Happy Grandma Day and not Such Good News

Stress level has been pretty high since the last blog.  I started out with a delightful hour with Jenn Davis and her almost two yer old daughter.  I got to pat the impending baby, who, we found out on the 25th, will be a little brother.  He's due in the winter.  The time with my therapist was helpful, as was the next day with my Stephen Minister and the day after that with my oncologist.  It helps to have people to listen and it helps to talk.

I was going to take Glenn to a belated birthday lunch on the 25th, but I was really sick after physical therapy, so he got a rain check--or in this case, a puke check--I took zofran and a nap and didn't eat anything.  Monica came over in the afternoon and we did some talking about the elephant in the room.  Something has to be done.  My therapist, Mark the wonderful, doesn't really want me involved, but I can talk with Monica and Glenn and help to stratagize.  Monica needed to talk with her therapist, so the next conversation will be after that.  In the mean time, I had a date with Monica for the 27th to take her to Golden Gate Park--a place she wasn't the least bit familar with.  She asked if Becca and Ryan could come too.  My answer was absolutely!

So Wednesday morning, a little after 10, I went to the other grandmother's house and picked up a carfull of grandchildren.  I wanted to go by way of the ocean, but Great highway is still closed, so I had to drive around side streets till we got to Lincoln.  I got to start where I wanted.  First stop, the windmill.  The girls had not tols Ryan where we were going, so he was a little miffed, but when we got there, he was a happy camper.

We got out for the first stop.  Monica loves photography--all aspects of photography.  She takes wonderful pictures.  That said, I'm only showing you MY pictures, because it is MY blog.  Monica took many pictures--I took a few--at least at the windmill.



I had a sort of vague plan of what I wanted to show them for this first trip.  We piled back in the car and drove east.  The next stop was the Buffalo Paddock.  They are sort of mangy looking--I don't think I've ever seen the Golden Gate Park Buffalo when they weren't shedding, but hey, there are Buffalo--well,l Bison--in San Francisco.  Who cares how attractive they are.


 

The Buffalo Paddock is apparently also the Gopher Paddock, although the gophers are rather less well fenced.. 



Gopher House



Gopher checking things out





Gopher getting braver

 We decided to leave the questionable charms of Gopherville.  Back in the car.  The original plan was Stow Lake, but I missed the well marked turn.  We hung a U and started back, when right before our very eyes was a handicapped parking space right in front of the Rose Garden.  That was God saying "Park here for the rest of the day."  So we parked.  Monica, Ryan, and I went crazy taking pictures.  The one who likes having her picture taken the most took some with her Iphone.  Here are some of mine:

The Rose beds were somewhat past their prime, so finding good blossoms for close up shots was a challange.  Here's the group, halfway through the Rose Garden.

Becca's favorite color is purple, so we found purple roses for a backdrop for her:

After the roses, we crossed the road and started on our walk.  I still wanted to take them to Stow Lake, but it was almost lunch time, and the Japanese Tea Garden was handy, so we went east instead of west.  We didn't cover every inch of the garden, but we went through a great deal of it.  We stopped at the Tea House first.  Becca and I had Miso Soup, Monica and Ryan and sandwiches (well, we slared those), we all had cookies and a beverage--three teas and something exotic for Monica.

One of the really impressive features of the Tea Garden is the Bridge.  I climbed over the Bridge as a little girl, as a teenager, as a young girl in my twenties,  So here is Ryan on top of the Bridge:

Here's Becca, thinking about it:

This is what it looks like when you are ready to take it on:

I did it.  I climbed the Bridge.  Of course my thigh muscles are still sore from some of the stretches, but I did it.  Up and over.  It's easier when you are about eight.  But I did it!
After that, we'd pretty much done the Tea Garden, at least for this trip.  We went out, around the front of the Band Shell, and over to the Hall of Sciences.  The kids went through the Earthquake exhibit while I rested and caught up on the Giants game (they won, 3-0, thereby sweeping the Dodgers).  We went through the Rain Forest exhibit and then visited some of the fish.  The Planetarium show was sold out (I think that's called dodging a bullet), so we have to keep that for another trip.  We looked at the Pendulum for a while, but we weren't near the hour, so it would be a long wait to watch it knock over a peg.  We went to say hello to White Guy--White Guy has a real name, but I can't remember it and I do remember White Guy:

We paid a few obligatory gift shop visits, then headed back to the car.  It was by now around four.  It had been a long day, but an incredibly beautiful one.  I include this last picture, not because it is such a great picture of the back of the deYoung Museum, but it shows how clear the sky was on an unbelieble San Francisco Summer Afternoon.

Back into the car, headed for home.  This time, I saw the Stow Lake sign, so I drove around it, just to give them a hint of the next trip.  I dropped off three very tired grandchildren.  I rewarded myself with a stop at the donut shop on the way home.  I was pretty tired too.

I had to get up at 5:30 Thursday morning to have my breakfast eaten before six--cenreal with milk and blueberries and V-8 juice--no coffee.  I went back to sleep for about an hour, jumped into my clothes, and left for Mills Hospital by 7:30.  Crystal Springs Road is still closed for repair, so once again, I had to use a circuituous route.  I got to Radiology by 8, got my contrast beverage to drink--three cups over 40 minutes, got the scan--with IV contrast--and was on my home well before 10.  I slept from 11 to 3, then 4:30 to 7.  Watched the Giants win again, and slept some more.  I wasn't as tired today.  I knit--almost finished Monica's Sunset Print socks--and I read.  Dr. Chee called me around 5.  The scan was not good.  So much for Gemzar.  The new chemo (this will be #6) is a 28 day cycle, with infusions on days 1, 8, and 15, and a check up on day 22.  Because I have my reservation for Sonoma starting the 10th, I get to hold off till the 17th.  This is good.  I'll have my spa time and my birthday feeling reasonably well.  Victoria's baby is ready to be born any day, so maybe I'll even see my new great niece feeling good.  Actually, I think anytime I see my great niece I will feel good--babies just put out this great vibe.
So that's it--more twisty paths for this journey of ours.  Thank you for hanging with me.  I know there are several of you out there who follow my story.  Feel free to comment--even if it's just to say "Hi!"  I know you are praying for me, I do feel that warm blanket.  I'm feeling pretty good, which just means that the pain is well controlled.  I get occassional twinges, but I have stuff for that.  Dr. Chee says the new stuff will make me tired.  Good thing I did the Bridge on Wednesday.  I can deal with tired.
I just spell-checked today's epistle.  Either it's broken or I've learned to spell in my old age!
xxooxx

Chemo 5.5.2 and Glenn's Birthday

I see it's another of those catch up blogs.  Just remember, if there's no blog, it probably means I haven't done much.  I'll try to catch up.
I was supposed to have chemo May 29.  Platelets were low, so I didn't. I saw my primary care doctor on the first.  She started me on a new anti-depressant.  It has one little side effect--severe nausea.   I have drugs for that too.  She also sent my to physical therapy, thinking that the breathing problem has something to do with my chest muscles.  so I go once a week now.  I have exercises and get my back and neck massaged.  Not bad.
I had a little dinner party for Dory on June 4.  Her birthday is the 10ty, but she was going to be out of town.  We had salad and French Onion Soup--and birthday cake.  The 5th was the postponed chemo.  For the first time, it started hurting as soon as it got in.  Because I've been flunking my day 8 blood test on a pretty regular basis, Dr. Chee lowered my chemo dose and put me on day 1 and day 15.  It works out to every other week now.  I had a gollow up with my PCP on the 6th.  She kept me on the new drug, even with the nausea and took me off prozac.  I've been taking that for almost 10 years.  Coming off of it has been ok.
Glenn went on vacation for a week, leaving on the 7th.  I asked him who would take me to the hospital in the middle of the night.  He asked if I was planning on going--I told him no, but I didn't plan on it the last few times either.  I managed just fine.  My sister came up on the 9th.  We went to a shower for Victoria on the 10th.  The baby is due in four weeks--excitement is building.  Victoria looks great.  She got her EDD from Davis on the 13th,  We're very proud of her.  Gretchen and I went to see Madascar 3 and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel on Monday.  Both great movies.
Say Cardiologist #1 on the 15th--all is well.  I've somehow lost an inch in height and 10 pounds.  Happy about the pounds--not so much about the height.
Today It's 3 minutes to Wednesday as I type) was chemo 5.2.  It was also Glenn's birthday.  We were going to take things easy because of the chemo, but Elaine wanted to come over to celebrate.  She wasn't feeling well and we should have kept with the original plan.  It was an evening of drama that I'd just rather not blog about.  I'm bery happy that I see my therapist tomorrow.  Enough said.
I'm going to have a visitor in the morning.  One of my favorite Job's Daughters, Jenn Neal Davis is in town and will come by with her little girl before i leave to see the therapist.  That will be a very pleasant time.
That's it.  You're caught up.  I'll try to lead a more interesting life.  I'm still working my way through the boxes of yarn.  I gave Becca her latest pair of socks tonight and I started sock 2 of the next pair.  The yarn is called Gingerbread, and it is one of the prettiest I've worked with so far.  Now that's it.
xxooxx