No Glasses for Clay?

Clay had an appointment with his eye surgeon on Tuesday.

The doctor says all looks well. He was able to see Clay's optic nerve which wasn't possible prior to the surgery. That's a good thing because with a view of the optic nerve they can see any problems sooner rather than later. The view looked good and the doctor is very pleased, so of course we are very pleased.

We have been curious to know if and when glasses might be in Clay's future. During the last couple of visits the doctor used various tests to measure Clay's distance vision. As a result of those tests the doctor made comments such as "we are just about at 0." We weren't quite sure what those comments meant at first.

The doctor said he didn't know if after the surgery Clay would be at "plus 10" or "minus 10" but he is pretty close to 0. So I asked "is that good?" He said "yes, that's what we want." In terms of glasses it means that Clay would not benefit from them. He doesn't need them. No, it doesn't mean he has 20/20 sight. As Clay explained it to me, with distance vision you can either magnify or demagnify. In his case being "at 0" means that either would just make his vision larger or smaller but less clear. In other words his distance vision is at its most clear without glasses.

That's for distance. For close work, it could be that the doctor will in the future prescribe some glasses for reading, etc. But it may also be just as practical for Clay to continue using the hand-held magnifiers he carries with him now. It's possible his vision may improve some more, although Clay hasn't reported much change in the last couple months.

We are both happy with where Clay's vision is at. It's definitely better than what he had before the surgery which was declining rapidly. And we are grateful it affords him the prospect of continued independence. As Martha would say, "It's a good thing!"

Happy 18th, Charlie!

Today is my nephew Charlie's birthday. He's 18 years old! What a milestone. Yesterday we celebrated with a fun family get together.

There were balloons, cake (chocolate with cream cheese filling!) and ice cream, pizza, gifts, and lots of general mugging for photos. We were even treated to a visit by DJ, Charlie's brother who now lives in Portland.

You can see more pics from the occasion by clicking on Charlie's cake.

Anniversary Trip to Vancouver

Clay and I had a great time in Vancouver. We spent all day Friday at the PNE, which is a lot like Western Washington's Puyallup Fair but with more live entertainment. We pretty much wore ourselves out and decided not to stay for the late evening shows.

However we did see a very impressive trampoline show.

We went through an exhibit called the Splendid Lanterns of Taiwan featuring lots of beautifully illuminated figures such as this butterfly.

There were some awesome carvings from the International Sand Sculpture Competition. Check out this Sasquatch sneaking up on a hunter.

We also took in the Iams Superdogs show and some of the Vancouver Star Discovery talent show. All in all it was a really fun time.

On Saturday we visited Vancouver's very impressive aquarium in Stanley Park before heading home.

We saw some really big fish there. These are freshwater fish from the Amazon where everything is oversized.


And we saw some beautiful small fish as well...


We also enjoyed checking out turtles, butterflies, sharks, beluga whales and a caiman (similar to an alligator).

To see more pictures from both the PNE and the Aquarium go here.

Happy Anniversary to Us

Today Clay and I celebrate 19 years of marriage. Our festivities got off to a little earlier start than we expected.

Last night we went to bed about 11:40pm. At 12:10am (soon after falling fast asleep) we were awakened by the piercing blare of our apartment complex's fire alarm system. We have of course heard this sound quite a few times before having lived in this apartment for many years. It's a sound no person could sleep through or even remain in the same room for more than the seconds it takes to dress and leave. I suppose that's the point.

There were about 100 of us gathered outside on the front lawn waiting for the fire department to arrive. We are fortunate to live less than a mile from the nearest fire station. We were visited by one fire engine, a ladder truck and a third smaller fire department vehicle. All the emergency lights had folks in the neighboring townhomes out on their lawns to view the spectacle. Fortunately there was no real fire and the most exciting thing to look at were all the firemen in their gear and some carrying hatchets.

After about half an hour we were given the okay to head back inside where we fell back to sleep quickly. It made for a good excuse to say "Happy Anniversary" to each other a little earlier than expected.

On Thursday we head to Vancouver, BC for a couple days to celebrate properly. It was 20 years ago on Thursday when we met in person for the first time after developing our relationship over what we like to call "the information superhighway when it was just a dirt road."

We can't wait for the next 19 years. :)

Mall Construction

There has been a lot of construction going on in our neighborhood of Northgate. Near our home is a newly constructed medical building, and the neighborhood has a brand new public library and community center.

The largest project is a renovation of Northgate Mall. Northgate was the first regional shopping center in the United States to be described as a mall and is 56 years old. The inside has seen renovations but the exterior hasn't been overhauled in many years.

News is that the modifications will make quite a difference in the way the mall looks from I-5. They are supposedly creating an attractive facade so passersby on the freeway will want to stop and shop.

As you can see they are hard at work moving great mounds of earth. What you can't see are the great holes created by all this digging. They are building several unattached structures - parking garages and other buildings which will sit in what is now a large plain parking lot. The project will add 100,000 square feet of retail space to the mall.

I wonder if we will still be living in the neighborhood when the construction is complete.

A Blast From the Past

You may know that Seattle was host to the World's Fair in 1962. The Seattle World's Fair was more than just a fair. Also called the Century 21 Exposition, it featured futuristic buildings, cars, transportation systems and scenarios of what life might be like in the 21st century.

That event occasioned the building of the Space Needle and the development of the grounds around it which are now referred to as the Seattle Center.

My sister Jozi's friend Dan went to the World's Fair in Seattle when he was a child. He bought some postcards at the Fair and has saved them all this time. Jozi scanned in a few of them and I share them here. Seattle looked a lot different back in 1962. For example, I look at this photo and wonder where did all the tall buildings go?

These photos show how different the grounds looked with an actual World's Fair in place.

Notice the futuristic-themed attractions.

But some things have changed little in the last 44 years. This photo, for example, could almost be duplicated today:


For you Seattleites out there, who remembers the Bubbleator?? Yes, I know, I'm dating myself. :)

XXX Rootbeer Drive-In

On Tuesday we went to the Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-In in Issaquah. It's the oldest drive-in in Washington state and they have lots and lots of nostalgic items there. A specialty theme for them is classic cars. On summer weekends they have car shows. This photo is a postcard I picked up at the restaurant showing a typical car show event.

The food is really tasty (although not too healthy). They have old-fashioned rootbeer floats, Coke in multiple flavors (from chocolate to banana) and all their menu items are named after classic cars. You can view the car show schedule and their menu at their web site or read more about their history at the Issaquah History Online site.

Put a Smile on Your Face

My mother-in-law sent us this funny web page. Check it out if you've ever wondered what's on the back side of a smiley face!

http://d21c.com/terri1/flash/smile.swf

The Passenger

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Mom and I brought home a third "passenger" on our return trip from Roseburg, Oregon. I didn't want to post a picture then because my sister Jozi hadn't yet met Tony. Tony was our third passenger - a large stuffed gorilla! Someone gave the gorilla to my brother a while ago and he didn't really have enough room so was looking for a new home for it. My mother named him Tony and they have been inseparable ever since. He sits in a chair in her living room and she introduces all the visitors to him. She tells me that every once in a while she has to stop and shake hands with him. Too fun!

Car Troubles

Last Tuesday I had the day off and we were going to go to North Bend to do a little shopping and maybe stop by the XXX Root Beer Drive-in in Issaquah. First I ran a couple of errands around Northgate. Just as I got home and was driving into the parking garage the battery light went on. Darn!

Well I called up Saturn and they told me that either the battery was bad or (more likely I believe) the alternator was going out. They advised me not to drive the car until I can bring it in. Well no problem, when can I bring it in? Today?? Nope. How about a week from today. They couldn't give me an appointment until next Tuesday!

This is when I feel fortunate to live in Seattle where bus transportation is easy and I can get everywhere I need to go without my car. The North Bend trip will have to wait a little bit, and we will be using a couple rolling carts similar to the one pictured to get our groceries tomorrow night. Thankfully the weather is nice and we will just be getting a little more exercise than usual.

Baby Shower for Elliott

It was a busy day in the office today. We had a noontime baby shower for little Elliott and his parents. There were fun decorations...



and wonderful gifts...


and a couple special visitors (thank you for coming Elena and Aiden!)


Elliott enjoyed getting passed around and meeting everyone. But he slept through a bunch of it.

If you would like to see more pictures from the shower click on the sleeping Elliott.

Elliott Visits the Office

My tiny friend Elliott visited the office yesterday. We'll call it an "unofficial" visit because it was a weekend day and he didn't really get to meet any new people. His dad (Doxey) had to work and his mom (Cynthia) and Elliott brought Doxey some lunch.

Elliott is 1 month old today. His due date was two days ago. He hit 6 pounds at the doctor's the other day. He's doing pretty great.

Here's a picture of Elliott giving his dad a bit of a hard time.

I love this sweet photo of him sleeping in his mama's arms.


And of course I got to hold him too!

More Postcards from Susan

I checked my mail slot on returning from vacation to find it brimming with postcards. Wow, what a treat! Susan continued sending me postcards from pretty much every destination on her trip. What a fun way to share with me her family's adventures. Thank you Susan - how thoughtful of you to think of me.

This first card is from Hershey, Pennsylvania. Of course they toured the chocolate factory. Susan tells me on the card that the town smells like chocolate! I can't imagine that.


This card she picked up at Gettysburg. According to her note, Susan is related to Robert E. Lee!


And this one is obviously a beautiful card from Washington DC where they visited the Museum of National History, Museum of Air & Space and the National Zoo among other sights.


And last but certainly not least - New York. I love this photo of the Statue of Liberty.


It's amazing to me that Susan found the time to send all these postcards while traveling. She is in Los Angeles with her family right now. Her dad just suffered his second stroke in a couple weeks. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this difficult time.