A Busy Schedule and Hopefully a Completely Whole Treadmill by Tonight

Today is a busy day. I need to get to the grocery store as soon as I've got this posted. I have the treadmill repair people due between 11:00 am - 2:00 pm to put on the correct backing and to install a light bulb in the ON/OFF switch (if one is needed - it doesn't light up and DH thinks that it should). I don't need to do a lot of cooking, but I do have to pick up four boxes of moth balls from the local Walgreens's drugstore. We're working our way through our Navajo rugs at the shop, photographing them and making sure they are clean and without moths. Unfortunately, a few of them have had some moth munchies. It's annoying, but it's life. 

I borrowed this photo from a rug restoring company, but 
you can see the warp threads showing (the vertical white 
lines in the center and far right side of the piece). That's 
moth damage, eating the weft away from the warp. It's 
fixable, but rarely worth the cost. Eventually, however, it 
can become so widespread as to be unfixable. 

It is a day off for me today, though, and I have to make a batch of baked fruit. Thus, the trip to the grocery store. I need fruit, and I need salad fixings. It'll be a quick trip, but a necessary one. 

I love my baked fruit. I choose a variety of fruit - usually ]
pears and apples, sometimes adding an orange or pomegranate 
or berries just because they look good. They're combined with 
maple syrup and chopped nuts and baked in a hot oven. Then 
I portion them out and have one container every day for 
breakfast. BEST BREAKFAST EVER! 

I'm running late today, though, so I can't chat for long. I had a great run on the treadmill, went through the San Francisco and northern California area. Such pretty things to look at. Today will be a lot of book work - paying bills, balancing the checkbook, etc. Boring, but necessary. Hopefully tomorrow and next week, my life will be able to settle into a "new normal" except for the MRI on Thursday, of course, and hopefully a date for my surgery after that. Life is never boring ... at least mine seems to be hectic all of the time. I hope you have a fantastic day, I'll be cooking, cleaning, and chatting with the treadmill repair guy. Slava Ukraini, see you again tomorrow. 

Navajo Weavings - A Heritage in Wool

I apologize to all of you who have commented. It's been a bit hectic, but I'm going to make a real try at catching up with comments and responses today and tomorrow. In the meantime, I've been scheduled for my MRI. I'll be there on Thursday the 23rd early in the morning. Chickie Mama will pick me up from the shop and take me down to Midwest Radiology and the back afterward. She's been a total blessing in all of this - such a great friend. 

Navajo weavings are stunning, hand-loomed on 
a vertical loom, and quite collectible. We have 
several on walls throughout the house, and we've 
sold them at the shop for years. They're not as 
popular up here, so we'll have to send them South 
for auction sale. This particular weaving is in 
a pattern called "Ganado". 

DH has been busy photographing items that we need to either put up for auction or take down to the Southwest to sell more directly. These are items that this area simply doesn't understand or appreciate - antique Navajo weavings are the main component. There are auctions that specialize in that particular product, and others that concentrate on artwork from the SW that will welcome weavings. We have a LOT of them, because we love them. I have weavings throughout my house, not on the floors - on the walls. 

I took a week's workshop in Navajo weaving techniques 
at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico many years ago. I had a 
total blast and ended up with a very small, slightly lopsided 
weaving. I gave it to my Mother as a gift, and inherited it 
back from her after her death. It's hanging in my house now, 
along with MUCH better and larger weavings from more 
qualified tribal women. LOL

I have a lot that I have to catch up on today, and I do want to respond to some of your very kind comments and positive thoughts, so I'm going to cut this very short today. Tomorrow my treadmill people will be here to install a part that was backordered, and maybe we'll get a bulb behind the ON/OFF switch. As DH noted, it's a transparent red switch, so it seems reasonable that there should be a light that will turn ON when the machine is on, and OFF when it is turned off again. Makes sense to me. They'll check that out. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

So It's Cancer But It's Small and We're Moving Ahead

Yesterday I met with my surgeon - a wonderful, funny, lively woman who I think will do a wonderful job. She spent almost an hour with me and my friend Claire, going through the results of my pathology and why she recommended one pathway over another, one decision over another. I discovered that my actual tumor is between 6 and 8 mm in total size, that we found it early - very important - and that I could choose either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy (removing just the cancerous "lump" or the entire breast). My decision was to go with the lumpectomy since we found things early and it seems quite contained. 

Mastectomy (left) is the total removal of the breast. One 
of my friends chose this option when she was diagnosed 
with cancer, but mine is quite small and very localized, 
so I've opted for the lumpectomy (right). 

I need to go through the paperwork in more detail today and set up an appointment for an MRI. That's the next step. Of course, I'm very claustrophobic, so the MRI may well be the most difficult thing on my agenda. But, I'll get it done. They'll prescribe valium for me, but I'll have to ask Claire to drive me to the appointment and back home again since I can't drive while under the effects of a tranquilizer. 

I've never had an MRI and I have extreme claustrophobia, 
so we'll have me take some drugs to lessen the phobia 
and make the enclosed space more tolerable for me. It 
still won't be my favorite thing. 

But all in all, the appointment went well, the prognosis looks good, and I'm relieved. I'm not out of the dark quite yet, we still have to actually accomplish all of this in as short a time as we can manage. So I'll be on the phone today with this person and that one to get the balls rolling. It was very helpful having Claire there for emotional support. She's a "sharp cookie" and there's not a lot that escapes her. I'm quite fortunate in my friends. 

So I have a lot on my agenda today. I'm cutting this off here, because I need to get going on it. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

 

Today I Find Out My Future - Planning My Health Care Pathway

I was up early today. Normally it would be a swimming day, but I knew swimming wouldn't be allowed while undergoing my cancer treatment, and I wasn't sure if the biopsy was healed enough to allow the chlorinated water. Despite the temperature, I got dressed and went over to the gym in -7 F  degree temps (yes ... that's very COLD) to bring my friends and fellow 5:00 am swimmers up to date. I got a lot of hugs and will get lots of prayers, so I'm ahead of the game, right? I think so. 

I'm trying not to think too far ahead, just stay with the game 
for each little bit. Just one step at a time can be a game-changer. 

Yesterday DH and I were going to make a backdrop so that he could photograph some of the items we want to put into auctions in the Southwest this coming year. I brought my staple gun over to the shop with me, and I know I had it, but somehow between the time I took it out of my backpack and the time we actually needed it shortly after closing, it had completely disappeared. You know how sometimes you swear there's a dimensional doorway that takes something you KNEW was there into a new realm? That's pretty much what happened to my favorite staple gun. I'm NOT happy, nor is DH who couldn't get his board covered and set up. Stumbles in the pathways of our lives. I'm now without my staple gun, and I have to look yet again today. It has to be there, I just can't think of where since we checked just about everywhere for it last night. 

Most staple guns (DH owns three of them) are 
too hard for me to actually use effectively. The 
one I had was PERFECT for me and I loved it. 
I'm very upset that I couldn't find it last night, 
when I had just brought it to the shop in the morning. 
I think I looked everywhere, but will check a 
couple of other locations this morning. The project, 
to say the least, did not get completed. *sigh*

And, of course, the Minnesota Vikings football team were a disaster last night. Our season has come to an ignominious end. It's a good thing I'm a hockey fan. The Wild are still doing very well, and there's lots more hockey remaining to be watched as we move through this new year. 

It's a good thing the Minnesota Wild are skating really 
well in hockey right now, because the Minnesota Vikings 
rolled over and died in the playoffs last night. It was a 
pathetic show and I didn't bother watching it for long. 

I have a 10:10 appointment with my Care Team at the cancer center. My friend Claire (aka "Chickie Mama" is coming along with me to help me have another set of ears and questions. I'm very fortunate in my friends. They've all come to the top with this twist in my life, and I know they'll be there for me if I need to call on them. 

Back to the Breast Center again today, this time for a 
meeting with my Care Team. I'll get a much better idea 
of the plan they have in place and the timelines I'll be 
looking at after today's meeting. I'm glad Claire is coming 
along with me. I can use a second set of ears and eyes 
to make sure I'm not missing anything. 

So, I'm going to wrap this up and have breakfast and a WARM cup of tea. I'm still defrosting from, my early morning "chores" and I think a nice 'cuppa' is merited. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow,.hopefully with more of an idea about my treatment choices and prognosis. Enjoy your Tuesday. Slava Ukraini. 

Prayers for Healing and Love

I went through and photographed all of the supplements and vitamins that I take on a daily basis. Now I have to write all of this information down in a format that can be easily read, and make sure I take the papers with me to my cancer care meeting tomorrow. I have no intention of not taking my vitamins and supplements, but I also know it is essential that the care team know what I am taking in case there would be anything that would clash with medications they will prescribe. I doubt there would be a conflict, but it's better to be prepared. 

I'm going to fill out a form similar to this for 
all of the different medications and supplements 
that I take. I take very few actual prescription 
medications, but a lot of vitamins and supplements. 
I took photos of the labels of each one yesterday 
so that I could get a listing made. 

For some reason DH took it into his head yesterday to drag me in for some "cleaning of the craft room". Now, I'll be the first to admit that it needs a serious cleaning and that the things that we ended up putting into the trash yesterday probably could have had those things tossed years ago, but we're just at that point where sentimentality has to go "bye-bye" because we simply can't keep everything. That's impossible. We need to cull this house down, and since we're both pack rats in our own ways, it's hard to get things tossed, even when necessary. But we did accomplish some things, so I was grateful for that. Then we relaxed by watching football and an episode of "Sherlock" just for fun. 

Last night's football game was boring, so we decided to 
watch an episode of "Sherlock" instead - always a winner! 

Tomorrow morning, very early, I'll do my swim and I'll tell my gym buddies about my diagnosis., because I'll be missing often and I'm usually as regular as clockwork. If they don't know about my cancer diagnosis, they'll worry more than they should/would. There will be good reasons for me to not be at the pool sometimes over the next few months, and I want them to not worry if I am missing a day here and there. We have the swimmers contact list that we got together a month or so ago. That will also be a help. I don't want to worry anyone unnecessarily, but I also know that some of my possible treatments may have me staying isolated as much as possible. I'll know more after tomorrow's meeting with my care team at the hospital. 

There are a lot of photos out there, I grabbed this one 
off Instagram. The before and after photos like this 
one - same place, just a few hours later - totally numbing. 
The level of destruction is so massive! 

And of course, there's California. The photos of LA are showing complete devastation - certainly not like the Los Angeles I drove through and around when I was acquiring beading products for the shop. I look at the photos and wonder if old contacts of mine have businesses that will still be able to operate. They might have product, their warehouses might have survived, but will there be phone lines? Will there be delivery trucks who can pick up and deliver products? What about simple mail delivery? How many substations were destroyed? How much mail ended up in ashes. What about hospitals and care centers? It's such a huge area that got burned to the ground. So rather than focus on personal problems today, turn your thoughts to those affected by the fires of California. There will be so many homeless people as a result of this blaze, and getting help to those who need it will be extremely difficult. 

With prayers for healing and love, I leave you today. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini/ 

It Was Quite the Week!

It's Saturday, and what a week it's been. Yesterday morning was spent at a different clinic location for my first injection to help with my crappy bones. The Fosomax I've been taking forever simply wasn't cutting it any more, so I was referred to a specialist WAY across town who determined that we needed to switch from Fosomax to Prolia. It's an injection I'll need every six months. 

So the Fosomax I had been taking for several years 
simply wasn't working any more. Now I'm on Prolia 
injections every six months. I'll have to do a bit more 
research, but anything to halt my osteoporosis is 
a good thing - I have enough other things to worry 
about. 

I had a truly delightful nurse who was excellent with a needle, and the injection itself was in an odd place - the back side of my upper arm, closer to the elbow. Very unusual, but no pain, just a slight discomfort. So we settled down to chat while she made sure I didn't have any immediate negative side effects, and over the 15 minutes I discovered a lot about her. I won't share, because it's her story to tell, not mine, but we had several things in common and I felt we had a real connection by the time I was finished and released back into the snowy world. 

I love Google Maps on my Android 
phone. I've been sent to some places 
I've NEVER been before, and it has 
steered me correctly every time. Bravo! 

I have to say, thank goodness for Google Maps. I hadn't used them before the first time I needed to get to this clinic location, but I've used the feature several times now and I'm loving it. I suspect when I first had used it years ago, it wasn't something I enjoyed because Google hadn't surveyed everything on the planet - LOL. (I know they still haven't, but really .... isn't Google taking over the world?). It's such an easy app, and it can move with the flow. 

I used Google Maps to find my way to my nephew's house for the annual Holiday get-together last week. I'd only been to his place once before, and had no idea how to get there. While following the map, however, I got caught in traffic and ended up on a totally different main artery. The map just shifted along with me though, telling me exactly where to go and I found my way to and fro without any problem. I wish life were that easy. You know? "Get onto the road to college here. Oh, a detour for marriage? No problem. We'll put you on the road to your new family instead." 

Don't enjoy looking at a small screen while on 
your treadmill? Don't despair. Virtual reality 
treadmills are being developed and will absolutely 
become a "thing" for the people who can afford 
them and who will have the space for them. 

So, I'm jumping off the speculative treadmill here, and wrapping this up. I haven't been in the shop for days and I'm sure I have a TON of stuff waiting for me. DH barely spoke to me last night, so he's stewing about something too, and I have no idea what. Too bad. He'll either figure it out or he won't. Not my problem. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Good News Bad News - It's All News

I made some serious inroads into cleaning up my desk area at home, but was interrupted by a phone call mid-afternoon. Apparently the biopsy found that I have breast cancer. Hopefully it's not far advanced and treatments will shrink or eliminate it, but, it's still a bit scary. I go back to the clinic on Tuesday morning to meet with my care representative who will explain all of this to me. In the meanwhile, I'm off to the Coon Rapids clinic for my semi-annual bone density injection (yes, that's really the name of a Minneapolis suburb). My life is being overtaken by health issues, and I'm none too happy about that. 

So the tumor they thought they saw on my 
right breast at the 10:00 o'clock position turned 
out to be the real deal. SIGH

But, I got my 45 minutes on the treadmill this morning, my friend "Chickie Mama" (Claire) will come with me on Tuesday to help listen to the care representative regarding my treatment options for my cancer, and DH isn't being horribly obnoxious - give him time, it'll happen eventually - LOL. 

I am totally loving my treadmill. As long as I can 
remain active, I'm happy. Hopefully the treatments 
won't cut into my swimming time. Chlorine sometimes 
is avoided during some treatments. 

All in all, things could certainly be worse. It could be 20 years ago. Things would have been MUCH worse then. Medicine has taken some serious leaps and bounds during my lifetime. We're all the beneficiaries of that. 

I wanted to share a photo with all of you, but I'm very tight on time, so I'll have to push that one off until tomorrow. Have a great Friday, be kind and generous with your presence, and I'll be back on Saturday. Slava Ukraini.