Saturday, November 30, 2013

Thanksgiving With Marv And Inez and An Early Christmas Present

DeBary, FL.

60 deg. mist, N. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 79F. Breezy. Winds from the NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

Again, Marv and Inez, (Lindsey's parents), invited Jim and Linda to their house for Thanksgiving dinner with their family, so Thursday, Jim and Linda took CLT, (Cute Little Truck), and headed up to DeLand. They got there a little before noon and by about 1:00 they were enjoying another one of Inez's great meals. ;-)

Like she always does, she prepared a great meal of ham, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and all of the other traditional Thanksgiving dishes to go with them. Then, of course, there were the pies that she baked plus the plate of brownies that Linda had taken over there.

Again, Jim and Linda want to thank Marv and Inez for including them in their family's Thanksgiving holiday. They always have a house full of family, but always make room for them.

Thank You!!!!!

While Jim and Linda were at Marv and Inez's, they were looking through all the sale adds that came in the paper. Jim noticed that Home Depot had Christmas Trees on sale and mentioned that he needed to buy a tree because all they had was the little 2' tree that they had been using in the RVs. Well,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Friday morning, just before 6:00 AM, there was a knock on our front door and when Jim opened it, there was Lindsey with a tree!!!!

He had gotten up and had gone to Home Depot at 5:00 AM and bought a tree for Jim and Linda!!!! He intended to get one of the featured trees in the add, but others had the same idea and by the time he got there they were all sold. So, he bought another tree that was also on sale. Jim offered to pay for the tree, but Lindsey wouldn't take anything for it, so I guess this is an early Christmas present. ;-)

Are these "kids" great or what??????

You know, even though Linda has been having health problems, we really do have a lot to be thankful for. Great family, great friends, plenty of food and a good roof over our heads.

What more could you ask for????

Did you know that the first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century? These "trees" were made using goose feathers that were dyed green.

Woof!!!




Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

DeBary, FL.

38 deg. clear, no wind
Forecast =Partly cloudy, High temp. 64 deg. N. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.

Please have a great and safe Thanksgiving!! We all have so much to be thankful for!!

Did you know that In 2002, retail sales of turkey was approximately $3.6 billion? In 2010, sales reached $4.37 billion.

Woof!!!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Learning About Chemo and A Tentative Schedule

DeBary, FL.

66 deg. overcast, NW wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy in the morning, then clear. High of 68F. Breezy. Winds from the WNW at 15 to 20 mph. Low temperature tonight, 38 deg.

Yesterday was "Learn about Chemo Day", so about 9:15 Laura came by and picked up Jim and Linda and they all headed over to the chemo therapist, which isn't in the hospital, but in another medical building in Orange City. It's actually closer than the hospital and probably easier to get to.

After filling out yet another bunch of forms, Linda was finally called in to have a blood test and to meet the doctor who will be overseeing all the treatments. (Jim and Laura were also there when Linda met Dr. Saferali. )  She went through all of the steps of the chemo treatments and talked about treatment procedures and possible side effects. The meeting lasted over an hour and the doctor answered all the questions and concerns that Linda, Jim and Laura had, the best she could.

One of the things about chemo is that each person is different and the treatments effect everyone differently, so there's no "set answers" that will pertain to everyone.

Linda, Jim and Laura all thought that Dr. Saferali was very knowledgeable and were pleased with how she answered all Linda's questions and concerns. They also appreciated that she took as much time with them as needed and she never made them feel like she was rushing through the meeting.

OK, so what's next?? Well, here's what I know so far. On the 6th of December, Linda and Jim, (and possibly Laura if she can make it), will go back to the Chemo office for a "Chemo Patient Education" meeting. She will meet with the nurses that administer the treatment and see the facilities. The nurses will also explain all the procedures and try to explain what will happen while Linda is there.

Then, on the 12th of December, Linda will have her first chemo treatment. She needs to be there at 9:00 AM and the treatment will probably last anywhere from 4 to 6 hours. (probably close to 6 hours because this will be the first treatment). The second treatment will be 21 day later on the 2nd of January, and a third treatment will be 21 days after that.

After the third treatment, there will be about a 2 week waiting period and then Linda will start 8 weeks of Radiation treatment, (5 treatments a week on Monday through Friday for 8 weeks). Then after about another 2 weeks, Linda will again get 3 more Chemo treatments, (again spaced at 21 day intervals).

I haven't figured it out exactly, because the 2 week waiting periods may change between the 2 different types of treatments, but rough figuring brings it to sometime in September before all the treatments will be completed.

After the meeting, Linda, Laura and Jim met Lindsey over at the 4 B's Restaurant and had lunch/breakfast. Then Laura brought Linda and Jim back here to the house, where they relaxed and talked about the upcoming treatments and procedures.

Jim and Linda have had some serious discussions about all of this and how it may/will affect our future. There have not been any decisions made, but major changes may be necessary. Only time will tell though.

 A Point to Ponder : Everyone experiences fear! It's what you do despite that fear that defines you!

Woof!!!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Meeting With The Radiation Oncologist and Roland And Louise Visit

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. mostly cloudy, NE wind @ 2 mph.
Forecast = High temp. 72 deg. mostly cloudy, E. wind @ 15 mph.

Friday, Jim and Linda headed over to the Florida Hospital in Orange City for Linda's appointment with the Radiation Oncologist. This was an informational meeting where a nurse and then the doctor explained the Radiation Therapy procedure and then answered questions that Linda and Jim had.

Linda and Jim both learned a lot about Radiation Therapy and by about noon, CLT was taking them to the 4 B's restaurant here in DeBary. There, they had meals, ( Linda had breakfast for lunch and Jim had the Crab Cakes). They said that both meals were very good, and Jim especially enjoyed the clam chowder soup that came with his meal. ;-)

Yesterday morning, Louise and Roland called Linda and said that they were in Orlando at a phone store and if Linda and Jim weren't busy, they'd stop by for awhile in the afternoon. Both Jim and Linda thought that was a great idea and told them to come on over.

So,  ,  ,  by early afternoon, Roland and Louise were pulling into the driveway. ; -)

The afternoon was spent visiting and catching up on what all has happened since Linda's surgery. Then about 4:00 Linda called Gentili's Pizza and ordered a pizza for pick-up.

After a very nice meal with very good friends, Roland and Louise decided that they needed to head back home. It's at least a 2 hour drive from here to Frostpoof so even though it was about 5:00 when they left, I'm sure it was after 7:00 by the time they got home.

It sure was good to see them again. Lately, it seems like there's always something going on that makes it difficult to get together with them. :-(  Hopefully, Jim and Linda will be able to see them a couple times this winter or next summer.

A Point to Ponder : To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others use your heart.

Woof!!!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Lots Of Support and A New Laptop

DeBary, FL.

63 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain. High of 79F. Winds from the NE at 10 to 15 mph.

Linda's had a lot of support the last few days. Family and friends have been calling to encourage her as she comes to terms with the upcoming treatments. Of course Laura has stopped over a few times and Jim has been trying to help her through this emotional time.

Dr. Molpus, the surgeon, has arranged it so that Linda will have her chemo and radiation treatments here in Orange City, at the Florida Hospital. That way, Jim and Linda won't have to make the 30 to 45 minute trip over to Daytona Beach for all those treatments during the next 9 months. Today, the Florida Hospital is supposed to call Linda to make an appointment for her to come in to a informational meeting to learn all about the treatments, the scheduling of them, and what side effects to expect.

I don't think I've mentioned it, but I have been doing this blog on the desktop computer lately because the notebook is having serious problems. Jim says he thinks it's been infected with a virus again, and it's causing it to slow way down and not even load some of the pages.

So, being that it's an old computer, "2006", that is still running Windows XP, Jim and Linda decided that a new one would be the best choice. After some research and talking to a "Computer Doctor" that has been highly recommended, they took CLT and went to Office Depot yesterday and bought a new one.

It was on sale as a "Pre-Black Friday" item and with a rebate, ended up being less than $400. :-)  Of course with taxes and some software that Jim wanted, it ended up being more than that. :-(

After they left Office Depot, they headed over to the 4 B's restaurant here in DeBary. It's a restaurant that only serves breakfast and lunch and has been a "local" meeting spot for over 50 years. It's one of those places where the waitresses know most of the people by name and even brings some of them their, "usual" before they order it. ;-)

Oh, and the food is really good too!!!! :-)

Tomorrow, the "Computer Doctor" is going to come here to the house to set up the new computer and try to get all the files off of the old one and onto the new one.  Then, Jim, Linda and I will have to learn all about the new Windows 8.1 operating system, so we can use it. :-0

Again, Linda, Jim and I want to thank all of you who have sent best wishes and encouragement Linda's way. The e-mails, phone calls and comments have been a great help in this time of stress. I want to assure you that Linda is doing very well and is getting stronger each day. I have great faith that she'll come through all of this with flying colors and before we know it, we'll be traveling again. :-)

Thank You!!!!!!!!

Did you know that today is "Name your PC day?" 

Wow!! what a coincidence!!!!!  Hmmmm, now what shall we name it?????

Woof!!!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Post-Op Doctor Visit and Not Good News

DeBary, FL.

65 deg. scattered clouds, NE wind @ 2 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy, high temp. 84 deg. E. wind @ 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain, 40%.


About 8:30 yesterday morning, Laura swung by and picked up Linda and Jim. This trip was to take Linda over to the Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach so that she could have a Post-Op exam and a Post-Op consultation with Dr. Molpus, the surgeon who preformed Linda's surgery.

The exam went well and the doctor was pleased with Linda's progress and the healing of the surgery incisions.

Then, came the consultation!!!

Dr. Molpus explained that the tumor had grown almost through the uterus wall and that the biopsies had for the most part come back negative. But, (And there's always a "but" isn't there?), he did remove some suspect tissue from the surrounding areas that came back positive. :-( 

So, even though the final decision is Linda's, he highly recommends the she has both Chemo and Radiation therapy. :-((  This hit Linda pretty hard as she was hoping that they would only have to do the Radiation therapy.

Now, what does this all mean?  Well the details will be worked out when she meets with the Chemo and Radiation people, but Dr. Molpus told her that the whole procedure would take close to 9 months with rotations between the Chemo and Radiation!!! :-O  That would mean that if they wait another 4 weeks for Linda to completely heal up from the hysterectomy surgery, (which the doctor says is necessary), they would start the Chemo and Radiation sometime in December or January.

That would mean that it would be sometime during September or October before we could travel again. :-(  It is possible that there will be short times between secessions, and if Linda is up to it, we might be able to go RVing for short times, but that's a very big "if"!!!

As many of you know, these treatments can be very disabling, so only time will tell if we'll be able to travel at all, or not. Jim says, "We'll do what we have to do", but right now, Linda is pretty upset about the whole thing, and I can't say I blame her. It's a big disappointment and will be a lot for her to deal with during the next 9 or 10 months.

Did you know that the first Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages were three inches wide and eighteen inches long?  You made your own bandage by cutting off as much as you needed.

Woof!!!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A Trip To The Used Bookstore, Laundry and We're Proud

DeBary, FL.

58 deg. overcast, NW wind @ 15mph with 25 mph gusts.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 68F. Breezy. Winds from the NNE at 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

Not a whole lot to report. Linda and Laura went to a used book store in Orange City Monday. By the time they returned, Linda was really tired, but said that she enjoyed the outing and ended up buying a few paperbacks. ;-)

Because the laundry hamper was overflowing, Linda and Jim did a couple loads of laundry yesterday. Actually, Jim took the laundry out to the storage shed and put the clothes into the machines while Linda talked him through some of the settings for the washer and dryer, from the kitchen doorway.

Yeah, I know, ,  ,  ,  you'd think that Jim would know how to do the laundry, but that is one of those things that Linda always took care of. He would carry the baskets of dirty clothes for her and bring the washed items back, but he never really "did" the laundry.

Well, you can't say that he hasn't now!! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!!!!! ;-)

Jim didn't think that Linda was up to making dinner or going out to eat yesterday so he volunteered to go out and get something, but Linda said that she thought it would be good for her if they went out to eat. So, they ended up going to Steak 'n Shake for a Steakburger.

After they returned, the evening was spent watching TV.

You know, Jim and I are really proud of Linda. She's still pretty sore and gets tired quickly, but she has been pushing herself and trying to do something active each day. She has quite a list of things that she's not supposed to do, so some days it's hard to find something she can do.

Friday, she has an appointment with the surgeon, (Dr. Molpus), for the follow up to here surgery and to find out what further treatments he thinks will be necessary. She's not looking forward to going at all! She says that she's more worried about the procedures that he may recommend than she was about the surgery itself.

Did you know that Steak ‘n Shake was founded in February, 1934 in Normal, Illinois? Gus Belt, Steak ‘n Shake’s founder, pioneered the concept of premium burgers and milk shakes.

Woof!!! 

Monday, November 11, 2013

Veteran's Day

DeBary, FL.

61 deg. clear, N. wind @2 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 82F. Winds from the NE at 5 to 10 mph.

Please take a few minutes today to honor our veterans. Because of them, we are free to pretty much do whatever we want. And if you see a veteran, thank him for putting his life on the line for all of us.

Oh, and if you have a flag, get it out and fly it today. Show everyone that you appreciate what so many have done for us, including giving their lives, the ultimate sacrifice. 





Did you know that major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect?

Woof!!!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Linda's First Outing, A Photo and Christmas Decorations?

DeBary, FL.

6o deg. clear, N. wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 81F. Winds from the NNE at 5 to 10 mph

Things have slowed down around here. Friday evening, Linda decided that she wanted to go out to eat someplace, so CLT (Cute Little Truck), took her and Jim over to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City. That was the first time that Linda had been out of the house since she came home from her surgery. Jim says that she did really well, and they both enjoyed a nice meal. :-)

Linda was quite tired by the time they returned though, so she sat in her chair and watched TV for the rest of the evening.

Oh, speaking of Linda's chair,  ,  ,  ,  , Jim took a photo of the new living room arrangement, so I thought I'd post it today. As you can see, the couch has been moved over to the wall on the right and Jim and Lind's chairs have been moved in front of the windows. The love seat that matches the couch has now been moved into the craft room and the blue chair that was in there has been placed where Linda's chair used to be.

By doing this, they lost one seating space, but now their chairs are right across the room from the TV and they both can more comfortably watch it.

The mailman brought a sales flier from ACE Hardware the other day and they had some Christmas decorations and lights at a good price, so Jim took CLT and headed over there and bought a bunch of stuff. You see, for the last 13 years or so, Jim and Linda have been using a little 2 foot tall tree in whatever Motorhome we had at the time. Well,  ,  ,  ,  ,  can you imagine how that 2' tree would look here in the house? They also have only enough lights and decorations decorate the small tree, so Jim bought more lights and a few decorations for the house.

They'll still need to get a larger tree and more decorations for the tree, but more of that kind of thing should be going on sale in the next couple weeks or so.

No big plans for today, except the "Da Bears" game is supposed to be on TV this afternoon and I'm sure Jim and Linda will watch it. They still root for "Da Bears" even though it's been a long time since we've lived in Illinois. ;-)

A Point to Ponder : Since a running back runs forward, why is he called a running back?

Woof!!!

Oh, can you find me in the above photo? Boy was I scared!!! :-O


Thursday, November 7, 2013

Been Busy, Lots of Company and Joe Heads Home

DeBary, FL.

69 deg. overcast, SW wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast =
Partly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 82F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

It's been real busy around here the last few days. Of course, Joe has been here and Laura and Lindsey have stopped by from time to time. Ashley has also stopped by and Anna even took a day off from work and made the trip down here from Jacksonville the other day to see Grandma and Joe. :-)

And, the day that Anna was here, Ashley brought over and introduced her new boyfriend, "Chris". Then, because Anna, Ashley, Chris and Joe were all here, Laura and Lindsey bought some fried chicken and other "fixen's",  from the grocery store for dinner.

I hope Chris wasn't too overwhelmed by everyone, (this was the first time he had met any of Ashley's family), because there was a lot of joking and telling of stories between the family and poor Chris kind of got caught in the middle of all of the banter. :-O

He seemed to be OK with all of it though. ;-)

Oh, I wanted to show you the neat bouquet of flowers that Glenn, (Linda's brother who lives up in Wisconsin), and Jeanette sent right after Linda got home from the hospital. They were really pretty and Linda really appreciated them.

Yesterday afternoon, Joe had to head back to Virginia Beach. But. in the morning, Jim snapped this photo of him sitting at the table out in the Florida Room and doing some work on his computers. He was able to get some work done while he was here, but said that he was getting pretty far behind.

About 2:00, after many hugs and a few tears, he went back to the airport to catch his plane back home. :-(

It was sure great that he was able to come. Jim says that he thinks that Joe being here was better medicine for Linda than any doctor could have prescribed.

Linda seems to be doing much better. She's been getting around better and she says that the soreness is definitely  going away. In fact, last night, she was saying that one of these days real soon, she'd like to go out to eat, maybe someplace like Gram's Kitchen. :-)

She still gets tired real easily, so she'll have to carefully pick the time when she wants to go.

Oh, Linda's doctor appointment has been changed from the 13th to the 15th of November. There was some kind of scheduling problem.

Jim still hasn't taken any photos of the re-arranged living room. The place has been kind of a mess with everyone here, but it's pretty well straightened up now and I'm hoping he'll take some today or tomorrow.  

Did you know that today is "National Men Make Dinner Day"?

Woof!!!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

A Busy Place

DeBary, FL.

72 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast =
 High of 82F. Winds from the SW at 10 to 15 mph shifting to the NW in the afternoon. Chance of rain 60%.

This has been a busy place for the last few days. Thursday, a little after noon, Joe got here from Virginia Beach, VA. His flights were on time and he said that it was a good trip.

Once Joe got here, Laura and Lindsey stopped by to see Joe for a couple hours and then about 4:30 or so, Roland and Louise came. Soon after Roland and Louise arrived, Roland and Jim went and picked up some Chinese for dinner.  Roland and Louise couldn't stay long because they still had to go down to Frostproof and get their double-wide opened up so they could stay there, so they left about 6:30 or so.

Yesterday, Linda mentioned to Jim and Joe that she wasn't happy with the furniture arrangement in the living room, so Jim and Joe proceeded to move thing around. Jim hasn't taken any photos of the new layout yet, but the 2 recliners are now where the couch used to be, making it better for TV viewing from the chairs that they normally sit in.

Soon after they were done moving the furniture, Joe went to the grocery store and bought items to make taco's for dinner.  After a delicious meal of Taco's, Laura and Lindsey stopped by for awhile to visit and see how Linda was doing.

Speaking of Linda. She's doing fine and is able to do more each day. She says that the soreness seems to be going away and see seems to be getting more energy as time goes on.

Oh, and she called the doctor's office yesterday and he wants to see her on Wednesday, November 13th for a check-up and to discuss further treatment if necessary. He also told her that no further treatment would be done until she is completely healed up from the surgery, which will be between 6 to 8 weeks from now.

So,  ,  ,  ,  that's what I know for now. Joe will be staying here until this coming Wednesday. (He can do some work from here on the Internet), I'm sure Laura and Lindsey will be stopping by from time to time and this evening, Ashley is planning on stopping by for awhile.

It's been really great to see Joe again and Linda is just thrilled that he's here and will be able to stay that long. If I don't post every day, don't worry, Linda seems to be doing fine, it's just very busy around here right now. ;-)

Did you know that November is "Banana Pudding Lovers Month"?

Woof!!!