Where To Start???

DeBary, FL.

77 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast today = Scattered Thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain, 70%.


Where to start?????

I know, it''s been a long time since I've posted, and I'll take all the blame!!! :-(

At the end of February,  Linda and I took a little trip over to Cedar Key, where we stayed at the Beachfront Motel for 3 nights. It was a nice little "get-a-way" but it really wore me out, especially being that our room was on the second floor and we had to carry all our "stuff" up and down the stairs. :-(  We had a good time though, and I think if it wouldn't have been for the stairs, it would have been much more pleasant.

March, 18th, Ashley and Chris tied the knot at a very small ceremony, (Only 20 people in attendance). It was held in a banquet room at a large restaurant over in Lake Mary, Fl. ( about 15 miles from here). It was very nice and then after the ceremony, we had a great meal at the restaurant.

The first part of April, I had a PET scan. The results were good and I won't have to go back to the Dr. again until November, when I'll have another scan.

On the 11th of this month, Linda had a CT scan. Things got a little scary as they found some very small spots, but it turned out to be nothing and so, she also won't have to go back until November.

I've been having a lot of fatigue and around the first of this month, received 2 iron infusions, (at 1 week intervals), and now seem to be regaining some stamina.

I hope it continues, cause I don't like feeling tired all the time.

For the first week in June, I've booked a 4 day stay at a "lodge" in Crystal River, FL. I found it on-line and it sounds like just what we need for a nice quiet "get-a-way" for a few days. I don't know about the "lodge" part, but it sounds really nice and it has very good ratings,  so we'll see.

I'll let you know how it was when we get back.

If I continue to regain some energy, we have penciled in a trip up to Illinois, Wisconsin and possibly  Minnesota beginning about the 9th of July.  Linda's nephew, who lives up in Minnesota is getting married, and she'd really like to attend, if we can.

Other than doctor appointments, we've just been doing normal things. We go out to eat occasionally, and do other things like grocery shopping etc., but that's about all. I promise I'll try to post more often, and if we do get to head North this summer, I'll have something to post about.

In the meantime, Linda and I hope all of you are still checking in on our blog and hope you'll check back again.


Chinese Proverb,  "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it."

We still miss you Blaine!!!

Bye!!!!

Happy Birthday Linda and Starting To Get Ready

DeBary, Fl.

75 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. High 94F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.


Nothing real exciting going on around here. Jim and Linda have been getting things together to take along on our Illinois trip. They've made some lists so they could remember what they need to take and have already started packing some things into boxes and bags. 

Saturday, was Linda's birthday, so at noon, they met Laura, Lindsey and Anna over at the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. Then, in the evening, they headed to Laura's where they had Cupcakes and ice cream. Marv, Inez, Ashley, Chris, Anna and of course Laura and Lindsey were there and it sounds like everyone had a good time. ;-) 

Linda blowing out candles on cupcakes

Yesterday, Jim took Lily and went to Walgreen's to pick up a few prescriptions and to the local Winn Dixie store where he bought some groceries to use on or trip up North. Today he wants to get outside early and get a few things done out there before it gets too hot. We're right in the middle of the hottest time of the year down here now and almost every day, the temps are in the mid-ninety's with rain showers/storms in the afternoon, causing lots of humidity.  :-( 

Jim seems to be feeling pretty well. For now, most of the side effects from the Opdivo seem to be gone, but he is still taking medicine to counter those effects. Hopefully by the time that medicine is gone, so will be the side effects. 

It's still not completely decided on just when we'll be leaving DeBary. If they get everything ready, we may leave here as early as Sunday. I think Linda is worried about how Jim will be feeling after traveling for 4 or 5 hours a day, and said yesterday, that she thought that adding an extra "rest" day to the trip would be good. 

Well, that's about it for now. I'm going to make a real effort to post more often, especially while we're traveling.  


Did you know that on this date in 1966 - The Monkees recorded their first single? The song was "The Last Train to Clarksville" and was later included on their self-titled debut album. 

Woof!!!

Finally Something To Report

DeBary, FL.

Wednesday 10;00 pm EDT - 72 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast Thursday = Mostly sunny skies. High near 85F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.


Well, I finally have something to report. 

In my last post, I told you that Jim had had a CT Scan and the doctors had found a spot in his right lung. Since then, he has had a PET Scan on the 13th of April, and it was determined that in addition to the spot in that lung, there was also evidence of something in the same place that had been treated before in his left lung. He has since been to see the Chemo doctor, and now is waiting for an appointment to have a biopsy on the spot in the right lung preformed at the hospital in Orange City.

There is some evidence that the spot in the right lung looks different than the spot in the left lung. That is actually good because if it is, that would possibly mean that the original cancer has not spread to a different part of his body, but is in fact, a different cancer. If that's the case, it would mean that the original cancer is not in his blood stream and going to other parts of his body.

So, we wait for the biopsy and then the diagnosis. After that, there will be radiation and chemo very similar to what he had a little over a year ago. :-(  If that's the case, we won't be traveling at all this summer. 

Jim's not doing too bad. He's "down" at times, but for the most part, he trying to keep a good attitude about all of this. He's very disappointed and is dreading having to go through the chemo treatments again, especially since he still has some side effects from the last treatments he had, just over a year ago.  

Linda is very worried about Jim but is also trying to keep her spirits up. She knows that she'll have to try to stay strong and be there for moral support for Jim. 

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  that's about all I know for now. As soon as the results from the biopsy come in, I imagine they'll start treatments. At that time, we should find out more about how long the treatments will last and possibly get some idea of what the summer will bring as far as any plans Jim and Linda can make.

Please keep Jim and Linda in your thoughts and prayers. I'll post update here as often as I can to try to keep all of you up-to-date.

Woof!!!

  

New Tires For Big RED, Good News and Some Not So Good News

DeBary, FL.

45 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Plentiful sunshine. High 76F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.


When I last posted, I mentioned that Big RED needed new tires. Well, Ray, (a man who used to live across the street from us here in the park), e-mailed Jim and told him about a local tire shop (Big T. Tires), a little North of here. Jim took Big RED and headed over there and really liked the place. And, on top of that, they had a good price on a set of tires!!! 

So, now, Big RED has a set of nice new tires that should last a good long time. :-) 

This past Monday, Jim went in to Dr. Graham's office, (Jim's radiation doctor), for that CT Scan that I told you about a while back. He had the scan and then on Wednesday, he and Linda went back to see Dr. Graham and get the results of the scan. So, what's the results? you ask????  Well, there's good news and some not so good news. 

First of all, the scan showed that the left lung that was treated before was clear and looked good. But, , , , , the scan showed a very small spot in the right lung!!!  :-( 

Now, this spot may be nothing at all, but now, Jim is scheduled for a PET Scan this coming Thursday, April 13th, to find out for sure. Then on Monday, the 17th, he and Linda will go back to get the results.

If it is malignant, it will have to be treated. If it is only that one small spot, Dr. Graham says that he's sure he can treat it with radiation and that because of where it is and how small it is, the treatments should not take long and we should still be able to travel this summer, possibly still leaving during the first part of May.  

So,  ,  ,  ,  , things have kind of been put on "hold" until we find out more. 

On the other hand, Linda had a visit with her surgeon yesterday, and everything looked real good, so there's good news there. 

I'll post again as soon as Jim and Linda get the results on the 17th. Jim seems to be doing pretty well with this disturbing news, but as you can imagine is pretty worried. Hopefully everything will come back negative and we can resume out summer plans.


A Quote to Ponder. "He who enjoys good health is rich, though he knows it not".

Woof!!!

Update and A Celebration In The Neighborhood

DeBary, FL.

69 deg.  mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 88F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.


Not a whole lot to report.  Jim has been doing OK, but the fatigue has been pretty severe. It really bothers him that he can't even seem to get the smallest chores/jobs done without having to sit down and rest after just a few minutes of any kind of activity. Then, on top of that, he's been sleeping longer in the mornings and then taking long naps almost every day too.

Because of his low energy level, he and Linda have not gone out to eat or do any shopping, in fact, Linda went to Public's by herself the other day and bought a whole bunch of groceries. Jim was able to help carry the groceries into the house however, so that helped Linda a lot.

Tomorrow, Jim will have one of the 2 last chemo treatments that he'll be getting. Both of these last 2 treatments will be a larger dose than what he's been getting in the past. They'll also be spaced 3 weeks apart so that he'll have some recovery time between treatments. Needless to say, Jim's pretty worried about what the larger dosage side effects will be. :-(

Hopefully they won't be too severe.

There is a couple living across the street from our house here in DeBary, and they had a wedding anniversary this past Tuesday. There names are Bill and Margarete  (SP)?, and they are both really nice people. In fact, Bill insists on looking after our house when we're not around and will call Jim if anything out of the ordinary happens. He even cleans the junk mail out of the mailbox while we're gone for the summer and saves it for Jim and Linda's return.

Margarete fell and severely injured her leg about a year ago and has spent a lot of this last year in rehab, so she hasn't been too active, but Bill takes care of her and does all yard maintenance, the shopping and running around that needs to be done. In fact, Bill worked as a "porter" at a car dealership until just a few years ago.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm telling you all of this, but you see, both Bill and Margarete are in their 90's and Tuesday, they celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary!!!!!

That's right!!! 69 years!!!!!  

They are a great couple and we're so lucky to have them as our very good neighbors.

Happy Anniversary!!!!


Did you know that the St. Patrick’s Day custom came to America in 1737?  It was first celebrated publicly in, the U.S. in Boston.

Happy Thanksgiving, Somebody Told Jim and Doctor Visit And Tests

DeBary, FL.

65 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Showers early, then partly cloudy for the afternoon. High 78F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%.


First of all I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a great day with family and/or friends. Most of us really do have a lot to be thankful for.


Somebody told Jim that I let everyone know that he wasn't feeling well, but to my surprise, he really wasn't all that upset with me. :-) Oh, he scolded me, but I can deal with a scolding.

Monday, the 23rd, about 1:00, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to the doctor's office where Jim had to fill out bunches and bunches of papers. Then, he was taken into one of the rooms where he and Linda  met Dr. Mathura.

After the "meet and greet", Dr. Mathura proceeded to check Jim out. He looked in his ears to make sure that the passageway to the other side was unobstructed, ;-) ,  stuck a wooded stick down his throat, listened to his heart and his lungs and pushed on Jim's chest and stomach with his hands. After he was done poking and prodding, a nurse came in and hooked Jim up to a machine that had a whole bunch of wires which connected to little band-aid like things that the nurse pasted all over Jim chest.

As you may know, this machine and procedure is called an EKG and soon after the nurse was finished with the test, the Dr. came in and told Jim and Linda that everything looked OK.  Then, as expected, the Dr. told Jim that he wanted him to have chest X-Rays and get a blood test.

He also gave Jim prescriptions for an inhaler and some pills to try to help his breathing.

There's a place called Orange City Imaging right in the same complex of buildings, so after leaving the Dr's office, Jim and Linda headed over there and had the X-Rays done right away.

Jim couldn't get an appointment for the blood test until Wednesday, so Wednesday morning, Jim took Big RED and headed over to the Quest Diagnostics place in Orange City. After sticking him in the arm and draining out some blood, Jim headed back home and had something to eat, cause he couldn't eat anything before the test.

Wednesday afternoon, a nurse from Dr. Mathura's  office called and told Jim that the Dr. had looked at the X-Rays and found something on them that needed further inspection. The Dr. recommended a CT Scan and the nurse said that Jim could have the scan done at the same place as he had had the X-Rays done if he wanted to. Jim said OK and soon Orange City Imaging called and Jim now has a 9:00 appointment for next Friday to have the CT Scan.

As you can imagine, this did not make Jim and Linda happy. It's never good when the Dr. finds something wrong on a test and tells you that you need further tests.

Today, Jim and Linda are invited to go over to Marv and Inez's house, (Lindsey's parents), for Thanksgiving dinner. At first, Jim said that he wasn't going to go, but after Laura stopped by yesterday evening and talked to Jim for awhile, he decided that he may as well go, rather that sitting around here, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and feeling sorry for himself.  :-)


Did you know that The pilgrims arrived in North America in December 1620 and by the fall of 1621 only half of the pilgrims, who had sailed on the Mayflower, survived? The survivors, thankful to be alive, decided to give a thanksgiving feast.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Woof!!!

Mike and Dillon Visit and A Lily For Linda

Moncure, NC.

66 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.

I was a little worried Sunday morning as the weather guessers were forecasting a 100% chance of rain for the day and I knew that Mike and some of his family were coming out here to the CG for the afternoon.

But, as I've said before, "Worrying works. 90% of what I worry about, never happens!!!", and the afternoon turned out to be beautiful with only a few small showers passing through.  ;-) And, being that Jim had the awning out and chairs set up under it, everyone managed to stay dry while enjoying the temperatures in the middle 70's with a little breeze blowing.

Gina, Brenna and Savanna didn't come, (they went to Gina's mom's house for Mother''s day), but Mike and Dillon came out here for about 3 hours during the afternoon.

Dillon is 7 years old now and he's at that age when boys seem to just grow like weeds. :-) I think he grows at least 6 inches in between each of our visits!!!

I think he's going to be tall, just like his dad and grandfather who are both around the 6'4" mark.

Mike and Dillon also brought Linda this beautiful potted plant for Mother's Day.

It's called a Calla Lily and Linda was thrilled that they gave it to her!!

Not a whole lot happened around here yesterday. It got up to 88 degrees here at the CG and the humidity was right up there too. Today, the weather guessers are forecasting the first 90 degree day for this year, but there's supposed to be a cold front coming through in the afternoon which will cool things down.

I sure hope that cold front doesn't bring any severe storms along with it.

Then, the plan is to go over to Mike and Gina's for dinner and to visit for awhile this evening. Jim and Linda won't stay too long though, because the "kids" start getting ready for bed at about 7:30 or so.

Did you know that May is "National Hamburger Month"?

Woof!!!

One Down And One To Go

Rantoul, IL.

60 deg. mostly cloudy, SE wind @ 3 mph. Thunder in the distance.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with isolated storms. Highs around 82°F. South southeast wind 5 to 10 MPH. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Yesterday morning was kind of hard for Linda and Jim. That's the problem with having "later in the day" appointments, you can't really start anything and you end up just sitting around, thinking about what's going to happen and worrying about it. :-(

About 11:45, they headed out to Big RED and he took them down to the Carl Hospital in Urbana.

The trip down there was uneventful, but once Big RED dropped Linda off at the hospital door and the nice volunteer took Linda inside, it was time to try to find a parking place for RED. Well, the only place to park was in this huge parking garage. He told me that as he went into the garage, there was a sign that said that there was a 7' height limit inside and he was sure he wasn't that high.

Once inside and making his way around the corners and up the ramps, he was sure that some of those beams from the above floors were below 7' though. He said that at times, he thought for sure that he was going to hit some of those beams with his roof!!! They looked really low!!!! :-O

Well, he made it up to the 3rd level where Jim backed him into a parking spot.

And, that's where he stayed for the next 5 1/2 hours!!!!!!

Yep, you read hat right!!!! 5 1/2 hours!!!!!

By the time Jim got into the hospital, Linda had registered and was waiting for him in the lobby. From there, another nice volunteer wheeled Linda up to the 2nd floor and to the section called, "Same Day Surgery", where Linda signed in at another desk.

After waiting in the waiting room for awhile, a nurse came out and took Linda back to the surgery area where she started the pre-op procedure.

After about an hour, Jim was finally led back to Linda's room by a very nice volunteer lady where he and Linda waited and waited and waited for Linda's turn in the operating room!!! :-(

It was so cold in the room that after while, Jim went to the nurses desk and asked for more blankets for Linda. One of the nurses brought her a couple blankets that she evidently got out of a blanket warmer because they were very warm when she put them over Linda. :-)

About 4:45, they finally came and got Linda out of the room and took her to surgery. The surgery only took about 20 minutes or so and in about 1/2 hour she was back in the room where Jim was still waiting.

As soon as she returned, they gave Linda some crackers and something to drink. Soon Dr. Anderson came into the room and gave Linda instructions on what to do, as far as putting drops into her eye etc. After that, the nurse got Linda up and dressed, got her into the wheel chair and told Jim to go get the car and they would bring Linda down to the patient pick-up area.

Big RED said that coming back down the ramps in the parking garage was even scarier than going up!!! He was on the inside of the turns and now he had to try to turn real sharp to miss cars that were going up the ramp, plus worry about hitting his roof on one of those beams!!!

He made it though and soon was parked in the patient pick-up area, waiting for Linda. :-) In just a few minutes, Linda arrived, (Wheeled there by another volunteer), and got into Big RED.

Whew!!!!

Being that Linda had not had anything to eat or drink, (except the crackers and drink up in the room after surgery), since about 10:00 the night before, she was very hungry and asked Jim if they could stop somewhere and get something to eat. So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  they headed over to the Urbana Gardens Restaurant where they both had very nice meals and relaxed a little. (Jim had to read the menu to Linda).   ;-)

After eating, Big RED brought Linda and Jim back here to the CG where they both relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Linda's eye seems to be doing fine. Everything was still blurry when she went to bed last night, but that's normal. I think she slept well and in fact is still sleeping, so, she must be comfortable.

Wednesday, she has an appointment at Dr. Anderson's office for a follow up check of her eye. Then, it will be decided for sure when she will have surgery on the other eye.

Did you know that today is "Wonderful Weirdoes Day"?

Woof!!!

Prescriptions, A Hat For Linda and Ashley Saves The Day

DeBary, FL.

59 deg. overcast, NE wind @2 mph.
Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High 71F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday morning, Linda was pretty sore from the surgery, so Jim headed to Walgreen's to get Linda's regular prescriptions refilled and pick up a few other items. He would have had to wait for at least an hour for them to have the prescriptions ready, so he told them he'd come back later.

One of the things he found while roaming around in Walgreen's, was a turbine type head covering that the ladies wear after they've washed their hair. Jim though it may make a nice head covering for Linda after she lost her hair, so he bought her one.

From Walgreen's, he headed over to Winn Dixie, (which is just across the street), and picked up some essentials before coming back here to the house.

When he got back here to the house, he showed Linda the head covering, and she was thrilled to death!!! :-) She thought it was just great, and said that she thought she'd wear it a lot.  

After lunch, Jim went back to Walgreen's and picked up most of the prescriptions. I say "most" because again, they didn't have enough of one of the meds, so now today, (Monday), he'll need to go back again! :-(

By Saturday evening, Linda was feeling better and she asked Jim what he thought about going out to eat someplace? She was also thinking about Ashley coming Sunday morning to shave her head, and said that she'd like to go out to eat before that happened.

So, about 4:30 they took CLT and headed over to Gram's Kitchen and had their Prime Rib Special!!! Both of them were still talking about how good the steak was when they returned and it made my mouth water as Linda was wrapping up the leftovers to put into the fridge and freezer! .-)

Sunday morning, (about 11:00), Ashley came over took care of Linda's hair. By this time, the hair was starting to come out by the handful so Linda was glad that she had made plans to get it removed. Ashley was very caring but yet  professional and in just a short time, it was done.

After finishing, Ashley stayed and talked for awhile and then headed to one of her friends house for lunch.

Linda wants to thank Ashley so much for the way she handled the whole thing. Because of the way she went about it, she kept it from being the traumatic experience that Linda was dreading.

Thank you so much, Ashley!!!!!!!

A Point to Ponder :  Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.

So Far, So Good!

DeBary, FL.

48 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy skies. High 73F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph.

There have been some days lately where Linda was having doubts about this whole chemo thing. She got to reading all about the possible side effects of the treatments and that probably wasn't a good thing. One thing that did help was that she received some very positive comments and e-mails from some of my blog readers. Some of who had gone through the treatments themselves and others who had loved ones or family members who had. To those folks, Linda wants you to know that your advice and kind words helped tremendously.

Thank You!!!!

As many of you know, yesterday was Linda's first treatment. Everything went well, but they had trouble with her veins and she will more than likely have to have a "port" installed. I don't know a whole lot about it, but from what I gather, it's a device that's surgically  implanted just under the skin and is hooked to a vein. This     "port" can then be used for all further treatments.

Linda's not very happy about the idea of having a "port", but thinks it's probably the best solution. :-(

When Jim brought Linda home yesterday, she was feeling fine. So far, (and I even heard Jim ask her how she was feeling this morning), she has not had any side effects. She is taking preventive medication for nausea, and as of last night, her appetite was fine.

This afternoon, he has to go back to the chemo place and get an injection. This is to help her immune system. They've already warned her that it could cause bone and joint aches and have advised her what she should do if that happens.

For the next 2 weeks, she will have to go to the chemo place every Thursday and get a blood test so that they can keep an eye on what the treatments are doing to the blood. Then, in 21 days, (also on a Thursday), she will have her second chemo treatment.

In the meantime,  the chemo place is making arrangements for her to get the "port" implanted, (an outpatient procedure), at the hospital.

Again, thanks everyone for the thoughts, prayers, comments and e-mails. And again, the RVing community has come through with flying colors!!!! :-)

A Point to Ponder : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Woof!!!

The Meeting and Emotions

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. light fog, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High 83F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.

The Chemo Patient Education meeting on Friday at the Chemo place went well and the nurse, (I think Jim said that her name was Margret), explained the  whole chemo treatment process, showed Linda, Jim and Laura the facilities and talked about some of the common side effects. She also gave Linda a bunch of papers that described the procedure, gave instructions about what Linda should and shouldn't do before and during the treatments and listed more of the possible side effects.

The meeting took about an hour and soon, Linda, Jim and Laura were back here at the house and discussing what they had learned.

That evening, Linda started reading the papers that she had received at the meeting, and that's when things got tough! :-(  You see, they listed the many, many possible sided effects of the chemo treatments, and to be honest, many of them are downright scary!!!!

It was at this point that Lind's emotions got the best of her.

This whole cancer thing has been very emotional and reading about the side effects really hit Linda hard. In fact it hit her so hard that she and Jim stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, talking about everything that has already happened and what was more than likely to happen in the near future.

I was trying to get some sleep, but I did hear them talking about the treatments, what effects they would have on their daily lives and what the future looks like concerning travels, seeing family and friends and time here in DeBary.

All of this has  put a huge bump in the road for Linda and Jim. The future is very uncertain and only time will tell what will happen. We are so fortunate that we've had over 12 years to travel and hopefully we'll be able to do much more traveling in the future.

On a lighter side.

Did you know that a passionate kiss uses up 6.4 calories per minute?

Woof!!!

CLT Goes To A Mechanic, Decorations and A Second Phone

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. light fog, no wind
Forecast = Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday, Jim took CLT to a mechanic down on US 17/92. You see, for a while now, there has been a clunking noise coming from his steering wheel, and just lately, his horn has started blowing at odd times while driving down the road. Jim was quite sure that something had come loose in the steering column and didn't want to take any chances of the steering either locking up or coming apart! :-O

The mechanics at Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center did a fine job and soon had CLT's steering repaired. While he was there, Jim also had the mechanic install new shocks on the front and do an alignment. Now CLT doesn't bounce while driving down the road and Jim says that he drives better too. :-)

While CLT was at the mechanic's, (Bob brought Jim back here to the house while CLT was being repaired), Jim and Linda finished decorating the tree. I think it looks pretty nice and I'm even starting to get into the Christmas spirit. ;-)

Then, about 4:30 Bob called and told Jim that CLT was finished and he would be picking him up in just a short while. In about 10 minutes, Bob arrived with CLT and picked Jim up. They headed back to the shop where Jim paid the bill, (Jim thought the charges were very reasonable), before bringing CLT back here.

Since she doesn't know how the chemo treatments are going to affect her, Linda's getting worried about getting everything ready for the upcoming holiday. In fact, yesterday, she and Jim were making a list of things that need to get done before the treatments start. Then, about 2:00 they took CLT and headed out to do some shopping and to see about getting another phone so that they can contact each other.

You see, all these years, Jim and Linda have only had one phone, and that had worked quite well because they were almost always together. Now, since we're here in DeBary, there already have been some times when a second phone would have come in real handy. After checking on how much it would cost to have another phone line added to their regular plan, it was decided to just go with a pre-paid phone, which was much less expensive.

After doing the shopping and getting the phone,  they came back here for while and then headed to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City for dinner.

This afternoon, Linda has an appointment at the chemotherapy  place for a "Chemo Patient Education" session. From what I understand, they will show Linda the facilities, explain the procedures to her and answer any questions she has about the treatment process and the side effects. Jim and Laura will also go along so that they will also have an idea of what Linda is going through.

 Then on the 12th, (next Thursday), Linda will have her first treatment.

A Point to Ponder :  Being kind is more important than being right.

Woof!!!

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!!! 

Joe and Roland And Louise Coming To Visit

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 88F. Winds from the ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

Linda is still doing well. Still sore and pretty weak, but she says that it seems like all of that is improving as time goes by.

I don't know just when, but Joe, from Virginia Beach is coming to see Linda today. I know he's been worried about his mother and has been trying to find a time when he could come down here. I'll know more a little later on, but I'm thinking it'll be sometime this evening before he gets here.

Linda can hardly wait to see him!!! ;-)

Also, Roland and Louise are planning on stopping by today. They're on their way down to their home in Frostpoof, FL for the winter and are planning to swing by here. Louise is going to call this morning and tell Linda and Jim when they'll be arriving. If you remember, they were going to come up to Rantoul for a visit. Then, just before they got there, we had to come down here for Linda's surgery, so we didn't get to see them. :-( 

Linda and Jim are really looking forward to seeing them too.

Laura stopped by for awhile yesterday. While she was here, she found out that Marv, (Lindsey's father), is having some medical problems and was going to the doctor.

I hope he's going to be OK.

Oh!!! With all that's been going on, I almost forgot that today is Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!!!!

Did you know that the owl is a popular Halloween image? In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.

I Forgot and Waiting

DeBary, FL.

72 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of rain, then thunderstorms and rain showers in the afternoon. High of 90F. Winds from the ESE at 5 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.


Really hasn't been much to post about. In the last post, I forgot to tell you that this next Tuesday, Linda has to go over to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach to have some x-rays and some blood drawn.

Right now, it's wait, wait, wait, so nothing much has gotten done around here. Linda did a couple loads of laundry. As she was doing the first one, the washer quit. It went through the wash cycle but then wouldn't drain. Jim called an appliance repair service and they came the next day and found that it was only the lid switch that had broken, so it was a quick, fairly inexpensive fix.

The freezer door gasket on the new refrigerator has been leaking air into the freezer compartment, so Jim called GE. They sent a repairman out Friday and he worked on it, but by Saturday morning, the frost was reforming again. He tried to call GE but of course they don't make appointments on the weekend, so he'll have to call again Monday.

The freezer is keeping everything frozen, but there is a frost build-up along the bottom of the door.

Thursday evening, Jim and Linda went to Gram's Kitchen for dinner. Linda had breakfast and Jim had their chicken pot pie. Then Friday evening, Jim cooked some burgers on the grill.

Well, I guess that all I have to report. The "unknown" is wearing on both Linda and Jim. Hopefully in a couple weeks, they'll know more.

Did you know that George Washington is the only man whose birthday is a legal holiday in every state of the U.S?

Woof!!!

A Stream Runs Through It and A Some Non-News

DeBary, FL.

70 deg. light rain, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with rain showers. High of 88F. Breezy. Winds from the NE at 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

We had a little excitement in the park yesterday.

You see, the gas company is in the community installing all new poly gas lines because the old ones are steel and they're pitting badley. Well, even though they have all kinds of paint marks in the grass and on the pavement, along with those little red, green, blue and yellow flags sticking up all over the place, they still  managed to hit a water line and break it.

Needless to say, there was a geyser and we ended up with a stream running down the middle of the street in front of the house. The above photo is looking upstream,

and the photo below is looking downstream.

The water ran for about 1/2 an hour before they finally got it repaired. Of course there were a lot of residents out there supervising the repair. ;-)

The doctor who did all the tests about 2 weeks ago called yesterday and told Linda that even after sending the samples to Johns Hopkins, the test results were still inconclusive and they don't seem to be able to tell if there is cancer or not!!! He said that he would send all the information that he had to the other doctor and suggested that Linda set up an appointment with the doctor. When Linda told him that she already had an appointment this next Tuesday he was pleased that Linda had already done that.

So, basicly it was non-news. They sill don't know what the tumor is and Linda and Jim don't know what this next doctor will do. Linda says that it needs to come out, so lets do it and they can decide if it's cancerous or not, after it's out, and then determine if any further treatment is necessary. !!

So, it's wait!!! wait!!! wait!!! And, there's really nothing that can be done until Linda sees the doctor next Tuesday. Then, hopefully, a decision can be made and they can get this "show on the road"!!!!

To be honest, I'm a little worried about Linda. This waiting is really starting to get to her. :-(

Did you know that there are more plastic flamingos in the U.S, than real ones?

Woof!!!