It is the little miracles that make life so sweet and today I am counting blessings and taking a moment to be grateful for all the miracles encountered in life; both the small ones that often go unnoticed and the awesome, breathtaking ones that leave me full of wonder and overwhelmed by all the good fortune that life has brought me.

Yesterday’s joyous miracle came in the form of an eye exam at the prestigious Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. It was my second annual exam for macular degeneration and I went to it filled with fear and apprehension. Imagine my relief when I heard Dr. Steven Schwarz, chief of the Retina department say while reviewing my tests,

“Maria, you have the healthiest eyes I ‘ve seen today.”

Indeed miraculous and awesome words coming from a world renowned expert on retina related diseases. He reassured me that my eye condition has not worsened and assured me that the condition I have is age-related and not as serious as first thought.

The second part of this miracle was the invitation to participate in a federally sponsored macular degeneration study that Dr. Schwarz is conducting on the West Coast. It will be an extensive five year study of the vitamins used in eye care. It includes free yearly eye-exams and free vitamins for the duration of the study.

There isn’t much of a risk invovled since all participants will receive the eye related vitamins that are now being successfully used to treat macular degeneration. However, one group will also receive lutein, another, anti-oxidants, and the last group both lutein and anti-oxidants. All members of the study also receive the Centrum Silver daily vitamin complex so we will not be diverse in our daily vitamin regime.

It is nice to know that during the next five years, my eye care and vitamins will be paid for, but truthfully, I would have joined this study even if this were not the case. It makes me happy to think I am helping, albeit in a small way, to discover an important factor in improving eye-care.

Funny how miracles happen. The exam I dreaded and feared has become a boon; a real boost to my psyche and an adventure into the world of federal studies.

I have been back for a week, but during that week I have worked on memory book pages for Kristi. For me this is an act of love and I enjoy making the albums for her. To my suprise, I find I use many of the skills refined from days as a teacher in the elementary classroom.

The proficiency used to put up the multitude of colorful bulletin boards carries over to making memory book pages. Like those old bulletin boards, each page builds on a bright background, requires a clever title, and is completed with photos or pictures pertaining to the subject. While teaching, I always found bulletin boards a creative outlet and producing memory books increases my adroitness and skill in layout and design.

When I first started constructing these albums, I made them the old fashion way with bright colored papers from the store, templates for cutting around photos, scissors that cut with artsy edges, and lots of craft glue. This inevitably resulted in a messy trail of scraps throughout the house; no matter how diligently I tried to contain them.

Now I use only the computer, a couple of Print Shop programs, lots of photo paper, and a trusty printer. When considering the price of ink, the earlier and more traditional way may be less expensive, but the contemporary use of the computer keeps the clutter to a minimum and the lack of cutting out photos is a blessing for my “not so nimble anymore” fingers.

Scanned into this post are two memory book pages. The first is one made in the summer of 2000. It is from the first trip Bob and I took to Alaska. This page is done in the more conventional cut and paste manner. The second one is hot of the press; so to speak. It was made yesterday using the computer and a scrap booking program. It is one of my favorite milestone pages. The photographs capture four month old Eric’s first successful attempt at rolling over. I think it tells the story well and that is the whole point of memory books.

Kristi and I are taking the twins on their first long trip to Grass Valley. We will visit her Aunt Dottie. We will be gone for four days and this time I am not even taking a laptop. Kristi is anxious to share the babies with her Aunt and I am selfishly looking forward to a little extra time with both her and the babies.

So since I will not be home, I am posting my St. Patrick’s Day greeting a little early with a little help from American Greetings e-cards.
Enjoy yourself, stay healthy, and may the luck of the Irish be with you all year.

Early morning and time to do some writing. I haven’t been around this week because I found an inspiring book by Marla Cilley. It is called Sink Refections; Flylady’s Babystep Guide to Overcoming CHAOS and took the time to begin my own baby steps toward putting our house in order.

In this delightful “how to book”, Marla Cilley presents the best ideas for housecleaning and de-cluttering one’s life. I have taken her advice to heart and now I have an orderly and clean kitchen with a sink that shines and am on my way to making it a habit. Using her suggestions, I have de-cluttered my bedroom closet and my dresser drawers and am presently attacking with vigor, the closet in my office. The trunk of the car is loaded with clothing, shoes, and other items that I will drop at the local Navy Relief Center this morning.

The Flylady also has a web page with helpful daily advice . I have just discovered this site and it seems to augment her book nicely.

There is much more to do and much more for me to learn about de-cluttering, but as the Flylady says, “Baby steps, baby steps.” So once again, I am back posting and maybe the glow of tidiness will dull soon, but right now I am enthusiastic and filled with a desire to shine and polish. . . hmmm could it be that Spring is just around the corner?

I am back to posting and it feels good to be sitting at the computer, hands on the keyboard, and ready to write. No trip away from home to write about. Kristi and the twins were here for three days to celebrate her birthday and before that my good friend Kelly came down from Northern California and I was able to spend a few afternoons visiting with her. Now the house is strangely quiet and definitely in a need of straightening.

My brother and I had a delightful phone conversation the other day during which he mentioned that my blog was turning into a Grandma Blog. His loving comment made me realize what an impact Jade and the twins were having on my life. I should have realized that being a Grandma awakes dormant motherhood brain waves. They are not as intense as the ones in motherhood, but definitely change the focus of the brain. The grand kids seem to take up a great amount of memory and cerebration space in the brain. Turf that was once devoted to more complex thinking and an ability to converse in an intelligent manner. This is not an apology just a comment on my budding awareness of the dreaded but awesome Nana Syndrome.

A perfect example of how far I have sunk into this syndrome can be seen in a minute and a half video that Bob took on Thursday. He posted it on Cdr Bob’s Forum. Good Lord, I am speaking in gibberish, have not bothered to comb my hair, and I am bouncing a baby with such vigor that I am surprised she hasn’t thrown up all over me. In the background, the TV is blaring out the world news and I wouldn’t be able to repeat one word. I am completely mesmerized by a four month old grand daughter. Yes indeed, a very serious case of the Nana Syndrome. Perhaps somewhere there is a 12 step program designed for me. Grandparents Anonymous where are you? I need a good dose of temperance!