Only 5 days and random comments

This round, it only took 5 days for me to feel up to exercise and normal activities again.

Go me!!!

The immune booster drug side effects, however, seemed to last even longer.

I REALLY do NOT want that shit again. Ever.  During these 4 rounds of adriamycin, it was the immune boosting shit that made me sick.

I only felt the "adria" for the first 24 hours, and that was just marked fatigue and manageable nausea.

Anyway, the only lasting side effect seems to be dry mouth, so I am being extra vigilant about my oral hygiene, and hoping it will pass sooner rather than later.

Another thing that I have noticed, not sure it's a side effect or not, is that my sense of smell is far more acute than usual.  It's usually pretty darned acute!!

If someone in my office has body odor after going out for lunch on a hot afternoon, or bad breath, I can smell it like they are sitting in my lap.

I can smell EVERYTHING.

I have heard pregnant moms-to-be complain of this....maybe it's my hormones changing?  It has been 8 months since the pill was withdrawn from my regimen.

The smell of the detergent aisle at the store ALMOST made me gag.  Normally, it's way too strong to "enjoy," but it doesn't make me feel overwhelmed like now.

It's weird.

The ugly darkening and banding of my finger and toe nails has grown out, so I can stop wearing nail polish now, if I want to.

I am pretty sure the discoloration was from the Taxotere that was given in the first 4 rounds of chemo, and then removed for the second four rounds.

I have actually gained too much weight since surgery, and now need to lose 5 to 10 pounds so my lower-body clothes fit again.  There's a little too much belly and hip going on at the moment.

Too many comfort foods and too much freedom.....gotta get back on the healthy track!!

Since it's clear that chemotherapy is not going to turn me into a walking skeleton, I can "safely" start removing unhealthy enticements from my menu!

Dave has gained probably 25 pounds, so it's also GOT to happen for him.  He's in agreement.

We now have veggies and hummus to take with us to work this week for our snacks, and I have thrown out the various forms of bread that were in the house.

What a waste...there was a package of garlic naan that I had bought and never opened.  I had forgotten that it was in the freezer.  It was freezer burned anyway, so that helped me feel a little less guilty about pitching it.

I HATE to waste food.  Food is sacred.

One of our feral colony cats, the current alpha male that we call Stannis, got his head stuck in a glass jar sometime this past week.

He managed to break the end of the jar off, but the broken glass "collar" remained on his neck.

We started putting out "vibes" or "prayers" or "intentions" or whatever you want to call it for him to be the one in the trap this week.  We felt that it was critical to help him, because, sooner or later, that glass was going to find a way to kill him.

Since he was not prone to coming in the mornings for breakfast, I suggested we put the trap out in the middle of the night, instead of in the early morning.

When I woke up to pee in the middle of the night, I woke Dave up, and the trap was set at 2 am

Whatever the reason, or the combination of reasons, Stannis was the one in the trap at dawn!

What a wonderful feeling for both of us to be able not only to get one more TNR done, but also to save a life.

The glass would be easy to remove once he was sedated for his neutering procedure.

He came home hale and hearty, and is happily back with his tribe, free of his dangerous glass collar, and his kitten-producing balls.

He will live out his life, defending his territory, and hanging out with his family.

By the way, all of this spring's kittens seem to have died.  Thankfully, none of them died in our yard this time.

We really need to get one of the girls the next time the trap is set.  They'll be going into season soon for their second annual litter, and we hope to be able to stop at least one of them from dropping more kittens to die on the street.

Okay, I am off to make home made breakfast sausage patties, to finish cleaning the house, and to do some laundry.

Everyone have a good Sunday!