Celebrating Survivorship

I am celebrating my seventh anniversary as a Breast Cancer Survivor. I do not have a particularly interesting story about my cancer, just my story. It began with my routine mammogram on October 2, 2003. The next day I had my routine six-month dental visit. The day after that, on Saturday, I participated in the Diabetes walk with my sisters. We walked along and I mentioned my two appointments and commented that I’d take a mammogram any day over a visit to the dentist!
The following week I got a call that I needed to come have another mammogram taken because there were spots that they wanted to take a closer look at. It would probably be routine they said, but they wanted to be sure. So back I went and afterward, the technician and the doctor showed me the mammogram and the area of concern. They told me it could be calcifications, or it could be cancer. They were not positive which it was, so they wanted me to go to have a stereotactic needle biopsy the following week.
So off I went to have the test done. First, I had to watch a video. If I wasn’t nervous before watching that video, it did the trick. I nervously went in and followed directions to a tee. I was to lay face down on a table that appeared to open near the top so my breast could go through the open space so the doctor could do her work. The worst part of the test was the shot for the anesthetic. The rest of the procedure was tedious at best, which was not as bad as the video at all!
The doctor and nurse were very compassionate and I felt comfortable with them both. They were using a very small camera, taking pictures of their journey inside my breast. There was a lot of technology going on below me, and perhaps one could liken it to having a car getting a lube job done where the mechanic does everything underneath. After they took the core biopsy, they inserted a chip into my breast, just in case I had surgery so the surgeon would know exactly where the spot was. Talk about targeted procedures! Then I had yet another mammogram before I could go home.
After I was dressed and ready to leave, the wonderful nurse, Patty, hugged me and pinned a very cute angel pin on me. I wore that pin for the rest of the day, along with my ice packs. You see they left that chip in my breast! What were they going to do if I didn’t need surgery? Leave it in or make me go back for another needle job? How inconvenient!
I went to work the next day wearing my angel pin, and the day after, I wore the pin too. That day, the 16th was when I was going to find out the results of the test and I was getting anxious. That day I was sitting in our employee wellness committee meeting and the pin broke and dropped onto my lap. I picked it up and was starting to feel a little numb. Was that an omen? I needed to find out so I called the doctor only to find out she was on vacation. I couldn’t reach anyone in the practice who could help me. I called the imaging center to see if they would tell me the outcome. I was transferred all around the place because they were not authorized to tell me the results of my own test. Finally I talked to someone who would call the results into the doctor covering for my provider. When he called and told me I had breast cancer I was pretty surprised. I didn’t expect it, not that anyone does really... do they? He assured me that I would have surgery, radiation and I would be fine. So, I hung up and trying to remain calm, I got up from my desk and helped a student who wanted to pay his parking fine! My boss took me in hand and had me use her office to call my husband; then I drove home and waited for him to come home. I tried to be as normal as possible. I would survive and I knew it; I really wanted to downplay it, which I did. I took things as they came along one by one to keep it from overwhelming me. Cancer takes over your schedule and your time is not your own for the duration of the treatment period.
Today I celebrate and look back at who I was then, and see the resilience I possessed.

A Miracle...live on The News

I am filled with excitment and awe tonight. Miracles still happen and tonight I have been watching it live on TV! We have been watching for 69 days as 33 miners in Chile have been trapped 2,000 feet below the surface of the earth. What a joy to watch the first miner rise to the surface and greet his wife and young son. The world is watching as this young man emerged from a special capsule that is at this moment traveling back down below to take a third rescuer who will relinquish his seat in the capsule for the third miner to come home. I found myself holding my breath when the capsule emerged; it was only when I heard my own sigh that I recognized how tense I had become. God is so good!

As my husband and I watched this rescue, I rememebered another rescue we watched in 1972 on our little black and white TV...the Sunshine Mining Disaster in Kellogg Idaho. 91 men died in that disaster.

While the circumstances are very different I admire the courage of the men who work in mines. I also admire their families who every day say good bye to their husbands and fathers who go down below the earth to make a living.

Signs of the season!

Fall is coming quickly...the leaves are turning to beautiful crimsons and golds. The days are shorter and our weather is changing too. It was very warm just yesterday a glimpse again to summer, a teaser, a brief interlude with warm sunshine and a picnic on the deck.

Today the weather brought me back to reality. Rain, rain and a darker shade of blue. Indeed, we are falling to the cooler seasons.

Am I really ready? I love the fall colors and the fall recipes using squash or pumpkin; I am excited for the new crop of apples! I love sweaters and cords and wool! Yes, I am ready.

I have been waiting years for this!

 

I like oak trees, acorns and oak leaves...all sizes and shapes. When we bought our home 23 years ago, I was delighted to see a young oak tree in the back yard.
Every fall I enjoy the lovely apricot colored leaves and secretly wish our tree had acorns. I love this perky little nut! It has the cute top hat but it is very cute with or without the "hat". I like to use them for crafty wreaths and Christmas decorations. I look for acorns that have fallen from the trees at a city parks or along the sidewalks of old neighborhoods. I like to use them in their natural glory but sometimes they look great with a light spray of golden paint.

Today I was outside with my 15-month old grandson. Keeping up with him is quite an activity. He looks at everything and has that special delight in the small wonders nature gives us every day. It was on an excursion such as this that I looked down and saw, barely, these tiny acorns. I could hardly believe this find! I looked more closely and found that the squirrels had beat me to it and devoured the nuts! They scarfed down the insides of many an acorn and left the shells of a few.

I never thought about the insides of the nut but perhaps to the squirrel the baby acorns are a delicacy. After all, they steal all of the walnuts on my walnut tree only to bury these in shallow holes that become baby trees in a year or two. I'd rather have the nuts thank you very much! But they ate the acorns, leading me to think it was a treat for them too.

Now I will be on the hunt! As I put my flowers to bed for the season, I plan to look for as many tiny acorns as I can find...whole or not!

Living in the Moment

Life can be so mundane. I am one of those people who have lived their lives in the future, the past and sometimes in the present. This brings many challenges and I am resolved to apply what I have finally learned about life.
I am the only one who can change the way I perceive the days I am given. Even a gray day can be lovely. I awoke this morning to lower temperatures and gray skies. I had some errands to run and could not help but notice how lovely the fall colors are becoming. Oh my yes! Last week I nearly pressed a tiny leaf that was tinged with the slightest tinge of red. I realize that it is important to enjoy these little moments; they are a gift that all too soon will fade away.
Fall will give way to winter and soon enough nature will take away the splendor of these colors and they will be replaced with winter’s coat of frosty white and grays on fences and posts.
I am determined to enjoy fall as much as I can. I look forward to Halloween, Veteran’s Day and especially Thanksgiving. Pumpkin, freshly harvested nuts and apples bring to mind a warm pie or cake from the oven on a crisp day. The colors of autumn bring so many things to mind and I can enjoy them, one moment at a time.

Wow...Rice in the Crockpot....oh happy thought!

Recently I decided to try cooking brown rice in the crockpot. This was triggered by the Steamer Bags I spotted in the freezer case at the grocers. It was such a time saver but not very budget friendly. Brown rice is healthy and it takes a while to cook. That leaves it out for those impromptu "What's for dinner moments." So, a new cooking project was born.

I put 2 cups of water in the crockpot with 4 cups of water, added about a teaspon of salt to the mix and took off for a couple of hours. Imagine my excitement when I peeked inside to see what was going on. I know you aren't supposed to peek in the pot, it can take away precious cooking time but I had no schedule and was too curious to wait. It was bubbling up and getting the job done! No boil-over on my stove, just happy simmering in the pot.

I let it cook for about three hours. I measured what I needed for the casserole I was making; then I divided the remainder into servings sizes for the two of us in ziploc bags and put them in the deep freeze.

Last night I grabbed a bag from the freezer, put the rice in a casserole and zapped it in the microwave for 60 seconds, fluffed it a bit with a fork and added another 90 seconds. It was getting warm so I fluffed it some more and then just let it go on the "Hold Warm" cycle while I continued to get the rest of the food ready to set on the table.

The rice was great! I served it with pork chops, gravy and corn on the cob. My husband said it was all very good.
I have another go-to timesaver in the freezer that I can add to soup, tex-mex food or anything I can dream up! It was so easy to do with minimal cleanup!

15 months of Fun

My husband and I watched our 15-month old grandson for a few hours today. He is so busy and so fun to watch. Everything is interesting for him. He is all about how things work. Wheels and anything with wheels gives pause for his inspection!

We recently purchased a Radio Flyer wagon so the grandkids can wheel it around the yard or block or wherever it can go...flowers seemingly notwithstanding. Both my husband and I grew up with a wagon just like it and we purchased one when our girls were young. That wagon is full of memories. After restoring the wagon to its orginal glory, we gifted it to our two oldest grandkids to create their own memories with the wonder on wheels.

This new wagon is busy from the time that little guy lands at the door. He runs to the deck door and reaches for the handle. Stretching with all his might, he can reach it with the tippy-tips of his fingers. He is learning to say "Out" sort of, and as his translator I know that is just where he wants to go. Once outside, he wants in for a ride. Grandpa takes him all around the big back yard and the next stop is out front, across the street and to the mailbox! They roll along on down the street and back again so they can deliver the mail to me. Once safely parked in the backyard, the wagon is ready to be parked in its garage...inside the basement door. But the sight of the wagon empty brings me outside to the deck for there is the little guy doing his best to climb back in for yet another ride.

Ah...that shiny red wagon is ready for another adventure led by Grandpa and the little guy who is always ready for a ride.

A Quiet Friday afternoon....

Is it me or are the dark windy days often just ignored for their simple gloominess? I am going to have to make a list of things to do this fall and winter so that I can enjoy myself and avoid the dark day blues.

Coffee: My sister took me to Starbucks this morning for a treat and I had a warm pumpkin scone...luscious, warm and great with my Americano

Go to a garage sale now and then or...thrift shopping. After coffee we went to an estate sale and we scored some great fabric fat quarters for fifty cents.

Organize my stash of fabric! Two reasons come to mind. I will be motivated to use it up and second, someday that could be my stash being sold at a garage sale. I thought of an old saying as we drove away "She who dies with the most fabric wins" I wonder how that really computes? Anyway, moving on....

Reading is a good way to enjoy an afternoon cup of tea. I like novels, mysteries, inspirational and the bible. Reading is also good with a warm cup of milk in the wee hours of a long night.

Crocheting! It's not just for afghans anymore. Thanks to Netflix I can watch/listen to anything I want on television while creating a sweater or mittens or purses with my hands....besides crocheting keeps my fingers out of chocolate.

I have projects and plans of things to do and while they are things I truly want to do I have put them off. I think I have just been waiting until the weather turned and with things going the way they are now, I can't wait to get started. First off, a colorful dinosaur quilt for grandson number 1! Stay tuned for pictures.

Fall is in the Air

As I make coffee in the morning, I enjoy taking a look out the kitchen window to see what has magically happened over night. Sometimes there are big surprises, like frost or snow! This morning I noticed that our firebush is beginning to have dark pink tips, a first sign of fall for me. This bush turns a blazing red, hence the name; sitting, as she does near some birch trees, she is particularly stunning on a golden day. My golden days are when the sun is just so and the back yard shimmers. I know, that is an odd characteristic for nature to possess but take it from me it is a sight to see.

We like to take a picture of our grandkids in that corner every fall. We have some great pictures, like the one with Grace wearing a tiara and Luke with his Texas Longhorn ball cap. Sometimes they are sitting with some pumpkins too, but always on the green garden cart. These are not staged photos. Indeed, sometimes the kids can't contain themselves as they giggle when Grandpa wants them to sit there like the cherubs he envisions.

This year the seasoned crew will once again be joined by their cousin Thor, who last year was a mere three months old. This year he is active, he is robust and will certainly add to the fun of the picture. We enjoy our three grandkids so much. It is fun watching them have their pictures snapped and these pictures are an annual reminder of how quickly they grow and change. It seems like yesterday we took the first pictures and so it would seem it was yesterday when our daughters were in front of the camera! Fall is in the air indeed and I plan to enjoy it immensely.

 

I love Victorian Pictures....

There is something so appealing about children in these old pictures. It tugs at my heartstrings and reminds me of a simpler time. Not my time but stories of those times. I remember a picture of my father taken to commemorate his First Holy Communion. It was a very formal picture and he looked so angelic in his knew britches and jacket, so solemn and calm. I wish I would have known him then so that I could glimpse at his parents and his brothers and sisters! My grandparents on my Dad's side died before he met my mother and that is a part of his life that has always been such a mystery to me. He was such a quiet man, although he could certainly get us to toe the line rather easily! He used to say that when he was a child, "Children were to be seen and not heard!" That would have been hard in my family as my parents had 11 children. We were a lively bunch so it is a good thing our home was big and our yard big enough to have plenty of adventures.