Here, at least, is why I have been busy these last two weeks.  A freshly painted porch, new flower bed, and a new front door (not shown) that is also just painted.  Also painted the back deck, upper porch, and cleaned the pool.  Loads of work!  Looks really good!

Drives me nuts

I promise I won't write about the weather.  OK?

I thought I had my genealogy stuff pretty well organized, and then I found an entire box of miscellaneous records for all 4 lines I am researching.  All scrambled together, wrinkled, staples coming loose, bad photocopies, now what do I do with them?  So I came in here and decided to ruminate on my blog.  Just like my subtitle, better living through denial.  Manana. I have found some stuff my dad would have been interested in, but I found it after he passed, it's been 10 years now.  I found that his dad Floyd, of whom very little is known due to an early and bitter divorce, is in fact illegitimate.  The family name is Floyd's mother's maiden name (is this too confusing?) and her name changed only after she married another man and Floyd went to live with his stepfather.  The mother was a housekeeper in 1850 for the family next door to her parents, a man of 30 with a wife and 3 small children.  It isn't hard to speculate as to who was the father of Floyd, but of course no records to prove this.  It is just interesting.

I have a friend who is also into genealogy.  Several years ago she discovered that her ancestor who was a Revolutionary war soldier of some status was black.  She just thought it was interesting and was glad that a good bit had been written about him and his 12 children, back in those days when WV was VA.  Her mother, however, was appalled, and insisted that my friend keep this as a secret.  I mean, what would she do with this information, go on Dr. Phil?  Anyway, the scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells are the interesting members of the families, as long as they are far enough in the past.  All of my ancestors were farmers, drat it.

I ran across my old report cards when I was sorting through old papers.  My mom kept everything, even a receipt for a spring for 25 cents.  Old cancelled checks from 60 years ago.  Everything.  Anyway, I read the "comments" part at the end of each grading period, and most all of them said that I started projects and then didn't complete them.  And I thought, what else is new?  I STILL do that.  Like that kiln sitting in my garage, all wired up and empty.  Or that guitar in my living room, tuned, but I can't play it with long fingernails.  Etc.  Anyway, I threw the report cards away, I don't want them and for sure the kids won't either.  I threw away a lot of stuff.

Today I mailed off three 3.5 inch floppy disks to a company that transfers them to a CD for $1.99 per disk.  It turns out that when N transferred these files to a CD back in the day, there was some error and the CD is blank.  There are only 4 jpg files on them, but no other way to get them, luckily I had kept the floppies.  I am my mother's daughter.  Hope it works.

Bumper sticker(s) for the day:  "Master of obsolete technology." and also "Grandmas ~ the original laptop."

It's actually Raining!

It is so lovely raining, just a light steady rain storm that is dumping significant water on our parched withered greenery.  The lawn, the shrubs, everything looks better (I don't want to think about the sprinkler we ran yesterday).  No one waters in this place, sprinklers sold are mostly for kids to play in, but everything looked so dry, we watered.  Of course it would rain today!

I have been working on my genealogy today.  I  ran through my notebook on the family, and I found that the last time I worked on it was 1995.  I had no idea it was so long ago, but the amount of information available online has increased exponentially.  I still need to go to the courthouse of certain WV counties to check land deeds, but N still has his consulting to do, so it will need to wait a while.  Less than 17 years, I hope.  My database has 2500 entries on Family Tree Maker so far and I am paranoid that I will lose it, tho it is backed up in several places.  There just isn't any way to print out hard copies for all of that, much less to enter it all again.

I just received the photos from our Hawaii trip, I had them printed at Walmart, for only 9 cents each ~ there were 147 of them.  I had no idea it was so cheap, it sure beats printing them out here.  The ink, and the paper, I bet they are 10 times as expensive, at least.

My son just bought a Kindle, that makes 5 for this family.  He went to Barnes and Nobel and couldn't find anything he wanted to read, so he decided to get a Kindle so he can browse online instead of standing in the aisle.  Have you ever noticed, when you are browsing at an actual bookstore, you cannot see the bottom two shelves unless you are hunkered down near the floor, crabbing your way along at knee height.  No doubt I've passed over lots of good choices over the years because my knees wouldn't take the stress.  My only complaint with the Kindle is that I spend way more on books than previously.  I read about a book per (laid-back) day, so even choosing among the 99 cent offerings it adds up.  I've read around 100 books on the Kindle so far.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Honk if you think I'm a great driver!"

Losing weight

I've been on Weight Watchers before and lost around 30 pounds, but then I got the big C diagnosis, and dieting seemed like the last thing I needed to think about.  But now, the time has come to get back in the routine.  I haven't actually re-joined, since I have all the materials to just go on without the meetings.  I would have to drive to the meetings and driving is one thing I haven't mastered  yet.  I mean, I have driven since I was 16, in big cities like Miami, Memphis, San Francisco ~ so why do I find it so difficult now?  I try to force myself a little, because the psych. doc says I have to go beyond my comfort zone so that I won't, step by step, become completely house bound.  I feel a little that way even now, so I am working on it.  But weekly Weight Watcher meetings aren't going to happen anytime soon.

The heat has moderated a bit today, only in the 80s after the weekend of over 100.  All the lawns and trees are suffering from the lack of rain, although it did rain a little in the wee hours this morning.  I am anxious to hear how the hay crop has been, I'm sure there won't be a second cutting with the lack of rain, so will hay cost more?  How much more?  Another thing to worry about.  It's too bad that worry doesn't cause me to lose weight, you know?  I do so much of it.  Like, I wonder why crying isn't good for the complexion, all it does is make my nose red and my face all splotchy; not like in the movies when the heroine just quietly drips down her face.  Maybe they teach that in acting classes.  The only thing that I drip down my face is sweat...

Bumper sticker for the day:  "HERE I AM.  Now what are your other two wishes?"

It's HOT

We had to bring the dogs in from the barn today, it is too hot today and forecast to get even hotter as the day goes on.  They seem to be tired, just zonked out, probably because a panting dog doesn't pant while sleeping.  I lost a dog to heat stroke many years ago and I am wiser now than I was then. 

I got another book order through ABEbooks (see link on the right) and I am bummed because it is going to Australia and I lose money when I ship there.  Essentially I pay to have the book ordered.  This particular book is a paperback called Thin Air, a fictional story based loosely on an actual program during WWII called the Philadelphia Program.  In the book, the military are involved in a program to make ships disappear from radar and from sight, with devastating results.  It is an interesting story, although the book is pretty old.  The buyer is a bookstore in TAS, Australia, so I would guess it is a special order for a customer.  One who isn't clued up about out-of-print books and how to buy them directly.  At least it isn't a hardback, which is yet more expensive to ship.

Thanks to storms in the area, the 4th of July was pretty quiet here, so the dogs and horses weren't a total wreck the next day.  Now if only it would cool down, that would be fantastic.  The horses can sweat in the heat, unlike the dogs, so as long as there is plenty of water available they do OK.  We go out and top off their buckets at midday, just to be sure they are drinking.  It's pretty rare that horses that are at rest have problems with the heat.  Knock on wood.  After all these years of owning horses (37 and counting) it is still remarkable how much work is involved with it ~ and this is without actually riding, which my knees and hips prohibit.  Not even taking into account the geriatric horses (21 years and counting ).  They were born here, and other than sending them off to be broke to ride as youngsters, they have always been here.  And spoiled by the easy life.

Bumper sticker for the day: "Help stamp out and eradicate superfluous redundancy ."

Happy July 4th ~ Wordless Wednesday

Almost the 4th of July

The weather here, like nearly everywhere on the eastern half of the country, has been brutally hot for this time of year, making everyone dread the really hot month of August.  We opened the pool this year ~ last year we were too distracted with the chemo, etc., and it was a horrible black gloppy mess.  It is all clean and shiny, better living through modern chemistry, as was said decades ago.  And boy does it feel good, especially after working on the deck and mowing the grass (and weeds).  The grass is very dry and we need rain ~ just not the kind of rain we had Friday night, when the huge storm front went through and toppled tress and power lines and left thousands without power even now.  Luckily we had flickering and one brief outage, and the trees that fell didn't hit anything, although the pool had a huge branch fall into it.  I've never seen lightning like that night, one continuous peal of thunder and the entire sky lit up for 10 or 15 minutes.  I was sure the dining room windows were going to be smashed, and what would we have blocked them up with?  Locally there is not a generator to be had, and supplies of bottled water and camping stoves are depleted too. 

Tomorrow will be hard on the horses and the dogs, who do not appreciate fireworks.  We will leave them all in the barn for the whole day, so they don't panic and run through the fence.  I don't appreciate fireworks either, come to think of it.

I spent an hour this morning looking for the thumb drive that I used to back up all my important files, only to find it right in plain sight, with a post-it stuck to it listing the files.  So frustrating!  My desk is a mess, I have way too much stuff.  A lot of it is stuff that I had on my desk at work, memo cubes and such, that I feel attached to for some bizarre reason.  Heaven forbid I throw anything away...

I just heard of the death of Andy Griffin.  The last thing I saw him in was the video with Brad Paisley, "Waitin' on a Woman" , a bittersweet song.  He was 86.  I'm old enough to remember the Mayberry show the first time it was on...


Bumper sticker for the day:  "I don't exercise; it makes my coffee spill."

Wordless Wednesday (on Thursday this week)

Gone to the dog(s)

Three of us spent 3+ hours clipping our black Newfoundland dog last Saturday.  Her coat is an incredibly thick cotton-y long one that mats at the drop of a hat.  The summer shedding of her undercoat is an especially big mess.  First we tranquilize her, so she will lay on the grooming table without trying to get down.  Then it is three pairs of clippers, including the mammoth Oster Clipmaster that sounds like a jet engine when I start it up.  But boy does it ever shear that coat off, as long as it is used on big flat areas, like her back and sides. Trimming around legs and butt and the underside of her chest and belly call for a smaller and more maneuverable set of clippers. At the end, we had a pile of stinky hair big enough to make another entire dog, and that's not counting all the hair sweat-glued to our bodies.  Once a year, thank god.

But the result is a very short coat; see for your self:

She is sulking because she feels naked and knows the other dogs will make fun of her.   But I guarantee she will not swelter in this 90 degree heat we currently are suffering through, and that's all that matters. (I do think she looks ridiculous.)

Father's day was a success, N liked his stuff, and they fit.  We all agreed that a steak dinner would be best, even though he has to cook it; but it takes only 10 or 15 minutes, so no great sacrifice to his "take it easy" day.

I started this post several days ago, so the date is from the initial writing and not dated today, the 20th.  And I don't know how to change it.  (No surprise there.)

Bumper sticker for the day:  "If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?"

June 9th

Wednesday the 6th was our wedding anniversary, the (gulp) 42nd.  We had a nice dinner out and I got to wear the fancy stuff I otherwise never would.  And makeup.  And hair fixed.  So of course, looking my best (for now), I completely forgot to get any pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it, I looked awesome.  Really.

Number one son (there is only one, so of course he's number one) has taken all of next week off to help N. rebuild the back deck, torn out when we had sewer line problems that meant digging up the line behind the house.  It will be nice to have the whole deck again, as the narrow bit around the pool and by the stairs isn't big enough for the grill.  We wanted to use the decking made from recycled tires, but they cost $24! each!  So that's out the window.  I never realized that those decks they show on home improvement programs were 10s of thousands of dollars for even the simplest ones.  For that kind of money I'll get all new flooring in the house, thanks.

Daughter has gone to Kennywood (amusement park) today, I bet she comes home sunburned and hot, as it was near 90 today.  The deck makers gave up around 1 pm, the sun finally driving them into the house and the air conditioning.  I never ventured any further than the back yard, what with my pasty white skin's ease of sunburning. 

I did get my "port" removed on the first, and saw the surgeon for stitch removal on Thursday.  I'm all done with him until Feb. of next year; I see the oncologist on Tuesday of next week for that final checkup (for 6 months).  What will I do with all the extra time I won't have to spend in waiting rooms?  Guess that's why they call us "patients".

Here is one of the photos from our hawaiian cruise in March.  Better late than never.  My hair is no longer this virulent shade of orange, but a more normal looking auburn.  It all depends on the right package at the drug store.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "You probably don't recognize me without my cape."

Summertime and the living is easy...

Summertime is NOT a time for taking it easy. If you are like me, you have a list (in your head or written down) of chores that need to be done, like : Wash the siding with powerwasher. Get chimney checked. Paint the front and back doors,inside and out. Take mantle to be repaired and stained. Repair back deck and stain. Repair porch chairs and sofa, paint. Put a grab bar in the bathroom, (for those who are feeble (ahem). It makes me tired to read the entire list, but that was a fair representation. This weekend N and C rebuilt the porch stairs and built a storage space under the stairs. Power washing is next, I think. I had my "clavicle intravenous access port" ("port") removed last Friday. It was a "quick" procedure, in and out in a jiffy. But I think being knocked unconscious while they cut on me is traumatic any way you look at it. So I'm feeling a little under the weather. And the area around the incision itches fiercely because they put on a Sorba view(??) a bandage which is clear in the center, with stick-um on all four sides. The idea being that I could shower with it protecting the site. I had previous experience with these bandages, they are fine for about an hour. Then I start to scratch and scratch. I was home the first few hours and took off the dressing. I went to the drug store today and bought dressings just like that one, in sizes 4" square to 9" square, made to be removed after a shower. I have tape allergy on my records, but what can they do if they need to place a dressing? Just from those few hours I have a bad rash surrounding the incision, but hydrocortisone around it helps. That, or an ice pack.
 
So much for news on the continuing saga of breast cancer. There will be a celebratory do a little later when I am feeling more... robust. ANNND our anniversary is June 6 (Wednesday). 42nd. The horses are fine and so are the dogs and the cats, knock on wood. We had two days of 90+ weather, so untypical for May, it set records from 'way back. I can't imagine August, if it is that hot now.

 I wanted to do another photo course, but think I would poop out and it's a lot of $$ to just let go. Maybe later. I postpone a lot of things, I think.

Here is today's bumper sticker, "The good thing is I was right. The best thing is you were wrong."

Good news

Good grief, They've gone and changed the blogging interface, I can barely use the old one.

Mainly I wanted to post that the liver MRI came back clean, and now all that is left is to have the port removed, probably in a couple of weeks. It means anesthesia and a short one day trip to the surgery same-day care. Then I want to celebrate, and not just with a nice dinner out. Any suggestions?

Time for bed again, it is 3:30 am. Bumper sticker for the day:" Shin - Device for finding furniture in the dark."

I'm really tired of all this

I had my PET/CT on the 25th of April. I had a follow-up doctor appt. on May 9th, but on April 26th the oncologist called me and said I should come in ASAP, on the next day. Nothing to worry about. Just to check. So onc. dr checked an area near my mast. scar and said "no problem" BUT (don't you love the "but wait" there's more!) I have an area of concern in my liver. No real problem, we'll just get it checked out. So Sat the 5th I have an MRI of my abdomen, and a follow up appt on the 9th. I've only had one MRI and I still remember the panic-y claustrophobia of the small opening, and the sounds (like being in a metal garbage can and having someone beating on the outside with a 2 x 4).
And I forgot to mention that I have two steel screws in my right ankle, so maybe they won't do it after all???

My computer is slowly dying, one drive is not accessible any more, the video/graphics card says there is too little memory on it, and a new video card, with 1 Gb on it, the system doesn't recognize it even tho the drivers installed fine. There is a strange thumping noise when the computer is restarted. and all in all I think it is moribund. And soon to be mortal. So I have been doing a slew of back up of my files onto a thumb drive, and will be in the market for a new computer. Which I will have to install win XP on, since I don't do Windows (He he) 7. Or 8. Or Vista. I really am dreading this.

The photo at the top is from a blowhole in the ground where there is a big lava tube that is open on the back end as well as the front, right at the water line. So a big wave comes along, and it goes in the tube and whoosh!! the water is forced out the back side in a big spray, like a geyser. It was hard to take the photo at just the right moment, but such as it is, here it is. I've forgotten where this is, I could look it up but not at 6 in the morning. One of the Hawaiian islands.

I leave you with this bumper sticker: "||||////_ _ _ _ The domino effect at work."

Moving on

The above is a photo of my little 2002 Mazda Miata that we have up for sale. It is a neat little car and I will miss it, but 3 cars for 2 people is a waste. The Miata sits in the garage so much that the battery is constantly dead and must be jumped to start. So... up for sale. I bought it new, and drove it constantly when I worked, although it is awful in snow. At least 2 times I had to park it in the lot at the bank and call for N to come get me, I was doing doughnuts in the street. Anyway, I now flinch every time the phone rings in case they are calling about the car; I get all tongue-tied when I have to talk to strangers on the phone. Hopefully it will sell soon.

I'm still sorting through vacation photos; I've figured our how to capture a still photo from video clips, so that has been fun to mess with. The video program lacks a lot of features, but on the other hand, it is free.

Update: The miata sold yesterday. Sniff sniff. The new owner is older than me, but having a "midlife" crisis, I think.

Meanwhile, your bumper sticker: "Of course I can do it! The question is, do I want to?"

Maui

This a photo taken at the Maui Ocean Center. The main building hosted a 54 foot acrylic tunnel through which visitors could walk. It was so neat -- the fish were on both sides of the tunnel, and crossed one to the other by swimming overhead. It was the nearest thing to diving underwater that I'll ever have. At the top of the photo you can see the underside of a spotted eagle ray, and we could see his gills opening and closing. I found it hard to photograph because everything was constantly moving.
I highly recommend this center to any of you traveling to Hawaii. It isn't a showboat-y exhibit like s Sea World, but "a place of respect for the area marine life". We thoroughly enjoyed it. Oh yeah, and there are no cetaceans (whales and dolphins) they are prohibited from captivity by the County of Maui. All the other fish and critters are from the area of Maui.

Volcano National Park

This is a fumarole at Kilauea in Hawaii (big island) The fumes are real toxic and the park guide kept a close eye on the direction of the wind; if it had changed we would have had to scramble back on the bus and leave.





This lava field is what the ground looks like after the lava flow had ended. It was hard to walk on, the little ( a foot or two)lava tubes tended to break when you stepped on them. Can you see the little metal pipe in the lower left corner, going left to right? It's hard to see in this, but it is all that's left of the overlook center that was here.

The sights on this excursion were humbling; with all our technology, when a volcano erupts the response is the same as it was in pre-history - move out of the way, way out.

Bumper sticker for the day: "I'd love to help you but I've misplaced my magic wand"

This is known as the grand canyon of the pacific. Found in Waimea Canyon state park, it is on the western side of Kaua'i Island. It is 10 miles long and 3000' deep. When we were there it was very foggy, which only increased the impact of the site. The wind at the observation area was brutal, whipping cold air right through you. A "lazy wind" that can't be bothered to go around you. I regard this site as the most astonishing site on our trip.

Bumper sticker for the day: "I am an optimist, but I don't think it helps."

That tipsy bit? It's because of the waves...honest

This is me with our "complementary" bottle of (bad) champagne in our stateroom. The poor cabin steward had to fill and refill the ice bucket in which the champagne rested twice a day for the entire 2 weeks. And then we left it in the room (how do you pack champagne?)(And why would I want to?)

As you can see I am still fighting the battle of getting my haircolor back to the original shade of red. I have colored it 4 times with 4 different products and this orange is the closest so far. I'll take one more go and then it is the hairdresser. It must be some effect of the chemo, like the 'chemo curls' that I got in the lovely grey regrowth.

On a pleasanter note, I had my last chemo treatment last Wednesday. Now I have a scan scheduled for the 25th and a follow-up visit to the onco. and I will be good to go for 6 months. It has been a dark cloud on my horizon for over a year, but maybe this time all will be well. Fingers crossed.

Bumper sticker for the day: "Join the IRS (be audit you can be)"

back at last

We are back from our circle cruise to Hawaii, and I am beat. But for now, here is a lovely rainbow taken from our verandah. When we left San Diego at 5 pm, we got caught in a storm, according to the Captain, that was near hurricane strength, 65 mph winds and 30(!) foot seas. It was very hard to just stay in bed. At least one passenger broke her arm, and nearly everyone was sea sick. The next day the waves were a mere 20 ft high, and had to be seen to be believed. We found one benefit of chemotherapy is that I have really potent anti-nausea drugs, which I brought with me. Any time we started to feel queasy, we popped one, and our stomachs went back to sleep. The rest of the cruise was smooth, but overcast. The weather here at home was lovely, of course.

I will post more over the next few days.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun."

Well usually March is a dreary time here with winter lingering on and on. That's why I picked this particular date for a trip to Hawaii. So of course yesterday was a balmy 65 degrees with sunshine and blue sky. Grrr. Nevertheless, we leave on Friday.

I always over pack for any trip, and with the cruise being 14 days long, it is a special temptation to just load up the suitcase. But I am restricting (or trying to)the heavy things like jeans (!) and instead pack capris. They should be lots lighter, right? Missing the whole lower part of the legs, right? Last time I went to FL to visit BFF, I used such a big suitcase I nearly couldn't get in the rental car, a Mustang. I had to wrestle it into the front seat, because I couldn't close the trunk lid. I'm trying do better. And laundry and dry cleaning on board is free...

I bought a Pandora bracelet last week; for those (like me) who had never heard of them until lately, this is the modern take on charm bracelets. I have the basic bracelet, but no beads on it. I figure it will be a good thing for birthdays and Christmas that the family can buy, they always complain I'm hard to shop for. I never had a charm bracelet back when I was a teenager and they were popular. My sister had a nice one and I was envious, although even then they were becoming passe. Probably these will too, but meanwhile I enjoy the plain bracelet. I'm not taking any of my expensive jewelry (not that I have much) because with my luck I'd drop it overboard. Or fall off, and me not notice until hours later.

The kids have been moaning (a little bit) about having to take care of the horses and inside cats, doing litter box duty every day, and so forth. This a rare chance for them to see how coming home from work doesn't equal dinner in 10 minutes. How much cereal can be eaten night after night? We will see...

Back to bed for me, I'm not sure what time it is, which clocks have been sprung forward. But the headache is gone, so I will doze for a while.

Bumper sticker for the day: "Get even. Live long enough to become a problem to your kids."