Callie is here, of course, and we've been having some really good quality time. It took her a couple days to make the adjustment to Florida time, but Saturday we spent some time in the pool. We have this cool two person float, and after a swim, we got into the float, listened to music, and just talked. Talked about her dreams and goals, her past boyfriends (she doesn't have one now), our memories of loved ones that have passed (like my mom and "Grandpa Jim,") and memories in general. We talked about the University of San Francisco where she'll start college next month. Her grades in high school earned her a private dorm room, and she's excited about that. When we got out of the pool, we made dinner together--bbq chicken and her favorite--mashed potatoes. She peeled the potatoes for me while we sang to my playlist on the Bose.
Sunday, we went to the zoo, which was really hot and humid. It was an interesting place, like a jungle, but would have been a lot more interesting in October, when it's cooler and the animals aren't hiding in the shade near the back of the enclosures. We really liked Athena, a year old Florida Panther rescued when her mother abandoned her, probably because she had three other kits and didn't feel like she could handle them all. The keeper standing nearby told us that Athena was probably the runt, and the weakest, so the mother abandoned her. Since Athena's mother was collared, the people keeping track of her learned that suddenly one cub was missing, so they went out and found Athena in the den, alone. You can find a really nice video with Athena's story here.
I haven't really liked seeing animals collared in the wild, but this time, I'm glad Athena's mother was, because Athena, who would have died, is now thriving. The zoo is getting ready to introduce her to a male in the hopes that they will help to grow the population of the endangered cats.
Here are some pics from the zoo:
Here are some cute baby coots...the momma is in the shadows:
Callie in front of a giant rubber tree:
I have an interesting story about this guy, which I'll add later...
This reminded me of Randall's hilarious video about the honey badger:
I see these every day on my way to work. They're usually lounging in the sun on the beach of a neighborhood pond:
After the zoo, we went to the Cheesecake Factory and had a good lunch. When we got back home, we went swimming again, then binge watched "The Handmaid's Tale," which Callie recommended, and is REALLY good. And sorta scary relevant.
Here's Callie relaxing on the couch:
Monday, on the way to work, my right eye started to hurt. When I got to work, it was fiercely red and painful. I took out my contact, and since we didn't have morning patients, I made an eye appointment with the eye doctor across the street. So, I found out that the scar on my cornea from the last tear has made it so I can't really wear contacts anymore, and the humid heat at the jungle-like zoo followed by forgetting to take my contacts out before swimming caused another infected ulcer on my cornea, and this one more serious than the last time, because it will be another scar, and there was an aneurysm that ruptured too, making the area around my cornea swell. So, I'm trying to stay in the dark as much as possible, and wear two pairs of sunglasses when I drive. I go back to the doctor Friday to assess the damage and decide on a plan. He prescribed me some drops with three different antibiotics, and they seem to be working. My eye feels a lot better today.
Anyway, I'm not letting that stop me from the fun we're planning for the weekend. Or from work, which is busy for the rest of the week. Today will be a looonnnggg day, but Callie has her friend over from NSB, so they'll go to the beach or the movies.
Anyway, it's time to get ready for work. I'll add more pics to this blog post in a bit! Happy Wednesday!
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