Month: September 2023

4 September 2023

I heard tell that variety is the spice of life. I decided to spice mine up a little. Instead of having my fruit and yogurt for breakfast this morning, I opted for Shredded Wheat – and not the mamby pamby little tiny squares but the manly large biscuits. Life in the fast lane!

The Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane.”

I walked 1.5 miles this morning in my new gauzy shirt.

On one of my morning walks, one of my neighbors was commenting on the heat and suggested I wear a more loose shirt instead of a tee shirt. She thought it would keep me cooler. I thought she made a good argument so I ordered two of these linen gauze shirts. I didn’t bother ironing the since they are linen and will wrinkle anyway. Today was my first walk with the shirt and I think she’s correct – it did seem a little cooler.

Yesterday I was eager to try my yoga stretches and swimming today. I was awake by 4:30 am and finally got out of bed at 5. By the time it was yoga stretch time, I really, really, really didn’t want to do yoga or swim. I was so incredibly sleepy. I finally psyched myself up to do the yoga stretches.

I was about half way through my yoga when I realized I had forgotten most of the sequence of positions I usually do. It’s been that long since I’ve done yoga. Again, variety is the spice of life. After completing my out-of-sequence set, I went back and added the correct sequences I missed to begin. The real question I had was how my left side (breast, arm pit, arms) would react. There were a few twinges here and there but otherwise, I think I’m getting back the full use of my arm.

My yoga stretches take about 18 minutes. By the time I was done, I was ready to swim. Then I had to hunt for my swim cords which allow me to swim in place. I hadn’t used them since the renovation from the flood damage. They turned out to be the second place I looked. When they replaced everything in the utility room for me, they kept the swim cords in sight.

I try to do 4 sets of 50 strokes of the American crawl to warm up. From there I do 100 strokes of the American crawl, 100 strokes of breast stroke, 50 left side strokes, 50 right side side strokes, 100 backstroke and 100 American crawl to finish things off. I managed a complete set and only had a little twinge on one of the strokes – you guessed it – the breast stroke. I was more than pleased with myself that I was able to do yoga and swim. A couple of times during the swimming I got out of breath and had to rest a little longer between sets but I did finish. That was around 20 minutes of exercise added to yoga and morning walk. I hope that I can keep that up. Tomorrow is a wash because of the chemo treatment but I should be back at it on Wednesday.

I usually get a text notice about dental appointments to remind me. I did this morning after the swim. My problem was the appointment was for 3 pm tomorrow. I go in at 9:30 am for my chemo and I have no idea how long that will last. They do a blood workup first and from that, they determine what “extras” I need in addition to the Taxol. The last time I finished at 2:30 which would give me only 30 minutes to get across town.

I called the dentist office and they worked out an appointment at 4 pm on Tuesday. If I finished at 2:30 pm, it would give me plenty of time. I agreed to the new time. A few minutes later, they called back and asked if I could come immediately. I told them it would take me around 15-20 minutes and they said come on. I walked in about 15 minutes later and they did a full set of x-rays, cleaned my teeth and had the doctor check the x-rays and perform an exam. It worked out perfectly and I don’t have to worry about rushing anywhere after the treatment tomorrow.

The last bout of diarrhea was on September 2nd at 2:25 in the afternoon. Since then it’s been semi-solid stool. I’m still on two Imodium every four hours. I don’t want to chance a change in medication since chemo is tomorrow.

Tonight is the Secret Garden but I think after lunch, it’ll be nap time.

Stay tuned!

3 September 2023

Eleven and one half hours! That’s how long I slept last night. I was exhausted, apparently from the diarrhea. I did take two Advil and one Xanax and they may have had something to do with it but diarrhea just saps you. Not only that, but I’ve been dressing for winter lately. Sitting still watching Vera seems to bring out the chills. The interesting thing is we have had very low humidity today – 70% which is a considerable break from 96%. I’m still cold and wearing long sleeved shirt and long pants. Since I waked at 10 am this morning, I didn’t walk. I probably would have been reported for being drunk in the neighborhood if I had walked.

I still have no appetite but did manage to eat my fruit and yogurt this morning. My sweet tooth is in overdrive and I did cinnamon rolls for lunch along with apple sauce. Hopefully, I’m on the road to recovery from the diarrhea since I actually had a real bowel movement this afternoon. I’m now 24 hours from the last diarrhea episode but I intend to continue with the 2 every 4 Imodium AD. I’ve been burned too many times by cutting back the dose.

Maybe later today I’ll make it to the pool. I hope to be able to do my morning walk, yoga and swim laps tomorrow morning. It’ll be the first time since my original surgery for breast cancer, sometime in July.

I gave Trevor a check for his lawn mowing for me and he also took out the 6×6 post for bulk trash pickup and put it on his own pile. He reiterated to let him know if he could ever do anything for me. They’ve volunteered to help in any way they can.

Jon stopped by with Dink this morning. He had changed phones and not all of the numbers transferred and he wanted to get my telephone. He also volunteered to help in any way he can. Jon and I met dog walking. At the time he had a border collie called Memphis and I, of course, had Rocky. They got along and so did Jon and I. Memphis has since passed and his new one is Dinky.

Jon’s an outdoorsman who used to work for many years for an outdoor store (think boats, kayaks, paddle boats, etc. His real talent is sculpture. He has some very interesting pieces at his home, both inside and out. He’s been a good conversationalist over the years about his experiences and he shares my enthusiasm for the outdoors.

I’m better this afternoon but still a little blah. I don’t know if that’s the after effects of Xanax or the diarrhea or both. Hopefully, I’ll be up to dinner at the Secret Garden tomorrow night with Jim, Holley, Tom and Kurt. It’s my favorite restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. We always ask for Yelena who is originally from Estonia. She’s great and always is fun to be around. She never pulls any punches with her suggestions and let’s face it, she puts up with us – a rowdy bunch at best.

I talked to Judith and Chris yesterday and Chris seems to have caught my diarrhea. I emphasized the importance of taking 2 Imodium every 4 hours and I think he’s been doing that since my phone call.

I noticed my Kinsa thermometer has shown a steady, upward creep of the number of cases of Covid. For quite a while it was showing a number around 14. It’s lately creeped up to 34 and today it was 36. The number represents the number of hospitalizations per 100 k of population and my info is based on Broward County, so 36 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. The US Census reports a 2021 population in the county of 1.931 million people. I suspect it will continue to rise as more and more people are forsaking the masks and going to crowded venues.

I’m curious how the Tuesday infusion will go. They’ll do a blood test first thing and I want to know how its been affected by my diarrhea. I’m also curious as to how the hydration infusion affected the blood results. Tuesday will be my third Taxol infusion and the fourth, a week from Tuesday, will be both Taxol and Herceptin.

It’ll be a tight schedule Tuesday. I have a dental appointment at 3 pm on Tuesday. The infusion starts at 9:30 am. I need to see the dentist since it’s been about 6 months since my last visit and I haven’t told her about the chemo yet. Also, I’ve had some mouth sores and want her to check those out. It makes eating more difficult than it has to be. Yes, I’m still using baking soda. At least they won’t need to spray the stuff after the cleaning.

I had a good conversation with my cousin Jimmie. We try to FaceTime every Sunday around 3 pm and catch up with our week. We do a lot of laughing which is probably the best medicine you can get.

Tonight, I’m trying a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan. It sounds good. You sweat the egg plant disks, dust with flour, egg wash and then bread crumbs. Bake eggplant for 30 minutes at 350°F and then coat bottom of dish with marinara sauce, add eggplant disks, top with mozzarella and parezan, repeat. Then bake at 400 for 30 minutes. We’ll see.

I took a dip in the pool to let it cool. While heading to the pool, I noticed the Lady of the Night had picked up a co-worker.

I think I’ve mentioned I’ve had mixed results with gladiolas. Looks like these are really going to open up and be attractive.

As you can see, I haven’t really cleaned the house this week. Stay tuned!

2 September 2023

I must be totally addled this morning. I kept trying to work a crossword puzzle and when I got stymied, I used my phone to check the answers. It’s the L.A. Times crossword and Saturdays are the most difficult. I always print out two crosswords: the L.A. Times and the New York Times. The New York Times also has yesterday’s answers at the bottom, not so the L.A. Times. I kept Googling for the L.A. Times answers to the Saturday, September 2, 2023 puzzle on the phone and it made absolutely no sense. None of the clues were the same.

So, when I came in to do the blog, I realized I had left both of today’s puzzles in the printer. I was trying to solve the New York Times puzzle for May 12, 2023, not the Saturday L.A. Times. I print both puzzles daily and always work on the L.A. Times but sometimes don’t the New York Times. Some days I do one puzzle, some days four. In the end, I have a stack of printed puzzles of the New York Times I keep on hand to work in case of hurricanes and boredom. It bit me in the butt this morning trying to solve the May 12th NYTimes puzzle.

Part of my addle-ation may have to do with bouts of diarrhea last night and first thing this morning. Then I did my morning walk and managed 1.5 miles. The temperature was nice (77°F) but the humidity was 93%. I knew I was a little wobbly on the walk so it’s no surprise I got confused on the crosswords.

Today is the day I would do my monthly clean but I suspect with the way I feel, it’ll be much less than normal. The toilet definitely needs some work but the rest may be a cursory clean. Then there’s always the wash.

I meant to write about this yesterday when I was waiting for my injection to boost my immune system. I count myself most fortunate when it comes to medical insurance. Medicare pretty much pays everything cancer related and what Medicare doesn’t pay, United Health Care does. After two surgeries, one emergency room visit, one hospital stay, and three infusions, I’ve paid out $9.31.

While waiting, numerous people walked up to the window at the cancer center with insurance problems. Some had no insurance, some had large (and I mean large) deductibles. To the credit of the staff at the window, they handled each and every case with tact and support. If they had to ask someone to wait, they would get back to them when free and work with them on insurance. When you add money woes to cancer diagnoses, you can see some of these people are at their wit’s end. I appreciate the effort Holy Cross goes to to assuage the anxieties of their clientele. I’m fortunate that I don’t have those problems (or at least haven’t been billed for them yet).

College football season technically begins today. There have been some early games, early upsets, and early speculation, but the rubber hits the road today. I used to love going to high school football games at Morton. The team was pretty good but they just never could beat Magee or Mendenhall. College football was a lot of fun and I have great memories of games at Ole Miss and Memphis and Jackson. After all, it was the Archie Manning era at Ole Miss.

Today, college football has become semi-professional. Athletes can sign contracts for the use of their names and images and endorsements. I’ve already mentioned how some high school students are held back one or two grades so they can better compete as an older athlete. I’ve seen some college quarterbacks who look like they are in their late 20’s when they should be in the 18-21 year range. I still watch a little college football on tv but nothing like I used to. It’s lost some of its luster and excitement when you consider it’s semi-pro ball. It’s certainly a far cry from the original intent of intramural sports.

I used to turn on baseball games when I needed a nap. The lack of action on the baseball field and the quiet comments by the announcers was a sure fire way to put you to sleep. It looks like college football might also be a take on the insomnia cure.

Monday, I’m scheduled to eat at the Secret Garden with Jim, Holley, Tom and Kurt. Tuesday is the third Taxol infusion. I assume I’ll be scheduled for a hydration infusion either on Wednesday or Thursday and probably more immune injections that week. I’ve also scheduled to go to dinner with Daryl and Bill on Monday the 11th. Each of the dinner invitations I’ve had to give the caveat of having to cancel if my diarrhea isn’t under control. Fortunately, my friends understand and realize there are exigencies. I’ll let you know how things turn out.

Stay tuned!

1 September 2023

I got into the pool today! Not for swimming. I got out of bed too late for that since I had an injection at Holy Cross today. After I tended the leaf garden this afternoon,

cleaned the pool filter, cleaned the patio and pool deck, and sprayed for weeds, I jumped in. Wouldn’t you know it, the minute I started to get in the water, it started to sprinkle. At least there was no lightning. I needed to wash off the weed killer anyway.

I turned on my outside speakers, luxuriated in the pool, listened to some Bob Dylan and Bob Seger. I probably didn’t stay in more than 15 minutes but it was perfect. I had no more gotten out of the pool and rinsed off in the outside shower that I got a notification on my phone about lightning in the area. I timed it perfectly.

While tending to the backyard chores, I noticed my Ladies of the Night orchid (Brassavola nodosa) had bloomed.

Usually, the orchid produces three blooms (I assume that’s where the plural of lady comes in) but this was one lonely street walker. Another possible reason for the common name is that it only produces an aroma at night. To me, it smells like a very strong clove smell. Wikipedia describes the smell as citrus and gardenia but it’s nothing like that to me. The reason for the night aroma is to attract pollinating moths. I really love this orchid.

I stopped by the Cancer Center for injection of Filgastim at 11 am. It was quick and easy and again with the Claritin tonight. The real problem was a bout of diarrhea before I left the house. It was a harbinger of things to come.

After the injection, I wanted to stop at the Nova Southeastern University Museum of Art in downtown Fort Lauderdale. My friend Barbara is a docent there and she convinced me to renew my membership which had long ago lapsed. When I moved to South Florida in 1985, the original museum was called the Fort Lauderdale Art Center and was in an abandoned supermarket on Las Olas Blvd. In 1986 it moved to its new digs and from time to time, I rejoin. Lately, it’s had some very interesting exhibits. It partnered with Nova Southeastern University in 2008 and that’s helped it financially.

I parked in the city garage next to the main library and very near the art museum. I always walk the stairs and as I did, I met two workers welding on the staircase. They had not blocked off entry to the stairs from the parking garage but had at the base of the stairs. I had to dodge a shower of welding sparks as I exited the staircase.

The museum had an exhibit of Toulouse-Lautrec posters which were excellent and I had seen on a previous visit. Also seen previously was a “Hooray for Hollywood” exhibit of famous actors but also photos of Elizabeth Taylors jewelry.

What surprised me was the exhibit “The Swans: Artwork by Karen Kilimnik & Dresses from Stephanie Seymour.” Matched with artwork by Kilimnik were famous couture dresses. I was fascinated by the design and quality of workmanship of the dresses – not so much by the artwork of Kilimnik. All of the famous Parisian designers were represented.

It was about this time that I urgently sought out the bathroom. I made it just in time. It looks like I’ll be on two Imodium AD every four hours for the next 6 chemo sessions. It just will not stop.

One of my favorite views in the museum is where the main elevator is located. They allowed a Haitian artist an entire wall to produce lighted panel with voodoo images.

Another striking exhibit was Joel Gaitan’s Puerto Por Una Traición. He’s a Haitian artist and he merges metal (gold leaf?) and terra cotta. The vessels were exceptional. Unfortunately, the photo doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the work.

The last thing that caught my eye was the tapestries of Kandy G. Lopez. The work in fibers were amazing.

By then, it was around noon (I don’t linger too long in museums. It either interests me or it doesn’t. I stopped at the museum’s little cafe and was suggested the tuna sandwich which turned out to be excellent. It came with a very fresh side salad. I was pleasantly pleased. Museum food is either exceptional or dreadful. This was so good I asked for a box to take the second half of the sandwich home with me.

I made it home around 1:30 pm (traffic was very slow) and I curled up in bed with my iPad and read briefly before getting a nap in. I’ll probably have HoneyNut Oats for dinner. It’s so hot during the day, I prefer to eat simply at night and cereal seems to fit the bill.

I talked with my friend Stephanie up near Monticello, Florida. That’s in the Big Bend area and where the hurricane came ashore. Her manufactured home is fine, she is safe and her pets are safe but her yard is a disaster with downed trees and limbs. She can get out with her vehicle but Monticello has no power so there’s no need to go there. She has a generator but it runs on propane and she has to limit the time it runs. She runs it for the refrigerator and freezer. She indicated she was gonna sleep on the screened porch since it was cooler than inside the trailer. I wish I could help her out but it’ll be weeks before she gets electricity. When Katrina and Wilma came through my area, I was without electricity for almost a month each.

Stay tuned!