Random micro thoughts

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:07:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:18:00 +0000

The above two boxes were for my birthday last week. The one on the right is a music box, and the inserted photo on the lid is a Carol Grigg watercolor from a notecard. The one on the left, the round one, has an insert of pressed flowers, from an old letter. They were gifts from husband and son. Daughter R gave me a yummy candle, maple cream, it makes me hungry just to open the jar!

This is just a note here too, it has been so long since I posted. I had my "re-incision" and all is well. I finally got my hair back to its proper color (4 times dyed) but it is still extremely curly and I think it looks dumb, although everyone says they like it. I had it cut to at least give it some sort of shape, but it will be a while before I am brave enough to post a photo here. Mostly what I have been doing every day is napping. The psych doctor is changing some of my meds around and although I sleep better at night, I'm too sleepy during the day. I don't think we've got the mix just right.

The weather here has been very weird, the forecasters are calling this the year without a winter. We have had so much warm weather that the crocuses are up (tho not blooming yet) and the trees are in bud. On the first of February! This month is usually the one with the most snowfall, but with temps in the 40s and 50s every day, I don't think we will have anything but rain.

I'll leave you all with this bumper sticker : "Save the planet! It's the only place I can get chocolate!"

It's 2:30 in the morning! Go back to bed!

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:32:00 +0000

Or that's what I tell myself when I wake up, ready to go, in the wee hours of the morning. Myself seldom listens, so no changes there.

It is bitterly cold here, around 10 degrees, and an ice storm left everything coated in ice, so pretty. So awful to drive on. I hope it clears before the kids leave for work on Monday. We have noticed a big difference in the house with the new front and back doors. The wind no longer whistles through them and we don't have to put down a draft blocker at the threshold, so inadequate. And the furnace doesn't labor night and day to keep the temp in the 60s. Brrr. I'm feeling cold just writing about it.

The horses are all rugged up in their winter blankies, but still we won't let them out in the pasture until the footing is better. I really don't need (another) geriatric horse breaking a hip/front leg/stifle/knee by slipping on the ice. The barn may be boring, but they have toys and its a lot warmer and safer for them and the dogs.

The latest surgery is healing nicely, and I have only steri-strips that fall off after a while. Swelling all gone as is the pain. Next month is a mammogram on the survivor side, and then TA DA time for the Hawaii cruise in mid March. I need to do a final wardrobe check, make sure everything still fits. Nothing worse that hauling along clothes that can't be fastened up! Weight gain is the main side effect of the chemotherapy/immunotherapy I am getting, from what I read online. Why can't there be a drug with the side effect of appetite suppression? Well, whine whine it could be worse; I could be dead from the cancer.

It is now 3 am and I cm going back to bed, hopefully to sleep. I leave you with the bumper sticker of the day: "There are three kinds of people. Those who can count and those who can't."

Wordy Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:10:00 +0000

I'm typing this at 3 am. I like to think of my nightly sleepy period as a result of a time-shifted siesta. That thought doesn't really work when I crash around 2:30 pm. Maybe I need two siestas?

I have (groan) begun walking on the treadmill. I am afraid that on our shore excursions I will poop out 5 minutes into it, and have to miss the whole thing. So far I can walk 5 minutes at speed setting one, and then I have to sit down. This is what comes from doing nothing strenuous for 5 years. Back when I was still working I could, and did, walk all over the medical center, but I let that level (not that it couldn't have been improved) slip away as I meandered around the house, or strolled through the grocery store. Why doesn't life work backwards, so you could start out with an activity at Olympic levels, and then gradually, slowly, get worse the more you practice? Sounds good to me.

A couple of days ago I drug out the heated water buckets for the horse stalls, and only found one, and that one had the rim chewed up (Maggie's work), and two buckets missing. I have a recollection of pitching one because Maybe (horse) kept chewing and pulling on it until it cracked top to bottom. But there still should be another. However, I am going to order two more ($35!!!each) and also a horse toy called a pas-a-fier for them to chew and crib on. Guess that makes me their enabler.
They've already chewed through one each, which is damned hard to do, these things are not flimsy:

But then, a thousand pound animal pulling on it with all their strength...

Bumper sticker for the day: "Thank you for not being perky."

Friday the 13th

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:38:00 +0000

I'm not superstitious about the 13th, and can't see why it should be even more inauspicious just because it falls on a Friday, can you? And the old saw about 7 years bad luck because you break a mirror -- I guess if you walk barefoot in your house, if it's like mine, it might take seven years to vacuum it all up. Some of my dust bunnies are pushing 20 about now. One cedar chest I recently looked under had an awful conglomerate of fuzz and dirt and cat toys; I resolve to not look under there again. And so goes most of the old adages, a grain of sense and a pound of nonsense.

I have been unwell over the last couple weeks, and so my blog has taken a hit when it's come to posting regularly. I can resolve to do better, but only when I feel better too. Meanwhile I'll put out these tiny posts just to let everyone I'm still alive and kicking.

T shirt for the day: "Christ died to wash away our sins -- let's don't disappoint him."

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:48:00 +0000

Too tired to wait for the big silver ball to fall and what's with all the noise?

Comin' at you

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:44:00 +0000

I am moving slow tonight, this seroma removal has truly taken the starch out of my sails. I had to remove the dressing tonight, which I am sure the doctor would wish I hadn't; but the itching had me tearing at my skin nonstop. Now there is a rash, but small and sooth able with cortisone cream carefully applied above and below the incision. Somehow I had pictured an incision 2 or 3 inches long with lightweight sutures, and instead I have metal sutures on a large incision 6 inches long. And, may I add, ugly ugly ugly.

Thank you all for the words of encouragement throughout this endless process. It is funny how "here" friends disappear, and "far" friends hang in there. I don't know all of you who send me words of encouragement, but I thank each one of you for even the shortest comment. Should I ever be in your shoes I hope I will pass the hugs and kisses along.

Bumper sticker of the day: "All is not lost - but much is misplaced"

Very tired

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:38:00 +0000

I'm back from my "minor surgery", it's 1:30 in the morning and I hurt. I have to leave the drain in till my next appointment, next Thursday. I'm calling the doc tomorrow for something stronger than ibuprofen. Meanwhile I'm walking around to feel better.

Oh yeah, and the first thing they did when I got to the surgery center was to remove my shoes and socks and put on little booties, thereby covering up my pedi and all my callus-smoothing efforts!

I got the loveliest things for Christmas, and got to watch the smiles from the gifts I gave lighting up the faces I love. I gave a rice cooker to R that she wanted, and a small Nikon camera to C, so he won't have to borrow mine. N got a Kindle Fire, which he hasn't put down except to charge it since he opened it. Our Christmas dinner was steak and baked sweet potatoes, so minimal effort and no leftovers yeah! A quiet but satisfying day.

I hope all of you had a likewise relaxing or exciting day with family and friends, and are ready to get back to a normal routine again. Maybe you have this week up to New Year's day off from work and can take in a movie or two. I'm going to watch the DVD of Cowboys and Aliens, it looks like a hoot. But whatever you do, remember to give a little thanks to our men and women in the armed forces who cannot be home just yet, and their families who are eagerly awaiting their return. Bless them.

Back to bed.

Wordless Wednesday, a day late.

Bumper sticker of the day: "Money talks. But chocolate sings!

Same song, second verse

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:19:00 +0000

Next Wednesday I will have surgery to remove a hematoma/seroma from the area near the mastectomy scar. Outpatient, general anesthesia, quickly done. I am consciously preventing myself from thinking about it. Tomorrow is Christmas, and that is all I am focusing on for now. Once Christmas is over, I will work on getting the diet and exercise efforts underway. I won't dwell morbidly on the what-ifs and such. I won't.

Note to self: shave legs.

Did you ever hear the definition of "minor surgery"? It's surgery that happens to someone else.

The weather here has been so weird, hot/cold, clear skies/rainy and grey, even thunder. I still haven't blanketed the horses, because the blankets are thickly padded and I don't want them to swelter when the temperature goes up. As long as they are in the barn, they are warm without blankies, the barn keeps out the wind and traps the heat they produce. I am so glad we built this barn, the old one was so inadequate in cold weather. Now they have heated water buckets, hot water, airy stalls where they can see each other, and have that cozy feeling when we shut the big door. A nite light. Toys in the stalls. All the mod cons.

what the well-dressed equine is wearing this season...

Bumper sticker for the day: "It could be worse -- what if sex was fattening?"

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:55:00 +0000

Where I will be in March...

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:05:00 +0000

Oncology nurse called and set me up with surgeon. He aspirated the lump, which diminished it, but when I said, "So it is a cyst?" he hemmed and hawed, and set me up to come back on Thursday. What I wouldn't give for a straight answer.

Pondering

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:35:00 +0000

What is it about yawning? There I am, in bed, it's cool and dark and I am dozing when bam! I yawn. This in turn makes my eyes water, which makes my nose run, which means I must search out a kleenex, all of which makes me far more awake than I was before the yawn. How weird is that?

And speaking of the word weird, what is that i before e except after c stuff? Weird.

And did you ever notice the word small is a big word, and big is a small word?

When you go to the grocery store, if you don't need a cart, there will be so many at the entrance you can hardly move past them, but if you do need a cart, they will all be in the parking lot?

And isn't it useless to take your car to the shop when it is making a funny noise, when it will never make it while you are there, only as you drive away? I personally need more than a noise to go to a repair place; it has to go knock knock and pour smoke at the minimum.

Speaking of noises, the computer here is making strange clunk clunk sounds when it starts up; but so far no smoke and no blue screen of death, so I'll keep going. It will probably die right after Christmas, when all the holiday bills come in.

Do you think it is a bad sign when the people at the surgeon's office recognize you by name?

"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers."

Note on office door: "I AM LOST. I have gone to look for myself. If I should return before I get back, please ask me to wait."

Worrysome Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:20:00 +0000

Yesterday I went for my every-three-weeks cancer treatment. When I met with the oncologist for the pre-treatment exam, I pointed out an area on my demi-breast (the one that had the mastectomy) that felt like a hard knot. He agreed it was new and ordered an ultrasound, done right then. The unfortunate part is that the oncologist will be out of town for the next three days, and I won't find out any result until Tuesday of next week. Which is eons away, from my point of view. So think good thoughts for me, that this will turn out to be a harmless cyst.

T shirt of the day: "Easily distracted by shiny objects."

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Bumper Sticker of the day: "Think outside the quadrilateral parallelogram."

Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:17:00 +0000

Insomnia again. And not just wakeful, but ready-for-the-day. I'd like to get some laundry going, bake a few muffins, and in general make some noise; this would not go well with husband and kids (30 year old kids), at 3 am. So I come in here and post to my blog.

Friday a week ago we had a minor traffic accident when we were stopped to let a car, three cars in front of ours, make a left turn. Unfortunately this was on a narrow twisty two lane road that gets heavy traffic and has a 55 MPH speed limit. The car behind us couldn't stop in time and rear ended us. Her car, a Chrysler Sebring, was pretty messed up in the front, bumper, grill, hood. Our car, the Lincoln, had 2 cracks in the rear bumper and a small chunk of the bumper missing. Really really minor, but noticeable. This Friday the insurance estimator took a look, and figured up the cost to replace the bumper: $1100. Isn't that insane? Yes, it is a 2010, but still... Anyway I feel fortunate that it was no worse, and no one hurt. I hate that road at the best of times, but especially at night. And we have driven on it every day for the last 30 years, because it is the only road to get home, coming from town.

Christmas is a mere 2 weeks away and I AM NOT READY. The tree is up (see below) but that is about the limit of what has been done. All of us used the internet to buy gifts, so for the most part it is just a matter of waiting for UPS Santa to come. And trying to figure out what is in each box by rattling it. A few mall trips are necessary, but on weekdays. I don't know why this year I feel so bah humbug, other than having cancer I mean, we didn't even get any Christmas stuff out of the attic other than the tree. I think I'll just buy some wrapping paper and call it done. No bows, because the cats chew them, get them all spitty and punctured. I used to make bows myself, all kinds of shapes and whatnot, but that was a long time ago. Humbug.

Did you know that humbug is a candy, like a mint? Peppermint flavor and toffee stripes. Here is a photo from Wikipedia:

Now you know...

Well back to bed, if not to sleep.

Bumper sticker for the day: "The voices in my head told me to buy more shoes."

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:49:00 +0000

Back again

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:35:00 +0000

I have enjoyed the break from posting here, but I don't want to get too complacent or I won't be posting for a month. Or more.

The latest here at the cat mansion (we're only here to open cans) is that Mac, the oldest, somehow managed to get outside -- not once but twice -- and cut or scraped his hind foot. It is a very small wound, but he will not leave it alone, and so it seeps blood all the time, staining everything he sits on (meaning, everything in the house). We took him to the vet, who gave him an antibiotic and shaved his foot, and put him in an E-collar so he can't reach his foot. He hates it, and bangs into everything and can't figure out how to back up and give it another go. For those who don't know what an e collar is, here is Mac in all his glory:

New front door, patio door, and all the interior doors have been replaced. Getting rid of all the dark, cheap doors (I call them trailer doors) and replacing with solid oak doors and getting outside doors that don't let the wind whistle in all winter is a tremendous improvement. We have other projects in mind for after the new year.

Christmas shopping is going along OK, no panics on my part yet. I haven't noticed any real crowds except at (ta-da) Walmart. Yes I do shop there, it is 4 miles closer to us than any other grocery store and it has cheap plastic junk that I just can't do without. Plus the photo printing thingys. In the store today, they called "anyone with cashier training to the registers" which I have never heard them do before. I'll bet they have had to lay on extra runs for the armored car pick-ups too.

It's too cold in here tonight to linger over this post. It's me for hot chocolate and a book.

November 30th - Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:45:00 +0000

Storm clouds, from my back porch.

November 29th

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:46:00 +0000

Insomnia again for me; never a problem for Cookie.

I got an eye exam today, and I'll need a stronger bifocal prescription. As it is, I remove my glasses to read small print, or put on reading glasses. I am breaking down, one system at a time!

I brought Willie in from the field yesterday, as it was beginning to storm. He was in a great hurry to get in (where the grain is). For a geriatric horse he has a lot of spunk in him sometimes. I will go out tomorrow to clean him up and put on his winter blanket, as the forecast is for snow and freezing temp. (as if I can rely on a forecast here!)I'll try to remember to take a photo or two to show him in a clean blanket. It won't be clean for long, on the outside at least.

I'm still going through the old photos and trying to make some sort of order out of them. But I keep getting distracted by the photos themselves. Even mundane photos of the yard are remarkable because I can see how much everything has changed or grown. The pictures of my bedroom are a reminder of what it looked like before I started stuffing everything in there. Including all the tubs of photos. I just wish it felt like I was making progress, but I am afraid I am only "churning", moving stuff from A to B, B to C, and C to A, for example. I need to harden my resolve and throw away all the old old stuff, that seems to matter : old report cards, drawings, "awards" and on and on. The question I ask myself is, will the kids want this? Will I care? If the answer is no, pitch it. I'll never miss it.

I have almost finished the blogging for November, which is a good thing because I have run out of things to write. Even the bumper stickers...

T shirt for the day: "I am a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to keep up."

November 28th

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:55:00 +0000

Almost done with the daily postings for NAtional BLog POsting MOnth. Today's prompt, to get the creative juices flowing, is "Describe an heirloom that has been passed down through generations of your family. What is its significance to you personally?" And right away I thought of the farm. Grandad's parents built the house in 1905, in Braxton County West Virginia. When Grandad sold it, in 1969, it was a great shock to all the family. We still don't know the reason why he did it; speculation is that the buyers knew something about him or his business dealings, and coerced him into the sale. At the time, one of his daughters was living at the farm with her husband, who was working like crazy to do upkeep on a farm that had been let go too long with little maintenance. His son-in-law's understanding was that the farm would be left to them. All the contents of the farmhouse and barns was put up at an auction, and sold for pennies on the dollar. They sold Grandma's wood rocker for $25. Grandad and Grandma bought a little old house close to town; Grandad died at the house in 1971, and Grandma went to live with my aunt in Florida.

But the heirloom, what about the heirloom? It was a pendant, a very plain silver pendant in a circle the size of a wedding ring, with a tiny blue stone in the center. I have no idea if it was valuable, but I expect not, given the family means. It now belongs to my uncle, the last of the original family, and will be passed down to his son, I think. To me, it represents a link, an unbroken circle, that connects generation to generation. The story is that it was my grandma's mother's pendant; she died when Grandma was a child, and her father remarried a very strict woman. Grandma's only physical link was through this small pendant, and I know she treasured it. I look now at all the possessions we have now, and I know no single one will ever stand out for my children. But gold and diamonds not withstanding, all of it is worth less that that plain silver pendant.
Note: it was a pendant, not a pin; I stand corrected.
Thought for the day: "Back up my hard drive? How do I put it in reverse?"

November 27th

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:32:00 +0000

I've always enjoyed Garfield, and so I'll borrow this for a day or two.

It is hard to be nice when you are ill a lot of the time; there are so many things to do, and these things need help to get done. It seems that unless I point out what these things are, they get ignored. How can you ignore a sink full of dirty dishes? They have to be loaded into the dishwasher, or hand washed. A garbage can is overflowing, take it out to the bin. And on and on. I hate to be a nag, and I try to be reasonable about priorities, But in the end, a lot of it doesn't get done.

I think I am stronger, but then days like these occur, where my knees feel like I've
got sharp daggers in each knee, especially when I do stairs. Even on flat floor, my balance takes a few seconds to even things up. The drugs are great, except I want to fall asleep about an hour after I take one. May be time to ring up the orthopedic for more needle jabs.

I've got to do do something with my chemo-hair. It is very curly (LIKE A FRENCH POODLE!!) and the color is all wrong. I will try a different product on it tomorrow. After all, the worst result would be something that makes my hair fall off or has to be cut off, leaving us back at square one.

I'm falling asleep at the keyboard, and I forgot the point I was trying to make. Next time.

For the day: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

November 26th

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 02:37:00 +0000

I slipped on the stairs early this morning and hurt my ribs as I crashed. Thus I am inclined to give this post a miss, with only my daily bumper sticker. More tomorrow.

Bumper sticker: "THIS IS MY CLONE. I'm actually somewhere else having a much better time."

November 25th

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:45:00 +0000

The last mowing of the year! Hooray!

At the beginning of the spring, all of the garden catalogs arrive, and getting outside to plant flowers, etc., just seems so great after a long messy winter. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm doesn't last. This summer was very rainy and the grass just leaped out of the ground, the weeds sprouted and grew while my back was turned, and keeping up with everything made me want (every year) to pave the whole thing over and paint it green.

It always tickles me when people come to get horse manure for their garden. It is rarely in demand in the fall, which is when it should be applied, just top dressed and let it rot through the winter, then come springtime, till it under. But no, everyone wants it in the spring when the gardening bug bites, and they always take the top-most part of the pile, when the really good pure stuff, no oat or corn seeds in it, is down under the top-most layer, but you gotta dig for it. The very best of it is way at the back edge, against a big rock basin where it has been curing for 10 or so years, since the last guy with a backhoe came and took every bit of it. There it looks like black earth, all composted and rich.

One of our neighbors came by while we were outside and commented on the two nice little pine trees we have in the flower bed right next to the house. I didn't let on that they are artificial, because everything we plant in there dies, it either gets flooded out when the gutters overflow after a hard rain, or dies from lack of water when we forget to water them. These two artificial ones look very real even close up, and I look forward to admiring them for a long while. And also won't worry that they will get too big, like a couple of (live Christmas trees) evergreen trees we planted many years ago at what seemed like a good distance from the house, but which are now 40 feet tall and 20 feet across at the bottom, right against the house now. Of course, we have lived here for 31 years, and things do grow well, where we have used some of that good manure ourselves over the years...

Refrigerator magnet of the day: "Many people have eaten my cooking and gone on to live normal lives."

November 24th

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:17:00 +0000

Well, here we are, another feast eaten, another kitchen cleaned up, another ton of leftovers in the fridge. Only an optimist would ask, what's for dinner? on the day after Thanksgiving. My family did a lot of the before-and-after, as I never feel too spiffy after a cancer treatment. No one wants dessert, no surprise there.

When I was a teenager I always got stuck with the dish washing afterwards. No electric dish washer, just people powered. It drastically effected my enjoyment of the meal, knowing that I would be elbow deep in hot suds in a manner of minutes. The dishes were "the good ones" and heaven help you if you broke one. There were tons of pots and pans, an entire sink-full of silverware (also the good stuff), and large platters and bowls and such. It all had to be hand-dried and put away right away because there wasn't anyplace to stack it once it was clean. Usually someone else helped with that part of it. For me, the worst part was the way my hands felt after being in water all that time, all prune-y and raw. Even now I wear rubber gloves whenever I wash things by hand, I just can't stand the way my hands feel otherwise. But I also missed out on some good conversation around the table after the meal, when everyone was sipping a coffee and letting dinner settle. I'd give a lot to have that part back again, all that family is gone now, one by one.

The cats of course are severely bent out of shape because they were banished to a bedroom starting in the afternoon. It is impossible to keep them off the dinner table at the best of times, and once it is set for dinner, eternal vigilance is necessary. Now they are out and looking for handouts, as soon as they smelled the turkey. Poor souls, it's tuna tonight.

Tomorrow starts the mad Christmas shopping frenzy. You couldn't pay me to go shopping on Black Friday. The advertising circulars were twice the size of the actual newspaper today, and I'm sure will be tomorrow too. But I don't see anything in them that I can't live without, thanks. And I hate crowds, and avarice is never pretty, and being rude seems to be the way to behave. I think I'm getting old.

Time for a little nap I think.

Note for the front door: "Ring bell and run. Dog needs exercise."

November 23rd

noreply@blogger.com (Redhead) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:12:00 +0000

Well tomorrow is a big day for eating and giving thanks. Mostly what I am thankful for is lots to eat... No really, I am grateful for my health and my family, all things considered.

The NaBloPoMo prompt for today is, What piece of music changed your life forever? And I would have to say, Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. I was in high school chorus and we performed this at Christmas time to a very full audience. (There were nearly 200 of us in the combined choir.) My parents didn't come; my friend and her mother drove us to the concert. Up until that time I had considered myself a pretty hot vocalist; in addition to the women's chorus and mixed chorus, I sang in the church choir, and I could read a piece of music (a regular hymn, I mean) in the alto part and sing it right without hearing it first. I played classical guitar fairly well, and some bluegrass too, though my calluses were not tough enough to play a long time.

But that night at the recital, finally hearing all the voices at once singing this incomparably beautiful piece of music, I realized I would never be anything but a dilettante in music, because I lacked the discipline and single-minded drive to be excellent. And even now, when I hear the Hallelujah Chorus, it brings a lump to my throat, and I remember how all our voices soared in the big auditorium, and how I never again felt that way about music and performing.

***************************************

Change of subject: I had another cancer treatment today, and it went very smoothly, no reactions and back home by 11:30, where I sacked out for two hours. I feel pretty good now, and the pies for tomorrow are baking and sending me mad for a taste. You know, cake you can taste, and I do, when you shave off the very top of one of the layers to make it perfectly flat and then dab on a bit of icing, yum. But there is no way to sneak a sample of pie, you just have to wait for dessert time to roll around, by which point you are so sated on the rest of the meal, pie is nice but not a terrific encore. But I will struggle along as best I can, eating some of everything including pie, and then I will need another two hour nap to recover, I am sure.

Hope all of you have a good holiday and time to spend with family and friends near and far. And if Thanksgiving is not a holiday for you, I hope you fix an extraordinary meal just the same, Thanksgiving making a wonderful excuse to overindulge this one day.

Thought for the day: "My mind works like lightning. One brilliant flash and it's gone."