barber pole project?

Like many of you, I have tons of images and where are they kept? most are currently in a notebook on a shelf. I want to use them and out of sight..out of mind so I needed to come up with something fun to sit on my work table.

I got a scrap piece of MDF board and drilled a hole (with DH standing over my shoulder...)and then I attached a inch dowel rod through the hole and held it in place at the bottom of the board with a screw and washer. Next the painting...with a foam brush, I made red squares over the white gessoed base. When dry, I sprayed it with PYMll. Then I sprayed a puddle of brassy bronze color mist onto a pallet and "washed" a layer of it like a glaze over the base and dowel. When dry, I did the same thing in the opposite direction, then sealed it with the PMYll spray. I then attached a large flat amber marble to the top for decoration. My images are now in page protectors and freely move about the rod with 2 inch binder rings.

Both the spray and the color mist products are available through Outsidethemargins.com web site.

contacts at my AGE?

went for an eye exam today. I have been wearing reading glasses for 10 years...same Rx. Today my close up changed by 3 steps from 2 years ago...(I figured as my arms were getting shorter)...he also said my distance had changed....huh? I have no complaints about my distance at all so sorta ignored him. His solution is bifocals...nope...not for me....I asked about multifocal contacts...he shrugged and said they don't work...but I can try a trial pair if I want. so I did. No trouble getting them in or out...(phew)...the close up reading was great! but my distance was awful...I couldn't see as far as I do without glasses.....he said it takes getting used to....so home I went after ordering glasses for just reading.
the distance didn't improve and it felt like I had vaseline on my eyes when looking in the distance...thank goodness I wasn't driving. so once home, i took the suckers out...and my distance vision was back to normal....(I still think he is wrong on that) when I went back in to get my glasses...I asked about doing mono contacts instead and go with a close up contact in my reading eye and nothing in the distance eye...he shrugged again....ok, so I asked which eye...you guessed it...another shrug....since I have astigmatisms in both eyes...he said to try the lens in both and decide for myself which one feels better. so now...i can SEE to read...without glasses...and I can see distance...without glasses...I feel free...yeah!!! and the contacts are not hard at all to put in or take out...why I didn't do this years ago, I don't know...but am glad to do it now.