Living life

 First resumed treatment is done.  No ill effects, other than the steroids the next day.

Keeping an eye on my overall wellness.... Watching for any swelling, or shortness of breath.

REALLY don't want heart failure.... really.

On Friday, I babysat the kitten again, whose official name is Sora Beth...yes, her middle name is after me.  

She has gained so much weight and strength in the past week!  She was up 5 ounces from what the vet said, according to my kitchen scale!  

Her eye is fine, and she is thriving!

Today, Lori and I are making dinner together, and Sora will be here again.  Dave will keep an eye on her while we cook, so he can practice for being her care giver tomorrow, while I am at the office.

Also this past week, we saw the resumption of "Grateful Dead Meet Up At The Movies."  It didn't happen the past couple of years because of the pandemic, and they brought it back with a show that I attended in Chicago in June of 1991.

OF COURSE, we went!  It was so cool to see a concert that I attended on the big screen!  I think Dave was kind of bored, but I loved it.  It was sad that there were only 10 people in the theater. 

Unfortunately, there were not enough shots of the crowd, so I did not see myself, HAHA!  Our seats were really good that night.... 20th row center, so it was a distinct possibility that my split second of fame might have happened.

The oppressive heat of summer has well and truly arrived here.  It's been awful.  We had another storm the other morning, and the power blinked off for a minute.  Fortunately, that was all it was.

This coming week, we will see triple digits most days.  I HATE high summer, and I absolutely DESPISE summer in Oklahoma. 

My container garden is suddenly in stress, and appears to be dying.  Again.  My healthiest delicata squash plant is infested with squash bugs, and I can't seem to get them under control, so, as always, I am giving up.

The herbs are doing well, though.... so far.

Thankfully, I have ZERO appointments this coming week, so will just be living life, and trying to stay cool.

No plans yet for the 4th, but we are taking the 3rd off, so we can have a long weekend. 

Today is my sister's 67th birthday.... wish we were there to help her celebrate.

Have a good week!

Trying out the generator for real

 We had a storm last night.  75 mile per hour winds.

We heard the power go out.... that weird, deep, "Woo-omp" sound of a pole line transformer exploding.

Good times!

It was a very short storm, but there are tree limbs down all over town, and 100K of us are without electricity, city-wide.

SO, Dave got the generator out, hooked up, and running, and we have ample amperage to run the lights, the WiFi, and the fridge and freezer.

No hot water, and probably not much else... HOPEFULLY, we will be able to have air conditioning.

It's cool this morning, but it will NOT stay that way, and next week is to be hellish.  The windows are open now, though, and the breeze is nice.

My friends are still here from Illinois, and this is throwing a wrench into our plans for today, their last day to hang out with us.  

Instead of them bringing their laundry here, and spending the day with us, they are using the laundry facility at their hotel, and coming over later, IF it doesn't get too hot in the house.  

J suffers from heat-related migraines much worse than I do!

I took advantage of the cooler morning, and got some weeding done in my poor herb garden.  It's been choked by Asiatic day flower, cucamelon vines, and grass.  Plus, the trumpet vine that's coming over the fence from next door is spreading through the fence on the ground.  UGH!

My barrel garden is doing great, though.  The delicata squash plants are ENORMOUS, and I already have two baby squash!

We had a great day with J and L yesterday!  We went out for breakfast, then to the art museum, which had a special exhibit of Rodin sculptures and impressionist paintings.  OKC MOA also has the largest collection of Chihuly glass art, and they are both big fans, so they were pretty excited to see that.

Then, we went for lunch and beers, and back home to watch the Cubs and just relax.  Dave and L both took naps. 

Light dinner, and then sent them back to their hotel before the storms came.

I go back into treatment this coming Tuesday, for two sessions.  Please send best outcome vibes!  We don't need my heart to be damaged any more than it already has been.

J and L leave tomorrow, and I am back to the office, without being able to take a hot shower in the morning.  Ugh. 

(that is, we are fully expecting the power to be out for days.  The power company updates say that there are 57 items that need repair in our zip code, and that there are about 3000 households without power in our immediate area.)

In other news, our friend Lori from a couple of blocks away, found a tiny baby kitten in the lot behind the place she works.  She rescued it, and I am helping take care of it.

Yesterday, Lori took the kitten to a vet, and found out that she's female, 12 days old, weighs 3.9 oz, and has a tiny eye infection.  

I baby sat all day on Friday, and will probably have the privilege again next week, between Wednesday and Friday, during the work days.

Lori also brought the cast iron pot back from the guy who sand blasted it for us.  It looks great!  Just need to get it seasoned now.

Okay, I am back to the weed pulling.... have a great week!

Dancing day

 The day long dance retreat yesterday was fun, despite the fact that the upstairs level of the building we were in HAD NO WORKING AIR CONDITIONING!

I struggled all day with keeping heat exhaustion at bay....that part was AWFUL.... Everything I brought home with me was soaked with sweat.... My dance class clothes, my travel clothes, my photo shoot caftans.... my sweat towel, HAHA...and my poor costume, which, of course, cannot be washed.  It was just disgusting.

But, though I was streaming with sweat all day, and into the evening, until I got into my friend's air conditioned car... but managed to drink enough water to continue sweating.  SO, no heat exhaustion...and, by some miracle, no heat headache!

The routine we learned in class is really cute, and I got to perform for my dance community to a GLOWING round of applause, cheers, and compliments, despite my being aware that I was over heated, not pointing my toes, and had bad posture due to being SO tired.

In other news, like, REALLY BIG news....my dear, dear friend Jessie, and her MOM, showed up from southern Illinois on Friday, after I clocked out from work!

Dave kept the surprise, which is a miracle in itself.  

We hung out Friday night, and had breakfast together yesterday.  

Today, we will be getting together, and exploring around town, a little before having dinner here at the house.  There WILL BE shenanigans.

I'm going to make grilled chicken tacos for dinner, but then, tomorrow, I have to get up at 5:45 for my office day, then the doc.  I will probably take off dance class, since I have visitors in town.

AND THEN, my visit to the cardiologist went well, AND my scan results were GOOD!  

There is a measurable response in both the liver, and in the skeleton.  No progression anywhere else, so IT WAS WORKING!

SO, I see my doctor tomorrow, and we will discuss next steps.  My nurse said we will probably resume the same protocol, but at a lowered dose, because the cardiologist is happy with where I am with HIS current protocol, which is still the lowered dosage of the heart meds.

We will, obviously, keep a close eye on my cardiac health if we continue with the Enhertu.

Onward we fight!

Since I have friends in town, and have stuff to do today before we get together (they will be here ALL WEEK, through next weekend!), I am going to sign off, and wish you a good week!  

Scans next week

 We just got back from the National Cancer Survivor's Day thing at the park.  Got to see my friends dance, and met up with a fellow survivor, who was my exercise accountability partner during the pandemic.

It's getting cloudy, and looking like rain.....so this will be a good afternoon for me to finally start practicing some dance, and getting a costume together for possibly performing next weekend at a private dance studio event.

My dental check up when fine this past week.

This coming week, I see the cardiologist on Tuesday for my follow up, and my scans are Wednesday.  

My appointment with the oncologist isn't until the 12th, so I would imagine that my nurse will call with the scan report.

Hopefully, the Enhertu actually DID something to the cancer, before we had to stop it.

There was a meeting this past week that FINALLY got the payment assistance program worked out, after collection letters and phone calls started coming in.

Every program works differently, and this one, apparently, requires that the billing office call the assistance program to get paid.  They didn't know that, which is understandable, because it's so ... weird.

Hopefully, though, now my bill will be paid, and maybe I will get a refund for the money I have paid to keep out of collections.

Went to a salon and got my hair cut off yesterday.  It looks terrible....like I could have done it myself with a pair of dull scissors.  

I need to get used to it, is all...and figure out how to "style" it.... that's a joke.  OH well.  It grows.

Have a good week!