Great week! I went to Dr. Valin's yesterday and saw Dr. McMillian first, she explained what Dr. V. did in the procedure. He had to release the muscles on my left side and pull the muscles on the right side, to get the hernia to fall into the abdominal cavity and to stay there. The mesh covers just about all of my central abdomen...it's huge. He tacked it down with stitches on all sides and I have internal incision stitches as well.

She said she felt a fluid pouch over the hernia site, which she said is common, and it should go away. If it doesn't, they will have to do something about it....I didn't bother asking about it. Then she said I needed to come back in five weeks, that they wanted to keep a close eye on me.

Then Dr. Valin came in. He told me again that my hernia was HUGE. He commented that it "was good to see me without that alien coming out of my abdomen!" HA HA!!! He didn't say a word about any fluid pouch and said I could come back in six months!

Guess who's instructions I followed?

I go back in July, my regular annual appointment month.

Of course, I then went over to Ikea and carried my bag around...adding stuff to the point that I was regretting I didn't get a carriage. I did take one to haul the stuff out to the car. Got some good buys there. And, I found "ForFor's Snap Cheese" that is a lot like the Skane cheese that I loved so much in Sweden.

I hung around a bit at Ikea, biding my time, to avoid the traffic. It worked and I was able to travel home without problems.

Today I hooked up my new wireless printer, except I'm having trouble getting my laptop to recognize that the printer is turned on and is receiving a wireless signal. I shut it down and started it up again....no soap. I'll have my "IT" person look at it when she gets home from work. Ha ha!

Bad news from Ogunquit...we are not going to the Meadowmere for Camp Husky in January. The hotel is screwing Jack's guests out of the discount, to their detriment. They give lower rates to other people and we are REPEAT customers! Stupid financial decisions. So, I suggested we do Camp Husky here in Eastern CT. We'll see what we can set up. I do want to see the gang together.

Speaking of Camp Husky....the season starts Sunday, when they take on Holy Cross..a nice warm-up to the BIG EVENT on Tuesday, when they play Baylor at the Civic Center. Tuesday is also the night of Ellen's jewelry party...I messed up when I said I would go to it...having invited folks over here to see the big game. OOPS! I wrote to Ellen to beg off. So far, Joann is going to join us to watch the game....haven't heard from the others yet.

Sad news next door. Carol and Mark's oldest dog, Landry, has lung cancer. We were shocked, thinking it was something serious, but not that! We thought she was having pancreatic or liver problems...which is what the blood work showed. They sent her home to die. They give a week. She isn't in pain, but she isn't eating well...which is not good for a piggy Lab like her. Sandy got her a toy and will bring it over tonight. She loves toys. They are feeding her cheeseburgers, anything to get her to eat. It is so sad....she loves Mark so much and he is spending as much time with her that he can. She still goes for walks with him and stays out in the yard with him when he's working out there. It's amazing what dogs can endure....

I saw Ellen on Wednesday and I will be going back on the air in January. I can't say when, because there are some things she has to work out...but it's looking REALLY good. I asked Janet to be a co-host, to give me someone to "play off of" and to ask questions...make it more interesting...instead of my voice droning on and on....

I'm thinking up new segments for the show, like having movie reviews of films that come out about animals...or tv shows with animals as a focal point. And showing YouTube pet videos...they are not copyrighted and not everyone has a computer or knows how to see YouTube videos...

So many ideas....and I do have time to flesh them out. Now I have to start lining up guests, etc.

Tomorrow I go to the services for Vee and I'll get to see the Houle family and lots of folks I haven't seen in years. It's going to be surreal.

Sunday we have our SNEAK (Agility Club) banquet. I agreed to be put on the ballot for Club Secretary. I used to be secretary for other organizations...way before computers and email lists made it all easy! We have our banquet "Brunch" at Frank's Gourmet Grill in E. Lyme....I love that place. It will be great to see my fellow club members...some I haven't seen in a year.

Finally got my appointment for my CT scan. I also have to have a special blood test done...I don't recognize the name of it and neither does Sandy...it's for the research project I'm in...maybe it's the test they are developing to replace the CA 125. They are hoping this test is more reliable and can be used as a screening tool.

I now have a contact in the Norwich office...they are open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tracy, my contact, was SO HELPFUL! It was wonderful having someone who did the job and did what they said they were going to do. She even called me back to give me a heads up that the CT scan place was closed on Veteran's Day, so I knew to call to get my appointment on Wednesday.

Okay, now I have my chores just about done for the day...one big one left to do....grocery shopping. Sandy said any money I had left over I could keep. Big incentive to save money and good for me, since I depleted my checking account severely over the last two weeks! I am operating on fumes for the rest of the month. Sandy to the rescue!

Later!

Yesterday was a great day! Best I've felt in ages! I went out on my own in the car for the first time since my surgery and it was great to be behind the wheel.

Saw Dr. Galan and got my prescriptions refilled. Saw Kathleen in the hall while I was there, she was very happy to see my hernia was gone. So am I.

Made an appointment at the Comcast Studio to meet with Ellen this afternoon about getting the show back on the air. Very excited about that. I called Janet today and asked her to be a co-host with me...I think she would be good for keeping it light and funny. Maybe I'll rotate co-hosts....it's more fun that way...I mean having a co-host is more fun than doing it alone.

Then I made an appointment to get my hair done after my Ellen appt. So today will be busy.

Sat in the parking lot at the studio and had a long chat with Katie on the phone. She and the kids are so into the BMX racing and I am so happy for all of them. Timmy's Dad finally "got the picture" and is going to help financially so Timmy can get a bike and equipment. This is so good for Timmy...when he's with his Dad all they do is play video games...Katie does a good job of making him get up and out when he's with her.....now she's got him turned on to BMX and that is a wonderful thing.

Even Little Lera wants in on the act. She says she is going to do it when she gets bigger. Katie is going to get her a big wheel so she can compete in the big wheel races now.

Meanwhile, my Mariah keeps on improving...listening to her coaches. She's gathering the points now, moving up on the list. She told her Mom she only wants BMX stuff for Christmas! It's so good for her confidence and her health. She's learning great life lessons, like sticking to it to the end...keep on peddling! She's doing good in school too and I think BMX has a bit to do with that.

It's good for Katie too..we talked about the "natural high" one gets from being there and cheering. She gets so animated when she talks about it...haven't heard her this excited about something in a long time. AND, she's getting to be around other really nice parents...it's all good.

I've downloaded like a zillion songs into my new iPhone...I'm all set for awhile! I've been downloading music into the computer as I eat lunch, watch tv, etc. I'm into a routine now.

Thinking....just at the preliminary stage now....about setting up a web page on my Mac. They give you lots of space....and part of the space is a blog set-up. I may MAY...move this whole blog over to that. If I do, I'll give plenty of notice. It would be easier for me to upload pictures, make changes in the appearance of the thing, post videos, etc. We'll see. I have to fool around with it for awhile until I get it right.

Worried about my old friend Susie, who just had a pacemaker installed at UMass....she's still there. Sue has a "weird heart"....I think when they discovered it years ago there were only five people in the world who had a heart like hers...or something like that. It's either upside down or backwards, I can't remember which...at least that's how she explained it to me at the time.

Sue is a wonderful person...she lives every day like it's her last...probably because they told her she'd never make it past 27. She has traveled the world and recently retired after a long career of teaching reading. I don't know anyone who is a more vociferous reader. She's read them all.

I'm keeping her in my thoughts and hoping for a good outcome with this surgery. She's had enough worries....

Also, Saturday we have the services for my old friend, Vivian who passed away in Florida a few weeks back. Rachel is bringing her ashes home and we are all getting together to remember Vee. So many good memories, so many laughs, I remember them all. I just wish I had gone to see her when we were in Tampa last fall after the cruise...but I didn't have the energy then.

Vee was my French teacher at Putnam Grammar School and then again for a year in high school. After I graduated high school and was at Annhurst, we became friends and stayed friends for the rest of our lives. I lost track of her for awhile, but saw her again a few years back at her nephew's funeral. We reestablished contact and have kept up through email....even though it was Rachel who was doing the email because Viv didn't use the computer....typical.

I will never forget her....that laugh, that smile...that prematurely gray hair! RIP...

Busy day ahead...

Later!

Been a quiet week, spent recuperating, mainly. Trying to lay low and be quiet. Not always succeeding. Things have been sore, especially a certain spot in my lower left quadrant....which has been beyond sore.

Today I feel the best I've felt in a long time. I do have a weird sensation in the area where the mesh is. I wonder if it's the sensation one gets when one's abdominal tissues are working their way through the mesh. That's what SHOULD be going on now.

The Fed Ex guy came to the door today to deliver a package. I instinctively took it as he handed it to me...only to realize that it weighed more than I should be carrying....20 lbs. OOPS! I didn't feel anything pop though. Good thing.

Had a good day yesterday, even if the Pats lost miserably. Taylor and Andrew came up for dinner, arriving first. Later Jean, Frank and Ryan arrived and we had a great meal of steak, cheesy potatoes, salad and sliced cukes. Oh...and fried onions. All of these are Andrew's favorites.

It was Andrew's first visit to our house, so we were quite excited. He loved the house and toured all around....he especially loved the work benches and the garage. Guys....

Tomorrow I see Dr. Galan...first time I've seen her in ages....I usually see Kathleen the APRN, but she's on vacation I guess. On Thursday I go to New Haven to see Dr. Valin for follow-up. I think that will go good. I'm hoping to have enough left in my tank to make a trip to Ikea on the way out of town.

Husky season starts up soon and I can't wait. We have a lot of excitement to look forward to this season...watching the freshman grow, seeing if they can continue their unbeaten streak and, of course, we are slated to go to New York to see them play at Madison Square Garden on 12/19.

Okay, back to reclining....

later!

Post Weekend, Post Surgery

The weekend in Lenox was eventful....and maybe I'll leave it at that. We had pot luck Friday night and laughed a lot. Saturday AM Harriet and I made breakfast for everyone, yum. Then a bunch of us went to the Shaker Village, which I enjoyed a LOT more than I thought I would. It was so very very interesting and the guides were excellent.

Saturday night we all went out to a great Italian restaurant, Frankie's. I had the linguine with clam sauce...the clams were tiny and so sweet. Sunday AM Harriet and I made breakfast again and then we all loaded up our cars and headed home.

In between there were moments of hilarity, drama and discovery. Overall I had a good time. We are planning to return in the spring. The house was very old and very nicely decorated and furnished. We did "tours" just checking out the artwork and then another tour to check out the different carpets! It is called the "Winter Palace" and was part of an estate that was landscaped by the same woman who did the landscape design for the Harkness Mansion...so we all felt a connection.

Robin and I rode together and we actually got lost on the way up....we ended up in NY! This was despite the fact that we had two GPS systems talking to us and we had handwritten directions! I think we were so engrossed in our conversation we missed the women telling us to leave the highway.

And on top of that, I got stuck in the wrong lane, went through the Speed Pass lane, when I don't have a speed pass! I immediately exited at the toll office and tried to pay the toll...they told me that I would get the ticket in the mail. Nice.

Oh and another expense from the weekend...my iPhone somehow got damp. I don't know how...it was working fine one minute and the next minute it was having problems...the screen was getting darker and darker. Then it was turning itself on right after I had shut it off...then it stayed on permanently, then the view finder was all cloudy and when I took the rubber protective cover off, there was a tiny bit of moisture inside. I don't know if it was from the radiator or steam from my bath...dunno, but the end result is that I had to buy a new one today.

Thursday I got a call that I needed to get a chest x-ray, lab work and an EKG done. HELLO! They wait to the last damn minute to tell me...so instead of being able to rest up Friday AM for my drive to MA in the afternoon, I'm having to fly down to New Haven for 9am.

I must have passed all the tests because there I was bright and early...5:30AM....Monday, going to the surgical center. The surgery went well and I was out of Recovery earlier than Sandy thought I would be. He said it was a HUGE hernia, he had to use two of the largest size mesh pieces. I also have seven laproscopic holes in me...four on my right side and three on my left, where he went in to tighten things up for me.

I was up and walking before 4pm...much to the nurse's surprise...but they don't know me. I'm the walker when I'm in the hospital. I had the room to myself, it was very quiet in my hallway, only one other person there. I dozed in 20 and 40 minute intervals, as I always do in the hospital...all day and all night. I got up to pee every 20-40 minutes all night, so I got plenty of practice in getting out of bed....OUCH!

I had a student nurse working with me yesterday and I taught her some things. We had nice talks and she is going to do all right for herself. Sandy came down around 11 with Truman and Rocky in the car. They had been to their PT appts and they came right from there. We hurried the discharge procedure along and we know how to do and I was out of there around noon.

So good to be in my own bed, but now I need the pillow to protect my stomach from loving dogs. I'm using Bubbie's big pillow from her car kennel. It was just washed because she had puked on it and it is bigger than the pillow Linda made for me (the one I usually use)...this one is big enough to cover the open area as well as the laproscopic holes. And, by the way, they are all glued shut! COOL. No staples...I have stitches and big gobs of glue on the wound sites.

Well...it's almost time for me to take my pain pill and climb the stairs to bed. I love my own bed, but it would be so much easier for me if it had side rails to grab onto and pull myself around. I can't use my abdominal muscles yet. It's a bitch to get out of bed when you have nothing to grab onto.

I think today will be the worst of it...tomorrow should be 100% better. That's what I'm counting on anyway.

Nighty night!

Sitting at the agility trial in Rhode Island at the indoor sports facility. It's awesome here. Nice bathrooms, little snack bar, pizza place across the parking lot....it's warm in here....what a nice change from the usual heat, cold, rain, wind, porta potties, etc.

Today Rocky and Truman are running. So far they have done well...but no Qs...we'll see how they do in the last event. Bubbles is along for the ride and is sleeping in her kennel, seemingly immune to the barking going on around her.

Yesterday Joyce and I went to Putnam. We have been planning this for months and little did we realize that the day we picked was also the Pumpkin Festival day in Putnam! They had craft booths set up all around by the train station, the "Bud Cars" were there, bringing people from Worcester and dropping them off in Putnam and a whole bunch of Putnam area folks rode the train to New London, to spend the day there.

It was cool seeing the old train that we used to ride on to Worcester when we went to see Gramma and Grampa Leavstrom. We used to love to take that ride. My grandmother would always tell the conductor that it was my birthday so he would let me ride free. It wasn't really my birthday, but it was close enough (within a week). It was smart of her...and she would make us scrunch down so we would look shorter, so she could say we were "child" riders...and get a cheaper rate.

Anyway, we roamed around town, seeing Bob and Wini along the way. We had lunch in the Congregational Church basement--chili and sandwich and apple crisp...YUM! We ran into Peter Auclair at the church...he told us that the Class of 66 and our class are going to have a joint reunion, planned for July 2nd at Point Breeze. Liz Franklin is organizing it. Thank Goodness for Liz...she told me this idea a few years back and it didn't happen then and we didn't have any reunion at all! We haven't had one since 1997!

So, now we will have a reunion and I can't wait. It will be so much fun. I wrote to Fran and told her about it...I hope she comes up for it. I have to let Mark Russell know also. They technically didn't graduate with us, but c'mon! They were in school with us for so long, they deserve to attend...Donnie Johnston too.

I got some more scarves...I'm addicted to scarves. Got some beautiful ones on sale. I also got a pin made from a pottery shard that I bought from Wini's daughter-in-law....the shard is almost in the shape of the State of CT. it's kind of cool looking.

Saw Romeo...dressed as the Town Crier...what the hell, he has the voice for it! And Kim Mitchell, who was recently reunited with her birth mother...she showed me pictures of her mother and her new siblings. I think that is so neat. She was adopted from Germany and found her mother living in Leominster MA! How strange is that...and yet you keep hearing about such things happening. I'm happy for her...her mother is thrilled and so is Kim.

i was looking for Rachel, but couldn't find her.

We went over to the St. Mary's cemetery. I could hardly find Mummy's tombstone, the grass was so grown over it. That's what happens when you have a flat stone. I finally found it and scratched the dirt and grass away. I have to go back there with a little spade and maybe something to kill the grass around it to keep it at bay for awhile.

We went to Joyce's Dad's stone and her grandparents. We wandered around the cemetery for awhile, amazed at how many of the names there were people we know and several of them were people we went to school with. Some great memories were stirred up in that visit...and in the whole trip to Putnam.

We came home around 2:30....we had arrived around 11:30. That was enough for two chemo kids. We were proud of ourselves, for how much we walked around and how long we stayed on our feet. We also vowed to do it again next Spring and this time maybe we'll invite some of our old classmates to join us.

Putnam had on it's best dress yesterday and I was very proud of my hometown. They pulled off a very classy, nice event. People from all over were roaming the streets with their little maps, looking for bargains and finding them.

It was a great day.

Another busy week of med appointments and meetings coming up. I go see the gastroenterologist on Wednesday, the Allergist on Tuesday. I'm pleased with the results of my non-allergy meds--the two nose sprays he had me use...but the asthma stuff didn't seem to do anything...I guess I don't have asthma!

I'm hoping Dr. Sansone, my butt doctor, can figure out for once and for all what is wrong with me. I'm soooooooo tired of getting up all night long. I know that grinders aggravate it...I think it's the lettuce. So that's one thing I have to avoid...not all lettuce, but iceberg lettuce for sure. I did have trouble with it right after my gastric bypass surgery, so it makes sense that it's affecting me now too...but that's just one thing. It's not the whole answer to my problems.

Dr. Sansone is very bright, she'll figure it out.

GO PATS!!!

Later!

Been busy this week and it feels GREAT! Tuesday I went to the Main Street Grill in Niantic to attend the Seaside Retirees semi annual lunch. Saw "Dr. Bob" Schneider there, first time I've seen him in ages!

Bob told me that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a year and a half ago. He couldn't sign his name, couldn't walk, etc and I believe he said he ended up at Bridebrook for rehab. But then he did a little dance to show me that he is cured! He attributes it to the medicine and the healing services he attended at church. I attribute it to doctor diagnostic error.

Whatever, he is back up and out and it was fun to see him.

Ellen had arranged for a lady to come speak to us about a variety of issues effecting seniors and once again, I felt like an outsider...there to support "those old people." Later, when Mary Ann noted that my hair is grey I told her to "shut the fuck up!'

You get the picture.

Afterwards I snuck down to Bridebrook to visit Flo Robinson, who broke her foot and is in there for rehab. She's being tube fed because they also noted her difficulty with swallowing. She's going to go somewhere in Hartford and they are going to give her a botox treatment to stretch that area, so she can eat again. Hmmmmmm....wonder if this is something they know about in Tennessee???

Flo looked good considering and we had a nice visit. She has a set of Sennheiser wireless headphones for listening to her TV with her hearing aids. She had me try it and I loved it! GREAT SOUND! We have been looking for good wireless headphones for Sandy to use when she watches the shows that have all the beeps and high pitched noises (like CSI) because Bubbles freaks out when she hears those noises.

I'm going to see if I can find that online to get for Sandy for Christmas.

Today is Sandy's birthday...she is now 47. A mere child. I hope she gets to retire in a few years, so we can travel around and enjoy retirement together. When we first got together I thought about that, but didn't realize just how much of a difference it makes to have both partners retired at the same time. Now I am home to help do the house stuff, so she can focus on work and the dogs. But I am looking forward to when we are both free to travel, have fun and do things together.

Yesterday I got to work outside most of the day, helping "the Js," Janet, Jess and Jeremy put up their new shed. Poor things, they had been laboring over this for days, putting in the floor and then assembling the shed. I helped them get over the hump....they were getting tired of the whole thing.

They got the shed from Sears and of course the directions and diagrams are horribly cryptic or missing. They never include enough screws, washers, etc.

We got the roof on yesterday and I had to leave to feed the dogs. They finished the job after I left.

It felt great to take a nice hot shower, get changed into comfy clothes and relax, after working all day.

I'm looking forward to more and more of those kind of days.

Still waiting for someone, anyone, to call me back about repairing our roof. I called one guy who's name I got from Angie's list and still haven't heard back from him. I'm going to go down the list and call them all....and hope that someone has pity and calls us...and then actually shows up here at the house!

Today I went over to Uncas for the Mortality Review meeting...saw some folks and visited a brief time. I'm supposed to go to Wallingford next week but Russ is coming in the AM to teach me how to use the new Apple MacBook I got. So, I don't think I'll be going to Wally World. I gave my feedback about that meeting to Betty today when I saw her...so I'm off the hook.

I did my cleaning downstairs today for Sandy's birthday. Unfortunately, she has to work until 7:30 tonight...again. This has been happening a lot yesterday and I'm going to have to put my foot down soon. She is getting tired. I try to help--feed the dogs and do the work around here so she doesn't have to, but I'm getting worried about her. She is a delicate flower and when she gets rundown, she gets ill.

I think we'll get Chinese for supper tonight, her favorite.

Later!

Still cautiously optimistic that my big purge the other day cured my bm problems. Last night I didn't get up until 5:30 this morning! YAY! I was so shocked when I checked the time.

Finally broke down and joined "Angie's List" online...for help in getting names of reputable and reliable home improvement guys. We are having the trouble with the roof leaking when we have heavy rain. It did it last year too, but now we want to try again to do something about it. Last year we called someone who said he'd come out the next day and we never heard from him again.

Well, I called a guy the other day...I should have been tipped off when he answered his business phone with "hello?" I had to ask, "is this Wickhams?" He offered to come out the next day and I got all excited. Of course, he was a no show-no call. I called him back and asked him to at least give us a call....nope!

So, Angie's List it is. I have the names of three companies that have gotten good reviews. Let's hope we get lucky.

Yesterday I finally finished the job of cleaning the kitchen floor tile grout. It looks great. Now I keep it up and look for something that will put a good seal on it. And to think I almost hired someone to come do this job for me...now thanks to Google (finding the right solution for me) I have done it myself and saved the $$.

This week is a busy one..."off" Monday, Tuesday is lunch with the Seaside Retirees at Main St. Grill in Niantic; Wednesday I go back to Dr. Ber, the allergist; Thursday I have Mortality Review at Uncas and Friday I'm off again. Saturday Joyce and I are going to Putnam...they are having the Great Pumpkin Festival up there, with lots of crafters booths and pumpkins I guess. We've been talking about going up there for a long time...it's finally going to happen.

Thursday is Sandy's birthday. Thank goodness I already bought her present when I was in Sweden, I'm almost out of $$ and I still have two weeks before the eagle flies again. Cutting it close! HA ha!

I also have just two weeks and one day before this damned hernia gets fixed and I get my tummy tucked. Right now the other hernia is bulging next to it...getting bigger and bigger too. My abdomen looks like I have babies heads in there....one big head and one smaller one next to it. I have to wear oversized tops to hide it...otherwise I look grotesque. A good look for Halloween...too bad I'm not going to be here to use it.

Now...back to the Patriots as they try to win this tie game.

Later!