Left heel, disease two

So my gouty left heel isn't gouty after all--at least this time.  Saw the Physician's Assistant today and she diagnosed a fungus infection, for which I now have a cream--twice a day for 2 weeks.  It already feels better.  It doesn't look much better, but it feels better--doesn't hurt to touch any more.  How did I get that?  Who knows--just lucky like everything else.  I saw my doctor in passing and rejoiced with her that she's now wearing real shoes on both feet.  What a long, hard battle that was for her.  Answered prayer.  Sometimes it just takes a little longer.  Just in case I failed to mention it in January, she's been fighting a foot infection since December.  There was a possibility that she could have lost the foot, so real shoes on both feet is a wonderful thing.
I shall now retire with Mailie Dobbs, book four.
xxooxx

I know, I know

It has been a long time, but life has been, basically, boring with nothing to report.  Not that I've done nothing or lived in a vacuum.  I had a birthday (enjoyable day--lots of Facebook greetings, phone calls, dinner with my son), had a visit from my sister where we went to see "The Birth of Impressionism" exhibit at the deYoung, and went to a workshop, so I had a weekend out of town.  Around and about all of this is the knitting--matching sweaters for my hairdresser's children, an afghan for Glenda Hope's Network Ministries.  Then there were the occassional committee meetings, some workouts at Curves.  I'm trying not to be a hermit.  Oh, then there are the books!  I'm working my way through Alexander McCall Smith this year.  I LOVED the Number One Ladies Detective Agency series.  The Sunday Afternoon Philosophy Club was well written but not as page turning.  Portugese Irribular Verbs and its companion stories were a hoot and inhaled quickly.  I'm taking a break before 44 Scotland Street because I have recently been introduced to Maisie Dobbs (NOT AMC).  There are seven books in that series, and I am on number three.  Well writen, engrossing, page turning.  I have quickly become very fond of Maisie.

Health--I'm feeling adequate.  Not great but not bad.  I saw Dr. Chee (oncologist) today.  Not bad, not good.  My CA125, a not very accurate number for me as I believe I've blogged, is slightly elevated--enough for a scan soon (like I'm waiting to hear what they have set up for me even as I type).

The left heel has something going on--have an appointment for that on Thursday.  This is one of those weeks where my social life is composed of appointments.

I'll try to be more timely--and more interesting.  I'll post after we get the scan results and know better what's going on now.  Till then

xxooxx

Happy

Yikes!  It has been forever since I've blogged.  I've thought about it--I have pictures i want to post but am too lazy to download.  Maybe lazy isn't the word, because I've been knitting like a fiend.  My way of cleaning is to use up some of my yarn, and what better way to do that than to knit?  I've had specific projects, but mostly it has been resupplying the stash.  Somehow I have no girly things, so I've been working on that.
What I've been thinking about and wanting to write about for a while is that I'm happy.  No particular reason, just happy and content.  I don't know quite when it turned around--sometime before I went to Yosemite.  It was a long, dark tunnel for several months--maybe even years.  for the last few months, though, I've been just plain happy.  It isn't that there aren't things I would happily change, but on the whole I'm happy.  God's in His heaven and all's right with my world.  Well, not everything--the neighbors' 12 dogs are constantly barking and people still park in front of my driveway on Sumday mornings, but I don't give way to tears at the drop of a hat.
I'll just accept that the stars are aligned and things are going well.  Whatever the cause, I'm in "Thank you, God" mode.  I know that the other cancer shoe will drop eventually and that when it does, we will deal with it.  Until that time, I'll just enjoy and knit--I've even picked up a few things (don't get hasty there--just a few things and I eventually get lost on a tangent while I'm doing it).  Back to knitting.  I love watching little projects grow.  And I'm happy.
xxooxx

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