Time flies when you're having fun

Doesn't it though? I wish I could say it has ALL been fun since April (and this is October? Shame on me!), but at least some of it was fun.

For instance, I turned 80, and this event was celebrated in various ways for months--starting in May, with the Space Needle luncheon Shirley Rainman and Paulette Stanley hosted for me, Harriss Mueller, and Jane Keller. They turned 70.  Then there was the lovely party son Jeremy hosted, a wonderful barbecue in his back yard,  And next Monday, Kathy Barker, Robin Gebhart and Lisa Tsang are taking me to lunch for my birthday.

Husband Morrie and I went on a cruise to Alaska--Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage, with stops at Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchican. The weather was lovely, and the views spectacular.

When we got back, I was scheduled for cataract surgery. Had both eyes done five days apart. A very interesting experience. And so far, successful. I had worn glasses since I was four years old, so being without them is a bit strange. Still, I can get used to it. Friends who have had the surgery tell me it takes several months to get finally adjusted. I can hardly wait.

This first thing I noticed was the change in color intensity--everything is so vivid now, especially purple and blue. I had no idea how much the cataracts had impacted my seeing color. A welcome change!

During the surgery, one has to stare at a bright light; while the doctor is working, the colors around the lights change from a pale pink to intense fuchsia, with a few blues mixed in.. Here are some interpretations I whomped up in Photoshop.

Above is sort of what it looked like.

It did NOT look like this, but while I was working, this turned up, and I really like it.

All of these started out with pictures I took in Alaska, of sky and water. The big white blast is the sun.

I am taking a Photoshop class online, and today we learned to put text in a box. This was a failure--not done properly, that is.

I did see halos like this during the procedure.

Sometimes I saw two distinct lights.

Another happy accident.

Finally! Success at putting text into a shape.

Just for fun, carrying color to the extreme!

Oh, and the procedure, done with ultra sound and a teensy vacuum cleaner (not really, but some kind of medical sucking machine) took about 20 minutes--40, if you count both eyes. The waiting time was lengthy, of course, but a small price to pay for the results.

Until next time, Nan