Week 8 - Cold and Cancellations

It was my last week before surgery and it was the coldest week of the winter with high temps just above zero with wind chills in the negative 20's. This lead to lots of time inside and cancellations galore.

It started snowing in the wee hours on Monday and it was still snowing all morning. I had my pre-op physical at 1:20 and with it too cold to be outside, I messaged my snow crew and asked if they'd do my driveway. It was supposed to stop snowing at noon and they said they'd do me first so I could make my appointment. I got a call from the clinic with an offer to reschedule for Friday, which I happily took but they guys were already on their way. They did their usual quick job but it didn't end up stopping so I bundled up and went outside at 6:00 to do the last inch that had fallen. Anne Marie's son was driving by and stopped to help so it was quickly finished. With no knitting due to Presidents Day, I happily went back inside for a night of knitting and streaming.

The high temp on Tuesday was 1 not including windchills so I stayed inside. My front room reading in the sun book was The Fourth Wing, which I was totally sucked into and finished that afternoon. I immediately reserved the 2nd book in the series, which meant I'd be braving the cold (high temp of 2) on Wednesday to pick it up. I hit The Warehouse before the library and went right back to reading as soon as I got home. I kept reading Thursday too. By that point, the Wednesday night Saunders Medical Center's program on beef at the lake had been cancelled as well as the student dinner at Southeast Community College on Thursday night, which was why I'd delayed my surgery. Oh well. I was happy to stay warm inside anyway.

It was 23 degrees on Friday, which felt absolutely balmy, and I finally had plans to leave the house. After my rescheduled pre-op physical that morning, I'd be driving to Lincoln for lunch with Darla and final errands and grocery shopping. Despite telling me my labs from January would be good enough, they told my doctor that they wanted labs so after a cursory physical, I had blood drawn and an EKG so just made it to Virginia's Cafe at noon. Darla and I had a nice lunch and catch up after her birthday cruise. I gave her a cowl I'd finished the day before using the yarn inspired by our favorite Mexican restaurant in Lincoln. I think she liked it.

Awhile ago, I had found a crocheted afghan on pinterest that I loved and I asked Dottie to make it for me. She called me to say that it worked best with the soft acrylic that she told me she didn't like so I've been giving it to Anne for years whenever I find it in a Goodwill grab bag. Here's the first test square that Dottie made and original from pinterest. Love it! So my mission for Friday afternoon was to hit every thrift shop in Lincoln to find more. Of course I only found one skein but did find tons of good quality yarn, including some sock yarn. Anne had also pulled some so I stopped at her house to pick those skeins up and we chatted for awhile, of course. After a stop at the grocery store for my last stock up, I headed home for the weekend.

My surgery would leave me with a lifting restriction (10 pounds) so this was my last chance for awhile to do heavy cleaning - vacuuming, washing floors, changing litter boxes, doing final laundry, etc. I had upped my Chewy autoship date so unloaded that huge box and immediately filled it with yarn to ship to Dottie, using my new shipping scale to weigh it and print my own UPS label at half the cost of walking into a UPS Store. Between chores, I chatted and visited with friends. Andrea stopped by and we went over the Jean Moss book that I'd be mailing out to all the Jean Moss alums from our old knitting trips (we were both choked) and my friend Lorri came over for tea and blueberry muffins.

By the end of Sunday, I was ready for surgery. My house was clean enough, my fridge was stocked and I had friends lined up for transportation and post-surgery help. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends. On to surgery!

Week 7 - A Nice Surprise

It was a quiet week that started with scheduling surgery, had plenty of snow, a Fremont run and a nice surprise to end the week. There was lots of talking on the phone and knitting between it all, of course.

I got a call first thing Mon day to schedule my surgery. It had to be a Tuesday or Thursday and the first available one was the 20th but I had tickets to a meal for that night so I scheduled it for the 25th, with pre-surgery procedures on the 24th. I also had to schedule a pre-op physical and EKG because my annual physical the first week of January had expired. Oh well, at least now I had a date so could plan accordingly. I spent that afternoon on the phone talking to Sharyn and Janice then went to knitting. After a day puttering inside, I was back at the library Tuesday night for a board meeting.

It snowed all day on Wednesday so I sat cozy inside knitting the day away while watching A Gentleman in Moscow, which we'd read for book club recently and I had loved it. The series was very good and didn't stray from the book. When the sun came out late afternoon, I went out and shoveled. The snow was light and fluffy so it was easy. Thursday was another stay cozy inside day, talking to my cousin, watching my favorite knitting YouTubers and reading in the sun in the front room. Being retired in the winter when it snows is a joy.

Having been holed up all week, I was happy to do a Fremont run with Andrea on Friday afternoon. I scored a bunch of cookbooks at the Restore, found a couple of fun vintage throw pillows at the Estate Dispersal Store and then hit Goodwill. It was Valentine's Day and Andrea's man was coming to Fremont for dinner, which I was invited to but declined so I dropped Andrea off at Crush and happily headed home.

We got more snow on Friday night into Saturday and with the roads a mess, our spinning field trip to the new(ish) yarn store in Omaha - Warmth - was cancelled. I spent the day knitting and went out that afternoon to shovel again. Then Rene called with a proposition.

A friend of hers had given her 2 tickets to the musical Kimberly Akimbo in Omaha and she asked if I wanted to go with her. Maybe it was all the shoveling but I was not immediately in. When she offered to pick me up and said we could park in the garage that was attached to the theatre so wouldn't have to set foot on snow, I somewhat reluctantly said I'd go to the 1:30 matinee.

I started neatizing and cleaning just in case Rene would come into the house and did a bit more Sunday morning before making bacon and eggs at 11:00 so I wouldn't be hungry during the play. We had loge seats so no one in front of us but we couldn't see one side of the stage. It was fun and my kind of musical with actual words between the songs, unlike Les Mis or Phantom, both of which I fell asleep in. Anyway, I suggested we get pancakes after the play, which was exactly what I wanted and Village Inn was right on the way home. We stopped at Aldi too, which I hadn't hit in Fremont, so I grabbed milk and a few things to tide me over. Nice.

So it was a nice, quiet week with a couple of fun things at the end and lovely snowy days in the middle. I only had one more week before surgery and it would have the coldest weather of the winter so there'd probably be more cozy time inside, which is pure bliss for me. Here are the 3 pairs of socks I finished during this cozy week with more knitting time to come. Life is good!

Week 6 - Back to Reality

Vacation was over and it was back to reality. First stop was an MRI to make sure there really was only the one spot of cancer. Of everything so far, I was most nervous about this.

My appointment was at 12:30 on Monday in Lincoln but I left early and ran all my errands beforehand. I ate a wrap in the parking lot for lunch and then did the MRI. I was told I would get a call with results and I went home to wait. I had had thoughts of baking to take to knitting but couldn't get motivated so didn't. Something on my mind maybe?

Luckily I checked the patient portal first thing on Tuesday, which showed the results and had an understandable summary that said that no additional cancer was found. Big relief to say the least. Unfortunately I never got a call from any of the 3 doctors I'd shared the results with but at least I knew. I spent the next couple of days knitting in the sun and trying to stop thinking about cancer. I even went to a mental health program at the medical center but that was more for the free dinner and goodies. : )

I had an appointment at 12:15 Thursday to meet the surgeon. I met with the nurse first and she went through a big notebook of information, which of course was pink. I then met with the surgeon who gave me all the details. They'd be taking out the tiny tumor and would inject me with radioactive stuff to identify which lymph nodes were draining the tumor area and so would be removed for testing. It would be outpatient and I'd have to wear a post-surgery bra 24/7 for a week after surgery. Biopsies on the lymph nodes would determine how many radiation sessions I'd need. They'd call me soon to schedule my surgery. I went home and spent the afternoon on the phone, teams and messenger giving friends and family an update then had another comfort meal of breakfast for supper (not my first this week).

On Saturday, Andrea and Lori took me to the Woodcliff Restaurant, which is on the fake lakes off the Platte south of Fremont. It's an interesting place where you can get anything from a burger to Faroes salmon on a bed of carrot puree with beet coulis - so from mom and pop cafe food to Gordon Ramsey style. We started with a huge plate of delicious onion rings and then I had the salmon. Since it was my birthday dinner, we got a free yummy dessert to share. I was showered with fun presents and we chatted for ages so it was a great night.

Otherwise, the rest of the week was getting things done, running errands and relaxing. I got a long overdue haircut, did laundry and hung it out on the line, went to a fun sale at the fairgrounds to benefit post-prom (that's where I found this embroidered pic, which is perfect for me), finished some socks and did some reading in the sun. 

It was another stressful week on my cancer journey but them not finding more cancer with the MRI took a big load off my mind. Everyone involved was lovely and I had great support from friends and more birthday fun. I'll get through this! Just keep swimming.

Week 5 - Palm Springs Time

It was the week for our annual (hopefully going forward) trip to somewhere warm during our cold Nebraska winters. Anne, Rene and I were heading to Palm Springs, which was my idea because I didn't want to give Florida any of my tourist dollars and I wanted to go to the Salton Sea again, which my good friends were OK with.

Despite checking in exactly 24 hours before our flights, we all had C boarding passes. Luckily the flights weren't full so Anne and I had an empty seat between us and Rene did too a few rows away. We flew via Denver and got to Palm Springs at 3:30. We picked up the car, which they upgraded to what felt like a tank to me - a Santa Fe - and I was the only driver to save money so Yikes! After picking up some groceries, we went to our VRBO, which was a 3 bedroom house with a hot tub. We turned it on and Anne suggested In 'n Out for supper since she'd never been. Double double animal style - yum! We soaked in the hot tub until we were pruney then I bought Plagues & Pleasures at the Salton Sea to watch in preparation for the next day. It was a great start to our trip and we'd only been there a few hours.

We ate breakfast and headed out to our first stop - Desert Shores. I knew that the water had receded but was shocked by how far out we had to walk from what used to be the water's edge. Next stop was Salton Sea Beach then Salton City. We took lots of pictures and Anne and Rene seemed to be having fun. We drove completely around the southern end, which is all ag land, stopping at the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge where we didn't see much. By the time we we heading north up the east side of the sea, we were hungry and I was thrilled that the Ski Inn in Bombay Beach was open. We had great burgers and my favorite tots before exploring the art instillations on the sea side of the berm. The end of a fun Salton Sea day found us at North Shore, where the community center was closed but the director saw us looking in the windows and gave us a private tour, telling us all kinds of history along the way. What a fabulous day! Since lunch was so late, we ended with cheese and crackers for supper, a soak in the hot tub and working on the puzzle we'd brought.

The next day was Shield's Date Garden. Their movie was down but we walked the gardens and had a nice lunch in their restaurant before buying some treats in the gift shop. Next stop was the only yarn shop in the Palm Springs metro, which was small but we all still managed to find yarn to buy. We had been in search of a lemon tree to pick some from and found one on our street. The nice man who lived there let us pick some so we'd have those to take home. At home, we had more cheese and crackers and got so busy finishing our puzzle that we never went in the hot tub.

Thursday was our last full day and we were taking the aerial tramway up Mount Jacinto. There was snow on the ground up there and we did the long version of the nature walk. It started out on a clear, wide path but the higher we got, it became picking each step between ice, snow, tree roots and rocks. The ranger had told us to go from view point 5 to 1 so we'd be going uphill on the worst part but the signs weren't helpful so we ended up doing it in the other direction. Between points 4 and 5, Anne and I both fell. My knee bent more than it has since it was installed and there was some swelling but I lived to tell. We were up there a LONG time considering the hike was only 1.5 miles so got back down late afternoon. We went to Sherman's Deli for a very late lunch (I think it was 4:00). My knish was delish (ha!) and we all got a dessert to go. We had our last soak in the hot tub, snacked and watched the date garden movie before heading to bed.

Our flight wasn't leaving until mid-afternoon so we had the morning yet to go on Friday. I had wanted to do a mid-century modern architecture tour but at $125 each, I had explored for other options. I found a self-guided car tour that was only $17 so we checked out of the house early and started that. I wasn't very good with lots of stops like "between those gates you can see a sliver of a house through was (fill in old celebrity name)'s house" kind of things. We gave up after doing most of it and went downtown for the Birkenstock store (Anne and Rene bought shoes) and a slice of pizza for lunch. Rene googled an MCM neighborhood and we spent our last hours going up and down streets were regular people live in MCM houses, critiquing each one as we went by. We returned the car and were ready for our uneventful trip home. We got to Omaha late and were still driving at midnight so Anne and Rene sang happy birthday to me. I unpacked, showered and got to bed around 1:00 am. It was a great trip!

I had never really acclimated to Pacific time so was awake every morning at 4:30 despite staying up late each night so was a zombie on Saturday. I happily sat in my chair with my cats, chatting with friends and streaming/knitting the day away. I felt much better on Sunday and got some laundry done, scooped boxes and got back on track.

It was a wonderful winter break and I'd happily go back to Palm Springs. As always, even with such a short trip, it was good to be home. I also was able to forget about my diagnosis for awhile but would be right back on my cancer journey with an MRI Monday. At least I got the break to forget about it for awhile.

P.S. Photo credits to Anne and Rene since a few of these pics are theirs. : )

Week 4 - It's Breast Cancer

Yes, breast cancer but stage 1 and just a 3mm (1/12 of an inch) cluster of cells. After a bit of surgery and radiation, the oncologist says I'll be 100% cured. I'm going to hold her to that.

The start of the week was lovely with and I spent time avoiding TV, which meant lot of knitting, streaming and yarny things. Wednesday was a Lincoln day and I had a nice lunch with my work peeps, thrifted and ran errands but was home in time for tea and reading in the sun. Then the phone rang Thursday morning at 8:10.

It was my doctor, who has never called me in all the years I've been her patient so I know it was bad. They'd found cancer in the biopsied samples and within hours I had an appointment for the next day with an oncologist in Lincoln. Helen went with me and the doctor was lovely. She explained that they'd take out the cells and a few lymph nodes then a month after that I'd start radiation and would take hormone blockers. She really did use the words "100% cured" so I left feeling pretty positive. They set up an MRI and an appointment with a surgeon then Helen and I left for a yummy lunch at Copal. After a quick stop for kitty litter, I headed home so I could get busy.

Anne, Rene and I were leaving for Palm Springs first thing Monday so I had things to do. I ran errands in Wahoo on Saturday then got busy with laundry, packing and changing litter boxes, interspersed with lots of reading and talking to friends and family to tell them my news. I did some knitting and crocheting (!) too, finishing my January challenge socks too. Aren't they fun? The bright colors were a new year's gift from my friend Lori at the start of 2024.

By the end of the day Sunday, I was ready to go and was looking forward to a week in the sun not focused on cancer. I was bolstered by my oncologist's words (there's something I never thought I'd say - "my oncologist") and would deal with next steps after enjoying a week of fun with friends.

Week 3 - Fun vs. Biopsy

It started out as a quiet winter week, which works for me, but got busy later. I got some stuff done in the house and got out of town 3 days before the cold set in on Sunday. And a biopsy - no biggie.

I made some progress in the laundry room, finally getting the culled Christmas stuff back under the stairs where it belongs rather than in middle of the room where it's been for years. With all that put away, I went through the totes that weren't Christmas related, which were mostly ebay linens that I moved into the the ebay room. There was a tote of pictures from my mother's trips with the church group over the years. Since she took the pictures and so isn't in them, can I throw them out? Time to check in with my sisters.

In clearing out the laundry room mode, I brought up all my amaryllis bulbs that I'd put down there in the fall. I gave them a little love and put them in front of my slider so hopefully will have some flowers soon.

Between all this laundry room work, I did a bunch of cooking. I made my cousin's apricot jello mold (took that to knitting), Lacey's sausage/potato soup and cheddar biscuits. Most of these last 2 and a small container of the jello mold went to Darla, whose husband broke his leg and is awaiting surgery. 

Darla's office was my first stop on Wednesday when I went to Lincoln for lunch with Dodie. Afterwards I went into the office to visit but the accountants were leaving so I had a long catch up with Layton, which was nice and killed time until meeting Rene and Anne at Granite City for Rene's birthday dinner, which was my 2nd yummy meal of the day. I had a nutrition program at the hospital at 6:00 and when I realized I'd be there super early, I opted to park at the Danish cemetery that's on my way home and knit while the sun set. How pretty is this! I can't say I learned much that I didn't know about nutrition and I took the boxed lunch they provided home to eat later. It was a long but fun day.

There was more fun in store on Thursday. Anne is a big fan of cone yarn and after both of us having failed to hear back repeatedly from a woman in Fremont who had some, I'd found someone else and we were meeting her in way north Omaha to buy some. We started with breakfast at a new to me place I'd seen on Facebook - AJ's Cafe. They're known for their pancakes and they were huge and delish. We then met the woman only to find out that she'd bought all the yarn from the woman in Fremont, who had repeatedly not responded to her too but finally did. What are the chances? Anne bought a bunch and I bought a few too (why?) plus some non-cone acrylic for my sister. I was back home in time to eat my boxed lunch from the hospital program and be back there for a biopsy at 2:00.

I've had  calcifications they've been keeping their eye on for years and have had to go back for extra mammograms a few times. Now it was biopsy time. It was ultrasound guided and I felt nothing. I was home in time for tea and reading on the bench outside because it was in the 50's. I'd finished A Gentleman in Moscow, which I loved, earlier in the week so was back to Atomic Habits, which is a slog. I really want fiction for my reading. Oh well. The sun was gorgeous. When I went back inside, I start Nr. 24 about the Norwegian resistance in WW2. It's worth the watch.

The gorgeous weather held for one more day so I did my laundry and hung it on the line on Friday. I then pulled all the shelves out of my fridge and cleaned it all. Stupidly, I didn't mark where the shelves were and so struggled mightily to get them back in the right places. The back wall of my fridge had iced up and bulged in and there was no pushing it back even after the ice melted so the shelves are wonky. It took many tries to get it all back in correctly and I threw out lots of old food but it's all shiny and clean so it was worth the effort. Cross that off my to do list, where it's been for a long time.

After spending Saturday morning chatting on the phone, it was my 3rd time getting out of town in one week. It was spinning week so we did our regular Fremont run before and after our meeting, which is always fun. The temps plummeted on Sunday so I hunkered down, doing one of my favorite winter things - making homemade Boston baked beans. Unfortunately I over salted the water so they were salty but still better than canned. I had some yarn sorting fun that afternoon and made a delicious dinner of pumpkin ravioli with cream sauce.

That's a busy week for a retiree! Three trips out of town, making a big dent in my project list (I'm calling the laundry room done but there are some book shelves in there yet to go through) and some cooking, reading and streaming. I'm not worried about the biopsy and am hoping for an all clear next week. Cup half full you know.

Week 2 - All Things Medical

With my colonoscopy out of the way, it was time for all the other appointments and getting a few things done between them all.

On Monday, I was done with my Christmas tree, which is earlier than normal but then I had put it up earlier too. It was so tiny that I had it taken down in no time and then was off to my mammogram that afternoon, which was in Wahoo so didn't take long. I was back drinking tea in my front room in time to catch the afternoon sun. After some yummy quiche for dinner, I had fun at Monday Night Knitting.

Appointment #2 was my annual physical on Tuesday morning, which went well. My doctor went over my blood test results, which were skewed by the colonoscopy prep (not really a fasting blood draw), and didn't push a statin. That made me happy. Since I was out I went to The Warehouse and the local thrift shop before going home to make a project bag for Helen. And since nothing is easy, I had to spend time on the phone trying to get my Rx info updated with the online pharmacy. Sheesh!

On Wednesday, I had a 10:15 appointment in Lincoln to get a shot in my left thumb, which is doing the same clicking that my right thumb used to do when I was diagnosed with trigger thumb. It had been clicking since November but I delayed until the new year and new deductible. I had a list of errands and the Goodwill on Vine Street worked best before the appointment but they open at 10:00 and are a few miles from the doctor. Yes, I was waiting at the door when they opened and ran around picking up bags of yarn and was out the door by 10:05 and was 3 minutes early to the ortho doc. I was in and out of there in 10 minutes. It took longer to convince them that my Blue Cross was indeed active than to get the actual shot, which was way more painful than I remembered from my right thumb.

I went to my cousin's after that, where I was giving her her overdue Christmas presents. She needed to get some sleep (she works overnights) so I was not staying for lunch. She had a delicious pecan coffee cake in the oven so I had a piece of that before heading off for errands. I hit a couple more thrifts but needed an oil change and figured I could pick up a few groceries while it was being done if I went to Walmart so that's what I did. By not wasting the waiting time, I was able to get home in time for more tea in the sun while reading, which I'm trying to do every afternoon. Or at least the sunny ones. I was going to a presentation on exercising at Saunders Medical Center that evening, which included a light supper. It was interesting enough and I got to take an extra boxed lunch from some of the empty seats from no shows. Nice.

I started the day Thursday with a recycling program at the lake, which is part of the NRD's education program. I enjoyed the extra boxed lunch while watching my favorite knitting YouTubers - The Grocery Girls - before heading back to the hospital for another mammogram and ultrasound at 2:30. The radiologist was there and still had some concerns so I have a needle biopsy scheduled for next week. Yet another medical appointment. Will it ever end?

After four days of medical appointments, I took Friday off. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to untangle a skein of yarn my cats had gotten into, chatted with my sister Dottie, who I rarely talk to, and read for hours in the sun. It was a lovely, relaxing day, which I totally needed.

It was Estate Dispersal Store weekend and since I'd missed it last month, I decided to do a Fremont run without Andrea (that felt weird) because she was out of town. I picked up farm fresh eggs on the way out of town (turns out the man I had met at Casey's recently to buy eggs from lives 2 blocks from my house) then hit all the regular stops - Restore, Estate Dispersal, Goodwill, Aldi and HyVee. I bought a few things at each place, including some cheap meat for the freezer, and was home in time for more reading in the sun. I made egg roll in a bowl for supper, which I've been wanting for awhile. Yum!

Sunday was my regular chore day but I started it with a yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon and a chat with my other sister. I took down all the rest of the Christmas stuff and so my house was back to normal, which always feels good. After laundry, dishes, neatizing and such, I made a chicken cottage pie and Brussels sprouts for supper. 

So, it was a busy week but I got all kinds of things checked off. Unfortunately I was not done with medical stuff but hopefully the biopsy (my first ever) will be the last for a long time. Wish me luck and enjoy the cute picture of Rosie. It's hard to get a good pic of a black cat. : )