Doris' upside

Sun, sun, sun and 20°C.

This week I got postal delivery of a pair of sunglasses with lenses in my strength. A "Schnapps" idea as the Germans say - a spur of the moment online purchase after getting a 20% off voucher following the purchase of a 5 Euro printer replacement cartridge.


I regretted it the moment I hit the "Order" button knowing full well that for less than 35 Euros incl delivery, it would be trash. However I was astonished to find they were excellent and ideal for the job. They were the cheapest no name model - style was not a consideration! I think the chosen frame is in the "Nerd" collection.

I seldom wear glasses and even less sunglasses and I don't think my distance sight has changed in decades. What I do now have are short distance sight particularly reading the ingredients list on foodstuffs in the supermarket. And the other problem is increasing sensitivity to sunlight. In 2015, I lost m expensive sunglasses at the Ottobeuren Autumn market. I managed 2016 without any but it was a strain at times. So now all set for 2017 which will be the year of the sun, I'm sure!

Didn't need them today as I spent all day with a helmet and visor, chainsaw and very thick gloves, trousers and jacket to tackle a 20m x 5m very dense, intertwined thicket of 5m+ high blackthorn on a 45° slope down to a water filled ditch!

A job I have been meaning to tackle for a few years, hoping someone would come along with a machine to cut and dispose of the mass of thorny painful branches. Today I was forced to do as I have been having serious kidney stone problems since Sunday night. Monday was the worst and although it eased off, everything pointed to an impending hospital stay. Chainsaws are the second best medication I know. The #1 is my 1965 John Deere at top speed over meadows (we don't have much in the way of arable fields where the farmers would rejoice at my antics.

I don't ever remember such a dreadful day connected with such work. It was awful and I was dead beat when darkness came and forced me indoors. No sign of any stones but now that every bone in my body hurts, I don't notice them if they still are there.