NEEDLE AND EYE

Talk about passing through the eye of a needle! How about a needle in the eye? The left eye in this case. Tomorrow morning a needle will be inserted in the retina of my left eye to inject medication which treats worsening macular degeneration. There's a wet and a dry type of Mac DeGen, wet is the bad type and that's what my left eye has, the treacherous twit! Apparently the NHS nurses who perform this procedure are highly trained so I will try to keep all my fingers, toes and brain crossed and calm, serene and trustful that the Cosmos and every benevolent angel in it will stop whatever they're doing and focus their loving attention on my left eye (the right one too, just in case) because I need my eyes. These eyes still have loads to do and the Cosmos needs them as much as I do. It would be great if y'all would send in my direction whatever waves of natural and supernatural benevolent power you happen to have on hand tomorrow.

Many thanks, grazie tanto, muchas gracias, merci beaucoup, muito obrigada!

BIRTHDAY

This is what I did today which is the day before my 94th birthday tomorrow the 7th of August, obviously. Went to bed at 2am, more or less my usual bedtime. Slept soundly. Got up about 11am. Breakfast. Then up on stepladder, leaning out of bedroom window managed to clear the gutter of debris, including alien plant life, that was blocking the water flow and affecting the ground floor resident's flat. Asked her to come up and see my ingenious (genius) DIY. Did some more household-type activity. Then went upstairs to my studio to put away some things and prepare other things that need more work. By this time it was becoming evening-ish and there was food in the fridge that needed cooking. A small pack of diced chicken breasts that I put in an impro marinade yesterday: red wine, honey, garlic, spices, olive oil and left-over vegetable-cooking water. After quickly stir-frying the chicken with vegetables I put the whole thing in the oven, including the marinade,and let the dish cook for about an hour. It was beyond delicious, nectar of the gods! Now it's almost midnight which is and was my actual birth-time in Paris 94 years ago. But please ignore the age number, it's merely bureaucratic data. If you congratulate me let it be for who I am (whoeverthat is) and not the fact that I'm still alive here and now.