Someone turned up the heat!

The forecast for today according to one source, is for a high of 104F.  That is going to be hot!  At 8am it was already warm when I let Rocky out, and he didn't want to stay out for long.  I'm glad to have a/c, but hate to close all the doors and windows.  And I won't like my electric bill for this month!

I am unbelievably frustrated with not being able to take care of things that I need to do.  How in the world can I prepare for a move when I have no way of  getting rid of items I don't want to keep.  I can't even do a decent job of cleaning these days.  It's a good thing I'm not compulsive about keeping a tidy house - I'd be out of my mind by now!

Impressions

I just thought I should mention that I described our house hunting experience on a comment to yesterday's post.  I don't want to repeat it all, so you can go back and read it there.   It would be the last comment, and shouldn't be difficult to find.  (I think I actually wrote it in two separate comments).

I may write another post about the house hunting experience, but for now I'm just trying to assimilate all my impressions and how I feel about the entire process.  

New houses today, and new housing developments today, are different than any I have ever known.  How different our world has become - everything changes, and styles in housing are no exception.

I just want to get it over and done with.  Waiting around drives me crazy! 

The thing I find most noticeable is the lack of color.  I can see why model homes would try to maintain a neutral look in furnishings, but I would prefer a bit of color here and there. 

Warming Up

After a beautiful spring, except for no rain at all, I think we are in for hot weather in a day or two.  I knew it would come, but I am never ready for the Sacramento summer heat!  The back yard grass has turned to straw!  The yard is too large to try to water it, and since I don't pay for the water I won't use it for the grass.  When I mentioned it to Carmen after I moved in, she sort of smiled but her expression was pained - guess she was thinking about the water bill - so I never mentioned it again.

The house hunting is slow going.  I don't have the patience of a saint, and never did, and it's driving me crazy!  I hope I soon get some of my energy back so I can start clearing out the items I need to get rid of.  The trouble is that at my age I lost most of my energy, and the cancer treatments took the rest of it.  I'm feeling much better than I did a week ago, and hope I can look forward to better days ahead.

We are going to look at a model home tomorrow morning, and Jeannie & Donald will pick me up at 9:15.  I am growing used to lazy mornings so I'll have to try to get to sleep a bit earlier tonight.  Looking at the photos online shows a very modern style house and of course the furniture in the model is very modern.  The colors are all white and what looks to be light gray so I hope if they decide to go with this house they will put some color into it.  I don't know what is up with gray, but it seems very prominent in home decorating that I've seen in homes for sale.  To me it makes a place look drab when used as the primary color - I wouldn't mind a bit of it in the accessories.  I'm hopelessly old-fashioned and don't mind admitting it!

I need to take Rocky for a walk but the pavement is too hot - hope it cools off in an hour or so;  I'll walk him and try to go to bed early.  The back yard is mostly in shade now, so he's had a chance to go outside.  He does not like going out in the heat.  Smart dog!

I'll write tomorrow and give you a rundown on my thoughts of the home tour.  If it looks like they love it I will do my best to keep my impressions to myself.  On the other hand, I may end up loving it!

 

I'm Good to Go Until September!

 

Steve took me to my final cancer treatment for this "round"!  Now I don't have to go back until September, when I will probably have another weekly infusion for 5 or 6 weeks.  What a difference between the first and this one!  I took a nap this afternoon because the treatment seems to tire me out a little, but nothing like the first time.

I am so very grateful that I can benefit from this sort of treatment - sitting 2-3 hours for an infusion that has little or no side effects is so preferable to most cancer treatments.  The staff at the hospital (UCD Medical Center) is absolutely wonderful, kind, understanding, gentle, and I could go on and on.  It takes a special kind of person to do this work, and they certainly are all special people.  

By the way, UCD stands for University of California at Davis.  My youngest son is a certified respiratory therapist at this hospital, and he is also a special person, especially as it relates to the covid pandemic.  I would not choose to work in a medical environment in the midst of what has been a raging pandemic, and I have much respect for all health care workers who do.

Today is the 16th wedding anniversary for Donald and Jeannie, two of the most kind, gentle, and loving people I've ever known.  Here's to the next 16 years, and the next, and the next, and ....... !

I think summer has arrived and we are looking at temps close to the hundred degree mark by the end of next week. I noticed this morning that I have a few small tomatoes on a couple of the plants.  In the haste to get the plants into the ground I neglected to keep track of the type of tomatoes; I gave half the plants to my d-i-l Meg, but don't have a clue which varieties!  I normally don't eat tomatoes and give them to Jeannie & family, so I hope I can get some to mature while I'm still living here.   If and when I move, I will try to take them with me and replant them.  I usually try to grow 6 viable plants of 4-6 varieties, so you can see that is a lot of tomatoes.  Of course, some are healthier and more productive than others.  You may wonder why I plant so many when I don't eat them myself.  The answer is that they are relatively easy to grow, and I love to watch the seeds sprout.  Those first tiny shoots make my heart sing!  New life is one of the most beautiful things on the planet! 

I think I'm getting better!

 At least my appetite is returning, which is a good sign.  I have one more cancer treatment on Friday, and then I get a break of several months before starting another round. 

It doesn't do me much good to have an appetite when I no longer cook (except in the microwave!).  I do have a few fast and easy things I could nuke, but it's not worth the trouble to me right now.  I may change my mind later.  I did make pancakes for my breakfast, so that's the most cooking I'll do for the rest of the week!

Nothing new on the house front, except that I'm looking at the houses for sale in the neighborhood we are interested in.  Sometimes I'm surprised at the decor of the listings - I guess I'm thinking of certain principles from when I was younger, and I'm  surprised the real estate agents don't exert more influence on sellers who seem to be making mistakes in showing their house.  I just looked at a listing in which every single room seems to be painted/decorated in grey tones.  A little grey goes a long way!  If you love it by all means do it; but when looking for a buyer, or from a buyer's standpoint, I'd personally prefer to have a neutral white or off-white background.

Every day I see something that makes me realize how old I'm getting!  But I'm determined to turn over a new leaf and try to be as positive as I can be!

In Retrospect

I've been thinking about the house we looked at yesterday and how it was not as well arranged as you would think, for the amount of space it had.  There were 5 bedrooms, each with its own bath.  To me this is a waste of space in a regular family home - it certainly cut down on the size of the bedrooms.  Even the master bedroom was no larger than the size of most bedrooms, but we have become used to seeing huge master suites with way more space than they really need.  As a mother of four, I cannot imagine wanting to clean 5 bathrooms so that each child or adult can have their own.  Someone has to do it, and maybe the owners would have a cleaning service, but I wouldn't want to be the one to have to maintain 5 bathrooms!  And imagine having to launder all the towels, etc., for those bathrooms!

I have to laugh at myself - I sound like a time traveler from the 1940's & 50's.  Being the oldest of eight, I remember having one bathroom in our house.  My dad's brother was a master plumber, and he installed a small bath in our basement, with a shower.   But a bathroom for each bedroom??   It is a fact that many people in this world don't even have indoor plumbing.

I am feeling so much better today, and even took Rocky for an early morning walk.  Our weather has been delightful but the forecast is calling for hot days ahead.  The overnight and morning temps are always cool here, so I am going to try to get to bed a little earlier, and to get up earlier in the morning, so I can walk the dog.  I notice he has gained some weight - I spoil him when he bats those puppy eyes at me when I'm eating, and because of my health I haven't been able to exercise him properly.

I have so much cleaning, sorting, tossing out, and packing to do that I don't know where to start.  So I just close my eyes to it all but I can't continue doing that.

 

Still house hunting!

I thought I'd write an update this evening about our experience with the search for a new house.

The house we looked at had some very nice features but there were several drawbacks.  First of all, it was way too far out of town, but secondly, it just wouldn't work for my daughter's family and me.  The house had a lot of rooms and was spacious enough, but the rooms weren't arranged in a manner that I would find logical.

It was a very large house with an in-law suite on the lower level.  Surprisingly, the in-law suite was probably the best part of the house, and the most logically arranged.  In addition to that suite, there were 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, but their placement in the house just didn't make sense and I would have a difficult time figuring out how to make it work.  I think Jeannie & Donald felt the same about it.

The location wasn't great - some kind of pre-construction was going on that could be seen from the rear deck;  the lot in the back was a steep slope down to that pre-construction area, so who knows what it would eventually look like.  I think we all felt that it would not serve our collective needs.  Actually, the in-law suite was probably the nicest and best arranged section of the entire complex.

I am happy that we have started looking for a good fit for the family, and know we will eventually find something that will really suit all our needs.

 

 

House Hunting

I am so excited this morning.  This afternoon Donald, Jeannie and I will look at a very large house on a spacious lot.  It will be the first house we will have toured.  The house is on a large lot but it is a steep slope in places, and there are a great many trees.  Personally, I think the tree roots probably keep the hilly terrain in place!  It may not be an issue since it looks like we will be going into a period of drought for the coming years, so I don't know how everything - trees, the slope of the land, etc. - will be affected.

From the photos the house looks beautiful and has a separate in-law suite.  That is almost a "must" because it will give both Jeannie's family and me a degree of privacy.  The lot is huge (about 7 acres I believe) but is not fenced, and with two dogs - Rocky and Tito - a fence would be necessary.  There are positive and negative issues, but the only way to really judge is to see it.  It will also make me feel like we are progressing to the next step by looking at a property. 

I am happy to say that I am feeling so much better, although it hasn't translated to a burst of energy by any means.  I think that would be just what I need because as it is, I just can't seem to get started doing anything.  With a move in my near future, I certainly have a ton of things to deal with before I can even begin packing.  Jeannie and Donald are lucky in that they had already gotten their house in order before selling it, although she is still complaining that there is so much to do.  I guess with a family of four plus a dog, there is a lot to do.  I have so much to do here that I just can't get started planning and deciding what to do first!

 

 

Things looking up!

It's been 2 days since my last cancer treatment and I'm feeling pretty good.  I will get another infusion next week, and then get a break for a couple of months, then back to another series of treatments.  That will work out very well and I hope to be moved by then. 

As far as the move is concerned Jeannie & Donald are just starting to look at potential places.  We will visit the first of them on Sunday.  I hope there will be several more potentials on the market in the next few weeks.  We would need at least 4 bedrooms with a separate in-law suite, if possible.  I am very open to whatever works for them, and I know they are looking out for me.  I will be glad to know how much space I will have, and I know I will need to get rid of a lot of items I currently have in my house.

The weather has been delightful with temps in the low 70's, dry and sunny.  We really need rain though as we missed our normal rainy season.  The result of that will be a rise in the danger of fires this summer, which I hate to think of, especially since it looks like this is just the beginning of a change in our normal weather patterns for the coming years.

Most Beautiful Day!

I think today is the most beautiful day we've had so far this year.  It is about 75 degrees (F) with a light breeze moving the air.  I tried sitting out on the back deck for a while, but for some reason I feel better in the house.  I wish I could take Rocky for a walk, but I know better than to try.  I still have very little energy, and am unsteady on my feet.  Being able to leave the doors open makes it quite pleasant, although I don't have a screen for the back door.  So far I haven't been bothered by flies or other insects in the house, but they will  be here before long!

There still is nothing I can say about the move.  Jeannie and Donald have sold their house, and need to turn it over to the new owners by end of June/early July.  I sure hope we can find something definite as I really can't pack until I have some idea of the space I will have.  I don't remember moving being so difficult in prior years, and I've certainly done enough of it!

My appetite is increasing each day, although it will soon be Friday and another treatment that will cause me to lose interest in food.

  

Treatment is going well!

 I am so  relieved that I seem to tolerate the cancer treatments.  I went in this morning for an infusion, and the time it took was greatly reduced from previous treatments.  The tech told me that because I am tolerating it well they can speed it up a  bit..  I came home tired and a bit hungry - my appetite has been way off the past few weeks.  I ate a chicken pot pie that I had in the freezer and fell asleep for a couple of hours.  Now I don't feel good, but I don't feel as bad as I did before the treatment.  So I guess that falls into the "plus" column.

I decided to not crate Rocky when I left this morning, which was taking a chance because I thought I'd be gone for a much longer time.   He was happy to see me when I got back home, and the only thing out of place was a chewed up Kleenex he found somewhere.  I will be so happy to not have to keep him in the crate when I need to go out without him.  He will be 3 yrs old on the 28th of this month, so maybe there is hope for great behavior.  I feel absolutely terrible that I can't walk or exercise him - I'm afraid I'd fall over if I tried.  Jeannie tries to take him for nightly walks but she can't always make it.

I have gone back to drinking protein shakes in hopes of getting some energy back.   I'm waiting on the energy and am sure I will be gaining some weight - of course - in the wrong places!  The shakes taste so good (I make them with whole milk) but I remember getting tired of them after a while, so will probably reduce the frequency of drinking them. 

I'm starting to get back some of my hope for the future.  It's a constant battle to stay positive, but it's the only way for me to stay content and even a bit happy!

The Facebook Trap

Years ago I got on Facebook, but never really had much to do with it.  I never did like it, so a number of years has passed and I recently became aware that I still have an account.  I've spent several weeks trying to get rid of all the hundreds of thousands of "friends" I have acquired through FB.   Plus the person who had taken over my account.  What a rip-off!

I have tried to find out how I can permanently delete myself from this program, but can't figure it out.  I had been away from it for so long, another user had entirely taken over my access and no doubt my password, so I spent several evenings getting him off my account.  I still can't find out how to delete myself permanently, and if anyone has a suggestion I sure would welcome it.  As it is now, I go in and delete everything that has been posted, and the hundreds of names of folks who want to be my friend!

Now I know why the Eagles (I think it is the Eagles) wrote the song "Hotel California".  You can check out any time you like, but you just can't ever leave.  If anyone can explain to me how I can get out of Hotel California, turn in my key and be done with it, I'd be ever so grateful.

 

Not as Easy as I Thought!

Did I really think I would get off so easily?  Well, today was a different story.  I haven't been able to get off the couch all day, and poor Rocky wouldn't go out without me.  So a little while ago I sat in a chair on the back deck while he went out into the yard to take care of business.

I am feeling so weak today but have managed to eat a bite of food now and then.  I'll probably feel better tomorrow, but today has been terrible.

Hope all the mothers out there are having a special day!

 

First One out of the way

I spent about 5 hrs at the cancer treatment center yesterday, and will be going back every Friday for a few months.  The technician spent a lot of the time going over the treatment with me and answered any questions Jeannie or I had.  I think Jeannie is going to trade me off every other week, so next week Steve wins the task!  Steve will enjoy "schmoozing" with the techs!

Everything went well and I have no side effects from whatever they administer.   The treatments don't seem to last as long, but I'd rather go back every few years than to have hair loss, nausea, and many issues that cancer patients face.  It probably has much to do with the type of cancer I have.  

So today I took Rocky for a walk, and it was a toss-up which of us was more tired at the end of it.  I would have to say it was me, although I'm surprised that I can do anything at all.  I think the  best part of the treatment yesterday is that I feel so much more hopeful and positive than I did before.  I am going to get through this, and if I have to repeat it all in another 3 years, then so be it.  I need to live at least another 10 years for Rocky's sake!  On his walk he spent about 20 minutes sniffing the fence along the school playground.  That must be the main message board for dogs so I tried to be patient.

Donald brought me some of his protein shake powder - two different kinds.  I am really enjoying it with a glass of whole milk every day, and I alternate the flavors.  I've never been a milk drinker, but with the flavoring added and mixed into a shake, it is pretty good.  I might put on some weight but that's never been one of my worries.  I did try to put on a pair of jeans yesterday that I couldn't button or zip!  Most of them still fit though, and if I grow out of them I will just buy the next size.  

Hope you are all having a great weekend - our weather is beautiful and I have doors and windows open to catch the breeze.  I hate turning on the a/c and while I've been told it is more efficient to turn it on in the cooler morning, I don't want the house closed up all day.  It's going on 4pm and I may not need it at all today.

 

Treatments start tomorrow!

I am glad for this day to arrive, although I usually don't have enough energy in the morning to get up and get going.  My appointment is at 8am, and it takes about half an hour to get there.  I think they scheduled me for 5 hrs, but hope they gradually shorten the time it takes for the infusion as they find out my system deals well with it.  I hate to think of sitting in a medical treatment center for all that time, but know it will get me one step closer to feeling better and recapturing a zest for life.  I will be getting the treatments every Friday, and somewhere in the schedule is a break for about 3 weeks, and then back to the schedule.  I can only hope it works as well as it did 3 yrs ago.

Today was actually a very nice day and I didn't even turn on the a/c.  I hate to run it so I never do unless the temps are really sweltering.  I love having windows open, hearing the sounds of the outside - the birds, barking dogs, and traffic.  The only thing I dislike are the sounds of planes going over - for some reason I don't like airplanes at all, nor the sounds they make.  That goes double for helicopters - those awful, noisy machines! 

So any positive thoughts and vibes are welcome.  I am very positive about the outcome of these  treatments, and sure hope I get a renewed purpose for life.  I think there is a country singer who recorded a song years back - something like "I'm too young to feel this damn old!"  If you recognize the title, please let me know who sang it.  I'm too young to lose so much of my memory!

Quick update

 I am hoping to get back to a more regular posting schedule, but it won't be for several weeks yet.  I start the cancer treatments this Friday and hope to see good results quickly.  The treatments worked so well the last time I had them, about 3 years ago.  At least I'm able to eat small amounts of food a couple of times a day.  I am desperate for some energy, but so far it has been elusive.  So I mostly sit in the couch!

Back to normal?

I hope I don't have any more troubles with spammers.  I have enough problems with Blogger - don't know why they keep changing the way it works.  I liked the old system where I typed an entry, that entry was read by people and commented on by some, and everything seemed to work fine.  Now everytime they change the formatting or settings I seem to have troubles with it.  It's not only a problem with Blogger - I'm noticing the same thing with my banking and other programs that I use.  I truly think there are too many programmers and they have to keep finding things to change in order to have a job.

I just want to go back to writing and publishing my blog, although probably not as often as I used to.  And to read the blogs of those I follow on a regular basis.

So if I get spammed again, then I think I will be tempted to call it quits.  We will see what happens, and a pox to those spammers who want to ruin things for everyone.  I honestly don't know what they get for their efforts - I guess being mean sob's makes them happy.

Changes to blog comment

Today I have deleted virtually hundreds of comments, all seemingly by the same stupid troublemaker.  The comment have nothing to do with the blog and are all the same ridiculous message.  I am trying to change my settings so that I have to approve comments before they appear.

I hope this works and that you will let me know if I'm not doing it correctly.  I know many of you have enabled the "approve comment" option.

What in the world is missing in the lives of some people that they do such annoying and outlandish things.  I just don't understand it.

We'll see how this works, although the same person or program can still make the comments.   But I hope I can at least ignore them without inconveniencing my regular readers.