The turkey buzzards are soaring and skunks are spraying, looking for mates. It's spring again on the creek.
Not exactly picturesque, but I was pretty excited to see a couple of turkey buzzards gliding on the winds when I took Nipper for a walk this afternoon. Aside from the two geese I saw when I first looked at this house, they were the first critters I saw when I bought the place.
It was moving-in day, and I arrived a bit before everyone else to meet the guys delivering the new stove. After they got it in, I went out to unload some things from the car when a shadow passed by. I looked around and here came a big, black bird, wings outstretched, right over the driveway. And then another, and another and another ... Probably a dozen in all, rising up from the cottonwoods along the creek just north of me. I feared this was some kind of omen about my future in the house, but I've come to look forward to seeing the buzzards. It's pretty cool to be driving home and see this cloud of birds a few blocks ahead where my house is. They circle around the creek for awhile, dipping and diving with just a slight tip of a wing. Sometimes it looks they're playing with each other, seeing how close they can get without actually hitting each other, or who can hover on an updraft the longest. Then, one by one, or sometimes in two or threes, they zoom off to the east, over the rest of town and into the countryside, in search of something stinky to eat, I imagine. Nature's cleanup crew.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
A day to glow
Today was my last day of radiation. Hooray! That feels like a giant step closer to being done. We were going to go out to dinner to celebrate Thursday, but Mom's got a bad cold, so we just stayed in and tried to watch moves.*
The only bad affect I had was this last week when the doc upgraded my reaction to a 3 (on a scale of one to five) and gave me a prescription for a cream. It seems to be getting better, but is still kind of sensitive. They said it could take two or three weeks before it's healed. I'll see the doc in about two weeks, so I'll know how it's going then. I'm also supposed to avoid sun exposure, so the therapist told me "no nude sunbathing!" No problem, since there's still snow on the ground.
There's been an older couple from my hometown that's been coming in for his radiation. I didn't know them very well, but we'd chat while waiting for our appointments. They weren't there today, and I wished I'd gotten to see them just to say "good luck." Maybe I'll see them Tuesday, or some other week, since I'll be going in for my Herceptin for awhile.
Not much else is going on. I'm still having trouble keeping my virtual fish alive, and I started over yet again. Maybe if I'd quit forgetting to pause the game before going to bed and therefore neglecting them for almost 24 hours ...
*Do not watch a film called "Sunshine State." It is dull dull DULL. Too many stories going on at once, too much talking and it's all about as interesting as your own life. Not the reason I watch a movie. "Run Lola, Run" though, was suspensful, if a bit weird.
The only bad affect I had was this last week when the doc upgraded my reaction to a 3 (on a scale of one to five) and gave me a prescription for a cream. It seems to be getting better, but is still kind of sensitive. They said it could take two or three weeks before it's healed. I'll see the doc in about two weeks, so I'll know how it's going then. I'm also supposed to avoid sun exposure, so the therapist told me "no nude sunbathing!" No problem, since there's still snow on the ground.
There's been an older couple from my hometown that's been coming in for his radiation. I didn't know them very well, but we'd chat while waiting for our appointments. They weren't there today, and I wished I'd gotten to see them just to say "good luck." Maybe I'll see them Tuesday, or some other week, since I'll be going in for my Herceptin for awhile.
Not much else is going on. I'm still having trouble keeping my virtual fish alive, and I started over yet again. Maybe if I'd quit forgetting to pause the game before going to bed and therefore neglecting them for almost 24 hours ...
*Do not watch a film called "Sunshine State." It is dull dull DULL. Too many stories going on at once, too much talking and it's all about as interesting as your own life. Not the reason I watch a movie. "Run Lola, Run" though, was suspensful, if a bit weird.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Winter's last punch
It's certainly giving us a last-minute return. Nipper had to go out just before 6 a.m., and my first thought after looking out the window was "so much for the snow." All I could see was a light covering on the grass. After I let Nip out the door, I thought I'd go ahead and put a fresh bucket of birdseed in and around the birdfeeders, since I have the day off and didn't want to get up in an hour or so when then sun came up. So I bundled up and went out and that's when I felt the wind and the near-blinding snow coming down. By the time Mom got home a little over an hour later, there was probably a few inches covering everything.
The birds and squirrels have been going at the feeders like crazy all morning. I'll probably go out after lunch, since what I put on the ground is pretty well buried, plus it'd help to get out and shovel the walks some too.
I got all my laundry done yesterday, so there's not much else to do today. Maybe something good will come in from Netflix.
Later.
The birds and squirrels have been going at the feeders like crazy all morning. I'll probably go out after lunch, since what I put on the ground is pretty well buried, plus it'd help to get out and shovel the walks some too.
I got all my laundry done yesterday, so there's not much else to do today. Maybe something good will come in from Netflix.
Later.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
At long last
This weekend, it's been dreary, cold and wet. Finally! We've had only 0.02 inch of rain here since the first of the year, and our last real significant moisture was the snow that fell that weekend I was in the hospital with kidney stones in mid-December!
And now that spring is literally almost upon us (12:19 p.m. Monday locally), we're supposed to get about 10-13 inches of snow by Monday night. Winter gets its last kick in, I guess.
As long as it's not like my senior year in high school, when we had two blizzards within a week's time that left 20-foot drifts over the highways. The first one came while a classmate, a teacher, her husband and youngest son and I were at the state high school journalism contest. What would be a short day trip back home became almost three days. We made it about halfway by the end of the first day and stayed the night at her parents' home. The next day, we got within 10 miles of home, but had to stop because the roads weren't clear. We finally made it home late the next afternoon, as I recall. I don't even really remember how I did at the contest that year.
Today, since there wasn't much point in going outside, I've been wasting some time with this game, Fish Tycoon. It's slow going, and I have trouble keeping my fish alive. I managed to sell my one healthy adult fish for $800 and bought some new fish eggs and tank equipment. And I just checked and the four fish I got out of that batch just had eight fry! Can't sell any yet, though. I've already started over once today, too, so I hope they stay healthy. I think I'm getting way too caught up in this, for as slow a game as it really is.
My last week of radiation is this week! It seems like it's gone by so fast. After this week, I'll just have the Herceptin. Here's hoping everything continues along smoothly.
And now that spring is literally almost upon us (12:19 p.m. Monday locally), we're supposed to get about 10-13 inches of snow by Monday night. Winter gets its last kick in, I guess.
As long as it's not like my senior year in high school, when we had two blizzards within a week's time that left 20-foot drifts over the highways. The first one came while a classmate, a teacher, her husband and youngest son and I were at the state high school journalism contest. What would be a short day trip back home became almost three days. We made it about halfway by the end of the first day and stayed the night at her parents' home. The next day, we got within 10 miles of home, but had to stop because the roads weren't clear. We finally made it home late the next afternoon, as I recall. I don't even really remember how I did at the contest that year.
Today, since there wasn't much point in going outside, I've been wasting some time with this game, Fish Tycoon. It's slow going, and I have trouble keeping my fish alive. I managed to sell my one healthy adult fish for $800 and bought some new fish eggs and tank equipment. And I just checked and the four fish I got out of that batch just had eight fry! Can't sell any yet, though. I've already started over once today, too, so I hope they stay healthy. I think I'm getting way too caught up in this, for as slow a game as it really is.
My last week of radiation is this week! It seems like it's gone by so fast. After this week, I'll just have the Herceptin. Here's hoping everything continues along smoothly.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Sping blows in
It must be spring, because the wind is blowing like crazy and there were tornadoes this morning on the other side of the state.
Another sign of spring: "our" geese are back! The past three springs since I bought this house (and the day I first came to look at it), there's been a pair of Canada geese that hangs around. I suspect they nest nearby, although I've seen them with goslings only a couple of times. Here's a photo from a couple of years ago:
We also have The Bachelor, our name for a single goose that has often made our yard a hangout. We don't know if it's male or female, though. I did get it to come close to me last year (baited with some Cheerios) to come close enough for a few photos:
Man, the wind is blowing so hard, and it's so dry, the place on the other side of the creek is almost obscured. The forecast called for winds gusting to 35 mph. I think they missed the mark by about 20 mph.
This can stop now, thank you. I'm just glad the pecan tree doesn't have leaves and pecans on it yet, otherwise, this might happen again.
Another sign of spring: "our" geese are back! The past three springs since I bought this house (and the day I first came to look at it), there's been a pair of Canada geese that hangs around. I suspect they nest nearby, although I've seen them with goslings only a couple of times. Here's a photo from a couple of years ago:
We also have The Bachelor, our name for a single goose that has often made our yard a hangout. We don't know if it's male or female, though. I did get it to come close to me last year (baited with some Cheerios) to come close enough for a few photos:
Man, the wind is blowing so hard, and it's so dry, the place on the other side of the creek is almost obscured. The forecast called for winds gusting to 35 mph. I think they missed the mark by about 20 mph.
This can stop now, thank you. I'm just glad the pecan tree doesn't have leaves and pecans on it yet, otherwise, this might happen again.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Time flies
Not that I've been having a lot of fun or anything, though. Not much going on at all, so I haven't had that much to say, I guess.
Radiation is continuing to go well. This week, the doc told me I had a level 1 skin reaction to the radiation, on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest. But, he said, if he could, he'd actually give a .5 reaction. I've read about some awful side effect to radiation -- severe sunburn-like effect, blisters, open wounds, etc. -- so I continue to be lucky with my reaction to treatment.
I have already gotten the "boost" part of my radiation. It started out as treatment for the whole breast. Then, last week, they said they'd start the six-treatment boost -- specifically targeting the radiation at the lumpectomy sight. The only difference I really noticed was that the machine was aimed from different angles, and each angle had one long blast rather than the two shorter ones with the whole-breast treatment. Thursday was back to the whole-breast treatment, and after Friday, I have only two weeks left to go!
My last MUGA scan came back unchanged, so I am continuing the Herceptin treatment. That's a breeze, though, compared to the earlier chemo drugs. No side effects -- I seem to be over the extremely dry nose -- and it only takes a couple hours or less. It's a nice break during the work week.
Nipper had a difficult time through the last week, however. It was Sunday or Monday when we noticed he was having a real hard time getting up and down, getting up on the couch or beds, etc. I gave him dog aspirin, and that seemed to help a little, but he just wasn't his usual self. Mom e-mailed me at work Wednesday and said he was hardly moving around and even seemed a little depressed, so I called the vet and got an appointment for the next day.
It seems to be his arthritis was acting up again. He wears a magnetic collar and eats a senior formula dogfood with glucosimine, but this was hitting him pretty hard. The vet gave us a sample of a new anti-inflammatory for dogs with arthritis and said if it is arthritis, we should see a change in about a week. Well, it only took one pill for him to be about 10 times better. By the time I got home from work Friday, he was almost his old self, wiggling around and dancing when he gets excited. He still has a little trouble getting up on the furniture and is slow to sit up or lie down, but he's much better. It's good to see.
The vet said it could be he might just need a little extra help with the arthritis in cold weather, but there is the chance he might need go on some medication permanently. Hopefully, that won't be the case just yet. At least it's warming up and we can get out for walks a bit more often now. We could both stand to lose a few pounds.
Radiation is continuing to go well. This week, the doc told me I had a level 1 skin reaction to the radiation, on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest. But, he said, if he could, he'd actually give a .5 reaction. I've read about some awful side effect to radiation -- severe sunburn-like effect, blisters, open wounds, etc. -- so I continue to be lucky with my reaction to treatment.
I have already gotten the "boost" part of my radiation. It started out as treatment for the whole breast. Then, last week, they said they'd start the six-treatment boost -- specifically targeting the radiation at the lumpectomy sight. The only difference I really noticed was that the machine was aimed from different angles, and each angle had one long blast rather than the two shorter ones with the whole-breast treatment. Thursday was back to the whole-breast treatment, and after Friday, I have only two weeks left to go!
My last MUGA scan came back unchanged, so I am continuing the Herceptin treatment. That's a breeze, though, compared to the earlier chemo drugs. No side effects -- I seem to be over the extremely dry nose -- and it only takes a couple hours or less. It's a nice break during the work week.
Nipper had a difficult time through the last week, however. It was Sunday or Monday when we noticed he was having a real hard time getting up and down, getting up on the couch or beds, etc. I gave him dog aspirin, and that seemed to help a little, but he just wasn't his usual self. Mom e-mailed me at work Wednesday and said he was hardly moving around and even seemed a little depressed, so I called the vet and got an appointment for the next day.
It seems to be his arthritis was acting up again. He wears a magnetic collar and eats a senior formula dogfood with glucosimine, but this was hitting him pretty hard. The vet gave us a sample of a new anti-inflammatory for dogs with arthritis and said if it is arthritis, we should see a change in about a week. Well, it only took one pill for him to be about 10 times better. By the time I got home from work Friday, he was almost his old self, wiggling around and dancing when he gets excited. He still has a little trouble getting up on the furniture and is slow to sit up or lie down, but he's much better. It's good to see.
The vet said it could be he might just need a little extra help with the arthritis in cold weather, but there is the chance he might need go on some medication permanently. Hopefully, that won't be the case just yet. At least it's warming up and we can get out for walks a bit more often now. We could both stand to lose a few pounds.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Don't expect more of this
Well, tonight was certainly interesting.
Once a month for several months now, I go to a meeting of S.O.S. -- Sisters of Survivorship, a breast cancer support group. We meet at Golden Corral, have a short opening session, eat, and then there's usually some kind of program. Lately, they've been getting away from the "let's talk about breast cancer" type of program. Last month, it was the owner of a local salon and spa talking about aromatherapy. Tonight, it was belly dancing.
Yes, believe it or not, in western Kansas there are belly dancers. This small group of women from a small town got started around the millennium looking for a new way to exercise, taking classes in Denver. After a couple years, they started performing for groups around the area and teaching classes. And they are by no means thin-as-a-rail women either. They didn't seem to care they have rolls and shook everywhere. In fact, they loved to laugh about it.
They demonstrated a couple dances, talked about some of the history and culture behind it, and then -- of course -- got us up to try it out. And it was actually fun. A year or so ago, I probably would have just sat in the corner and watched. But I figured what the hell, these women didn't care if they looked silly, and there were a lot of other people getting up who wouldn't know what they were doing either. So I got up, tried to move like the dancers, and a good time was had by all.
Just don't expect to see me doing figure eights or the camel anywhere in public.
Once a month for several months now, I go to a meeting of S.O.S. -- Sisters of Survivorship, a breast cancer support group. We meet at Golden Corral, have a short opening session, eat, and then there's usually some kind of program. Lately, they've been getting away from the "let's talk about breast cancer" type of program. Last month, it was the owner of a local salon and spa talking about aromatherapy. Tonight, it was belly dancing.
Yes, believe it or not, in western Kansas there are belly dancers. This small group of women from a small town got started around the millennium looking for a new way to exercise, taking classes in Denver. After a couple years, they started performing for groups around the area and teaching classes. And they are by no means thin-as-a-rail women either. They didn't seem to care they have rolls and shook everywhere. In fact, they loved to laugh about it.
They demonstrated a couple dances, talked about some of the history and culture behind it, and then -- of course -- got us up to try it out. And it was actually fun. A year or so ago, I probably would have just sat in the corner and watched. But I figured what the hell, these women didn't care if they looked silly, and there were a lot of other people getting up who wouldn't know what they were doing either. So I got up, tried to move like the dancers, and a good time was had by all.
Just don't expect to see me doing figure eights or the camel anywhere in public.
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