and his family. Interesting read.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I like her books - gentle reads.

Salt and Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher. A take on Jane Eyre, the main character's name is Jane Aire, and the school where she teaches is for 'witches'. She's off to take care of a curse, and of course, we meet many of Ms. Bronte's characters, albeit a little twisted. A fun read, for sure!

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. This was a book club read - very good!

The Last Sister, The Silence, In the Pines, The First Death, and At the River, all by Kendra Elliott. These are from the Columbia River series, and feature a lot of characters from her Mercy Kilpatrick series. If you've never read Kendra Elliott, and you enjoy suspenseful thrillers, do it!

The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh. She's lived a lie for 10 years - you'll never guess what happens! I just finished this one today.

Total number of books for the summer: 21. No regrets on any of them!

Time to get out the alarm clock and make sure it's set to the crack of doom; pull out what I'm going to wear on the first day of in-service; and what am I going to eat for breakfast? There had better be a full pot of coffee, that's one thing for certain!

And yes, hopefully there will be a few more warm days to heat up the water in the pool, and of course, evenings on the porch. There is a light at the end of the work tunnel, but I haven't reached it yet. In the meantime, feel free to pop on in, because, as always, the water in the Stress Pool is always perfect, if not a little too hot!