The Mountain Thymes

 There was no chemo last Tuesday as Cliff's white count was too low so he had another good week that wasn't foggy brained, anymore than normal.  Tomorrow the first comparative scan is still scheduled.  We'll leave the house by 11:30 to drive to Piedmont Hospital in Jasper, GA for  1 pm appointment.  He'll drink the banana cocktail on the way and be ready for the scan when he's taken.  The oncologist will see him next Tuesday with results but our doctor will have the results by Tuesday and will call Cliff Tuesday evening or on Wednesday and talk to him.  Fingers crossed for tumor regression.   Friday Cliff stained the yoga deck for me. Two years ago we took a chance and lopped off all the branches on this tree because they were straggly looking.  Last year the tree was pitiful looking but this year it's full and looking great. The temperature at 6:30 a.m. was 70 humid degrees, warm enough to do yoga on the newly stained deck.  It's a...

 The Virginia group settled into the Murphy Holiday Inn Wednesday afternoon about 5pm. We did a lot in their three day visit.  About four years ago when the children stayed with us for a few days,  we took them to the Downtown Pizza Buffet for all-you-can-eat-pizza and arcade games.  So Thursday we revisited DTP for pizza and updated arcade games where you win tickets and cash them in for plastic prizes.  Grant got a beach ball with some of his tickets so we went back to their hotel and played water volleyball. I played a little too long and maybe a bit too energetic as my left shoulder was on fire all night, no sleep, but began healing by Friday afternoon.  It was worth it. I forgot to mention that Jim worked during this visit, even a few hours on the drive here.  Thursday and Friday mornings Lauria dropped him off here around 7 where the small bedroom transformed into his office. Between meetings he'd come to the kitchen and make himself coffee and b...

 She's the reason I take in the feeder and the suet every night around nine. If I forget, the next morning the seeds are sucked dry.  A couple of nights ago she walked across the whole length of the rail to have an early mid-night snack.  When I walked onto the porch to speak with her, she looked at me and walked back along the rail, went under the feeder, and ate the ground seeds. Neighbors to our south have reported a large bear destroying their feeders.  We haven't seen any signs........yet.  This morning at 7 I decided to throw the mat down on the porch and do yoga outside.  The temperature was a moist 68 with more rain in the forecast.  On my back in corpse pose with eyes closed, listening to the birds and Hannah's instructions from my Ipad, I began to hear pitter patter of little feet approaching me.  Hoping it wasn't a raccoon but a squirrel looking for seeds on the floor, I lifted my head to see a tiny chipmunk.  He was so stunned and...

 Do you ever remember a time that you ignored the little voice in your head, your intuition, telling you to follow through with something or not place three old gallon porch stain cans where you might right drive over them when pulling out of the garage??   First of all, I had four very restless night's sleep. Three nights my mind kept talking to me, very stressful. Nothing it said made any sense. The fourth night I blame on the painful left shoulder muscles burning all night due to overdo and the weather.  Too many nights without my sleep causes a foggy brain. In the morning I made a soup that called for either using the immersion blender, which I usually prefer because it's easier to clean but decided to use the carafe blender for a smoother finish to the soup.  The soup hadn't cooled quite enough and I was in a hurry, bad combination when fatigued.  The still-too-warm soup rocketed out of the blender top leaving me to wash the fridge side and front, the ...

 Just a quick update....................  Three good days for Cliff!  His blood count is staying steady and his appetite is strong.  He eats what he wants when he wants.  Usually his lunch is the Downtown Pizza Buffet.  Yesterday I made fluffy gluten-free strawberry shortcakes. He piles on the whipped cream and is happy.  Actually, his chemo day is benign and he eats and acts fine.  Then for the next five to six days he struggles with brain-fog and terrible fatigue.  He's lost muscle mass but has not lost his white hairs.  His bald head is like peach fuzz.  The social worker called today to check on him.  She talks more than I do!  She said this may be his pattern during the chemo treatments.  It helps to know what to expect.