It's a Normal" Monday - It's Been a Long Time

Happy Monday to all of you. This is the first day of a "normal" week for me since January, and I can hardly wait. I was on the treadmill this morning for my 45 minute fast-walk, I've made my tea - one cup next to me, the other in my travel mug, staying nice and hot for the shop. My phone is charging, my watch is charging, my electronics in general are a bit low on power, but they're getting the attention they need. I'm starting my Monday out organized - LOL. 

My life is almost back to "normal". I never actually 
have a "normal" life - there's always something or other 
that's going on. But, this is as close to "normal" as I've 
been over the past few months. I'd toss confetti, but I 
don't want to clean it up afterward. 

I set out a couple of ant traps in the downstairs bathroom. I've been seeing some very young ants in the shower, and although they might be hitchhiking on DH when he checks the garden, they might be trying to get a foothold here through other methods. So, I'm not taking any chances. See ant, put out ant trap. Hopefully I've chosen locations that will pay off. I can't really put the bait into the shower itself, it would be flooded out twice a day. So I've chosen two areas against the walls of the room that might work. Maybe. I should probably put out a third under the heat radiator, but I'll wait for a day or two before I do that. 

I don't mind ants in general, I've actually been quite impressed 
by them over the years. But they're not welcome inside my 
house. Last year's infiltration was NASTY and I have no 
intention of going through something like that again. 

I'm slowly working on getting used to my new tablet computer. It was a good price for a Google P10 tablet, but since it's operating on Google, it will take a little bit to get used to. Still, I'm glad I purchased it when I did. I saved almost $100 off the standard price, and got free shipping too. Now, my next project is another Amazon purchase - a new cell phone holder for my car. I like having my cell phone held in a bracket from the car's CD player, but since I added the pocket on the back of my phone for my ID, it's not sitting comfortably in the brackets and has fallen out several times. So I ordered a new holder - deeper - that will still work with the CD slot. I ordered it Friday night, and it was delivered on Saturday! WOW. That was FAST! I didn't have time to play with installation yesterday, so I'll try to carve out a bit of time over the next couple of days. 

I purchased a Lenovo Android P10 tablet from Amazon 
during their Prime Days for less than $115. I figured it 
was worth the gamble for that cost. I've been wanting a 
tablet of my own for a while now. DH hogs the smaller 
tablet that we have for all of his PBS shows and other 
stuff, and I want to be able to watch Le Tour de France, 
the Olympics, and of course PBS on mine. Now I have to 
get used to its' operating system and load the things 
I want onto it. 

And tomorrow will be my first swimming day in FOREVER! I'm quite sure I'm out of shape, even though I was on the treadmill almost every day (once I recovered from the surgery). I charged my underwater headphones yesterday so that I won't have any problem continuing with the book I was listening to, despite the four-month gap. It's hard to believe it's been that long. I hope I'll fall right back into the routine of three days in the water and three days on the treadmill. There are things on the schedule that will require changes, but not the extensive "vacation" I've just been forced to have. 

The outdoor pool opens on Memorial Day (that's near the 
end of May for my not-in-the-USA readers). That's not 
a lot of time to get into shape for the longer lengths and 
all-out swimming it requires. Time to get moving indoors 
so that I won't fall short outdoors. 

So, have a really great Monday. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Seeing Light at the End of the Tunnel

I'm getting down to the end of my radiation therapy. Tuesday is my final treatment, and on Wednesday I meet with Doc for a final exam. I'm thinking that I'm going to miss my team of people - from the receptionists to the technicians and Doc, I'm going to miss them all. I'll also miss the various other patients with whom I share the reception/waiting area. We don't really interact, but we do see who is there and who is missing. But I'm down to four days of radiation remaining in my original 15, and I'm seeing the end of that road ahead of me. 

The road ahead is always uncertain. You can plan and plan, but 
life has a way of throwing challenges and events - both good 
and bad - at you just to throw you off your balance. It doesn't 
do to become too complacent. 

Today, after radiation, I get to walk a block East to a building they call the "Physician's Building" or the "Doctor's Professional Building". Yeah - that's the official name of it. Rather silly, but I suppose it's descriptive. I have an "Initial PT Lymphedema Edema Visit" with a doctor Thomas G. I've never met the guy. I'm supposed to wear comfortable clothing and athletic/tennis shoes. Well, I only wear my athletic shoes on the treadmill, not to walk outdoor sidewalks, so I'll carry them along in a bag. This is for an "initial assessment" and the doctor "may not be able to begin treatment on this visit". Considering that my lymphedema issues are pretty much taken care of by now, this appointment may be moot, but I'll keep it anyway. It may be a simple in and out, but I might also learn something valuable. 

The "Doctor's Professional Building" is directly across 
the street from the hospital, a block East from radiology, 
and a block West from my Breast Cancer Clinic. I'm hoping 
to just keep Minion parked in the radiology parking lot 
instead of moving her to the parking ramp and paying 
$3 for parking. It's an easy walk back and forth, the 
weather's just fine today. 

The dual appointments of Radiology and Lymphedema assessment will keep me out of the shop until noon or shortly afterward. It is what it is, however - I have no real choice. Tomorrow I'll be back to my normal schedule of an early morning radiation and a regular "day off". I'm already looking forward to it. 

I have three containers of my roasted/blended tomato 
soup in the refrigerator waiting for me to heat it up. 
So yummy! It's one of my favorite recipes, it's very easy 
to cook up, and tastes absolutely lovely. 

I did make my roasted tomato and red pepper soup yesterday. I'm very much looking forward to my dinners for the next few days - LOL. It requires a high powered blender and my Wolf is more than up to the task. I also received a new tablet computer I had ordered on sale from Amazon. I'm looking forward to getting to know it in more depth today, if I have any time to play. I've been wanting a tablet for quite a while, and it was on an excellent sale - more than $100 off - making it a very affordable treat. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow morning to greet the sun and all of you. Slava Ukraini.