Good things

One thing I've been concerned about recently is my eyesight, I'm aware that my vision has deteriorated and my eyes seem a bit blurry sometimes.  Being diabetic I have a retinopathy eye check at the hospital every year....I was due to go in early April but of course it was cancelled, and they're still not doing clinics.  My normal 2-yearly sight test at the opticians is also overdue, I should have gone last December but cancelled due to Mum's illness and didn't rebook, and then of course it wasn't possible anyway for the past few months.  

However, this week I had an email from the opticians saying they were now open again, with strict appointment only and safety precautions in place, so decided it would be prudent to go - at least they do a basic retinopathy check, even if it isn't as good as the hospital one.  I rang to make an appointment, they had a bit of a waiting list but they did have a cancellation for today, Saturday, so I took it.  On reflection, today probably wasn't the best day to choose, with so many businesses reopening and it being a Saturday, we don't normally go out anywhere on weekends as there are always more people about.

The town was quite busy, much more so than I felt comfortable with, and hardly anybody was wearing a mask (I was).  I didn't stop anywhere, just walked quickly to the opticians, giving people a wide berth.  Fortunately, the opticians was almost empty, they're not allowing walk-ins or browsers.  All the staff were wearing full PPE (masks, plastic visors, gloves and aprons) and all equipment is fully cleaned between customers, so I felt quite reassured.  

My mother had macular degeneration (wet in one eye, dry in the other) and was virtually blind in one eye and had only limited sight in the other.  Both she and my sister had/have cataracts, so both things are also a worry for me.  Fortunately, it seems I have no sign of cataracts, and no definite macular degeneration or retinopathy, however, the optician said there is a bit of shadowing at the back of one eye which could possibly be the start of MD or retinopathy, but said it's too early to tell yet.  He did advise me to go for the hospital eye check as soon as I'm able to, though.  However, he said there is a major change (a surprisingly big one in his words) in the vision in my left eye, to do with my astigmatism and the axis apparently...he did explain but it all went over my head.  (I knew there was a definite difference with my eyesight!).  Anyway, the upshot is I definitely need new glasses.  I decided not to hang around and choose a pair today - there were a few more people in the shop by then, and in any case funds are still very low after our very expensive June.  I'll get them in due course.

The other good thing is that I'm having my hair cut on Friday.  My hairdresser, who lives 2 doors away, has a small salon with its own entrance at the side of her house, so I won't need to go inside her home.  I'm to wash my hair at home just before I go, and both of us will be wearing masks, she'll also be wearing gloves and an apron.  I'm her only customer booked in for that day anyway (she only does a few regular customers nowadays as she's semi-retired).  Funnily enough, although I normally have my hair short and have it cut every 6 weeks or so, as it's grown during lockdown I'm actually quite liking it longer.  So I'm in 2 minds as to whether to have it cut short again in my usual style, or just go for a trim and shape and keep growing it.  I'll have a think about it between now and Friday, and discuss it with H then.