Ike aftermath

I just spent some time with Tim. He is from Louisville, Kentucky and Sunday he lost power after remnants of Hurricane Ike hitl. Close to 300,000 people are without electricity. As of Monday, the local electric company suggested it might be up to two weeks before power could be restored for all of it's customers without power, so Tim decided to go stay with his parents in Lexington. He is very fortunate that he has family to stay with, i can't imagine what others are doing. I only hope they get it sorted out quickly, for everyones sake. I wish that for all of the people afftected by the hurricane and it's aftermath.

So Tim is with his parents and we were able to spend some time together, playing chess. Yes he wins more often then not...but i sneak in a few wins every once in a great while. My last post was just a bit of fun, i meant nothing against Tim...he doesn't need to use such antics...he is good...very good...but he keeps me laughting with the things he does...and what can i say, i always fall for them. It's one of the many reasons why i love him so.

Monday afternoon my friend Yuni, my hairdresser, came to do our hair. Mainly she was coming to do my sisters hair...but my mother and i decided we'd get our done too. I just had it washed and styled and mother the same. My mother is SO cranky and unhappy with hers. She is terribly fussy about her hair and it looks nice, very nice...but she just is so used to her own hairdresser doing it for many, many years ...that any slight (and it is slight) deviation from his stylings and all she does is complain. I had hoped it would cheer her up...it did for a while. Mind you in front of Yuni she is complimentery and happy with her hair...it is only afterwards that i hear about it. Ahh well, i'm thrilled with mine and so is my sister. She had her roots done (darn grey that grey hair) and then the cap used for some highlights. Yuni mentioned we are the only two of her customers that still use the cap, all the others use foils. I don't know why i like the cap...but i do. Perhaps i should give it up though and switch to foils. What do you think Cheryl?

After i had my hair done, Yuni dropped me off to go shopping at Walmart. She thought of shopping with me but in the end decided she'd go home and relax. It had been her day off and she'd been busy all day. I shopped around, picked up all the stuff i wanted and more. Seriously, never go shopping hungry. I was starving and bought so much junk food it wasn't funny. I did buy a lot of it for my mom and sister.

Came home from Walmart and changed into my jammies, threw a frozen pizza in the oven (it was yummy!) and lounged in front of the tv. There wasn't much on (that i was interested in)...and i was so tired after i ate, that i took a nap. I'd been waiting for Tim. He made the drive to Lexington tonight and i had to wait for him to set up the computer stuff. After my nap i texted him and we met online. Now he's gone to bed and i should head there too.

Tuesday i have the cable guy coming. We've been experiencing some problems getting in a channel that i am paying for but not getting...so we'll see what happens. I'll keep my toes crossed that he's able to sort the problem out.

Off to bed i go...

A question for you

I can't believe what just happened. Tell me what you think...was i hoodwinked?

Tim and i are playing chess...and he asked me what my mom was doing. I turned to look and she was doing some personal for herself so when Tim pushed the point and asked me again i said he didn't want to know. Next thing i know...he took my queen. Can you believe that? He purposely asked me to look away...he distracted me by asking me to look at my mom and then moved a man into position to take my queen. Because apparently i thought he was genuinely curious, i turned to look and fell for his antics. Now i am down a queen and fighting for my life, in the game.

Do you think that was fair? I need to know.

Update...he won that game, grrrr!

Good night, good morning

I've been having bouts of serious dizziness...so last night i decided to call the doctor on call, rather than go to emerg. When he called me back i explained to him what was happening and he we talked about my tumour and he explained that of course, with brain tumours, can come some degree of dizziness but then he inquired about the medications i was taking. I explained that i'd recently begun taking Decadron for the swelling...and he then said that it was that that was probably causing it. He also explained, which i didn't realize, that it was important for me to take the medication with food. A light went on, i hadn't been doing that either. I am notorious for not eating breakfest and that is when i have to take my pills.

Today i had a bite to eat...not much but it was better than nothing...and i felt much better. Thank goodness. I really wasn't much good to mother being so dizzy, all i wanted to do was sleep/lay down.

It is early morning and i'm still up, though i am getting ready for bed. Tim and i spent the evening and wee hours together, doing the things we do...and we just parted company. I took down all of the garbage and made some ice cubes and tidied up the kitchen a tiny bit, then called him to say goodnight (again) and now here i am.

Going to catch up on your blogs before i lay down. Wish i could have seen some of your night tables but i totally understand why those of you didn't participate. I am a curious person, by nature and it would have been fun. Maybe next time, eh? ps...i didn't straighten out my table, it is always pretty tidy and somewhat dusty....but i'm working on that.

Crusty, i loved your comments on the pic!

A challenge

So over on Little Wanderers blog the other day i noticed she had issued a challenge, one that sounded fun to me, so i decided to participate.

The challenge was this...

1. Without cleaning up, take a photo of the floor on your side of the bed or your nightstand, wherever you collect things.

2. Tell us the 'to do' list associated with it.

3. Come back here and let me know you've decided to play along.

4. Do this all by Saturday September 6th (ooops i just noticed there was a time limit, i'm late...does it still count?)

So above is my pic because i cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get the photo below my text (i am hopeless)...

In the photo is my radio/docking station with my iPOD, full of music which i can never listen to (it annoys my mother)...behind it is the first teddy bear that Tim gave me with an arrangement of lovely flowers... the 'to do' part is...if you look closely, there is one pill at the forefront which i must take each day at dinner time...the pills to the right of there, at the side of the radio are also pills i must take each day (all of the rest of them are in a case on the shelf below) ...there is a book...or rather there should be a book on the top of the table, one i'm meant to be reading but it has fallen to the back and i haven't picked it up yet.

Anyway, that's my contribution to the bit of fun...i hope you'll play along too. Incidentally, Little Wanderer took photos of the top of her fridge and another desk...i stopped at the one. I liked doing this though, kind of gave me a little project to do today...if only i'd been paying attention to the deadline.

Let's remove the deadline...let me know if you play along, k.

I'm baaaack

I still haven't had a nap...but i'm going to just as soon as i am done this post.

I just finished playing some canasta with Tim....he beat me two games. I think we'll have to go back to playing some chess...i've had more luck with that game of late.

It's still rainy here and i feel like making some soup, so i might make a soup that i saw made earlier on PBS. It was called pasta fagoli (spelling?) and it seems it basically soup made with diced tomatoes, beans and tortellini. I don't have any tortellini but i do have some itty bitty frozen ravioli so i'll cheat and use that instead...it's just such a perfect day for soup.

So far today i've done some tidying up, dishes and vacumming. Oh and i also cleaned the bathroom sink and toilet (ugh!)...but as yet, i haven't felt like doing any laundry. I don't know why...i'd be more apt to do it if i didn't have to look presentable to go out and do it. I have a bad case of bedhead and i just don't feel like doing anything about it...so laundry can wait me thinks.

Hopefully you are all enjoying the day...i notice more than a couple of you haven't been blogging as often...just want you to know i miss you...you know who you are.

Oh...and i'll get to the challenge that i am taking part in later...stay tuned for that.

Off to nap...ciao.

A rainy Saturday morning, purrrfect for a nap

It's a rainy Saturday morning. I'm awake early and feeling okay. I can live with 'okay'...in fact i'm quite thrilled to...when i think of the alternatives...it's just fine to be okay.

Had a good sleep i think and so far i have only the slightest hint of a headache. I think the low-dose steroids are helping. I finished another cycle of temodar and now will follow that up with labs and scans. It was a bit of a rough week but i made it through, hurray for me.

Mother has come around and is in 'better spirits', thank goodness. I spent some time away from her yesterday but not much. She wasn't feeling well and pleaded with me not to leave her alone. When i'm cooking dinner, i have to be near the kitchen...so i stayed there for a while, watched some tv and left her alone. She did fine, she always does...she just fusses a bit.

After dinner i had to nap, i was so tired from lack of sleep. I've been awake about an hour now and already i'm feeling sleepy. I was going to call Tim but i won't call and wake him just to tell him i am going back to sleep....i'll call him when i get up.

When i get up there is laundry waiting to be done...and i need to vacuum this place, it's a mess. Then i have a challenge to post to my blog...but more about that later.

Off i go for a wee morning nap.

Just a quick note

Had a miserable night last night...mostly due to mother.

Okay so the Temodar isn't helping, i know but mother was full of vinegar last night and took it out on me. Who else, she'd dare not talk to or treat my sister the way she does me. I am her doormat. I know you've heard it all before so i will spare you the details...but i didn't get much sleep if any at all...so i am tired and feel just plain lousy. It could be worse, i know...so i am thankful to be up and out of bed, here typing.

It is the last day of treatment, i am thankful for that too. I will rest later...a nap is definitely in the cards for me.

Ouch it hurts

Saturday night i ended up in the emergency room. I had a rather serious headache which scared me. The pain was unbearable and it just suddenly came on, which worried me even more...so i called the doctor on call, who suggested i get to the hospital right away to be seen.

While there they gave me morphine for the pain and did a lab workup as well as a scan. Long story short there was some swelling of my brain. They decided to put me on a course of steroids and sent me home to rest. They did want to keep me in overnight but i really needed to get back home to mother. I knew she was worried about me and so i was adamant. Sunday i slept all day and most of the night too. I get so scared at times like that, i wonder if my end is near.

Other than that an uneventful Labour day weekend. Sunday we ordered some Chinese food for dinner, which was yummy. I was thankful i didn't have to cook as so was my sister, who quite often cooks a big Sunday meal.

Monday i started another cycle of temodar. I was quite sick and spent more of that day and night in bed too. I remember watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 at some point but other than that, the evening was a blur.

Tonight i have a terrible headache. I'm in pain. I achel all over. I worry and i wonder if that makes it worse. For some reason too my neck and shoulders are so tight. I feel tense. I am wracked with pain and worry.

Worry because i got a message from my sister Lane today, eluding to the fact that something was wrong. She isn't ready to tell me what so i feel like she's left me dangling, worrying...but if she isn't ready to disclose the reason, i have no choice but to wait until she is. Granter, she is a grown woman but still i worry about her. I think it is natural to worry about a sibling who is obviously going through something at the moment. I know it's not her health or the health of either of her two children....which is a relief...but as i said, i'll just have to wait to find out.

Well i think i'll read some blogs then head to bed. I hope i can sleep. I have groceries being delivered in the morning. So happy about that. Tomorrow, assuming i am well enough, i will make a potato and pasta salad to go with some sirloin steaks. Hopefully i get it done.

Goodnight all.