Half way there....

The bathroom is half done.  The shower is tiled, the floor is tiled.  The electrician is coming Saturday to install the new vanity light and prepare the area for the installation of the wiring and thermostat for the floor heat.  The shower door guy came today to measure for the glass.

The shower door will be ready in "two weeks."   I wanted to scream!  Two weeks is the answer for everything! 

I can't complain...Jim has been great, he's coming back on Monday to start prepping the walls for paint and to install the trim.  Still have to finish the plumbing in the shower, install the toilet and install the vanity top and faucets.

I'm glad I didn't put the sealer on the vanity...just as I suspected, some damage was done during the work on the bathroom.  I'll wait until the old top is removed and the new one installed before I do the touch-up and the sealing. 

I was kidding when the work started in the second week of July that I wanted it done "by the end of August"....now that doesn't look like a joke anymore! 

Today I ran out of steam....I had NO ENERGY....the shower door guy was coming over in a few minutes and I felt absolutely drained!  It took all my will to get up from the chair, get the dogs in their kennels and greet Kirk at the door.  I have no idea how I got him upstairs and then back out the door again.  I guess the 5 hour energy drink I had knocked back just before he arrived must have kicked in.  It was truly scary. 

Sandy thinks I am deficient in manganese or magnesium or something....it has happened several times before when I was getting chemo and they would have to give it to me via IV.  She is searching for a topical version of it for me as she thinks it will make me sick if I take it orally.  What would I do without her?

When I saw my therapist yesterday I told her, "I'm a woman of above-average intelligence (verified by testing...don't take my word for it), who is has great support...from people with medical backgrounds, I have fantastic insurance and I struggle to get a proper diagnosis, proper and adequate treatment and I have to do a lot of work on my own to insure that my doctor's are properly informed regarding actions that other doctors are taking with me, etc.  HOW THE FUCK do people with less resources do it?  I know the answer, they don't....and they suffer and die.   It's unbelievable in this day and age that this goes on....but it does, every friggin' day.

Enough of that....tomorrow we are hopefully, off to the beach for the first time this year!   Carol is coming with and we plan to boogy board...I already have them out and stacked up in the garage, ready to load into the car.  I can't wait!   I hope I have the energy to do it.

Saturday we are going to Hebron Fairgrounds for another Jack Russell Fun Day...the dogs will get to do their favorite activities and then Sandy and I will hit Harry's on the way home.  We went the other night after the dogs PT appointments and they were CLOSED!  I was crushed!   Charmine said they closed for a staff party....so they should be open on Saturday. 

Be careful out there...the air is bad.  Pace yourselves!

Later!

Thursday from the RV

The pictures from the CT scan I'll have done in the third week of August are starting to take on the noteriety of the Zapruder film!   No less than three doctors now want to see those images and two of them want hard copies!

I went to see Dr. Sansone last week and she got it in her head that the pain I have been feeling in the area of my lower right lung could be a pulmonary embolism!   I knew that couldn't be right, but she went ahead and called Kathleen, my nurse practitioner at Dr. Galan's office and Kathleen was obliged to call me and tell me to go to the ER immediately. 

Carol was with me and we really wanted to go to a Polish Deli in New Britain...any Polish deli.  So, we made a command decision about the ER visit...and went to the Polish deli.  We got pierogis and homemade grilling kielbasa (both of which were DELICIOUS, by the way) and then I dropped her off at her car back in Norwich and made my way to the ER.

It was an exercise in futility.   They did the preliminary test for pulmonary embolism (blood work) and chest x-ray and I was sure that they would see that I did NOT have a PE and maybe, just maybe, they would figure out what I did have.  NOPE!  The bloodwork came back a bit elevated and they were obligated to do a CT SCAN!   OMG!  

Now I have had a CT scan in April, May, June, July and will have another in August.  OVERKILL MUCH?!!!

So Dr. Sansone thinks that my guts are in an uproar because of the Avastin.  She also thinks I have "bacterial overgrowth" again and put me on medication for two weeks...that RX cost my insurance company $1,000!   I am soooooooo lucky I have good insurance! 

She wants to see the pics of the CT scan that I will have done in August.  Oh...by the way...after all the promises I got from my oncologist's office, they NEVER sent the info to Dr. Sansone that they said they would!   I guess I just have to do this stuff myself.

Yesterday I went for my annual follow-up visit for my gastric by-pass.  When I told the tech that I thought I had a hernia, they immediately switched me from seeing the Nurse to seeing Dr. McMillian.  Now I LOVE Dr. McMillian...she is a UConn grad and she is WONDERFUL!   She agreed that I probably have a hernia...but a definitive diagnosis can only be made by a CT scan of the area....now SHE wants a hard copy of the pictures! 

She also agrees with Dr. Sansone (and Sandy too) that my abdominal woes are from the Avastin...a case of the cure being a problem...I won't say the cure is worse than the disease, because that is definitely NOT true!   The cure is a problem. 

As the Avastin gets out of my system...and as the Gas-Ex does the job that Gas-Ex does, I feel better and better.  I still have the mystery pain in my lung area, but I have an appt to see my allergy doctor at the end of August, and maybe he can shed some light on that! 

We went to Stowe last weekend in the RV with two teenagers, Ryan and his girlfriend.  Ryan was in a lacrosse tournament up there and we were his transportation, food and lodging for the weekend.  It was fun, but very tiring as we did NOT bring the car.  That meant that we had to drive the RV to the event area.  It called for a lot of setting-up and tearing down during the weekend.   We did have a nice air conditioned place in which to eat, potty, rest and relax between games though.  Ryan didn't play in the last game so we were able to hit the road to home early, avoiding the Sunday night traffic.

Vermont is so beautiful.  The air up there was so good, so easy to breathe.  The scenery was spectacular.  I love it there.  It's another one of those states that, if it had an ocean, it would be the perfect place to live!

The bathroom work is really progressing.  The tile is going in the shower and on the floor.  They should be finished by tomorrow I would think.  Some modifications that I requested have resulted in some delay...like I increased the amount of floor heating....but that's a good thing. 

It is looking so beautiful...can't wait to see what it looks like painted and with the vanity top and new light installed!

Hopefully those jobs will get done next week and I'll be able to enjoy my new space for my birthday! 

Storms coming in tonight...hope we don't lose power....we don't have enough gas in the RV tank to run the generator for long...we were so tired Sunday we didn't "top off" before we put it in the driveway, as we usually do.  I have "battened down the hatches" and we will hope for the best!

Be careful out there folks, the weather this summer is crazy scary!

Later....

Renovations....Joy and Horror

I'm typing this seated at the dinette in the RV, which is parked in our driveway, plugged in so I can run the air conditioner.  The dogs and I consider this our "new home" as the guys work on the bathroom renovations.   It makes for a much quieter and nicer environment than having to lock them up in their kennels in the house and listen to them bark every time they hear a peep from upstairs.

The work is progressing.  Todd came Friday and moved the plumbing for the shower to the opposite wall, which means that now I am going to get the glass half-wall that I always wanted, right next to the big beautiful window in the bathroom.  I am so excited about this.  I went down to a local place that Darlene had recommended some months ago and ordered the full glass shower door and the glass for the half wall.  The price they quoted me was EXCELLENT!   Jim, my contractor, had told me that a glass door like that would cost "$4,000."   And his predictions for how much the wall would cost was equally dire. 

Now I realize that he just always uses the "$4,000 figure whenever he's presented with a new idea.  I don't mind, now that I know this about him.  He is doing great work up there and is so neat in the process.

Today they are trying to take up the tile in the laundry room....and remove a raised section of flooring that it's on.  For some reason Bob the Builder...the original home owner who did all this installation, chose to over-engineer everything!   The floor can't be pried up because he put hundreds of nails and screws in it!  They have to pull up the tile to get to the nails and screws and he put the tile down with Who-Knows-What but it isn't coming up easily!   They have to chip each tile and they break and leave little bits, etc.  A nightmare! 

Now Jim has a healthy respect for what I went through trying to get the damned wallpaper off!  Bob over-engineered that too....I don't know what he used to adhere it to the walls, but it was EXCESSIVE!

On Friday when Todd was working on the plumbing, I was out back with the dogs when the familiar gurgling began in my intestines.  CAUTION...what I am about to write you may NOT WANT TO READ! 

I went into the house and used the toilet and when I went to wash my hands, the water just dribbled out of the faucet.  UH-OH....Todd had shut the water down!   Now, when I have one bout of diarrhea, it does NOT stop there...no siree, it goes on and on, sometimes the next bout coming immediately on the heels of the last one.

I panicked....what to do?  The RV!    I raced out there and checked the water levels....the fresh water read EMPTY!   Oh no...I can't use the RV!   I could get a bucket and fill it from the swimming pool and use that to flush the toilet inside, but that would only be one flush and frequently I have to flush multiple times in one sitting....OMG!  I can't use the house toilet!

I grabbed a roll of toilet paper and the key to the back gate that leads to the path in the woods...SO HAPPY we have woods behind our house.  By then my guts were really gurgling again....I raced down to the gate, got the key in the lock and it hit!   I didn't have time to unlock the gate...had to "do it" right there along the fence...with three Jack Russells right there, watching me with puzzled looks on their faces. 

I scooped dirt over the mess and raced back up to the house, where I got plastic store bags and handy wipes from the RV.   I also picked up a small garden spade from my tool box.  I raced out back again and through the gate to the woods.  

I had just enough time to set all my supplies in a row when the wave hit me again.   I crouched there in the woods, surrounded by the piles of brush that we haul out there from the yard and was thankful that we no longer lived on Sunrise Street, where none of this "cover" would be possible.

The whole thing lasted for what seemed like an eternity.  I had to dig four holes out there and felt like I was back in the National Guard, touring Germany.  I was physically wiped out and it took all of my strength to clean things up, and make my way back to the RV, collecting the dogs along the way.  I collapsed on the bed and the dogs and I slept for about an hour until Todd called on my cell to let me know he was done. 

The evidence was all bagged and disposed of properly....the holes were covered over, camouflaged with sticks and leaves and I poured about a half gallon of vinegar over them.  I could have kept my mouth shut and no one would have been the wiser.

But no...I had my iPhone with me out in the woods and I texted Sandy as I crouched...telling her, "if this was happening to someone else, I'd be laughing." 

I go tomorrow to see the gastroenterologist and hopefully she can come up with some remedy to help me with all this shit....and I mean that literally and figuratively.  Carol is coming with me...she used to work with Dr. Sansone and it will be great to have them see each other again...and she can help me explain things to the doctor.  She can also help me remember what the doctor says and can share the info with Sandy.  Sometimes I have trouble with this part...remembering or understanding what the doctor is saying.

The work on the bathroom will continue into next week and maybe beyond.  In the meantime, we head to Stowe this weekend, taking Ryan with us.  He'll be playing in a lacrosse tournament up there.  We are all excited about this get-away. 

Later.....

Lots of energy lately...it seems that the more the chemo gets out of my system, the better I feel.  I swear that the chemo is what makes me feel sicker than the cancer does!  That's probably half-true.  All I know is that I have been able to get a lot of things done lately.  The one thing that gets to me fast is the heat...I wilt under the sun. 

I have been able to take the dogs for walks around the neighborhood, mow the lawn, do laundry, vacuum, cook and clean...all in the same day!   Being in air conditioning in the house helps a lot. 

We have had a good, productive week.  Rocky went for his second session at Denise and Bob's cottage and he did great!  He even jumped off the end of the dock!  He absolutely loves this stuff...now we have to figure out how to get him to jump for distance.  Distance is key in dock diving competition...they don't care if you hesitate at the end of the dock, it's how far you jump that is important. 

We went to Janet's for the Fourth...nice picnic and it was great to see Janet, Jeremy and Jessica and the pooches.  I should have brought my bathing suit...it was SO HOT!   I finally moved into the house to get cooled off, but it was too late.  I was too far gone.  Sandy brought me home and I laid down for awhile and then perked back up.

No fireworks next door this year.  I don't think they will do that again...not after the talk Carol had with them last year, sealed by my chat with them.  It was pretty cheeky of them all these years to think that we loved their fireworks upsetting our dogs and we liked having the debris all over our back yard.  They used to shoot off BIG fireworks.   No more, for which we are grateful.  However, the people up the hill right across the road through the woods had to make up for the loss of the old fireworks by putting on their own show.  People can be such assholes!

The good thing...Bubbles really calms down with the thundershirt that we got for her.  We put it on when the storms are starting and before the fireworks and she was excellent throughout the ordeals....she laid on Sandy's lap and didn't run off, drooling or any of the other stuff.  Of course, it helps that she is going a little deaf.  My poor baby is going deaf! 

Wow, is 8:45 and I have already gotten so much done!  I've done a load of wash, fed the dogs, cat, birds and fish.  I've loaded stuff into the RV for this weekend's trip.  I have cooked up potatoes, to fry with the fish for tomorrow night and for potato salad for lunch tomorrow.  I cleaned the fridge and did general cleaning upstairs and down.  Next I have to put away laundry, make the bed and finish packing. 

Oh...I have to get clothes out of the closet before Monday.  The work starts in the bathroom Monday and once it does, it may be hard for us to get into the closet. 

I still have to get a light fixture for over the vanity.  I'll do that next week, when the guys are working...it will be nice to get away from the hubbub in the house.  I lucked out, Sandy has to work third shift three days next week--for the opening of the new Backus "ER" in Plainfield.  So, she will be sleeping in the RV during the day and will take the dogs in there with her...freeing me up to be able to be footloose and fancy free!  

I may even sneak away to the beach one day...you never know.

I am looking forward to going to the beach someday soon with Sue.  She had her big day yesterday and Bill called last night to let me know things went way better than the surgeon thought it would.  I was so happy, I shrieked!   Later in the night as I was sitting up in bed in the dark, I started crying, thinking about all she has been through and how much better she is going to feel now.  Well...not right now...but down the road she is going to feel so much better.  Can't wait for her to come home so I can go bug her!

Oh, I have to note this...I am totally hooked on "Breaking Bad."   I can't believe I haven't watched the show before this.   I am recording all the previous seasons on the dvr and watch an episode or two to take a break from my chores.  I can't decide if it's a comedy or drama...or both...I just love it.

And the other thing I'm hooked on is the theme song Kathy Griffin recorded for her show....Sandy and I sing it spontaneously.  I downloaded it onto my iPhone, so now I have it for forever...it's "in the Cloud."   I love her and am thinking about going to see her again when she comes to Foxwood in November.  This would be the third time I see her and you know what they say about the third time...

We are off to Dummerston, VT today...coming home Sunday.  Murph and the neighbors are in charge while we are away.  

Later.....

Brief, but critical blog update...went to see Dr. McCourt today.   We had to wait a bit, but it was totally worth it!

She said that the CT scan they did last week showed that the fluid in my abdomen has decreased, the lesions that they have been watching are stable and NOT large enough for me to qualify for the clinical trial drug that I was supposed to start today.  She also said that my CA 125 level has DROPPED from 245 to 100!   And that was when I was NOT getting any chemo!   I haven't had chemo since May 17th.

She doesn't know what to recommend for chemo for me now.  She doesn't want me back on the Avastin due to the high risk for bowel problems (perforation)...and the fact that it appears I've already had a GI bleed of some sort---which led to the last trip to the ER, which in turn, started this whole "cancer-is-spreading-even-though- you-are-on-chemo-scare."  She doesn't understand why I'm still having the diarrhea problems and the bowel pain.  She questions if it's due to adhesions, which I have questioned myself.  So, she's wondering if this whole episode of rising CA125 levels, fluid in the abdomen, etc., is due to inflammation from whatever is going on with my bowels, and nothing to do with cancer spreading in the abdomen.

I told her I liked that line of thinking and we agreed that I will contact my GI and get in to see her ASAP. 

She also recommended an eight week "holiday" where I don't get chemo and then we do another CT scan and bloodwork and see what happens.  If the lesions grow then at worst I qualify for the clinical trial and she's sure there will still be a space for me.  If the lesions don't grow, then maybe I continue my "holiday" and we just go month-to-month to see what happens.  If the lesions grow, but not enough for the trial...we decide what chemo I will go on.

Whatever happens in the future, I HAVE THE SUMMER OFF FROM CHEMO!   I plan to make the most of this "vacation"...I have a lot I need to do on the bathroom project and we have lots of plans for RVing this summer. 

I just have to watch for any of my tell-tale symptoms...fatigue, bloating, pain.   Piece of cake. 

I am still trying to process all this new information.   I have gone from being bummed about being told that the cancer was growing despite the chemo....to this...and it may sound strange, but I don't feel quite as happy about it as one would imagine.  I know Sandy is ecstatic and I should be too....but I'm not there...yet.   I would say right now that I'm "cautiously optimistic."  I think that given time to process and understand more I will be appropriately ecstatic.  It didn't help my mood today that physically I felt ill and mentally my head was 'fuzzy."   As the chemo continues to get out of my system, these physical and mental feelings will diminish. 

We decided to celebrate by eating out at Olive Garden...which will make some of this blog's readers cringe...but it was a good meal.  Then we went to F W Webb in Waterford and spent big bucks picking out great faucets for the shower and vanity and all the accessories--towel bars, grab bar, hooks, etc.  I LOVE the things we (I) chose.   Sandy has the good sense to throw in a comment here and there and then stand back and let me decide.  What the hell, I'm paying for the whole thing!   Anyway, that bath is going to look MAHVELOUS! 

I said brief update, but now I'm rattling on...so I'll end with...

LATER!

So, I'm wrong about when the work on the bathroom will start.  I had asked the contractor three times about a date and he consistently told me that the last week of June was good.   So you may remember that I went to the RV park and reserved a spot for a week, so we could move out of here while they ripped up the bath.

Well, he came over the other day to go over the details again and I learned some things...some of them good and some of them not so much...   First, work will start the second week of July.   I'm out the $150 I put down as a deposit on the campsite, as I didn't give them at least 14 days notice of the cancellation. 

Second, the wall board won't be torn out.  It's the right kind of board and he feels confident he can smooth it down enough to paint it without having all kinds of spots and bumps.   This will save me a boatload of money.  The wallboard isn't expensive, but he would need an awful lot of it....due to the different angles and height of the room.  So, I save more than the $150 I lost on the deposit.

The job is going to take at least two weeks.  Four days for the contractor (I'll stretch that to five...knowing what I know about how guys work) and a week for the tile guy.  I didn't realize that the guy I've been working with is NOT going to be the one to put in the tile.  The tile will be installed by the guy from Colonial Carpet and Tile.  That's fine with me. 

I saw the estimate from Colonial and gulped, hard.  I went a bit over my budget for the tile.  That's all right, I absolutely LOVE the tile we picked out. 

Now I have to get to the store to pick out faucets, shower heads, drain, towel bars, toilet paper holder, lights for over the vanity, etc.  I also have to pick out a shower door.  I'm not sure if I can order that before the shower is built and they build accordingly, or if I order it after the shower is done.  I think the latter is the safest bet.

I have prepped and base coated the vanity and it looks great.  I'm waiting until after the vanity top (which is now sitting in my garage) is installed, before I do the glazing technique and put the seal coat on.   I'm trying to think ahead and if I wait, I can repaint if there are any dings or marks put on the vanity when they remove the old top and install the new one. 

As Charmine said, the bathroom renovation is a process....and it's processing!  It will all come together soon enough.  By the end of the summer we will have a new bathroom.    Of course, last night Sandy said she would be happy just to get rid of the horrid carpet and horrid shower door.  She could live with all the rest...I said, "now you tell me."   But I couldn't live with all the rest...the wallpaper, the vanity top, etc. 

We had a wicked, wicked thunderstorm here this AM.  It has really cooled down from the high heat we had last week.  I'm glad we are not in the RV at the park...so that little change of plans worked out for the good. 

Oh, I had my CT scan Friday.  Then went over for blood work and then upstairs to meet with the nurse regarding my appointment for chemo this Thursday.  She was supposed to tell me when the appt is and also what to expect, as far as how long the infusions will take, what premeds I'm supposed to get, etc.  Well, I went up there and let them know I was there.  I waited 25 minutes and no one had come out.  I had to get to Trader Joe's and then to my reflexology appointment, so I just got up and left.  I wonder if she ever came out to look for me....

So I go Thursday.  My appt with the doctor is at 11am.  I have no idea when my chemo appt is but I'm assuming it will be sometime after I see the doctor.  Sandy is coming with me for this appt.  Maybe she can go to work early and then come home and get me.  She can bring her computer and work while she waits with me....but I hope we aren't there all day.

What I'm really hoping is that I don't have to get benadryl IM before my infusion.  If I can skip the benadryl then I should be able to drive myself home from the appt...which means I don't need someone to come with me.  This would be great.  I feel less like a sick person and it means that Sandy doesn't have to take time off from work.  She hasn't claimed FMLA for over a year now and now she may have to get the paperwork submitted again. 

I also don't know who I will have for a chemo nurse.  I hope I can keep Little Anne Marie...but if I can't have her I would prefer to have Sandra...which I can't believe I am saying.  I used to despise Sandra when she worked on the other wing.  Now that she is out of that wing and away from that other toxic staff, she and I get along just fine.  She is a competent nurse and that's what I'm looking for.  I've had enough of incompetence, thank you very much.

Sandusky guilty....go to jail.  John Edwards...get lost.   Howard Stern RULES!!!

Later...

Back from our wonderful trip to the great state of Maine!   We got on the road around 11:30 Friday AM and ran into light traffic, although there were some hairy moments going through construction zones.  We arrived at our campsite with plenty of daylight left to set up the site inside and out, have dinner and take a hike down to the pond with the dogs.  We had a nice level, shady, hillside site, with very few "neighbors" around us. 

Sandy sprung for five bundles of wood...they are small bundles...and it looked like that would be a mistake because we were too pooped Friday night for a campfire.  We did, however, have fires going every other night and some mornings the rest of our stay. 

Saturday I got up and made breakfast, then had to go back to bed, didn't feel well at all.  I don't know what it is, but frequently after I eat I feel quite ill.  Fortunately that wore off, as did the clouds, in time for us to meet Gina and Andy at the diner.  We ate outdoors on the patio in the sun.  Sandy and I both had a big bowl of seafood chowder.  YUM!  

Then we went to Gina's house, where we met up with other "Jack Pack" folks and their dogs.  After a quick tour of Gina's lovely home and great backyard, we all piled into our respective vehicles and drove to Parker's Pond, a little distance from the house.  We went to a swimming area on one side of the road and all the dogs took dips in the pond, chasing toys. 

We tried Rocket in this environment.  HE DID IT!  He went for a swim, even though there were five other JRTs milling about on the shore and in the water.  It was a couple of firsts for him;  playing with so many other dogs around and first time he has been for a swim in a pond.  He has only been in the pool up until now.  He even went after a toy in the water that two other dogs were swimming to get!  Amazing!

We waited for the other JRTs to exit the water, then brought Bub and Truman out for a dip.  They loved it, as usual.

Then we all paraded across the street to the the boat launch area, where there is a dock.  We wanted the dogs to practice jumping off the dock.  Another first for Rocky.  He, like some of the other dogs, did NOT jump off the dock this time, but Sandy would lower him towards the water over the edge of the dock and he would "leap" to get the toy.  Then he got into the mode where he doesn't even care if there is a toy to be gotten, he just wants to get into the water!  We really think that someday he will get to the point where he will jump off the dock...it's a matter of time.

Bub and Truman came out and had another swim when all the rest were being dried off and loaded into their respective vehicles.  They had fun playing in the water, Bubbles "fishing" along the shore, looking for frogs...which we know she loves to kill!

Then we drove to Readsville to a nice cafe for dinner.  I was feeling pretty yucky, starting at the boat launch.  My guts were in an uproar and I had to keep going to the porta potty while the dogs were swimming and then made a few visits to the restroom at the cafe.  It had gone on too long and I got to my "cranky place" which, if you know me, you know that place ain't pretty...or very becoming to me.  I ran out of patience with everything after dinner and couldn't wait to get back to the RV and the friendly confines of my own "john."

Once we got back though, Sandy gave me some stuff from her homeopathic remedy kit, which settled my guts right down and I felt SO MUCH better.  We had a campfire and I was able to enjoy the evening.  We even heard loons on the pond while we were sitting out by the fire!  LOONS!  My favorites!

Sunday the sun was shining and I was feeling about 80% better than the day before.  Some more of that homeopathic stuff and I was ready to go for the day.  We lazed about in the RV and outside until later in the day and then we took the dogs back to Parker's Pond to swim.  The three of them swam at once this time as there were no other dogs or people around.  They had a ball.

We brought them back to the RV, totally bushed.  It's so nice when Jack Russells are all tired out.  They sink like logs into the bed, chair, couch and don't move.  They are so happy to be sleeping.  We love it.

We burned up the last of the wood and sat out for a long time, listening to the loons and the silence that surrounded us.  We were practically alone at the campground, most everyone else having moved out by noon.  It was a great decision to stay the extra night and head home on Monday to avoid the Father's Day traffic.

We had a great time in Maine, loved the campground, so that's another place we can add to our list of nice places to stay in Maine!  The Belgrade Lakes area is so damned beautiful.  We can't wait until our next trip north, which I believe is on Labor Day Weekend, when the Jack Pack gets together again.  We also have a separate trip to Wells planned for sometime in September.  And the big trip to Acadia at the end of Sept-beginning of October.  All of this is if we can work around my new schedule of weekly chemo sessions.

 We had an uneventful trip back home on Monday, although we swear we saw a RV on the other side of the road sideswipe a truck carrying a half of a modular home! 

Oh, on Sunday Maria called on her way home from Bob Miller's house.  She, Phil and Steve went to see Bob for Father's Day.  I'm glad they did.  I haven't seen him since my last "session" with Wini.  I can't be around her, it makes my blood pressure go up too high.  I miss my Dad, but it's better that I don't go.  Maria says that not much has changed for the better since I was last there, Wini is still stubbornly refusing to accept more help in the home.  Someone comes in to bathe Bob twice a week and that's it.  It would drive me nuts to be there.

Bob doesn't remember me.  He did note that "someone was missing" from the group though...he kept asking who was missing and they kept telling him "Ann."  Maybe they should have said "Ernie" because EE wasn't there either and maybe that's who he was thinking of.  EE hasn't been home to see us in so many years, we forget to list him as a family member!  I think he likes it that way...he must, otherwise he would have been out to visit.

Now we are making plans for the great bathroom do-over.  Jeremy came up while we were gone and removed the carpeting and some of the tile.  Jim, the contractor, is coming over Thursday to go over last minute details.  We have to pack up clothing, food, etc into the RV to move to Ross Hill Campground on Sunday.  We may or may not come back some nights to sleep here...we just won't use the bathroom.  We'll also be back daily to feed Murphy, who will be our on-site supervisor and I'll bring the dogs over some days to run in the back yard and to swim in the pool.

It's going to be a scorcher tomorrow, Sandy took the solar cover off the pool, so I can take the pups swimming.  We hope to get to Denise's at Beach Pond tomorrow with Rocky, to practice dock diving.  Hopefully his experience of the weekend, with all the people and the other dogs, will help him with being in an unfamiliar place--Denise's.  She has been so nice to offer her facilities up for his training purposes.  I hope he is nice to her in return.

Oh, Sandy went grocery shopping and came home with a jar of Nutella.  I have seen this stuff for years...first time was back in the early 80's when I was in the Netherlands with the National Guard and we went into a Dutch mess hall...they had a jar of Nutella on every table.  So, Sandy is allergic to nuts, which is what nutella is made of, so I assume she got it for me.  Yes, she did....and today when I texted her and told her that I felt really ill again she prescribed NUTELLA!   I did as she said, I made a piece of multigrain toast, spread with nutella...and VOILA!  I felt better within a few minutes.  So odd that something that tastes so sinfully good could actually be good for you! 

I don't know why I keep feeling so ill...maybe it's the chemo leaving my body, or maybe it's the chemo period and this is going to be something I'm always going to have as a result of taking chemo.  I'm reading more and more about the long term effects of chemo on the body.  Anyway, which ever it is, I do have to learn to handle feeling so ill a bit more gracefully.  I can't be so impatient and so grouchy, with Sandy and other people.  They don't know what it feels like and it isn't fair to them.  Sandy is so good to me and I need to be a LOT nicer to her, particularly when I don't feel well.

It's not right I tell you.  Not right at all.

Okay, off to bed.   Big day tomorrow of hauling a poop sample from Rocky to the vet in Mystic, then hopefully getting to the gym for a workout, drop off the tile samples at Colonial and then home to take the pups for a swim.  Then we can all take naps...the JRTs and me.

Later....