The Kikuchis are in the house......

My sister's family got in last night safe and sound after a very long drive.  They rented a van this time so they could all fit. After getting settled in the hotel and having dinner they came right over.  I couldn't wait to see my Lolo - of course we both were a little weepy.  She has really missed my sister but especially since the 50th anniversary came and went a few months ago with all the memories and sadness that she didn't live long enough to celebrate it. They made very good time and got here pretty early.  They stayed awhile but I could tell they were tired from the trip so we agreed they would come here tomorrow so we could all go down to Ann's grave together. BigD drove and Tad rode with us which gave us a chance to "really" get caught up.  He has lost a lot of weight and said food just doesn't taste that good.  He is trying to adjust to being alone after being with someone for almost 50 years so he knows it may never happen.

We all stood back and let Tad walk up first and take the sweetheart roses he brought for her. They were her favorite flower for corsages and he gave her a corsage every year on their anniversary. Then BigD and I stood back so Lolo, Michael, Naoki and Warren could go up. Lolo brought long stem red roses for everyone to place on the headstone. Michael brought a picture of himself with some awards he won.

Warren wanted to see some of our family's graves as well as the one that lists my great aunt's maiden name with her husband's name underneath it in smaller letters. We all got a kick out of that one. Lolo text messaged me that as soon as we pulled off (we had to wait for them for a few minutes) Michael broke down pretty bad. He really misses his grandmother. We drove the back way to Creedmoor to pick up some cucumbers, fresh corn and a watermelon. Then we stopped by Bob's BBQ and headed home the back way. After eating - they headed over to Raleigh to visit with Tad's 93 year old brother and his family. I can't wait for Page2 to see Michael's new hair cut - it is very, very short. And he has gotten so tall - he really wanted to think he was 5' but we measured him and he was an inch short. :)  Had a really long email from Page telling me how ready she is to be home and see everyone. BigD called Kurt who was on his way home but then Leah called and was at a standstill in traffic.  There was a brush fire on the highway ahead of her.  I think we are going to have take-out from Page's favorite Chinese restaurant tonight when she gets in.  Her flight is supposed to land at 9pm.  Woo Hoo - pretty soon - my whole family will be in the house too!

More pictures to share from Sunday night's dinner....

My dahlink Katarina posted some lovely pictures she took from our dinner on Sunday night. Since she "snatched" a few of mine for her own blog, I returned the favor and "snatched" a few of hers for mine.

I love, love, love this picture of Roseanne. She is surrounded by most of her babies and some friends and it shows how happy she is in this picture. I'm going to have that feeling this weekend and can't wait!!!!

Her two granddaughters just can't get enough of their Nani. Roseanne was blessed with two daughters and two sons - with the boys being in the middle between the girls. It was almost like she had two sets of kids - one with an older sister, younger brother and the other with an older brother and younger sister. They are all beautiful, responsible adults whom I love dearly.

Here is Bri's princess - such a pretty little girl. So much like her beautiful Mom who will soon be introducing this little one to her new sister.

We have eaten many meals together over the years but there are evenings when there are just the right amount of people, the right people, the right food, the right mood, the right weather......you get the picture. It was a lovely evening......

Good friends, good food, new life......

Roseanne asked me to come to dinner yesterday! It turns out, her oldest daughter was in town with her little girl so I not only got to see her, but also her son and his beautiful family and another young couple who are very close to the family. I was so sleepy after the meeting that I finally laid across the bed with Miya and before I knew it - at least two hours had passed by. Yum - the most delicious sleep in the world. I put on the dress I bought for summer - beach, gatherings, etc., and BigD got a picture of me just before I left.  I really like this one so much better than the other one that all but fell apart when it was washed. This one fits so good, I may even cut it off and wear it for more non-casual wear. I wore the little jeweled silver flip flops and one of the little twin girls was very quick to tell me how much she "loved' my shoes.  Such a sweetie.  We had the twin girls, Bri's daughter who will be welcoming a baby sister soon, and Katarina and B's  little boy and little girl. I love watching these little ones interact as I watched their parents do when they were younger with my babies.  When I walked in, I saw her little Lani and immediately called her KennaKat which was wrong!  I couldn't get over how much she looks like her cousin.  She is really starting to look more like her beautiful Mom with her Dad's blue, blue eyes. I know they are all excited about the upcoming addition to their little family. GM cooked some ribs on the grill that were delicous with a huge salad and other side dishes. Of course we all had a little wine before dinner and Roseanne was as excited as I was that KJ was on sale this weekend.  After dinner, Roseanne brought out her famous blackberry and cream pies! OMGoodness - could they be any better? I could sit down and eat an entire pie by myself.  It was nice getting caught up with everyone and watching the babies.  Made me homesick for my own babies but I'm not going to whine because I will have ALL OF THEM with me in a few days!  They are all coming in as well as Ann's family for the family reunion on Sunday.  BigD and I are almost quivering with anticipation.  I can't wait to see the pictures Page2 got on her trip.  She comes home from her grand adventure today.  I know her Mom and Dad can't want to see her too. I have decided that it is impossible to take a bad picture of Bri here with her little bundle showing so prettily.

I love this picture of Alex and his little friend. Guess who put the pretty clovers in her hair - yep - Alex. She is one of the twins and such a sweetie. Actually, she isn't the prissy one - her sister is.

This is a picture of her Mom with Bri - another friendship that is standing the test of time and distance. They have been friends since they were children and are still there for each other in every way possible.

Pretty KennaKat - she was shy with me last night but today she was totally comfortable. She and her brother and Mom came to work in service with me this afternoon. It wasn't as long as we hoped but at least Katarina got to go on a good call. I enjoyed visiting with the two of them while we were waiting in the car.

And of course little Lani. Isn't she a dumpling? I love that little denim skirt and her little silver ballet flats. The good news about her having a sister is she will have so many lovely clothes already in her closet! I wish I had taken a picture of the deck - the flowers are so pretty in their big pots. I really need to do something about mine but I can't even remember to water the few I have. Roseanne and I will be heading up to Bri's and Kurt's and Leah's in a few weeks. I'll stay with mine and she'll stay with hers and we are going to the convention with them. I'm looking forward to it.

Things that make us go hummmmmm......

No - not in a bad way - in a good way. I know - I usually say things that make you go ahhhhhh but hummmmm seems more appropriate. Yesterday was soooooo stressful and today has been the complete opposite. Maybe I am learning some good things in my old age. Even though I put myself even further behind in my time, I knew this morning that I needed to stay home today. If nothing else, I knew my body needed at least one more day to get past the physical reactions it had yesterday with the chemicals. It has been a beautiful day with the front door open so I can look out at the gorgeous sun shining on the green leaves of the trees. I've washed tons of clothes (most of them BigD or bedding), cleaned the kitchen again, found out we finally got the right pillow for BigD to replace the old one that was so lumpy and mis-shapen I threw it away, had Shen's study over Skype and made some much needed phone calls. One in particular should have been made over a month ago when I realized our cable "bundle plan" had run out and our bill was through the roof. BigD reminded me today to "getherdone" so I did. I also scheduled some bills to be paid on the computer and realized I have GOT to do some accounting work soon. Since I stayed up late studying last night, I was pretty much home free with that today. I have eaten a wonderful dinner of grilled pork chops, baked seasoned french fries and sauteed fresh asparagus spears with french herbs. YUM.  The only thing that would have made it better was a nice glass of wine but alas, I have the meeting tonight.

Leah just called to say she finally got up with her Mom to see how Page2 is doing. It turns out her Mom just wasn't answering the phone. She finally called her Dad who told her they had been quite busy and had not gotten back to the hotel until midnight. We aren't sure at this point what they did but we are hoping it was fun. I love talking on the phone to Leah and Kurt these days - they both sound so happy.  I was telling her about the place we will be for the reuion and she got so excited. BigD told her to tell Kurt to bring his fly rod. We are also going to get a badminton net for the kids or maybe a volley ball so more can play.  We are all excited we will all be together with Ann's family too - can't wait.  So - now to get off this computer, get dressed and get to the meeting on time!!!!  Oops - almost forgot to mention the pictures. Yep - they are the same roses I bought last Friday for our little "to do" and they are still beautiful!!!  So - maybe I will try Wal Mart's flowers again. 

Heterogeneous....

Are you wondering what that word means? It means miscellaneous. I know - why not just say miscellaneous? I guess I'm just curious about what other words means the same thing as the words I use on a daily basis. Maybe this has come about from the fact I love to read. Once I learned how to read, there was no stopping me. I used to read everything - the backs of hair spray cans, my Dad's Preparation-H box (who knew that particular item would become my friend one day), magazines, the newspaper - if it was printed - I read it. I think I have mentioned how much my Mom loved reading - she was never without a book. I'm getting ahead of myself here. The weather has been really nice the past few days. After the meeting on Sunday, Ami

asked me if I wanted to have lunch with her. I followed her to her new apartment while she changed clothes. The little street she lives on dead-ends in a little circle and that is where her garage apartment is. She has a view of the sweet little pool surrounded by a nice wooden deck and the fire pit where the family have gatherings. The couple who live in the house have two small children and two nice dogs. I was feeling so good knowing that she is probably in one of the safest places she could be in. We went to a nice area down the street and found a cool sandwich shop.

The pictures aren't too good - sometimes my phone does a great job. The food was wonderful. Ami got the wrap and I got a chicken salad sandwich which was delicious. We walked through a nice hardware store. I know - I can't explain it but I love to meander through hardware stores. They have such nice little treasures you can't find any where else. Monday was a great day.  Everyone quit early so I enjoyed watching Princess Miya doing her thing.

Between the little animals that run through our yard and the traffic our front, her little neck gets a work-out. She is our watch-cat! Yesterday after service, I headed over to Raleigh to Quail Ridge Books & Music. It is located in an area I used to frequent when I worked in our Raleigh office. It was nice driving through the pretty old streets with the big yards full of trees in that area.

As you know, I met one of my favorite authors - well the big news is I am now her friend on FB and I read her blog. She is the one who told me about Quail Ridge Books. They found me all but one of her Sigrid Harald series that were written before the Deborah Knott series. I had only read two of them so was really excited I would be able to get them all. They had another of her books that I thought I had read so I sat in the little reading circle to read the end of the book. As soon as I started reading, I knew I had read it. I got interested in it and then looked up and the nice lady who was helping me was coming across the circle and with her was ----drum roll ---- my new "friend" and the author of the books I was looking at.

Evidently the sales clerk thought it would be nice for her to sign my books but as soon as I looked up, we both recognized each other from the ballet. She sat down across from me and we had a nice talk. I told her I knew the secret about her next book and hopefully will be able to attend her book signing in November. She laughed and said she thought I had enough to hold me until then. I have started the first one and plan to read the other two I have read in the order they were written (might not read every word of those two). I love it when I'm right about someone. Ever since I read my first of her books, I just knew I would like this lovely woman. My sadness is that my dear sweet Ann didn't live long enough to know all about my being able to meet her not only once - but twice. My Ann was an excellent writer also and I know she would have been just as successfull if she had allowed her dear hubby to do what he wanted and submit them for publication. She was satisfied that her family, me, Page and Ruth have enjoyed them.  I called a friend who was with me when I met her the first time and she was thrilled for me too.  It is hard to explain to someone who doesn't love a good book.  When you find a writer who never lets you know - what a joy to wait for their new books to come out so you can gobble them up. Yesterday was also exciting because we found our Kurt got the job he had applied for last month. He has had to wait for an extensive background check to be completed and he found out he got the job!  We are all soooo excited for him and Leah. I helped write his resignation letter and he told me today they accepted it. I talked with Page last night and she wasn't too happy about her job but tonight she sounded so much better even though she was stopping on the way home from work to get dinner and it was 9:22PM!  Leah told me yesterday her parents and Page2 are having fun.  Can't wait to see all the pictures of their grand adventure. Today wasn't a good day. It started out great - worked in walking territory, placed a book with a nice lady and then stopped by the house to use the rest room. When I came in  - BigD had already set off three flea bombs - thinking that I had taken Miya to the vet. I was so stressed and ran into the bedroom where the bomb was still going off to see if I could find her.  We both got sprayed and were coughing ourselves silly. We got wet towels and were trying to get her out but kept having to go outside. Eileen came in and tried to help us. Long story short, I let them take my car so a friend could keep an appointment and then I drove Eileen back to get her car. I had called the 800 number on the can and except for coughing - making sure we get showers and wash out our eyes and wipe Miya down with a wet towel, we didn't need to worry too much. I called Keith and he met me at their house and gave me a shirt and pj bottoms.  I took a shower and when his Mom got home, I had just finished.

Yep - the reason for the flea bombs - I'm being bitten again. The big difference is I still have the heavy duty cream so maybe these won't take on a life of their own. So I got one hour in service today. Roseanne called to say she wasn't going to go out tomorrow - her hubby is going to work on her car. Eileen said she wanted to go so maybe I can get a few more hours. So there you have it - the heterogeneous (or miscellaneous) happenings of my life so far this week. Scratch, scratch.......

Has it really only been two years?

Has it only been two years since we lost I.T.? Sometimes it seems longer ago and other times it feels like yesterday. I'm sure his family are thinking of him tonight and remembering their last moments with him. I hope this year has been easier than the one before for them. Only time passing seems to take the sting of losing someone so loved. I'm so happy we have the wonderful hope of seeing our loved ones again - thinking of losing them without that hope all but takes your breath away. When I look at pictures of I.T. when he was younger, I look forward to seeing him like that again. I hope his family can feel the love we all have for him and them on this date.

I miss seeing you on your tractor; miss sharing jokes and laughing; miss being with you at one of our favorite places in the world; miss being able to pick up the phone and hearing your voice on the other end; miss being able to pour my heart out to you about anything that was happening at the time and knowing you truly cared; I SO miss your wisdom. I deeply miss the love you showed to me and my family and will treasure my memories with you forever.

24th Saturday of 2011 ---what?

How can that be? We are almost halfway through the year and I feel like it just began!  Yikes! So - how could this Saturday get any better? BigD decided to go to Bone Fish Grill and pick up dinner. I had the Atlantic Wood Grilled Salmon with two

vegetable sides that was over the top delicious!  I had a big glass of KJ left in a bottle from last night that "complemented" the salmon perfectly.  Oh - and it is raining again. BigD said the temperature dropped 10 degrees from the time he left and got back with dinner.  How can that be a bad thing when we are already having 100 plus degree weather in the first two weeks of June? BigD got the fish and chips so I'm hoping he will like it because I wouldn't mind having the salmon again. I forgot to mention that I told the doctor yesterday that a friend of mine takes a medication with quinine in it to help her sleep and a side effect is fleas and mosquitoes do not bite her. She suggested I either talk to my doctor about it or have a gin and tonic every night. Wow - the second suggestion sounds pretty good and came straight from a doctor! :) I've been meaning to put Page2's poem on here but kept forgetting it. I think it is wonderful but then again - I'm a teeny weeny bit prejudiced.
Pages’ Poem 2011
The horse is remembering when she was a little horse
Running in the sun light, the wind was smoothly blowing
In every step like a dream come true, in the beautiful sunset
It’s like it would never end - until night
With the glimmering stars all around her
It was another dream come true that would never end
Until morning, once again another dream comes true
The sun shined upon her, the sky sparkled everywhere
Dreams never end or start unless you believe it can…
Yeah - I love it to the moon and back..I can see her creative genes working and I love them. It has been a busy few days. Page2 and her other grandparent left on their grand adventure yesterday afternoon. They were in DC all day today. Hopefully we will see lots of pictures of their trip. My cousins in WF and I are working behind the scenes to make a few changes in our family reunion.  We aren't going to talk to anyone until we gather some needed information.  Hopefully we will be able to send out announcements Monday afternoon to let everyone know what is going on.  I got some really bad news about one of my favorite cousins who discovered he has Stage 4 Lung Cancer (two places in bones). He had his first chemo yesterday, is healthy and positive so hoping things will go well.

I "snatched" this picture of Lin and Ran from a friend's blog. Aren't they both beautiful? I love this young family so much and am so proud of them. I hope they know that.

I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture of Dee and Dorothy Marie. You can see the love in Dee's eyes for her best friend of so many years. I can't write too much about it or I will be bawling but this friendship will be coming to an end in the very near future and we are all too sad for words. Some animals come to mean so much to us that it hurts more than words can express when they leave us. Dorothy Marie has been blessed with the best friend she could have ever hoped for and I think on many levels she knows and appreciates it. How do we reconcile the facts of life with the emotions of such a deep relationship? We don't - we just go with the flow and grieve as we would for any living thing we have loved as deeply as we have. It doesn't matter if that friend is human or an animal - the love and grief are the same. Pretty soon, Bentley will be facing a similar situation and I hope he knows that it will be healthy for him to grieve for his dear CoCo who took such good care of his dear Mom while she was so sick and has been a faithful and loyal friend to him who appreciates being rescued.

On that note, I'll end today's message with one of my favorite of these creatures - a cat. I'm going to study for tomorrow and hopefully get a good night's rest. I didn't sleep well last night - had turned the air down a little too low and felt chilled several times. Have a wonderful Saturday night dear friends.......

Hope your Saturday is a Great One.....

I really do hope you are having a good day because so far, I have. My leg feels a little better and hopefully the cream will start working soon. My leg took a real bad turn for the worse Thursday night so I called to go in to see the dermatologist yesterday and she ruptured all the blisters. She said there were blisters inside of blisters and that she got the big one that had started oozing as good as she could and it would take a while to heal. She also said that my lymphoma could be one of the reasons my allergic reactions have become even worse than before. Oh well. I came home and tried to make some headway in making this little place presentable enough for company. As always - everything got piled up in the office/laundry room and the rest was hit with a lick and a promise. I do like my new vacuum cleaner. Yep - I finally broke down several weeks ago and bought my Dyson Ball. I went to Sears and handled both of them and

still decided to go with the smaller one for all the reasons I have had all along. The bigger one is easier when it comes to using the wand but the one I got is just fine in that area. It is very lightweight and takes up very little storage space. I just pick it up, extend the arm and it takes no time to do the living room carpet, push a button and do the kitchen and hallway for a quick clean up. I've offered my old one to a young friend who just moved into a garage apartment and is living alone for the first time. On Wednesday, Rie asked me if a friend had sent me a text message. I told her I didn't know so she checked my phone and sure enough, there was a message asking me what I was doing Friday. When I told Rie, she said - "yes, Friday is going to be her last day of work (she drives a school bus) and we were talking about getting together to have a glass or wine to celebrate." So I'm like - alright - that sounds like fun! Then Rie said in her hesitating so as not to make you mad voice - "well, we were kind of hoping to have this at your house". LOLOLOL and of course I said YES - I would love to.

Luz was the first one to arrive in her lovely pink outfit with matching shoes. She was laughing when she came in and said, "I don't get to go out or get dressed up too often so thought this was an appropriate occasion." I knew right then we were all going to have a very good time. Rie had told us earlier in the week about a very simple and quick pasta she makes for her family. I had bought some of the ingredients thinking I would try it and asked her if she would make it for us so we could all try it and watch how she does it. Vera's younger sister wanted to come and brought one of the best salads I've ever eaten. Gail made delicious garlic bread so we had a feast. This was an expensive week for Kendall Jackson so I finally bought several bottles at Wal Mart where I also picked up a nice cheese ball to go with some crackers I already had.

I also picked up a small bunch of roses at WalMart but didn't hold my breath over how long they will last. As it turns out, I think they are going to be the first fresh flowers I've purchased in a long time that do last.

Everyone decided they also love Kendall Jackson - except for Vera who likes her sweet wine. I didn't care as long as she was enjoying herself. We all LOVED the pasta which was delizioso which is the Italian word that sounds a lot like the Spanish word for delicious!!! After we finished the pasta, we had some of my fresh fruit salad with a big serving of Greek yogurt with a little honey added. Everyone said they liked that too.

Poor Vera was so tired she would just sit with her eyes closed and listen to us talk. Everyone started getting real comfortable while some music played in the background. It was an excellent way to wind down and cool off after a hot week in service.

When Gail pulled the chair out to recline it she said - "that's it - I'm gone". I had the digital frame Kurt and Leah gave us for our anniversary last year on and everyone was looking at the pictures while Vera was trying to not snore. She swears she heard everything we said but I doubt it. At one point she realized I was taking her picture and "discreetly" pulled pulled her shirt up.

Once she was quiet again, Gail was going to tug on her shirt to scare her while Rie and Luz pointed but Luz's arm got in the way. Not long after everyone got here, it started raining.  We were laughing about all the things we heard as youngsters about when it rains while the sun is shining.  Mine was that the devil was beating one of his wives. That brought up how we were also all told thunder was the sound of the angels bowling. Then we started remembering the first time we saw it rain across the road from us or down the middle of a car. As the evening progressed, the rain became a downpour.  When it first started, I opened the back door thinking it would be cooler but it wasn't.  By the time everyone left, it had cooled off a bit.
 
Miya enjoyed watching the rain also. Of course she had to greet everyone and fell in love with Vera's younger sister Monay. It turns out she isn't like her older sister and actually likes cats! Everything feels really fresh today because of the rain last night. As long as I don't go into the office or look around too hard, the house looks pretty good which is why I probably should have a few friends over every month - it forces me to do what needs to be done. I feel so honored that people actually enjoy coming to my little cottage to wind down for relaxing but fun conversation.  They know they can kick off their shoes and nothing is off limits - hopefully they will always feel this way.  I wish Marlan could have been here but she was in Virginia with Bri who found out there is a 95% probability she is going to have another little girl.  Woo Hoo!  Can't wait to meet the little princess.

Bites are taking on a life of their own....

This is getting crazy - the bites on the back of my leg are going nuts. The cream I've been using wasn't  helping at all. My leg was tight and the red was spreading.

I took these pictures before I left to take Miya to the Vet's office. Of course, everyone there was freaking out about my arm and leg - especially my leg. I told them I thought it was severe reaction to flea bites and they were like - NO - it can't be that. The young woman who was going to put Miya's flea meds on and clip her nails came in and I showed her my leg and said; "what is it?" and she said "fleas". She said she has bad reactions too. The mystery of the day is that neither of us saw fleas on Miya BUT they could still be in my house. As many of you already know, my house had fleas before Miya moved in and the meds we put on her helped get rid of them. 

Miya was quite anxious while they were clipping her nails and applying the flea medication. She hates that medication - acts like she can almost taste it. We put her back in her cage so she could calm down before they checked her heart rate. We were very pleased with her heart rate - 152!!! I couldn't wait to call her cardiologist who was also happy because that means her meds are helping her. Whew - don't feel like such a bad Mommy right now. I called my dermatologist about my leg. They couldn't work me in but knew about my previous visit to Urgent Care for the bites on my upper arm a few weeks ago. They called in a prescription for a very, very strong cream. If it doesn't help, they will try their best to work me in tomorrow. I made sure the cream wouldn't interact negatively with my other meds and told the pharmacist how they had hoped I could take Zyrtec. She told me I can take it 12 hours before the other med for two or three days and might sleep but if I felt I needed it to use it. I put the new cream on and am so hoping it will do the trick. I almost stayed home but really didn't want to miss the meeting. I was so dreading everyone freaking out about my reactions - especially my leg. Of course the larger blister started oozing during the meeting which made things worse.

Everyone thinks it is poison oak/ivy and it does look like it but I'm still quite sure it is some kind of bite. Please let the cream  do the trick. Of course, one of the bites on my arm has red spreading out from it so I can't win.

Wachapreague, fishing, bites......

BigD had a good fishing trip this past week while Roseanne and I were down East.  There were 10 guys on this particular trip and even though they usually stay in Wachapreague, this year they found a nice house right on the water a little further South.

He is getting real good at taking pictures with his little phone. I am constantly amazed by some of the pictures we get on our cheap little phones - sometimes better than my "new" camera.

Here are a few of the guys who went this year. BigD always calls me each evening to let me know "they got back in". I act pretty casual about it but am actually waiting for that call every afternoon I know they have gone out. My dear hubby has no fear when it comes to taking a small boat out into the big, bad ocean so someone has to be concerned.

He really liked the place they stayed in and kept talking about how the young guys were cleaning the fish. When he got home, he mentioned it again saying, "I think this is the first fishing trip I've ever been on that I didn't clean the fish". I'm sure he was out there overseeing everything. :) I have never known another man who gets as much out of fishing as my husband. Anyone who thinks that going out with him is going to be a walk in the park has another think coming. He works at it but enjoys every moment of it. I have wonderful memories of our trips with GG and David. Nothing like being on a boat on the salt water with the sun, wind, birds, and slapping of the water against the boat. It takes a few hours to really feel yourself winding down the first day. This was before cell phones so there you are - no phones, no job, no housework - just you, your loved ones and nature at it finest.

Speaking of nature - this is not it's finest. Yep - I've been eaten alive again by who knows what. I was asleep but realized I was trying to scratch the back of my leg last night. This morning I realized something had been chewing on me through the night. The pictures don't show how red and swollen the whole area is  has become. I also noticed I have new bites on the back of the same arm as before.

All I know for sure is that I'm miserable again. The ones on my leg are really bothering me because the bites are right where your leg touches chairs, car seats, recliners - you get the picture. I've put some of the cream I got for the last bites and used it this morning and tonight as directed. Please let it start working sooner than later but I'm not holding out much hope. I had to drop some things off to Roseanne at Urgent Care to take to Virginia with her for Leah to pick up before Page2 leave for DC and NY. She is going up to be with her daughter when she finds out what sex her baby is going to be.  Exciting!!  I showed the bites on my arm to Sher and we pretty much agree that my body just reacts very strongly to anything alien to it. Too bad it doesn't react that way to fat isn't it? I noticed the blisters that had appeared so sent these pictures to her and another friend to get their opinion. I'm going to call the Vet tomorrow to see if they can clip Miya's nails, apply flea meds (even though I still can't see any - but just in case) and listen to her heart for me so I can call the cardiologist with the results. I was going to take my car to be serviced but don't think I'll have time for all of that. Maybe next week. Today was Page2's last day of school.  Wow - she will be in the 5th grade next year - when did that happen?!  Her Mom is trying to get everything ready for the big trip this coming weekend.  What a grand adventure she will have.  I can't wait to hear all about it.