Delightful Birthday Yesterday

Yesterday's 84th birthday was one of the most delightful in recent years. It was nothing special but it was everything I needed. I managed to help some folks, weather was not crazy, food was great, and things moved along easily.

As we get older, it's rare to have a day without issues.

Yesterday, I enjoyed lots of Facebook birthday wishes, a surprise,  and  my "baby bro" who will be 80 later this month called me from another state.

I also had a chance to chat online with a dear old friend who used to live here and who lost her beloved husband earlier this year and hopefully, I was able to gently distract her from her depression and sadness over the loss.

I had a chance to chat via email with another dear old friend who is having many medical and emotional issues after last year's major medical issues following 2 falls and months of major physical therapy, and hopefully give comfort by simply "listening."

Also, I enjoyed working on some fingerless gloves for the Lord's homeless people in need.

Along the way, I slipped out quickly to a Starbucks drive-thru to claim (one day only!) a free food or drink item. Years ago, a friend sent me Starbucks gift card and it's still "alive" and I don't have to even buy anything during the year to get this free item each birthday. I chose a cheese/fruit protein box which had grapes, apple slices, crackers, and 3 wee cheeses including a wedge of brie.

So, dinner, I had some salmon salad, brie, and crackers - talk about an "elegant" dinner - LOL - the salmon salad is one I make from a tall can of salmon and freeze in one-cup portions. When I defrost, I eat 1/2 one day and 1/2 the next day.

The weather has been stormy lately and some t-storms have caused me to sometimes shut down the PC and TV but yesterday I was able to enjoy my Saturday Cozi TV shows (Columbo, Banacek, McMillan & Wife, McCloud, etc.) without that worry. The rains were there, but no severe winds and no nearby thunder.

Yep, all in all, I have to say yesterday was one of my most delightful birthdays in a long time.

Rolling along...

Bi-Monthly Eye Injection Update

That every-other-month injection I get in my left eye at the retina specialist's is going well.

It will never get rid of the bleeding in the back of the eye, but it has stopped the progression, so far.

The first one was 8/26/20, and at first, I went every month. Then we graduated to 6 weeks, then to 2 months. The past few times, it has been 9 or 10 weeks. THIS time, he scheduled me for 3 months away!

I doubt we'll stretch it further than that. And when I am leaving, he always says, "If you have any sudden changes in vision, call me immediately." I try not to stress over that reminder.

Anyhow, I am pleased that I have apparently been responding to both his injections and to the AREDS2 eye vitamins he has me on.

So far, so good. I'm grateful for small favors, as we all should be.

It Was A Nice "Be Kind to Me" Morning!

Sad as it was to consider two recent "passings," I had a really nice morning. 

I went to Great Clips and finally got a haircut, thus stopping the winds from blowing my wisps out from the sides of my head and making me Bozo the Clown. My hair grows very slowly and is very fine and wimpy. It is better short, and falls nicely on itself when short. When it gets longer, it begins to spread apart and shows the thinning much more, plus it is a relief to get it off my neck now that we are in full summer mode here in Vegas.

Add to that, a few doors away from there is a Firehouse Subs. Great Clips opened at 10, Firehouse Subs at 10:30.

Last Christmas a friend had blessed me with a gift card for Firehouse Subs. So after the haircut, I strolled up there and snagged a small Smokehouse Brisket with Cheddar and Sweet Baby Ray sauce and a Grilled Chicken salad. The salad is densely packed and loaded with "stuff" so I will divide it and eat of it for 2 or 3 days.

Yep, it was a nice "me" morning...

Rolling along...

Did a Lot This Morning, Thankfully...

Got an energy burst this morning and did a lot in a 4-1/2 hour spurt.

Watered Silkie's 6 cat grass pots and because they are really wilted from our summer intense heat, I also sprinkled some seeds right onto the top layer, wilted grass and all, added some soil, and re-watered; they should sprout this week but won't last long. I'll start some fresh pots this week or next, as well.

Paid my pre-paid cell phone bill and another bill, online

My neighbor came by and changed my front porch light bulb which I keep on all night; it went out 2 nights ago and I'm no longer able to get my wobbly self onto my ladder.  I keep the back steps light on all night as well.

Divided my 32 oz. tub of plain low fat yogurt into 6 servings; added some of my beet/carrot puree to it and some pureed mango.

About the mangos, I had opened a freezer bag of mango chunks a few days ago and they're getting up there, so I pureed them and plopped into a jar for the fridge to add to my smoothies along the way, easily.

Took my little tub of pre-cut cantaloupe chunks and took my manual chopper and chopped them for dessert cups. I always make a "fruit cup" for a side dessert along with my dinner each night.

I also took about a dozen cherries I had in the fridge and pitted them and ate a few before I put them back into the fridge. I also posted a blog post about various ways to pit cherries easily(here)!

Took out my 1/2 lb. chub of white cheddar and shredded half and sliced half, and into fridge to add to things.

And I have long delayed once again opening a can of Salmon and dividing into 4 portions, freezing 3, and using the one, already, mixed with cottage cheese (my "salmon delight").

By then, my legs and knees were beginning to ache but I had managed to get some things done that make it really easy to eat healthy stuff in the coming days...

Rolling along...

Cherry Pitting Tips

I published the tips below back in August of 2018 and this year ended up with quite a few cherries, searched out my old tip, and grabbed my tool of choice - the plastic straw - read why, and other suggestions, in that earlier post...

===============

Cherries are great but they are rarely affordable for me. I might buy them 2 or 3 times when they are in season, and only when they are very cheap. I used to buy only so much at a time because they were a pain to pit. My rare purchases made it silly to buy a special cherry pitting tool.

Lo and behold, the internet yielded several ideas on options other than that tool. I'll tell you what I like best and then I'll mention the others that are also great ideas.

My new fave method is a thick plastic straw. I have about 2 dozen of these in the house and  because I think they'll be harder to get so next summer, I might choose my second best choice.

Why I like this is that I push the end of the straw into the stem end of the cherry and push. The pit goes right up into the straw! And it stays there! Or at least until others below push it out. You just need to be careful, as you always do with cherries, because even though they don't cry when you poke them, they do bleed cherry juice all over. So this is now a fun kitchen prep project instead of an annoyance as it used to be.

The next best choice for me is a chopstick!

They also suggested a simple metal pastry tip, the type you use for icing and that type of decoration...all very good ideas.

Cherry Ho!

PCP Routine Visit Today - Went Very Well!

I love making my PCP happy! My blood pressure really dropped! Used to run 150+, even after sitting a few minutes to relax after arrival, and it was 125! I'm thinking, and he's thinking, it was my switch from regular coffee to decaf a month or so ago. I'll know for sure in 2 weeks at the oncologist's appointment.  Can't wait!

He was also happy that my other labs had no significant adverse changes. We talked about some things I might do to bring down my "tri's" - like maybe cut back on the fruit and get more veggies in me. Diabetes and the A1C definitely affects the tri's.

As for the A1C, he was also happy about that in that I went down from 148 fasting sugar to 143 or the other way, from 7.6 to 7.5. Down is the way to go.

He agreed that getting exercise is difficult with my issues but suggested I keep trying to do the recumbent exercise bike daily, even if for 10 minutes or less.

So all in all, it was a really good visit. I'll see him again in September.

Rolling along...

Energy Spurt This Weekend - Got Some Things Done

Managed to catch up on a lot of things this weekend. I must strike while my energy level is hot!

Yesterday I made coffee for 4 days, rinsed a bag of apples and put them in the fridge, divided the cottage cheese into 6 servings, and poured the 3 jugs of water into the crock reservoir.

I also watered Silkie's cat grass buffet and took a lot of recycle stuff outside to the bucket. Along the way, I scheduled labs for Sunday the 3rd for an upcoming oncology visit.

Also managed both days to work on a baby jacket for our charity crafter group .

And finally gathered and separated/sorted some finished charity crafter stuff (for both the homeless and for babies) so I can pack them into 13 gal. bags and document them and stash them into the back bedroom closet until time to distribute them.

Today, I rinsed 3 lbs. of red seedless grapes and got them into jars for the fridge and freezer, divided my 32 oz. tub of plain yogurt into 6 servings and I will add pureed fruit or whatever along the way. I also mixed my Salmon Delight (equal amounts cottage cheese and canned salmon) for 2 days.

I paid the telephone bill online.

One thing I'm happy about for sure is that I got rid of a LOT of large and medium-large cardboard boxes from deliveries from places like Chewy. Someone who is moving was so happy to pick them up. I was getting nervous with them outside on the back area of my driveway what with our hot dry weather (no measurable rain for several months) and July 4 coming up when nearby residential areas often have folks doing illegal fireworks. Went outside and moved them all up to the front of the driveway for her. That is a real relief.

Earlier I had finished a baby set for a friend due later this year and got it packed so I can mail it in the morning.

Another thing that made me happy was that I sorted and packed some more boxes for pickup soon from the local charity thrift shop. I've got a lot to go through, so anytime I make a small dent in the stuff, I am thrilled.

Rolling along...

Pantry Closets, Recumbent Bike, Wraparound Arch Supports

Those wraparound arch supports they advertise on TV, that I ordered a few days ago, not from their website but from Walmart, arrived two days ago. I unpacked them today and read the instructions and hope to try them tomorrow.

There is an early morning labs appointment I must go to, fasting, and then I see my PCP a week from this coming Monday.

My first Dexascan in a year is set for July. They want to see how that anti-cancer drug is affecting my bone density since it supposedly causes deterioration. They've got me on Vit D, Calcium and a semi-annual infusion IV to combat it but I hope the food I eat is helping as well. They just changed the date but only by one day so that 's not bad. I want to do that before the oncologist's appointment the week after the scan.

Today I made sure to get into the pantry and put away the canned goods I had been stacking on the washer and dryer. I need to do a laundry load. I made sure to rotate everything by date as I was putting the cans on the shelves.

Finally got back on my recumbent exercise bike the past 2 days and I hope to keep that going again for a while.

And, of course, I did some charity crafting along the way, and food prep, and so on. But I'm mostly happy about the pantry work today and about unpacking those wraparound arch supports to try tomorrow.

Rolling along

Crochet, New Crock Pot, and Arches

The weekend went well as did Monday. I did quite a bit of food prep and that 2 qt crock pot I got from that QVC gift card arrived. Can't wait to try it out. I worked on some charity crafting projects along the way.

However I did get off track on my recumbent exercise bike and I hope to get back on it starting tomorrow again. I miss how I feel afterwards.

After all those ads on TV, I finally ordered those Copper Fit ArchFitPlus wraparound arch supports but I ordered from Walmart (cheaper) and I ordered 2 pair so I could be wearing a pair while laundering the other pair. Can't wait to see how they feel. I've had flat feet since I was a little girl and at this age, unless I'm wearing good inserts or "Skechers Arch Fit" shoes, I end up mostly limping/shuffling through the house and not really walking. Skechers started their arch-support line about a year ago.

The good thing is there has been no new crisis so, as you all know I am sure, we enjoy the break between the bumps on life's road.

Hope you are all doing okay.

Rolling along... 

Hectic Morning - I Almost Drove Myself Nutz!

I spent most of the morning going crazy because I thought I lost my carabineer with my entire set of keys - Park, Mailbox, House, and car Fob. I first missed them after I hit the mailroom on my way to the clubhouse for my charity crafting session. We even had our maintenance man dump the entire trash bucket in the mailroom in case I had accidentally pushed them off the table while sorting my mail and tossing what I didn't want.

Next I had our Gen'l Mgr give me a duplicate Park key and the On Site Mgr give me a dupe mailbox key. I knew I had a spare house key hidden plus a spare fob inside the house.

I decided to leave the clubhouse early because I was really nervous about all of this but had to mail my Primary ballot at the USPS and when I was leaving for the USPS, our one manager  said something about how could I drive without the fob and I said I knew I didn't have it because I went to the back of the car, and swiped my foot under it and that opens it and it didn't do it.

While I was parking at the USPS, I realized she was right - there was no way that car would drive and no way I could turn on and off the ignition if the fob wasn't in the car.

So I figured I'd come home, get a good flashlight and look between the seat and the console but before I did that, after I parked on the driveway at home, I opened the trunk from inside the car because I remembered I had picked up a bunch of bananas in the mailroom (we have a community "swap" table in there) and I went to get them, and - you guessed it, the keys were snuggled next to the bananas! LOL

But I went through a real worry session before that, thinking somebody found them in the mailroom and would be walking the street tonight with my fob in their hands, clicking at every driveway in here, and would find my car matched it and steal the car - plus by then they would know the house key belonged to me, ditto the mailbox key.

I was ready to re-key my house lock, have the Park re-key my mailbox and call Ford about changing the fob... I have no idea how I would have gotten the money to do that! I am SO relieved!

So, since this day ended on a quiet note, I'm happily rolling along!

Today Was An Odds and Ends Kinda Day

You all know how those kind of days go. Not getting done some things you'd planned but getting other things done.

My next appointment, routine, with my PCP is the end of this month so I made the appointment today online for my labs for Sunday the 19th at 7:30am.

And I ordered another bottle of my eye vitamins to be shipped here from Walgreens.

The canned salmon got opened and into smaller servings to be mixed as needed with cottage cheese and I divided the cottage cheese into smaller servings as well.

A month ago, I had ordered some things from Walgreens and one item kept being unable to ship so they processed a refund and that finally hit my bank. I was just getting ready to call them today about that.

I worked on a charity crafting crochet project along the way

And I was happy to remember to get on the recumbent exercise bike again for 6 minutes

I was thinking today about a lot of friends, some even younger than me, who seem to have no purpose in life at this point. I am very grateful to realize that even though my progress is slow, the simple things like prepping my fresh fruits and veggies, taking care of the cat, charity crafting, the exercise bike, our quarterly park newsletter that I write on a volunteer basis, and as often as possible, de-cluttering, these things all give me purpose. I thank the Lord each night for that...

Rolling along...

Weird Assortment of Accomplishments Today

Today made up for yesterday. Yesterday, the morning was gobbled up by a routine medical visit clear across town so by the time I came home, in the heat, I took care of daily matters but not much more.

Today, however, I made my coffee for 4 days and hand washed a few small items.

I reverted back to making a big batch of yogurt smoothies by plopping a bag of frozen peach slices into my blender and then the non-fat plain 32oz tub of yogurt. I had to do it in 2 batches but that was easy. Now I have 7 cups made and easy to grab, easy to defrost those in the freezer.

Our heat is now 100-ish from here on in, so I watered Silkie's cat grass buffet again.

There was a call from my medical team and we scheduled my annual Dexascan for July. This will be my first since I've been on the Tamoxifen anti-cancer drug which can cause bone loss.

I worked on my clipboard notes - I keep one set of monthly sheets for medical appointments and one for bills/expenses. I'm a little late updating that this month but finally got it done.

Our local political primary is next week. At this point, because of my lowered immunity, I choose to avoid both early voting in person and voting in person on the 14th, and choose to mail in my ballot. So I got that out and began marking my choices. Must check out a few obscure positions. For spots I know nothing about, I typically check to see who the incumbent is and if I've heard nothing adverse, I just check that one off.

But best of all is that last Tuesday, I won a $100 QVC gift card from a random drawing on Swagbucks and I went online and chose some things. I didn't get 1 big thing but rather several small things that I do need. My poor frying pan is so old, the one I do my veggie omelet for 6 days in, so I ordered a nice 10" pan. My slow cooker is great and it's a 4qt but sometimes I want to make a small batch of something, so I chose a 2qt slow cooker. I also discovered a set of clip on pan drainers/strainers, so I grabbed those. At this point in my life, it's often hard holding a strainer against the edge of a pot while I'm pouring something hot. These will be great. And I got a pair of weird little things that lift hot lids from pots while letting drips go back into the pan. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I'm thrilled with all of this.

Day is done and I'm a happy camper. Silkie is out now that the sun went down a bit and she's getting her last snack on the cat grass buffet.

Rolling along....

Bad Start. Good Ending...

I started off the day while making breakfast and bumping the thermal mug of black decaf coffee (not yet heated) and spilling it over half the kitchen counter, even under the toaster. I grabbed the Bounty towels as fast as possible, but it was still a mess. That said, it wasn't too difficult a clean-up.

I did make my veggie omelet for 6 days which is always comforting for no-fuss lunches.

And I took a sack of Jimmy Dean pre-cooked sausage crumbles and dumped them into small containers, enough for 2 days each and froze all but one. I only put about 1/4 cup  or less into my lunch when heating my veggie omelet, just enough for taste.

My Chewy order was delivered so Silkie is happy that we are stocked up on cat food cans and more cat grass seeds.

I managed to get on my recumbent bike for 7 minutes. A while back, I was concerned because I really can't walk far these days even with my quad cane so I searched something like "recumbent bike vs. walking" and was amazed to find out the recumbent bike is BETTER for me even than walking! I think it affects more muscles than walking does. That doesn't mean I won't continue to try to find ways to manage short walks in our senior mobile home park - some day.

And I did work on a charity crafting crochet project and sorted some yarn.

Rolling along.

This was not a bad day...

This was not a bad day. Early, before it hit the 90s, I watered Silkie's cat grass buffet.

I also made my coffee for 4 days, and fixed myself one of my Salmon Delights.

I also took some dry milk and made 1/2 gallon for the fridge.

A while back I decided to stop using Sweet & Low (saccharine based) and switch to Stevia so I bought a bag of the powder. Today I got that into 7 peanut butter jars but I also sent my PCP an email asking him a few questions. Online, somewhere, I noticed they said that Stevia could lower blood pressure and to be careful if you're on a BP medicine. So I asked him if he thought this would be a problem and mentioned I'd only be using 1 teaspoon a day in my decaf coffee.

My biggest accomplishment today was the one kitchen overhead cupboard, over the kitchen sink counter, between the sink and fridge. Used a folding footstool that is very trustworthy and the only thing these days I will stand on. Anyhow, I took everything out and then put it back in on recycled "trays." I had realized I was just shoving certain thing s up there - meds and OTC backups, some food items, etc. ..... So I cut the tops off a few plastic food containers from the stores and used the bottoms for trays - I have my meds/OTC stuff in one, I have my jars of barley, brown rice, and other food things in another, and some paper cupcake liners, toothpicks, etc. in another. Now it's easy to just reach up and pull one toward me and bring it down easily.

I realized today that I have begun, once again, to post my day's activities. I used to do that daily on this blog but then got out of the habit. But I prefer doing it this way because it's easier for me to "find" something from the past. Sometimes I want to know when I did this or that and trying to search on FB is useless. So you might be seeing more blog posts about my activities rather than normal FB posts.

Rolling along...

65th High School Reunion - Not!

I regularly receive emails from one of my classmates from the Catholic high school for girls that I went to in Philly. Some are asking for prayers, some are reminders of their regular monthly meetings at a local diner back there which almost 2 dozen alumnae still are able to attend.

Today I received an email announcing our 65th class reunion. Back when we had our 50th, I really, really wanted to go, ever so badly. I could have probably squeezed out the flight money, I couldn't have stayed in town overnight but I could have taken a redeye, changed clothes at the country club where they hold these, and flown back afterwards. But there was no way I could go.

Jane, the family friend I had known for years, like a big sister, was in her last year or two on earth and was failing in pieces. I was in caregiver mode.

Her son was living here with us, and he had a demanding job at the time and would not have been able to stay home that take to watch over her and do what was needed.

I was able to deal with it. Some things are not in the cards.

But each time I received emails, especially the mile-marker ones, 55th, 60th, and now this one, the 65th, I can't help reminiscing.

I loved that school, I loved those nuns, I loved my classmates even though at that time I was very shy and introverted.

So as this one approaches, I'll keep my former classmates in my heart and prayers.

There's no way I would want to go at this point in my life. I have always happily flown here and there, but am not willing to now.

At those monthly meetings, I am amazed that so many from the class of '57 are still alive and well enough to attend.

I am even more amazed that last year, at the 64th, we had about two dozen at that reunion. We seem to have been a hardy bunch!

God bless you all, St. Hubert's "Bambies" 

I'm So Stiff and Out of Shape

I can't get over how stiff and out of shape (flexibility-wise) I am. Up to 2 years ago, two mornings a month I delivered our monthly newsletter in our park to 200 of our 400+ homes. Even when I didn't walk much other than that, I had no trouble with me and my quad cane, and I could do a decent pace.

Yesterday and today I began trying to walk a bit each day. My new Tamoxifen Rx can worsen my existing osteoporosis. I really did not walk far. Just down my driveway, across the front of my home, 3 more down to the corner, 2 across, across the little street, and over the 4-car parking lot into our "mailroom," and back... so that's about 6 homes over and 6 back, about 12 lots, or a bit less than a block on a normal street.

I was stiff as a board walking and slow as molasses in January. My legs were like wooden sticks and I walked like Herman Munster - but I did it.

Up to the end of Feb. 2019, I was doing fine. Then we stopped delivering and I stopped walking. At first I thought that was why I was having such a hard time. Then I also realized that in 2019 and 2020, this area, so used to a "monsoon season" in the summer, went through a real dry spell. Last year I think we went 249 days without rain. But THIS year, we had a monsoon season for the first time in a while.

So I think part of my stiffness is my arthritis reacting to the return of the rainy season this summer.

Anyhow, I will continue to try to loosen up. I don't have pain per se, just stiffness. Yet I can walk a medical hallway better than out on our mobile home park's streets. Of course, I'm on a street that is a downhill grade so that adds to the difficulty. I never did do well walking downhill but never had trouble going up a grade.

So I'm going to add a brief session daily on the recumbent exercise bike, too - that always makes me feel so good and erect afterwards, even after just 10 minutes. 

Odd Feelings The Past Few Days

I think I know why I've been feeling odd the past few days. I've been feeling sort of distracted and detached. Oh, I'm still doing my daily things: meals, kitty-duties, errands, medical appointments, our quarterly park newsletter, charity craft projects, etc., etc., etc. - But I think I am sort of "de-stressing" from the past few months.

See, I pride myself (yeh, I know what pride goeth before - lol) on being able to handle bumps on life's road. And I've been telling myself since April 20th's double lumpectomy that I've handled everything along the way with calm and sensibility.

But I should keep in mind that I am, after all, a human and we have those subconscious feelings at times that we aren't even aware of. So I think that as well as I've handled the positive lymph node biopsy, the 16 radiation treatments, the PET scan, and all the days and weeks between April 20th and August 31st when I was finally told officially that I am free at this moment of any malignancy, I think that inside, I suppose I had been holding my subconscious breath.

As a dear friend told me when I got the good news, I can now climb down off that ledge of pins and needles that I have been perched on for all that time.

Yes, I think these odd feelings are simply me finally letting it sink in and telling myself to relax a bit and be gentle in going forth.

Rolling along...

PET Results: Doing Happy Dance, With Restrictions!

So, I am "clear" for now of any sign of cancer. 

I'm blessed and I need to thank all of you for continued prayers and good wishes. We are now in a 5-year strict "prevention" mode, lots of checkups, , meds, etc.

I will pick up the Rx for hormone blocker Tamoxifen later this week, also OTC meds, Vitamin D, and Calcium, because the hormone meds cause bone, calcium and Vitamin D loss and I already have minor but real osteoporosis. He wants me to walk some. I walk "none," and I trust this man totally, so I will begin new routines this Sunday or Monday and be a very good girl and barring bad weather, I will try to walk a little, even if just 5/10 minutes, each day. I must also get infusion injections every 6 months, and I think that is Prolia, to offset osteoporosis from the Tamoxifin. I must do this for 5 years, with regular checkups. He agrees with my PCP and myself that we should do one more colonoscopy soon. I'm to see him again 9/28.

Sweet Lord Jesus, you have surprised me happily with this blessing and I will do all I can to fulfill my end of what is required to maintain this status. Please bless all those who prayed and cared for me during this time, and bless them abundantly. Jesus, I trust in you!

Interesting Medical Finding About Me - LOL

I just discovered I'm only 4'11" when I thought I was still 5'2" which I've been all my adult life. 

Of course they did tell me I was 4'11" a year or so ago but I thought they were kidding. I figured I might have lost an inch but not 3 of them. 

The Dexascan gal said on Thursday that it's on my record that I'm 4'11" as of a year or so ago, and that it's a "good" thing because I haven't lost any further height and that's good when talking bone loss, etc.

I guess I'm no longer able to sing that really old number, "Five foot two, eyes of blue, and oh, what those five feet can do... "   ROTFLOL

When I emailed my bro, teasing about my new height, he replied that he was always  5'10-1/2" and is now 5'8-3/4" and he wants to know where it went... he's 77. Another friend in her 70s replied that she was always 5'6" and is now 5'5"...

Must be the soap we're using in the shower -

Medical Update -

Silkie thinks I've been working a part-time morning job for these 16 weekdays of treatments. I'm sure she does since I leave the house about 9:45 each morning and am home by 11.

The sessions themselves are only 10 minutes long. It's the prep and trip, etc., that takes up the time; the "getting into street clothes," driving, parking, walking from the parking lot to the front door, checking in at the desk, and trying to relax a few minutes before they call my name. Then everything in reverse. Since at 81, I no longer "sprint," the walk from lot to door and back takes longer than the drive and session combined...

And now the fun begins. We start lots of testing and checking to see if that positive lymph node they found indicates it has spread inside my bod. Tomorrow I go for a Dexascan.

So, when I got home today, I spent 2-1/2 hours on phone calls making appointments that had to wait until my last day of treatments. You know how those calls go - the menu options, I get distracted a moment then have to listen to them again.

Anyhow, I called my oncologist who wanted me to see him about 2 weeks after the final radiation treatment. I scheduled him and they are checking on where I go for a blood draw which will be sent to a genomic lab for testing. I called my PCP for updated referrals to the eye care center and for my lumpectomy surgeon, and for an appointment with the PCP as well. After the referrals were done, I called the eye care center for an updated referral to the Dr. who does my bi-monthly eye injections, and also made my obligatory annual appointment with that center. Then I called the lumpectomy surgeon for a follow up with her since she wanted to do that a month after my final radiation treatment.

I was afraid these would all bunch up but so far, it's one a week...

We're still waiting for the scheduling for the PET scan and one other one.

So, we're rolling along...