Reassured

Another clear cold night, temperature down to minus 4. I woke up at seven thirty, posted today's Morning Prayer link, then sang Happy Birthday to my sister  on WhatsApp. 89 today. I didn't go back to sleep but got up and cooked breakfast porridge. Clare's eye is still inflamed and her vision worsening. Something's not right, so she contacted the eye hospital and was encouraged to visit the Optometry School for a check, as the eye surgeon looking after her isn't available to consult at the moment. 

I went to St John's for the Eucharist. There were the usual five of us with Fr Colin. I skipped coffee after the service to return home and scrape the layer of frost off the car before taking Communion to Sandra in Danescourt. A taxi was reversing into our street as I arrived home. It was collecting Clare to take her to the Optometry School for an emergency consultation. It seems to have taken more than three hours to arrange this. I cooked and ate lunch leaving Clare's share to eat this evening. I walked then to the house where Ray lives the other side of Thompson's Park, to take him Communion. I rang his doorbell for a good while but there was no response. I suspect he may have fallen asleep in the chair. I decided not to phone and disturb him, and went for a walk in the park instead and returned just after sunset. The sharp drop in temperature was noticeable once the sun was below the horizon.

After her eye checkup Clare went into town. We chatted while she was having a cup of tea in John Lewis' top floor restaurant, our usual host. The optometrist gave her a thorough examination and said that the inflammation wasn't yet serious. He gave her a new prescription and arranged to see her again on Monday to check if it's got better or worse. She gave me the taxi service phone number she'd used, to book myself a ride for tomorrow morning. My operation calls for a six forty five departure from home, to allow for any taxi timing error. I could if necessary walk it in forty minutes. I'm more worried about arriving late than I am about the operation itself. My taxi booking was confirmed with a text message giving an estimate of the fare, dependent on drive timing and conditions, plus possible payment means. A neat feature.

Sister-in-law Ann rang to check if whether the operation had been cancelled or not, and gave me a helpful briefing on the procedure and its aftermath. Fascinating. Thanks to low impact surgery, I may not be out of action for long. She said she walked out of hospital after her gall bladder was removed. In any case I have no commitments apart from Sway until a week Sunday, just welcome free time.

After supper, another couple of 'Bones' episodes, then a really early night.