Went to the funerals. Made it through the whole day, both days. Saw Grace, briefly, at Mike's funeral. I didn't go over to Helen's house afterwards, it would have been too much as I had to stop at the Tractor Supply store on my way home.

I returned the pole for the Purple Martin house that I bought last year...it had parts missing and no directions...someone had opened the box before I got it. I wanted to do a swap for a new pole, but there was only one box and guess what? Someone had opened it and there were NO parts (just the pole) and no directions!

I got a rain check. Hope it comes in fast, the birds will be in the neighborhood any day now. If they don't find a house, they'll nest elsewhere.

Speaking of birds, the hummers are here. Sandy had one buzz her tonight out on the deck. I immediately got up and put the water on to boil to make food for them. Tomorrow I'll put out the feeders and sit back and watch.

Saw Scott at Pat's funeral...and Rose Josiah and Della Evans. Haven't seen those two in ages. Meghan Stone dropped in when we were out in the parking lot after it was all over.

I didn't go to the VFW for the after service get-together....again it would have been too much and in the middle of the ceremony it dawned on me that I had to go get my bloodwork done! I stopped by Backus on the way home and got that chore taken care of.

There was a good group in the waiting room while I was there, we were all chatting and laughing. A lot livelier and funnier than the group that is there when I go in the AM...I think I'll go on Friday afternoons from now on!

What am I talking? I'm hoping that was the last time in a long time that I have to go to Backus for bloodwork! Next week I get it done at Women and Infants and after that, I shouldn't need regular testing....except for my physical.

My counts are down a bit. I notice some bruises on my arms and I have no idea where how I got them. Also, I cut myself on a scissors tonight and I was bleeding all over the keyboard, and the cut wasn't that bad! So...I guess I still have to be careful...as much as it pains me to say it.

Tomorrow Deanna and Lorraine are coming by and we are going to Buttonwoods for ice cream...because we can. Sandy has the weekend off, because of her new job and she is going to relish every second of it...she will be relishing a few hours in the AM as she stays in bed late!

I'm looking forward to planting the seeds I have picked up. I got some seed pots and will be keeping them under the plant light system in the cellar until I'm sure there is no danger of frost..which might not be until JULY at the rate we are going!

I got some roma tomato seeds and some cherry tomato; a variety of morning glories to plant around the arbor; and some herbs etc. I picked up a herb pack and a salsa pack at Ocean State, we'll see how they do...I didn't pay a fortune for them...it's an experiment on my part.

If it works, we have herbs and salsa!

Ooooooh...the Sox are tied in the ninth vs Baltimore. There is one out and two on....here's hoping the Sox can cash in on this opportunity. Of course, the way they seem to be enjoying extra inning games so far this season....

I have a "new" night time routine....I have a glass of wine and two pieces of chocolate to finish my day. Birgitta gave me this in Sweden when I visited and I loved the combo. Tonight I had two Lindor truffles and wine.

The wine helps me sleep I swear. I just have a little glass, but it's enough to just make me sleepy. And that is a HUGE thing for me...who lies awake for hours many a night.

Uh oh...JD just struck out....two down, two on.

Big Papi...can he get it done?

I don't have the confidence I used to have....I don't think anyone does anymore. It's sad,really. But wouldn't it be something if he put it outta there???

Let's watch.....

Baseball is soooooo slow....a beautiful part of the game I think.

Still watching....

More shots of players in the dugout...now it's 3-1...will he be swinging???

He swung...two strikes....they fooled him....

He got fooled again! Struck out!

SURPRISE!!! We're headed to the 10th inning!

Well...I'll be finishing this and signing off. I'll stay up awhile to see if they get the W...big day again tomorrow...have to get my sleep.

Nighty night!

Been busy spending money. Bought some pillow cases from Overstock.com. I had ordered sheets from bestbargains.com, but they only come with two pillowcases. We have SIX pillows on our bed! So, I shopped around for "generic" pillowcases and got pretty good prices on Overstock (the site Maria swears by).

Good prices and all...pillowcases are still damned expensive! Why the hell do we have to have six pillows on our bed???

I'm not giving up my pillows. When I was a kid I used to dream of the day that I would have two pillows. I guess I wasn't content with that...I had to get greedy and add two more.

Yes, Sandy manages to "make do" with "only" two pillows!

I've been busy.

Yesterday I got up at 11 AM and cleaned the first floor, dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed the bathroom, scrubbed the sink, windexed everything that has a glassy surface. I would do a job, sit and take a break, work some more, break, etc. It was very satisfying and I slept like a log last night.

Which means I got up earlier today: I rolled out of bed before 9 AM. Today was clean the second floor day...and iron Sandy's outfits for work and do laundry. Did it all, folks! Then I felt sick...took a long nap and felt better.

Joanie Phelps surprised me with a phone call this AM...said she was coming up to see me and bring me something. She came a bit before 6PM and presented me with a FANTASTIC AUTOGRAPHED picture of Maya Moore in a game vs North Carolina. I was so
thrilled and surprised with this wonderful gift! She bought it at a silent auction at her church to raise money for the youth group. It is fantastic and now I have to find a great place to hang it.

Then Sandy came home from her training day in Massachusetts. I made shrimp scampi and a nice Ceasar salad....a simple meal that took me all of a half hour to put together. We even sat down at the table to eat...like real human beings. For too long now we have eaten on tv trays in the living room, while we watch our recorded shows, because of Sandy's old work schedule...we didn't have that much time together so we got into that horrible habit. I'm trying to get us back to the table.
on
Now that she has a job she can talk about without it being a HIPPA violation, we can sit and eat and chat about her job. She likes the job. Oh, yesterday she took some pictures of her office on her iPhone and sent them to me. I am so happy for her...she has always wanted to have an office and now she has a very nice one...albeit small. She shares her office with another person...as I did when I went to work for the state. But the difference is, her office mate is very nice...not a crazed prankster like my office mate was!

Tonight I feel so good I actually had a glass of wine. A small glass...so I had another. Now I'll take my meds and I will sleep like a baby!

On an ending note, read the names of two friends in today's obituaries. First, Mike Molonson...Grace's brother...who I got to know over the years. A true Gentle Giant. He died very suddenly, but in doing so, avoided a horrible death from bone cancer. He didn't even know he had cancer...and it was at stage four. A blood clot mercifully ended it for him before he could even spend a week in the hospital. I think it was for the best.

The second name was Patsy Dickson...who had the office next to mine for awhile at Seaside. We always had a good time and I have many fond memories of Patsy. She retired around the time I did and I haven't seen her since...I wish I had called her now. I used to go by her house occasionally, but dike didn't feel free to just drop in. I hope this makes me smarten up....and I don't make that same mistake with someone else down the road.

I'll sign off with that thought....I'll be going to Mike's funeral on Thursday and Patsy's on Friday.

Nighty night.

Technology

Every once in awhile I am reminded of how my life has changed because of technology and my use of same.

I'm sitting in my living room, watching the Sox (down 1-0 to Baltimore), texting with Katie in Arizona who is watching the Celts and keeping me up on that game; texting to Lynne about getting together; and writing this on the laptop.

That's just a sample of life here. What got me thinking, and appreciating, technology is the fact that I found an old Army pal, Barry Farber on Facebook the other night.

Barry was one of my bosses at the mental health clinic where I worked at Ft Jackson when I was stationed there. I loved him the minute I met him. He was so anti-Army....only came in because he signed an agreement to give the Army two years if they agreed to leave him alone when he went through his residency. He is a psychiatrist, one of my favorites.

He fought the powers that be about just about everything. Once they threatened him with jail time if he didn't reveal something that was told in confidence. He told them to go ahead and throw him in jail. He stood up for gay soldiers when no one else did. My first impression of him was right on....he was wonderful.

He also didn't know how to act in a military manner and that provided us with lots of laughs. He truly made our clinic like M*A*S*H and we loved him for it. We (the enlisted people) had had to endure some bad crap from some pompous psychologists we worked with...turned out they were the rotten apples when all was said and done.

I am so glad I found him. And he hasn't been that far away from here. He's been working for UMass at Amherst and recently retired and set-up private practice. I'll bet they loved him at UMass!

See...the internets is a wonderful place. I have found old Army, college and high school pals. I have found and been found by, relatives I didn't even know I had....which has led me to go to Sweden once and will be returning there this summer.

I have never been afraid of technology. I've always been one to keep up with the latest gadgets. Not that I go out and buy them right away....I wait for the price to drop and the bugs to be worked out. But I'm not afraid of them. I love it when I can use it to do positive things and to find ways to make it work for me.n't

I can't wait to get that Kindle and see how that works for me....

Oh...I love that Pedroia and Orsillo ad that NESN shows...he he...

I digress.

Okay..Celts have tied the game after being down by 12 or more. I think I'll watch them for awhile and chat via text with Katie about the game.

Sandy is at the agility trial. I went yesterday and surprised myself at how much I was able to do and how long I was able to do it. I told Katie I think I'm finally getting the hang of this chemo thing! Ha ha...just as I'm on the verge of having my last round of chemo.

I told Sandy I would make her grits and eggs for supper when she comes home. Poor thing, she's worked such long hours this week and had to get up so early five days...for work and for the trial. Now she's out there in the rain, working hard for the club. She deserves a nice grits and eggs meal.

Later!

Dear Diary,

Today I did something I haven't done since around 1980....I BOUGHT A DRESS!!!!

Yep, a nice little black and white number with an empire waist. It is a little high on my knee, and some of my saggy skin shows on my thigh, but it's a dress!

Now I have to find some places to wear it!

Sandy worked from 4 am to 1pm again today...and she does it again tomorrow...three days in a row! This is getting to be a bad habit! She said it won't happen again for a while at least.

Anyway, when she came home, she took me down to Backus for my bloodwork. I think my platelets are down as I bled a bit after that stick.

Then she took me to Kohl's where we picked out new towels (on sale--half price)...we got three sets, different colors. She is getting sick of "all the blue towels" we have now.

Then she went out and sat in the car with Lily and Truman, running the AC while I continued to shop...getting the aforementioned dress and some more capris and a couple of tops....nice.

Then we traveled up the road to Ocean State Job Lot...and I got my peonie supports, potting soil for my tomato and herb seeds; grape jam to put in the yard to attract the orioles (Pam's tip) and other odds and ends. OH! I bought every thistle sock they had...they charge only $1.39....Mackey's charges $5.00!!!

I also found a feather duster that is on an extension pole, just what I need to reach spots in the vaulted ceilings in the bathroom and upstairs hall. I'm sick of the spider webs I see up there. Tomorrow they are HISTORY!

I took an energy drink to make this afternoon possible...and it worked good. I collapsed after supper. Now I'm vegging in the recliner, watching the Sox...they are doing their darndest to blow this game.

Got disturbing news about my friend Jim who is fighting cancer. He heard from the doctor today that he shouldn't eat or drink again, for the risk of aspirating the food/liquid, which can lead to pneumonia (and death). Jim doesn't want to give up eating and I understand, but I do have mixed feelings about it. I know people who have lived for years with feeding tubes....but to give up food is a huge deal.

It reminds me that I am so lucky that I don't have to make that kind of decision. I wonder what I would decide? Quality of life is so important. What good is quantity of life if you are miserable?

It makes me very sad.

I'm going to close on that note.

Nighty night!

Fifth Chemo!

I'm in the full recline position in the hospital bed now, getting the "bad" drug (the one I had the allergic reaction to) over the next four and a half hours or so.

Everything is going fine. I have a nice nurse from my old unit Four East, her name is Anne and she remembers me from when I was inpatient. Unfortunately I don't remember her...she was a first shifter who used to come into my room first thing in the AM when I was groggy.

Anyhoo....Sandy is here and has decided to stay with me through the whole process, even though she has to work her last third shift tonight. Monday she starts her new job. She did go in for an hour or so yesterday to start learning stuff for the new job and she really liked it. I am so happy for her.

I've been busy this week. Went to get my lab work done at Backus on Wednesday, early AM and then I went down to L&M and saw Dr. DiSilvestro. Then I was feeling good and went over to visit Ellen. She's doing good and looks good. We had a nice visit and made plans for me to come visit again when I go down to L&M in three weeks.

Then I went to Chester's Barbecue and got myself a pulled pork sandwich. I took it up to Jean's (she didn't want a sandwich) and visited with her and the kids, who are on vacation and were there having lunch. After that I was tired so I reclined in the living room and took a little nap. That was refreshing and so I hit the road to home, stopping for gas along the way.

Thursday I cleaned the house, downstairs, changed the sheets and did loads of laundry. OH! Tuesday I hauled out the ironing board and picked out outfits for Sandy to wear to work....I had to iron shirts and slacks and hang them in the closet, organized according to what goes with what. Put together quite a few outfits. I'm getting good at this.

Wednesday night (I know I'm jumping around) I used my Skype set-up to call Mary Anne Hunt in Florida. I saw that she had called a few times and I missed them. So, we had a nice video call and got to see each other for the first time in about 30 years!! YIKES!! She looks great and I got to see Fred too....vaguely in the background...and I got to see her dog, Sassy. I showed her Bubbles and Rocky. It was great chatting with her and catching up on things.

Then, after I hung up with her, the house phone rang. It was Carol, calling from Tennessee, using her Skype. We had a nice chat too. I have never met her in person, but we hit it off immediately as I knew we would. Got to talk to Jim too and that was wonderful! We'll do a video call someday soon.

I have to get Birgitta and Mats to get Skype, so we can talk to each other and see each other. It's great! I HATE talking on the phone, but being able to see the person makes it feel more like a chat, not a phone call. I really like it! AND, it's free! How can you mess with that?

I got our tickets for Sweden ordered....two of the last nine available for the flight we wanted. If we were going now, we wouldn't be getting anywhere...what with the volcano eruption in Iceland grounding all the flights. That's where we will go, to Iceland and then to Copenhagen.

Birgitta has found a good hotel in the city where we can stay for a good price. She is going to get the plane tickets to Stockholm and back and the hotel reservation. This hotel sounds nice and it's very close to the palace and to the Old Town...so if I get tired, I can hike back to the hotel and take a rest if I need to and the others can continue their touring.

Everything is going well. I am so lucky. One more chemo and I'm done, hopefully for good. I'm keeping good thoughts in my head and heart about that.

Well...I'm going to doze for awhile....nighty night!

Busy day again today! Sandy worked last night, so I snuck out of bed at 10:30, took a shower and started the day, lounging in the chaise out in the back yard (the deck was still off-limits due to the Thompson's Water Seal)sipping my protein shake and reading The Day.

Oh, Bubbles always gets me up in the AM....she climbs up from under the covers and bounces off my chest (almost always managing to launch herself from the port I have installed in my chest), then she gets a toy in her mouth and walks up and down me while making these weird little moaning, whimpering noises.

Of course, once I get up and start getting dressed, she goes back to bed!

I fall for it every day...and today was no exception.

Anyway, when Sandy got up we headed up to Colchester to have her car serviced. I didn't think I would make it, I was so tired as we were leaving. However, Sandy gave me a jolt of adrenalin when she almost ran into the back of a car while we were getting near the highway. She said she did it on purpose to give me the jolt. I don't know, but it does seem that I perked up after that incident!

After the car was done we went to Harry's for cheeseburgers. Delicious!

When we were coming home, we saw that the Young Marines were handing out flags, for the funeral procession for Kyle Griffin, who was killed in Afghanistan, and whose funeral is today. Sandy and I went home, I tossed on nicer clothes, got some flags and went down to RTE 138. At first there was just a handful of us and as we waited, more and more people from the neighborhood came down. I took lots of pictures and will post them on my Facebook page.

There were loads of state police cars escorting the funeral procession, and the Freedom Riders were there...maybe close to 100 motorcycles. It was very touching.

Frank and Jean came up to watch the dogs (so Lily didn't have to go in the kennel) while we were in Colchester. Frank fixed the lights out by the garden pond. He also put up the new huge umbrella that Jean bought us for the deck...it's a ten foot umbrella on a stand that sits in the corner of the deck....it's more like a canopy! AWESOME!!! Can't wait to use it this summer when it gets so damned hot out there.

Now I'm pretty pooped. Will watch some of my recorded shows, "Pacific" probably and then I'm hitting the hay early. Tomorrow I'm going to try to vacuum around here and be of some use.

Nighty night!

Well, I've had some busy days...going out Friday and yesterday.

Friday I had to get my bloodwork done. They had told me that I had to go to central registration at Backus in order to get my bloodwork done. So I traipsed over there and tried to register. They couldn't find my standing orders. I mentioned that I usually go to the MOB blood draw station...they said, "oh they must have them there."

Then I asked, "don't I have to come here before I can go to MOB to get my blood drawn?" They said NO! They didn't pull the registrar from MOB! DOH! They hadn't communicated properly to the MOB people...figures!

So I schlep over to MOB and get my blood drawn. What a relief to know that I can still go there and don't have to go to the main hospital first! WHEW!!! Of course, I don't have to go that many more times...but who knows? I don't want to jinx myself by being too cocky!

After I had my blood work done I went to Doc's Barbecue and got the pulled pork this time. It was good, but not great. It was mushy and had some hard bits of gristle in it. I'll try the ribs the next time, before I issue a final verdict. The people there are wonderful...so friendly. I'm hoping that things improve a bit. The food isn't bad...just not fantastic.

Yesterday I went to Lynne's to meet Franklin, the new addition to the family. Franklin is a two year old (maybe) bassett hound-labrador mix. They call them "bassadors" so David came up with the idea to name the dog after a famous ambassador. They chose Franklin, for Ben Franklin. I love the name....and I love Franklin. He is so sweet, he looks like a small yellow lab with a hound face (and ears). So cute!

I got to meet Lynne's friend Terry, whose name I have heard for years, but have never met. She was there too and we had a nice, brief visit. Then I felt myself starting to fade, so I hopped in the car, came home and crashed with a two hour nap.

Today Janet and Barry came over in the AM to bring me a clipping from yesterday's Norwich Bulletin, Wini was honored as the Newsmaker of the Day, for her recent award for 25 years of service as a docent at the Pink House. They had a nice picture of her and a nice write-up about her career in education and mentioned that she is married to Bob Miller. Nice.

Then Anne Masterson came over to pick up the two big boxes and one big bag of books that I'm donating to the Otis Library book sale, being held next weekend. Bummer, I can't go as I'm hoping to have chemo on Friday. Last year I went and got a lot of great books. If you go, bring bags to haul your loot away!

Now I just finished watching the Sox beat the Royals and flipping back and forth between them and the Masters tournament. I love this time of year! Jacoby got hurt in the ninth inning...he got kneed in the chest---hoping that it's a bruise and not a broken rib. He left the game clutching his chest and looking pained.

I have shepherd's pie cooking in the oven. It should be done about now, so I'll sign off and get the plates out. I'll say:

Nighty night!

Oh! "Treme" starts tonight on HBO. I've got it all set to record all episodes and will report here on how it is. I loved "Homicide Life on the Streets" and "The Wire" the two shows that these guys have put on before. "Treme" is about post flood New Orleans....can't wait to see it.