So here's the short of it, 
Memorial Day

And here's the long

Today was the Memorial Day celebration at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. 

 There was rain - really just a light sprinkling off and on.  Mom, Alan, and I were there.  

It was good to honor those who have served our country.

So here's the short of it, 
 Happy 16th adoption anniversary, Liga and Valdis!

And here's the long

Today we celebrated (a day early) the 16th anniversary of Liga and Valdis' adoption.  It seems as though it was just a little while ago.

Alan cooked ribs and we had potato salad, baked beans, and a spinach salad made from the spinach from Mom's garden.  Mom and Cousins Mia and Clyde joined us for dinner.  While we had dinner Sophie and Hershey played around in the back yard.

I'm beginning to feel just a bit better.  My ear isn't nearly so painful and I rested better last night.  I'm going to try to get to bed before midnight tonight and hope I'll feel way better by in the morning.  Alan and I are planning to take Mom to the National Cemetery for their Memorial Day Service unless it just comes a downpour.  The weather is calling for rain, but we are hoping it will stay clear until the afternoon.  Clyde's cub scout troop participated in the flag decoration today.  Every grave in the National Cemetery has an American Flag by it.  It is an amazing sight.

So here's the short of it, 
I've spent the day staying pretty low. 

And here's the long

I took a sleeping aid last night and was in bed almost asleep by 11.  That's pretty early for me these days.  I roused several times in the morning.  But it was 11 AM before I got up, and not long after I went back to bed.  It was 2:30 before I was really up for the day.

I didn't try to do much today...late this afternoon, we went down to visit with Mommy Anne for a bit.  She's still awfully confused.  For those of you who pray, please remember her in your prayers.

I'm headed to bed tonight.

So here's the short of it, 
 I'm feeling a bit under the weather and working really hard, but still should have blogged last night!

And here's the long

Wow!  My apologies for not posting last night.  I don't know how it got by me.  I worked right up until later than I intended to leave! ...and still left my work group finishing up the project we were working on.  Then I came home and grabbed up some stuff to go to a potluck dinner we were going to.....then home and I had to borrow Alan's computer to work on the project we were presenting first thing this morning and even then it wouldn't do what I wanted (grrr) ... my earache had been bothering me for days and it  just came on like gangbusters last.  I got a heating pad warmed up and then I went to bed with it over my ear - I didn't even think about getting my computer turned on or blogging. 

Today was the first day of summer vacation for teachers!  When I got onto Brainerd Road this morning a little after 7 the traffic was so light!  All those family members taking their kids to school were just parked at home!  I would guess by next week the traffic to day care and day camps will pick up and there'll be traffic on the road again. 

I started the day over at our central office and had a pretty good morning there.  Then on down to West 40th where I got a good start on a couple of projects I have to finish up.

This earache is really bothering me.  I went to the doctor late this afternoon.  My appointment was at 4:00.  I got there at 3:50, and they had me in the room by 4:00 and did all the preliminaries.  By 4:10 Dr. Johnson was in the office checking me out.  I love that - why did I spend all those years sitting in the lobby of my doctor's office for sometimes 2 or 3 hours!  Anyway, Dr. Johnson checked both ears and then laughed a bit; she said my right ear (the one that is not hurting) really looks worse than the left one.  I have an antibiotic Amoxicillin, and an anithistimine. 

Alan and I had a good visit with Mommy Anne this evening.  She is still at HealthSouth - the rehab place.  She seems awfully confused about everything, and her arm is pretty swollen, but her bruising is getting better and she had moments of great lucidity. 

I'm still not feeling so well.  Even after getting a dose of the Amoxicillin into me my ear is still pounding.  I'm going to go to bed and hope that by in the morning I'll feel much better.

So here's the short of it,


And here's the long

It's been such a day!  Work started out with a meeting on the north side of the county, then on to the central office to do some business.   About the time I was leaving  I got a call from Alan.  Mommy Anne took a pretty bad fall this morning.  She was in the ER at Memorial Hospital.  I made a stop off on my way down to my office - got Alan some lunch.  Mommy Anne's OK.  But she does have a broken arm, and lots of bruising.  She looks a lot worse than she really is we think.  She will be at a rehab place - Health South for a few days before she'll be able to go back to Elmcroft.

This afternoon was just another crazy day trying to end school.  I think I'm in pretty good shape.  We'll see at noon tomorrow when all the teachers leave if they've all sent in their school reports!

Tomorrow is Herceptin #49!  I 'm just trying not to get too over the top about getting this close to the end of my treatments!!!

cholesterol

So here's the short of it,


And here's the long

Today was the last full day of school for our students.  Schools had all kinds of last day of school activities - everything from 5th grade promotion (we're not supposed to call it graduation any more) to field day, to game day, and of course as always - having the kids help put up and straighten up for the summer so everything will be in its place next fall.  They do come back on Wednesday, but it's just to pick up report cards.

I'm still trying to make sure to get all school reports in before teachers leave for the summer!  I know some of my teachers are having meetings right up until tomorrow and that they would never leave without turning in the log, but others I'm not quite sure of!

I got a call from my primary care Doctor today -  I had a check up the other day and got a cholesterol check.  Of course when Dr. Schlabach put me on Arimidex, we had a conversation about cholesterol. I had them do a pre-test - which was already high!  And my numbers after taking it for awhile have jumped.  I've taken almost all the statins before and had side effects that made me stop taking them.  I'm going to try again.  I'm adding Crestor to the mix this week!  We'll see if it helps. I love it that I found this picture at a site called My Kentucky Heart!

I'm going to keep on walking and hope that I get enough energy back over the weeks to exercise even more. 

Tomorrow I've got meetings starting up at the north end of the county.  I was able to schedule everything in such a way that I go to the furthest point first and then do stops on the way back.  That's great when it can happen that way!

The official last day of school is this Wednesday.  What did we used to say when we were kids.

No more pencils!
No more books!
No more teachers'
dirty looks!

or 

School's out, school's out

Teacher let the monkey's out!

So here's the short of it, 
Home from a quick trip to Berea, KY for Gaelyn Rotty's wedding

And here's the long

I suppose that there's nothing more beautiful than a wedding!

Yesterday my cousin Marcia's daughter, Gaelyn, married her college sweetheart.  Then this morning she got up and graduated from college! It was a lovely wedding.  The minister had done enough pre-marital counseling with them that it seemed he had gotten to know them pretty well - and he personalized his comments and the ceremony in a very special way.

Jeremy, Gaelyn's brother, is standing just to the right of the groom.  His wife Ashley is just to the right of Joyce (their Nana).  They are expecting their first baby in mid-November!

It was great to see cousins that I don't get to see very often.  Ann and Hannah flew in from the west coast and Sue and Ken drove up from Clarksville.  The Edwards clan was down from Lexington (all the kids looking so grown), and my sister-in-law Pat drove all the way up from Atlanta for the lovely event.  Of course all Joyce's kids and grandkids were there.  We get to see Cyndi and David fairly often now that they are living in Gadsden, but we don't see Daniel nearly enough and Mark we see in fits and starts - sometimes fairly often and then we go for a long time without seeing him at all.  Since Marcia has moved to Colorado Springs I've not seen her very much at all. It was good to have a chance to visit a bit.  I even got a chance to visit with Pat for awhile.

It's good to be home.  Tomorrow starts early!  Lots of work waiting for me.

A Wedding in the Family

Here's the short of it
We went to a lovely wedding tonight.

And here's the long.

Today we drove with Mom up to Berea, KY. For Gaelyn Rotty's wedding. Gaelyn is my first cousin Marcia Judge's daughter. It was a lovely wedding and we are so glad to be here.




We got here early this afternoon and had an opportunity to go into town to the bookstores and shops. In one bookstore there was a young woman talking to a professor (it turns out she's just here for a visit) and saying she's now living in Chattanooga and wants to get into special education. I thought I was intended to be in this store at this time - as was she. Anyway- I gave her my card and we'll see.

As we walked over toward Boone Tavern, Mom commented that this would have been the 60th year since Dad graduated from Berea. It's also this day a year ago that Dad had the surgery. It is so hard to believe a year has passed.

I have managed the trip just fine. It's good to have the opportunity to see so much family all at one time.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Berea, KY

So here's the short of it,
Working late tonight...

And here's the long

I ended up being the last to leave the building tonight - well, not really, the night custodian was after me.  I suspect that she was locking the doors as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot!

This evening a few of us "girlfriends" got together to say goodbye to a teacher who has been here for about eight years.  She's moving to Texas and we are really going to miss her!

I probably should have come home sooner, but even though I'm really tired, it was nice to do be doing something kind of normal.  

So here's the short of it,
I'm tired!

And here's the long

Today was a long day and I'm really tired.  But I'm tired, not sleepy.  I went to my primary care doctor this morning and she told me that I could try drinking tonic water at night.  Apparently it still has a bit of quinine in it and that can help with sleep - it can help with the muscle cramps as well.  She also suggested that I try taking magnesium.  I'll get both of those added into my regimen.  I brought the results from my last lab at the oncology doc, and she talked to me a bit about my low vitamin D levels.  It can cause achy bones.  I don't really have that symptom, but she was certainly in agreement about my need for Vitamin D supplement in addition to the multi-vitamin and the Calcium +D.  And anyway, one thing I've figured out is that whatever it is, it's not going to hurt me until it's pretty bad. So just because my bones aren't achy doesn't mean there's not stuff going on in my bones.

Sophie figured out how to get into our little garden space.  It's possible that she wouldn't do anything but my guess is that she would pick the tomatoes as soon as they looked like little balls.  Hank used to do that and he didn't even like them!  So Alan rigged up a temporary lock - it's one of our old crystal doorknobs!  It's pretty funny.

I have so much to do to get school closed out and only have tomorrow and two more days!  I am slammed.  I will get it done, but tomorrow is packed with meetings so I'll do what I can do and then try to let the rest go so that I can enjoy Gaelyn's wedding this weekend.

So here's the short of it, 
I have been SO tired today. 

And here's the long

The weariness is really settling in!  Most of us apecial educators are running on thin energy this time of year.  My facebook teacher friends are all talking about having to drink afternoon coffee, being in so many meetings that they can't remember who said what to whom. and so looking forward to the end of it all.  I sure feel all of that as well.

Herceptin has gotten pretty routine.  My usual selection of chairs in the infusion room were all taken this afternoon.  It's usually not very busy at all at 3:15 on a Wednesday afternoon, but there were lots of people there this afternoon.  I did get a nice chair with a foot stool and settled in.  Lori does such a good stick.  I remembered to drink a bottle of water in the afternoon just before leaving work so my vein was all popped up good today.  (Back in the days of chemotherapy I couldn't have gotten a whole bottle of water down in 30 minutes if someone had offered me a wish!)  Then when Lori got me started, I felt sound asleep in the chair! 

When I got home  I was so tired that I did something I rarely do -  I laid down on my bed in my clothes and  took a nap. When I woke up and Sofie the dog was sleeping on the floor and Lola the cat was curled up in the crook of my legs.  We were all just dozing the evening away.

When Mom got home from church, she brought Hershey up for a visit with Sophie.  We sat on the front porch and watched the kids playing in the circle and the dogs playing on the front porch and in the yard.  They like one another, which is a really good thing since they'll get to spend time together when one or the other of us is out of town.

Alan spent some time working in the garden while I napped, and it's looking really nice.  I've got some late plantings to get out - so I'll hope to have enough energy to get that done really soon.

I'm going to really try hard to get to bed earlier than midnight or 1:00 o'clock tonight!  That may have to do with why I'm so tired --- I just can't get sleepy even though I'm tired.  I have an appointment with my primary care physician tomorrow.  That's one of the things I'm going to talk with her about.  

So here's the short of it,
Still counting down the Herceptin!

And here's the long

Tomorrow afternoon I have Herceptin number 48!  I'm looking forward to it.

I have a day scattered from one end of the county to the other tomorrow, but I'm getting in some good appointments concerning next year. 

Today was a good day  - I still wonder why it's almost midnight and I'm so tired, but I just can't get sleepy!  I'm going to go to bed pretty soon and see if I can go to sleep. 

So here's the short of it, 
Just thinking about schools of old. 

And here's the long

I spent the day working at the office at W. 40th Street today.  You know sometimes when I take the elevator up to the third floor, I imagine the days when it was an elementary school.  I suspect the 5th and 6th graders had classes up on the third floor, and they came in the front door and up those big wide staircases to their classrooms on the 3rd floor.  The halls are wide and the windows huge.  You know that in the springtime, the teachers opened up the windows and let the breeze come through.  I can just imagine the kids looking out the windows and waiting for recess.  Some days I think of the thousands of kids who came through the building --- I'll have to say though that other days I'm consumed by some detail of my own work and forget that the building used to be alive with the sounds of teachers and kids.  I have some very clear and detailed memories of the years I was in 5th and 6th grades.  I attended in big old brick buildings very similar to the one I now work in. 

Today was a good day.  The weekend was restful enough so that I had good energy all day long. 

I read an article recently  about why we can't sleep.  Apparently the computer screen, the television, my cell phone screen, the florescent lights in the house, the outside light we keep on that shines through the window, all contribute to keeping me awake late at night!  I read about a family who chose not to have any artificial light on after dark.  They said that they all slept better than ever before.  I also remember reading an article a long time ago about how scary the night was in the days before electricity was discovered!  Hmmm.

 At any rate, I'm on the computer with the light on in the room, and the television on, and I am not one bit sleepy!

Herbs

So here's the short of it,
The back flower bed got turned into an herb garden today. 

And here's the long

I'd been thinking for a couple of years about converting the flower bed out the back door into an herb garden, and last year Mom and Joyce got it started for me.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel like cooking anything or eating anything, so the herbs went mostly unused!  This year my taste is so much more like normal; I get hungry and even want to eat!

The Golden Sage overwintered as did the curly parsley.  I added garlic chives, onion chives, flat parsley, sweet basil, and lemon thyme.  I had put in a rosemary plant earlier this spring.

Next time I take pictures maybe they will be very full and ready for harvest!

So here's the short of it,
Flowers in pink and white are gracing my front porch flower pots.  

And here's the long
                                                           

This afternoon I was home alone and the doorbell rang.  I wasn't expecting anyone, so since it was a Saturday afternoon, I thought maybe it was a church group.  But it was our across the street neighbors.  Their daughter Alex is the same age as Valdis, so especially when they were little, we saw much more of one another.  At any rate, there Kathy was, and she asked me if she could have my flower pots!  Tommy loaded the pots in their car and a little while later they were back on the front porch looking ever so beautiful!  Kathy lost her mother at age 57 about 10 years ago to breast cancer.  She hadn't told me about that before. 

The flower pots look great! 

So here's the short of it, 
I have an itchy rash on my hand.
 
And here's the long

This morning I woke up with a rash on my right hand.  That's my infusion hand.  It was pretty red, itchy, and somewhat swollen.  I put some cortizone cream on it and then called Lori since it is Friday and the weekend is coming.  I wanted them to know that something was going on in case it got worse!  They had me come by.  Lori was so funny; she said that 5 people had called today and had something wrong with their hand.  We decided that we must be operating under the sign of the hand today.   Anyway she told me to put benedryl on it.  I did that as soon as I got home and it's feeling much less itchy. I have instructions to call if it gets any worse or I start having a fever.

Today I am really tired again.  I'm still thinking about our mandate to work 4 long days instead of 5 in June and July and at this point I'm pretty sure I don't really have the stamina to do that.  Next week I'll talk to my director about some kind of different plan.  Maybe I'll be ready to do that the last of July.

The weather is much warmer today.  Maybe summer is really on the way.  Liga and Valdis are both working over at the pool to help get it ready for the Memorial Day opening.  Liga is determined to work her full time job as well as this part time gig as a lifeguard.  She will sure be busy.  But I've worked two jobs before - when I was much younger and full of piss and vinegar. So I'm sure she'll be just fine. 

Next weekend is a travel weekend - we'll be going to Gaelyn's wedding in Berea.  So I'm going to try to relax and not overdo this weekend.  If I can get myself motivated, I'm going to work in the garden a bit though.

So here's the short of it,
What a day!

And here's the long

What a day!  This morning I felt pretty bad and didn't make it to my first meeting.  I did make it to my second one which was pretty long.  Then I went to Bi-Lo to get cupcakes to share with our Thursday night meeting friends on my lunch break.  When I came back to the car it wouldn't start.  I haven't run out of gas in so many years! I called Alan and he came and delivered me some gas and was really sweet about it.  But the car still wouldn't start!!! It sounded like the battery.  So then we began the adventure of jumping off the car.  Alan drove his car around to the front of my car.   By this time I had decided that too much of a chunk of my day was gone, so I sent in a request for the rest of the day as a personal day.  We hadn't had to find the battery in the wagon before now so we opened the hood (I had to get the book out to find the hood latch).  There was NO Battery under the hood.  So back to the book.  The battery is in the back. Alan drives the car to the back -- The back of the wagon is full of my stuff!!!   So Alan helped me move the stuff around and we found the battery, but there was no way to get to it to perform a jump start.  SO....(the drama grows as Alan grows more frustrated with my junk in the trunk).  back to the book to see how to do a jump start.  You do it from the front even though the battery is in the back, so Alan pulled up to the side of the car.  We open the hood again (I had to look at the book again because my brain is so full of chemo holes that I couldn't even remember where the hood latch was!)  So we got the hood open and used the book to find the places to attach the jumper cables.  About this time a neighbor came by and helped finish hooking up the jump cables.   We got the car started and drove up the street and filled up the gas tank....and the car wouldn't start again.  Another jump start and we were off up the street to the car repair shop.  It's the alternator!  So I'm without a car.  What a day and still no cupcakes!!

And I'm still awfully tired.  We went to an early dinner with friends to celebrate Alan's upcoming birthday and then to our Thursday night meeting.  I'm headed to bed and eager for tomorrow to be done so I can get rested up.  

My right hand it really itchy.  It's the hand they use for my Herceptin infusions.  I wonder if it's related? 

So here's the short of it, 

Wow!  I am so tired!

And here's the long.

My work day was not particularly stressful nor full today, but I have felt like I'm walking through molasses all day long.  I also am having difficulty remembering things for the last couple of days - for those of you who know me well - even to a much larger degree than usual.

This afternoon I was late for my Herceptin, so late that I called and asked Lori if she wanted me to come tomorrow, but she said to come on.  Probably 15 minutes into the infusion, I was asleep in the chair.  I was just so tired!  On the way home I stopped at Mom's to meet the newest member of the extended Howard family.  It's a little girl puppy named Hershey - get the whole story over on her blog at EmilyandGene.blogspot.com .

Anyway when I got home I started to take Sophie for her walk and only made it around the circle twice before I was so tired I had to come in.  I passed on going to a presentation I'd really been looking forward to done by our Symphony Director Bob Bernhardt - Alan went on without me.  I came and sat down in the den with the TV on and before I knew it, I was sound asleep in the chair. 

This tiredness is pretty intense.  I don't think it's a lack of sleep at night although getting up in the mornings is really harder than it's ever been in normal times.  My blood counts are all in the normal range now, so the tiredness can no longer be blamed on anemia!  I'm headed to bed.  

So here's the short of it, 
So there's a skeleton...

And here's the long

I must be getting some of my old kick back.  I was talking with a teacher today and got going on a bit of a tirade about something.  At some point into it, she kind of chuckled at me and said, "I'm glad you're back."  I had to laugh.  So much of this year has just slid by almost unnoticed by me!  I am eager to be back on. 

I'm carrying around a skeleton - it's not in my closet, it's in the back seat of my car.  I'm actually delivering it to someone tomorrow.  Right now it's lying down on the back seat, but I'm thinking of sitting it up tomorrow to drive through morning traffic.  We'll see. It's actually not a real skeleton anyway, it's an academic model used for classrooms.   She's missing her right hand, but I like the idea of carting her around.  I thought of several jokes about skeletons in my closet, but I'm not good with jokes.

I sent Liga a text about having a skeleton in the car because I was afraid she'd see it when she came home from work after dark and be startled.  She thought I was trying to make some kind of joke!  

Tomorrow is another busy day and at a little after 3:00 I have Herceptin number 47 of 52!

So here's the short of it, 
I'm feeling a bit under the weather today.

And here's the long.

Well, I really didn't feel very well today.  This morning I had an upset stomach.  As I was leaving for work, I thought I was going to throw up in the driveway,  but I didn't.  I was in the office for the morning, and so I just sat at my desk and worked.  By mid morning I felt some better. 


This afternoon I had meetings at two different schools.  Fortunately they were on the same side of the county so I didn't spend an inordinate amount of time in the car.  Bu the time I got home, I was absolutely so tired.  I did just a couple of little chores when I got home and then I absolutely collapsed in a chair and fell sound asleep.  This evening I've continued to have that pretty tired and sleepy, but not enough to go to bed kind of feeling. 

I have meetings most of the morning and that will keep me up and going, but tomorrow afternoon, I'm in the office again.  I've got a project I'm working on and am hoping I can make it through the afternoon!

Mother's Day

So here's the short of it,
Today was a lovely Mother's Day.

And here's the long

Today we celebrated Mother's Day and Alan's birthday.  This time last year Dad and I both knew that we faced surgery and a lengthy recovery.  Aunt Joyce and Aunt Frances were in Chattanooga, and Dad got all the mother's roses.  This year of firsts - of experiencing a year celebrating the holidays, and embracing the changes of seasons - is difficult.  But we all are shouldering forward.  I'll have to admit, that even though holidays are difficult, it is sometimes the ordinary days that are the most difficult.  Sometimes there's a question that will now never have a "Dad" answer.  Or Mom's talking about her gardening and I can see in it how it gives her a feeling of closeness to Dad.  Or driving past the cemetery, I see the flag flying at half mast and I know that another family has lost a veteran. 

But today was Mother's day, and we had Mom and Mommy Anne here with us.  I felt so fortunate to have them with us.  Liga and Alan made dinner tonight and I just stayed out of their way.  It was nice.  Valdis and Kailee came to have dinner with us as well. 

We had phone calls all around from our siblings to say Happy Mother's day to the Moms! 

By the way the hamburgers and hotdogs were really good. 

I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Liga.  I love the yellows of this time of year. 


Alan got me a potted plant that I couldn't identify.  It looks like a succulent that I've grown before in full sun on our front porch, and the name resided in my brain in one of those places that has been erased by the chemotherapy drugs!  Maybe someone will recognize it and let me know what it is.

I also started some louffa gourds, some zucchini, and some eggplant today. 

Tomorrow is a work day.   There's lots to do to get school closed down.  Here's hoping for a good night's rest. 

So here's the short of it,

A day trip to Knoxville   And here's the long Today was a lovely girl day.  Liga drove us up to Knoxville in Mom's car.  We had a lovely afternoon with Gaelyn and some of her Knoxville friends and of course Aunt Joyce (Gaelyn's Nana).  Aunt Frances and Uncle Bob came down from Lexington.  We'll be pleased to see everyone again in a couple of weeks at the wedding in Berea.  Tomorrow we are going to do Mother's Day and celebrate Alan's birthday a little early.  It'll be nice for us all to be together.  Liga and Alan are planning on doing all the cooking!   I am not nearly as tired as I thought I would be after a road trip to Knoxville all in one day, but I'm sure ready for bed!

So here's the short of it, 
My stamina is still not as it should be and I'm really tired!

And here's the long

Today felt like a really long day.  I still don't have a whole lot of stamina, and by the end of the day I was ready to come home!  Alan and I found a reason to run up to Hixson after supper, so he put the top down and we went for a little drive.  It was pretty relaxing.












Tomorrow Mom and Liga and I are driving up to Knoxville for a shower for Gaelyn Rotty.  Gaelyn is my cousin Marcia's daughter and she's graduating graduating from college and getting married!  I can hardly believe so much time has passed.  Anyway, she has grown to be a fine young woman, as you can see from the before and after pics.  On the left - Gaelyn with big brother Jeremy, and on the right Gaelyn with her husband to be!

I'm looking forward to a sandwich day - that's what my friend Amy calls being the generation in the middle and I'll be with my Mom and my daughter.  It should be pretty fun. 

So here's the short of it, 
We live in such a changing world - and I am a beneficiary of some of those changes. 

And here's the long

Today I had a mid-day meeting at our central office; it ran a bit later than I expected.  By the time I was leaving Here and Now was playing on our local NPR station.  They were doing a story about the 10 most promising technologies and one of the stories was about Dual Action Anti-Bodies.  They specifically talked about Herceptin and the very promising research that's being done by Genentech in southern California.  I feel very lucky to be living at this time. 



Altogether they reviewed 10 Emerging Technologies for 2010.  The others were pretty fascinating as well - for me especially the one about building medical implants out of spider web like material. Knowing that we are building a world that some of us will hardly recognize from the world of our childhood made me think about my Grandmother VanSant who rode one of the last stage coaches that ran in Kentucky and watched one of the early space flights on TV in our house.  Her son was working on that space mission!  I can hardly imagine what the world will be like by the time I am in my 80's!

Happy Birthday Sophie

So here's the short of it,
    Happy Birthday Sophie!

    I Can't Count!

And here's the long

 Today is Sophie's Birthday

Liga found the place Sophie has been getting out of the yard.  We left for lunch and then the doctor about 11:15, and when she got home about noon, Sophie was out.  She's been able to push the upper fence gate open from the inside, but then couldn't or wouldn't come back in that way.  So she just would come sit on the front porch and cry!  Liga fixed it up until we can get some time over the weekend to take a look at it.  

I can't count!  Today was Herceptin number 46.  I have to have 52 in all.  So I have 6 left.  WOW!

I had a good doctor visit today.  Dr. Schlabach is prescribing some physical therapy for my legs.  He thinks the muscle weakness in my quads could be from the Taxotere way back in chemotherapy, or from Herceptin, or from the Arimidex. He does think the muscle cramps are most likely caused by my Arimidex.   He's having me add Vitamin D and calcium supplements to my regimen to see if they help alleviate that difficulty.  

Dr. Schlabach shared some of the results of the 10 year studies of Herceptin that are beginning to come in.  91 - 92% of women using Herceptin have a 10 year survival rate.  The disease free survival rate at 10 years is in the 80 % (I think he said 83%).  So those are pretty great statistics.  

I also had full blown blood work today.  I'm no longer anemic, and I can really tell that, and all my other counts are looking good as well.  My PT rate is good, so I'm steady eddy on my coumadin dose for right now.  I'm eager to get off of that stuff!  I wonder if they will do another scan of the area that was occluded before they let me come off of it.  

I've been very tired today.  I'm not sure what that's all about, but I'm going to head to bed really soon now.  

So here's the short of it,
Sophie is getting out of the yard!

And here's the long

Well, Sophie has figured out how to get out of the back yard!  Yesterday she was out and I imagined that I had left the back gate open.  But this morning apparently she got out while I was at work, and then this evening Alan and I went out for awhile and both explicitly remember that we told her to stay home and watch the house and we'd be back soon. When we arrived home a couple of hours later, she was not in the back yard, and not in the house.  I heard her whining at the front door, and when I opened it, she was standing there with a very pitiful look on her face!  We haven't figured out where or how she's escaping.  We'll have to watch like hawks!  I'll never forget how we plugged up every hole we could find to keep Hank in and then discovered that he was running all the way across the tennis court and getting a jump off the picnic table to clear the fence!  It was pretty amazing the first time we saw it.  We'll get her figured out.

Work was good for me today.  I finished up a big project I've been working on and have gotten started on another one.  I got to the office and didn't even leave the 3rd floor all day long.  I took my lunch in and just kept right at it.  I'm only working a 1/2 day tomorrow since I see Dr. Schlabach in the afternoon.  I'm writing down all the questions I have for him and am hoping that I don't forget something. 

So here's the short of it, 
Much flooding and devasation in West and Central Tennessee.  Record breaking rainfall.  

And here's the long.

Today I felt a bit stronger.   I don't go barefoot much these days, because of my feet - even in the house.  But I'm barefoot in the bathroom frequently because of showering.  Tonight when I walked across the tile floor, I could actually feel the tiles a little.  I'm still nowhere near normal, but I'm so delighted that I can tell I'm making progress.

We seem to have escaped the rains that wreaked havoc in Memphis and Nashville.   Some of our Nashville cousins have posted pictures that show just how awful the situation is there.  I heard that there was flooding in the lobby of Opryland Hotel.  After having been there just last week, I'm having such a hard time imagining all that space under water, and I can't imagine the economic impact of losing the guests and conventions who are booked for that venue.  I also heard a news story that a professor at Tennessee State who went to try and save some goats was surrounded by water and had to climb a haystack.  Apparently the President of the college took a flat bottomed boat and rescued him just in the nick of time.  There was no word about what may have happened to the goats. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the folks who have suffered so much damage and loss. 

Tomorrow I have a big project I want to get finished up.  I am going to be in the office for most of the day and just get focused and finish it up.

So here's the short of it,

And here's the long

The rains that have devastated so much of West and Middle Tennessee have arrived in Chattanooga.  It seems that we are to expect flooding in the low places that are usually prone to high water.  Mom is settled in with a flashlight and our phone numbers in her cell.  She shouldn't have any problems unless another dumpster gets stuck at the bridge.

This morning when I got up, I went out and planted those tomato plants we got the other week at the Crabtree Farm sale.  I'm especially eager to see two of the heirloom varieties - the Cherokee Purple and the Green Zebra.  I wonder how I'll know when the green zebra is ripe!


It felt pretty good to be out digging in the garden today!

Steve and Pat stopped at Mom's this afternoon.  They had been headed for the Kentucky Derby - courtesy of their children, but the awful weather convinced them to do a detour instead.  They ended up spending the night at Cumberland Falls.  So they got here mid-afternoon.  Joyce made a quick stop as well on her way home from a visit with David.  It was nice to get a visit in.  Mom made a nice dinner - chicken and dumplings and all the fixin's - Liga and Valdis were able to join us.

So here's the short of it, 
Cramps are still bothering me.

And here's the long

Last night I had lots of cramping throughout the night.  It was in my toes, my feet, my calves, and my thighs.  It seemed like every hour or so I woke up with a cramp.  They weren't the really hard long ones like I sometimes have, and I didn't wake up screaming, but they were pretty intense and kept me from getting a very good night's sleep.

I slept in a bit this morning, but I had a massage with Kelly at 9:50, so I was up and at 'em.  I had a really good massage - it's been really one of the best things I've ever done for myself.  I've been feeling so much better since I've been going.

This evening we had the pleasure of being with some really good friends to celebrate birthdays.  What a lovely evening!  the dinner was great and the company was wonderful.  I'm glad that I'm feeling well enough to be with friends for special occasions. 

Joining Hands

So here's the short of it, 
Tonight at temple there was a prayer that really touched me. 

And here's the long

Standing on the parted shores of history
We still believe what we were taught
Before ever we stood at Sinai's foot;

That wherever we go, it is eternally Egypt
That there is a better place, a promised land;
That the winding way to that promise
Passes through the wilderness.

That there is no way to get from here to there
Except by joining hands, marching together.

 ---------

Thank you for joining hands with me during this time I've spent in the wilderness.