I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday. My dr-(Dr. Stevens) was very pleased with the outcome of the surgery. She said that the surgery gave me about 50 % improvement in the position of my eye. she thought that now when she looks at me she doesn't have to decide which eye is looking at her. I go back in two months and we will see how things are then-I still have some swelling and redness. At that time we'll discuss whether or not to do surgery again only this time to work on the muscle toward the inside of my eye. she looked at it during surgery and said there was lots of scar tissue which she could take out. She is not sure how much more straightening the eye will do if I have surgery again-we will see in two months.
I have been working on a needlepoint ornament for my sister Julie's 50th birthday. I am just about done but I keep losing the silver metallic thread I need for it. I know I have some here and I bought another spool but heaven only knows where they both are! I guess I buy another one-you can never have enough-right?
I am going to enjoy these last few days before school starts for me. the weather should be beautiful tomorrow so I'll be at the pool. Today, Emily and I are going out for lunch with our friend Eddie and then I am driving Chris's mom and her sister to Lexington to go to the craft stores.
Have a good day-I plan on it. Mary Jo

Well, it has been almost one week since my eye surgery and all is well. The surgery went well, my eye is straight - at least to me it is- and it is healing well. I have had no problems with it other than itching as it heals. I return to the Dr. next Thursday- it will be interesting to see what she has to say about it. I was at the hospital by 10:30 am and home by 4:00 pm and have only really had to use Tylenol for discomfort.
I am not able to go to the pool this week-Spindletop is hosting the swim conference meet and finals so two of the pools are closed through Wednesday. That is fine with me since I am not supposed to go under water for a week anyway.
I did a Needlepoint class this past weekend-9:30-4:30 on both Saturday and Sunday. We worked on a Project that has a dragonfly on it. It was tedious work, but it will be gorgeous when it is completed. I was thrilled to learn some new stitches and work with lots of metallic fibers.
Emily is home between apartments. She is finally registered for classes at Western Kentucky University-it is hard to register when all of the advisers are not on campus. Everyone we have talked to on the phone at Western has been so helpful.
It is hard to believe that I will begin school in a little over three weeks. I think this is the shortest summer I have had in a long while. I am making plans to go visit Allison during my Fall Break in October. I'll probably go on Wednesday and return on Sunday. Hopefully she will be able to get off of work for part of the time. The last time I was in Boston we were there for a City Year project and did not get to "see" much so I am looking forward to having Allison show me Boston. Take Care. MJ

It is a beautiful morning here in the Chicago area. We've been sitting outside on the patio for morning coffee(in my case Coke) and just basking in the beautiful weather. Later on my sisters , niece, Maggie, and Emily and I will venture to a local mall for a bit of shopping. We will all end up back at my sister Meg's for dinner, maybe followed by an evening of sitting with an open fire, roasting marshmallows and enjoying the beautiful evening-until the bugs usher us indoors.

We spent the 4th at my brother Patrick's home. He has a pool so the younger kids had a great time jumping in and playing games. We all brought goodies to have for dinner. Patrick grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and Italian sausages. It was a wonderful feast! I had a great time talking to my brothers and sisters I don't "see" very often and just watching the kids in the pool. Our time at Patrick's ended with my youngest sister Meg (we are staying at her home) pushing my 21 yr. old nephew, Andy, into the pool-he did have some dry clothes on . Of course that got the younger kids having the same idea and soon both Joey and Jack were in the pool with their clothes on as well.

After arriving back at Meg's, the darkness settled in and the fireworks began. We were able to be on her driveway and see the fireworks from a village on the other side of the river as well as ones being set off at homes nearby. It was a spectacular show, although the mosquitoes had a feast-there has been so much rain up here the mosquito population is is increasing daily.

Emily and I have had a wonderful visit. We have shopped, and shopped and shopped. We have been able to see most of my brothers and sisters (6 of the 8). I helped my nephew, Jack, work on a scrapbook-I sent it to him for his First Communion. We have just relaxed and visited with anyone who happens to be around.

Tomorrow we head back to Kentucky. It will be along drive-at lease 8 hours- depending on the holiday traffic. Fortunately we hit very little road construction on the way here, so that won't be bad-we will be just one of the thousands returning home from their holiday travels. Although we love coming here to visit and we will miss everyone it will be good to be back in our own home and our own beds. Take Care. Mary Jo