Good family time

So here's the short of it,
I'm feeling stronger and had a good visit with Shelley, Lou, and Max.  

And here's the long

Today I continue to be stronger.  But now at 8:30 in the evening, I'm really tired.

This evening we had Mommy Anne, Shelley, Lou, and Max for dinner.  Liga also invited her friend Danny.   I felt well enough to really help in preparing dinner this evening.  That's a major step forward.  Sophie got along great with Max tonight. Actually for the first part of the evening she was quite shy and not sure what to make of this baby in her house.  By the end of the evening she was giving Max some little doggie kisses on his hand. They will be headed back home tomorrow early morning.  We'll miss them!

My physical symptoms are certainly bearable, but they are sure no fun.  I continue to have neuropathy in my feet and hands.  In addition to the numbness and occasional tingling I'm beginning to have occasional shooting pains in my feet - I have nothing at all like that in my fingers.  My fingers are mostly just numb, and make handling small things really difficutl.  The fingers on my right hand are cracking open in small sore places on the tips - following the ridges of my fingerprint, as well as in a couple of places at the corners of my nails.  For the first time in a long time, I'm having some back pain.  It's been so long since I really did any of my stretches and I've sure gotten pretty stiff - I imagine that's the biggest part of my back pain.  As I get stronger, I'm going to really make that a priority.

Tomorrow night at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, there will be a ceremonial lighting of the Star.  Gene brought that idea of the star with him from Kentucky when they moved to Chattanooga.  He and a gentleman that he met at church, made the star and for several years now it's been on the front lawn of the church each Christmas season.  Alan and I are planning to go to the service.