Phone Reminder
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Tests and Results
I got a phone call yesterday, reminding me of an MRI that was scheduled at the local imaging center for today. I'd forgotten all about it. Because the local radiologists were too nebulous about their results, neither Steve nor I trust them much. AND I have an MRI at the UVA imaging center scheduled in October.  My first instinct was to have both of the tests, but I'm sure my insurance would refuse to pay if we did that. Soooo, I cancelled the local appointment. Hopefully, I don't pay for that choice with decreased lifespan.

Aug. 1
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Daily Living

Our 32nd wedding anniversary was this past Friday. We went out to eat with the kids on Thursday and then I tried my hand at a real home gourmet meal for our actual anniversary. I even made up a printed menu for the occasion, and when I sent Eddie to the store for sugar-free ice cream, he also brought home a vase of roses and daisies. I think Steve was impressed; he even skipped his ball game to eat in the dining room with me. Here's the menu. TGFM.

Today’s Anniversary Menu

 

Starters

 

Swiss Family Robinson Caribbean Fan

(Jicama, Carrot and Celery Fan Garnished With Swiss Cheese)

 

White Grape & Cherry Nectar

 

Entrée

 

Herbed Grilled Steak

served with Corn on the Cob and Oven-fried Potatoes

 

 

Dessert

 

Fresh Blackberries

Served with Ice Cream & Drizzled with Warm Chocolate

And

LOVE

 

BUSY
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Daily Living

Guess I'm not doing very well with my updates. I've been trying to catch up on the work, but I'm always slower at working than the rate of expansion of what needs to be done.

On July 16 our whole family, Steve & I, Eddie, Renee & Dustan, went to meet Steve's parents for a few days. Because of work and/or school, the "kids" hadn't seen their grandparents since 2005! It was really good to see them. His dad was actually looking BETTER than he had over the last few years.

Then when we were on our way back home, we got a call from our pet sitter that our 16-year-old husky Terra had died. He said that he'd found her curled up in her favorite napping place next to the fence--but dead instead of asleep. I guess if you're going to lose a pet, that's as "painless" as it's possible to be.  I suppose I should finish a song about God and animals that I started 4 years ago when our shepherd Rex was having surgery. I didn't finish it after he died, but maybe I can, now.

TGFM

Hair
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Curing the Cures
Today I went to get some sort of a STYLE to my fuzzy-curly-mop hair and my stylist was pleased that I had a "full head" of hair. I hadn't seen her since April of '07. Anyway, I now look as though my hair is short on purpose instead of having escaped from the 80's with the worst of fake afro hair styles. I still don't look like "me" but the style is a reasonable use of what I have to work with. I just can't get used to hair that doesn't move no matter how hard I shake my head. Shaved head with a "tattoo" was more "me" than right now, but my hair is only growing about half as quickly as it used to. After 7 months since bald, I only have about an inch and a half; I should have 3 or more inches. What amazes me is that my gray roots seem to be showing up just as quickly, but the total length isn't getting longer. Perhaps only half of the hairs are growing interspersed with the rest of the hair? I'm fairly sure that I've measured correctly, because I've used a tape measure . . .

Music Paperwork
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Music Updates

The last few days I've been seriously working toward completing my Opus listing database. (For the uninitiated, an opus list is a comprehensive list of the music written by the composer in question.) So far, I have over 200 in the list, and I'm not even halfway through the alphabet. It's been really hard to make myself keep at it; I keep getting sidetracked with revisions that I could be making. I keep thinking about things that need to be added to the database, too. Anyway, after I get done with this mindnumbingly boring task, I'm going to get back to editing the music into a final useable and/or presentable format--MORE boring paperwork. But it's the price I pay for the really creative parts; I wouldn't want all my hard work to go unheard because no one knows about it or because it isn't ready for a performer to use.

TGFM.

Progress
Mood:  happy
Topic: Daily Living

For the last few weeks I've been seriously dieting and am about 6 pounds below my top weight. Unfortunately it's still above 9 months pregnant weight, but it's progress. Now if I can only keep at it . . .

Mood:  not sure
Topic: Curing the Cures

I had my 1 week post-surgical appointment on this past Tuesday. Steve couldn't get the time off and the appointment was in the morning, so Eddie chauffered me up on Monday afternoon and we stayed overnight. It was the longest trip he'd done almost ALL the driving for, but he hung in there in spite of having had a tetanus shot on Monday AM as part of his pre-college physical. (On the way home, I drove for about 40 minutes or so in the middle of the trip; but I was happy to turn the wheel over to him again.) Glad I had someone else who could.

TGFM.

Derailing the Gossip Train
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Daily Living

The "gossip train" appears to be alive and well and as inaccurate as ever. One of my out-of-town friends heard from her mother, who attends my  former church, that I now had cancer on the other side. I wonder where "the other side has cancer" detail came from--it certainly didn't come  from me or my doctors. (Perhaps it was speculation because I've been going to my mom's church for the last year or so.) Of course I worry about a recurrance but it hasn't happened so far. Yes, I did have more surgery last week, but that was the next step in my reconstruction--taking out the tissue expander and replacing it with an implant. I'm quite sure they wouldn't have bothered with reconstruction if there was more cancer. While there is always the possibility of having microscopic cancers, there is no visible evidence of active disease at this moment.

TGFM. 

Port is GONE!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Curing the Cures

Yesterday Steve helped me remove the bandage over the incision where my port-a-cath was. It's gone! Yeah!  Finally. We also--very gingerly--removed the post-surgical bra and washed it and dried it while I took a shower. It felt wonderful to be clean. I still had a bunch of presurgical markings and betadine (brownish orange disinfectant) on me. It's amazing how much better you feel after a shower. However, the heat from the shower and the pain meds left me feeling really lightheaded. Sure enough, my blood pressure was way down. There's a price for everything even things as basic as taking showers. Anyway I'm back trussed up and wondering when or if the pain will go away. In the meantime, there's a tune fragment that's bouncing around my head, which I need to write down before it escapes.

TGFM.

Surgery Done
Topic: Curing the Cures
My main reconstruction surgery is done and I'm back home. There's one more reconstruction procedure left--creating a nipple that's made from the tissue that's there and a tattoo to make a pink aereola--which will be done, probably in a month or so if I decide to do it. I probably will get it done just because I also want him to revise the deep hole under my arm where the lymph resection scar is stuck to the deep tissue instead of moving with normal arm movement. I feel like a trussed pig with a VERY TIGHT post surgical bra that I'm supposed to wear 24/7 at least until my follow-up appointment next Tuesday. It's quite painful even with the pain meds, but that's part of the territory. So my standard comment is, "don't mind me, I'm on DRUGS."  More later.