Did I Say Usual?

I have a cold!  I hate colds.  My eyes water, my nose drips, and my throat hurts.  It feels like I am swallowing razor blades. 

I have gargled with vinegar which actually has helped some.  I was able to eat something after that.

Don’t ever complain about things being usual, the germs and viruses are out there.

We had a good time yesterday at lunch discussing plans for the Christmas season.  That’s probably where I encountered the evil cold bug.

Wrapping your feet with plastic wrap is tricky.  My Dad used to tease me about my big feet saying I would have been a lot taller if they hadn’t turned so much under for feet.

Actually 8 1/2 is not all that big today but in the 50’s that was big.  The wrapping is a challenge.  I put the Udder Cream on, then my hands are slippery as well as my feet.  Getting the plastic wrap out and tearing it off with slippery hands means the wrap gets all stuck to itself.  You get the picture.

It makes bedtime a long process with two dogs watching.  They expect a special backrub and belly rub at bedtime. 

Bandit’s blood test came out normal.  I called the Bassett Rescue woman in charge of placement and explained the problems I was having. 

Bandit doesn’t get along with any other Bassets, he doesn’t do well at a kennel.  He is 12 or 13 years old.  He has been in many homes and snaps and snarls at the other dogs.

Teddy is meek enough that they coexist but there is almost no interaction between them.  Well, maybe when Bandit tries to dominate Teddy.  He stands on his tiptoes and tries to look down his long nose at Teddy.  Sometimes he blocks the backdoor so Teddy can’t come in the house from the backyard.

The ultimate conclusion I got from the Rescue lady was that she would try to rehome him but she would almost rather have him put down that try to find him another placement. 

Evil me was almost hoping he had kidney failure.  Bad on me.  I just don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to take care of him if he can’t get in and out of the house without my lifting him.  Today he did fine.  Only time will tell.

Sniff sniff – yuck

later….

 

More of the Usual

Not much happening – thus not many posts.  Took Bandit for blood test yesterday – testing for kidney function. 

I tried giving him some glucosamine  and he threw up.  He can barely jump into the house from the deck.  It is only a little higher than a regular step.  I’ve had to lift him in a couple of times.  Front half first, then back half.  We do the same with the car.

I had my appointment with the oncologist today.  They called yesterday and asked me to be a little early, so I was.  Then they were running a little late.  Nothing unusual.  It only took an hour.  I am to continue the xeloda and come back in three weeks.  The cancer marker is hovering around 70-80-90. 

My hands have been really sore lately.  She suggested I put the Udder Cream on and wear rubber gloves at night, also wrap my feet in plastic wrap.

I remembered some very expensive gloves I bought at a trade days in Fredericksburg, TX several years ago.  They don’t have finger tips in them.  I’ve been wearing those during the day and they really help.  They are really soft.

So I’ll put the plastic wrap in the bedroom so I can wrap my feet at night. 

Going out to lunch tomorrow with friends.  It’s supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow.  I’ve got to get my lawn mowed one more time before winter and I’ve lost my neighbor’s phone number. 

Went searching in the attic for Christmas stuff.  Found a huge artificial wreath that half the lights didn’t work.  So I took the lights off, that took an hour or so, and took it over the the barn.  It was all one string of lights so I cut it off at the point where they stopped working.  If I can remember how to do it I will reattach the plug to the half that works.

We are having a family discussion about how to handle Christmas gifts this year.  Draw names or have an obscene heap of gifts that aren’t what people want. 

later….

Shopping

When you put off grocery shopping it just gets bigger.  Walmart  has about everything I need and it isn’t spread out over an acre.  They are $100+ richer today and my cupboards are almost full.

I walk much slower than I once did due to sore feet and one numb foot.  Walking slowly you see more.  If you see more in a grocery store you buy more.

Susan and I were laughing about what will get us to go shopping.  She said her bottom line was pancakes and home made syrup for breakfast. Mine was graham crackers and juice for breakfast.

Home made syrup is sugar and water boiled down to syrup.  I invented this on a camping trip when we had forgotten syrup.  We continued to make our own syrup after that.

We camped in a pop-up camper.  The kids could get up in their footed pajamas and climb rocks. 

Those are fun memories for all of us.

later….

 

Whining and Complaining

If I made the rules – I can break them – right?  Or if I made the plans – I can change them!
So all I did on this rainy day was write out checks, lick envelopes and apply stamps – also put away laundry from a couple of days ago.
I need to go grocery shopping and Susan has offered to do it for me.  I want to do it myself, I want to have the energy to do it myself.
Maybe tomorrow, the list gets longer the longer I put it off.
Bandit has been improving his bathroom habits each day.  I don’t think there were any puddles today. 
This was the last day of the two weeks of xeloda pills.  Now I get a week off.  I forgot the last pills after breakfast so I took them after lunch.  This break is just in time as the creases in my hands are getting bloody cracks.  If I use the Udder Cream often enough they seem to heal up a little.  Opening jars and bottles is a trial for sore hands.
I drink a lot of ginger ale as it helps keep my stomach settled.  I drink it room temperature and let the fizz out.  I was surprised this week when I had trouble getting the top off.
Actually these pills are pretty easy on my stomach.  I was trying to keep protein and starch separate but now I can mix them a bit.  I had a chicken sandwich for lunch with no after effects.
I’m enjoying playing “words with friends” on facebook.  It’s a scrabble game and I play with my kids and sister and niece and sister-in-law.  I even win sometimes.  Got to keep the old brain active.
later….

Talking to Myself

It’s hard to set yourself down and have a stern heart to heart talk.  Talking to myself?  Yes.

I’ve got to fight the fatigue more.  Yesterday I took the weed eater to some backyard weeds.  Also took my new clippers to some of the stuff in the garden area.

The dogs loved getting back there in the tall weeds and investigating all the smells.

The squirrels ate the sunflower seeds.  They pulled the plants down to get to them.  Bad squirrels!  Maybe they buried some of the seeds.  Maybe I’ll have sunflowers all over the yard next year.

Lory and I had a good week-end at the barn.  She sold her Blue Boy picture and I sold a large mirror.  We will go Sat. to pick up our money.

There was a lot of talk of the Christmas season coming up.  The barn is on the Christmas Tour this year so we are to go all out with decorating. 

Bah humbug.

Okay – more talking to myself.  I’ll get into the attic and see what I can find.

Went this morning for my weekly blood test then went to the drug store for a prescription.  Also picked up two bottles of chewable calcium pills, and some gel shoe inserts.  When I paid for my items there was a $4.00 coupon on the sales slip.

As I walked toward the exit I somehow ended up in the candy aisle.  Hmmmm.  I used the coupon for dark chocolate.

later….

Rain!

It rained on our sale which was set up outside.  Books and papers were quickly stuffed back into boxes and moved inside. 

The rain let up and we slowly moved some of the items back outside. 

I had filled the back of my Mazda Tribute (Ford Escort with Mazda on the front) with collector books, antique price guides, etc.   I just put the back door up and let people look.  I sold $11.00 out of there.

Then the crowd picked up and we were very busy for a couple of hours.  Part of the fun was sending people out to the shed in back of the barn and telling them to ring the doorbell.  That shed is all decorated for Halloween and the doorbell makes a plastic hand come down and touch your finger. 

Some people scream, some just pull their hand back real fast.  Then just inside your motion makes a gruesome picture with lit up eyes start asking for help in a creepy voice.

You don’t have to be crazy to work there but it helps.

Lory and I stayed till 3:30.  I am very tired and my feet hurt but then I’m often tired and my feet often hurt.

It’s supposed to rain some more tonight and maybe tomorrow and then turn windy and colder on Saturday.  It’s fall.

later….

 

Wheels Again

The car got done yesterday.  They straightened the right front backing plate (that was causing the rattle) and welded an exhaust hanger and replaced the rear windshield wiper for a total of $65.91.

Some day I’ll need tires, they are “cupped” because I never had them rotated.  There is still a lot of tread on them. 

I really appreciate that garage, Phil’s.  They know I’ll be back so they treat me well.

Getting ready to try to sell a bunch of books this coming week-end.  I have antique value guides dating way back.  I also have a bunch of old paper backs and hard backs. 

Lory helped this afternoon. She ran into a very strange book titled Failure of a Mission by Sir Nevile Henderson.  It has everything you would expect, up to and including a prologue.  After that all the pages are blank.  The contents page lists the chapters with 000 for the page.  I have looked on the internet and found this book with quotes from the content.  So this one has to be rare.

My feet are sore from the chemo.  The more I walk the sorer they are.  They are peeling now and very red.  The Dr. says I am tolerating this chemo well.  I’m sure it could be worse so I take an occasional pill and try not to make extra steps. 

Of course, the dogs want to go out and in a lot and Bandit doesn’t want to come in at the same time as Teddy.  He wants the door opened just for him.  I’ve had other dogs like that.

The weather is drippy today.  Bandit looks out the back door and shakes as if he is already wet.  Teddy runs out and runs right back in.  I tell them that black dogs don’t melt but I think they hear “blah blah blah”.

later….

No Wheels

The RV went to the shop yesterday to be winterized and to get the generator working. 

Today the car went to the shop to figure out what is making a rattle when I make a left turn. 

The car garage guy also heard a rumble that I hadn’t noticed.  That is probably the tires.  The car has 88000 miles on it and as far as I know those are the original tires.

They gave me a ride home so here I sit with no wheels.  So I went outside and trimmed some brush with my new clippers.  Things you don’t want to grow in places you don’t want them seem to do the best. 

That went well until I accidently stepped in dog dodo.  Now those shoes have been cleaned and I am wearing slippers. 

Took a Bandit urine sample to the vet yesterday.  I put it in the refrigerator for a while before I took it in.  Apparently that is a nono.   I am to stop giving him the prednisone and get another urine sample next week and not refrigerate it.

The spot where his cyst broke open is almost healed. 

The weather has turned chilly after a week of really warm days.  The trees are turning and the tops of some plants have been nipped by frost.

Since John isn’t supposed to use a lawn mower with his heart condition I have asked the neighbors if they would take care of it.  They have agreed to do it.

I didn’t have any big plans to go anywhere today but without wheels I can think of lots of errands I could run.

I’ll have wheels ….

later.

 

Homecoming Parade

I was just getting ready to feed the dogs this evening when I heard a band.  Sure enough there was a band in the street in front of my house.  They were playing, then dancing.  They have been practicing since last year.  Maybe a new band teacher?

The band was followed by trucks carrying students, even one for the 7th grade volley ball team.  Then came the convertibles with the freshman thru senior candidates for king and queen.

There wasn’t much of a crowd watching so the kids threw candy at the truck or car behind or in front of them.

Two very noisy fire trucks brought up the rear and finally turned the corner and released traffic.

I think the cement truck was very happy to go.  His load is a bit time sensitive.  I learned about that from Bill, husband #2. 

He was a construction inspector and carried a thermometer to check the temperature of cement before it was poured.  If it had started to heat up he would recommend the driver go buy several bags of ice and come back.

If they had poured it while it was heating (starting to set) it would have powdered off and been weak.  A big all day pour with several trucks lined up could become a problem.  Bill’s nickname was bulldog.  I thought he was more like a pussy cat.

I started the Zeloda tonight.  I’ve made appointments for blood work at the local doctor’s office.  Also trimmed the hair on Teddy’s feet so I could find his toenails and cut them.  He wasn’t happy about it.

later….

Doctor’s Appointment

I saw the oncologist today.  The original appointment was for 9:45, then changed to 8:45.  Of course, when I got there on time I had to wait for about 1/2 hour. 

Maybe next time it will be me that needs more time with the doctor so I won’t complain.

The news is all good.  Last time the report didn’t even say how many spots were in my liver, just that there were a lot.

One of my kids started learning to count (about age 2) by saying “one two three lottsa”.

This time there are less spots in the liver, still no count of them but less is good.  All the bone spots are still there, the same as before.  It’s the liver spots that are the biggest concern. 

I will start taking the next 14 days of 3000 mg of Xeloda on Thursday night after supper.

The palms of my hands and the bottom of my feet are peeling which is a side effect of this chemo.

In celebration I stopped at the Salvation Army store and did some shopping.  I found a pair of corduroy slacks, a belt, a large pair of rubber boots (in case of deep snow), and a pot of silk poinsettias.  All for $10.65.  Wednesday’s are 1/2 price days. 

So I’m already starting to decorate for the holidays by setting the poinsettia on top of a dog cage.

The weather is great.  Days in the 70’s and nights in the 50’s.  The trees are starting to turn color.  I love the fall season.

Guess I’ll do some laundry this afternoon.

later….

 

Company Gone

My dear sister sent me a t-shirt that said “I can’t remember if I’m the good sister or the evil one”.  She didn’t get one for herself.  I have friends who have t-shirt skills so I ordered one for her.

So here we are in our t-shirts.  And below we are deciding who is who.

Bob asked if there were any jobs that needed doing. Aha!  He might not do that again.  He cleaned out the eaves and put a screen over them.  He also mowed the front yard.

It’s sad to see them go but there was ice on my windshield this morning.  When you have wheels on your home you tend not to stay around for cold weather.

John is home from the hospital and is doing just fine.  He is to wear a vest with sensors on it for a while to monitor his heart.  We all had dinner last night at his house.

Tomorrow I get a PET scan.  Then Tuesday I have to stay home for the delivery of Zeloda pills.  Retirees tend to plan one thing per day.

later….