Monica's Graduation and Other Stuff

How is it possible that I am the grandmother of a high school graduate?  And how is it possible that I waited almost a week to write about it?  I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I downloaded the pictures, so I guess it is time to do something about it.

Here we are, waiting for the festivities to begin.  The graduation was on the football field.  I'm hoping that no one was hoping that their little darling would have a dignified experience, because most of the spectators thought that they were at a football game.  There was constant milling about, talking, cell phoning, squeeling, and the blasting of air horns.  I thought I was going to lose my hearing for life.  The vast ruck of humanity that attended did not know how to be an audience.

So here are the graduates in place.

After way to many speakers, it was finally time to do what we were all there to see.  I think this is Monica in line, waiting for her name to be called.

And I think this is Monica, receiving the folder that would eventually hold her diploma.  Glenn and I were ready to go home then.  What did we care about the rest of the alphabet?  The benches were uncomfortable--and there was all that squeeling and the airhorns.  But we are polite and well behaved and we waited till everything was over.

Finally, we got near the graduate!

Elaine said it was the only time in her entire school career that she wore her hair down.  She does look quite grown up--even if 18 isn't even close.  There were two graduates in the family--Ryan will be in Middle School in the fall.

Monica was off to the grad night party--Glenn and I were off to home--by way of dinner at Nations Giant Hamburgers in El Cerrito.  We'd planned to stop for a bite to eat BEFORE the graduation, but traffic being what it was, there was no time.  So we were hungry, along with tired and deaf.  Still, I wouldn't have missed it.  Hope I'm around to see Rebecca's and Ryan's too.

Now, for the rest of the week's news.  I saw my oncologist on Monday.  CA125 is up slightly.  It isn't even close to the amount that usually causes concern, but my baseline is so low that Dr. Chee just watches fluctuations.  Normal cause for concern is anything over 35--at surgery, before they took out the cancer, mine was 19.  I think it was 5 in March and is around 6 now.  To scan or not to scan--we'll wait two more months, repeat the blood work, and see where things are. 

My heels were still hurting, so Dr. Chee made me go to see my primary care--who I actually saw yesterday for the first time since January.  She's had a very hard six months fighting an infection in her foot.  She's still fighting it but may be able to save her foot.  I felt like a whiner complaining about my heels.  She changed my gout meds and gave me a shot in the left heel--the worse offender.  It was pretty painful yesterday, but today my heels are pain free. Yeah!  The new meds make me tired, a little dizzy and drowsy.  I'll get used to them.  I don't hurt!  Life is good.

That's it--you are now current.

xxooxx

Yosemite May 2010 plus a bit of catching up

First, the catching up.  I have a fancy computer, two digital cameras, and two card readers.  Could I get any of them to work for the old reliable digital?  No, of course not.  Not a problem, however.  I buzzed down to CVS and had a disc made of the pictures I couldn't download.  We'll start with me on the beach in Santa Barbara at Thanksgiving time. 

It was a little windy.

Moving along several months, we arrive at Kris's visit the beginning of the month.  Day two was sightseeing and the Disney Family Museum on the Presidio.

Kris and a famous icon

The Marin headlands

Roz and Kris

Kris and me

We had a grand time that day--it took us two days each to recover.

Onward a few days.  I took the camera with me on my walk one day. 

This is the view from the bench where I stop and read on the way out and on the way back.

Now, we get to Yosemite.  First the view from our room on Monday when it rained all day.

Not at all a bad view.  And not a bad place to be stuck on a rainy day.  We stuck our noses outside for a minute or so after breakfast, got wet, and spent the day in the hotel.  We took out laptops down to the sun room in the morning, took afternoon naps, and had a late dinner at the hotel.

Tuesday morning, late, we took a turn on the back lawn and walked down to the river.  I did not throw my cell phone in this time.

And here we are

It isn't much, but was our home away from home:

Here's a shot of the falls from pretty much the same spot on the back lawn. 

Dory and I went to the Village for some major shopping.  I sent her back to the hotel (with our purchases) to rest while I went to pay my respects to Yosemite Falls.  I don't need another picture of Half Dome, but what the heck...

I love the walk from the shuttle stop to the falls.  You start out walking through the woods.  You hear the falls, but you don't see them.  The Dogwood was wonderful.

And no, nature lovers, I didn't pick it.

You cross a bridge, then you get to the falls

I walked from the falls back to the village, then woosed out and took the shuttle back to the hotel.  I shouldn't have left Dory alone.  She managed to fall in the room, between the beds.  I know she was hurting for the rest of the trip, but she was game for just about anything.  I felt really guilty, because I felt so good.

On Wednesday, I took the shuttle to the Mirror Lake stop.  I walked the mile or so up to the lake, then a mile or so around it, then back to the hotel.  Steve, my favorite bellman, said it was between five and six miles.  Go me!

Must be the angle, because Half Dome isn't stretched out like that.

It was a glorious four days and over all too soon.  The first part of the ride home was pretty--Yosemite to Mariposa.  The wild flowers were glorious.  After Mariposa, it is pretty much of a grind.  We had a good time together, so it was less tedious than it could have been.

Yesterday was yet another doctor appointment about my heels.  I haven't blogged about them because they really aren't interesting.  Painful, but boring.  We had pretty much determined that it was gout before I left.  I had a blood test on the 11th to confirm the diagnosis.  I just didn't get the results till yesterday.  My uric acid count is quite high, so gout it is.  The Physician's Assistant gave me another perscription--which ended up being three pills--take two then take the other one an hour later.  I'm thinking it feels better.  Obviously, I didn't let it stop me.

I think we're now up to date.  I'm feeling better than I have in quite some time.  God's in His heaven (that would be Yosemite) and all is right with the world indeed.

xxooxx

Another oops

I'm going to stop confessing when I leave huge gaps in the blogoshpere.  Each time I do, I leave a bigger gap.  And my life has not actually been that boring.  I was even going to post pictures, but neither my camera or computer are cooperating
First--the house is rented to a wonderful family.  They aren't moving in till the end of June, but everything about them is perfect, so I'm happy.
The first week in May, my friend Kris came up from North Hollywood.  She and Roz and I had two wonderful days of remembering.  We hung out in Berkeley the first day--looking at our old houses and haunts.  Mine was the only house where we got to go inside.  The next day we did a little sight seeing, but the big stop was the new Disney Family Museum at the SF Persidio--I guess technically now the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  The two of them had their doubts about that, but we all enjoyed ourselves.  I got some lovely pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge that you aren't seeing here, as well as some great pictures of my friends.
I've had some nagging pain in my left heel--it may be gout.  I've been tested for it, but I don't see my doctor till next Friday.  I'm assuming that's what it is until then.  I've had it before and for some fool reason decided I didn't need the anti-gout meds after eight years of taking them.  Guess again.  Not letting it stand in the way of my walks.
I'm leaving tomorrow, just after church, for Yosemite.  This is the trip I was supposed to take last October after Grand Chapter but postponed due to the last reunion with Kris and Roz (and our other friend Andrea, who couldn't make it out from Missouri this time) and my radiation.  I had some thoughts about postponing again, but cooler heads said "GO!"  So I'm going with my friend Dory.  She was supposed to go with me in October, so it only seems right.  It should be beautiful.  We may get several seasons in the four days we're there.  It is supposed to rain in the Bay Area on Monday--maybe we'll get snow in Yosemite!  We're packing for all sorts of weather.
That's it--not as much as I'd hoped, but better than nothing.  I'll try to get the pictures on with my laptop while I'm away--or not.
xxooxx

I'm slipping

Life is still pretty uninteresting, but since I'm still up, I thought I would check in.  The all consuming activity has been getting the house ready to rent.  Not that I'm actually doing the work.  Elaine and Mark have been working like trojans.  They have become my property managers.  Elaine thinks, rightly so, that I'm somewhat of a babe in the woods when it comes to being a landlady.  As I explained to her tonight, the last time I personally rented a place to live it was 1972.  Elaine pretty much knows everything there is to know about renting.  I've really come to rely on her about this and I appreciate everything she's done.
I listed the house with UC faculty housing on Friday and put it on Craig's List yesterday afternoon.  Haven't heard anything from the university, but I've gotten 8 hits from Craig's List--seven of them last night.  I dutifully answered everything--then found ut after 10 tonight that my Outlook was misbehaving and none of the e-mails I've posted for the last10 or so days has gone out.  I did some screwing around with the computer and BINGO, everything went.  Those people who responded to the ad yesterday must think I'm so rude!  Now everyone that I e-mailed before today will just think I'm a little nuts.  Some of the e-mails will make no sense.
I remember when I first started using fax machines at work.  I'd get annoyed that they were sending slowly, then I'd think, "Wait a minute--this is a maricle, who cares how fast it is?"  I feel like that about e-mail.  It is a miracle that it works at all.
So, what have I been doing?  Same stuff--Curves three times a week and walking.  The last two times I did the trail I got to the end.  Guess I'm going to have to do something about my time now.  I pulled weeds this afternoon and thought myself very productive.
I just did a little more hunting on my computer and found another six responses to the Craig's List ad--responded to all of them and have several phone calls to make tomorrow.  It seems I have an embarassment of riches.  I was so worried about it.  Yikes--now people are responding to my late e-mails!  Will look at them and then it really is past my bedtime.
xxooxx

Guess it has been a long time

I knew I hadn't posted for a while, just didn't realize it had been so long.  No post generally means nothing has been going on that is the least bit interesting.  I didn't get off pain meds--may never get off them, but that's all right.  I was on one a day for a few weeks--sort of chicken to try stopping altogether.  Then I've had a bunch of new pains crop up--my oncologist doesnt' think they are cancer related, so it is back to the primary care to try to find out what is going on.  And I'm back to two a day.  The world won't come to an end.
Still exercising, Curves and walking.  Today was a milestone because I got to the end of the San Andreas Trail.  I've been walking farther each time I go out.  Today I made it end to end.  From the parking lot, that's a little over four miles.  I take my time and I rest along the way.  I'm not going for land speed records here--just exercise.  So far, I've retired three pair of pants as too big and the skirt I wore tonight almost fell off, so I'll either retire it or invest in safety pins.  A modified band played for our Open Mic Night at church.  We were missing our bass player (sick), guitar (stuck in Africa because of the ash cloud over Europe), and mandolin (couldn't make the practice).  We still sounded good.  I may not go for a four mile walk the next time we play.
The latest wrinkle in my life is that my tennents moved out of the Berkeley house on rather short notice.  Elaine and Mark are going to take care of general maintenance, then I will need to learn the new skill of putting the house on Craig's List and finding new people to love it.  It has been a really long time since it was last empty.  I guess I'll get through this, too.
I've been seeing more of Elaine and the grandchildren.  Someone has had a birthday each month since the first of the year, then there was Easter, and I went over during spring break and walked with Elaine and Ryan in Martinez.  It was nice to have company and a change of scenery.
I've been seeing old friends--always a treat.  And it is finally baseball season again.  My Giants are doing quite well, so I'm a happy girl.
That's about the sum total of my excitement.  Hope your lives have been more interesting.
xxooxx

A dreadful few days

I know I haven't posted in forever, but life has been basically boring, and no one wants to read boring.  At my last oncologist visit, we talked about getting off pain meds, since I'm in remission and in no particular pain.  My doctor gave me a schedule to follow, going from three a day, to two, to one, then one every other day, to nothing.  I could do that.  I'd been down to one a day for a few days.  Thursday, when I got up, I said to myself, "I don't need that," and went to nothing.  Bad idea.  I felt like crap, I couldn't concentrate, I was weepy for no reason, I was too cold then I was too hot.  The only good thing was that weight was literally falling off.  I now have fewer than 25 pounds to go to get to where I was pre-cancer.  I toughed it out on Thursday--even went to Curves, praying I got through the circuit without getting weepy.  Friday was really no better--I wasn't as restless, but I felt bad enough to cancel a planned trip to Filoli.
Cooler heads prevailed and I put in a call to my doctor.  My curve had been too steep.  Back on to one a day for a few days, then cut the dosage in half for another week, then try every other day at half the dosage and see how that works.  I sort of felt defeated, but it is amazing how much better I felt.  So I'm being patient and slowing down the process.  I'll get there, it will just take a little longer.
Meanwhile, before this gross lack on concentration, I read through all the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series--10 books to date.  I loved every one of them.  Mma Ramotswe became my new best friend.  I was sad when I finished the last book.  I've started Alenander McCall Smith's next series, but it isn't the same thing.
Well, it isn't a Curves day, so I'd best get out and go for a walk.  I still don't much care for exercise, but I do enjoy the results.  It is a lovely day and I'm not feeling dreadful.  Who could ask for anything more?
xxooxx

Flaming Fingers

The Ceili is done for another year.  I'm tired but happily so.  I think I played as fast as I've ever played before--some of the tunes I can no longer play at a moderate tempo.  I didn't catch all of the notes, but I got most of them.  The members of the band are all so good that we grow off of one another and we make an amazing sound.  My fingers were flying and my soul was dancing.  It was a thoroughly Thank You, God, afternoon.  We played with joy and I am a happy girl.
Most of the rest of my life is happy too.  I had another scan on Monday and saw my oncologist on Thursday.  I see her next in three months and probably won't repeat the scan until September.  I'm good there too.  I'm not well, because I will always have cancer and we will always be watching it, but I'm as well as I've been in over two years.  I still don't have a trememdous amount of energy--but enough to play the fiddle fast as the wind today.  I've been good about going to Curves.  The part of my life that is not so happy is something I don't want to talk about.  I'm contemplating a move to denial.  It is a nice place to live.  The good parts are squeezing out the not so good parts.  I'm ready to get on with life.  Thank you, Bethany Brawlers for making it such a steller day.  Now I'm ready to hibernate for a while.
xxooxx