Update on Jane

Bear in mind that Jane is currently at the Veterans' Administration Hospital, and is once again going to be there overnight.  They didn't get the barium procedure done today, and theoretically, it will be done tomorrow.  Um hmmmm.


She's in decent spirits ... considering. ;)  Still hurting, but she'd really like to come home.  I can empathize.

Ai Carumba

Well, we had a little scare here.  Jane's currently in the hospital, undergoing some tests.  I'm hoping she can come home today.  She had some pain in her throat, but not a sore throat, and there was concern that it could be heart-related, and thus the tests.


So far, all heart type tests are coming back fine.  Now they are looking at gastric things.  One thing I will say is that they are not leaving any stones unturned at this point.  They were about to do something with barium the last time I spoke with her.  And if something were to appear, they were going to scope her.  I just tried calling, but got an elderly man, quite obviously well-drugged on pain killers, and he hung up on me. :D


Now I am waiting for the scooter lift installation place to call and tell me to come get my Equinox.  And apparently, I am waiting in vain for someone to call to reschedule that PET Scan.  I guess I'll call again, or just tell Dr. F that they dropped the ball, and all hell will break loose. ... am I that mean?  Depends on the day. ;)


I'm really tired, for as you can imagine, I did not sleep very well last night.  Jane and Nancy headed to the ER around 4PM, and no one called until about 7, and even then there wasn't much to tell.  I think it was 10PM when Nancy called and said they were keeping Jane in the hospital.  Blech.  The Big House.  At least she had her Nintendo DS with her. ;)


I hope that Mobility place calls soon... I want to go to work tomorrow!


Live long and prosper, all.

Cultivation Begins

Since we have decided to increase the size of our vegetable garden this year, we have a LOT of soil to prepare.  The two original vegetable patches will, this year, become flower beds.  I adore color in my garden, and that's plenty of room for a plethora of flowers.


I found an electric cultivator at Amazon; Home Depot didn't have any in stock, and I get free shipping from Amazon, so it all evens out.  It's been working like a champ!  We have two sections of the garden ready for planting, but we haven't got the drippers laid out yet.  Sisters have opted to add some moisture control soil to our native soil to help mitigate the loss of said moisture due to our hot desert climate.


I actually did a little of the work; I raked the decomposed granite away from the planting beds.  For about 20 minutes and I was done.  But it felt good to participate  in the readying of our garden.  And it's a glorious day!  There's a nice breeze, puffy little white clouds sailing by, intermittent aircraft heading in to Sky Harbor Airport, birds and butterflies!


Now we have to figure out what kinds of flowers we can actually grow besides Lantana and Verbena, hibiscus and bougainvillea. :)  Maybe we'll take a trip over to Moon Valley Nursery.  They have very high quality plants.  That's where my dwarf lemon tree, Fred, was born.  I had a talk yesterday with Fred.  I told him he'd better get a move on and flower soon.  I'd like to have his lemons before I have to tell him adios. ;)  Since the area where we will plant flowers is relatively shady, we should be able to get something pretty.  I hope. :)


So, I'm very, very excited about what we're planting this year:  

• Basil -- needs watching.. don't let it flower!
• Mexican Grey Squash
• Early White Bush Scallop squash
• Burgess Buttercup squash
• Zucchini!
• Straightneck Early Yellow squash
• Waltham Butternut squash
• Table Queen Acorn squash
• Poblano peppers
• Anaheim Chili
• California Wonder Bell Peppers
• Jalapenos
• Cubanelles
• Serranos
• Thyme
• Tarragon
• Italian Flat-leaf Parsley
• Brussels Sprouts 
• AND... SPINACH!!!!!

So, you see, we'll be in vegetable heaven!

On the agenda for this week; I had better get that damned PET Scan rescheduled before I see Dr. Fastenberg, or he'll yell at me. :D  Car's getting the lift put on it on Tuesday, Nancy will be 54 that day.... old bat...I'll go into the plant on Wednesday, using the new lift for my scooter, and then this week, it's Herceptin Thursday.  A full week ahead.  :)

Live long and prosper, all!

Gloomy, and yet....

...it's a treat, if only because it's not over 100 degrees.  Oh yeah, that's coming, but good lords, not in April, please. :)


Today, I have ankles.  Another thing for which to be thankful.  YAY for Lasix.  Also, today... I did... (drum roll inserted here)... ELEVEN minutes on the NuStep!  It felt really good, I must say.  Had an average rate of 84 steps per minute.  Certainly not my best rate ever, but I did it!  I was about to say 'not my best rate, but ... considering.'  Let me tell you about that trailing CONSIDERING.  :)


I had gone to my pulmonologist for a follow up after that bout of bronchitis.  He's been very interested in the whole esophageal cancer battle; he asks about all my treatments and ensures that he gets reports from the RO and the MO.  So, as I was leaving, he tells me, "You know, I'm just amazed at how you are doing.  And you look so good,.... considering."  I'm laughing now, even as I type it.... yeah, considering.... considering my skin looks like bleached parchment paper, and considering my hair is really thin and goofy-looking, and I have weird tattoo marks that show, pretty much no matter what I wear... yeah, considering... I look good!  Hehehehehe.  Really, he's being very encouraging and I do truly appreciate that.


I have no great plans for the weekend, other than perhaps supervising the sowing of our crops.  Although, it could rain tomorrow and it could still rain today... hence the gloominess, but hey, that'll only make the soil easier to cultivate. :)


Well, that's it for today.  I've got to go figure out something to make for dinner, which will probably involve chicken and Israeli cous cous.  Have a lovely weekend, all you dear readers, friends and family!

Ultrasound!

When the temperatures started hitting the upper 90's, I started getting some edema in my feet and ankles.  I've had it before, but doing all my physical therapy worked wonders, and I hadn't had it for two years.  Now that it was back, it wasn't surprising, considering I don't get anywhere NEAR the exercise I used to.


Still, I thought I should tell my doctor, because I didn't have any Lasix anymore, and I really didn't want the edema to get out of hand.  He said to come in.  I asked when, and he said NOW.  So, I headed out to see him, and he decided that because cancer patients can become susceptible to deep vein thrombosis, I should have an ultrasound on both of my legs.


And that I did, at 4:30 this afternoon.  Yeah, my primary care doc doesn't fool around. :)  Happily, nothing was found in either leg; no creepy blood clots, YAY!  Of course, I had had a conversation with my leg veins, earlier in the day, and told them, that really, I had all these other things with which to deal, so perhaps they could find it in their venous hearts to give me a break.  They must have agreed.


I was a happy camper as I left the imaging place.  One less problem, thank the deities.  I shall take my Lasix and my potassium and keep this edema in check, and hopefully, all will be well.


As you might imagine, it was a stressful day, and I am pooped.  I don't think I could get an entire minute done on my NuStep, today.  An early night sounds fabulous.


Oh, and I would like to thank my dear friend, Julie Challis, for sending me the wonderful card I got today.  You, dear, are so creative.  The card was beautiful!  And you made me cry, and laugh.  "Slumgullion" indeed. :)  I love you, my friend.

Phew!

Well, I feel like I just did 45 minutes on my NuStep, but in actuality, it was FIVE minutes.  You know, it took me almost two years to work up from seven minutes on no resistance, to 45 minutes at level three resistance.  With only 38% lung function, I was really doing very well.


Alas, during the heavy-duty chemo and radiation, it was hard enough to get out of bed most days, and so the NuStep got a little dusty.  But I don't want to let it STAY dusty.  I credit my NuStep with making me strong enough that I survived my chemo and radiation.  And now, I will just have to start building up my endurance again.  Yes, that last bout with bronchitis certainly didn't help.  


On the exciting news front, my scooter lift is going to be installed on Tuesday of next week!  Even better than that, GM has a program that reimburses you for adaptive and mobility devices installed on their cars, up to $1000.  THANK YOU, General Motors!  A friend once told me that somehow, any time she needed money for something important, she always found a way to get it.  This program through General Motors could not have come at a better time.


Despite the fact that we have already had our first 100 degree day, this week is supposed to be rather lovely.  But the wind was blowing and there was a fire in our neighborhood, and I had bit of an asthma episode.  Spring is really springing around here.  Although I am not allergic to orange blossoms, the things to which I *am* allergic seem to bloom at the same time as those orange blossoms...and thus, itchy eyes, and lots of wheezing.  Let's hear it for the ability to nebulize at home. :)


So, I shall try to work up to ... oh... ten minutes on the NuStep by the end of the month.  A woman's got to have goals.  Sweet dreams, all. :)

Hominy

Growing up in a multi-cultural family... kinda...we had interesting food to eat.  My dad's family were Californians from the 1700's, by way of Spain and then Mexico.  My mom's family were very much Heinze 57'ish; Irish, English, Welsh and Swedish.  Mom would make food items with strange names.  What the heck is 'Slumgullion?'  I don't even know if it's real, or something she made up.


But she's the one that would come up with things like chicken and dumplings, ... good, solid fare, mostly tasteless.  Dad sent her to my godmother to learn how to cook Mexican and thank the gods, she had a great aptitude for that.


One of those things she learned to cook was Menudo.  I know... many of you out there turn up your noses at the very thought of cooking with tripe.  And honestly, I would never eat the tripe.  What I loved about the Menudo was the hominy and the broth.  I'd grab a tortilla and use it as a conveyance device to get those little corny morsels up to my mouth, along with the broth that had soaked into said tortilla. Still, you can't make Menudo taste like Menudo without the tripe.  Needless to say, I have never made Menudo.


But Posole!  Now here is something you can make WITH hominy and pork.  Safe, sane pork. :)  


So, since I don't make menudo, and I still love hominy, I try to find things to do with it.  Tonight, we're using hominy as a side dish.  Sisters and I just put together a concoction in the slow cooker that contains green chilies, diced onions, grey Mexican squash, yellow squash, hominy (YAY!), sour cream, salt, pepper and a Mexican shredded cheese mixture.  I have made it before, so at least I know it's edible, but I have to wonder, if my mom had whipped up something like this, would it be called a 'slumgullion?'


Oh holy carp!  I just googled Slumgullion, and it's not a made up word.  It's FOOD!  It's Slumgullion!  But, let me tell you, what mom made had no relationship to what's in that recipe.  Ok, check this link... it makes MUCH more sense!  Dang, who doesn't love etymology?  And after reading that article, I am reminded of something else Mom called Mulligan stew.  I can't remember what that was and I am guessing it's because I tend to let unpleasant memories fade as much as possible.  Please, if you are a lover of the REAL Mulligan Stew, do not be perturbed; I am sure what Mom made had absolutely no resemblance to the real thing. Oh yes, for sure, Mom never made THAT.


Hominy is apparently a food item that can bring back many memories of my childhood, as you can see from the preceding.  I miss my mom and her weird use of the English language; sammiches, HOUSEpitals, and a phrase I hesitate to share with the general public, but it has something to do with haemorrhages and is totally revolting, as she exhorted people not have have one.  Very strangely, as she was the only person I had ever, thankfully, heard use that phrase, I found out  from my dear friend Polly, that HER mother used the same phrase.  I shudder.


And this is what I am thinking about on this Saturday afternoon; Mom, hominy, Slumgullion and menudo.  It's good to be American. :D


Love to all!!!