8:15 PM and in my Jammies

Still hurting.  I saw my oncologist on Monday.  She thinks it could be scar tissue issues, so has been having me watch what I ate--spent most of the week on clear fluids and starving--but my CA-125 is up, for me, so I have a CT scan scheduled for Tuesday.  Fantasy Follies have been busy.  I don't really think what I eat or don't eat is going to make much difference.  I know jumping to conclusions isn't even good exercise, but I'm back on MS contin and still hurting.  I didn't let a little pain stand in the way of my obligations, though.  Mike, my worthy Patron, and I attended four installations this week.  Bless his heart, Mike picked me up for each one--even the one where I wasn't on his way.  It was a real treat.  I thought about just sleeping in my light blue formal, since i wore it four nights in a row.  In the end, I decided it is too scratchy to sleep in.  I haven't worn make up every day in years.  Now, I'm letting my face take a break.  It was sort of fun to paint each evening.
Today was big time cooking day.  I got to church at 9, made cranberry sauce, stuffing, prepared six birds and got them into the ovens before coming home to watch Cal lose.  I had help.  The best part about making the stuffing at church is that the bread, onions, and celery have already been chopped for me.  I got back at 4:30 to get the birds out of the ovens, unstuff them, and make gravy.  The church was full.  We were expecting 150--don't know what the final count was.  Thank you, Mother, for teaching me to make the best turkey in the world.  I was hurting a lot, so I left after desert.  The talent show is usually good, but the band wasn't playing and I really didn't feel up to being charming any longer.  So here I am, in my jammies, contemplating going to bed early.  We had a wonderful rain storm while I was at church--lightening, thunder, hail.  I love weather--more so when I'm inside looking out and don't have to go anywhere.
That's it for now.  My but it does feel good to be out of a formal.
xxooxx

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Installation is over!  It has been a huge mountain in front of me since we got back.  The trouble with procrastination is that it always gets you.  Somehow, everything got done.  I cut a lot of corners with things that didn't really matter.  The installation itself was lovely.  The Jr. Past Worthy Matron, Margaret Foley, is a truly amazing ritualist and did most of the installing.  There aren't words enough to tell how well she did.  We didn't have flowers and we didn't have carrying pieces for the officers to worry about when they got home, but we did have a lovely ceremony, and for that, I am very pleased.
I've been in pain, on and off for the last week--mostly on.  I've been telling myself it was the stress of the installation.  I just haven't had time for anything to go wrong.  I still have the obligation of the church Thanksgiving dinner next Saturday--after that, I can fall apart.  I see my oncologist the end of the month.  If I don't start feeling better, once the pressure is off, I might move up the appointment.  Or not.  I have several installations to go to this week--but I don't have to do any work.  Just show up, look cute, and eat refreshments.  I can handle that.
I'm glad it's Autumn.  Even on warm days, there's a bight to the air that says "It's Fall!"  Our season changes are so subtle that we have to take advantage of what we get.
My Cal Bears have a huge game today.  I have bad feelings, but I'll cheer for them, because that is what I do.  Go Bears!  It will be a moral victory if there are players standing at the end of the game.
xxooxx

Yosemite October 2010

It was glorious.  I was saddened by health problems of two of my favorite staff.  They are firmly in my prayers.  But it was glorious.
This is a view of the falls from the Ahwahnee Monday morning.

Even the Royal Arches had water trickling down.

The two obligatory pictures of Half Dome

Random shot

The falls on Wednesday

More random shots

Off Tioga Pass Road on Thursday

Really glorious.  We didn't do much, but we were there and it was wonderful.  Since Tioga Road was open, we went to Reno for our last two play days.  We had a blast-especially the morning we left when I played $20 and came away with $80.  It's always more fun when you win.

We made great time coming home on Saturday--got home before Glenn left for work, so he did the heavy lifting, God bless him.  Saturday was not a good sports day--my Cal Bears lost badly and even my Giants lost.  I guess somebody has to.

Sunday was church.  The 49ers won(!) in London.  I won too--I didn't have to buy Halloween candy because I spent the night with my friend Sue in her new apartment.  We watched the Giants win.  Monday, I was supposed to go to a meeting, but we all wanted to watch the game, so we postponed it to Tuesday--which gets me back to my previous post--GO GIANTS!

I am now more or less current.

xxooxx

Where to Start?

It's been a month. I guess I should start with GO GIANTS!  Who ever would have imagined?  Hoped and prayed, yes, but imagined?  Which is why I had an appointment to have my hair cut in downtown San Francisco today at eleven in the morning.  I don't do crowds.  I got on BART in san Bruno, so I had a seat, but it was wall to wall bodies by the time I got off--at Powell, rather than my usual Montgomery, since they weren't even stopping there.  Getting to Maiden Lane and back home was challenging, but I got it done.  The crowd was joyous and reasonably well behaved.  I got confetti in my newly cut hair.  I was perfectly happy to watch the festivities on television when I got home.  You couldn't have paid me Meg Whitman's campaign budget to be part of the crowd at Civic Center.  I'm very happy for the Giants and very proud of them, but as I said, I don't do crowds--even happy reasonably well behaved ones.
So, what have I been doing when I haven't been watching baseball?  I'll backtrack a little and show you my room at Sonoma.  I don't usually take pictures of hotel rooms, but this was lovely.
Here's the name of my suite:

The bar

Part of the living room

The fireplace and the telly

The bed

The comfy chair where I sat and knit

Moving right along, we get to October 20, when Dory and I left for Grand Chapter and suburban Visalia.  It was an interesting Grand Chapter.  You'll have to ask me for more information. I don't feel like putting it out on the web.  Installation was another matter.  Kim and Don said they wanted to bring it in at 2 1/2 hours, and they just about made it.  They cut lots of time consuming stuff and both spoke well and briefly.  I was very proud of them.  Of course, we missed the end of the game where the Giants won the pennent, but the news quickly spread through our section, and I imagine the rest of the convention center.  Dory and I stopped for desert on the way back to Outer Visalia and vowed to sleep till we woke up.  No alarm for Sunday.  We got out before check-out time, and that was all that mattered.  We didn't have that far to go.  North on 99 to Fresno, then northeast on 41.  It started to sprinkle in Fresno.  By the time we got to Yosemite, it was raining heavily.  Not a problem.  We just stayed in the hotel.  We had a light supper in the bar that was just enough for me--soup and sandwich.  Dory took half her sandwich t the room.  We had sunshine in the morning and for the rest of our stay.  The real prize for all that rain was water in the falls and rivers.  I'm used to the falls being completely dry in October.   This looked like spring. 

All right, the program is being annouying.  I'll post this one and start a new one for the Yosemite pictures.

xxooxx