So here's the short of it,

Today has felt like a long day!

And here's the long


I went to work for a little bit.  There was a Title I advisory board meeting and it seemed prudent for me to go.  I saw several people that I haven't seen in a bit and that was nice.  Afterwards I stopped over at the office for a little bit.  There are still a couple of things that aren't resolved yet in regards to next year.  I'm confident that it will all work out fine, but I've got a couple of things waiting for that resolution!

This afternoon I laid down to take a quick nap, but very quickly I had a call from Alan and needed to go down and stay with Mommy Anne for awhile.  Alan already had made a date with Liga to go shopping at Sam's to stock up for her new apartment.  She's pretty excited.  I think they had a good time.

I had my first haircut since I first shaved my head last fall. My hair is a little over 2 inches all over my head, and the ends at the back of my neck had gotten pretty shaggy.  I just had Liga trim that up a bit. So slowly things are returning to normal. 

So here's the short of it, 
Happy  Birthday Mommy Anne.

And here's the long

Today is Mommy Anne's 93rd birthday!  Wow!

To celebrate we went to dinner at Elmcroft - me, Alan, and Mom - and afterwards spent a few minutes in her apartment there.  She seemed genuinely pleased to see the folks at Elmcroft.  When she first arrived, she seemed not to remember where she was, but within just a little bit she was beginning to seem more comfortable.  Several of the ladies came over to tell her how glad they were to see her and how much they had missed her.  All of the employees on duty tonight made it a point to come by and let her know how much they've missed her.  Liga is spending the night with her tonight at Parkwood.

This evening when we got home, Hershey came up for a play date.  She and Sophie played around for about 30 minutes and then Mark from down the street (and across from Mom) brought his two Great Danes up to the circle.  We walked and before long we had Charlie, Molly, Cutie Pie, came out to play a bit.  Zoro even joined us there at the end for a little bit.  I'll have to get a picture the next time we have a whole crew of dogs out on the circle!

So here's the short of it,

A nice goodby lunch with Myra and Milko.

And here's the long

This morning Alan and I and Myra and Milko met with the care team at Parkwood to discuss Mommy Anne's course of treatment.  It was very good to have that conversation.  She still has some times when she is very confused and we are still hoping that with continued physical therapy and occupational therapy she will soon be in a place where she can return to Elmcroft.

At lunch we met Myra and Milko at J. Alexander's.   It was good to have an opportunity to visit and talk about Mommy Anne and other things as well.  This afternoon, I spent some time working in the garden.  The first tomatoes I planted have grown so large that they've pushed the tomato cages over.  I had trouble getting the cages very far into the ground this year anyway because the ground is so hard after about 6 or 8 inches down.  So I went to Ace Hardware and bought some old fashioned tomato stakes and used them to hold everything up.  I'll need to get a few more in the next few days.  There were a few black cherry tomatoes ripe enough to add to my cottage cheese salad tonight.  They were really good.  I remember this time last year I was hoping that my taste would come back enough that I would enjoy tomatoes again.  That has come to pass!

Celebrating Mommy Anne's birthday.

So here's the short of it, 
 Tonight we celebrated Mommy Anne's birthday a couple of days early since Myra and Milko were here.

And here's the long.

Mommy Anne will be 93 on the 29th!  We celebrated her birthday early this evening since Myra and Milko are in town.  We went to The Chop House - since they take reservations, it meant we didn't have to sit and wait.  Mom joined us as did Mommy Anne's sister and brother. 

Here they are!  Mommy Anne and behind her Miriam and Arvin.

So here's the short of it,
Tonight was a fun dinner out.

And here's the long


Tonight Alan and I went to dinner with Myra and Milko.  We went to Niko's a fairly new restaurant down in town.  It was really a nice evening.  I never imagined when I was growing up in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky that someday in my future life I'd be having dinner in a restaurant in Chattanooga, with a brother-in-law from Croatia!

Before we went to dinner, we watched the final few minutes of the World Cup match between the US and Ghana.  Milko is a soccer player and coached Myra's son when he was young - it was pretty fun to hear him cheering on the team.

Mommy Ann was having a pretty good evening when we got there.  She had been held captive by the soccer games for most of the day, but seemed pretty OK about it.  She says now that soccer is her favorite sport.

So here's the short of it,

Myra and Milko are here. 

And here's the long

Alan's baby sister Myra and her husband Milko arrived a little late this evening after a flight delay.  We took Mommy Anne from the nursing home over to have dinner at the Assisted Living facility where she has an apartment.  Myra and Milko got there just a little late, but in plenty of time to have dinner.

Earlier today I had lunch with a former work colleague who is now retired.  It was fun to spend some time catching up!  I have had several lunches since I've not been working, and I've got several more scheduled!  What fun.  I had forgotten what it's like to have some time off in the summer.

Late this afternoon I took Mom over to JC Penny to pick up a table she had ordered for her kitchen.  We got it in the wagon - with some manipulating, and got it to her house. Lickety split she had it put together and in her little eat in area in her kitchen.

Mom and Liga both asked me today how I felt about not having to go for Herceptin on Wednesday.  You know, I guess I was just really ready for it to be over!  I didn't realize until Thursday that I had not even gone to the doctor's office on Wednesday!  Amazing - how ready I was to get into a more normal life.

I have a young friend who has had breast cancer.  She has been through the whole chemo twice, and now has a tumor showing up on her liver.  Please remember Amy in your prayers.  She is such an amazing young woman and always cheered me up and gave me encouragement that I could get through the worst of it.  Thanks for your positive thoughts and prayers for her.

So here's the short of it,
 Work called today -

And here's the long

Last night I got an e-mail about a staffing issue so ended up going in to work today.  I'm still not sure we've got it worked out.  This bad economy is really taking a toll on all things.  Chattanooga is looking at cutting bus service, police service, fire protection - our roads are full of potholes.  And our schools are having to cut back on teachers!  It's in so many places.

I missed having garden time this morning.  It was too hot by the time I got home!  Maybe tomorrow morning I'll get some hoeing done.

Hershey is having a spend the night with Sophie.  Mom has gone down to spend the night with Mommy Anne.  She can't really be left alone much right now, so Mom pitched in and did a night.  How grateful we are!

Tonight Liga asked me how it felt not to have to go to the doctor's office on Wednesday.  I realized that I just lived it like any other day.  I didn't even think that I should have gone to the office! 

So here's the short of it, 
Today I had lunch with a former student and spent some time with Mommy Anne. 

And here's the long

I caught up with a former student from a long time ago using Facebook.  We connected and had lunch today.  We visited for a long time and caught up on a lot that's happened.  It was a good visit.  She's an amazing and strong young woman and I loved hearing about her life and seeing pictures of her young son who's now about 3. 

Later this evening I went down and spent some time visiting with Mommy Anne.  She's having a hard time remembering that she's not supposed to get up by herself and she seems to be having lots of anxiety.  Alan's going to spend the night with her tonight. 

So here's the short of it, 
Gardening, Dogs, and Mothers.  

And here's the long

This morning I slept in a bit and then enjoyed working in the garden for a couple of hours. It's too darned hot to work much in the garden in the afternoon - it does get cool in the evening.  But this evening I was busy with the dogs!  Alan had a dinner meeting so Mom and I had a girls dinner evening.  She made green beans from her garden and fried squash.  We had a good visit, and then I took Hershey up to the circle to socialize with the other dogs of the neighborhood.  We had lots of dogs out tonight and Hershey got along great with all of them.  Even the two great danes from down across the street from Mom were there.  We walked around the circle until Sophie and Hershey just gave up and went to lay in the front yard.  It was pretty funny - and after all that walking I was too hot and tired to work in the garden this evening. 

Alan and I had lunch with Mommy Anne today.  She was in the beauty parlor when we got there.  Her hair looked so pretty and she was really in a pretty good frame of mind.  Alan walked her from her room to the dining room and she did just fine.  She's not really eating very much, but today she did pretty well at lunch. She's looking forward to having a visit from Myra and Milko at the end of the week.  When we talk about them coming she just lights up. 

So here's the short of it, 
I had a tired kind of day. 

And here's the long

Ok, my sleep is out of sync again.  Mom used to say she "got the big eye".  I was up until about 2:30 last night. I was up fairly early for someone who got to sleep so late because I needed to go in to work for a bit.  When I got home about 4:00 this afternoon, I crawled into the bed and slept until about 7:00 this evening.  I hope it doesn't totally wreck me being able to get to sleep in a little while.

Tomorrow I'm going to have a stay at home take it easy and just putter around day.  

Father's Day

So here's the short of it, 
It's Father's Day

And here's the long

Here's the card I would have bought this year for Dad for Father's day

The gifts you've given me

have shaped my life

and made me the person I am. 

From the things I value

to the things that make me laugh....

I can see you in them all.

In my thoughts, 

in my heart, 

in every part of my life, 

you are always with me, Dad, 

and always will be. 

Happy Father's Day

So here's the short of it, 
Shopping for a father's day feast...

And here's the long

Today I went shopping for our anticipated father's day feast.  Just family tomorrow for dinner.  I made my first trip to Linda's Produce stand today.  It's changed so much since I first began shopping there.  This year they've added walls and windows so they can air condition the place!  I found corn, beets, nice tomatoes, cucumbers, and a wonderful cantalope!  All of them will be a part of our celebration sometime tomorrow. 

Happy Father's Day tomorrow to all the men I know who work so hard at being great Dads!

 Mom got home and came up for a quick bite of supper that we had left over and she took Hershey home.  We are all missing the cute mischievous pup!  Sophie has searched the whole back yard and the house, and now she's just lying down on her bed.  I'm pretty tired myself!

So here's the short of it,
Friends, Space, and Dogs!

And here's the long

WOW!  We went to see the Hubble IMAX movie today.  It was such a great show.  It really puts things into perspective too. If you haven't looked at any pictures in awhile visite the Hubble site and spend a few minutes being awed. I love the IMAX anyway and the space stuff is way cool.  I couldn't help but be reminded of Uncle Tom.

Hershey is with us for another day or two.  She's adapting pretty well.  She sure is giving Sophie plenty of excercise.  When we got home from our outing, she had gotten out of the fence somehow and greeted us at the front door.  Sophie was in the back yard, just whining and carrying on.  They ran into the house from opposite doors and there was quite the carrying on for a minute or two while Sophie told on Hershey, and then made sure she was OK. 

They sure are making fast friends!        Tonight when we walked around the circle, Hershey stayed right with us.  She didn't roam or wander at all.  Here the girls are relaxing in a neighbor's yard - the neighbor with the most beautiful grass on the whole circle!  I guess all that grass felt good.

So here's the short of it,

Today we have Hershey!

And here's the long

Mom's taken off for a couple of days with Aunt Joyce, and she left us with a good mess of white half runner beans and Hershey!

Sophie puppy sits just fine.  She and Hershey play very well together and they are good company for one another.  The last time Sophie had the job of puppy sitting, I was gone with Mom to Ohio.  I kept getting text pictures of her "accidents" in the house.  I've been very vigilent and so far the only accident we have had was the I'm so excited to be here I'm wetting myself when she first came in the door.  I hope I can get her accustomed to going outside to "go" when she comes up here to visit.  It isn't much of a concern at Mom's since she's out most of the time. 

Here are the beans Mom picked before she left.  We'll have them for our Father's Day Dinner.

Here's Sophie puppy-sitting.  She's playing tug of war very nicely with a big stick that blew out of the tree yesterday. 

Well, I spoke too soon about accidents. Liga just got home from work and came upstairs to see Hershey.   She (Hershey) was so excited to see Liga that she had a very small little wetting accident!  Maybe that won't happen again.

IV Treatments Are Completed!

So here's the short of it,
Today was my last Herceptin treatment!

And here's the long

What a day!

Well, it's over!  Today was Herceptin number 52 and I am officially done with all the IV medications!  I wonder if my car will automatically head toward the infusion room at Dr. Schlabach's office on Wednesday afternoons? 

My port had to come out in December, and several weeks before that it had malfunctioned and so the hand shot is the position of treatment on Wednesday afternoons every week for a long, long time.  That's a butterfly needle they had to use to get into that vein, and it just barely did go in.  That meant that I had to sit very still and not move my hand so that the needle would stay in position.  Thank goodness the Herceptin by itself was almost always done in under an hour.   

My blood count PT/INR was a bit strange today.  When the good doctor was consulted, he took me off the coumadin that I've been on since they removed the port!  Since my blood clot was caused by the port problem and it wasn't just my body acting up, six months is considered an appropriate amount of time for treatment. 

I know this is very strange to be saying, but I have some mixed feelings about this all being over.  I'll have to say that I just absolutely love all the people I've encountered in the oncology office.  They have been such a support all through this year, and after having gone every week for 52 weeks, I guess I'll kind of miss that.  And as my sister-in-law, Pennie, commented, it feels like getting the infusion was doing something pro-active to defeat the cancer.

But next Wednesday afternoon, if it's cool enough in the afternoon, I think I'll work in the garden or walk the dog.

Another Hot One

So here's the short of it,
Today was my first real day of summer vacation.

And here's the long

I slept in a bit this morning, but my boss forgot that I was not working today and called pretty early so that got me up and going.  I spent a couple of hours working in the garden before it got so hot, and got a good bunch of hoeing done.  I've got one more tomato that I need to get planted.  It's a yellow one.  A friend of Mom's brought her several, so she saved one for me. 

I found myself a sweatband so my face wasn't nearly a drenched with sweat as it has been the few days before.  But I was still ready for a good cool shower when I got into the house!  I spent the rest of the day with indoor chores - the heat just was too oppressive. 

This afternoon we had a line of thunderstorms move through and it roused up quite a wind.  Sophie was quite unhappy and went to the door and barked.  When I went to check out what was going on and opened the door, I felt a slight change in air pressure.  I'll bet she really felt it.  At any rate several sticks got knocked out of the trees and gave her a few things to play with. 

Alan and I met some friends for dinner and by the time we got back home it had rained a bit and cooled things down quite a bit.  Sophie and I went for our evening walk and it was much more pleasant than it's been. 

I've tried not to think too much about tomorrow afternoon.  Alan, my Mom, and Liga are all going to come to the doctor's office tomorrow for my last Herceptin.

It's hot around here

So here's the short of it,
It seems like it's too hot and humid to be this early in June!

And here's the long

Today has been another hot and humid day.  Temperatures in the 90's and I'd say humidity in the 70's.  There've been warnings to watch out for neighbors, especially the elderly and to make sure to stay hydrated and make sure pets have shade and plenty of water.  And it's only June! 

We've got mosquitoes like crazy here in Brainerd.  I suppose all the rain we've been having has left good places for them to breed.  They are ferocious little critters too.  Last summer I could walk into a swarm of them and they didn't even light on my skin.  I think the chemo coursing through my system made me seem very unappetizing.  So I guess that one of the things I could take away (along with my red bumps) is that I'm getting more back to normal since they see me as a ready target this year. 

Tonight we went to Mom's for dinner and took Sophie to play with Hershey.  They had such a good time.  They were both just covered with doggie slobber by the end of the evening.  Hershey is not the least bit timid about jumping up on Sophie and trying to chew her ears or her tail.  Sophie tolerates her very well, but doesn't let her have the upper hand. 

Tonight I waited until the sun was pretty far down to work in the garden.  The heat was much more tolerable, but it got dark before I got very far along.  I'll work some more tomorrow. 

I worked today and got quite a bit done - but it was an unsettling day.  We've had a cut in the lead teacher ranks, and I'm not sure I understand all the implications of that.  I have another half day to work, and am saving it until I hear some news that will help me put together some of the pieces for my last project.

I didn't get around to calling about my computer so it's still on the blink.  I'll worry about that tomorrow. 

Hot and Humid Chattanooga

So here's the short of it,
It's really hot and humid here in Chattanooga, TN!

And here's the long

Still have my computer bugaboo.  Tomorrow I'll call our IT people and see if there's something they can tell me. 

Today was hot and humid!  Alan's car said it was 96 outside - and it sure did feel like it!  Maybe that had to do with the humidity - it's in the 70's.  I worked in the garden for awhile this evening and I was soaked through to my skin by the time I was finished. I was so hot.  I don't know the reason, but it seems that I'm sweating more than ever in my life.  Maybe that happens as we grow older, or maybe there's some other reason. 

I'm enjoying working in the garden.  I gardened pretty regularly until I had to start working in the summers, and then I just couldn't seem to maintain much of a garden.  I don't really have much out now, but I've got quite a variety of tomatoes coming along and it looks like I might have some zuchinni and some loufah that will make it.  Alan's got two blueberry bushes that we still haven't gotten transplanted!  Maybe sometime this week we can get them in the ground. 

I'm inching up on my last Herceptin treatment!  It's hard to even let myself think about it. 

So here's the short of it,
Still having computer  problems!

And here's the long

I still can't figure out why my computer is not working!  I'm at Mom's - Alan and I are having dinner with her, and I'm borrowing her computer.

This morning I worked for a couple of hours in the garden - the mostly tomato garden.  It wasn't so awfully hot, although it was certainly hot enough, but the sweat just poured because of the high humidity!  It was OK.  It's been a few years since I've really done much in the garden. I've got a good variety of tomatoes growing this year. 

Mom and I went to the Barn Nursery and to the Farmers Market at Grace Episcopal about lunch time.  Mom came home with a cartload of flowers and some seeds.  Her garden is really taking off.  Tonight we had white half runner green beans for dinner!  They sure were good.  Unfortunately we can't find the seed from the greasy beans that Dad used to love to plant.

Sleep is lovely

So here's the short of it,
I'm busy catching up on my sleep!

And here's the long

I really slept in today!  I woke up a couple of times as Alan and Liga moved around and got ready for their respective days, but it was almost 11 before I was out of bed!  And I think I could have taken a nap this afternoon.  I'll get myself caught up.  My computer is still not working!  I am going to have to figure out what's going on.  Tonight I'm borrowing Alan's and may have to do so for a day or two until I can get someone to find out what going on. 

This evening Mom and I went to Parkwood and had dinner with Mommy Anne.  Alan had been there most of the day.  She is pretty confused and kept saying that she hadn't planned to spend the night there.  I'm hoping that she'll have a restful night.

Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in again.   Perhaps I'll get rested!

I'm having computer network problems today. I couldn't get online at work. So the IT folks fixed me up. Now tonight I can't get on here at home!! I'll work on that tomorrow.

I have the day off tomorrow. I'm sleeping in!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Herceptin countdown continues

So here's the short of it, 
Today was Herceptin number 51.

And here's the long

Herceptin number 51!

Today when I got to Erlanger and parked, a routine that I've done for a year now, I thought I'd gone to the wrong place.  I got out of the car and the big sliding glass doors that are the entrance to the medical mall weren't there!  I thought I must have parked on the wrong floor and wondered how in the world I could have done that after all these weeks.  It took a minute to figure out that I really was in the right place, but there was a huge fire door closing it off and people were going into the stairwell and into the hallway from there.  

It was a pretty strange feeling!  It turned out that there was some kind of malfunction in the fire doors.  In the long hallway the fire lights were flashing and the fire door at the end of the hall kept closing.  It's an accordion door, and they had an employee posted there to push it back every time is closed - and then it would start closing again.  It was pretty spooky at first and then pretty funny. 

I could hardly believe that today was my next to last Herceptin.  What on earth will I do on Wednesday afternoons when I don't have to go get an infusion!!

Work

So here's the short of it,
 Got a big tedious chunk of work done today.

And here's the long

I went in to work today and just strapped myself to the chair and didn't move except for heating up coffee from the thermos in the microwave and taking the requisite trips to the ladies. Oh - I did take a short break to reach into my lunch bag and eat a quick lunch.  And...I'm really close to having the End Of Year report that I'm responsible for done.  I get a report on an excel spreadsheet and I can sort it several different ways to get some of the data that I need for the report.  That is the easy part.  The harder part is taking the data submitted by each school on separate sheets and hand counting their data.  The state has a form that the data has to be submitted on, and there's not a way to merge those forms.  Shucks!  Anyway, I'm really close to being done after pushing pretty hard today.

Mommy Anne is doing lots better this evening.  She had a pretty rough night last night.  Alan and I ended up going back down to the hospital because she was agitated.  Tonight she ate a really good dinner and was much more relaxed and in a much better frame of mind.  It was good to see her.  Later we went to Mom's for dinner.  She made a little steak and fixings.  The salad had some of her garden produce - onions, swiss chard, as well as some lettuce and peas.  It was just really good!  We had a nice visit.

Tomorrow I've got a couple of interruptions on my calendar, but I'm going to finish up that report!!

So here's the short of it, 
 Back at work -- but thinking about having some time off for the first time in a long time!

And here's the long

Today I was by myself all morning up in our end of the 3rd floor.  When I got back from a school visit this afternoon, there was only one other person.  It seems so quiet.  I've really got three more kind of big projects to wind up before I'm done working.  I'm still negotiating it seems about whether my last day of work can be on Friday or if I'll need to come in on Monday.  We are on a mandatory 4 day work week (working extra hours to make up the time), but I understood that my building was the only one that would remain open.  I'll have to check on that tomorrow.

I'm still pretty tired from the long trip, but I'm still wishing that we could have stayed another day in Ohio. 
I'm trying not to let myself focus too much on the notion that I'll have several weeks when I don't have to go to work for the first time in several years.  I don't think I'll be able to work the rest of my days if I start focusing on having some time off!

Home

So here's the short of it, 
We are home from a pretty long drive!

And here's the long

Mom and I are home!  We had a really good visit and a lovely trip together.  Yesterday was quite fun and we were both really glad to be able to go!

This morning we got on the road about 9:30 and really had a good trip home.  We did run into a couple of really hard rains, but they weren't nearly as scary as the two that we had on the way up.  We did go by 3 accident sites.  Fortunately it didn't seem like there were any horrible injuries in those.  We were really glad to patronize the cracker barrel restaurants all the way down I-75 today!  They have nice restrooms even if you aren't hungry!


We got all the way to Berea before we stopped for lunch.  We went to Boone Tavern, where Aunt Joyce worked when she was in school there.  They had a Sunday brunch and we enjoyed that.  We spent a bit more time there than we had anticipated because we had a most interesting encounter.  A single gentleman came in and sat down at the table next to us.  We exchanged a few pleasantries about the time we were leaving.  Mom asked him if he was a Berea alumnus and one thing led to another...it turned out that his father lived down near Mt. Victory, and he remembered our grandfather VanSant.  He talked about reading the "Lines of Life" poems that appeared in the Somerset newspaper every week.  In 1994 the VanSant family reunion was held at a country retreat called The Close. It turns out that his father and mother owned that place and he goes down there pretty frequently.  It was so interesting.  He lives in Lexington, and I think that he knows the Edwards clan, although we didn't find that out until Mom was talking with Aunt Frances after we were back on the road.


We made it to the Cracker Barrel in Knoxville in time to meet Aunt Joyce for a light supper.  I believe that was our third Cracker Barrel of the day - the first in Dry Ridge north of Lexington - the next one in Corbin.  It was really crowded!  We thought it must be a Sunday afternoon tradition to go to Cracker Barrel there in Corbin, because most of the license plates were local.


When we finally did arrive home Hershey was so excited to see Mom.  She apparently had a really great visit with Sophie! And as far as I heard, Sophie was a pretty good puppy sitter.

Lots of playing!  It seems that Sophie was quite patient with Hershey and played nicely.  And then there was nap time!

Happy Birthday Aunt Dot

So here's the short of it, 
Fireworks ended the night after a day of celebrating Aunt Dot's birthday!

And here's the long

Mom and I had breakfast at the hotel and then went to K-Mart!  There's a big nice K-Mart here in Springboro.  I always loved the K-Mart near us in East Ridge and was really disappointed when it turned into a Sears!  And I don't really like any of the other ones in Chattanooga, but this one was nice.

We got over to Aunt Dot's a little before noon and are just getting back to the hotel now about 11:00.  It was a full afternoon of visiting, eating, watching cute and adorable cousins' children, eating, watching the Belmont horse race, eating, singing happy birthday, eating cake, pie, and candy, and finally watching a home-grown fireworks show!  I saw cousins I've not seen for a long, long time, and then some that I see on a more regular basis.  All four of Dad's sisters were there!  Of course I remember when they were so young and beautiful, and we were the kids playing around.  Linda was my trouble buddy.  She was the closest to my age, except for some of the boys, but I saw Linda a lot more that any of the boys, and besides, they were boys!  Of course now my cousins have grown children and grandchildren!  It's so hard to think about where time went. 

I felt good today.  I didn't sleep well at all last night, but I'm hoping that tonight will be a whole lot better.  Several of my cousins asked today how I'm feeling, and of course I said fine.... I do feel stronger every day, and I have so much to be grateful for!  I wonder though sometimes -- will the feeling ever come back into my feet - will I ever be able to negotiate steps in a fluid and two step fashion.  Will my digestive system ever recover from ....... anyway, I'm so glad to be able to come here and celebrate this family occasion.  I miss Dad terribly, but it's been great to have some time to spend with Mom.  And whatever remnants of the chemo remain with me, they can serve as a touchstone to remind me of the countless ways I was supported by family and friends throughout the past year. 

Happy Birthday Aunt Dot - may we all live to be old and as wonderfully loved as you are!

Glad to have family time

So here's the short of it,
We made it to Springboro and are having a good visit. 

And here's the long

 Well, here we are in Springboro, Ohio, at a nice Hampton Inn.  We made good time with not too much driving unpleasantness.  We drove through some intermittent rain on the way.  On Jellico mountain we were behind an almost accident involving a truck and two cars.  Thankfully everyone seemed to be good drivers and drove themselves out of the situation.  I couldn't be sure who was at fault, but it was a very close call!  We planned to meet Aunt Frances in Lexington at the Cracker Barrel at exit 115.  By the time we were at about mile 111, it was raining so hard that I could hardly see anything.  The car in front of me did not have lights turned on and I was quite nervous about not being able to judge where it was.  Many cars were pulled off to the side of the road, so that's what I did too!  We sat for just a few minutes and it cleared enough to make our way the few miles to our exit.  Frances treated us to some blackberry cobbler and we had a short but very nice visit.  The rest of the drive to Cincinnati and on to Springboro was clear and easy.

As we checked in to the hotel where we are staying, we discovered that there is a reunion of the Ohio Purple Heart Veteran's Association meeting here this weekend.  There were two "older gentlemen" sitting outside on a bench and one of them had on a paratrooper hat and T-shirt.  We introduced ourselves, and shared that Dad had been in the 17th Airborne.  They were really nice.  It made me miss Dad.

As soon as we got settled in we drove over to Aunt Dot's and spent a lovely evening visiting and mostly watching, but a little helping get ready for tomorrow's big occasion.  Doris explained that everything is the "old timey" recipes.  There was already a carrot salad.  Jim had already chopped the onions; but there were potatoes to peel and chop, celery, boiled eggs, and cucumbers to chop.  Jim cut up six chickens and put his home-made barbecue rub on them to marinate for the night.  It seems that there will be a real Family Iron Chef Barbecue Cook-off tomorrow.  Chicken from Jim and we'll report tomorrow on what the other guys bring!   We got started talking about cooking and it seems that Mom and I may try to make a batch or two of Great Aunt Ruby's Pulled Cream Candy tomorrow.

There's a K-Mart here!  I've missed ours in Chattanooga since they turned it into a Sears, and then closed it down last year after the high water got into it.  I didn't really like it once it became a Sears anyway.  So on the way over tomorrow, we've promised ourselves a quick stop at the K-Mart.  We are going to pick up a spray bottle for Jim, he says when he's barbecuing meat, he likes to spray on an apple juice glaze at the very end.  That sounds really good!

Wednesdays

So here's the short of it, 
What will I do with Wednesday afternoons!

And here's the long

Mom and I are driving up to Ohio tomorrow.  Aunt Dot is having a big birthday and her children are having a birthday party for her.  We'll drive up on Friday, spend the night, party on Saturday, and then drive back on Sunday.  It should be a nice visit.  I'm glad to be seeing my cousins for a happy occasion. 

Yesterday was my 49th Herceptin treatment.  I only have 2 more!  Isn't it funny that I really think I'll miss the whole routine of Wednesday afternoons.  Drive to the hospital - well actually the doctor's office in the hospital wing.  Find a place to park.  Walk to the elevator - punch the 5th floor button.  Sign in to the infusion room and then the lab.  Go get blood drawn for the tests  - lately it's only been the PT/INR test.  Go find an empty chair - I like the ones that have an ottoman rather than the recliners.  Then wait for Lori to come put a butterfly into the vein in my right hand.  Sit and not move my hand for 45 minutes or so while the Herceptin goes in. Sit for a minute after the needle comes out and put pressure on the spot so it won't bleed, then leave. Head back to the car - get my dollar ready and leave.  Gosh!  What in the world will I do on Wednesday afternoons! 

A bug in the house

So here's the short of it, 
Alan's not feeling well...

And here's the long

Alan's been sick today.  He was running a fever this morning and stayed in bed all day.  I wonder if he had a worse case of whatever I had over the weekend that put me to bed all afternoon on Monday.  Anyway, his temp is down a bit this evening, so maybe it's just a 24 hour bug.

I stopped in to see Mommy Anne since Alan wasn't able to go.  She made me a pinky promise that she'd work hard in physical therapy - I don't know if she really did!  Then tonight she really did a fairly decent job eating her supper.  She isn't eating enough, and we had a long talk about that.  Who knows if that will do any good. 

Work is spinning right along  I've got a lot to get done tomorrow - 
Mom and I are going to drive up to Springboro, OH Friday to go to Aunt Dot's birthday party.  We'll come back on Sunday.  So it will be a really quick trip.  I'm looking forward to it. Will try to get some pictures of that event posted. 

So here's the short of it, 


And here's the long

W. 40th Street is busier than usual with no school going on.  Every day so far there have been groups there doing professional development.  Today there was a group who are virtual school teachers and several others.  W. 40th is the only building that's open 5 days a week this summer.  Everyone else is working a 4 LONG day work week.  It just wears everyone out!  But there is a 3 day weekend every week.  I guess we could all get used to working like that.

I had a pretty good day although I still get pretty tired. 

I stopped by to see Mommy Anne this evening on the way home.  Her bruising is beginning to fade and her swelling is going down pretty much.  Today she had an appointment with a hand specialist and they made a rigid, removable cast which should be much more comfortable.  She's not wanting to eat very much and she is not wanting to do very much physical therapy.  We've all been trying to figure out how we can encourage her.  So far no one's had very good luck.

Mom is seeming very pensive.  I suspect that Memorial Day and the fact that we are now reliving the one year anniversary of so many things makes it all so much more difficult.  I know it's difficult for me, I can't even imagine how much more difficult it is for her.