This and that ---- not really that much to share ...........

There really isn't much news so I'll try to keep this short and.....well, short.  I had an appointment with my Duke Lymphoma Oncologist this morning. I was scheduled for the blood work at 11:00am and for the doctor at 12:00pm.  We didn't have to wait long for the blood work so we figured that meant we would have a longer wait for the doctor.  As it turned out, they were running ahead of schedule and got us in right away.  It was the fastest appointment I have had at the Duke Cancer Center since I've been going there over two years now. The other good news is my blood work didn't show many changes so I was pretty happy with how it all went today.  Dr. Beaven asked me how often I see my Melanoma physicians and I explained how I see one of them every 6 months - when I see my Radiation Oncologist, he schedules me to see my Melanoma Surgeon in 3 months - then when I see him, he schedules me to see the ....you get the point.  She then suggested we change my appointment schedule with her to every 6 months instead of every 3 months and I agreed that it would be fine. I haven't scheduled a follow-up appointment with my other Lymphoma Oncologist and may just stop going to him altogether.  It really is a duplication of efforts having two of them.  I'm not going to worry about it since I can make that decision later.  I was happy that I had time to listen to a young man playing the baby grand in the downstairs lobby while waiting for the car to be brought out front.  That piano has a beautiful quality to it - especially when it is played by someone so talented. Made me think of Barbara Ann - she played beautifully too....

I may have shared this before but ran across it in my jewelry drawer and decided to share it again. I always loved hearing Mama sing this song so one day, I made her write it down for me.  I also love seeing her handwriting again.  Brings back nothing but good memories and feelings.....

Debbie came to clean yesterday and I asked her to help shake out the valances in the kitchen. She actually made these for me after Sue had bought the material for them when she was here last. Dwight came home in time to help her hang them back up after I was given the job of putting them back on the rods.  She also pinned up several skirts I want her to hem for me.  I realized today that I may have given her a skirt I was planning to wear to the Assembly Saturday. I'm pretty sure I can make do with another one I have that didn't need any alterations. 

Dwight asked me if I needed anything from the store and under my breath I said, flowers.  It worked - he brought me this small bunch of daisies! This was taken as soon as I put them in water. About an hour later, the water had turned a deep pink color.  Actually looks even prettier that way. 

This is a great picture of three of my favorite people in the world.  I miss Ike and Ennis so much.  I'm sure Judy misses them even more than I do.  I just realized I haven't written anything about Aunt Eunice.  I received  call from her daughter, Evelyn, telling me she had died this past Sunday.

She was 86 years old and the last of my Aunts (last of that generation) on both sides of my family.  She was married to Mama's brother, Charlie, but Mama loved her as much as if she was her own sister. She and Uncle Charlie had three children, Dwayne (Joy), Rex (June) and Evelyn (Barry).  Dwayne and his wife, Joy, died a few years ago. I know Evelyn and Rex will miss her but life will move on.

 

 It is a little unsettling to realize you are now part of the older generation in your family. That you and your cousins make up that generation Mama and Aunt Eunice used to be from.  It brought back home that there are only 4 sisters now - not the original 6 or the long term 5 girls in Mama and Daddy's family - just the four girls and their children and for some grandchildren.  Oh well, this one really makes me sad.  She really was a very special lady and will be missed by everyone who knew her. I have been fighting sleep the entire time I've been trying to write this. I really do need to give up and let the sleep I've been fighting take me away to dream land.  Good night.......

Is it really February....

I have started this post several times and then something happens, a phone call, a call from "nature", I fall asleep because I waited too long....you get the picture.  Anyway, I'm determined to finish this post tonight.  It was a good day today.  I decided to take advantage of a beautiful day to walk outside.

As I walked in the back yard, I ran across another piece of glass from many years ago.  We are convinced someone who lived here must have burned their trash back there.  This piece of glass is very dense and has a light green tint to it.  I also loved the small patch of light green lichen beside it.  I decided to walk next door to see my neighbors and to give them a key to our house in case of any emergencies. Debbie has a key but since they live right next door, I thought it would be wise for them to have one too - especially if I lock myself out of the house by mistake. I totally enjoyed my visit with Patsy and Alton.  I stayed way longer than I intended but Patsy and I enjoyed getting to know each other better. When I got ready to come home, Patsy decided to walk with me and came in for a visit. Of course she fell under Miya's spell. It turns out she loves cats also and is looking forward to having hers back with her when her Dad comes down.  We ended up in the back bedroom talking and Miya ended up sound asleep under Patsy's coat on the bed where we were sitting.

She sent me a link to the house they are buying.  The link allows you to "walk through" the house to get an idea of what it is like and it is big!  I love the house and feel confident they will be very happy there.  It is out in the country with a barn/garage (you can see it on the left) a fenced in back yard and lots of land around them. I will hate to lose them as neighbors but am happy because they are happy.

 I finally got to meet and hold Lyla up close and personal. Her Mom brought her by for a very, very quick visit on her way to handle some business with a car.  She had prepared me that she wouldn't be able to stay for any length of time and I assured her that I understood and made myself not whine

 

when she had to leave.  I so appreciate that she made it possible for me hold this precious little one for a few minutes. She came right to me with a big smile on her face. Jessie told me she was like that with almost everyone.  Jessie hated that she couldn't stay for a visit but I assured her that I understood and really appreciated she took those few minutes to share Lyla with me.

Of course I had to count her little toes - isn't that what Southern women do?  We like to make sure everything is where it should be. I love that look on her face.."what - ya never seen a foot before"?

I ran across this picture that was taken in May or June of 2000.  That is Douglas and Jessie cuddling on the sofa. She was pregnant here and not  really showing very much.  She was due in December but as we all know, Page decided she didn't want to wait until her due date and she came in September.

Matt stopped by for a short visit and of course, Miya took it upon herself to let him know just how much we have all missed him.

 

 

Of course she got her way and "made" him love on her.  Look at Matt's self-satisfied look in the last picture.  That look is saying, "Oh yeah - she loves me".  Hey - we all love you Matt - why wouldn't Miya love you too? He has been quite busy lately - with good things - but I miss seeing him more.

I called Geral several weeks ago to see if she could "baby-sit" me while Dwight was out of town. It turns out she and Sheila had recently gotten home from their trip to West Palm Beach to see Janet.

I love this picture of Geral with Janet. Geral said they had a wonderful time and were so glad they went. I enjoyed having Geral stay with me the last time Dwight went fishing. She promised she would come back and stay with us when Dwight is in town soon. 

I received an email telling me I had a $30 gift certificate toward some fresh flowers so I looked at the ones they had on the same page and picked the one you see above that had a marked-down price of $18.95 plus shipping. I figured the $30 gift certificate would cover that.  They signed the card from - "Me" which I thought was funny and cute.  I received the flowers I had ordered but the container I had picked out was a round globe and a lot prettier than this one. The invoice ended up being more than $40.00.  When I emailed them about it, they pointed out that the special price didn't apply to any other offers.  When I went back and looked at the original email, every arrangement on the page with the offer was on sale and the "disclaimer" was at the bottom in small print. I let them know I would never order anything from them again. They then sent me an email making me the very same "offer" they had made before.  Argghh!!

While we are doing pictures, I'll share this one I pulled from Facebook of Gina and three of her sisters.  There is one more girl and I love every one of them.  They had two brothers also, one of whom is married to a very dear friend of mine who also worked with me at Elite. They are all beautiful - inside and out.  Whenever I am with all of them at the same time, it makes me think of the times I spend with my four sisters.

 

Miya was looking out at the pitiful amount of snow we finally got recently. It didn't even cover the grass in the front yard. Kelly said she left work early and was still trapped on the highway for five hours.  The really sad thing is they got twice as much snow in Georgia than we got here.

What is even sadder is that Patsy got more snow in Emerald Isle on the beach than we got.  This is a picture she took of her deck. Hello?  If it is going to snow, then snow for goodness sake. 

 I had to share this picture of Brenda's new coat. Her sweet hubby, Kevin, took the picture and put it on Facebook.  Isn't that the sweetest. I still think of them so often and of the wonderful time we had with them.  When I look at the picture I can remember being in that room. 

I know - not the most attractive picture. The picture above is my upper teeth since the surgery and radiation which has resulted in my having chronic dry mouth. I was told I could even lose my teeth due to the dryness of my mouth so I have tea or water beside me all the time or keep gum on hand to chew.  Dry mouth is very uncomfortable and at times very painful.  I go for a cleaning about every three months now instead of six. My dentist is also having to put tiny fillings in several of my teeth and I  mentioned to him that I was learning how to smile with my mouth closed because my teeth are so dark now.  The next time I went, he was almost finished when he mentioned quietly to me that he wanted to try something.  He said he didn't know if it would work so I would literally be a guinea pig and it might not work or last but he didn't like to think of me not smiling if there was something he could do to help.  He asked if I would be willing to be a guinea pig and I said definitely.

These are the results! I am so very, very happy.  He warned me again they may not last (veneers) - that they may also become discolored or not stay on but I don't care - I love them.  Dwight bought me some Crest whitening toothpaste to use along with the Biotene toothpaste and the prescription high fluoride toothpastes I already use.  Yeah- I have to be careful or I'm going to look like a dog with rabies - foam mouth!!! It was so sweet of him though. I kept thinking about what I could do to show my appreciation and finally decided a gift certificate to Parizade would be nice. Now - just to figure out how to get over there and buy the gift certificate!  I found his and his wife's home address and will send it to them in a card but I need to get the actual certificate! 

 I bought these flowers when I was at the grocery store with Dwight. I picked up the two things I needed and could not pass up these pretty flowers - another one of my favorites.  The week before that, I purchased some bamboo from Wellspring for my living room window.  If you look closely at the black wood block beside them with the white writing on it, you will find my latest gift from Kelly.  This was a song we sang together while she was growing up.  I would sing the first part of a sentence and she would finish with the last word - i.e., Me: "I love " and she would say "you", Me: "A bushel and a" and she would say "peck", .....anyway, you get the idea. So very sweet of her to share this with me.  Alice received the same block from Kelly (Alice used to baby-sit for me when I had to work) and I'm sure she probably sang that song with Kelly too. Got to sign off before I go to sleep on the computer.  What a mess that would be not including how angry I would be with myself.