Bowing to the inevitable

The other day I was trying to unpick some stitching on a dress and I was really struggling to see what I was doing, even though I was wearing my glasses. I´ve also noticed that working on details on my pots has become harder. After a visit to the ophthalmologist it has become obvious my cataract has worsened over the last six months and I have to either up my glasses to a five or have the operation. 

To keep increasing my prescription isn´t going to solve the problem in the long run so I have decided to have the op. and hope for the best. As I´ve mentioned before, I  can only see out of one eye so if anything happens to that I am well and truly screwed...anyway, I´ve booked the pre-op. exams so fingers crossed.

Why a pitchfork?

Have you ever stopped to wonder why the Devil has a pitchfork? No, neither have I until today when for some obscure reason the question popped into my mind. Most people (including myself) wouldn´t recognize a pitchfork or know what it is for but everyone knows it is associated with the Devil. Strange.

What intrigues me is the origin of the pairing. Back in the days before mechanization I imagine pitchforks were a common article in the countryside, but where did the link come from and how long ago? Pitchforks can have between two and five thin tines but the Devil´s one is most often pictured as a trident - some connection with the sea and Greeks gods?

Much food for thought, it will keep me going for several sessions on the treadmill.

Photo by Alfred Kenneally at Unsplash
 

Stats

My blog stats appear to have gone bananas. A couple of months ago my viewing figures started dropping for some reason and now they have suddenly shot up so I am getting more views in a day than I used to get in a month. I´ve just been blogging away as usual so these fluctuations are a mystery to me. Still, it´s nice to know people are reading my ramblings.

Poorly Toby

My poor little lad is not so well theses days. He is sixteen now and has a heart problem which causes fluid to accumulate in his lungs and abdomen. He is on heart medication but there is no cure and sadly it is just a question of keeping him comfortable for as long as possible. The above picture is from happier days.

Because he is blind he no longer enjoys going for a walk but happily potters about the flat most of the time. He has a constant cough and every now and then he takes a turn for the worse, stops eating and just wants to sleep so I expect him to breathe his last any moment and am ready to call the vet, then he perks up again for a couple of weeks. It is an emotional roller-coaster.

I am determined that when his time comes he will die peacefully at home, with or without the vet´s help. There is absolutely no way I´ll try and prolong his life so that he ends up in a dog hospital amongst strangers. For now we are just taking it one day at a time.

An old-fashioned key

 

You know those old keys which quietly multiply in the bottom of your kitchen drawer, totally useless as you can´t remember what they were for, well my kitchen drawer doesn´t have any, just because I want one.

I have an idea for something I want to model in clay and the ring-shaped end of the key would be perfect for what I want to do. I was sure I had an old key or two knocking around, but no, not that type anyway. I have Yale keys, those triple safety keys and ones with flat square ends but nothing with a hole.

No problem, thought I, I´ll pop to a key cutter as they stock blanks for all kinds of keys. No joy, though, they have everything but what I want - it is too old-fashioned I´m told. 

I shall have to start visiting my friends and rooting in their kitchen drawers.

Photo by Anna Zakharova at Unsplash
 

Spring hasn´t arrived

I was mistaken recently when I wrote a blog saying spring has arrived, we are actually in the last week of winter at the moment. I mention this because today the temperature reached 34°C and over the next few days the forecast is for over 37°C.

Naturally this means it is time to put the window screens up, the netting is attached with velcro and I usually roll them up and put them away for winter - the only problem is I can´t find them - I´ve searched everywhere! It is a large long roll and can´t have just disappeared.

Well done. Amazon!

Credit where it´s due...after my rant the other day about Shein (who have still not refunded me), I want to praise Amazon for their excellent customer service.

I bought a pottery tool from Amazon.uk about a month ago and had it delivered to my granddaughter who lives in England. I do this from time to time to get things which are unavailable here, but don´t have them delivered to me in Brazil because the import tax would double the cost of the item. My granddaughter then passes my purchases to whichever family member is coming here next.

So far so good. I received my tool yesterday but unfortunately found it was defective, in fact completely useless. According to their site I was entitled to a refund, within 30 days of purchase, after they received the returned item. The thirty days were up today. To return the item would take weeks and be expensive, but after some hassle with the automated system (my problem didn´t fit their solutions), I finally managed to exchange messages with a human being and explain the situation. Within minutes and after consulting his supervisor the answer came back that they would make an exception and give me a full refund and I didn´t have to try and return the tool. Wow, that made my day.

No ifs, no buts, no runaround - Amazon I take my hat off to you.

A menace in the square

Continuing the theme of observing the street and square while I am on the treadmill, every once in a while I can see a scam going on. It works like this:

A lad, apparently upset, will approach a passerby and ask for help, claiming that he earns money to aid his young siblings by selling sweets to passengers on the nearby trains. This is forbidden, of course, but does actually happen. He says he has been caught by an inspector and his goods confiscated. He does not beg for money but asks you to buy him a box of chocolate bars or whatever so that he can get back to earning some money. It is a rather sad and quite convincing little story, especially the first time you hear it, as he is not asking for money. There is a sweet shop near the gym and he tries to talk you into going there with him to buy him some stock.

The only problem is that there are several lads scattered in the square, all telling the same story and this group of scammers appear every few days. The other morning I watched from my treadmill as one lad convinced an elderly lady with a walking stick to go to the sweet shop with him. I felt very annoyed but couldn´t really do anything about it situated as I was. Occasionally the police turn up and nab the lads but a few days later they are back again.

I don´t know if they sell the boxes of sweets back to the shop or somewhere else, but it must be worth their while. They can feel rather menacing at times as they are strapping teenagers, not children. Another scam of theirs is to stand outside supermarkets and ask you to buy them a bag of rice or other staple item as they have no food at home, again they´re not asking for money. There is usually a pal round the corner with a large rucksack stuffed with the groceries they get.

Whenever they approach me I ignore them and keep walking, but it is not a comfortable feeling.

A bit of green

The treadmills at my gym are upstairs, 24 of them in two long lines. I always try to get one near the large windows overlooking the square so that I have something to look at to pass the time.

This is my view of the square, although it is not large it is a nice green area and I live just on the other side - no excuses for not going to the gym!.

The photo is quite deceptive actually as it is less than fifty yards across. Toby used to enjoy going for walks here but I no longer take him since he lost his sight as he gets very stressed if he is not sure where he is. Also it is not that clean. Unfortunately people bring food to eat and discard leftovers without using a bin. This attracts rats, and there are also problems with fleas and ticks on top of the spoiled food lying around. It is amazing how quickly a dog can scarf something down even if you are being vigilant. I always kept Toby on a lead on the paved area. My friend walks her dog there and lets her of leash then wonders why she gets bad stomach, but she won´t listen to me.

Latest efforts

I have been working on a series of bud vases lately, these are all prototypes and haven´t been fired yet. I´ll probably just give them a white glaze, sometimes simple is best. 

Spring has arrived...

It is only the first week of Spring here yet we have hit over 30°C more than once. We´ll be completely roasted by Christmas!

Muscle up!

Well, I´ve just found out I´m wasting my time going to the gym for an hour every day and doing body building and using the treadmill. Apparently you can go to a clinic called Muscle Up, lie down and have some wires attached. These stimulate your muscles 20,000 times in 30 minutes, job done. No boring exercise or getting all sweaty.

Next brilliant idea will be to hire someone to pre-chew your food for you - no wear and tear on your teeth or jaws. Give me strength!

A good sort-out

Every once in a while I try and give my pottery area a good sort-out. We potters tend to accumulate loads of bits and bobs which 'might come in useful' because of an interesting shape, texture or possible tool. Bottle tops, pebbles, bits of wood and metal, string, yogurt pots,the list is endless. They don´t all come in handy, of course, but they do clutter things up so that you actually end up forgetting what you have stashed away.

Hence the need for an occasional blitz, which I did yesterday - and it took me all day! Everything is nice and tidy now and my memory refreshed about what I actually have, and there is a large bag of rubbish to be discarded. I must get rid of it quickly before I start rooting through 'just in case'.

All the ´ologists

With my second dentist appointment done and dusted I am finally up to date with all things medical for the time being. It really is a marathon. So far this year I have seen my cardio, gynae, ophthal, dermo, pneumo, thyroid specialist and lung specialist - all check-ups or follow-ups. Most of them ask for tests, scans etc so it is a question of traipsing here and there to do the tests then back to the doc with the results.

With no GP system I have to organise this myself, choose a specialist, make the appointments etc. Thank goodness my medical insurance covers me for all this, it is worth the high monthly fee I pay. One thing I like about this system is that if you don´t care a particular doctor you can choose another, unlike in England where you are stuck with whoever your GP has referred you to.

The fun and games will start again when I have cataract surgery in a couple of month´s time but for the time being I´ll enjoy the break.