Preparing for Thanksgiving

Yesterday, Dave's brother Larry and sister in law Denise came down from Kansas.  They provided food from Cracker Barrell for us to have a Thanksgiving feast with Pop and Denise's brother, Lendell.  I brought an apple pie and whipped cream, but they provided everything else.

Since they had paid for all of the food, Dave and I did the clean up.

It was very nice, and there was so much left over food, AFTER we put away TEN meal portions for Pop's freezer, that we dropped it off at the City Rescue Mission on the way home.

The coming week brings our annual escape for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Our house sitters are ready, and I am starting to throw stuff in boxes for the cabin.

We have a cabin that we have never had before this year.  This will be our 6th year doing this trip.

The very first year, we had cabin 6, which is the smallest, and it sits RIGHT on the road into the cabin area. 

It's basically a bedroom with a kitchen area, and a bathroom the size of a closet. 

The fireplace and a small table with 2 wood and wrought iron chairs are in the bedroom.  It's very close quarters, but cozy.  Our butts get sore from only having the hard chairs to sit on all weekend, though!

You step off of the front porch, onto the road.  It's the only one like that, so you see people walking by, and driving by, the whole time.  The headlights at night are actually pretty annoying.

It also has just 2 square feet of counter space.

Then, we somehow lucked into cabin 13-- which is much bigger, with a screened front porch, and faces the lake.  

It has two separate rooms, a decent sized bathroom, a couch and easy chair in the living room, a table, and a breakfast bar counter with lots of space, and four wood and wrought iron chairs.  

The couch and easy chair fold out to beds.  The front porch also has a table and 4 cushioned chairs. 

13 faces away from the road, so you don't see the traffic, you see the lake.

We held that one for a couple of years, until Dave's mom asked us to stay home one year, so the family could gather. 

We canceled our reservation that year, and lost our hold on 13. That turned out to be a huge blessing, though, because mom was gone by the next Thanksgiving.

Then, when we called for a cabin for the next year, all that was left was cabin 6 again (no one wants it for Thanksgiving because it has 2 square feet of counter space). 

We were also stuck with cabin 6 again last year, as taking a cabin camping trip to Greenleaf seems to have become more popular. 

Whole families rent multiple cabins and feast together in the biggest one. 

They're the ones walking back and forth with platters of food all day. It's really not fair of us to take one of the bigger cabins for just 2 of us.  

There's another family who comes every year and rents a bunch of the cabins, and they also rent the big building at the other end of the park for their big feast. 

They're the ones who drive in and out in the dark.  They had 6 people in cabin 13 last year, so it was much better suited for that number of guests.

As we were leaving the year before last, the staff was cleaning cabin 11, which we had actually wanted to try to get for several years, and I asked if I could go look inside.  

They let me, and it looked perfect.  

Fireplace, small table and chairs, and futon in the living room area, big kitchen breakfast bar counter (like 13), and separate bedroom/ bath area.  Kind of like 13 on the inside, but without the big porch, and with more comfortable seating than 6.

It has so much going for it that should be perfect for us:   It's the one all the way at the end, which was why we wanted it before. It sits up high on the hill, has a big, sloping space between it and the road, and because it's at the end,  there will be no traffic with people walking by-- or driving by in the dark with their head lights shining in. Not that their lights could shine in unless they pull up into our area to turn around, and there should be no reason for anyone to do that!

The rule is, you either reserve the cabin you are checking OUT of for the next year if you want it again, OR, you take your chances, and wait until Monday afternoon, when everyone is gone, to call to see what's available for the next year.

Dave called on Monday after Thanksgiving last year and was successful at getting 11! 

11 is also  priced less than 13, due to the smaller capacity, and only a little more than 6--but still VERY reasonable.  

I hope we get to keep it for a few years! We will reserve it again for next year as we check out.

It's supposed to be pretty good weather, too.  Cold at night, chilly but sunny during the day. It might rain on Saturday as we are packing out.

It will be SOOO nice to be off work,and to be internet and phone free, for a few days!

In other news, I had my last 2 week injections on Thursday, and started my next cycle of chemo pills.

The injections REALLY hurt this time.  Since they had not hurt at all the last time, this was somewhat distressing, but oh well. Nothing to be done for it.

My hair is not falling out yet (gentle reader, please knock on wood for me!).  I am glad that I won't be bald for another winter.  Two was enough.  Ugh.

Now that I have gotten through the first cycle of 2 week injections, I will only have to go once a month from now on.

We still don't know how long this process is going to be.  

Side effects so far are lowered blood platelets (which is new, and means no more liquor for me, just wine once in a while), the mouth being slightly off, as I mentioned before, and loose stools/diarrhea.  Yay.

It's odd, but the pill chemo is actually being harder on me, in that my blood counts remained perfect during 15 months of IV chemo, and I never really had digestive issues.

Being bald and having more severe mouth issues and numbness was rough, too!!!  I guess it's about the same, if you equal it out.

I am grateful that I had 6 months of chemo free living this year!

The hormone blocking process (was pills, now injections), continues to cause orthopedic issues with my right thumb and left wrist.  I have a referral to a hand/wrist surgeon from my oncologist.  I will call after our trip and try to get in before my new deductible year starts.

Today will be about continuing to pack stuff for the trip, and cleaning the house.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!  I will have pictures next week.