Ash Wednesday

So here we are at Lent, and it is time for self-denial. I started the day with a lenten self-denial Watsu. I had time before my next appointment, so I retired to the loggia, with the heater on and towels for blankies. I reclined with my book, Grishem's The Chamber, and almost slept through my next appointment--a tandem massage. Arlene had to come looking for me and wake me up. The tandem massage is so very decadent. After that, I changed into a dry suit and took the waters before my facial. I am now so glamorous I can stop traffic. After the facial, it was back to the loggia with the heater and the towels, my book and another nap. Now I have to pack to get ready to leave tomorrow after I have my fingers and toes tended to.
xxooxx

Mardi Gras--Sonoma style

I had lemon-cottage cheese pancakes today, in honor of Shrove Tuesday. After that, it was off for another hard day in the spa. I started with a Vanilla Float, which I don't think I've described yet. It is not a fountain confection. It starts with a gentle exfoliation, followed by a slathering with vanilla shea butter, a wrap, and a descent into a flotation bed. While you are soaking up the lotion, you get a scalp and foot massage. It ends with a vanilla float, which is a fountain confection, only made with yogurt, so it's healthy. After a rest and short nap in the lounge, I had a Lavender Kur, a Thai massage, another rest, the bathing ritual, and a hair and scalp revitalizer. It was another hard day. I had filet mignon for dinner, also in honor of Mardi Gras. It was a beautiful day today. Much as we need the rain, it was lovely to see blue sky. I have another Watsu in the morning, so I'd be happy with another beautiful morning.
xxooxx

Sonoma-full day one

It took me a while to get the laptop up and running, but here we are. I had an excessively wet journey up here yesterday. When I got to the junction of Hwys 121 and 12, ready to turn left onto 12, there was a big firetruck in the way. Oh no, my junction was flooded. I had to take a detour! The up side is that I now know an alternate route. They upgraded me to a Mission Suite, nice, but far away from the Spa. The Big 3 is still closed--opening Friday. Great--I have to go home on Thursday. I'll manage. I had a Watsu and Body Coffee Scrub with Laura yesterday afternoon. I'd forgotten what a great Watsu Laura gives. Had a room service steak and watched the end of the Oscars. Today, I had a Spirulina Body Wrap with Laura, Reike with Diane, and a Stone Massage with David. All amazing. I could barely walk after the stone massage, I was so relaxed. I took the waters, then came back to the room and played with the computer. Now I'm going to look for dinner then make an early night of it.
xxooxx

The excitement continues

It is truly amazing how the universe conspires to find little things to fill our days. Yesterday, the mail included a jury summons for Lee. I thought about ignoring it--so he doesn't show up on the appointed day--try to serve him with a warrant. But no, I was a good girl. I called them. I told them that he would be unable to serve because he's dead. And working there in the court system is a friend who went to his funeral, just in case they needed instant verification. Naturally, a phone call wasn't enough. I have to send back the summons with the same information. There's no box to check off under the "I can not serve" space that says "because I'm dead," so I checked off the "I'm 70 or older and medically unable to serve." Under the reason, I put "died, 8-9-07." I miss these little telephone interactions. I used to have them all day on the job.
Saw the oncologist--I'm still handling the chemo well. As I thought, I'll have another CAT scan after the next one. Oh, by the way, I had what I think was a gall bladder attack on Wednesday. Well, that's not good, but not impossible and not really related to the cancer. But off to the bloodsuckers and this time we'll include liver function tests. It's getting so that every time I go past Peninsula Hospital I think I need to swing in and have them take blood--just in case.
This morning, I took Glenn to at Eastern Star brunch. There was a good turn out, so we were very social. I'm not feeling especially good--stray pains here and there. I think it goes with the cancer journey. I had a practice in the afternoon for the Worthy Grand Matron's official visit. Fortunately, our chapter does its thing in the very beginning of the meeting, so I was able to do my part and come home. I'm mostly packed for the Sonoma trip. I have a good itinerary--not too much, not too little each day. Even though I know how badly we need the rain, I'm a little bummed that it will be stormy most of my time there. Maybe the storms have just been waiting till I have my little trips planned before they decide when to come.
PG&E is taking its sweet time finishing the job that started last week. They got the emergency repairs done on Sunday, but there are still wires looping low and another one that is coiled up on the walkway. I'm fairly certain it isn't live, but I told Glenn not to play in the backyard while I'm gone. If it is still there when I get back, I'll call them. Oh goody, telephone confrontation--keeping my skills up.
Hope I get to church tomorrow morning without any excitement at all.
xxooxx

Techie me!

I fixed my Outlook problem--by myself--didn't have to call in any geek friends. I'm so excited. Of course, I could have followed the directions and done it almost a week ago, but there you are. I'm still excited about fixing my own problem.
So what's been happening. Sunday, PG&E worked on the downed wires till almost midnight. I had power until about 9:30 when I was ready to go to sleep. Only problem, I couldn't use my CPAP. Slept anyway and woke up when the power came back on a little after 11:30. There were still wires handing loose in the yard, but no broken live wires. Today I noticed a new wire that was coiled up on the walkway. Hmm. I suppose the PG&E guys will deal with that. If they don't, I'll call them when I get back from Sonoma.
We checked out the backyard on Monday. The wires melted some of the brick work and flatstone on the path. It's pretty scary. Scarier still when we realized that if we hadn't had some grounding work done last year, our house could have been toast.
Tuesday was a therapist day, always an upper, but I had to rush home to get to the dentist office as close to 12:30 as possible to get the new temporary. That took about an hour and I was exhausted when they finished. It is hard to keep your mouth open that long. When I got home, there was a disability check along with the medical certification to extend my disability. I think I only have a few weeks left in the fund, but I'll take them. Called my doctor's office to make a quasi appointment to come in and have him fill out the form. Wednesday is his day off, so Thursday, that would be today, worked.
Wednesday I got a letter from the same office that took two or three readings to fully grip. My doctor has cancer, and it is advanced. He was advising his patients that he would keep the office open as long as he could, but letting us know we need to have a plan B. I don't know quite what I will do just yet. I love my doctor. He is a really special man. It is important for me to have a primary care who knows what's going on and some of the history. So,, I guess I'll start asking for recommendations. And praying. When I got to the office building today, I caught my doctor having his lunch in the deli. I told him my purpose in coming--yet another form for him to fill out, and said I didn't know whether to give him a big hug or welcome him to the club no one wants to belong to. In the end, I did both. I asked him where the cancer was, but he didn't want to talk about that, but said it wasn't what I have. Sure, mine started in places where he doesn't even have places. We did agree that it's a bitch and life throws you curves when you least expect them. He filled out most of the form there in the deli and sent me up to the office to get the proper coding and let them make a copy for my huge file. The girls and I talked--I really like his staff. They said he's being very stoical about the whole thing. I saw tears in his eyes, but I've been there--still am. I told them, and will tell him at my appointment next month, that if he needs someone to talk to, I'm available. I'm pretty stoical too, but every now and then, you really want to smash something with a two by four.
That's it. I see my oncologist tomorrow and will ask her for recommendations. Saturday afternoon, I have an Eastern Star practice, and Sunday I'm off to Sonoma. I'll take my laptop and try to squeeze in a little blogging between treatments.
Weather note--we've had really good rain since I went to Santa Barbara. It was dry today and probably tomorrow--and quite pleasant. The next big storm is due in Saturday night, so my time in Sonoma will once again be drippy. I guess the loggia will have to wait till summer.
xxooxx

Today's excitement

There I was, eating my breakfast and reading the Sunday paper, watching it rain, listening to the wind blow, when suddenly, there were a series of explosions and several of the wires transversing our backyard snapped, each with accompanying pops and fireworks and explosions, some arcing and burning of the ground they touched. By the grace of God, they did not hit the house. This was around 9 in the morning. Church was out as an activity for the day. First we had the firetruck in front of the driveway, then PG&E trucks. It is now 3:40 PM and they are finally working on the wires that are down in the back yard--there must be three or four of them. Again, we are lucky, because WE have power--our neighbors don't. There's a big burn scar where one of the wires did some spectacular burning. Then our neighbors were spraying water on some of the fires--not a good idea when the fires are connected to live wires. Playing in the backyard was also out as an activity for the day--should we even want to, because it is still raining pretty hard.
I'm sorry I missed church--we missed it one Mother's Day over 20 years ago when the washing machine downstairs sprang a leak in a hose and we all dealt with the flood. At least it was a family activity. I've been reading off and on, drifting in and out. I think I'll be happier when I no longer have broken wires in my backyard. I guess they are working as fast as they can. My PG&E dollars at work. Poor guys--they really are working in miserable conditions.
I'm nice and warm. The rest of my temporary came out, but the tooth doesn't feel bad. I'm truly looking forward to a mouth full of instruments when they put in the new temporary...well, maybe not.
So that's it for today--no real chemo after effects--just sort of tired, in spite of a good night's sleep. I think I'll go back and watch the PG&E guys.
xxooxx

Chemo 2.3

Chemo was somehow different yesterday. I can't say quite how, just different. Glenn and I stopped at the deli just below the infusion center for sandwiches for lunch. I aet mine while watching my soap, then went to bed. I was feeling more or less miserable. Nothing hurt, I just didn't feel good. And I had to feel good, because we had initiation at Eastern Star and I play a big part in the ceremony. About 4:30, I was thinking about calling the Worthy Matron and asking her to find someone else, but I've been Worthy Matron three times already, and know that's not a call you want to get. So I called my buddy, Dory, for a ride and we got there. I made it through, but I was really glad when it was over. It was very cold last night, so I wore a sweater. With the sweater on, I was sweating like a pig--without it, I was shivering. I opted for sweating. When I got home and got into my jammies, I pulled my name badge off my sequined top--it was wet on the inside! I'd sweat right through all the sequins. Glenn actually beat me home, and he works till eleven. Then I stayed up reading and didn't get to sleep till after 2. Hope to do better than that tonight.
I worked up the energy to go to Curves (without the bloodsuckers this week) in the morning. I didn't want to go, but that's when you need to. To my great delight, they will be closed for the holiday on Monday, so I won't have to feel guilty about not going then. I got a call from my sister when I got home--still at the Tanaya Lodge where they spent last night. Highway 41 into Yosemite was closed due to snow. Her husband was getting the chains on the tires as we spoke. We reminisced about the only time our mother drove with chains. We were 10 and 11 and terribly excited about the falling snow. Our mother was scared spitless, but managed to get us home in one piece. She was an amazing woman. The roads opened while Gretchen and I talked. I assume they got to their cabin. Whether or not they get any cross country skiing in is another question. There is a bigger storm moving in tomorrow. I sure hope they like the friends they are spending the weekend with--at the end of the weekend.
To make things complete, I broke my temporary crown tonight--Friday before I holiday weekend, of course. I'm not sure my dentist was pleased to hear from me, but he has a computer guy coming in and has to open the office for him, so he'll let me know when that is, and fix it for me. Life is just a series of exciting events. Maybe I'll reread Lemony Snickett. Look on the bright side. I could be snowed in with Gretchen instead of looking forward to my third visit with my dentist in a week and a half.
Oh, and once again, I'm having problems with Outlook--and my geek is on vacation. I guess I'll live with Yahoo! Mail until he gets back or I get annoyed enough to call Tech Support on the other side of the world.
That's it for now.
xxooxx

Mail call

I spent almost three hours in the dentist chair today with quarts of anesthesia, nitrous oxide, and my mouth held open with the whole office in it at one time or another it seemed. The mail was here when I got home, and among the bills and ads was a thinking of you card from my friends at the Spa at the Sonoma Mission Inn. Now how many people get that? I feel so loved. I'll be back there in 12 days, but that card couldn't have come at a better time. I feel like a Hallmark ad, with happy tears. My mouth is still numb, and will be for hours, I expect. I'll choke down some yogurt for lunch, because it requires no chewing. After my soap opera, it will be time to check in with my primary care and let him know how I'm doing. I may just sleep all day tomorrow.
xxooxx

Way too much

Chapter One--Chemo and dental work

You may have thought they didn't have anything to do with one another. That would be wrong. I got to the dentist--and yes, Roz, I've known him forever--I went to his wedding in 1980 on my niece's 6th birthday--on Wednesday afternoon. The escaped crown was handed over and work began. Nine thousand short of Novocaine later, my dentist asked what my oncologist thought about my having dental work--uh, we never talked about it. So he called the oncologist's office and talked to the nurse practitioner. No major work till they had a chance to look at my blood count. So, he cleaned out the stump tooth, cemented the old crown on, took impressions, made an appointment for the 11th, assuming the blood counts were OK, gave me two grams of antibiotic, and sent me off for a blood test with a prescription for more antibiotic. Got the blood work done, got the prescription filled, and still got to knitting circle before it was over. Got home exhausted and hungry. Had left-over Chinese and packed for the trip to my sister's house.

Chapter Two--Visit with Gretchen

We've had a really dry winter--the pundits are talking drought again. I make plans to visit my sister just because--because when I went down there for Thanksgiving, there was a monsoon, because that's where I got the news that the cancer was back, because it was Thanksgiving and busy. So, after weeks of fair weather, the day I set off the whole state started being drenched. I didn't run into that much rain on the way down--not as much as the last time, but it did rain really good the whole time I was there. We went to Gretchen's choir practice Thursday night--that was fun. They are going to sing Brahms' How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place on Easter, so I got to practice that with them. I haven't sung that since before I got married. It was easier in my twenties.

Gretchen had to work on Friday. She had several suggestions of things for me to do. I just hung out at the house, reading, napping, and listening to the rain. That evening, we went to a chamber music concert that was mostly really good. Saturday, we drove around Santa Barbara in the rain and did the marketing. Gretchen had said she had to cook all day Saturday for their ski trip next weekend. She's incredibly efficient, because she got it all done by early afternoon and had time to make us an angel food cake (to DIE for) and roast a chicken and take me on a walk. I took a long soak in the tub when we got back, then we had a delightful dinner with Gretchen, Jim, and my favorite (and only) nephew, Kyle. I think I fell asleep by 9 and got a good 10 hours of sleep.

We got up brightish and early this morning, had breakfast--orange juice from their tree, a Gretchen made scone for me, and coffee--and lots of pills, also for me.

Here I am with my BIG sister, ready for church, in front of the orange trees--notice all the oranges. They will have juice for quite a long time. Also notice the hair on the writer--it's all mine. It is still way short but nicely curly in the back. Ant then, notice the clearing sky. It knew i was getting ready to leave. I sang with her choir--half soprano then I switched to alto when it got too high--the joys of being a guest! After church, I hit the road. Got gas in Paso Robles and lunch in King City and got home just at 5 PM. I had a lovely time. Didn't really do anything, but had a nice time just being with Gretchen and Jim.

Now I'm tired. Still have a few things to catch up with, but I think it will be dinner, 60 Minutes, and bed for me. I have a week full of appointments.

xxooxx

Well, I know what I'm doing tomorrow

And it wasn't anything I had planned. Nice day today, downtown to see my therapist, always a good home. Home, watched my soap, napped for a few hours. Glenn took me out to dinner--the Chinese restaurant that our old San Bruno friends bought in San Mateo. Chrissy saw us coming afar off and rushed from the back of the restaurant to meet us--almost got to the front door before before we did. She killed the fatted calf for us and a delightful meal was had--until I crunched on something harder than the cashews in the chicken. Turned out to be a crown--which I rescued and did not swallow. I've already left a message at my dentist's office. That's what I'll be doing tomorrow that I didn't plan--at least I hope so, because I leave for Santa Barbara (with my new laptop) on Thursday. Life is so very exciting.
xxooxx

Wirelessly wired

Saturday, I did something I've wanted to do for many years but considered it irresponsibly extravagant (I know, this from the woman who runs off to the Sonoma Mission Inn regularly). I bought a laptop--and a router so that I can use my internet on it at home, and a wireless mouse because I didn't want to deal with that little box and my thumbs, and a case for the whole thing that doesn't look like a laptop case. Today I bought an aircard to use it when I'm away from home--AND (that's a big and) one of my favorite geeks made it all work for me--and said I did good in everything I picked out--from the fire sale at Circuit City. Need had nothing to do with any of this, but I'm really happy. I'll test it all out at my sister's house this weekend.
That's my big news. Oh, I also bought a ton of John Grisham books. I've read three of his books so far. Now I want to go through them in the order written.
Tomorrow is a downtown day, so I need to get up before 10 in the morning. Too bad--I love hanging out in my jammies.
xxooxx