Noisy Wednesday

I had a couple of tasks I wanted to achieve during our summer break. The screen of my iPhone is cracked, and I thought I'd get it replaced. I need to get another eye exam and possibly get some new glasses. And I need to get my teeth cleaned, because I haven't been to a dentist since before Covid.

Well, the eye exam is going to happen Saturday. I was home on Tuesday in the late afternoon when the lens popped out of my glasses, and though I tried to pop it in again, I just couldn't get it to fit. So I raced down to the optician, who not only fixed the lens but readjusted my glasses. They were badly askew -- I'd probably sat on them multiple times without really noticing -- and now they feel much better.

He asked me how long it had been since my last eye exam. About five years, I told him.

A man browsing a rack of eyeglasses nearby laughed. "And I thought I was bad!" he said.

So, shamed into it by a perfect stranger, I made an appointment for an eye checkup.

I decided to just let the iPhone slide. I have one of those plastic protectors over the screen, so even though it's cracked, it's basically intact and it works fine. I can live with it.

So that just leaves the dentist, and my goal is to get that appointment settled today.

There's a lot happening in the garden. The butterfly bushes are attracting all sorts of critters -- I saw a peacock butterfly yesterday as well as this red admiral (top photo).

And our agapanthus, also known by the much more poetic names African lily or Lily-of-the-Nile, is blooming away in its sunny position on the side patio. You can also see that the jimsonweed, or Datura, in the foreground is fading, I assume because it's setting seed. (It's also been quite cool lately, and jimsonweed likes heat.) It bloomed several times, so I consider it a successful experiment. I'm hoping to save the seed and plant it next year.

I'd like to say it was a lovely and peaceful day, but in all honesty, it was noisy as hell. I sat out on the bench trying to read, but there's construction going on in one of the apartments behind us, and they were using some kind of saw that just NEVER STOPPED. And then, an hour or so later, the gardeners came next door and were running hedge trimmers and leaf blowers. I thought I was going to jump out of my skin.

I made a video so you could share my experience. You're welcome.