BRIGHTER AND CRISPER WORLD POST CATARACT OP

I had a cataract operation yesterday.  This morning I removed the silver eye patch.  Wow!  Amazing!  The world is brighter and crisper.  I don't need my distant glasses anymore.
Dr Caston at KP did a great job.


                                        without eye patch

Halloween 2012

Tomorrow is Halloween. We plan to have dinner with a couple of friends in the garage so that we can watch the neighborhood kids. Tonight I tried carving a pumpkin, and this is how it came out. George may say I am too old for this kind of stuff.

Hot Summer Delight

We are having very hot week. Here is our Sunday supper menu to beat the heat. The Cobb salad consists of lettuce, farm fresh tomatoes and baby cucumbers from our garden, soft boiled duck eggs (niece Robin's suggestion), chopped avocado, Greek and blue cheese, Garlic pepper smoked Alaskan silver salmon (holiday gift from daughter Hanako). The salad is accompanied by sun baked Semi Freddi's Ciabata bread, and Contadino Vivace Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe's. Yum, yum!

Without needles on my face

My previous blog photo has been extremely unpopular among my family. One is scared to see the needles in my face. The other thought the face looked lifeless. The third one said the face looked green. Daughter Hanako sent me this photo to replace the lifeless one with needles. It was taken at Fisherman's Wharf in S.F. in April. Hanako and her boys were visiting from England. After 5 months of palsy I am beginning to look better. In a couple of month I should be back to normal.

Bell's Palsy

I have been quiet for the past few months because of my physical condition, called Bell's Palsy. I came down with it at the beginning of last December, almost 4 months ago. The left side of my face became paralyzed and my face became warped. The face is gradually coming back to normal, but I still cannot blink with my left eye. This caused extreme dry eye condition, and it has been, and still to a certain extent, hard to read or write small letters. The worst thing at the moment is inside of my head. It feels like wind is blowing or it feels like my left ear is completely filled with water. It happens when my left face is moving (like when I am eating). I also hear any sound very sharply. It is difficult to concentrate and focus on anything with this going on. A couple of weeks ago a friend recommended acupuncture. I have been getting the treatment in Walnut Creek from an acupuncturist who has treatd a number of patient with Bell's Palsy already. He seems to be dedicated to fixing my ailment, by putting needls into my face, head, back, hands, etc. He told me that I should have gotten the treatment as soon as I got the ailment rather than waiting for 3 months. One interesting thing about this condition is the fact I now sleep very well. I think I sleep longer than my cats. The fact I can blog about this means I am getting better. I don't wish this Bell's Palsy on anybody. Stay away from stress and cold wind.

Japan Trip October 2011

This year is almost over, but the biggest events took place in Japan in October. DH1, Goerge, and DS1, Rudy, and I spent 2 weeks in various parts of Japan to bury my mother May's ashes in her family grave sites at Hakusanji in Yamagata and Sojiji in Chiba. May's Kikuchi family members are all buried in Yamagata, but her husband Gen Asano was buried in Sojiji near Tokyo. We did not know where May wished to be so we decided to bury her at both sites. During the visit we met our old friends and relatives, attended buddhist ceremonies called "Hoji", feasted on beautifully presented food, visited memories lanes of my late mother. All in all it gave me a sense of closure to carry out my mother's wishes. DD1, Hanako, was able to join us from England, courtesy of her brother Rudy. Her visit was short (5 days), but this was the first time in 20+ years that my immediate family of four got to travel together. It took my mother's death to do this. Thank you, Mother May!

Alaska Cruise Aug. 2011

We went on a cruise to Alaska this summer. It was our first cruise ever. I was not sure how my opinionated husband will like the cruise, but lo and behold, he seemed to like it. The Alaskan scenery was beautiful indeed, but the experience aboard the ship, the Regatta by Oceana, was even more beautiful.
We were treated like king and queen. We had a butler waiting on us in our penthouse cabin. The food was almost too elegant. I was certainly not used to this kind of treatment, but I got used to it very quickly.

The cruise started and ended in Vancouver. We drove back to Saranap leisurely by stopping and visiting our good old friends in Vancouver, Lopez Island WA, Portland OR, and Redbluff CA.

It was a very memorable experience.