Pens

 My treatment went just fine on Wednesday, though it was delayed by about an hour, so we didn't get home until after 6 pm.

It's so frustrating when that happens, but it seems to be the norm.  The one or two times that everything ran on time were definitely the exceptions! 

We've had a GORGEOUS few days here, with cool nights, and reasonable days!  

The recent rain brought us nearly 8 inches in 48 hours, which is, of course, too much to really nourish the land, BUT was good for refilling our water reservoirs. 

We are supposed to have 80s by the end of the week, but in the meantime, normal temperatures and light winds will be SUCH A TREAT!

I finally got my journal a few days ago.  It's smaller than anticipated, which is, of course, no surprise, since I learned that the company is NOT in the US, after all, but in China.

My plan is to make the best of it, though, and I have purchased a pack of pens in different colors.

Now, I just hope that I can find something to write about every day, even if it's just a line or two.

Today, we are going to take advantage of the gorgeous weather, and attend an Oktoberfest event at the fair grounds.

This event originated at a German restaurant out in the town of Choctaw, OK in the 1990s.

Dave used to go to it because he knew the owners of the restaurant, and they were fellow BMW auto fans. There was always a car show during the event, too.

When I first moved here, we went to it for a couple of years, both when it was at the restaurant, and then, when it got too big, and was moved to a park in Choctaw.

Unfortunately, the restaurant closed its doors in 2018, but the event still happens, and now is local to us, which is nice! 

I am looking forward to a Bavarian pretzel, and maybe some bratwurst and saurkraut, and a nice, cold beer.

Tomorrow, a major home improvement process begins.  We are having the ductwork for our HVAC system replaced.

It's all under the house, and there are areas of it that are collapsed and damaged, and full of moisture, which, of course, results in mold.

We are financing this through our home equity line of credit, so it will only increase our monthly payment by about $120, which is manageable.... AND, hopefully, it will reduce our chronic allergy symptoms, and reduce the amount of dust in the house as well! 

On that note, I am off to make some pancakes for our Sunday breakfast, and then to the shower, so we can go eat some more, later,  at Oktoberfest!

Have a great week!

What's cookin'?

 Well, the weather cool down did not last long.  That was what was predicted, though, so it was not a surprise.

Next week's mid to upper 90s, though?  Do we really need to do that?  Ugh.

They're saying, though, that actual autumn WILL arrive the week after next.  Once again, I will believe it when I feel it! 

My treatment went just fine last week, and, over this weekend, I have finally started sleeping again!

After weeks of intractable insomnia, I can't put into words how WONDERFUL it is to wake up at 3 am to use the bathroom, and realize that I've slept past midnight.... AND THEN TO GO BACK TO SLEEP!

I feel SO much better, in so many ways, just due to being able to sleep!

Anyway, as I have mentioned before, and as happens so often during this time of year since I moved to Oklahoma, I have gotten tired of waiting for cool weather to begin to enjoy cooking some of my favorite things.

Yesterday, using my new cast iron stove top cauldron, I made one of my favorite soups.  It's a recipe I developed when I was doing living history, and it's SO very good.

Butter beans, onion, carrots, celery, cabbage, barley or farro... It's so simple, but so nourishing and yummy! 

Today, I will be making pot roast with potatoes and carrots! 

Dave got the front yard mowed and edged yesterday, and it looks so much better.  He will be doing the back yard today.

I want to start putting Halloween decorations up soon, too! 

Have I mentioned that I want to start back with the practice of hand written journaling?  

It's been an urge bubbling away inside of me for a while now, so I have ordered a nice, leather bound, re-fillable journal, and gotten ink refills for my "fancy pen."

The pen is a Mont Blanc that I found in the parking lot of the carpet installation company where I worked WAY back in the 1980s.  

I know that one of my bosses dropped it, because they drove expensive cars, wore designer clothes, and used Mont Blanc pens......but I decided, then and there, that if they were so careless with a $400 pen, then it was meant to be mine!  Finders keepers, after all!  

Neither of them ever asked about it, so I kept it! 

It's taking weeks, however, for the journal that I ordered to get here.  

Even though the company I chose is supposedly in the US, their merchandise is shipped from.... you guessed it.... China.

The package was SUPPOSED to be here between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5, but, according to tracking, it is JUST NOW leaving China.  There's no telling when it will get here.

This disappoints me, and I am hoping that I can find refills of  paper the right size that doesn't have to come from China!

Despite the fact that I will be keeping a written journal, with memories, recipes, ideas, poems, or whatever I might feel like writing, I will continue to keep this electronic journal as well.

The idea of leaving something behind, some day, FAR into the future, that is in my own hand writing, appeals to me.    

I have so few treasures that are in the hand of my parents or grandma...and I know how special they are.

That being said, I am so anxious to get started that I am already thinking of what I will write in my first entries.... It's sort of become an obsession, HAHA!  I'm really looking forward to it.

In other news, our oldest feral kitty, the one we named Luke Skywalker when he and his mom, Star, showed up in our back yard WAY back in the 20teens, has been coming around for meals again!

Our yard cat, Sammie, had driven him away about 3 and a half years ago.  He started staying with the other feral cat helper across the street, and we saw him only rarely, always on the other side of the street.

Now that Sammie is gone, though, he feels safe coming back to visit us, and we are SO happy.

He is doing GREAT for a street cat who is about 13 or 14 years old!!   That is because of us.

We trapped him and his mommy at the same time... in the same trap...when he was still very young.  

We got them both TNR'd, and they took up residence in our back yard for the LONGEST time.  They adopted the one we called Silver when her mom abandoned her.  They were fixtures. 

Then, they started wandering, as feral cats will do....going back and forth to the other cat friend across the street.

When her time came, Star came to us, and died in our back yard. We were finally able to pet her, and to comfort her, in her last hours.  Luke watched us bury her.

The year Sammie and her mom, who is long gone, showed up, Luke started coming around less frequently....but when Sammie had her kittens, and raised them in our back yard, she drove him off once and for all.

Anyway, I went to the back door last Sunday evening, just to look outside, and THERE HE WAS!  He has come almost every morning and evening since.

He has had recurring infections that have rendered one of his eyes possibly blind, but he's doing just fine otherwise.  He meows to us, and last night, he ate while I sat on the stoop just a few feet away.

Then he flopped down on the patio and rolled around, onto his back, feeling completely safe.  It did my heart SO MUCH good!

Let's hope he continues to thrive, and to safely come to see us.  I hope that I can get him to play with me again, like he used to, using one of those wand toys....basically a long stick with a strip of cloth tied to the end, and a little toy at the end of the strip. 

We used to play with one of those while Star watched. 

Anyway, I am off to make myself some breakfast.  Part two of my treatment is Wednesday.

Have a great week! 

The cool down

 This past week has seen MUCH cooler weather, and a goodly amount of rain.  The burn ban in our county has been lifted, so I can look forward to using the fire pit...eventually.

It's going to be in the low 90s by the end of next week, but we surely won't see 100 again until next year.

I AM reminded, however, that we had a 97 degree day this past March, as well as a hard freeze that killed the peach blossoms in April.

My scan process on Friday went smoothly.  They were even running on time, so I was done, and breakfast was eaten at the little cafe outside of the CT/PET imaging center, before 10:30.

Because it was Friday, there are no results in My Chart yet, but I don't look at them until after the doctor discusses them with me, anyway, and that appointment is this coming Tuesday.

My next cycle of chemo is on the schedule, too, so I was mistaken (or mis-informed, as has happened before with this doctor) that the doctor was going to wait until she saw the PET results.

Unless something changes, I will start my next cycle on Wednesday.

Last Sunday evening, I started feeling bad... I had a headache and that distinctive feeling in my throat that indicates an impending head cold, or the flu, or whatever..... 

I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately, and sometimes, I get that feeling when I am super fatigued.... but this time....I actually was sick.

Monday brought with it a low grade fever, and the clear fact that I had caught some kind of bug.  Cough, congestion, sore throat....

I am always careful to distance at the gym, or at the grocery store, or where ever, but it's impossible when in the chemo chair, or when getting my immune booster injection, and the timing indicted that I got it from a nurse in one of those situations last week.

Anyway, since the fever was so low, I didn't waste a covid test, and decided to just ride it out, and see what symptoms would develop.

Dave went to the gym by himself on Monday, and I skipped the whole week of workouts because of this.  I got plenty of rest, drank lots of broth and other liquids, and took extra vitamin C.

I am pretty sure it was just a head cold, because the cough was only ever due to sinus drainage irritating my throat,  there was lots of goop in my head, and the fever of Monday never returned.

It has passed now, and I am just left with some lingering congestion.  I am also finally sleeping better.  The past two nights have been wonderful!

Then, last evening, Dave said he was feeling sick...UGH... but he said he was doing better already this morning.

He is going to get some stuff done around the house and the yard today, and I am going to wash bedding and towels, and finish the chores I didn't get to yesterday.

We need to take advantage of this gorgeous weather.... might go for a woods walk some time next week, before the heat returns! It will be the first one since... I can't remember when... May, maybe?

Have a lovely Sunday, and a great week!