Mammograms Half Price!

Okay, here it is in a nutshell: I'll be having a mastectomy soon. I can't next week because we have company coming; the following week I'm volunteering and decorating for a dinner/dance evening, I have a budget meeting, a finance meeting, a strategic goals meeting, a library meeting, a library event, then I am teaching an art class and then taking a quilting class, then a quilting retreat. Oh my, this is going to be tough to schedule surgery in between all my volunteering and fun time. Hmmmm.
Oh well, I'm sure I'll squeeze it in there some how.
Speaking of squeezing, I must say I am not a big fan of mammograms but this cancer was caught so early that I don't have to worry. I have time to meet my volunteer obligations, then have surgery. All because I did drag my butt down and had my mammogram! So, ladies, get off yours and get a check-up!
I forgot to ask the surgeon if this means my mammograms will be half price from now on! Ha! They certainly should be.

A New Journey

I don't know if it is my age or if it is the age we live in, but cancer seems to hit so many families in one form or another.




It is interesting because when I fill out all those reams of medical forms asking everything except for me to sign over my first born child, I have never had to check the box that I come from "cancerous" stock. So it isn't in the genes...just the environment.


A little history: Jack's grandfather died from throat cancer. He smoked cigars like no one I ever knew. So that was no surprise. And he lived to be in his 80's. He would go for the fatty pieces of meat when we dined together. So he lived a good life. But his environment was filled with cigar smoke.


Jack's father died from cancer in his sinuses. He had been a custodian at a high school for over 30 years; scrubbing asbestos tiles, fixing lights in asbestos ceilings, etc. His cancer was environmental.


Our son-in-law got Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma...not once, but twice. He works in the agricultural business and is exposed to pesticides, etc. His cancer is environmental.


Then our eldest daughter got Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She's a school teacher and worked in a portable unit for years; complaining about the horrible smell coming from the heating unit.. to no avail. Who knows? She may have contacted something that gave her cancer. Or she lived her entire youth under Rocketdyne where they blasted off rockets right over our heads. We were silly enough to go outside each time one launched and watched it go. How did we know it may be building up crap that would turn to cancer later on?


From the water we drink, to the air we breathe, to the chemicals in our foods...or our genetic makeup.. we just aren't living in a natural environment any longer.


Last year, Jack was diagnosed with prostate cancer. That was a crazy road to travel because there are so many different approaches to "treatment" and all have scary side effects. I learned a lot about the prostate. So much can go wrong as it sits in a precarious place in the body. I'll spare the details but it is all connected to the urinary tract, the rectum, and of course is connected to sexual issues.
We traveled up and down the interstate corridors to university cities for the best of the best. Jack ended up choosing brachytherapy which is the insertion of radioactive pellets, mapped and strung together to target his cancer cells. No one else could use those seeds. They told us if we missed the appointment, we would be charged $16,000...oh yeah, he stayed close to home so he wouldn't breathe any germs and get sick before the operation.
We are still dealing with side effects from that, but he is doing well as far as we know.




Currently, it is my turn. I have breast cancer. It is the "good" kind and I'm not going to die from it. I just need to deal with it. Did Rocketdyne do this to me? Who knows? No one else in my family has it.


But then, does it really matter? I am borrowing the term from my daughter and I am "cancering" right now. We just use it as a verb in our family. It is an action verb and it will run out of steam soon.


I have a second opinion scheduled next week with a surgeon. I'll let you know how that all goes. But know that I am not worried. I am not scared. I am challenged to learn about this cancer that has invaded my body and hopefully, I can prevent it from bothering me in the future!


So much to learn....

Arlo Guthrie and Locks of Love

Well, I'll be a blue-nosed gopher if my blog isn't working again!

So you are asking yourself, "what's with that title?"

I decided a couple years ago I wanted my hair to be like Arlo Guthrie's hair. And sure enough, I made it and then some. Since it was growing so nicely, I thought I might donate my locks to "Locks of Love" which makes wigs for children with cancer. Of course, my gray hair can't be used on a child so they sell my donated hair and use the funds towards a child's wig. Cool or what?!

 

I must say, I loved my long hair but I had decided to donate it so it was a matter of sticking to my word. Danette and family visited and I handed her the scissors and said, "Chop away!"



 

And she did....

 

 

 

The grandkids laughed because it was almost black in the center of the braid. That must mean I'm not totally old!

 

One month later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So alas, no good deed goes unpunished!

 

More on that later....but for now, I'm feeling fine, just a little bit cold around the neck when I go outside in the sub-freezing weather. Brrrrr.... stupid time to have my hair cut off!

 

 

 

Under Construction

I've decided to allow my blog to rest for awhile. Besides, I have used up my maximum of storage for photos. I'm working on deleting old posts....once I clean everything up, I might come back to blogging.

Being retired has changed my rhythm in life. We have time to drop what we are doing and go north to my family, south to see the girls or further south to Jack's family. Volunteering has taken over my life too. I am finding where I fit best in the community. It has been a fun and interesting process.

Some things I've "released" and it feels good.

Mom is in a transition point in her life and I want to be available for her if she should ever give me the word!

I'm headed out to a quilting retreat. I haven't quilted since last fall. Just so many things to do!

I check in on blogs that I follow so I am up to date with all of you out in Blogland. I'll be back. I'm just going to continue to stay under the radar for awhile longer.

Take care and be kind to one another.

Catch Up

I've been sick for so long now I don't even want to think of catching up with everything.

I think that concussion is still messing with my head. (It's a good excuse anyway!)

We had family for the T-Day holiday and did that ever make my heart sing!

First to arrive....and you might say it was a very unique and "grand" entrance... were Ina and Warren.

The phone rang about the time they were to be here and Warren says, "Get Jack. Have bring his truck and trailer or his tractor; we are in a ditch!"

I asked where and he said, "Right by your gate!"

Jack and I walked down to find this:

I would have loved to see Warren and Ina crawling out of their Mini on such an angle!

Jack did manage to pull them out with his tractor.

Believe it or not, there wasn't a scratch on the car!

No one else arrived with so much excitement. The house was full and it felt wonderful.

Here's Ina doing what she loves best: curled up in the sunshine reading a book.

I would add more photos here but my computer is not uploading right now. You know, the more you pay for your service, the less service you get!

Anyway, it was a wonderful time.

Since company left, I've been in charge of face painting for the annual Children's Christmas Party. This is where approximately 300 kids come and see Santa, make ornaments, decorate cookies, get gifts, books, fresh fruit, a miniature tree, make crafts and get their faces painted.

I had so many helpers painting faces this year, I didn't have to paint at all. I was the runner for fresh water, etc.

Then I was in an art show this past weekend. Nothing of mine sold but it was fun just the same.

I know a bit more of what to expect next time. For some reason, folks in this area do not like to pay for art. It has been a complaint of artists since I moved here and it has not changed.

Matting and framing art is very expensive in itself. Then add art supplies and maybe a smidgeon for the artist's time and talent and still no one buys.

So I'll go to cards next time. I'll keep my originals to hang in my own house and just sell items for under $5.00. Who knows? It might just work.

I am going to just kick back and relax a bit this week. Maybe purge some closets. That's always fun.

Anyway, Happy December!!!

My Bad

Geeze Louise... I can't just be dumb in my own home; I have to go to California and almost kill my ONLY granddaughter.

Zoe was very sick when we arrived. Her fever was hot and furious. Danette (her mom)  was at work finishing grading some papers. I needed more tylenol-type medicine so I called D and she said she was coming right home and had some in her desk.

So I go to give it to Zoe and ask where it is. D says, "It's the purple bottle on the counter."

Great......(now mind you, both bottles were turned around and I didn't READ any labels. I just grabbed the closest and biggest bottle.)

Uh huh....I mader her take a teaspoon of bubble bath!

Here she is gurgling and spitting bubbles.

Luckily for me, she is one smart cookie and only swallowed a tiny bit because it tasted like soap!

Seriously, bubbles came out from between her teeth for a long time.

I may not be trusted to administer any type of first aid or "doctoring" any time soon.

Poor babe....stuck with me for her Gramie.

Time to Return to France

I bought this in Paris, France 6½ years ago. I have used it sparingly and it is finally gone.

I can't find anything like it here in the U.S. so it's time to go back to France!