Ship's Blog: November, 2006

Gustavo, one of my handymen, came over today to do some work for me. When I reviewed the main job with him (rerouting some venting) he pointed out that it really didn't need to be done right now. But I had him for the day, so I pulled out my ever-ready To Do list and started rattling off alternative tasks. Several of these were tasks that I had intended to do myself, but since I hadn't gotten around to them in months (I know, what have I been doing with my time) it seemed a good idea to have Gustavo stepped in.

So, in just six short hours, he:  Read more »

I have a new love in my life: 3M Command Hooks.

Oh, I've seen the commercials for years and I've scoffed. How can they really hold weight without piercing or damaging a wall? Why on earth would I even need them? But today, I understood.

Today's project was to put up hooks in the hall closet. I wanted to hang a broom, two Swiffer dusters (one with an extension), a dustpan, a mop, and a upholstery-size lint roller. I put these hooks around the back wall, waited an hour for the adhesive to set, then put all the tools on the hooks. Voila! Perfect organization. No more fumbling about for anything.  Read more »

I've needed new jim-jams for a while now. The weather is colder and I need something to snuggle up in - something not ratty and stained from stuff relating to surgery. Ew.

Today, though, I realized in a panic that Spring Preview season is just around the corner, at least it is in the women's apparel mail order catalogs. If you prefer fall/winter wardrobes like I do, spring preview (which starts in December, shockingly enough!) is a horrible time. If there is something you didn't order from the fall collection, you may not be able to get it anymore. Black pants? Long-sleeved knit tops? Good LUCK. You'd think no one had a professional job where you wear that stuff year-round!  Read more »

When my sister and her kids came to visit me last summer, I showed her a pretty purple trumpet-like flower from the backyard. I was fascinated by the intensity of color. Debbie was less than impressed. She identified it as a blue morning glory vine and warned me to be careful, because they'd smother and kill whatever they could grow their way over. Given that we still haven't landscaped our mish-mash of a backyard, I figured it the vines wouldn't matter until we got around to doing a landscape overhaul.

Then a few months passed. Cue dramatic music: dun-dun-DUN!

   Read more »

Kathy had an appointment with our hairstylist yesterday and so I went along with her. My hair is way too short (I'd say less than 3/4 inches long) to do anything with, but I enjoy our stylist, so I thought it would be fun to tag along for a visit.

While Jennifer was working on Kathy's hair, I was complaining about how much I hate my own hair. It is dark gray, like pencil lead, all over. That's not my hair! I feel old in this color, as it doesn't flatter my skin tone at all. After listening to my whining, Jennifer looked at me with bright eyes and said, "Let's bleach it!"  Read more »

Early this week I thought, you know, it's time for me to make an appointment for the dentist. I had tried to get in with a new dentist just before chemo started (you're not supposed to go when your immune system is compromised) but the dentist didn't have an opening in time. Monday I decided, now is probably the time to try again since I'm all done with treatment.

As fate would have it, I broke a tooth within 24 hours of deciding to find a dentist. Instant dental emergency! This time, the dentist who runs the practice was available and I made an appointment for today.  Read more »

This past weekend, CineMax HDTV channel has been showing all six Star Wars films in high-definition -- over and over again. I hadn't seen the original movies in a long time and, shockingly, I had NEVER seen the most recent three, so it was a good time for me to catch up.

Now, CineMax was showing true high-def (I assume made from the 70mm prints), not upconverted low-res movies, so the picture was startling crisp and clear. Kathy and I watched the original Star Wars (episode IV for you young'uns) upstairs on the big TV. The colors were achingly vivid and vibrant, You could see every detail on the ships, every hair on Chewbacca's coat...wow.  Read more »

 

Is this an awesome T-Shirt or what?

Wish I had made it myself, but...it's okay that Lisa Spodak beat me to it. It's part of her Save the Boobs! Fight Breast Cancer! shop at CafePress.com.

http://www.cafepress.com/lisaspoavonwalk
 Read more »

It turns out there are unexpected rewards for early shopping of the holiday aisles -- you find things you can use for other stuff! Target had a "greeting card" bulletin board -- you know, the kind sometimes called a "French memory board" -- in blood red velvet. Oh, wait, I should call it cranberry red, shouldn't I? Whatever. Anyway, I realized it would look PERFECT in my, uh, CRANBERRY red home office! (That's the one that my teenage nephew says looks like chocolate tastes, LOL!)  Read more »

I'm not very good at celebrating holidays -- at least, I haven't been for a while. It's like I never know quite what to do with them and that's true of the Winter holidays more than any other. I get crabby when they start putting Christmas merchandise out before Halloween, I resist what I perceive as overcommercialization, I rush to make gifts and cards at the last minute and then I'm left, day after Christmas, melancholy because, yet again, I'm finally ready to feel the holiday spirit when it's too late.  Read more »

Today I started taking Tamoxifen (anti-estrogen therapy to lower chances of breast cancer recurrence). My oncologist prescribed 10 mg tablets that I take twice a day; the pharmacist said that the literature doesn't say to take with food, but take it with food anyway. I know some women get nauseated. My trick will be learning how to take something twice a day without fail. There are few things beyond brushing my teeth that I do every day on schedule!

I've decided to have a neutral-to-positive attitude about the Tamoxifen. It may be just fine. Lots of women tolerate it well; I'll just keep reminding myself of that. Last thing I want to do is start demonizing my medicine; that can't be good.

When you're newly diagnosed with cancer, there is so much going on in your head that it is easy not to know what to do and to go with what others recommend. Yet here are some tips on what you might want to do right away in terms of finding your best care. I wish I knew this when I was diagnosed.

The first thing to do is call your medical insurance company, assuming you are insured. Ask them what your options are for finding a center for treatment. You may have to talk to several people to make sure you are getting the right answers, but this is important enough to put in the effort. Your first priority is to find out where you can go and where you can't.  Read more »

Four days have passed since I finished radiation and I have new blisters forming, right in the burned area where I had boosts. My skin continues to peel painfully in the other burned areas. Ow. The thrice-daily skin care regimen continues.

Despite the hard time I have had with burning from radiation, my reaction is not the norm. Only a small percentage of radiation patients (near as I can tell) burn and peel this much. A lot of people never burn at all, or they burn only after radiation finishes and it resolves within a few weeks. I just have a special kind of luck.  Read more »

I'm a thrifty girl by nature, but sometimes I can be a little too thrifty, as recent experience reminds me. Case in point: waiting too long to upgrade software and paying the price--though not necessarily from my wallet.

I've been trying new recipes lately (as well as revisiting some old ones) as Kathy and I revamp our eating plan. My old recipe software isn't cutting it, though, and it's time to upgrade. Here's the embarrassing part -- I've been using Mastercook version 5 all these years. Sierra (the publisher) hasn't been around in AGES – and as a player of computer adventure games, I mourn them. Anyway, back to the recipe software.  Read more »

Kathy and I signed up to take Kelly Kilmer's Graffito Artists' Book class, held at Stamper's Warehouse today. Trouble is, last night I realized that my fatigue is just too much right now and I couldn't handle several hours of class. While it was too late to cancel, we called to let everyone know we wouldn't be there. Here's what we missed:  Read more »

Yesterday, Tilly let me know that Alfredo (our Pest Control man) needed to "come and get something."

She didn't want to eat her breakfast. Instead, she sniffed around the trapdoor, which is close to her food dish. Then she sat in the middle of it and looked pointedly at me. I was like, "I get it, I get it."

Of course, I opened the trapdoor to look because, as you know, I refuse to be one of those dictators who orders executions and then disavows all knowledge of the bodies. Lovely.  Read more »

This morning, was trying to choose a wig to wear for my last radiation session when I looked in the mirror and decided to go without. I have fine, fuzzy gray hair; nothing that looks purposeful, but it's something. Unfortunately, it has come in all gray...but, you know, it's my hair and so I will wear it with pride.

It was a little tricky to get the heavy gift baskets to the radiation center. As it turned out, the staff was in a meeting, so all I could do was leave the "front desk" basket with the person watching the phones. I took the bigger basket in back to the radiation area along with the card.  Read more »

On the way home today, I stopped off at Trader Joe's to get food for the gift baskets I am making. Since tomorrow is my last day of radiation, I want to give something to the staff. I decided to make baskets of chocolate and fruit ... fruit being for the losers who don't eat chocolate.  Read more »

As I've mentioned before, one thing I love about Alta Bates is the free valet parking at the cancer center. It has saved me so much time and money that I can't describe it. But I also like seeing the guys who work there each day. I step out of my car in a different "do" every time and we smile hello...it's a fun ritual. Of course, I have no idea what they think about crazy-haired cancer girl, but as long as they are smiling, I'm happy!  Read more »