Better Day

A good nights sleep can do wonders for a person.  It doesn’t seem to matter that the sleep was aided by drugs.  A little sunshine would help also but that isn’t available.  In fact more snowflakes are predicted.

I probably won’t ever say I’m having a bad day again since that seems to make the phone ring over and over and over………..  which interrupts the rest I was trying to get.

Telling me I will feel better soon, that someone else feels worse, all those platitudes ---- please.  Just let me be miserable for a while.

After having my new bathtub installed I thought about grab bars.  I should have thought of them sooner.  So the plumber is coming back today to see about them.  If possible he will install them today. 

Tomorrow is a vet appointment for Teddy.  He gets an ear infection this time of year – springtime.  I have been treating it but I want the vet to look at it plus it is time for his heart worm test. 

Also I need heart worm meds for both dogs and I want to know what they weigh.  I want to know if their diet is working.  Both were a little overweight on their last visit.  So Bandit will come along just to get on the scales.

I feel much better – really.

later…. 

 

Bad Day

The weather man is right this time, it is snowing.  It won’t amount to much but it is doing it.  One last “take that” from nature.

I haven’t even gotten dressed today.  Woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. 

Tried reading for a while but had to close one eye to be able to see clearly. 

Everything tastes like chemicals, even water. 

So I’m having a bad day, I’m allowed. 

later….

Another Routine Chemo Day

Drove myself for the third time today.  I think I go there for a nice nap.  They told me I snored today. 

I know I watch too much TV.  Sometimes the commercials are the most entertaining part.

A Home Depot ad on TV says that grass doesn’t turn green just because the calendar says it’s spring. 

I’ve got news for them – it’s been happening for hundreds, more like thousands of years.  It may not be a perfect lawn of grass.  It probably will have those cheerful yellow dandelions in it, but it does turn green without all that costly help.

The Sun is out but the temps are in the 40’s.  I’ll take the sunny days anytime.  They are predicting snow again.  We got missed by the last one.  Spring snow doesn’t last long.

A picture of Bandit enjoying his meal.  It’s so good he has to sit down to get the full benefit.  Of course, for him sitting down isn’t that far from standing up. 

His skin fits him like stretched out long johns and you can see one of his fatty tumors on his left side.  I call him lumpy sometimes.  He doesn’t care what you call him as long as you have food or belly rubs for him.

He hates the camera flash so much he actually stopped eating and looked around for a moment.  Maybe if I take enough pictures he will get over it.

later….

Winter is Back and Washing Dishes

It IS Ohio after all and one day at 70 degrees, the next one at 20 is kind of a tradition around here.   Highs in the 40’s with snow on Sunday.  Nothing above 40 in the 5 day forecast.  So get those long johns  back out and forget the shorts, unless you are a teenager – in which case you wear whatever you want.

This is a picture of a worn out pot scrubber.  The last job it did was when Lory grabbed it up to remove paint from the bottom of her feet while painting the bathroom – and tracking paint throughout the house. 

Dish washing was suspended, the sink began to pile up.  Actually the search for a new one had been going on for quite some time. 

The internet revealed that they are sold at only one kind of hardware store in Ohio and there isn’t one of those kind of stores near here.

Further search found they could be ordered online.  AHAAAA!!!

How about a case of them? Twelve boxes with two scrubbers each. Why not!  Everyone will get one for their birthday.  Andrea already received hers. 

Crazy?  Maybe, but I can buy a case of scrubbers if I want to – and I wanted to. 

But now I have to do those dishes…

later….

Running Around Tuesday

WOW!  My granddaughter, Andrea, turned 23 years old today.   Her Mother and I took her shopping at a Thrift store.  We had a great time, even found some stuff for ourselves also.

My major contribution was to meet her at the License Bureau and get her a new sticker for her license plate. 

Since this excursion took up most of the afternoon and I spent most of the morning on the phone I didn’t have time to overeat.   Yet my stomach still feels a bit uncomfortable.  So maybe that’s just how it feels on the day after chemo. 

She informed me that she is getting a pink bow tattoo in honor of my having breast cancer.  Her Mother and I tried to convince her to get it where it could easily be covered up.  I think we won. 

I’m trying to feel honored about this tattoo.  I know it is the latest thing for the youth to do.  I even got one a couple of years ago so I guess I can’t object too much.

Later….

 

Chemotherapy Treatment No. 14

I have occasionally complained about comments from this blog referring me to websites about male enhancement.  They, happily, do not show up as comments on the blog, just come to me as email. 

So now I want to say something nice about an anonymous comment on one of my old posts that thanked me for helping them solve a problem.  It was a post about the steroids I take the day before chemo.  Don’t know how it helped but I am happy that it did.  It made my day.

Sunday I took three 4 mg dexamethasone pills both morning and night.   Hope this works well.  Could it be possible to reduce this even more?  Time will tell.

The problem that is most bothersome now is the numbness that is progressing in my right foot.  It started at the toes, has progressed to the ball of the foot and the heel and ankle are feeling strange now.

This is called “Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy” or CIPN.  Looked it up on the internet and it is found in 60% of Taxol patients.  It is the nerves, not the circulation. 

Maybe the most bothersome thing is the fingers on my right hand are starting to be affected also.  I am very right handed.  My poor old left hand barely knows it’s name. 

One place I worked, many years ago, the cord to the calculator would only reach the electrical outlet from the left side of my desk.  Eventually I learned to use it with my left hand.  But that was MANY years ago.  Can you teach an old hand new tricks?  I may get to find out. 

Just got back from chemo.  I drove myself, even turned right on red twice – haha. 

No problems with the chemo.  I slept thru some of it.  I try to pull the blanket up to my face so it can catch any drool.  TMI? (too much information)

We are having Florida weather, quick shower of huge drops with thunder then sunshine.

Now I just have to remember not to eat too much at one time the rest of today and tomorrow. 

later….

 

 

 

DVD Critique

They came, they watched, they laughed, they oood and awwwd.  The DVD’s were all watched this afternoon. 

Some of the ones we had wanted to see were not included.  A search was launched and they were found, still on movie reels.  So the job is not done.

Comments such as “I don’t remember Grandma ever looking that young” and “now I want to go see Yellowstone” were common. 

We had pizza instead of popcorn.  The pizza is made 2 doors down the street at the high school pizza hang out.  It is hand made while you wait.  I know because they make mine without cheese for me. 

One thing we have learned over the years is that pictures of people are more important than pictures of places.   The places are still there, some of them may have changed, but not much.  The people surely do change. 

I’ll bet that rock balancing on top of a pinnacle in Bryce Canyon is still there. 

Of course, the old cars in the movies from the 1960’s and 1970’s were fun to see.

There were a lot of movies of child number 1, not so many of child number 2, and even less of child number 3.  Since their birth years were 1963, 1966, and 1968 there is a good reason for taking less and less movies.   Very busy parents just coping with food, clothing, and shelter is a pretty good reason.

Susan thinks she has a computer program for editing the DVD’s.  The DVD’s play from the beginning of a section thru to the end.  You can pause and restart, you can fast forward, but you can’t stop and start again where you left off in the middle.  I wish her luck in editing.

I was able to pawn off a bag of paperback books on Susan.  Always glad to see things leave here that have been laying around for a while.

I have been watching the news off and on.  Sometimes I have to turn the TV to animal shows or reruns to take a break from all the alarming news.  

Sure hope the world settles down soon.

later….

 

St Patrick’s Day and How I Fooled an Irishman

Once had a brother-in-law who was very Irish.  He’s now one of those out-law in-laws as so often happens these days.

Years ago he and his family were invited to our home for St. Patrick’s day.  The mugs were frosted, the beer was cold, everything was ready.

The beer was opened and amber liquid poured into the frosty mug – and immediately turned green!

His eyes got big and he demanded to know how I did that. 

Irish magic – created by a drop of green food coloring in the bottom of the mug.

Today the weather is beautiful.  I sat in the sun for a while with my almost bald head soaking up some sun.  Got to get it toughened up for spring. 

The new diet has almost solved the digestive problems but not completely.  I don’t think anything will solve it completely. 

I’m looking forward to Saturday.  The old 8 mm family movies have been converted into DVD format.  The kids and I plan to look at them and try to date them.  Maybe also figure out where they were taken.  

This should be good for a couple of laughs.  One of my kids thinks I’m going to make a recording explaining the films.  Like “that’s a tree”, “that’s your uncle Pete” etc.  

I’ll let you know how it goes.

later….

SUCCESS

I successfully drove myself to and from my chemo appointment today!

I walked around in the brisk air in the parking garage for about 10 minutes, then sat in the car and listened to Rush Limbaugh for another few minutes before I felt for sure able to drive. 

I didn’t make any right turns on red but I did slip thru a couple of lights on yellow rather than slam on the brakes.  One of them a car even came thru after me, his light had to be red.

This appointment I saw the doctor for a few minutes before the chemo.  She said I was very flushed, but since I don’t look in the mirror much I hadn’t noticed.  She said I should cut the steroids by one more pill next week.  That will make it 3 pills in the morning and 3 at night (4mg each).

Since my right foot is starting to go numb she also will reduce the amount of taxol I get each time from 138mg to 120mg. 

My last blood marker was 33 and less than 38 is considered normal.  Good news.

The really good news is that if things continue to go well I will be able to take two weeks off between rounds of chemo if I want to.  Maybe I could even run away from home if I could gen up the energy.

I will be getting more scans in April.

I made a stop on the way home to look at the river.  These Canadian geese are looking at the river, even honking about it.  The current is still too swift for them.  They would end up in the Ohio River in a short time.

 

Smart birds.  The bank of the river has changed since I was there last.  The river is a bit wider in spots and some trees are gone from the edge. 

Now I just have to settle down and get something to eat and see what I can get done with this left over steroid energy.

later….

 

Quiet Sunday

It has been quiet around here for a few days.  Nothing much to report.  The sun has come out and the weather has been pretty good. 

The weatherman is predicting 70 degrees for St. Patrick’s day.  The luck of the Irish.

I’ve been putting my bathroom back together since the painting is done, well, almost done.  There are a few spots to touch up but nothing significant.

I went to the barn yesterday and put out a basket of plastic Easter eggs with a sign saying “One Per Customer”.  They have coupons in them for 25% off any item in my booth.  Sure hope that gets some things sold and out of the way.  Since I only have half a booth it is getting pretty crowded. 

My kids are upset about tragic news that connects to them. 

Susan’s coworker was murdered in Louisiana by two prison escapees who wanted his car.  They haven’t been caught yet, last seen in Tennessee.

At Lory’s place of work there was a murder and suicide yesterday.  An ex-husband killed his ex-wife’s boyfriend and himself.  At least he saved the city some money by killing himself.  Really stupid thing to do though. 

Since it is Sunday, our day of rest, I’ve been thinking about one line in the Lord’s Prayer:  “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (or “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”). 

The “as we” is the hard part.  It seems could mean that if we will be forgiven in equal measure that we forgive.  That is a challenge.  So I’ve been thinking back over things that I thought I had forgiven and checking to make sure that I really did forgive.

That could take a whole month of Sundays, maybe longer.  Forgiving should be done for yourself, to release you from anger and the energy it consumes.  I don’t think means I have to forget.  

This is a steroid Sunday, getting ready for chemo tomorrow.  Started looking in the cupboard where I keep prescription bottles and at first I couldn’t find the pills.  It took three thorough searches to find them.  Cheeesh.

Later…. 

 

Dreary Thursday

The plan was to take the dogs to the park along the river and take some pictures of the water and the bike trail, which is way under water.  That was the plan.

The sky is grey and it is misty and cold, the mist is supposed to turn to snow in the afternoon.  Yuck.

So much for the plan. 

The diet seems to be helping a lot.  If I don’t mix protein and starch in the same meal I don’t have a stomachache. 

The book explains that the enzymes that your digestive system uses to digest these two things counteract one another and can create a blockage, taking a very long time to digest the combination.  Vegetables go with either protein or starch so I get plenty of veggies.

A chicken, egg, and pickle salad with a little mayo makes a nice protein meal, no bread as that is starch.

A potato with salad dressing and green beans or peas makes a starch meal.  

Of course, then I get this hunger for pancakes – or maybe just the syrup I put on them.  The pancakes are starch but sugar was not mentioned in that diet. 

Chocolate was also not mentioned.  I don’t think chocolate counts.

Beans are also a bit of a quandary.  They are a vegetable but they also have protein and starch.  Maybe that’s why they cause gas.    Maybe I’ll just avoid beans.

Yesterday it rained all day and I walked the dogs in the backyard on their leashes.  There were no puddles in the house but there was a wet yellow slicker and muddy boots. 

This weather brings on aches and pains in my old joints.  Maybe I’ll take a nap.

later….

Busy Monday

I know I’ll be sorry tomorrow.  I overdid it today. 

I stripped the bed, did 2 loads of laundry, made the bed, went to get my blood checked – it was good – stopped at the grocery store and post office, collected the trash and put it out to the street.

You have to use the energy when you get it. 

The river was very high.  A “high water” sign was left by the side of the road even though the water has gone down off the road.  Some of the baseball fields were also under water and Canadian geese were enjoying it.  Rain is predicted later this week.

I have a plan for getting my dogs to go to the bathroom outdoors in the rain – leashes.  I have a raincoat and boots.  When I am camping with dogs we have no choice but to walk in the rain or wind or whatever it happens to be doing.   HA – I’ll let you know if it works. 

Later….

 

Diet News

Taking into consideration yesterdays info about diet – I had dry cereal for breakfast (starch) – pork roast, green beans and a pickle for lunch (protein & veggies) – half a baked potato and another pickle (starch & veggies) for dinner (I should say supper as that’s what it was where I grew up). 

It seems to be working.  Not nearly so many burps and that overstuffed feeling is less than it was. 

You may have noticed the pickles in my diet.  I received an 80 oz. jar of pickles for my birthday.  That’s because I can’t taste food very well but pickles still taste like pickles – and pickles are a vegetable.

.

Don’t know how it will work if I go out to eat.  Maybe I could just order a hamburger and a fork or pasta and bread. 

I could order a regular meal and just eat part of it and bring the rest home. 

The rain brought on more dog puddles in the house.  I caught Bandit at it in the bathroom and dragged him outside by his collar.  Then he managed to open the bedroom door that I had blocked with a paint can and made a puddle in there.  BAD BAD DOG!

The rain has stopped but the weather is not done with winter yet.  March came in like a lamb so it should go out like a lion according to the old saying.

Later….

 

 

Diet Stuff

Reading my Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips book, I found some info about food.  This info may be in some of the serious literature given me at the doctor’s office but since it didn’t have “sexy” in the title or cute sayings etc. I didn’t notice it.

The picture below shows the digestion times of different types of foods.  It also demonstrates what not to put together, like proteins and starches. 

A normal healthy person probably would never have to consider this information.  But when I eat and burp a lot and get an all day stomach ache I need to know why.

Quote from book:  “When we don’t combine foods properly, digestive enzymes are neutralized – and the resulting traffic jam fouls up our digestion”.

If you click on the picture it gets bigger, I think.

Then, of course, there is the question of is it a starch or a vegetable.   I went looking on the internet for that info.  Root vegies are starch as well as rice, bread and crackers.  I had already figured out I couldn’t eat potatoes, now I know why.  Maybe I can add them back if I do it right. 

A normal breakfast, like I had on Tuesday – egg and bacon sandwich – is a big nono (mixing protein and starch).  It’s no wonder I had an 8 hour stomach ache.  

So for dinner tonight I had a boiled egg, green beans and a couple of thin slices of chicken.  We will see how that sets. 

The battery in the RV is a goner.  Since I haven’t been starting the RV at all this winter it is probably my fault.  That will not stop me from trying to get a bit  of $ knocked off the next one I buy from the same place.  They couldn’t do anything about it till Monday after they have checked it themselves.

It rained in the night and all day.  This led to a doggie pee puddle in the bathroom.  Bandit is blamed for it but Teddy may have added his squirt to it also.  The dogs were outside enough to go out there.  I even put on a raincoat and went out with them to prove rain does not melt you. 

Since it’s supposed to keep raining tomorrow I may have to put leashes on them and be sure they go outside.  I refuse to hold an umbrella over them although I used to do that for a Great Dane I had.  Well, her puddles were VERY significant.

later….

Book Review

Someone gave me a book to read.  I have been flipping through it now and then.  Yesterday I finally got down to reading parts of it. 

There is a whole chapter about the Cancer Card.

The first paragraph of that chapter reads:  “You have been preapproved for a Platinum Club Cancer Card membership!  Though it sucks that you have cancer, membership to this ever growing club does come with its perks.  Your Cancer Card provides you with oodles of mileage points and has no expiration date.  It’s an I’m-human card, and like it or not you can’t do it all; every now and then you need a treat.”

It points out that this card can be used to opt in or out of anything:

I need to rest -----

Don’t dump on me-----

I will not be able to attend----

etc etc etc.

 

It even recommends shopping therapy.

I have had some good laughs from this book already and there are even some serious parts.

I’ve been running some errands.  Managed a huge bag of dog food by tipping it out of the car into a large cooler and sliding it into the house.  YEAH!

I’ve been trying to get the RV battery charged with no luck.  Tomorrow Lory & John are going to use jumper cables and get it going.  They are going to clean it for me.  Am I using that Platinum Card?  You bet I am!

Later….

Tuesday After Monday

Okay – today I wrote it down in the Chemo Log composition book that my friend gave me a while back.  DO NOT EAT TOO MUCH THE DAY AFTER CHEMO!!!

I think the steroids give me an appetite.  Otherwise I don’t have a big appetite – so I eat.  I had a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast.  Then a bowl of soup for lunch. 

Then I took an anti nausea pill.  For this evening I’m going to snack on cereal bit by bit. 

Now if I just remember to read what I wrote down – MAYBE I won’t have such a stomach ache the next time.

Beautiful sunny day today.  Picked up the new collection of dead branches in the back yard.  Put ear wash in the dogs ears – much to their dismay.

A while ago I felt a weight on my foot and assumed a dog had lovingly laid their head on the Master’s foot.  Looked down and saw Bandit sitting on my foot.  Whichever end, I’ll take it.

Some touch up painting was done today.  Then some battery charging was done.  John’s truck wouldn’t start till we used the jumper cables.

While we had the stuff out I attached the charger to the RV.  I’ll take it off for the night as I was once charging a battery and happened to look out just as smoke started rolling out of the charger.  This is a new charger but why take a chance.

I left that old charger on a battery overnight once with the hood open just a couple inches.  The next morning I found a walnut stuffed in the engine.  Those squirrels are busy fellows.

I need to follow their example….

Later….