It’s a good feeling to have the final copy of “Lochlan Museum” submitted. Both kindle, and paperback versions, no less. I could’ve released it in June after all, but… I didn’t want to put that much pressure on myself. Not with the way things have been going lately. But now, it’s completely finished, and I’m free! Free to get back to “Disengaged”. If I can. My listening ear is gone, and won’t be back until the end of the month. I reached a point where I needed to read out loud to continue, and… there is no acceptable substitute. So, I stopped, finished Lochlan… If I’m unable to get back to “Disengaged,” I may start Jack’s next book.

I finally saw the eye doctor today. I was impressed, and that’s saying a lot, since I rarely am. I was relieved to know that my retinas are “quiet,” meaning there is no bleeding. I haven’t had any in a lot of years, not since I first got an insulin pump, and finally had the ability to get my blood sugar under control. Did I achieve that control slowly? No. I did it at super-speed, and as a result, I ended up with proliferative retinopathy in my right eye. Who knew that improved blood glucose control could be a BAD thing? I had no idea. I learned the hard way, when my retina began bleeding. At the time, probably about fifteen years ago (my date-keeper isn’t here, he’s at a men’s event at church–he’d know the exact year, month, day, hour, and minute), laser surgery was the only treatment. So, the retinologist–who I was NOT impressed with–destroyed the vision in my right eye. You heard it. I am legally blind in that eye. Not that I can’t see anything with it. I see constant flashing, and while some people have floaters, what I have is more akin to curtains that wash across what little vision I have left, with every blink and move I make. It is AMAZING what one can get used to. I remember being crushed at the time. I had no depth perception, the constant strobe-effect drove me nearly crazy, and between that and the floater-curtains, it overwhelmed my ability to see clearly with my left eye. But, it is amazing what one can get used to.

I am impressed with the eye doctor I saw today. Her office is up-to-date, no dilation required. That’s a good thing, since it takes my eyes an entire day to recover from that. She’s very knowledgeable, and that’s a major plus. So is the entire staff. If I do run into trouble down the road, I know who to go to.

Em is interested in becoming a wildlife rehabilitator. At thirteen, she’s too young to volunteer much of anywhere, but there is a local no-kill non-profit that will allow it, as long as I volunteer also. And so, once a week we go feed, water, clean up after, and play with cats who are waiting for their new people to come find them. This week, there was a gray striped kitten. He looked so much like Maxim. He wanted to be held the entire time, so I pretty much did everything one-handed. He was also ornery, and tried to eat my dichroic cross pendant. I did take issue with that. He was determined, and fast, and wrestling it away from him wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. Apparently it was hilarious, because Em got a good laugh out of it. He was very sweet, otherwise. Mostly he lay on his back  and looked at things upside down, while I held him with one arm, like a baby. I really did not want to leave him there, but… We’ve got Star and Pandy, neither of which would be delighted to have a little brother move in. And so, when we were done caring for the cats, we walked away without him. I learned that I’m stronger than I thought.

Now that I’m going to try to get back to “Disengaged,” the first thing to do, is read it over from the beginning. I love this book, I find it riveting. And so, happy reading to us all! Because that’s exactly what I’m going to do.