Did I tell you that my lens popped out and disappeared? That's one of the lenses in my glasses, reading glasses. It must have been last Tuesday, since I don't think it was Thursday, and it couldn't have been Wednesday, since Wednesday I didn't go to the grocer's, since it's my swimming day. Unless it was Thursday, but I'm not sure, since I'm pretty sure I went to the grocer's early in the week. It must have been Monday or Tuesday.

But if it was Monday, that means it took me almost a week, since it's already Sunday, to have called the eye doctor to make an appointment. And I know I was putting it off, since I was afraid that the new system, which isn't a booklet with all the doctors and numbers, but we have to call a central "appointment number" and give our identity number and then tell a nameless operator, which is better at times than someone who may know us, but getting back to my wondering what had happened to all of my eye doctor records. This is the only eye doctor I've been to; he's the one who gave me the news that I had grown up or old enough for reading glasses over a decade ago. Wow! Was I traumatized; I wouldn't even go to the opticians alone, it was so frightening. But that's not my problem now.

Back to my story, you see that somehow this morning I got up the guts to call that number. Luckily they had sent a magazine, my health plan that is, and the number was on it. Actually the number was all over it, since they want us to call. Oh, yes, so I called and the operator gave me the news that for eyes, at least in Jerusalem, eye doctors are private doctors in their own clinics. I didn't have to go to one of the big official clinics, so I asked, if by chance, could it possibly be that there still is an eye doctor named Dr. Hustovsky, don't laugh, his name is something like that, though I've probably spelled it wrong. Really it's not like it's an easy, everyone knows it kind of name.

Not to leave you in suspense, yes, he was on their list, and she gave me his number, and I called immediately, not my usual procrastination, probably since I'm sick and tired of using those $10 glasses I bought in New York last summer for emergencies. And even more amazing, I was able to make an appointment for today. So, after getting the last, ok, maybe not the really last, of the "next year's clothes" for Halleli and Porat, I got to the eye doctor's office just a second before he opened the door and asked his secretary who's next and she pointed to me. Ok, so I'm exaggerating a little. I managed to give her my name and pay her and then he opened the door. I never even got to sit down and crochet. Imagine that!

Baruch Hashem! Everything was fine, except I could hardly see, since the drops made everything a bissel too bright. Good thing it isn't summer, since it wasn't all that bright today, and I do have sun glasses.

Trying to be super-efficient, I went to the optician who also has the doctor who checks vision to see if my eyes are "aging," like in needing higher numbers. But they said that I have to wait a few days, since the drops distort, you're telling me.

So I made an appointment for later in the week, but while I was there, in order not to waste time later in the week, I looked for frames. Well, my old ones, which I'm very angry at for losing the lens, whenever that was, were very expensive, but I'm tired of them. Now you should always think of glasses as jewelry worn daily. I really felt like I needed something new and different, and at first the lady in the store kept showing me frames that looked like my old frames, and suddenly I realized that my old style is still being sold. But I wanted something new and a bissel different.

I mentioned which sick fund, and she showed me some which were highly discounted for members, now is 70% off enough discount? I thought so, and I even found new frames, but if the remaining lens in my old one is exactly what I need, does it pay for me to get a new one? Oy yoy yoy, ugh! I don't want to hope that my eyes have aged, but I want new frames for a new look for a new me.

I'll let you know later in the week.

And after that, I went into "Big Deal" which is a discount chain selling close-outs from the states. And what was on the counter for sale but "reading glasses" for NS9.90, which is $8- less than I spent on a pair this summer in New York, and these were even nicer than my spares, so I bought a pair.

At my age, one can never have too many spare pairs...