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.