I went to a Masonic installation in Alameda on the 8th. My former boss, Steve, was installed Senior Deacon. I've been following his career in the line, because I got him into Masonry. He had wanted to join for a while. It took me some time to get someone in the East Bay to get in touch with him, but I did it. I'd like to be around when he is installed Master--that's three more years. We'll see. Outside of the exhaustion, I'm doing pretty well. I'm not in much pain at all. I have a CT scan on Boxing Day and a follow-up appointment on New Year's Eve. That will tell me how I'm doing.
I've had tons of appointments--sometimes that's how I tell what day it is--by what doctor I'm seeing. I actually forgot a couple of appointments. Now I study the calendar carefully to make sure I know who I'm seeing and what time I'm seeing them. I didn't get my sixth Avastin infusion because my blood pressure was too high. That gives me two extra weeks t recover from all the chemo I've had this year. That's actually the only excuse they can find for my exhaustion. My heart's fine, lungs are fine, blood count is fine. Half a flight of stairs and I'm gasping for breath. It's annoying, because I really like to walk. The friend who has been driving me downtown for my haircuts moved to Oregon the beginning of the month. I thought about taking BART downtown, but I know I can't walk from the Montgomery station to Union Square. I drove myself and parked in the Union Square garage. By the time I got to the salon, I was fighting for breath--about half a block. Outside of the one little trip with Monica, I did no Christmas shopping.
Glenn and I got our Christmas tree on the 17th--just after I didn't have Avastin. We found a tiny space when it wasn't raining. Getting the tree usually takes much thought. This year we went into the lot, looked at maybe two trees and picked out one we liked. We looked at a few others, just to make sure, but it was a great tree. We had them put on a stand that holds water--that we may or may not remember to fill from time to time, threw it on the truck, stopped at the pharmacy to pick up my new blood pressure medicine, and came home. God bless Glenn, he's such a prince. It was a struggle for him to get the tree in the house, but he did it. I did most of the tree trimming-the first time I've done my own tree since 2006. I had knee surgery in the beginning of December 07 and got some of the kids from church to trim it for me. 08 was the year Al Sweetman kidnapped Glenn to get a tree--see the blog about that and the Bethany Elves that did the trimming. Granddaughters have trimmed it the last few years. I was pretty proud of myself. Here's the finished product:
Last Sunday we planned a memorial for the church members we've lost this year. It worked out well as we also used it as a memorial for the teachers and children who were killed in Connecticut. I played the theme from Schindler's list while people lit candles in memory of the people they had lost.
It being December, I'm also lay reader. I signed up for next December, too, and hope and pray that I'll be alive to do it.
So that's it. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I will read from the King James version of the Bible. The language is so beautiful and so familiar. Glenn and I are going to Victoria's for Christmas dinner. It will be delightful to enjoy Iris's first Christmas.
xxooxx
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