Setbacks and Moving Forward.

When you have corneal transplants, great vision is a day to day process.  A multitude of issues can arise and the word rejection constantly looms overhead.  I have had an infection, in my right eye, since March and even with the strongest of prescriptions, it is not budging.  A week ago, at a regularly scheduled appointment, my doctor noticed some blood vessels growing into the transplant in the right eye, the one with the infection.  She stressed to me the importance of removing the blood vessels as they cause high risk for rejection of the entire transplant.  She said I needed another surgery.  During surgery she would scrape the entire top layer of the cornea, to remove the infection, and eliminate each of the blood vessels with an injection of a drug called Avastin.   I left that appointment feeling disappointed and relieved.  Disappointed at the fact that I was in this situation and relieved because the vision in my right eye has been awful, and I knew this surgery was the best option in the long run.  I planned to have that surgery the first week in September. 

Last Wednesday night my right eye started bothering me, it felt like something was in it, it hurt and was painful when I put in my nightly drops before bed.  The next morning my eye was not any better, so I made the call to NW Eye Surgeons and scheduled an emergency appointment with my doctor.  I was glad they were able to squeeze me in that afternoon, since we had a camping trip planned for the weekend.  After the usual wait in the lobby and the routine pre-checkup with the technician, Dr. Rostov came in and she knew what was wrong as soon as she looked at my eye, three loose stitches.  The last time I had loose stitches I thought the pain was an eyelash, that would eventually work it's way out, that was a big mistake.  The loose stitches eroded a channel in my cornea and took quite awhile to heal.   This channel was painful and resulted in poor vision until it healed.  That was a tough lesson to learn but with any cornea transplant if you have pain, redness, or a change in vision, you have to go in to see your doctor.

As she prepared me for removing the loose stitches, Dr. Rostov flooded my eye with numbing drops and told me to sit very still, then she took a very sharp needle and like a seamstress ripping out the seam of a hem, she cut the final three stitches in my right eye, and then pulled them out with teeny tiny tweezers.  She then prescribed two new drops to keep out any additional infections and sent me on my way. 

On Monday I went in for a quick check up to ensure the area where she removed the stitches last week, looked healthy and free from infection. 

I was thrilled as she declared that the eye looked great.  She said the blood vessels as well as the other infection finally seemed to look better and on the mend.  This infection has not budged since March, so this is amazing news.  Dr. Rostov was so pleased that she has postponed my surgery and wants to see me in two weeks.  We are hopeful that my eye is on the mend and surgery will not be needed at all.  I am not sure what helped, it could be the removal of the last stitches, the new drug Durezol, the fact that I was flooding my eye all weekend with preservative free artificial tears, or the mountain air from camping.   Whatever the reason for the improvement I am thrilled and I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are moving forward.

I hope whatever setbacks you may be dealing with this week are on the mend.

Seattle Sunset Sail

Saturday started out lovely.  We slept in late, ate breakfast on our fabulous new patio, and enjoyed lounging in the sun for a good part of the morning.  We drove into Seattle around 3:30pm for a late lunch early dinner at one of our favorite cheap eats, Paseo.  Around 5pm we left Paseo and began our 15-20 minute drive to the Seattle waterfront. 

I had planned a surprise sunset cruise for Clyde and we had to be at Pier 54 by 6:15.   I was happy we were right on schedule, since timing is not usually my strong point.  We drove through Shilshole, to Ballard, and then on to Elliott Avenue, just in time for the traffic to come to a screeching halt.  It was awful and I could not help but think our romantic evening was going to set sail without us. 

I contemplated, should I call to cancel or trust to fate, what to do?  We have never seen traffic so bad and Clyde actually imagined the gridlock that would overcome the city should a natural disaster strike.  He went on about how we would have to evacuate on his bike if we needed to go anywhere.  Natural disaster?, evacuate on his bike?, what happened to my romantic sunset cruise?  The traffic was ugly and I was so stressed.  I watched as the clock displayed 5:38pm, and then 5:50pm.  We were so far away and all of a sudden Clyde says, "Should we turn around, go up to Second and down to Seneca?" "Turn around?, no we can't turn around!"  I piped back.  I thought for a moment and peacefully said, "All right, if you think we should turn around, let's turn around."  Ok, maybe it wasn't so peacefully, and maybe there were other words mentioned, but the truth was, we had to turn around; so we did.  We whipped a u-turn, ran some orange lights, dodged a few pedestrians and flew passed Clay, Bell, Lenora, Pike, Union and countless other streets. Just then I saw it, Seneca, we made a sharp right turn.  It was like Clyde had rehearsed this very drive for just such an occasion.  We ducked into a garage right across from the Pier and barely made the pedestrian light to cross Western Avenue, whew!  We made it with about 8 minutes to spare.  It took all of 15 seconds to recoup when we spotted the Obsession, our sailing vessel for the next 2 and 1/2 hours. 



The sky was perfectly blue.



Up went the sails, and soon we were gliding across the calm waters of Puget Sound.



This was amazing and I am in love.



.....and the views were breathtaking.



It was so quiet and it felt like we were on a reality show enjoying an over the top date.













This is wonderful and if you live near Puget Sound I highly recommend it. The next time we spend money on a date,  and if the weather is nice,  I am so going to pick sailing.  You can bring a picnic, pack beverages, and make it exactly what you'd like.

What is your perfect date night?

An Edmonds Kind of Day.

Friday was spectacular. It really feels like Summer has arrived and I am determined to soak it up before the inevitable shift in seasons is here.  Don't get me wrong I love Fall but I have been waiting in line for Summer and the doors have finally opened.

After work we decided on an inexpensive dinner and a show, so we headed to the beach in Edmonds for an impromptu picnic.



We found the perfect spot on an iron bench about five feet from the seawall. The sun was so bright in the enormous blue sky, it was hard to imagine it could possibly vanish within the hour.

 

The salty air swirled around our heads as the tide rhythmically lapped the shore in it's usual mesmerizing way, and our front row seats did not disappoint.

 

All along the waterfront people gathered to savor the performance about to be displayed by Mother Nature herself.  We sat snuggled together and watched as the sky changed from bright blue to burnt orange, it was beautiful.



After the sun escaped behind the Olympic Mountains, she gave an encore as the entire sky was painted in deep shades of orange.
  


So there it was, another breathtaking show.  It was a fabulous experience and one I highly recommend.  You can see it every night, there are no blackout dates and the price of admission is hard to beat.



It is just so magical how the sun sets everyday and everyday it is so unique. There is something about those final fleeting moments that speak to us so deeply. It is time to reflect on the day behind us and look towards the day ahead.

 

Yup, I would say this was a picture perfect Edmonds kind of a day!

Baseball and a Birthday

Wednesday night we joined our good friends, Diane and Bela at Safeco Field.  The weather was perfect; not a cloud in the sky, our seats were fabulous; nine rows from the field.  and the Sno-Cones and Garlic Fries were delicious. 

We do not go to many Mariner games, I am not sure why because I love the whole experience.  I like the anticipation of going to a game, shuffling through the turnstile with all the of other fans, the energy of the crowd and the first view of that perfectly manicured field as you step on the
concourse.

  

It's a whole other world and tonight it was extra special.  We were celebrating Bela's birthday.

 

His actual birthday is in March and since the Mariners do not play in early-March we chose to celebrate in mid-August. 

After driving into Seattle, parking and entering the stadium we had about 1/2 hour to spare.  We headed over to the Birthday/Anniversary table for his surprise gift.  For a small fee you receive a tote bag, commemorative baseball, Mariners hat, a 10% off Mariners Team Store gift card and $25 gift card to Ivar's. 

We found our seats and then ventured out for hotdogs and ice cold beers.  The sun felt so good and we settled in just in time to catch pre-game yoga and warm up.

 

The Blue Jays took command early in the game but we sat there with hopeful anticipation that we might actually win. 

One can hope, can't I?

It was brutal.  The Mariners just could not get on base and when they did the Jays took them out with two double plays.

 

At the end of the second inning we needed a mental break and Clyde and I had one more great surprise for Bela, right up there on the center field scoreboard. 

It was fabulous and he loved it. 

The game was less than riveting and at times a bit tense.  Outfielder Casper Wells took a 97mph fast ball square on the nose in the sixth inning, luckily he is ok.  The game ended 5-1 and while we did not end up celebrating a Mariners win, it was pretty fabulous for Wednesday night.

Inaugural Post

Welcome to From Lemons to Limoncello.  A blog about life and gratitude. 

I still can not believe it is already mid August, the light here in the Pacific Northwest has officially started to change; it is lower in the sky and lacking the warmth and  brightness that so eagerly attempts to tan our very pale Seattle skin.

Our Summer this year has been served unusually cold with a heaping side of overcast. There is a long standing joke in Seattle, "What are you going to do this Summer?" response, "Not sure, it depends which day it falls on".  Ack!   

I love Summer,  I love the heat, I love the long evenings and I love the warm energy of vitamin D soaking into my skin.  While the rest of the country has been bathed with scorching relentless heat our Summer was bordering on lukewarm. This year I want a do-over.  I wish I could capture all the good things about Summer and bottle 'em up to bring out at a later date. 

Welcome Limoncello!

 
Earlier this Spring a friend mentioned she had tried some homemade  limoncello and she said it was pure liquid sunshine.  I have been fixated by the idea of  homemade "pure liquid sunshine" ever since.  After learning of the lengthy time required to create this much loved aperitif I was challenged.   Limoncello needs to sit at a minimum of 3 months and if you can be patient, it just gets better with more age.

I researched the web and was happy to find this recipe
that seemed to have great reviews.

So as we cherish these last fleeting weeks of Summer and prepare our minds to settle into our shades of grey and our pensive skies, my sunshine is brewing center stage in the nook above my fireplace.  And as the days get shorter and the deepness of winter is upon us, I look forward to a little sip of liquid sunshine to brighten the day!